Statue of Agrippina. The deadly beauty of Agrippina (Agrippina, mother of Nero). Messalina - the most famous Roman woman

Agrippina the Younger is one of the most famous women of antiquity.

She gained her fame, of course, for the intrigues associated with her, the murder of husbands, attempts to assassinate emperors and coups d'etat.

Ambitious Roman women often did this - take Messalina, the rival of Agrippina the Younger. Ancient Roman emancipation was a harsh thing.

In total, Agrippina became a witness to the power (and at the same time a relative) of four emperors:

Tiberius;
Caligula;
Claudius;
Nero is her son.

Elevation

Julia Augusta Agrippina was of a noble family, but for the time being her family was in oblivion. She was a relative of Emperor Tiberius. When she turned 13, the emperor decided to marry her off; in those days, a girl at that age was considered quite an adult.

Agrippina's husband was Ahenobarbus, a noble consul, but he was more than 30 years older than the girl. Agrippina lived with him for quite a long time and even managed to give birth to a son from him - the future Emperor Nero.

From the very beginning, Agrippina was a vain and arrogant girl; she decided to become an empress at all costs. In her opinion, the throne should have been taken by her faithful husband. However, he was not at all interested in the imperial crown - he loved noisy companies, drinking bouts and parties.

The “blessed” was a rowdy, constantly cheating on his wife - however, she answered him in kind. Scandals constantly occurred between the spouses, but the thug Ahenobarbus was afraid to raise his hand against the fragile Agrippina and respected her for her strong character.

After Nero was conceived, Ahenobarbus disappeared from home. A couple of years later he died altogether, to which his ex-wife is believed to be involved. Be that as it may, Agrippina rejoiced when she heard about her husband’s death.

Emperor's sister

By that time, Tiberius had died, and Caligula, Agrippina's brother, became the new emperor. The fate of the girl and her two sisters changed dramatically - the brother brought them closer to the court, ordered their portraits to be minted on coins, ordered their names to be glorified along with his own - in general, he established a real cult of personality for the sisters.

It was rumored that Caligula indulged in depraved orgies with his close relatives; however, there is little evidence of this, in contrast to evidence of the opposite - that Caligula did not love women at all, but indulged in love affairs with men. The main favorite and concubine of the emperor was Marcus Aemilius Lepidus.

Having ruled wisely at first, Caligula then went crazy and established draconian rules in the country. Agrippina took advantage of this, wanting to kill the madman hated by everyone - and take the throne herself. She hatched a conspiracy with the aforementioned handsome Lepidus, who agreed to fulfill her request in exchange for a night of love.

However, the plot was discovered, Lepidus was executed, and Agrippina and her second sister (the third, whom Caligula loved most, died tragically) were exiled to the distant Pontinian Islands, forbidden to help them in any way. Caligula soon died, replaced by Claudius. He took pity on his niece Agrippina and brought her closer to him, returning her from exile.

He himself was old, but his wife was a young and treacherous girl - the already mentioned Messalina. She considered Agrippina her main rival - after all, she had a son, Nero, who could take the throne from the “more legitimate” heir, Messalina’s son Britannicus. To protect herself, Messalina persuaded Claudius to marry Agrippina to the orator Passienus.

The speaker fell in love with his new wife, but he preferred quiet family happiness away from court intrigue, which did not suit Agrippina at all. Meanwhile, Messalina cheated on Claudius and planned his elimination, and Agrippina decided to take advantage of this. With her help, treason and conspiracy were discovered, and Messalina was executed.

Saddened Claudius fell in love with his niece. They were legally married (for which Agrippina quickly got rid of Passienus in her usual way). As a result of subsequent intrigues, Agrippina poisoned him too, beheading the Britannicus defense team. Her own son Nero took the imperial throne. After some time, “in gratitude for the service rendered,” the young emperor ordered the soldiers to kill his own mother, which was carried out without difficulty.

Agrippina the Younger was the eldest of the daughters of Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder.

The fate of Agrippina the Younger in her youth was not easy.

Agrippina the Younger. Marble. Copenhagen. Glyptothek New Carlsberg

Her father, mother and two older brothers fell victim to criminal machinations; her third brother, Emperor Caligula, first made her his mistress, and then sent her into exile in the Pontic Islands. Claudius, her uncle, having become emperor, returned her to Rome, where she had to endure a lot from Messalina.

Agrippina the Younger was given by Tiberius in marriage to Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, the grandson of Mark Antony and Octavia the Younger, about whom Suetonius says that he was “a most vile man at every time of his life” (Svet. Hep. 5); his father, Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, was an arrogant, cruel and rude man. When Agrippina the Younger gave birth to a son, her husband “in response to the congratulations of his friends exclaimed that from him and Agrippina nothing could be born except horror and grief for humanity” (Light. Hep. 6). This son was Nero, so the words of his father, who died soon, turned out to be prophetic.

Arrogant and cruel, hypocritical and greedy, Agrippina the Younger was possessed by a true passion for power. They said that once Agrippina asked the soothsayers about the fate of her son and they answered that he would reign, but would kill his mother, to which she said: “Let him kill, as long as he reigns!” (Tats. Ann. XIV, 9).

Agrippina the Younger. Marble. Rome. Private collection

After the death of Messalina in 48, Agrippina perked up and resolutely entered into the struggle for power. Tacitus talks about it like this:

“After the death of Messalina, the imperial court was gripped by excitement due to the struggle that arose between the freedmen over which of them should find a new wife for Claudia, who could not stand a celibate existence and fell under the power of each of his spouses. The women were also fired up with the same rivalry: each presented her nobility, beauty and wealth as a worthy basis for such a marriage. The dispute was mainly about who to prefer, the daughter of the former consul Marcus Lollius Lollia Paulina or the daughter of Germanicus Agrippina; the latter was supported by Pallant, the former by Callistus; for his part, Narcissus nominated Elia Petina (Claudius's former second wife). Claudius himself leaned this way and that, depending on which of his advisers he had just listened to.

