Q: Queen Cleopatra once made a very wild bet with Marc Antony: that she could spend more money on a single dinner than he could. At the meal, she had a single drink put in front of her; in it was a large pearl worth 10 million sesterces, which she swallowed. She won the bet!
Another woman, however, received a black pearl worth six million sesterces—also from a famous man. This was no tipsy giftover dinner, either. Who was the mystery woamn? And who was her generous boyfriend?
A: Although Julius Caesar had 3 wives and many lovers, the gal he most ardently loved was Servilia Caeponis, from one of Rome’s noblest families. They became lovers in 63 BC. Four years later, he paid a cool six million sesterces for a huge, lustrous black pearl for Servilia. (That’s the equivalent of 1,000 pounds of gold.)
Today, black pearls are back in fashion. Harvested mainly off the Tahitian islands, they can cost up to $22,000.
Ah yes, this must be the famous scene depicted in Tiepolo’s painting and described by Pliny!
Although historically inaccurate, Servilia’s exit in HBO’s Rome was pretty dramatic – that was actually my fist introduction to this interesting woman in history.
It seems she was good friends with Cicero’s friend Atticus too
Cheers Vicki!
H
Greetings Hasan! Yes, so many parts of Servilia’s story were truncated or distorted in HBO’s Rome, but I understand the dramatic effect they were going after…it would have been quite confusing to views to know that crusty Cato was S’s half-brother and that Servilia herself outlived almost everyone in that circle. Atticus seemed to have looked after her, didn’t he. Thanks as always for your perceptive remarks, H!
Vickie, this has to be Stan, unless my vision is dramatically impaired.Brings back fond memories of a friend and neighbor.
Dear Doug, yes indeed it is—I love this photo, and thought Stan would be tickled to think of it put to this use! Happy holidays to you and dear Izabel, Vicki