Agrippina the Younger
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Julia Agrippina (Classical Latin: IVLIA•AGRIPPINA; from the year 50, called IVLIA•AVGVSTA•AGRIPPINA[1]), most commonly known as Agrippina Minor or Agrippina the Younger (November 6, 15 – March 59), was the daughter of Germanicus and Agrippina Major. She was sister of Caligula, great granddaughter of Augustus, great granddaughter of Mark Antony, great-granddaughter of Augustus's sister Octavia and therefore his great grandniece, a granddaughter of Julia the Elder and Marcus Agrippa, great-niece of Tiberius, niece of Claudius.
Agrippina was the wife of Emperor Claudius from 49 to 54. She was also the mother of Emperor Nero and was said to be very influential in state affairs in the first year of his reign in 54.
Though wildly popular with the Roman people, ancient historians characterize Agrippina as ambitious, ruthless and domineering. They accuse her of poisoning Claudius to put Nero in power and accuse her of plotting against Nero when he resisted her influence. Historians say Nero ordered her execution in 59.
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[edit] Life
Agrippina was born at Oppidum Ubiorum on the Rhine, afterwards named in her honour Colonia Agrippinae (modern Cologne, Germany).
[edit] First marriage
Agrippina's first marriage in 28 was to her second cousin and consul Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus. From this marriage she gave birth to Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, who would become Roman Emperor. Her husband died in January, 40.
[edit] Caligula's court
While still married to her first husband, Agrippina participated openly in her brother Caligula's decadent court, where, according to some sources, at his instigation she prostituted herself in the palace. Incest, though, was an oft-used criminal accusation against the aristocracy, because it was difficult to definitively refute. As Agrippina and her sister became more problematic for their brother, Caligula sent them into exile for a time, where it is said she was forced to dive for sponges to make a living. In January, 41, Agrippina had a second marriage to the affluent Gaius Sallustius Crispus Passienus. He died between 44 and 47, leaving his estate to Agrippina.
[edit] Empress
As a widow, Agrippina was courted by the freedman Pallas as a possible marriage match to her own uncle, Emperor Claudius. She became his favourite councillor and was even granted the honor of being called Augusta (a title which no other imperial woman had ever received in the lifetime of her husband). They were married on New Year's Day of 49. As his wife, she presided over the exercises of Roman legions, and Celtic King Caractacus assumed that she, as well as Claudius, was the martial leader and bowed before her throne with the same 'homage and gratitude' as he accorded the emperor.
Through her removal of Lucius Junius Silanus Torquatus, Nero was betrothed to Claudius' daughter Octavia thereby linking him further with the Imperial family. She also knew that Nero would need the best tutors for his future role, so recalled the famous writer Seneca from exile as the young Nero's tutor. In order to strengten his position politically, Claudius chose to adopt Nero because of his Julian lineage.[2] This placed Nero in the line of succession to the Imperial throne over Claudius's own son, Britannicus. In conjunction with this, Agrippina made Nero come of age early making him yet more dominant over the now isolated Britannicus.
It is said that Claudius was beginning to tire of Agrippina and began to favour Britannicus over Nero. Thus, anicent historians claim Agrippina had motive to eliminate Claudius. Many ancient sources credited her with poisoning Claudius in 54 with a plate of poison mushrooms, thus enabling Nero to quickly take the throne as emperor. Accounts vary wildly with regard to this private incident and it is quite possible Claudius died of natural causes.
[edit] Life Under Nero
Agrippina attempted to have influence over Nero in the first year of his reign. After Nero asserted his independence, Agrippina attempted to rally support for Britannicus to become emperor. In response, Nero reportedly had Britannicus killed and Agrippina banished from the royal palace.
[edit] Death
Though exiled, Nero still felt threatened by Agrippina's popularity and influence. In 59, Nero reportedly made an attempt at Agrippina's life by trying to drown her in a boat having weak sitesof the roof, which would collapse and crush agrippina . Agrippina, though, survived and swam to shore causing Nero to send his soldiers to beat her to death. She is said to have pointed to her abdomen and told her killers to harm her there, where Nero had been conceived.
[edit] See also
[edit] Portrayals in opera, film and television
A fictionalised account of Agrippina the Younger forms the basis of the Handel opera Agrippina
The character of Agrippina the Younger has been portrayed by various actresses in different movies and television miniseries, including Gloria Swanson in the 1956 film Nero's Mistress, Barbara Young in the BBC TV series I, Claudius (in which she's called Agrippinilla), Ava Gardner in the 1985 epic miniseries A.D. Anno Domini, Frances Barber in the 2003 Masterpiece Theater production Boudica and Laura Morante in the 2004 TV miniseries Imperium: Nero.
[edit] Perspectives on her personality
[edit] Ancient
Note that most ancient Roman sources are quite critical of Agrippina the Younger, because she was seen as stepping outside the conservative Roman ideals regarding the roles of women.
- Tacitus: Critical view, considered her vicious and had a strong disposition against her due to her femininity and influential role in politics. Perhaps the most comprehensive of Ancient sources.
- Suetonius
- Dio Cassius
[edit] Modern
- E. Groag, A. Stein, L. Petersen - e.a. (edd.), Prosopographia Imperii Romani saeculi I, II et III, Berlin, 1933 - . (PIR2)
- Scullard: A critical view of Agrippina, suggesting she was ambitious and unscrupulous and a depraved sexual psychopath. "Agrippina struck down a series of victims; no man or woman was safe if she suspected rivalry or desired their wealth."
- Ferrero: Sympathetic and understanding, suggesting Agrippina has been judged harshly by history. Suggesting her marriage to Claudius was to a weak emperor who was, because of his hesitations and terrors, a threat to the imperial authority and government. She saw it her duty to compensate for the innumerable deficiencies of her strange husband through her own intelligence and strength of will.
- Barret: A reasonable view, comparing Scullard's criticisms to Ferrero's apologies. (See Barrett, Anthony A., Agrippina: Sex, Power and Politics in the Early Roman Empire, Yale University Press, New Haven, 1996.)
- Salmonson, Jessica Amanda. (1991) The Encyclopedia of Amazons. Paragon House. Pages 4-5.
[edit] Notes
[edit] External links
- De Imperatoribus Romanis - Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors: Agrippina the Younger
- Tacitus' Agrippina on QueenDido.org
| Preceded by Messalina |
Empress of Rome AD 49 - 54 |
Succeeded by Claudia Octavia |