What Pallant praised most about Agrippina was that she would bring with her her grandson Germanicus; It is quite worthy of the imperial family to join this scion of a noble family with the descendants of the Julios and Claudians and thereby prevent a woman of proven fertility and still young from taking the glory and greatness of the Caesars to another house.

Supported by the charms of Agrippina, these arguments prevailed: often visiting her uncle as a close relative, she seduced him and, preferred to the others, but not yet his wife, already began to use the power of his wife” (Tats. Ann. XII, 1-3).

Although Roman laws prohibited the marriage of uncle and niece, an exception was made for Claudius, and in 49 Agrippina the Younger became empress.

Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus. Bronze. Copenhagen. Glyptothek New Carlsberg

“Everything began to be run by a woman who managed the affairs of the Roman Empire, not at all prompted by unbridled self-will, like Messalina. Agrippina held the bridle taut, as if it were in a man's hand. In public she looked stern, and even more often arrogant; in her home life she did not allow the slightest deviation from the strict family structure, if this did not contribute to the strengthening of her power. She justified her exorbitant greed for gold with the desire to accumulate funds for the needs of the state” (Tats. Ann. XII, 7).

“The appearance of a woman in front of the army was, of course, an innovation and did not correspond to ancient Roman customs, but Agrippina herself did not miss the opportunity to show that she ruled together with her husband, sharing with him the power that her ancestors had gained” (Tat. Ann. XII , 37).

Agrippina took power into her own hands and wanted to maintain it. Therefore, she ensured that Claudius adopted Nero. But she wanted Nero not to have his own will and to be submissive to her in everything. That is why Agrippina entered into a fierce struggle with Domitia Lepida, the sister of her first husband, the granddaughter of Mark Antony and Octavia the Younger.

“In appearance, age and wealth, Agrippina and Domitius Lepidus were not much different from each other: both depraved, disgraced, unbridled - they competed no less in vices than in the little good that fate may have endowed them with. But most of all they fought among themselves over whose influence on Nero would prevail - the mother or the aunt; Lepida lured his youthful soul with affection and generosity, while Agrippina, on the contrary, was invariably stern and adamant with him: she wanted to give her son supreme power, but she could not tolerate his rule” (Tac. Ann XII, 64).

At the insistence of Agrippina, a criminal case was opened against Domitia Lepida: she was accused of witchcraft and sentenced to death. Narcissus tried with all his might to protect Lepidus, who understood that he would not succeed if Nero became emperor. But Narcissus was unable to fight Agrippina and he himself left Rome for Sinuessa, supposedly to restore his health.

Seneca. Marble. Berlin. State museums

This was the end of Narcissus's career.

Agrippina took advantage of the removal of Narcissus, who was still an influential person, and quickly organized the murder of Claudius. There were different stories about how he was poisoned, but no one doubted the fact of poisoning.

Claudius was deified, and Nero was proclaimed emperor with the cumbersome official name - Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus.

Agrippina quickly began to remove people she disliked; but she was prevented by Afranius Burrus, commander of the Praetorians, and Lucius Annaeus Seneca, whom she herself made Nero's mentor. “They entered into a struggle with the unbridled arrogance of Agrippina, possessed by all the passions of cruel lust for power and supported by Pallant, at whose instigation Claudius destroyed himself through incestuous marriage and fatal adoption. But Nero’s character was not such as to submit to slaves, and Pallant, with his impudent arrogance, exceeded the boundaries of what was permissible for a freedman, incurred his enmity. Outwardly, however, Agrippina was given all kinds of honors” (Tats. Ann. XIII, 2).

Agrippina's relationship with Nero inevitably deteriorated until it reached the point of open hostility and hatred. The enraged Agrippina finally found it necessary to remind Nero that he received power from her hands through a crime, but fourteen-year-old Britannicus, the legal heir of Claudius, was still alive.

The threat had an effect on Nero, and on his orders, Britannicus was poisoned at a feast in the presence of Agrippina.

Tacitus describes the tragic ending of the struggle between mother and son, unprecedented in Roman history, as follows:

“Nero, realizing in the end that his mother is a burden to him, decides to kill her and begins to consult with his entourage whether to do this through poison, or weapons, or in some other way.

First we settled on poison. But if you give it at Nero’s table, then the sudden death of Agrippina cannot be attributed to chance, for Britannicus also died under the same circumstances; and bribing the servants of Agrippina, experienced in atrocities and learned to be careful, was not an easy task; Moreover, fearing poison, she constantly took antidotes.

As for the murder with the use of a weapon, no one could figure out how in this case the violent nature of her death could be hidden; in addition, Nero was afraid that the chosen executor of such a matter might not carry out the orders.

Finally, the freedman Anicetus, commander of the fleet and tutor of Nero during his adolescence, who hated Agrippina and was hated by her, outlined the cunning plan he had come up with. “He declared that he could arrange a special device on the ship so that, when it went out to sea, it would break into pieces and sink the unsuspecting Agrippina: after all, nothing is as fraught with accidents as the sea; and if she dies in a shipwreck, will there be anyone so malicious as to explain as a crime what the wind and waves are to blame for? And Nero will then erect a temple and altars for his deceased mother and generally spare no effort to show himself as a loving son.

This cleverly conceived plan was approved. The circumstances themselves were also favorable to him, for Nero celebrated one of the holidays in Baiae (near Naples). Here he lures his mother, repeatedly declaring that he should patiently endure the anger of his parents and suppress irritation in himself, and hoping that the rumor about his readiness for reconciliation will reach Agrippina, who will believe him with the ease characteristic of women when it comes to what she desires. them.

So, having met her on the shore, he took her hand, hugged her and led her to Bavly (that was the name of the villa near the sea). Here, together with others, a ship stood at the pier, distinguished by its elegant decoration, by which the emperor also seemed to show respect for his mother.

Nero invited her to dinner, hoping that the night would help him attribute her death to accident.

It is well known that someone betrayed Nero and warned Agrippina about the trap, and she, not knowing whether to believe it, went to Bailly on a horse-drawn stretcher.

There, however, her son's affectionateness dispelled her fears; he received her with special courtesy and placed her at the table above him.

