Agrippina the Younger is well known throughout history and amongst historians as being the sly woman who brought many Emperors and soon to be Emperors to their deaths with the taste of poison. However, Agrippina did not thoughtlessly poison them without cause, but she had an agenda instead. This powerful and strong minded woman was entirely willing to ensure that her imperial lineage was made Emperor of Rome without exception. No matter the trickery that she would have to partake in, or the lives that she would have to exterminate with her poisonous concoctions, Agrippina masterminded plan after plan to ensure her son’s Nero success as Rome’s next great Emperor.
Agrippina the Younger was born with imperial blood coursing through her veins.
Boatwright’s work, The Romans: From Village to Empire, Boatwright states that Claudius’ “own niece Agrippina the Younger then schemed successfully to marry him in 49. Within a year she had greater public visibility than any other woman, and received the honorific title Augusta. By 53, she had secured the succession of her own son, Nero, who married Claudius’ thirteen-year old daughter Octavia and superseded the slightly younger Britannicus.”[8] This passage shows that Agrippina was willing to sacrifice what she must and was so very devoted and dedicated to the cause while doing so. Agrippina made a plan and stuck to it, no matter what, and her ability to follow through with her plans ultimately enabled her son Nero to get that much closer to becoming Roman Emperor. After marrying Claudius, Agrippina made her move to remove Claudius from the position of Roman Emperor for good, leaving Nero to be crowned as Roman Emperor instead. Agrippina went to visit a woman who was widely known for her skills to disguise poison extremely well and effectively end the lives of whomever consumed her poisonous products. L. Cilliers and F. P. Retief’s work, Poisons, Poisoning and the Drug Trade in Ancient Rome, states that Agrippina went to Locusta “the most infamous of these poisoners . . . and (was) subsequently approached by Agrippina, second wife
Those who were Emperors would mastermind plans to seek and destroy those individuals who wished to take over their position as Emperor, and those who wished to become Roman Emperor would mastermind plans to assassinate those who were Roman Emperors at the time. What caught the attention of men and others throughout history, including historians, is the fact that Agrippina was a woman. Women were not looked upon as being capable of carrying out mastermind plans to such great extent as Agrippina, and instead of giving Agrippina the credit she deserves, not for poisoning people, but for the ability to do so without war or great bloodshed, unlike many of the men who plotted to assassinate the Roman Emperor, Agrippina was merely labled as a ruthless poisoner. Agrippina was patient and did not wish to harm anyone other than who her targets were, and she did so in ways that would only lead to the intended person’s death. With that said, Agrippina did not poison those that she poisoned for the fun of it all, but she did so to secure what she believed to be her son’s rightful position of Roman Emperor. Agrippina was brave and willing to do anything that was necessary to secure her son’s role as Emperor, and after many poisonous schemes of murder, Nero became Emperor of Rome from 54 to 68
A Blond. A Scandal History of the Roman Emperors. (1994) [United Kingdom] Quartet Books Limited.
He cooled his temper by watching chariot racing, wrestling bouts and acting and singing competitions which was ‘appalling’ to the people of Rome. All of his executions were directed towards political opponents and unlike his immediate predecessors there is no reason to believe he enjoyed their deaths (Dennison, 2012). This however is very subjective as there are primary sources like Suetonius and Tacitus that say the opposite of this, that Nero did enjoy the executions of his rivals death. Nero reacted harshly to accusations of treason against himself and the senate and because of this people, if caught trying to overturn him, were exiled and executed ("Nero", 2017). One of the people Nero had executed was Seneca, Neros former tutor and mentor ("Who is Nero? Everything You Need to Know", 2017). By Nero executing his rivals, he made people scared to overturn him and changed future beliefs of emperors. It changed future emperors beliefs because they had less tolerance for conspirators making Nero an
Changing social habits of a contemporary society have seen Cleopatra depicted in many different ways. Whilst few artefacts remain of the true image of Cleopatra, we see from her portrait on the coins (Fear, 2008, p, 21 Fig 1.4) that despite being no legendary beauty, she had the power to captivate two of the greatest Romans of her time. Cleopatra consummated her union with Julius Caesar, which strengthened her grip on the throne, following his assassination; she formed alliance with Mark Antony, in opposition to Octavian, a coalition that would lead to her downfall as both Antony and Cleopatra’s combined forces would be defeated against Octavian in the battle of Actium in 31 BCE. (Fear, 2008, p.7)
Messalina was Claudius’ third wife and they had a son named Britannicus, who was to be the heir of the throne when Claudius died. When Claudius married Caligula’s sister, and his niece, Agrippina the younger, she had a son. Agrippina convinced Claudius to adopt her son as his own, and she succeeded. Upon adoption his name changed to Nero. When Nero became older, she also attempted to convince Claudius to name Nero as his successor. She succeeded and Claudius favoured Nero as his heir. Because she was such an influential person in his life, people believed that she had caused his death by poisoning him when he had had second thoughts about naming Nero as his successor.
