The Terrifying Intimate Practices of Rome's Most Perverted Empress Valeria Messalina

Crimson Tales of History Podcast
The Terrifying Intimate Practices of Rome's Most Perverted Empress Valeria Messalina

They called her virtue.
But what Rome's youngest empress became was something far worse than scandal.
In 38 CE, young Valeria Messalina was chosen as Rome's salvation after Caligula's madness. Golden-haired, aristocratic, perfect - she married Emperor Claudius to restore virtue to the empire.
What followed was calculated psychological warfare.
From midnight brothel visits under the alias "Lycisca" to contests that shocked professional courtesans, from blackmail controlling the Senate to staging a wedding with another man while still empress, these weren't acts of passion. They were systematic control proving shame could bind Rome's elite more completely than any law.
In 48 CE, Rome struck back. They didn't just execute her, they erased her. Damnatio memoriae. Statues smashed. Name chiseled from history.
Yet two thousand years later, her story refuses to die.
Roman Empire, Valeria Messalina, Emperor Claudius, Roman history, dark history, Palatine Palace, Roman empresses, psychological warfare, damnatio memoriae, ancient Rome, Crimson Historians, history facts, historical mysteries, ancient history, historical curiosities, lesser-known history, history secrets, historical events, unsolved mysteries, history mysteries, history trivia, world history, history discoveries, historical documentaries, strange history, weird history, forgotten history, mysterious events, ancient civilizations, historical stories, history education, famous mysteries, bizarre history, fun history facts.

Sources:
Tacitus (Annals XI), Suetonius (The Twelve Caesars), Cassius Dio (Roman History LX), Juvenal (Satires VI)

⚠️ Educational purposes only. Does NOT promote hatred or violence. Presented to ensure history is remembered and analyzed critically.