Continuously maintaining a conversation, now with youthful ease and liveliness, now with a concentrated look, as if he were telling her something extremely important, he prolonged the feast; seeing her off to his place, he looks into her eyes for a long time, without stopping, and warmly presses her to his chest, either to maintain the pretense to the end, or perhaps because saying goodbye to his mother, doomed to death, touched him soul, no matter how brutal it may be.

But the gods, as if to make the crime obvious, sent Yas - a starry night with a serene calm sea. The ship did not have time to sail far; Along with Agrippina there were only two of her close associates - Gallus Crepere, who stood not far from the helm, and Acerronia, who sat down at her feet on the bed and spoke with joyful excitement about her son’s repentance and that she had regained her former influence, when suddenly to this sign, the lead-weighted roof of the cabin they occupied collapses; Creperey was crushed by her and immediately gave up the ghost, and Agrippina and Acerronia were protected by the high walls of the bed, which accidentally turned out to be strong enough to withstand the weight of the collapsed ceiling.

The disintegration of the ship did not follow, since during the general confusion that arose, many, not privy to the secret plan, prevented those who were entrusted with carrying it out.

Then the oarsmen were given the order to tilt the ship to one side and thus sink it; but this time there was no coordination between them necessary for joint actions, and some tried to tilt it in the opposite direction, so that both women were not thrown into the sea by a sudden push, but smoothly slid into the water.

Acerronia, who foolishly shouted that she was Agrippina, was beaten to death with hooks, oars and other ship accessories that came to hand, while Agrippina, who remained silent and for this reason was unrecognized (however, she also received a wound in the shoulder), first swam, and then on one of the oncoming fishing boats she reached the shore and was taken to her villa.

There, having reflected on the purpose for which she was invited by a hypocritical letter, why she was given such honors, how, at the very shore, the ship, not driven by the wind and not running into the rocks, began to collapse from above, like a ground structure, and also taking into account the murder of Acerronia and looking at her wound, she decided that the only way to protect herself from another attempt was to pretend that she did not suspect anything.

She sends the freedman Agerin to her son with instructions to tell him that by the grace of the gods and protected by his happiness, she was saved from almost certain death and that she asks him, no matter how alarmed he was by the danger that his mother experienced, to postpone his visit: for the present all she needs is rest.

After this, with the same feigned calmness, she applies healing potions to the wound and warming compresses to the body, and also orders to find Acerronia’s will and to seal the things left behind, only acting in this without pretense.

And Nero, who was awaiting news of the execution of the atrocity, was meanwhile informed that the slightly wounded Agrippina had escaped, having endured so many disasters of this kind that she could not remain in doubt about who their true culprit was.

Dead from fear, Nero exclaims that, seized by a thirst for revenge, whether by arming slaves, stirring up soldiers against him, or appealing to the Senate and people, she is about to appear to blame him for the shipwreck, her wound and the murder of her friends; What then will help him if Burr and Seneca don’t come up with something!

And he orders them to be urgently awakened and orders them to immediately come to him; it is unknown whether they were privy to his plans in advance.

Both of them remain silent for a long time, so as not to contradict him in vain, or, perhaps, believing that things have gone so far that if you don’t get ahead of Agrippina, then nothing will save Nero from death.

Finally, Seneca, having mustered up his resolve, looked at Burrus and asked him whether it was possible to give the order to the soldiers to kill Agrippina.

He replied that the Praetorians were bound by an oath of allegiance to the entire house of the Caesars and, remembering Germanicus, would not dare to raise a hand against his daughter: let Anicetus himself fulfill his promise.

He, without hesitation, offers to entrust the implementation of this crime to him.

In response to his words, Nero says that then he, Nero, will be granted autocracy and that he will owe such a priceless gift to the freedman; so let him hurry up and take with him people who are ready to unquestioningly obey his orders.

And Nero himself, having learned about the arrival of Agerin, sent by Agrippina, decides to bring a false accusation against her. While he is speaking, Nero throws a sword at his feet, and then orders him to be put in chains, intending to later slanderously announce that the emperor’s mother, who had planned to make an attempt on his life and was disgraced by being caught in a criminal act, had voluntarily put herself to death.

Meanwhile, news of Agrippina's accident spreads, and everyone, hearing about it, runs to the shore. Some climb onto the slopes of the coastal dams, others jump into the boats that were there; still others enter the water as far as their growth allows. Some extend their arms forward; The entire coast resounds with lamentations, cries of prayer, confused questions and confused answers. A countless crowd of people with torches gathered, and when it became known that Agrippina was alive, those gathered intended to go to her with congratulations, but fled at the sight of a military detachment that appeared with threats.

Anicetus, surrounding the villa with armed guards, breaks open the gate and, pushing aside the slaves who came out to meet him, approaches the doors of the chamber occupied by Agrippina; A few people remained near him, the rest were driven away by fear of the intruders.

The peace was dimly lit. Agrippina, who had only one slave with her, was increasingly overcome by anxiety: no one came from her son, and Agerin did not return: if things had gone well, everything would have gone differently; and now - emptiness and silence, sudden noises - harbingers of the worst.

When the slave went to the exit, Agrippina, saying: “And you are leaving me,” looks back at the door and, seeing Anicetus with the trierarch (captain) Herculeus and the naval centurion (chief) Obaritus accompanying him, tells him that if he has come, to check on her, let him tell you that she has already come to her senses; if - to commit an atrocity, then she does not believe that this is the will of the son, he did not give the order to kill the mother.

Meanwhile, the killers surround her bed. The trierarch was the first to hit her on the head with a stick. And when the centurion began to draw his sword to kill her, she, exposing her stomach to him, exclaimed: “Strike the belly!” - and he finished her off, inflicting many wounds on her.

Her body was burned that same night with the most modest funeral rites performed.

But only after the commission of this crime did Nero feel its enormity. Motionless and immersed in silence, and more often tossing about with fear and half-mad, he spent the rest of the night waiting for the dawn to bring him death” (Tats. Ann. XIV, 3-10).

On her father's side she was a direct descendant of the ancient patrician family of the Claudians, and on her mother's side she belonged to the equestrian family of the Vipsanii.