Agrippina and Octivia. The only woman that seemed to have a stable position with both power and security was the wife of the emperor. For example, Livia Drusilla (58 BC-29 AD), an influential consort of Augustus, who was depicted in imperial propaganda as the embodiment of womanliness and dedication, while her enemies believed her to be a ruthless seeker of power. The power of the. Through the example of Livia it can be seen how influential a wife of a powerful man.
Imagine a world where if the Senate did not like the President, they murdered him. In some years there would be up to five different rulers in a year. What would it be like to have murder mixed in with the craziness of politics? How would your life change if people were murdered by the Senate because they did not like the person? This was the way of life in many ancient empires. Murder was a just a way of life in ancient Rome. The Roman Senate would be so fed up with losing power that they killed several Emperors. However, there were five good emperors in a row who became known as The Five Good Emperors. These Emperors were Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius. They were mainly considered good for gaining the support of the Senate (Encyclopedia Britannica). After gaining the support of the Senate, these Emperors brought in and improved the tradition of adoption, doing different public works; the way they died also showed many truth about how these Emperors Ruled.
While Romulus is credited for exemplifying many of Rome;’s fundamental values, his reign over Rome is one that is infamous for its abundant bloodshed, violence against Rome’s neighbouring cities and demonstrations of his accumulated power. In comparison to Romulus’ rule, King Numa Pompilius reign is filled with undisturbed peace and coexistence in Rome and its neighbouring communities. Romulus often resorts to utilizing methods like violence or deceit to achieve his aspirations for the glory of Rome. One of the very first of Romulus’ acts of violence “to obtain sole power” (Livy 37) is to brutally murder his own twin brother, Remus in an angry fit of rage. The murder of Remus is a reflection of Romulus’ violent, ruthless nature and demonstrates the drastic measures he will go to achieve ultimate power. “To increase the dignity and impressiveness of his [ki...
In the early first century AD, the Roman Empire was subject to autocratic rule and the old Republic was long dead. Augustus had been ruling for forty years and most of that time he was loved and praised by the Senate and the people of Rome. Throughout his reign, Augustus had the one lingering problem of finding a successor to take over the role of Emperor. He had chosen 3 different heirs in his time of rule; however, they all passed before they had the chance to inherit Augustus’ esteemed power. His fourth choice, Tiberius, was the one to succeed Augustus. He was often referred to, by Augustus, as an outstanding general and the only one capable of defending Rome against her enemies. The statement, ‘Tiberius is condemned by many ancient historians (including Tacitus), and his reign is often portrayed as being detrimental to the welfare of the Roman Empire’ is invalid as he treated the senate fairly, created strong economics and security in the state and boosted the empire into an unprecedented state of prosperity. This hypothesis will be proven through this essay by analyzing factors such as Tiberius’ administration of the Empire, his relationship with the senate, his financial control, the effect of Sejanus over his rule and why were his last years as Emperor referred to as a ‘reign of terror’ by Tacitus.
