La figlia di Seiano. Problemi giuridici dell’esecuzione pubblica di una vergine

The paper addresses the first known public execution of a virgin in ancient Rome: that of Aelia Iunilla, the daughter of Seianus the powerful praefectus praetorio of the emperor Tiberius. Iunilla was executed after the demise of Seianus and his entire family. Usually women were put to death from their families and the public force intervened only in the absence of a family member. However, in the history of the Roman res publica, a virgin had never been publicly executed. To avoid the religious obstacle and lack of precedent the little girl was violated by the executioner before being strangled.