Agrippina was born in Oppid Ubior (modern Cologne, Germany), on the Rhine. Until the age of 18, she remained in Germany with her parents and older brothers and sisters. In 18, the entire family, except Caligula, returned to Rome, and the children were left to be raised by the mother of Tiberius and Drusus the Elder - the widow of Augustus, Livia Drusilla. A year later, her father died unexpectedly in Antioch.

In 28, when Agrippina was 13 years old, Tiberius married her to Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus. Gnaeus Domitius was more than thirty years older than Agrippina. He came from the ancient plebeian family of the Domitians. Born into the family of Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, consul of 16, and his wife, Antonia the Elder, niece of Augustus and daughter of Mark Antony from Octavia the Younger.

In 32, Gnaeus Domitius became consul. All the time, until the death of Tiberius, the couple lived in a villa between Anzium (modern Anzio, Italy) and Rome. The fate of Agrippina is closely connected with this villa. Here her son was born, and almost here the soldiers, on his orders, killed her.

They said that once Agrippina asked the soothsayers about the fate of her son and they answered that he would reign, but would kill his mother, to which she replied, “Let him kill, as long as he reigns.”

Tiberius died in March 37. Power passed to Agrippina's brother, Caligula. That same year, on December 15, Agrippina had a son. The boy was named in honor of the father of Gnaeus Domitius - Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus.

A short time after coming to power, Caligula awarded his three sisters - Agrippina, Julia Drusilla and Julia Livilla - special honors, the main of which were:

* the appearance of three sisters on coins of that time,

Best of the day

* granting the sisters the rights and freedoms of vestals, including the right to view games and competitions with best places reserved for senators

* public oaths were now taken not only in the name of the emperor, but also in the name of his sisters

* Senate resolutions began with the words “May good luck accompany the emperor and his sisters...”

The reason for this attitude of Caligula towards the sisters lay in the relationships that existed between them. Almost all ancient historians almost unanimously declare that Caligula indulged in debauchery with his sisters, and also did not oppose their promiscuous relationships with other men. Feasts on the Palatine Hill, in which sisters were always participants, often ended in depraved orgies. Agrippna's marriage was not an obstacle to the life she led.

Her main lover was their maternal cousin, Julia Drusilla's husband, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, who also had a love affair with her third sister, Julia Livilla. But in general, at that time Agrippina herself was greedy for men. It is possible that the reason for this was almost complete permissiveness. There is evidence that for some time she tried to make her lover Servius Sulpicius Galba, consul of 33, who in 68 was destined to become the main opponent of her son Nero and, having overthrown him, become emperor himself. However, Galba remained faithful to his wife, and Agrippina was publicly condemned by Galba's mother-in-law, who slapped her.

On June 10, 38, Caligula's most beloved sister, Julia Drusilla, unexpectedly died. Caligula suffered greatly from this blow. At his direction, the Senate awarded her the title “Divine,” recognizing her as the incarnation of Venus. The emperor's attitude towards Agrippina and Julia Livilla changed dramatically.

In 39, both sisters and their lover Lepidus were accused of plotting to overthrow the emperor and seize power in favor of Lepidus. Caligula also accused them all of debauchery and adultery.

After a short trial, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus was sentenced to death and executed. The sisters were exiled to the Pontinian Islands, located in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Caligula appropriated and sold all their property. It was forbidden to provide them with any assistance. To feed themselves, Agrippina and Julia were forced to dive for sponges to the seabed in the vicinity of the islands, and then sell what they collected.

Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, despite the exposed conspiracy in which his wife participated, continued to be in Rome or in his country villas with his son. However, in 40 he died of dropsy in Pirgi (modern Santa Severa, Italy). All his property went to Caligula. Little Nero was given to be raised by his aunt, Domitia Lepida the Younger.

On January 24, 41, soldiers of the Praetorian Guard, dissatisfied with Caligula's rule, under the command of the centurion Cassius Chaerea, stabbed the emperor with swords. The same fate befell his wife Milonia Caesonia. The two-year-old daughter Julia Drusilla, named after her beloved sister, was killed by smashing her head.

The Senate, in the wake of the conspiracy, was ready to restore the republic, but the Praetorians unexpectedly showed their support to Claudius, the uncle of Caligula and Agrippina, the brother of Germanicus, proclaiming him emperor. The new emperor in the same year 41 returned his nieces from exile. Julia Livilla returned to her husband, consular Marcus Vinicius, who had not suffered from Caligula’s rule.

Agrippina had nowhere to return. Then Claudius arranged the marriage of Agrippina with Gaius Sallust Passienus Crispus. Gaius Sallust was at that moment the husband of Domitia Lepida the Elder, another aunt of Nero. Also, Domitia Lepida was a maternal cousin of Claudius himself. However, this did not stop him from forcing Gaius Sallust to divorce Domitia and marry Agrippina.

Guy Sallust was a rich and powerful man, consul of 22 and 44. He was a distant relative of the famous Roman historian Sallust, who adopted him. Having married Agrippina, Passienus Crispus also takes the young Nero into his home.

Claudius's wife during these years was Messalina. And although Agrippina practically did not appear in the palace of Claudius and did not engage in politics, Messalina quickly realized that Nero would be a serious rival in the struggle for power with her own son, Britannicus.

Messalina sends hired killers to the house of Passienus Crispus, who were supposed to strangle the boy while he slept. However, according to legend, the killers retreated in horror when they saw that Nero's sleep at his pillow was guarded by a snake.

In 47, Guy Sallust dies. A rumor immediately spreads throughout Rome that Agrippina poisoned her husband in order to take possession of his wealth. After the death of Crispus, the only heirs to his huge fortune are Nero and Agrippina.

In 48, while Claudius was in Ostia, the wayward Messalina decided to excommunicate the weak-willed Claudius from power and make her lover, Gaius Silius, emperor. Silius was childless and had to adopt Britannicus so that power would then pass to him. Fulfilling her plan, Messalina even married Silius in the presence of witnesses and signed a marriage contract, although she was not divorced from Claudius.

