Agrippina the Elder Vipsania Agrippina or most commonly known as Agrippina Major or Agrippina the Elder ( " Major " Latin for " the elder " , Classical Latin : , 14 BC – 17 October 33 ) was a distinguished and prominent Roman woman of the first century AD . Agrippina was the wife of the general and statesman Germanicus and a relative to the first Roman Emperors . She was the second granddaughter of the Emperor Augustus , sister - in - law , stepdaughter and daughter - in - law of the Emperor Tiberius , mother of the Emperor Caligula , maternal second cousin and sister - in - law of the Emperor Claudius and the maternal grandmother of the Emperor Nero . Family and early life . Agrippina was born as the second daughter and fourth child to Roman statesman and Augustus ’ ally Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia the Elder . Agrippina ’ s mother Julia was the only natural child born to Augustus from his second marriage to noblewoman Scribonia . Her father ’ s marriage to Julia was his third marriage . From Agrippa ’ s previous two marriages , Agrippina had two half - sisters : Vipsania Agrippina and Vipsania Marcella Agrippina . Vipsania Agrippina was Agrippa ’ s first daughter and first child from his first marriage to Pomponia Caecilia Attica . She became Tiberius ' s first wife and was the mother of his natural son Drusus Julius Caesar . Vipsania Agrippina later married senator and consul Gaius Asinius Gallus Saloninus after Tiberius was forced to divorce her and marry Julia the Elder . Vipsania Marcella was Agrippa ’ s second child from his second marriage to Augustus ’ first niece and the paternal cousin of Julia the Elder , Claudia Marcella Major . Vipsania Marcella was the first wife of the general Publius Quinctilius Varus . Her mother ’ s marriage to Agrippa was her second marriage , as Julia the Elder was widowed from her first marriage , to her paternal cousin Marcus Claudius Marcellus and they had no children . From the marriage of Julia and Agrippa , Agrippina had four full - blood siblings : a sister Julia the Younger and three brothers : Gaius Caesar , Lucius Caesar and Agrippa Postumus . Agrippina was born in Athens , as in the year of her birth Agrippa was in that city completing official duties on behalf of Augustus . Her mother and her siblings had travelled with Agrippa . Later Agrippina ’ s family returned to Rome . In 12 BC , Agrippina ’ s father died . Augustus had forced his first stepson Tiberius to end his happy first marriage to Vipsania Agrippina to marry Julia the Elder . The marriage of Julia and Tiberius was not a happy one . In 2 BC Augustus exiled Agrippina ’ s mother on the grounds that she had committed adultery , thereby causing a major scandal . Julia was banished for her remaining years and Agrippina never saw her again . Around this time , to avoid any scandals Tiberius divorced Julia and left Rome to live on the Greek island of Rhodes . With her siblings , Agrippina was raised in Rome by her maternal grandfather and maternal step - grandmother Livia Drusilla . Livia was the first Roman Empress and was Augustus ’ third wife ( from Livia ’ s first marriage to praetor Tiberius Nero , she had two sons : the emperor Tiberius and the general Nero Claudius Drusus . Augustus was Livia ' s second husband ) . According to Suetonius , Agrippina had a strict upbringing and education . Her education included how to spin and weave and she was forbidden to say or do anything , either in public or private . Augustus made her record any daily activities she did in the imperial day book and the emperor took severe measures in preventing Agrippina from forming friendships , without his consent . As a member of the imperial family , Agrippina was expected to display frugality , chastity and domesticity , all traditional virtues for a noble Roman woman . Agrippina and Augustus had a close relationship . Life with Germanicus . Between 1 BC - 5 , Agrippina married her second maternal cousin Germanicus . Germanicus was the first son born to Antonia Minor and Nero Claudius Drusus . Antonia Minor was the second daughter born to Octavia Minor and triumvir Mark Antony , hence Antonia ’ s maternal uncle was Augustus . Germanicus was a popular general and politician . Augustus ordered Tiberius to adopt Germanicus as his son and heir . Germanicus was always favored by his great uncle and hoped that he would succeed Tiberius , who had been adopted by Augustus as his heir and successor . Agrippina and Germanicus were devoted to each other . She was a loyal , affectionate wife , who supported her husband . The Roman historian Tacitus states that Agrippina had an ‘ impressive record as wife and mother ’ . Agrippina and Germanicus in their union had nine children , of whom three died young . The six children who survived to adulthood were the sons : Nero Caesar , Drusus Caesar and Caligula ( Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus ) and the daughters Agrippina the Younger ( Julia Agrippina ) , Julia Drusilla and Julia Livilla . Caligula would become future Roman Emperor . Agrippina the Younger would become a future Roman Empress and mother to the later Emperor Nero . Their children were born at various places throughout the Roman Empire and Agrippina acquired a well - deserved reputation for successful childbearing . Eventually Agrippina was proud of her large family and this was a part of the reason she was popular with Roman citizens . According to Suetonius who had cited from Pliny the Elder , Agrippina had borne to Germanicus , a son called Gaius Julius Caesar who had a lovable character . This son died young . The child was born at Treveri , near the village of Ambitarvium , just before the junction of the Moselle River and the Rhine River ( modern Koblenz , Germany ) . At this spot , there were local altars inscribed as a dedication to Agrippina : “ IN HONOR OF AGRIPPINA ’ S PUERPERIUM ” . Germanicus was a candidate for future succession and had won fame campaigning in Germania and Gaul . During the military campaigns , Agrippina accompanied Germanicus with their children . Agrippina ’ s actions were considered unusual as for a Roman wife , because a conventional Roman wife was required to stay home . Agrippina had earned herself a reputation as a heroic woman and wife . During her time in Germania , Agrippina had proved herself to be an efficient and effective diplomat . Agrippina had reminded Germanicus on occasion of his relation to Augustus . A few months before Augustus ’ death in 14 , the emperor wrote and sent a letter to Agrippina mentioning how Caligula must be future emperor because at that time , no other child had this name . The letter reads : Agrippina and Germanicus travelled to the Middle East in 19 , incurring the displeasure of Tiberius . Germanicus quarreled with Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso , the governor of Syria and died in Antioch in mysterious circumstances . It was widely suspected that Germanicus had been poisoned or perhaps on the orders of Tiberius , with Agrippina believing he was assassinated . Agrippina was in grief when Germanicus died . She returned with her children to Italy with Germanicus ’ ashes . The Roman citizens had great sympathy for Agrippina and her family . She returned to Rome to avenge his death and boldly accused Piso of the murder of Germanicus . According to Tacitus ( " Annals " 3 . 14 . 1 ) , the prosecution could not prove the poisoning charge , but other charges of treason seemed likely to stick and Piso committed suicide . Time in Rome , downfall and posthumous honors . From 19 to 29 , Agrippina lived on the Palatine Hill in Rome . Her remaining children were raised between her , Livia Drusilla and Germanicus ’ mother Antonia Minor . Agrippina had become lonely , distressed , physically ill and many of her relatives had died . Agrippina had a hasty , uncomfortable relationship with Tiberius and possibly with Tiberius ’ mother Livia . She became involved in politics in Tiberius ’ imperial court , became an advocate for her sons to succeed Tiberius , and opposed Tiberius ’ natural son and natural grandson Tiberius Gemellus for succession . She was unwise in her complaints about Germanicus ’ death to Tiberius . Tiberius took Agrippina by her hand and quoted the Greek line : “ And if you are not queen , my dear , have I then done you wrong ? ” Agrippina became involved in a group of Roman Senators who opposed the growing power and influence of the notorious Praetorian Guard Lucius Aelius Sejanus . Tiberius began to distrust Agrippina . In 26 , Agrippina requested Tiberius to allow her to marry her brother - in - law , Roman Senator Gaius Asinius Gallus Saloninus . However , Tiberius didn ’ t allow her to marry Saloninus , because of political implications the marriage could have . Tiberius carefully staged to invite Agrippina to dinner at the imperial palace . At dinner , Tiberius offered Agrippina an apple as a test of Agrippina ’ s feelings for the emperor . Agrippina had suspected that the apple could be poisoned and refused to taste the apple . This was the last time that Tiberius invited Agrippina to his dinner table . Agrippina later stated that Tiberius tried to poison her . In 29 , Agrippina and her sons Nero and Drusus , were arrested on the orders of Tiberius . Tiberius falsely accused Agrippina of planning to take sanctuary besides the image of Augustus or with the Roman Army abroad . Agrippina and her sons were put on trial by the Roman Senate . She was banished on Tiberius ’ orders to the island of Pandataria ( now called Ventotene ) in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the coast of