Clodia Pulchra

Who is Clodia Pulchra?

Clodia Pulchra, also known as Claudia was the daughter of Fulvia by her first husband Publius Clodius Pulcher. She was the stepdaughter of Mark Antony and half-sister of Marcus Antonius Antyllus and Iullus Antonius.

Mark Antony was her mother's third husband. As Clodius had done previously, Antony was happy to accept Fulvia's money to boost his career. Following Julius Caesar's assassination on March 15, 44 BC, Antony formed the second triumvirate with Octavian and Lepidus and embarked on a savage proscription. To solidify the political alliance, Fulvia offered Clodia to young Octavian as wife, while Lepidus offered his wife's niece Servilia. Subsequently, Octavian chose Clodia.

Not much is known about their marriage and little information survives about Clodia. These actions caused political and social unrest, but when Octavian asked for a divorce from Clodia, Fulvia herself decided to take action. Together with Lucius Antonius, her brother-in-law, she raised eight legions in Italy to fight for Antonius' rights against Octavian, in what became the Perusine War. The army occupied Rome for a short time, but eventually retreated to Perusia.