Порция: Юлий Цезар заманындағы римдік әйел

1st century BC Roman woman, wife of Brutus
the sister of Cato the Younger

Porcia (c. 73 BC – June 43 BC), occasionally spelled Portia, especially in 18th century English literature, was a Roman woman who lived in the 1st century BC. She was the daughter of Marcus Porcius Cato Uticensis (Cato the Younger) and his first wife Atilia. She is best known for being the second wife of Marcus Junius Brutus, the most famous of Julius Caesar's assassins, and appears primarily in the letters of Cicero. She had an affectionate nature, was interested in philosophy, and was "full of an understanding courage." Plutarch describes her as being prime of youth and beauty. When she was still very young, her father divorced her mother for adultery. At a young age she was married first to Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus, her father's political ally, between 58 BC and 53 BC. Porcia's father was a member of the Roman Optimate faction, and adamantly opposed Julius Caesar. Porcia embraced these ideals, and did not outwardly object to the arranged marriage. With Bibulus she had two children, at least one of them a son. A few years later, Quintus Hortensius applied to Cato, asking for Porcia's hand in marriage. Bibulus, who was infatuated with his wife, was unwilling to let her go. Hortensius offered to marry her and then return her to Bibulus once she had given birth to a male heir. He argued that it was against natural law to keep a girl of Porcia's youth and beauty from producing children for his allies and impractical for her to overproduce for Bibulus. Nonetheless, Bibulus refused to divorce her. Cato disliked the idea of marrying his daughter to a man who was four times her age, and was refused to break an arranged contract he held with Biblius. He captured a part of Caesar's fleet, although this was generally insignificant as Caesar went on to decisively defeat Pompey at the Battle of Pharsalus. Bibulus died in 48 BC from influenza following Pompey's defeat, leaving Porcia a widow.

Porcia's death has been a fixation for many historians and writers. It was believed by a majority of contemporary historians that Porcia committed suicide in 42 BC, reputedly by swallowing hot coals. Modern historians find this tale implausible, however, and one popular speculation has Porcia taking her life by burning charcoal in an unventilated room, thus succumbing to carbon monoxide poisoning. The exact timing of Porcia's death is also a problem. Some modern classicists like John H. Collins assert that she died in the summer of 43 BC. Nicolaus says it happened before Brutus' death, however, saying she died following the first battle of Philippi, claiming that she only thought he was dead, and that Brutus wrote a letter to their friends in Rome, blaming them for Porcia's suicide. Plutarch dismisses Nicolaus' claims of a letter stating that too much was disclosed in the letter for it to be genuine. Plutarch also repeats the story of swallowing charcoal, but disbelieves it: As for Porcia, the wife of Brutus, Nicolaüs the philosopher, as well as Valerius Maximus, relates that she now desired to die, but was opposed by all her friends, who kept strict watch upon her; whereupon she snatched up live coals from the fire, swallowed them, kept her mouth fast closed, and thus made away with herself. And yet there is extant a letter of Brutus to his friends in which he chides them with regard to Porcia and laments her fate, because she was neglected by them and therefore driven by illness to prefer death to life. It would seem, then, that Nicolaüs was mistaken in the time of her death, since her distemper, her love for Brutus, and the manner of her death, are also indicated in the letter, if, indeed, it is a genuine one. Plutarch also acknowledges the false image that Porcia displays, explaining that she was "frightened with every little noise and cry," "possessed with the fury of the Bacchantes," and had passed out and carried into her home. Plutarch's description of Camma in Dialogue of Love is similar to his interpretation of Porcia in Brutus, and with both works being written around the same time period, Plutarch's anecdotes concerning Camma might have influenced those about Porcia. The character of Panthea in Xenophon's Cyropaedia also presents similarities to Plutarch's Porciawith both women expressing to their husbands that they are truly devoted, and are willing to harm themselves to prove themselvesbeing another possible inspiration for Plutarch's portrayal of Porcia. In totality, Plutarch accentuates Porcia's role as loyal wife using his portrayal of her suicide. According to the political journalist and classicist Garry Wills, although Shakespeare has Porcia die by the method Plutarch repeats, but rejects, "the historical Porcia died of illness (possibly of plague) a year before the battle of Philippi" “but Valerius Maximus [mistakenly] wrote that she killed herself at news of Brutus’s death in that battle. This was the version of the story celebrated in works like Martial's Epigram 1.42." The claim that Porcia's death occurred before that of Brutus is backed up by a letter sent by Cicero. This letter would have been sent in late June or early July 43 BC, before either battle of Philippi. It further suggests that Porcia did not commit suicide, but died of some lingering illness. As Plutarch states, if the letter was genuine Brutus lamented her death and blamed their friends for not looking after her. Cicero later wrote his surviving letter to Brutus, consoling him in his grief, calling Porcia "one such as never before has been in the world." account of Porcia's death.

In Masters of Rome, a series of seven novels by the Australian writer Colleen McCullough, Portia appears as a child in Caesar's Women, as a teenager in Caesar and as a young woman in The October Horse. Portia is portrayed as being, first a rabid unthinking follower of republican values, then as a raving maniac, and then as perhaps totally insane. Servilia, who abuses her constantly, later writes to Brutus before the battle of Philippi to inform him that Portia went mad and killed herself by swallowing live coals. Brutus, however, recognizes that it is more likely that Servilia murdered Portia by forcing burning coals down her throat. Given the vicious character of Servilia in the novel, this murder is perfectly believable. She appears in The Ides of March, an epistolary novel by Thornton Wilder, describing the events leading up to the death of Julius Caesar. Portia is one of the main characters in fourth part of the book. Cicero speaks of her as the only person that Brutus loves. Portia and Servilia exchange several letters, hinting towards Servilia's dislike of her. Caesar later sends a letter to Portia informing her that Brutus is returning to Rome, and Portia replies with a polite thank you; Caesar later confesses to Lucius Mamilius Turrinus (the chief character) that he greatly envies Brutus his marriage to her and often wishes he could have married her himself. She is referenced in The Stars' Tennis Balls by Stephen Fry. As part of his revenge, Simon Cotter gives Oliver Delft, the policeman who had him imprisoned, an alternative to being imprisoned himself. The alternative is for Delft to kill himself, with hot coals, as Portia did in Julius Caesar.