One of the influential freedmen at the court of Claudius, who held the post of correspondence officer (lat. praepositus ab epistulis) Tiberius Claudius Narcissus, reported this to the emperor. He, being a soft and pliable man, hesitated in making a decision, and Narcissus himself, on behalf of the emperor, gave the Praetorians the command to capture and execute Messalina and Silius.

Immediately after the execution of Messalina, the search for a new wife for Claudius began. Knowing his nature, and the fact that he easily fell under the influence of his wives, influential people from his circle nominated noble Roman women in order to then control the emperor through them.

Narcissus, the whistleblower of the conspiracy favored by Claudius, advised him to remarry Elia Pecin. Claudius was already married to her and divorced to marry Messalina. However, Claudius listened to the opinion of another freedman - Mark Anthony Pallas. Pallas was the treasurer of the state treasury, and a good treasurer at that. From the beginning of Claudius' reign he became very much one of the most powerful men in the empire.

Back in 47, Agrippina became Pallas' mistress. After the death of Messalina, he proposed her candidacy to Claudius as his new wife. Narcissus also supported her candidacy - after the execution of Messalina, he feared the revenge of Britannicus if he became emperor. If Agrippina became Claudius’ wife, then it was clear that Nero would most likely be the next emperor.

At first Claudius hesitated. However, the persuasion of Pallas, mainly about uniting the branches of Germanicus and Claudius and thereby strengthening the dynasty, as well as the passion, pressure and beauty of Agrippina did their job. By that time, Agrippina had just turned 33 years old. Pliny the Elder writes that she was a beautiful and respected woman, but ruthless, ambitious, despotic and domineering. He also says that she had wolf fangs, which was a sign of good luck.

The emperor agreed with the words: “I agree, since this is my daughter, raised by me, born and raised on my knees...”. On January 1, 49, Claudius and Agrippina got married.

While not yet the emperor's wife, Agrippina upset the engagement of Claudius' daughter, Claudius Octavia, to Lucius Junius Silanus Torquatus, her distant relative. Together with the censor Lucius Vitellius, they accused Silanus of adultery with his sister, Junia Calvina, to whom one of Vitellius' sons, Lucius, was married.

Silanus was forced to commit suicide, Calvina received a divorce and was sent into exile. Thus, Claudia Octavia became free for Nero. Later, in 54, Agrippina ordered the death of Silan's older brother, Mark, in order to protect Nero from the revenge of the Silans.

Immediately after her marriage, Agippina got rid of another candidate who was considered as a possible wife of Claudius. This was Lollia Paulina, who in 1938 was married to Caligula for six months. Caligula divorced her because he considered her infertile. Paulina lived in Rome, and during the time of Caligula she was forbidden to communicate with men. Agrippina accused her of black magic. Paulina's property was confiscated and she was ordered to leave Italy. Having gone into exile, Paulina committed suicide.

In 50, at the insistence of Claudius, she received the title of Augustus. She became the first woman to receive this title during her husband's reign, and the second, after Livia, to receive it during her lifetime. In the same year, the Senate gives the post-Oppida Ubior the status of a colony and renames it Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensis. Later the city began to be called simply Colonia Agrippina (lat. Colonia Agrippinensis), (modern Cologne, Germany)

in 50 Agrippina persuaded Claudius to adopt Nero, which was done. Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus became known as Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus. Claudius officially recognized him as his heir, and also engaged him to his daughter, Claudia Octavia. At the same time, Agrippina returned Seneca from exile to become the teacher of the young heir.

In 51, she was granted the right to appear in public in a special chariot, which was previously used only by pontiffs to transport statues of the gods. In the same year, on her instructions, Sextus Afranius Burrus, a native of Narbonne Gaul, was appointed prefect of the Praetorian Guard. Burrus was Nero's mentor, a man devoted and obliged to Agrippina. His task was to set up the Praetorians to transfer power after the death of Claudius to Nero, and not to Britannicus.

Agrippina had complete influence on Claudius. She deprives Britannicus of all rights to power and removes him from the court. In 51, she orders the execution of Britannicus's mentor, Sosebius, who was outraged by her behavior, the adoption of Nero and the isolation of Britannicus. On June 9, 53, Nero marries Claudia. However, the emperor begins to become disillusioned with his marriage to Agrippina. He again brings Britannicus closer to him and begins to prepare him for power, treating Nero and Agrippina more and more coolly. Seeing this, Agrippina realized that Nero's only chance of coming to power was to do it as quickly as possible. On October 13, 54, Claudius dies after eating a plate of mushrooms offered by Agrippina. However, some ancient historians say that Claudius died of natural causes.

Nero was 16 years old when his mother gave him virtually unlimited power over the world. In gratitude for this, she was declared a servant of the cult of the Divine Claudius, who was deified by Nero immediately after his death. During the first time of Nero's reign, Agrippina was the real ruler of the state. She was granted the right to attend Senate meetings behind a curtain.

However, Nero soon fell under the spell of the freedwoman Claudia Acta. Being, most likely, brought by Claudius from his campaigns in Asia Minor, she knew the palace rules quite well. Seeing that Nero was interested in her, Burrus and Seneca, dissatisfied with the rule of Agrippina, brought Acta and the emperor together, hoping to influence Nero through her.

Agrippina was against her son's mistress and publicly reprimanded Nero for getting involved with a former slave. However, Nero had already left her obedience. Then Agrippina began to weave intrigues, intending to nominate Britannicus as the rightful emperor. But her plan failed. In February 55, Britannicus was poisoned on the orders of Nero.

After this, Nero, listening to his mentors, expels Agrippina from the palace and deprives her of all honors, including her bodyguards. When Agrippina tries to stop him, he says that otherwise he will renounce power and go to Rhodes himself. Following Agrippina, Pallas also loses his place at court. The fall of Pallas was a complete victory for the party of Seneca and Burrus, and the defeat of Agrippina. Now Nero himself became the full-fledged ruler of the state.

In 58, Nero became close to Poppaea Sabina, a noble, intelligent and beautiful representative of the Roman nobility. Agrippina saw in her a dangerous and calculating rival in the struggle for power. She tried with all her might to return Nero to Claudius Augusta, or at least Acte.

