Cornelia was first married to
Publius Licinius Crassus, son of
Marcus Licinius Crassus, in 55 BC, when he was in Rome between service with
Julius Caesar in
Gaul and his father in
Syria. After the younger Crassus' death at the
Battle of Carrhae, Cornelia became the fifth wife of the significantly older
Pompey in 52 BC. At the start of the
civil war between Pompey and Caesar, Cornelia and Pompey's son from a previous marriage,
Sextus Pompey, were sent to the
Aegean island
Lesbos. During her stay there, a statue was erected in
Pergamum in her honour for services to that city. After Pompey's defeat at
Pharsalus in 48 BC, she rejoined Pompey in August at
Mytilene and went with him on his ill-fated flight to
Ptolemaic Egypt. Landing on the shore, Pompey was murdered with Cornelia watching from the ship. After Pompey's death, she fled to Cyprus with Sextus and afterwards returned to Italy with Caesar's permission to bury Pompey's ashes on his Alban estate.
Plutarch described her as a beautiful woman of good character, well read, and a skilled player of the lyre. She was also very well educated in geometry and philosophy. ==Cultural references==