Cornelia
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Cornelia
(kôrnēl`yə), fl. 2d cent. B.C., Roman matron, daughter of Scipio Africanus Major. She was the wife of Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus and mother of the GracchiGracchi, two Roman statesmen and social reformers, sons of the consul Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus and of Cornelia. The brothers were brought up with great care by their mother. Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, d.133 B.C., the elder of the Gracchi, fought at Carthage (146 B.
..... Click the link for more information. . She refused to remarry after her husband's death, devoting herself to her children, whom she educated well and inspired with a sense of civic duty and a desire for glory. When a wealthy patrician woman spoke of her jewels, Cornelia pointed to her two sons, saying, "These are my jewels!" Whether she supported the revolutionary tendencies of her sons or tempered them is debated by historians.
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Cornelia
indicates that two sons are her jewels. [Rom. Hist.: Hall, 75]
See: Love, Maternal
Allusions—Cultural, Literary, Biblical, and Historical: A Thematic Dictionary. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.