Roman Emperors - DIR Agrippina the Younger Julia Agrippina (Agrippina the Younger) played a notable role in the Julio-Claudian family drama. Her influence had as its origin the only resource available to women of her time, proximity to male power. She, like Livia before her, was the wife of one emperor and the mother of another. She was also the sister of a third and the daughter of a prince of the imperial house whose shadow fell across dynastic politics long after his death. She could not in any case have avoided the complications that were her lot by birth, but she evidently had the desire -- and the will -- to exploit the position into which she had been born. She wrote a memoir that recorded the "misfortunes of her family" (casus suorum). This document alone seems proof that she was deeply aware of the stress generated from a dangerous environment. [[1]] Early Life Agrippina the Younger was the daughter of Germanicus Julius Caesar and of Vipsania Agrippina (Agrippina the Elder). Germanicus' father was a son of Augustus' wife Livia by a former husband.

His mother was Antonia Minor, daughter of Mark Antony and Octavia, Augustus' sister. Germanicus had thus a double connection with the first family of Rome, and he drew closer to its center in AD 4 when his uncle, who would become the emperor Tiberius , was adopted by Augustus , and adopted him in turn. In this way Germanicus became a Julian and by the law of adoption a legitimate grandson of the ruling dynast. Agrippina's mother, Agrippina the Elder, was a daughter of Julia, Augustus ' natural daughter and only child, and of Marcus Agrippa , Augustus' valued helper in his climb to the top. Agrippina the Younger's ancestry on both sides of her family thus converged on Augustus . But as one of nine children, six of whom lived to maturity, she was not the only one so marked. Hers was a large family that promised continuity for the imperial house, and all its surviving members were involved in the power struggles of the first century. [[2]] Agrippina was born on November 6, probably in AD 14, on the Rhine frontier.

[[3]] Her mother had found herself in this quarter because she had accompanied Germanicus when he exercised his command over the Armies of Upper and Lower Germany. By 17, the family had returned to Rome and little Agrippina, her three surviving brothers, and a baby sister rode in their father's triumph. [[4]] Later in 17 her parents left Rome for Syria, where Germanicus would assume supreme command (maius imperium) of the eastern provinces. Agrippina and most of her siblings were left behind in the care of nurses and the extended family. Only her brother Gaius, whom history would know as Caligula, went east with his parents. Agrippina would not see her father again; Germanicus died near Antioch. She and the rest of the family went to meet her mother when she was bearing his ashes home to Rome in AD 20. [[5]] Agrippina next appears in the historical record in AD 28 when she was married to Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus [[6]] . Their union had been arranged by Tiberius , now emperor and head of the imperial household.

Arranged marriages were standard practice for all families of prominence and a matter of state business for the ruling house. Ahenobarbus came from a distinguished family that boasted a long line of consuls. Made consul himself in AD 32, he remained in office that entire year. [[7]] He was, in addition, related to the Augustan line through his mother, Antonia Maior. Their first son and only child, L. Domitius Ahenobarbus, was not born until December of 37. He would become the emperor Nero, The Reign of Gaius An anecdote about this child furnishes an example of the motif central to Agrippina's reputation. Her brother Gaius had succeeded Tiberius to the principate earlier that year, and it is reported that she asked him to name the infant, hoping perhaps that the still childless emperor would name him after himself and perhaps adopt him in time. If he were Gaius' heir, hers would be the prize of motherhood. Instead, Gaius looked at his uncle, who, although he would be the emperor Claudius soon enough, was at that time a laughing-stock in the court, and he suggested his name as a joke.

[[8]] This anecdote may have come into existence only after Nero became emperor and Agrippina was indeed the emperor's mother (mater principis). It nonetheless illustrates clearly the popular perception that her ambition was of long duration. During the first years of his reign, Gaius showed great honor to Agrippina and to her sisters, Drusilla and Livilla. The young emperor was bereft of family support and so elevated and honored all he could muster, his three sisters and his uncle Claudius . The sisters were to be included in oaths, sit with him at games, and take turns occupying the traditional wife's position at table. [[9]] This conspicuous preference prompted rumors of incest, a closer relationship yet. [[10]] But the favorable treatment soon ended. In AD 38, Drusilla died. She was the sister with whom Gaius had the closest relationship, and he had chosen her husband, M. Aemilius Lepidus, as his interim successor. [[11]] Her death put an end to this arrangement and was a prelude to a conspiracy in which Lepidus played a prominent part.

