Agrippina the Younger

Agrippina was born into the family of Germanicus, nephew and adoptive son of the emperor Tiberius , and his wife, Agrippina the Elder. Germanicus was the son of Druze the Elder , the brother of Tiberius. Agrippina the Elder was the daughter of Mark Vipsaniya Agrippa from Julia , daughter of Emperor Augustus .

On the paternal side, she was a direct descendant of the ancient patrician clan Claudius , and on the maternal side, she belonged to the rider family Vipsaniev.

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

In the year 28 , when Agrippina was 13 years old, Tiberius married her to Gnei Domitius Agenobarba . Gnei Domitius was more than thirty years older than Agrippina. He came from the ancient plebeian clan Domitius. Born into the family of Lucius Domitius Agenobarb ( consul 16 years old ) and his wife, Anthony the Elder , niece of Augustus and daughter of Marc Anthony from Octavia the Younger .

In 32, Gnei Domitius became consul. All the time, until the death of Tiberius, the couple lived in a villa between Antsio (modern Anzio , Italy ) and Rome. The fate of Agrippina is closely connected with this villa. Here she had a son, and almost here the soldiers killed her on his orders ^[3] .

It was said that once Agrippina asked the soothsayers about the fate of her son and they replied that he would reign, but would kill his mother, to which she replied “Let him kill, if only he reigned”.

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In March 37, Tiberius died. Power passed to Agrippina’s brother, Caligula. In the same year, December 15, Agrippina had a son. The boy was named in honor of the father of Gnei Domitius - Lucius Domitius Agenobarb .

Shortly after coming to power, Caligula honored his three sisters - Agrippina, Julia Drusilla and Julia Liville with special honors, the main of which:

• the appearance of three sisters on coins of that time,
• granting sisters the rights and freedoms of vestal women, including the right to watch games and competitions from the best places reserved for senators
• public vows were now made not only in the name of the emperor, but also in the name of his sisters
• Senate decisions began with the words “May good luck accompany the emperor and his sisters ...”

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

Her main lover was their maternal cousin, husband of Julia Drusilla, Mark Emilius Lepid , 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 Servius Sulpicius Galbu , her consul, 33 years old , who in 68 was destined to become the main opponent of her son Nero and, overthrowing him, became the emperor himself. However, Galba remained faithful to his wife, and Agrippina was publicly condemned by the mother-in-law of Galba, who gave her a slap in the face.

In exile

On June 10, 38, Caligula's most beloved sister, Julia Druzilla , unexpectedly died. Caligula was very worried about this blow. At his direction, the Senate awarded her the title of "Divine", recognizing her as the embodiment of Venus . The emperor’s attitude towards Agrippina and Julia Liville changed dramatically.

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

After a short trial, Mark Emilius Lepidus was sentenced to death and executed. The sisters were sent to the Pontine Islands , located in the Tyrrhenian Sea . Caligula appropriated and sold all their property. It was forbidden to give them any help. To feed themselves, Agrippina and Julia were forced to dive for sponges on the seabed in the vicinity of the islands, and then sell what they collected.

Gnei Domitius Agenobarb, despite the exposed plot in which his wife participated, continued to be in Rome or in his suburban villas with his son. However, in the year 40, he died of dropsy in Pirgi (present-day Santa North , Italy ). All his property went to Caligula. Little Nero was given to her aunt, Domitia Lepide the Younger .

Emperor's niece

On January 24, 41, soldiers of the Praetorian Guard , displeased with Caligula’s rule, under the command of the centurion Cassius Herey , stabbed the emperor with swords. The same fate befell his wife Milonius Caesonius . The young daughter Julia Druzilla , 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 gave their support to Claudius, Uncle Caligula and Agrippina, the brother of Germanicus, proclaiming him emperor. In the same year 41, the new emperor returned his nieces from exile. Julia Livilla returned to her husband, who was not injured from the rule of Caligula, consul Mark Vinicius .

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

Guy Sallust was a wealthy and powerful man, consul of 22 and 44 years . He was a distant relative of the famous Roman historian Sallust , who adopted him. Having married Agrippina, Passien Crispus, also, takes to his house the young Nero.

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

Messalina sends hired killers to the house of Passien Crisp, who were supposed to strangle the boy during sleep. However, according to legend, the killers retreated in horror when they saw that the snake was guarding Nero’s dream near his pillow.

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

The path to power

In 48, while Claudius was in Ostia, the wayward Messalina decided to excommunicate the weak-character Claudius from power and make her lover, Guy Celius , the emperor. Celius was childless and had to adopt Britannica, so that power would later pass to him. Fulfilling her plan, Messalina even married Celia 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 responsible for correspondence ( lat. Praepositus ab epistulis ) Tiberius Claudius Narcissus , informed the emperor about this. He, being a gentle and supple man, hesitated in making a decision, and Narcissus himself, on behalf of the emperor, gave the Praetorians a command to capture and execute Messalina and Celia.

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 Romans to rule the emperor through them.

Narcissus, favored by Claudius, a whistleblower, advised him to marry Elia Pecin again . Claudius was already married to her and divorced to marry Messaline. However, Claudius listened to the opinion of another freedman - Mark Antony Pallas . Pallas was the treasurer of the state treasury, and a good treasurer. From the beginning of the reign of Claudius, he became one of the most powerful people in the empire.

Back in 47, Agrippina became Pallas's mistress. After the death of Messalina, he proposed her candidacy to Claudius as a new wife. Also, her candidacy was supported by Narcissus - after the execution of Messalina, he was afraid of Britannic's revenge, he would become emperor. If Agrippina became Claudius' wife, it was clear that Nero would most likely be the next emperor.

