Individual Details

Death

Julia died from malnutrition some time after Augustus' death in 14, but before 15.[23] With her father dead and no sons to take the throne, Julia was left completely at the mercy of the new emperor, Tiberius, who was free to exact his vengeance. The circumstances of her death are obscure. One theory is that Tiberius, who loathed her for dishonouring their marriage, had her starved to death. Another theory is that upon learning her last surviving son Agrippa Postumus had been murdered, she succumbed to despair. Simultaneously, her alleged paramour Sempronius Gracchus, who had endured 14 years of exile on Cercina (Kerkenna) off the African coast, was executed at Tiberius' instigation,[15] or on the independent initiative of Nonius Asprenas, proconsul of Africa. Julia's daughter Julia the Younger was also exiled in 8 AD on a charge of adultery on the same island as her mother - but actually for involvement in the attempted revolt by her husband Lucius Aemilius Paullus - and died in 29 AD after 20 years of exile; she was also forbidden to be buried in Augustus' tomb by his will.

Exile

Reluctant to execute her, Augustus decided on Julia's exile, in harsh conditions. She was confined on the island of Pandateria, with no men in sight, forbidden even to drink wine. The island itself measures less than 1.75 square kilometres (0.68 sq mi). She was allowed no visitor unless her father had given permission and had been informed of the stature, complexion, and even of any marks or scars upon his body. Scribonia, Julia's biological mother, accompanied her into exile. Upon any mention of her and Julia, he would say: aith ophelon agamos t'emeni agonos t'apolesthai meaning "Would I were wifeless, or had childless died!" [from the Iliad].[22] He rarely called her by any other name than that of his three imposthumes, or cancers. The exile of his daughter left Augustus both regretful and rancorous for the rest of his life.
Five years later, Julia was allowed to return to the mainland, though Augustus never forgave her and ordered her to remain in Rhegium. He explicitly gave instructions that she should not be buried in his Mausoleum of Augustus.