Fulvia (d. 40 B.C.)

A bold and ambitious woman of Rome, the daughter of M. Fulvius Bambalio of Tusculum. She was thrice married: first to P. Clodius, by whom she had a daughter, afterward the wife of Octavianus; secondly, to C. Scribonius Curio; and thirdly, to Marc Antony, by whom she had two sons. In the conscription of 43 B.C., planned by the triumvirate, Octavianus, Antony and Lepidus, Fulvia acted with great wantonness, gloating over the head of Cicero, who had fallen under the vengeance of Antony. She loved her husband Antony, but was of a most jealous disposition, and when Antony was in Egypt, she induced Lucius Antony, her husband’s brother, to take up arms against Octavianus, whom she feared, and also to endeavor to withdraw Antony from Egypt. Lucius, however, was defeated by Octavianus, and was compelled to surrender the following year (40 B.C.). Fulvia met Antony at Athens and was cruelly treated by him; she went to Sicyon in despair, and died the same year. After her death Antony married Octavia, sister of Octavianus, this marriage facilitating the reconciliation of Antony with Octavianus.