At first, Claudius hesitated. However, the persuasion of Pallas, mainly about the unification of 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 was only 33 years old. Pliny the Elder writes that she was a beautiful and respected woman, but ruthless, ambitious, tyrannical 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 , because this is my daughter, raised by me, born and raised on my lap ..." . On January 1, 49, Claudius and Agrippina got married.

In power

Even not being the emperor’s wife, Agrippina upset the engagement of Claudius’s daughter, Claudius Octavia , with Lucius Junius Silanus Torquatus , his distant relative. Together with censor Lucius Vitellius, they accused Silan of adultery with his sister, Yuniya Kalvina , who was married to one of the sons of Vitellius - Lucius .

Silan was forced to commit suicide, Calvin received a divorce and was sent into exile. Thus, Claudius Octavius ​​became free for Nero. Later, in 54 , Agrippina ordered the death of Silan's older brother, Mark , to protect Nero from the revenge of Silanov.

Immediately after marriage, Agrippina got rid of another candidacy, which was considered as a possible wife of Claudius. It was Lolli Paulina , who in 38 was married six months to Caligula. Caligula divorced her because he considered her barren. Paulina lived in Rome, and at 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. Going to exile, Paulina committed suicide.

In the year 50 , at the insistence of Claudius, she receives the title of Augusta. She became the first of the women to receive this title during the reign of her husband, and the second, after Libya, who received it intravitally. In the same year, the Senate gives the settlement Oppid Ubior the status of a colony and renames it Colony Claudius Altar Agrippina ( Latin Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensis ). Later the city was simply called the Colony of Agrippina ( lat. Colonia Agrippinensis ), (modern Cologne , Germany )

in 50, Agrippina persuaded Claudius to adopt Nero, which was done. Lucius Domitius Agenobarb became known as Nero Claudius Caesar Druz Germanicus. Claudius officially recognized him as his heir, and also engaged to his daughter, Claudius Octavia. Then Agrippina returned from exile Seneca to become a teacher of the young heir.

In 51, she was granted the right to appear in public in a special chariot, which used to be used only by pontiffs to transport statues of gods. In the same year, at her direction, Sextus Athranius Burr , a native of Narbonne Gaul , was appointed prefect of the Praetorian Guard. Burr was a mentor to Nero, a loyal and obliged man to Agrippina. His task was to set up the Praetorians to transfer power after the death of Claudius Nero, and not Britannica.

Agrippina had a complete effect on Claudius. She deprives all rights to Britannic’s power, removes him from the yard. In 51, she ordered the execution of Britannic's mentor, Sosebius , outraged by her behavior, the adoption of Nero, and the isolation of Britannic. June 9, 53 Nero marries Claudius. However, the emperor begins to give up on marriage with Agrippina. He again draws Britannica closer to him and begins to prepare him for power, becoming cooler towards Nero and Agrippina. Seeing this, Agrippina realized that the only chance Nero came to power was to do this as quickly as possible. On October 13, 54, Claudius dies by eating a plate of mushrooms brought by Agrippina. However, some ancient historians say that Claudius died a natural death.

Nero was 16 years old when his mother brought him almost 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 death. At first, the reign of Nero, the real ruler of the state was Agrippina. She was granted the right to attend the Senate sitting behind the curtain.

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

Agrippina was against her son’s mistress and publicly chastised Nero for contacting a former slave . However, Nero has already come out of her obedience. Then Agrippina began to intrigue, intending to nominate Britannica as the legitimate emperor. But her plan failed. In February 55, Britannic was poisoned by order of Nero.

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

In 58, Nero draws closer to Poppea Sabina , a noble, intelligent and beautiful representative of Roman Nobility. Agrippina saw in her a dangerous and prudent rival in the struggle for power. She tried with all her might to return Nero to Claudia Augusta or, at least, Act.

However, rumors spread around the court that Agrippina was trying to remove her son from power and transfer it to Guy Rubellius Plavt , son of Julia Livia , daughter of Livilla . On the female side, Rubellius Plavt was a direct descendant of Tiberius. Узнав об этом, Нерон решает убить Агриппину.

Он пытался отравить её трижды, подсылал вольноотпущенника заколоть её и даже пытался обрушить потолок и стены её комнаты, пока она спала. Однако она счастливо избегала смерти.

В марте 59 года в Байях Нерон предложил ей совершить поездку на корабле, который должен был разрушиться в пути. Однако Агриппине чуть ли не единственной удалось спастись и вплавь достигнуть берега — сказалось её прошлое ныряльщицы за губками. В гневе Нерон приказал уже открыто убить её.

Agrippina, seeing the soldier, understood her fate and asked to stab her in the stomach - where the womb is , thereby making it clear that she repents that she gave birth to such a son. Nero burned her body that night, receiving congratulations from the Senate. He later allowed slaves to bury her ashes in a modest tomb in Miesenay (a suburb of Naples ).

Then Nero repeatedly admitted that the image of his mother haunted 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, Agrippine had guessed that her son would reign, but at the same time he would kill his mother, to which her answer was: “Let him kill, if only he reigns”

In honor of Agrippina, the asteroid (645) Agrippina , discovered in 1907, is named

• Agrippina by Enrico Guazzoni 1911

• Suetonius . “The Life of 12 Caesars. Caligula. "
• Suetonius. “The Life of 12 Caesars. Divine Claudius. "
• Pliny the Elder. "Natural history".