Details are unclear, but it seems that the two surviving sisters had given up on the erratic Gaius and offered Lepidus the asset of their Julian blood in order to help validate his attempt to take over the principate. Livilla and especially Agrippina were accused of having sexual relations with him. Reality or metaphor, the allegation gave substance to the notion that they were his partners. Lepidus was executed and Agrippina was forced to carry his ashes back to Rome. She and Livilla were sent into exile on the Pontian Islands off the coast of southern Italy. [[12]] Domitius Ahenobarbus died in the winter of AD 40-41 while Agrippina was probably still in exile [[13]] Gaius was assassinated in January of 41, and after his death the sisters returned to Rome. [[14]] Although her property that had been confiscated by Gaius was restored to her on her return, much of it may have been dissipated, and she looked quickly for protection and wealth. She set her sights on the prominent Ser.

Sulpicius Galba , who would become emperor after the Julio-Claudian line came to an end, but this first effort was unsuccessful. [[15]] She soon married the wealthy and witty C. Sallustius Crispus Passienus, consul in 27 and again in 44, He had formerly been the husband of a sister of Domitius Ahenobarbus and so was her brother-in-law. Passienus died before 47 and it was rumored that Agrippina had poisoned him. [[16]] His wealth provided a motive, but his death also left her free to make her next move, a move that would finally bring her close to the principate. The Reign of Claudius Claudius (Tiberius Claudius Nero) became emperor in AD 41 after the death of Gaius . He was the brother of Agrippina's father Germanicus and so her uncle. During the first part of his reign, Claudius' wife was Valeria Messalina, who, like Domitius Ahenobarbus, was descended from Antonia Maior.

The two had a daughter, Octavia, and then a son, Britannicus, who was born a few weeks after Claudius became emperor. In the autumn of 48 Messalina divorced Claudius unilaterally and married C. Silius, consul-designate for the following year. By this action she transferred her Julian credentials to a party who she thought would be able to protect her interests after Claudius died, an event that might be expected before very long. [[17]] The move is reminiscent of the one that Agrippina and Livilla had made a decade earlier when they transferred their support from Gaius to Lepidus in the hope of grabbing on to a rising star. But it may also have included a preemptive strike against Agrippina, who was plausibly maneuvering to replace Messalina as imperial wife and make her own son the preferred heir. [[18]] Messalina did not succeed; Claudius learned of the attempted coup, and she lost her life. Claudius looked for a new wife at once, and Agrippina was the candidate on the spot, ready and willing.

It was reported that she seduced him by behaving in a manner more intimate than was appropriate for a niece. [[20]] In fact, their marriage, like all dynastic marriages, was a political arrangement and it benefited both. Agrippina attained the long-coveted position of imperial wife, and Claudius was able to keep the daughter of his still popular brother Germanicus from marrying someone else and so legitimating a potential rival with her family connection. Her bid to become Claudius' wife was championed by the powerful imperial freedman Pallas. These two continued to work closely together, so closely that in time it was thought that their relationship was sexual. [[19]] But an impediment stood in the way of Claudius and Agrippina: Marriage between uncle and niece was incestuous and illegal. At the initiative of Pallas and the palace insider L. Vitellius, the senate voted to make such a union legal, at least when the uncle was on the father's side. Agrippina and Claudius lost no time and were married early in AD 49, only months after Messalina had been removed from the scene. [[21]] Nero was eleven years old and still named L.

