Emperors of Rome | Power and Poison: Agrippina and Claudius (Lecture 13)

Lecture 13: While Livia Drusilla and Messalina had been powerful, they pale beside Agrippina the Younger, perhaps the most prominent female dynastic figure of the century and, arguably, in all of Roman history. This woman was connected to four of the five Julio Claudian emperors: She was the great-granddaughter of Augustus, the sister of Caligula, the niece and wife of Claudius, and the mother of Nero. Her early life, although obscure, suggests a towering ambition and a willingness to act. Despite suspicion and exile, Agrippina struggled and survived to emerge as a major player in the years after 49, when she replaced Messalina as Claudius’s wife. She set about establishing her own ascendancy over Claudius and maneuvering on behalf of her teenage son, Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, despite Claudius having his own natural son, Britannicus. In 50, young Lucius was adopted by Claudius and renamed Nero Claudius Caesar (Nero). Four years later, Claudius was dead, and Nero, at 16 years of age, became emperor of Rome. For this, he could thank his mother, Agrippina. In this lecture, we consider the nature of Agrippina’s political prominence, brazenly broadcast in ways heretofore unthinkable.

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

Supplementary Reading:
De Imperatoribus Romanis (DIR), “Caligula,” “Claudius.”
Levick, Claudius, chapters 5−6.