Emperors of Rome | The Odd Couple: Claudius and Messalina (Lecture 12)

Lecture 12: Claudius’s reign was surprisingly successful. He embarked on the first major war of expansion since Augustus by adding Britain to the empire and was a conscientious if pedantic man and an attentive ruler, versed in history and tradition. But his reign was not without its problems. One pillar of the tradition about Claudius is that he lived under the thumb of powerful subordinates, notably his freedmen and wives. Chief among these was Messalina, his third wife. The sources represent Messalina as an amoral nymphomaniac. Modern interpretations prefer to see her as cleverly deploying sex to manipulate court politics. Whatever her motives and moves, Messalina took a step too far in October 47. When Claudius was away visiting Ostia, she married another man, consul-elect Gaius Silius. In response, Claudius’s cunning secretaries orchestrated Messalina’s execution, directing a stunned and passive Claudius to do their bidding. The meaning of these much-studied, even bizarre events is assessed against the wider backdrop of the political role of imperial women.

Essential Reading:
Cassius Dio, Roman History, book 60 (in epitome only).
Suetonius, Life of Claudius.
Tacitus, Annals, book 11.

Supplementary Reading:
DIR, “Claudius.”
Levick, Claudius, chapters 5–6.