However, rumors spread at court that Agrippina was trying to remove her son from power and transfer it to Gaius Rubellius Plautus, the son of Julia Livia, daughter of Livilla. In the female line, Rubellius Plautus was a direct descendant of Tiberius. Upon learning of this, Nero decides to kill Agrippina.

He tried to poison her three times, sent a freedman to stab her, and even tried to bring down the ceiling and walls of her room while she slept. However, she happily escaped death.

In March 59, in Baia (modern Baia, Italy), Nero invited her to take a trip on a ship, which was supposed to collapse on the way. However, Agrippina was almost the only one who managed to escape and swim to the shore - her past as a sponge diver affected her. In anger, Nero ordered to openly kill her.

Agrippina, seeing the soldiers, understood her fate and asked to be stabbed in the stomach, where the womb is located, thereby making it clear that she repented of having given birth to such a son. Nero burned her body that same night, receiving congratulations from the Senate. He later allowed her slaves to bury her ashes in a modest tomb at Misenum (now part of Naples).

Then Nero admitted more than once that the image of his mother haunts him at night. In order to get rid of her ghost, he even hired Persian magicians. There were legends that long before Nero became emperor, Agrippina was told that her son would become emperor, but would also cause her death. Her answer was: “Let him kill me if it makes him emperor.”

AGRIPPINA YOUNGER

LORD OF THE EMPIRE

This woman, like no other in the history of civilization, demonstrated how powerful and dangerous a woman’s weapon is her sexuality.

Agrippina's father Gaius Germanicus, a brilliant commander, was the grandson of Mark Antony, no less famous in the history of Rome and a statesman covered in glory. Her mother, Agrippina the Elder, was the granddaughter of Emperor Octavian Augustus, and her grandfather, Marcus Agrippa, was one of the most prominent generals in the history of the Roman Empire, who actually laid the empire at the feet of Augustus. During her father's victorious triumph and during countless religious celebrations, Agrippina intuitively realized her exclusivity and belonging to the upper class.

At the same time, fear also settled in the girl’s soul - she watched with silent horror as the popularity of her father and mother enraged her powerful and evil great-grandmother Livia, who had long been mired in numerous crimes. The rapidly growing daughter, naturally, could not help but understand that her mother’s fate was predetermined, and sometimes she was even surprised at how long she managed to survive. But from the example of this struggle, she began to learn that the impregnable hardness of a stone can be undermined by flattery, cunning and well-planned intrigue, and the use of eternal traitors to the will - human instincts - can shake any rock...

The continuous chain of deaths around her hardened her and made her, if not insensitive, then fearless, and women's intuition and early life experience already suggested that the cause and goal of everything that was happening was power.

Agrippina the Younger. Marble. Rome. Private collection

Agrippina, who knew from her youth that yesterday's friends can become enemies, but enemies will never become true friends, began with a firm hand to cross off those unwanted from the list of the living. Agrippina turned out to be a woman with multifaceted strategic thinking, characteristic of only a few men. When starting a deadly game, she calculated her moves far in advance.

Thus, she returned the famous Stoic philosopher Lucius Annaeus Seneca from many years of exile, whom she made her son’s tutor. In her dreams, the new Augusta saw in her son a man equal in fortitude and talent to Alexander the Great. In her graceful, ecstatic movement in power, Agrippina ceased to take into account the presence of her husband. However, despite all the weakness of spirit and body, Claudius had supporters who were enraged by the rule of a woman blinded by her own greatness.
Agrippina committed a number of unfeminine acts: she demonstrated her power in front of the soldiers, her greatness in front of the senators, and her arrogance in front of men in general. She went even further, beginning, like a chronicler, historical notes about her time and the role she played on the stage of the empire. As if she was afraid that men, as in the time of Libya, would take credit for many of her deeds. Empress-historian. This has never happened before or after it.

She clearly intended to leave her name to posterity. What is the reason for such asocial and atypical behavior for a woman, the choice of such a strange life strategy? Is it not that from early childhood, while hardening herself to fight for survival in a male world, she distorted her feminine side, making herself a man in a female guise?

Agrippina the Younger. Marble. Copenhagen. Glyptothek New Carlsberg

Agrippina was born into the family of Germanicus, nephew and adopted son of Emperor Tiberius, and his wife, Agrippina the Elder.
Agrippina was born in Oppid Ubior (modern Cologne, Germany), on the Rhine. Until the age of 18, she remained in Germany with her parents and older brothers and sisters. In 18, the entire family, except Caligula, returned to Rome, and the children were left to be raised by the mother of Tiberius and Drusus the Elder, the widow of Augustus, Livia Drusilla. A year later, her father died unexpectedly in Antioch.

Germanicus

Caligula

A short time after coming to power, Caligula awarded his three sisters - Agrippina, Julia Drusilla and Julia Livilla - special honors, the main of which were:

the appearance of three sisters on coins of that time,

granting the sisters the rights and freedoms of vestals, including the right to view games and competitions from the best seats reserved for senators

public oaths were now taken not only in the name of the emperor, but also in the name of his sisters

Senate resolutions began with the words “May good luck accompany the emperor and his sisters...”

The reason for this attitude of Caligula towards the sisters lay in the relationships that existed between them. Almost all ancient historians almost unanimously declare that Caligula indulged in debauchery with his sisters, and also did not oppose their promiscuous relationships with other men. Feasts on the Palatine Hill, in which sisters were always participants, often ended in depraved orgies. Agrippina's marriage was not an obstacle to the life she led.

Caligula

Agrippina the Younger

Her main lover was their maternal cousin, Julia Drusilla's husband, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, who also had a love affair with her third sister, Julia Livilla. But in general, at that time, Agrippina herself was greedy for men. It is possible that the reason for this was almost complete permissiveness. There is evidence that for some time she tried to make her lover Servius Sulpicius Galba, consul for 33 years, who in 68 was destined to become the main opponent of her son Nero and, having overthrown him, to become emperor himself. However, Galba remained faithful to his wife, and Agrippina was publicly condemned by Galba's mother-in-law, who slapped her.