The Res Gestae Divi Augustus (‘The Deeds of the Divine Augustus’), also known simply as the Res Gestae was a catalogue of the achievements Augustus had made during his life, specifically those that had an obvious positive impact on the Roman people. It was written in 13-14AD (E.S. Ramage, 1987) and presented to the Vestal Virgins alongside Augustus’ will upon his death in 14AD (M.C. Howatson, 1937). The biography, which was carved into bronze pillars outside of Augustus’ mausoleum (M.C. Howatson, 1937), is split into 35 sections; each recognizing a separate part of Augustus’ excellence. The fifteenth, which will be discussed in this commentary, describes the notable largesses donated to the Roman people by Augustus throughout his
In the Res Gestae, he often speaks of being offered positions of power and turning them down. He also speaks of how he donated his own money to the Roman people and building projects. However, some of his actions before he became emperor often went against that image. Augustus also chooses to omit the fact that he had immense power as emperor. Following the assassination of Julius Caesar, Augustus was named as his heir and began a rivalry with Marc Antony for power. He engaged in many deceitful acts, such as slandering Marc Antony and Cleopatra to turn the Roman people against them. In the end Marc Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide. Augustus doesn’t discuss the events from this period of time in detail. Augustus wanted to be seen as humble. He often spoke of turning down positions of power that he was offered by the people and the senate. However, he chooses to omit the fact that he was given Mauis Imperium in 23 BC which gave him immense power. This gave him the power to command any official in the empire. Augustus also wanted to present the image of being well-liked and respected. In the Res Gestae, he often mentions honors and positions he was offered due to the senate and people being so impressed with his accomplishments. However, not everyone was always impressed with Augustus or liked him. He completely omits any mention of the Perusine War. The Perusine War took place in 40 BC. Aristocrats opposed
Julius Caesar (100-44 BC) was one of the most outstanding leaders in history. He was the first ruler of the Romano-Hellenic civilization and achieved his goals with great success throughout his life of 56 years. He was assassinated by the conspirators, who accused him for practicing tyranny. This essay will discuss whether it was right for the conspirators to murder Caesar and what its consequences were.
Stacy Schiff author of Cleopatra strives through her book to denounce all historical myths surrounding Cleopatra. With the rigor of a true historian she is able to distinguish historical veracity from historical myth surrounding the queen from antiquity. The author highlights Cleopatra’s role as a powerful woman and in particular how she attempts to manage the various political or economic predicaments she faced. Stacy Schiff gives us a story that is masterfully reconstructed, allowing the reader insight into the historical context of the time- shedding new light on a woman whose greatest fault was not being a man.
After Augustus's death, his successors had varying degrees of effectiveness and popularity. Caligula – bloodthirsty and mentally unstable Claudius – conqueror of Britannia, and Nero – uninhibited spender and disinterested ruler, all were in Augustus's dynasty. After Nero's suicide in the face of assassination in 68 c.e., the principate was held by four different Emperors in the span of 18 months.
Around 69 B.C, one of the most famous female rulers ever known was born, she was Cleopatra. She was the descendent of the Egyptian ruler, Ptolemy XII, and she would eventually became the queen of ancient Egypt herself. She was known for being extremely intelligent and very charming, and because of this many romans feared her and viewed her as a threat. When her father died the throne of Egypt was left to her and her brother, Ptolemy XIII, and rivalry formed between the two, making her even more determined to become the sole ruler of Egypt. Cleopatra had trained all her life to be the successor of Egypt and she hungered for power. Like her father, she tried to have peace with Rome and maybe even have power over them. She would gain her power by having Caesar one and only son, Caesarion, the loyalty of Marc Antony, a well-known general who was popular among the troops in Rome, and of course by using her intelligence and Egypt’s resources. Cleopatra was a successful ruler because she had a thirst for power.
The ambition possessed by each character, leads Caesar, Brutus, and Cassius to power. It will be the same ambition, that quest for power, that makes each one susceptible to their own weakness. For Caesar, it will be his ego and inability to heed warnings, Brutus his love of Rome, and Cassius his dedication to power. These qualities prove that although intentions may be noble, ambition can make a person ruthless and blind them to their original goals. Ambition kills those who lose sight of their conscience and although it may prove beneficial in many instances, in this case, it leads the characters to lose all that they