Domitius Ahenobarbus at this point. He was quickly betrothed to Octavia, the daughter of Claudius and Messalina , and it was assumed that Agrippina had set in motion this plan that would bind the families more closely. [[22]] The next year (AD 50) Claudius adopted the boy, and he became Nero Claudius Caesar . [[23]] . Britannicus , Claudius' natural son, now stood in second place; Nero had become the older son. Agrippina was thought to have manipulated her husband so that he adopted Nero just as she had arranged his marriage with Octavia, since it moved her son to the head of the line for succession. But the adoption was helpful to Claudius as well. A son who would reach his majority a few years before Britannicus provided more proximate protection. As Claudius' wife, Agrippina was granted public honors. In AD 50 she received the title Augusta, the first living woman so honored since Livia , and her name was attached to a colony for discharged veterans at oppidum Ubiorum (Cologne).

[[24]] The next year she was allowed the use of the carpentum, the ceremonial carriage usually reserved for priests and sacred statues. She received the defeated British chieftain Caratacus jointly with Claudius , occupying a platform that stood near that of her husband. On at least one ceremonial occasion she presided in a golden cloak. "She put it forth that she was herself a partner in the empire acquired by her ancestors. " [[25]] In AD 54 Nero , although young (he was sixteen), was technically an adult and so legally able to become princeps should his adoptive father die. But Britannicus , trailing three years behind, would soon cross that threshold of manhood and become eligible as well, at least in theory. It was convenient that Claudius die promptly so that Nero could be in place before Britannicus came of age. Claudius did die, rather suddenly, on October 13. His death may well have been from natural causes, but Agrippina was inevitably accused of poisoning him. The timetable provided a motive: Claudius was allegedly beginning to regret his marriage to her and in the process of changing his mind about the preferred position of Nero .

[[26]] Agrippina was accused of manipulating events further when she kept Britannicus out of sight until after the praetorian guard had made its initial salute to Nero as its commander. [[27]] His first watchword to the guard, "best of mothers" (optima mater), can be understood as acknowledgement that he owed her the principate. [[28]] The Reign of Nero Agrippina now held a second role of potential influence. No longer wife of the princeps, she became the mother of one, the progression that Livia had followed. Immediately after Nero' s accession, Agrippina received further honors. She was named a priestess of the cult of the newly deified Claudius and was granted the attendance of two lictors when she appeared in public. She became the first living woman whose portrait bust appeared on the imperial coinage along with that of a reigning emperor. She listened in on meetings of the senate from behind a curtain; this image makes overt the idea of involvement in state affairs behind the scenes. [[29]] These external trappings may not, however, have corresponded to genuine power. [[30]] The period of formal recognition did not last long in any case.

By the next year (AD 55) Nero appears firmly dependent on the direction of his praetorian praefect Burrus (Sex. Afranius Burrus) and his tutor Seneca (L. Annaeus Seneca). But already in AD 54, her influence seems to have been diminished. She approached the dais where Nero was about to receive an envoy from Armenia, intending to join him on the same platform, not on a separate one as she had on a comparable state occasion with Claudius . Prompted by Burrus and Seneca, Nero stepped down to meet her and in this way turned aside her bid for symbolic joint leadership. [[31]] Open conflict between mother and son arose over his affair with a freedwoman named Acte. [[32]] An irregular liaison of this sort with a social inferior would not normally have provoked attention, but in the current context Acte could be construed as a challenge to Nero's wife Octavia, who, as Claudius' daughter, was a bond between the previous regime and that of her husband.

But Nero was moving away from the past, both from his mother and from Claudius , and as a result Agrippina was forced to depend on her former husband for an increasing portion of her prestige. [[33]] Agrippina was said to have become desperate enough at this point in time (AD 55) to acknowledge her complicity in the death of Claudius . The admission was intended to make clear to Nero that she was responsible for his position. She also drew closer to her stepson Britannicus , and her support of him provided a challenge real enough to prompt retaliation. Nero allegedly poisoned his stepbrother. [[34]] After that, Agrippina was forced to move from the imperial residence, her bodyguard was removed, and she was harassed by a lawsuit. Her champion Pallas was dismissed from the court. [[35]] Nothing is known of Agrippina between 55 and 59, but she must have remained a thorn in Nero's side as she interfered or tried to interfere in court politics. It was still remembered that she was a daughter of Germanicus , and that counted for much; the possibility of a union between her and a potential usurper remained present.