In 39, both sisters and their lover Lepidus were accused of plotting to overthrow the emperor and seize power in favor of Lepidus. Caligula also accused them all of debauchery and adultery.

Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus. Bronze. Copenhagen. Glyptothek New Carlsberg

Path to power

One of the influential freedmen at the court of Claudius, who held the post of correspondence officer (lat. praepositusabepistulis) Tiberius Claudius Narcissus, reported this to the emperor. He, being a soft and pliable man, hesitated in making a decision, and Narcissus himself, on behalf of the emperor, gave the Praetorians the command to capture and execute Messalina and Silius.

Narcissus, the whistleblower of the conspiracy favored by Claudius, advised him to remarry Elia Pecin. Claudius was already married to her and divorced to marry Messalina. However, Claudius listened to the opinion of another freedman, Mark Antony Pallas. Pallas was the treasurer of the state treasury, and a good treasurer at that. From the beginning of Claudius' reign he became very much one of the most powerful men in the empire.

Back in 47, Agrippina became Pallas' mistress. After the death of Messalina, he proposed her candidacy to Claudius as his new wife. Narcissus also supported her candidacy - after the execution of Messalina, he feared the revenge of Britannicus if he became emperor. If Agrippina became Claudius’s wife, then it was clear that the next emperor would most likely be Nero.

The emperor agreed with the words: “I agree, since this is my daughter, raised by me, born and raised on my knees...”. On January 1, 49, Claudius and Agrippina got married.

In power

Immediately after her marriage, Agrippina got rid of another candidate who was considered as a possible wife of Claudius. This was Lollia Paulina, who in 1938 was married to Caligula for six months. Caligula divorced her because he considered her infertile. Paulina lived in Rome, and during the time of Caligula she was forbidden to communicate with men. Agrippina accused her of black magic. Paulina's property was confiscated and she was ordered to leave Italy. Having gone into exile, Paulina committed suicide.

In 50, at the insistence of Claudius, she receives the title of Augusta. She became the first woman to receive this title during her husband's reign, and the second, after Livia, to receive it during her lifetime. In the same year, the Senate gave the settlement of Oppid Ubior the status of a colony and renamed it Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensis. Later the city began to be called simply Colony of Agrippina (lat. Colonia Agrippinensis), (modern Cologne, Germany)

in 50 Agrippina persuaded Claudius to adopt Nero, which was done. Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus became known as Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus. Claudius officially recognized him as his heir, and also betrothed him to his daughter, Claudia Octavia. At the same time, Agrippina returned Seneca from exile to become the teacher of the young heir.

Agrippina had complete influence on Claudius. She deprives Britannicus of all rights to power and removes him from the court. In 51, she orders the execution of Britannicus's mentor, Sosebius, outraged by her behavior, the adoption of Nero and the isolation of Britannicus. On June 9, 53, Nero marries Claudia. However, the emperor begins to become disillusioned with his marriage to Agrippina. He again brings Britannicus closer to him and begins to prepare him for power, treating Nero and Agrippina more and more coolly. Seeing this, Agrippina realized that Nero's only chance of coming to power was to do it as quickly as possible. On October 13, 54, Claudius dies after eating a plate of mushrooms offered by Agrippina. However, some ancient historians say that Claudius died of natural causes.

Nero's mother

Nero

However, Nero soon fell under the spell of the freedwoman Claudia Acta. Being, most likely, brought by Claudius from his campaigns in Asia Minor, she knew the palace rules quite well. Seeing that Nero was interested in her, Burrus and Seneca, dissatisfied with Agrippina’s rule, brought Acta and the emperor together, hoping to influence Nero through her.

After this, Nero, listening to his mentors, expels Agrippina from the palace and deprives her of all honors, including her bodyguards. When Agrippina tries to stop him, he says that otherwise he will abdicate power and go to Rhodes himself. Following Agrippina, Pallas also loses his place at court. The fall of Pallas was a complete victory for the party of Seneca and Burrus, and the defeat of Agrippina. Now Nero himself became the sovereign ruler of the state.

He tried to poison her three times, sent a freedman to stab her, and even tried to bring down the ceiling and walls of her room while she slept. However, she happily escaped death.

After the death of Messalina in 48, Agrippina perked up and resolutely entered into the struggle for power. Tacitus talks about it like this:

Although Roman laws prohibited the marriage of uncle and niece, an exception was made for Claudius, and in 49 Agrippina the Younger became empress.

Seneca. Marble. Berlin. State museums

This was the end of Narcissus's career.

Claudius was deified, and Nero was proclaimed emperor with the cumbersome official name - Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus.

The threat had an effect on Nero, and on his orders, Britannicus was poisoned at a feast in the presence of Agrippina.

Tacitus describes the tragic ending of the struggle between mother and son, unprecedented in Roman history, as follows:

“Nero, realizing in the end that his mother is a burden to him, decides to kill her and begins to consult with his entourage whether to do this through poison, or weapons, or in some other way.

First we settled on poison. But if you give it at Nero’s table, then the sudden death of Agrippina cannot be attributed to chance, for Britannicus also died under the same circumstances; and bribing the servants of Agrippina, experienced in atrocities and learned to be careful, remained a difficult task; Moreover, fearing poison, she constantly took antidotes.

Finally, the freedman Anicetus, commander of the fleet and teacher of Nero during his adolescence, who hated Agrippina and was hated by her, outlined the cunning plan he had come up with. “He declared that he could arrange a special device on the ship so that, when it went out to sea, it would break into pieces and sink the unsuspecting Agrippina: after all, nothing is as fraught with accidents as the sea; and if she dies in a shipwreck, will there be anyone so malicious as to explain as a crime what the wind and waves are to blame for? And Nero will then erect a temple and altars for his deceased mother and generally spare no effort to show himself as a loving son.

Nero invited her to dinner, hoping that the night would help him attribute her death to accident.

It is well known that someone betrayed Nero and warned Agrippina about the trap, and she, not knowing whether to believe it, went to Bailly on a horse-drawn stretcher.

There, however, her son's affectionateness dispelled her fears; he received her with special courtesy and placed her at the table above him.

