Terentia Varra Tertulla

**Terentia Varra Tertulla**, or simply **Tertulla**, is a minor character in the fifth season of ***Spartacus***. He was a Roman noblewoman and the wife of Marcus Licinius Crassus. She and Marcus had two sons together, Marcus and Publius.

## Background

### Early Life

Tertulla was a member of a Roman family the Licinii Luculli, and the daughter of senator Marcus Terentius Varro Lucullus. She was raised in Rome alongside her two older sisters, Terentia Prima and Terentia Secunda. However both her sisters did not live into adulthood, leaving their father devastated, causing him to be overly protective of Tertulla, and wanting only the most promising Roman to marry her.

Sometime after Sulla's Second Civil War, Tertulla was married to Marcus Licinius Crassus, who had become the richest man in the Republic. She and Crassus had two sons together: Marcus and Publius.

### Following the rebellion

Sometime before the First Triumvirate was formed, Tertulla had begun an on and off again affair with Caesar. Crassus, aware of this, spoke with Caesar, with the two agreeing to allow it to continue, with it resulting in their political friendship to grow.

Being the wife of the richest man in the republic, Tertulla lived a life of great wealth and luxury. Despite her affairs with Gaius Julius Caesar, Tertulla's marriage to Crassus remained a happy one. Marcus Tullius Cicero would often joke about Tertulla, insinuating that her younger son Publius was instead fathered by Marcus Axius, a family friend, often remarking that Publius looked more like Axius.

It is unknown what happened to her after her husband was killed and beheaded by the Parthians in 53 BC.

## Personality

While often typcially arrogant as a Roman, Tertulla was very protective of her children, especially Publius, and was deeply saddened when Publius, along with her husband. She was less protective over her son Marcus, who was more like his father than his brother and Publius was only a child during Spartacus' rebellion

## Appearance

Tertulla had long, blonde hair and brown eyes. She wore the attire of an elite Roman citizen and showed much jewlery in her appearance.

## Portrayals

* In ***Spartacus: War of the Damned***, Tertulla is portrayed by Katherine Kennard. She and Crassus have a son named Tiberius. It is assumed that their historic son, Marcus, was renamed Tiberius in order to avoid confusion between him and his father. In the show, Tertulla and Crassus seem to have an unhappy marriage, with Crassus even starting an affair with his body slave Kore.

## Notes

A fair amount is known or speculated about the historical wife of Crassus, known as Tertulla. She was the only known child of Consul **Marcus Terentius Varro Lucullus**. Since "Tertulla" (or Tertia) was a name given to the third eldest daughter, she most likely had two older sisters (both whom perhaps did not survive into adulthood), as well as possibly possessing the name **Terentia Varra** along with both her sisters, thus making her **Terentia Varra**-**Tertulla**, or **Tertia**. Her birthdate is also unknown. Given that her father was born in or around 116 BC, and the lawful age of marriage for young men was at least 14, Tertulla's birthdate would have been anywhere from 102 BC - 100 BC. Tertulla was known to have been married to Crassus' older brother Publius, who died during the winter of 87–86 BC, alongside their father Publius Licinius Crassus Dives. With the lawful age of consent for young women in Rome being 12 years of age, Tertulla and her first husband Publius were married as early as 90-88 BC. After the Social War ended in 88 BC, Tertulla married Marcus Crassus sometime between 88-87 BC. She had two sons with Crassus, **Marcus** and **Publius**. It is unknown whether Marcus or Publius was the eldest son, as Marcus is said to have been born between 86-85 BC, and Publius' birthdate is recorded as being between 86-82 BC.

* It is assumed that Tiberius in the show is a stand in for Marcus, and had his name changed to avoid confusion with his father. However, their son Marcus is recorded as being born in 86-85 BC, making him too young to serve in his fathers legions in the Third Servile War, only being 15 or 14 years old during the rebellion.

Tertulla would later become the mother-in-law of Cornelia Metella (the later fifth wife of Pompey Magnus), who married her son Publius, and Caecilia Metella, who married her son Marcus. Tertulla became the grandmother of Marcus' only known son, also named **Marcus Licinius Crassus**, who served as Consul in 30 BC.

* In the show, Tertulla and Crassus are portrayed as having problems with their marriage. Historically, Tertulla had had her reputation tarnished repeateedly by the likes of Cicero, with the latter having joked that either Publius, or Crassus' eldest son Marcus, resembled a certain **Quintus Axius**, a family friend, more than he did Crassus, insinuating that Tertulla had committed adultery and bore another mans son. Despite this, Crassus and Tertulla remained married.

As a Roman matron, and the wife of the richest man in the Republic, Tertulla would often hold gatherings and social occasions in Crassus' villas and estates, of which he would have had many, perhaps allowing her to stand out from most other matrons and noblewomen in the city.

It is unknown what life Tertulla led after Crassus was killed during the Parthian War in 53 BC (if she hadn't already died before 53 BC), but it can be presumed that she led a comfortable life in one of Crassus' various estates in or around Rome.