My name is Claudia Olympias, and I am a freeborn Roman citizen, daughter of Tiberius Claudius Olympus, an important imperial freedman. As you can see from my dress and my exquisite hairdo, I am a very wealthy woman. I inherited some of my wealth from my industrious father, but I am a shrewd businesswoman. I trained my slave Epithymetus in the craft of working in silver, and after I freed him I set him up in business in a silversmith's shop on the Sacra Via Summa, one of the most high-class shopping areas in Rome. I am sure you will find a beautiful silver piece that seems to be made just for you in his shop (such as my exquisite silver mirror). He and his family do very well from the shop, and as his patron I receive a substantial portion of the profits.
My husband, Occius Publilius Eutychus, has a name that means "good fortune," and he was certainly fortunate when he married me. I was 16 when we married, and our partnership has been a happy one, especially because he doesn't interfere with my businesses or try to tell me how to run my life; indeed, he always defers to my good judgment. Both Epithymetus and Eutychus have prepared dignified inscriptions for me, and you will find that every word they say is true!
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