But the gods, as if to make the crime obvious, sent Yas - a starry night with a serenely calm sea. The ship did not have time to sail far; Along with Agrippina there were only two of her close associates - Gallus Crepere, who stood not far from the helm, and Acerronia, who sat down at her feet on the bed and spoke with joyful excitement about her son’s repentance and that she had regained her former influence, when suddenly to this sign, the lead-weighted roof of the cabin they occupied collapses; Creperey was crushed by her and immediately gave up the ghost, and Agrippina and Acerronia were protected by the high walls of the bed, which accidentally turned out to be strong enough to withstand the weight of the collapsed ceiling.

The disintegration of the ship did not follow, since during the general confusion that arose, many, not privy to the secret plan, prevented those who were entrusted with carrying it out.

And he orders them to be urgently awakened and orders them to immediately come to him; it is unknown whether they were privy to his plans in advance.

Finally, Seneca, having mustered up his resolve, looked at Burrus and asked him whether it was possible to give the order to the soldiers to kill Agrippina.

He, without hesitation, offers to entrust the implementation of this crime to him.

Her body was burned that same night with the most modest funeral rites performed.

He later allowed slaves to bury her ashes in a modest tomb at Misenum (now part of Naples).

Then Nero admitted more than once that the image of his mother haunts him at night. In order to get rid of her ghost, he even hired Persian magicians.

Benjamin West Agrippina lands at Brundisi with the ashes of Germanicus

Seated statue of Agrippina the Younger (fragment), Archaeological Museum of Naples (cast in the Pushkin Museum) against the background of a statue of Emperor Augustus

Agrippina the Younger (15-59 AD) Alexia Sinclair

Andre Castaigne. Death of Agrippina

Agrippina the Younger

Julia Augusta Agrippina

IVLIA AVGVSTA AGRIPPINA

Seated statue of Agrippina the Younger (fragment), Archaeological Museum of Naples (cast in the Pushkin Museum) with a statue of Emperor Augustus in the background

Birth name:

Yulia Agrippina

Occupation:

wife of the Roman Emperor Claudius

Date of Birth:

Date of death:

Mother:

Spouse:

Children:

Origin

Agrippina was born to Germanicus, nephew and adopted son of Emperor Tiberius, and his wife, Agrippina the Elder. Germanicus was the son of Drusus the Elder, brother of Tiberius. Agrippina the Elder was the daughter of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa by Julia, daughter of Emperor Augustus.

On her father's side she was a direct descendant of the ancient patrician family of the Claudians, and on her mother's side she belonged to the equestrian family of the Vipsanii.

Granddaughter of Tiberius

Caligula's sister

In favor

A short time after coming to power, Caligula awarded his three sisters - Agrippina, Julia Drusilla and Julia Livilla - special honors, the main of which were:

the appearance of three sisters on coins of that time,
granting the sisters the rights and freedoms of vestals, including the right to view games and competitions from the best seats reserved for senators
public oaths were now taken not only in the name of the emperor, but also in the name of his sisters
Senate resolutions began with the words “May good luck accompany the emperor and his sisters...”

In exile

Claudius's wife

Emperor's Niece

Agrippina had nowhere to return. Then Claudius arranged the marriage of Agrippina with Gaius Sallust Passienus Crispus. Guy Sallust was at that moment the husband of Domitia Lepida the Elder, another aunt of Nero. Also, Domitia Lepida was a maternal cousin of Claudius himself. However, this did not stop him from forcing Gaius Sallust to divorce Domitia and take Agrippina as his wife.

Guy Sallust was a rich and powerful man, consul and 44 years old. He was a distant relative of the famous Roman historian Sallust, who adopted him. Having married Agrippina, Passienus Crispus also takes the young Nero into his home.

in 50 Agrippina persuaded Claudius to adopt Nero, which was done. Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus became known as Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus. Claudius officially recognized him as his heir, and also betrothed him to his daughter, Claudia Octavia. At the same time, Agrippina returned Seneca from exile to become the teacher of the young heir.

Agrippina had complete influence on Claudius. She deprives Britannicus of all rights to power and removes him from the court. In 51, she orders the execution of Britannicus's mentor, Sosebius, outraged by her behavior, the adoption of Nero and the isolation of Britannicus. On June 9, 53, Nero marries Claudia. However, the emperor begins to become disillusioned with his marriage to Agrippina. He again brings Britannicus closer to him and begins to prepare him for power, treating Nero and Agrippina more and more coolly. Seeing this, Agrippina realized that Nero's only chance of coming to power was to do it as quickly as possible. On October 13, 54, Claudius dies after eating a plate of mushrooms offered by Agrippina. However, some ancient historians say that Claudius died of natural causes.

Nero's mother

Andre Castaigne. Death of Agrippina

However, Nero soon fell under the spell of the freedwoman Claudia Acta. Being, most likely, brought by Claudius from his campaigns in Asia Minor, she knew the palace rules quite well. Seeing that Nero was interested in her, Burrus and Seneca, dissatisfied with Agrippina’s rule, brought Acta and the emperor together, hoping to influence Nero through her.

After this, Nero, listening to his mentors, expels Agrippina from the palace and deprives her of all honors, including her bodyguards. When Agrippina tries to stop him, he says that otherwise he will abdicate power and go to Rhodes himself. Following Agrippina, Pallas also loses his place at court. The fall of Pallas was a complete victory for the party of Seneca and Burrus, and the defeat of Agrippina. Now Nero himself became the sovereign ruler of the state.

He tried to poison her three times, sent a freedman to stab her, and even tried to bring down the ceiling and walls of her room while she slept. However, she happily escaped death.

In March 59, in Baiae (modern Baia, Italy), Nero invited her to take a trip on a ship, which was supposed to collapse on the way. However, Agrippina was almost the only one who managed to escape and swim to the shore - her past as a sponge diver affected her. In anger, Nero ordered to openly kill her.

Statue of Agrippina. The deadly beauty of Agrippina (Agrippina, mother of Nero). Messalina - the most famous Roman woman

Elevation

Emperor's sister

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Granddaughter of Tiberius

Caligula's sister

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Emperor's Niece

Nero's mother

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