Octavia Earrings

These darling earrings are delicate and sweet, and have a design that is so current! In fact, the pair is modeled after an ancient Roman example. The design on the front was a very popular motif in Roman art, and while it appears to depict a heart, it was, in fact, a full and beautiful ivy leaf. As one of the attributes of the god Dionysus, ivy was a powerful symbol associated with eternal happiness. One prominent Octavia in Roman times was Octavia the Younger (69 - 11 BC), the younger sister of the leader under whom Rome would become an empire, Octavian/Augustus. This Octavia was also the fourth wife of Mark Antony, with whom she had two daughters before he divorced her to live with Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt. As a powerful member of the imperial family, Octavia was admired for her strength, loyalty, humanity, and the fact that she was, by all accounts, the perfect Roman matron. "[Augustus] was exceedingly fond of his sister, who was, as the saying is, a wonder of a woman...[possessing] great beauty, intelligence and dignity." - Plutarch (first/second century AD), Antony, 31.1-2