Fulvia Fulvia Flacca Bambula ( c . 83 BC – 40 BC ) , commonly referred to as simply Fulvia , was an aristocratic Roman woman who lived during the Late Roman Republic . Through her marriage to three of the most promising Roman men of her generation , Publius Clodius Pulcher , Gaius Scribonius Curio and Mark Antony , she gained access to power . All three husbands were politically active " populares " , tribunes and supporters of Julius Caesar . Though she is more famous for her involvement in Antony ' s career , many scholars believe that she was politically active with all of her husbands . Fulvia is remembered in the history of the late Roman Republic for her political ambition and activity . She is most famous for her activities during her third marriage and her involvement in the Perusine War of 41 - 40 BC . She was the first Roman non - mythological woman to appear on Roman coins . Birth and early life . Fulvia was born and raised either in Rome or Tusculum , Italy . Her date of birth was not recorded in the ancient records . Fulvia was a member of the Fulvian and the Sempronian gens which hailed from Tusculum . The Fulvii were one of the most distinguished Republican plebeian noble families in Rome ; various members of the family achieved consulship and became senators , though no member of the Fulvii are on record as a consul after her grandfather Marcus Fulvius Flaccus in 125 BC . Fulvia was the only child of Marcus Fulvius Bambalio and Sempronia Tuditani , and may have been the last of their respective noble lines . Her father Marcus received the nickname Bambalio , from the Latin to stutter , because of his hesitancy in speech . Her maternal grandfather was Sempronius Tuditanus , who was described by Cicero as a madman , who liked to throw his money to the people from the Rostra . First marriage to Clodius Pulcher . Her first marriage was to Publius Clodius Pulcher , circa 62 BC . Fulvia and Clodius had two children together , a son also named Publius Clodius Pulcher and a daughter , Clodia Pulchra . Clodia later married the future Emperor Augustus . As a couple they went everywhere together . Clodius was a " popularis " aristocratic politician who was extremely popular with the urban masses . Plutarch considered him a demagogue . He is most famous as an enemy of Cicero ' s owing to his involvement in the Bona Dea affair . In 62 BC , Clodius dressed as a woman and entered the house of Julius Caesar while the sacred ( and female - only ) rites of the Bona Dea were being performed . Charged with " " incestum " " , Clodius defended himself by stating that he was not in Rome the day of the sacred rites , an alibi that was refuted by Cicero in court , which started a lifelong enmity between the two men . In 52 BC , Clodius ran for the office of " praetor " and political competition with a consular rival , Titus Annius Milo , escalated to violence . Clodius was killed on January 18 at the hands of Milo and his gang on the Appian Way , the road built by his own ancestors . Fulvia first appears in the ancient record after his death . She grieved over his body publicly and dragged it through the streets of Rome which , due to his popularity , incited an angry mob that took his corpse and cremated it in the senate . Fulvia and her mother Sempronia both were present during the trial of Milo , and Fulvia ' s was the last testimony given by the prosecution . Milo was exiled for his crime . While alive , Clodius had numerous gangs under his control and Fulvia retained the power and status that came with their loyalty . There is also some evidence that she may have been involved with the organization of the " collegia " . As Clodius ' widow and mother of his children she was also a symbol and reminder of him , and was able to transfer this power to her future husbands . Second marriage to Scribonius Curio . Her widowhood did not last long as the customary period of mourning for Romans was ten months . Fulvia most likely married her second husband , Gaius Scribonius Curio , soon after this period had passed . They were married in 52 - 51 BC . Like Clodius , Curio was very popular with the plebeians . He was from a less distinguished family than Clodius ' , being from a new consular family , but he may have had more wealth . Though initially an " optimate " , Curio became a " popularis " soon after marrying Fulvia , and continued many of Clodius ' popularist policies . He soon became important to Gaius Julius Caesar and Clodian supporters . In 50 BC Curio won election as a tribune , the year after he married Fulvia . Curio was killed while fighting for Julius Caesar in North Africa in 49 BC , by the army of King Juba I of Numidia . During the civil war Fulvia was most likely in Rome or nearby , due to Caesar ' s troops taking over Italy . At the time she would have had her two children by Clodius and was either pregnant with Curio ' s son or had delivered him . Third marriage to Mark Antony . After Curio ' s death in Africa , Fulvia was still an important widow in elite circles . She provided an important tie to Clodius and his " clientela " , had proven her fertility , and could offer a husband money and political organization . Also , her husband would become the stepfather of Clodius ' children , further linking him to Clodian politics . Fulvia ' s third and final marriage was to Mark Antony in 47 or 46 BC , a few years after Curio ' s death , although Cicero suggested that Fulvia and Antony had had a relationship since 58 BC . Cicero wrote about their relationship in his Philippics as a way of attacking Antony . According to him , while Fulvia and Antony were married , Antony once left a military post to sneak back into Rome during the night and personally deliver a love letter to Fulvia describing his love for her and how he had stopped seeing the famous actress Cytheris . Cicero also suggested that Antony married Fulvia for her money . At the time of their marriage , Antony was an established politician . He had already been tribune in 49 BC , commanded armies under Caesar and was Master of the Horse in 47 BC . As a couple , they were a formidable political force in Rome , and had two sons together , Marcus Antonius Antyllus and Iullus Antonius . Plutarch believed that Fulvia heavily influenced Antony , and that former Clodian policies were continued through him . Throughout their marriage , Fulvia defended Antony from Cicero ' s attacks , sustained his popularity with his soldiers and hindered Octavian ' s ascension to power . In fact , Fulvia still retained the support of gangs formerly ruled by her first husband , Clodius . Antony was able to gather that support by publicly associating himself with Clodius ' children . Through Fulvia , Antony was able to use Clodius ' gangs in his own gang wars against Dolabella . After Gaius Julius Caesar was assassinated , Antony became the most powerful man in Rome . Fulvia was heavily involved in the political aftermath . After Caesar ' s death , the senate realized his popularity and declared that they would pass all of Caesar ' s planned laws . Antony had attained possession of Caesar ' s papers , and with the ability to produce papers in support of any law , Fulvia and Antony made a fortune and gained immense power . She allegedly accompanied Antony to his military camp at Brundisium in 44 BC . Appian wrote that in December 44 and again in 41 BC , while Antony was abroad and Cicero campaigned for Antony to be declared an enemy of the state , Fulvia attempted to block such declarations by soliciting support on Antony ' s behalf . Antony formed the second triumvirate with Octavian ( the future emperor Augustus ) and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus on 43 BC and began to conduct proscriptions . To solidify the political alliance , Fulvia ' s daughter Clodia was married to the young Octavian . Appian and Cassius Dio describe Fulvia as being involved in the violent proscriptions , which were used to destroy enemies and gain badly needed funds to secure control of Rome . Antony pursued his political enemies , chief among them being Cicero , who had openly criticized him for abusing his powers as consul after Caesar ' s assassination . Though many ancient sources wrote that Fulvia was happy to take revenge against Cicero for Antony ' s and Clodius ' sake , Cassius Dio is the only ancient source that describes the joy with which she pierced the tongue of the dead Cicero with her golden hairpins , as a final revenge against Cicero ' s power of speech . Perusine War ( 41 BC to 40 BC ) and Fulvia ' s Death . In 42 BC , Antony and Octavian left Rome to pursue Julius Caesar ' s assassins , Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus . Fulvia was left behind as the most powerful woman in Rome . According to Cassius Dio , Fulvia controlled the politics of Rome . Dio wrote that " the following year Publius Servilius and Lucius Antonius nominally became consuls , but in reality it was Antonius and Fulvia . She , the mother - in ‑ law of Octavian and wife of Antony , had no respect for Lepidus because of his slothfulness , and managed affairs herself , so that neither the senate nor the people transacted any business contrary to her pleasure . " Shortly afterwards , the " triumvirs " then distributed the provinces among them . Lepidus took the west and Antony went to Egypt , where he met Cleopatra VII . When Octavian returned to Rome in 41 BC to disperse land to Caesar ' s veterans , he divorced Fulvia ' s daughter and accused Fulvia of aiming at supreme power . Fearing that Octavian was gaining the veterans ' loyalty at the expense of Antony , Fulvia traveled constantly with her children to the new settlements in order to remind the veterans of their debt to Antony . Fulvia also attempted to delay the land settlements until Antony returned to Rome , so that the two " triumvirs " could share the credit . With Octavian in Italy and Antony abroad , Fulvia allied with her brother - in - law Lucius Antonius and publicly endorsed Mark Antony in opposition to Octavian . These actions caused political and social unrest . In 41 BC , tensions between Octavian and Fulvia escalated to war in Italy . According to Appian , Fulvia was a central cause of the war , due to her jealousy of Antony and Cleopatra ' s affair in Egypt ; she may have escalated the tensions between Octavian and Lucius in order to draw back Antony ' s attention to Italy . However , Appian also wrote that the other main causes were the selfish ambition of the commanders and their inability to control their own soldiers . Together with Lucius Antonius , she raised eight legions in Italy to fight for Antony ' s rights against Octavian , an event known as the Perusine War . The army occupied Rome for a short time , and Lucius organized his troops at Praeneste , but eventually retreated to Perusia ( modern Perugia ) , where Octavian besieged him . Lucius waited for Antony ' s legions in Gaul to come to his aid . However , unaware of the war , Antony was still in the eastern provinces , and his legions were unsure of his commands and did not assist Lucius . Though during this conflict , Fulvia was at Praeneste , there is evidence she helped Lucius . According to Appian , she " urged Ventidius , Asinius , and Calenus from Gaul to help Lucius , and having gathered another army , she sent it to Lucius under the command of Plancus . " During the war , Octavian ' s soldiers at Perusia used sling bullets inscribed with insults directed at Fulvia personally and Octavian wrote a vulgar epigram directed at her in 40 BC , as recorded by Martial : The siege at Perusia lasted two months before Octavian starved Lucius into surrender in February 40 BC . After Lucius ' surrender , Fulvia fled to Greece with her children . Appian writes that she met Antony in Athens , and he was upset with her involvement in the war . Antony then sailed back to Rome to deal with Octavian , and Fulvia died of an unknown illness in exile in Sicyon , near Corinth , Achaea . After her death , Antony and Octavian used it as an opportunity to blame their quarrelling on her . According to Plutarch , " there was even more opportunity for a reconciliation with Caesar . For when Antony reached Italy , and Caesar manifestly intended to make no charges against him , and Antony himself was ready to put upon Fulvia the blame for whatever was charged against himself . " After Fulvia ' s death , Antony married Octavian ' s sister , Octavia Minor , to publicly demonstrate his reconciliation with Octavian . Antony never regained his position and influence in Italy . Once Antony and Octavia were married , she took in and reared all of Fulvia ' s children . The fate of Fulvia ’ s daughter , Clodia Pulchra , after her divorce from Octavian is unknown . Her son Marcus Antonius Antyllus was executed by Octavian in Alexandria , Egypt in 30 BC . Her youngest child , Iullus Antonius , was spared by Octavian and raised from 40 BC by Octavia Minor . Iullus married Octavia ' s daughter and Octavian ' s niece Claudia Marcella Major and they had three children : two sons Lucius Antonius , Gaius Antonius and a daughter Iulla Antonia . Notes . 11 Sallust , Jugurthine War .