Servilia was a Roman aristocrat of the late Republic, born around 100 BCE into the influential Servilii Caepiones. She was the daughter of Quintus Servilius Caepio and became the mother of Marcus Junius Brutus, one of Julius Caesar’s assassins, through her marriage to Marcus Junius Brutus the elder. After being widowed she married Decimus Junius Silanus, with whom she had several daughters who married into other prominent senatorial families.
Ancient sources describe Servilia as a long-term lover of Julius Caesar, and their relationship placed her within the intimate political networks surrounding the final decades of the Republic. She also managed substantial family interests and remained influential after Brutus joined the conspiracy against Caesar in 44 BCE. Following the assassins’ defeat, Servilia appears to have escaped the violent reprisals that destroyed many of her relatives and associates. Her death date is unknown, and much of her private life is reconstructed from hostile or anecdotal ancient testimony.
In Colleen McCullough’s Caesar’s Women, His mother Aurelia, his daughter Julia and his wives form the private foundation of a public career, while his relationship with Servilia connects desire to the rivalries of the Senate.