Campania . This was the island where her mother was banished . In prison at Pandataria , Agrippina protested violently . On one occasion , Tiberius ordered a guard to flog her . During the flogging Agrippina would lose an eye . Refusing to eat , Agrippina was force - fed but later starved herself to death . Tacitus however leaves open the possibility that she was deprived of nourishment while in prison and her death was not voluntary . Be that as it may , she expired on 17 October 33 . Agrippina ’ s son Drusus died of starvation being imprisoned in Rome and Nero either committed suicide soon after the trial . The notorious guard Sejanus was murdered in 31 on the orders of Tiberius . Tiberius suspected Sejanus of plotting to overthrow the emperor . After her death , Tiberius slandered her name and had the senate declare that her birth date was a date of bad omen . In March 37 , Tiberius died and Agrippina ’ s remaining son Caligula succeeded as emperor . After Caligula delivered Tiberius ’ eulogy , Caligula sailed to Pandataria and the Pontine Islands and returned with the ashes of his mother and brother Nero . Caligula returned with their ashes in urns in his own hands . As proof of devotion to his family , Caligula arranged the most distinguished soldiers available to carry the urns of his mother and two brothers in two biers at noon in Rome , when the streets were at their busiest , to the Mausoleum of Augustus . A bronze medal on display in the British Museum shows Agrippina ’ s ashes being brought back to Rome by Caligula . Caligula appointed an annual day each year in Rome , for people to offer funeral sacrifices to honor their late relatives . As a dedication to Agrippina , Caligula set aside the Circus Games to honor the memory of his late mother . On the day that the Circus Games occurred , Caligula had a statue made of Agrippina ’ s image to be paraded in a covered carriage at the Games . After the Circus Games , Caligula ordered written evidence of the court cases from Tiberius ’ treason trials to be brought to the Forum to be burnt , first being the cases of Agrippina and her two sons . The historians . According to Suetonius , Caligula nursed a rumor that Augustus and Julia the Elder had an incestuous union from which Agrippina the Elder had been born . According to Tacitus , Agrippina ’ s eldest daughter Agrippina the Younger had written memoirs for posterity . One memoir was an account of her mother ’ s life . A second memoir was about the fortunes of her mother ’ s family and the last memoir recorded the misfortunes ( casus suorum ) of the family of Agrippina and Germanicus . Unfortunately these memoirs are now lost . Personality . Agrippina is regarded in ancient and modern historical sources as a Roman Matron with a reputation as a great woman , who had an excellent character and had outstanding Roman morals . She was a dedicated , supporting wife and mother who looked out for the interests of her children and the future of her family . Her personality and conduct did however receive a certain amount of criticism . Her practice of accompanying Germanicus on campaigns was considered inappropriate , and her tendency to take command in these situations was viewed with suspicion as subversively masculine . Tacitus described her as “ determined and rather excitable ” - " Agrippina knew no feminine weaknesses . Intolerant of rivalry , thirsting for power , she had a man ' s preoccupations " . Throughout her life , Agrippina always prized her descent from Augustus , upbraiding Tiberius for persecuting the blood of his predecessor ; Tacitus , in writing of the occasion , believed this behaviour to be part of the beginning of " the chain of events leading to Agrippina ' s end . " Legacy . She was the first Roman woman of the Roman Empire to have traveled with her husband to Roman military campaigns ; to support and live with the Roman Legions . Agrippina was the first Roman matron to have more than one child from her family to reign on the Roman throne . Apart from being the late maternal grandmother of Nero , she was the late paternal grandmother of Princess Julia Drusilla , the child of Caligula . Through Nero , Agrippina was the paternal great - grandmother of Claudia Augusta , ( Nero ' s only child through his second marriage to Poppaea Sabina ) . From the memoirs written by Agrippina the Younger , Tacitus used the memoirs to extract information regarding the family and fate of Agrippina the Elder , when Tacitus was writing The Annals . There is a surviving portrait of Agrippina the Elder in the Capitoline Museums in Rome . Agrippina is a featured figure on Judy Chicago ' s installation piece " The Dinner Party " , being represented as one of the 999 names on the " Heritage Floor . " She was played by Fiona Walker in the 1976 TV serial " I , Claudius " .