JULIA A.K.A. That lascivious daughter of Augustus

• Julia was "exposed" for her infamous crimes of blatantly disobeying Daddy's rules in 2 BCE at the age of 37. These crimes included: taking part in revels and drinking parties, becoming "publicly" drunk in the forum and rostra, placing crowns of flowers on the statue of Marsyas, plying herself as a prostitute, and afterwards using the "uncomfortable platform of the rostra for a brothel (Balsdon 82).
• After hearing this, her father exiled his daughter to Pandateria, a skinny, tiny little island which boasted only of an excessive amount of field mice and some prickly grape vines. Not that Julia was allowed to drink anymore, however, or even have "attractive" visitors over to play. Julia's mother did join her daughter in exile as did other ladies and servants (Balsdon 85).
• Although her father was quite outraged--and perhaps a bit embarrassed--over his daughter's activities, the general population was not. Quite an uproar ensued after her exile; despite this, Augustus said that "fire and water should sooner mix than his daughter should be restored" (Balsdon 85)--the people responded by throwing firebrands into the river Tiber. It was perhaps this heated public response, or others like it, that caused Julia's father to relocate her to Reggio in Southern Italy (Balsdon 85).
• However, some scholars speculate that she may really have been exiled due to the men with whom she was sleeping; she could have posed a political threat instead (Balsdon 85)....