Aemilia Tertia

[3] She was a member of the gens Aemilia, one of the ancient Roman patrician families,[4] and the daughter of the Lucius Aemilius Paullus who was consul in 219 and 216 BC.

Polybius, for example, noted in his narrative how Aemilia "display[ed] great magnificence whenever she left her house to take part in the ceremonies that women attend, having participated in the fortune of Scipio when he was at the height of his prosperity" before describing the large size of her retinue, gold and silver adorned carriage, and expensive sacrificial instruments.

[8] These ostentatious displays of wealth reflected high levels of status competition among the female members of the middle republican elite,[9] especially in public religious rites – especially to Juno and Magna Mater[10] – and in advertising politically for her family by organising prestigious marriages and public gatherings.

[13][14] Many of the precious instruments she had used for public religious rites were passed down in the Cornelian family, "memorial[ising] her and adorn[ing] her female relatives".

[15] She is known to have had two brothers: Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus and Marcus Livius Aemilianus.