Junia Lepida

Who was Junia Lepida?

Junia Lepida was a Roman noble woman that lived during the Roman Empire in the 1st century. Lepida was the second born daughter and was among the children born of Aemilia Lepida and Marcus Junius Silanus Torquatus, a member of the Junii Silani, a family of Ancient Rome. Her maternal grandparents were the princess Julia the Younger and consul Lucius Aemilius Paullus. Through her maternal grandparents she was a descendant of Roman emperor Augustus, noble woman Scribonia, statesman Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and consul Lucius Aemilius Lepidus Paullus.

She married Gaius Cassius Longinus. Cassius was a person with remarkable ancestral wealth. They raised their nephew Lucius Junius Silanus Torquatus, whose father was murdered by Empress Agrippina the Younger. In 66, Lepida's husband and nephew were expelled from Rome by Emperor Nero for being a part in Gaius Calpurnius Piso's conspiracy. Cassius was deported to Sardinia. Lepida was accused by Nero of black magic and incest with her nephew. Her fate afterwards is not known.