Atia of the Julii

Atia of the Julii
Rome character
Walker as Atia (2005)
First appearance	"The Stolen Eagle"
Last appearance	"De Patre Vostro (About Your Father)"
Portrayed by	Polly Walker
Information
Gender	Female
Occupation	Socialite
Title	Patrician
Significant other(s)	Mark Antony
Children	Octavian (Augustus) Octavia of the Julii
Relatives	Julius Caesar (uncle)

Atia of the Julii is a character from the HBO/BBC/RAI original television series Rome, played by Polly Walker from 2005 to 2007. The niece of Julius Caesar and mother of Octavian/Augustus and Octavia, she is depicted as a cheerfully amoral and opportunistic manipulator whose family connections and sexual liaisons have made her a highly influential figure in Roman society. Atia is loosely based on the historical figure Atia Balba Caesonia. Rome Historical Consultant Jonathan Stamp has said that the character was based on more well-known Roman women of the period, like Clodia.

Walker's performance as Atia earned her a 2005 Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series – Drama. Michael Ventre of Variety called Atia the "most complex character" in the series, noting that "She can be loyal and loving, yet she is capable of doing the most villainous things."

You are swearing now that some day you will destroy me. Remember: far better women than you have sworn to do the same. Go look for them now.

The HBO website provides the following character description:

Niece of Caesar, Atia of the Julii is snobbish, willful, cunning, and sexually voracious. In a culture in which women lack formal power and men leave for years on military campaigns, the wives, daughters, and mothers have built powerful networks and alliances completely independent of the men's worlds. Atia is among the women who serve as the shadow rulers of Rome.

Portrayed as the anti-heroine and femme fatale of the series, Atia is greedy and ambitious, and will do virtually anything to get what she wants. Seduction, humiliation and violence (including murder) are all tools acceptable to her; Atia's occasional hypocrisy is overshadowed by her general acceptance of her own extremely corrupt and unethical nature. Fiercely protective of her family and their social status, Atia's motives usually involve advancement or self-preservation for the Julii. Her manipulations often extend to her own relatives; feeling that she knows best, Atia will not let even her children thwart her plans. Seeing a more advantageous match, Atia forcibly divorces her daughter Octavia from her first husband (and later has him eliminated).