Porcia CAtonis
Marriage: Portia was married two times, something that wasn't uncommon during this time.
First Marriage: Her first marriage was to Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus (her father's political ally). It occured between 58 BC to 53 BC. Quintus Hortensius wanted to make an alliance with Cato and asked that it be made by letting him take Portia's hand in marriage. However, Bibulus was infatuated with his wife (Portia), and did not want to let her go. Hortensius proposed an offer in which he would marry Portia, then giving her back to Bibulus after she bore him a child and heir (these deals were not uncommon). Bibulus still refused, so Cato (Portia’s dad) divorced his wife, Portia’s stepmother Marcia, and gave her to Hortensius; Cato remarried her after Hortensius died.
Second Marriage: Following her father’s death in 45 BC, Portia's first cousin, Marcus Junius Brutus, divorced his wife (daughter of an ally), with no apparent reason, and then married Portia. The divorce was not well received by his mother. However, Portia was favored by the followers of Pompey and Cato, so the marriage was well received and supported by most. Portia loved Brutus and was completely loyal to him. Marrying Portia was Brutus’ way of honoring his uncle.
The trust Brutus had in Portia really showed when he confided in her about the plot to assassinate Caesar (some believe she was the only woman aware of the plot). At first, Brutus was hesitant in telling in her, causing her to feel like he distrusted her because of her gender, fearing that she might reveal something. In Plutarch’s – a historian and biographer who wrote a biography about Brutus – accounts, Portia inflicted a wound upon her thigh to prove that she could bear the pain. Because she had wounded herself, she suffered violent pains, a fever, and chills. After overcoming the pain, she went back to Brutus
Birth: 70 BC
Social Status: She was from a very well off family. Her father was a very powerful leader in the senate.
Children:
- Some historians believe that she might have had a child with her first husband Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus, named Lucius.
- She did have a son with Marcus Brutus, who died in 43 BC
Death: June, 43 BC: She supposedly commited suicide, but it is a very debated topic.
Aka. Porcia of Cato, also spelled "Portia"
Immediate Family: Portia was the daughter of Marcus Porcius Cato Uticencis and his first wife Atilia.
Father: Her father, Cato, was Caesar's greatest enemy in the senate (they hated each other). Cato wanted Caesar to return home from the Gallic Wars so that he could be stripped of his titles and exiled. When the Roman Civil War began, Cato allied with Pompey and Bibulus to fight against Caesar. Unfortunately, Pompey and Bibulus both died during the war (leaving Portia a widow). This prompted Cato to later commit suicide.
Brother: Portia had a brother named Marcus Cato, after his father. He was pardoned by Caesar and allowed to return to Rome after the civil war had finished.