When she reenters the story, the necessity of doing away with her has already been suggested; her murder was "a long- considered crime" (diu meditatum scelus). The immediate reason was the same one that had surfaced earlier. She objected to Nero's mistress. This time the liaison was with Poppaea Sabina , an upper-class woman with whom marriage was possible. But Octavia still stood in the way. Poppaea had "no hope for marriage for herself or the divorce of Octavia while Agrippina lived". [[36]] It was rumored that Agrippina made a desperate attempt to keep Nero in her camp by making her own sexual advances. [[37]] Nero must also have been desperate for an end to the contest of wills, for he contrived a plan to drown her by means of a collapsible boat. Agrippina escaped death by swimming gamely until she reached help, but she now knew clearly that her life was in danger. Nero took more direct action and dispatched assassins to accomplish the murder. The series of events is, however, unclear, for there are serious inconsistencies in regard to the collapsing boat, other details of the failed plot, and the murder itself.

[[38]] An official report was sent to the senate: Her death had occurred when she made an attempt on his life, not he on hers. The document also noted her past meddling in state affairs. Nero was congratulated on his escape. [[39]] Conclusion It is often difficult to gain a clear understanding of the personalities of the ancient world, for the portraits of them painted in the ancient texts are derived from layers of time-specific prejudice. When Nero was emperor and it was necessary that he be viewed favorably, Agrippina was described as a negative influence. When his reputation plummeted after his death and the Flavians rehabilitated Claudius' capital, she was held responsible for Claudius' inadequacies. The constant theme, however, is the perception that she was a very ambitious woman. The anecdote in which she asks Gaius to choose a name for her newborn son, retrojected on to the narrative as it probably was, makes this point as clearly as any, for it indicates that ambition was the driving force of her entire adult life.

The message resurfaces in the accusations of her partnering with Aemilius Lepidus, her poisoning of Passienus Crispus, her seduction of Claudius and the manipulation of him in regard to the adoption of Nero and especially her poisoning him at the opportune moment. The factual truth of all of these allegations must remain uncertain, but she was a woman who had both the means to make a place for herself in the high-stakes Julio-Claudian world and seemingly the will to exercise her options. In the end she was overwhelmed by the weight of her competitive family. Bibliography Barrett, A.A. Agrippina: Sex, Power, and Politics in the Early Empire.Yale University Press (New Haven and London) 1996. [An extensive bibliography is included.] Barrett Caligula: The Corruption of Power. Yale University Press (New Haven and London) 1990. Champlin, E. Nero. Harvard University Press (Cambridge, MA, and London) 2003. Dawson, A. "Whatever Happened to Lady Agrippina".

CJ 64 (1969) 253-67 Eck, W. Agrippina, die Stadtgründerin Kölns: Eine Frau in der frühkaiserzeitlichen Politik. (Cologne) 1993. Ehrhardt, C. "Messalina and the Succession to Claudius".Antichthon 12 (1978) 51-71. Griffin, M. T. Nero: the End of a Dynasty. Yale University Press (New Haven and London) 1985. Humphrey, J. "The Three Daughters of Agrippina Maior".AJAH 4 (1979) 125-43. Hurley, D. W. "The Politics of Agrippina the Younger's Birthplace. AJAH n.s. 2 (2003) 95-117. Levick, B. Claudius. Yale University Press (New Haven and London) 1990. Meise, E. Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der julish- claudischen Dynastie. Vestigia 10.

(Munich) 1969. Mommsen, T. "Die Familie des Germanicus". Hermes 13 (1878) 245-65. Syme, R. Tacitus Oxford University Press (Oxford) 1958. Notes [[1]] Tac. Ann. 4.53. Her Memoirs are also noted by Pliny (NH 7.46). [[2]] Other branches of the family could also claim descent, direct or indirect, from Augustus, but none was so favored as the family of Germanicus. Agrippina the Elder had a sister Julia (Julia the Younger), whose grandchildren (the Junii Silani) would be potential rivals under Claudius and Nero. Their credentials were somewhat tarnished, however, by the fact that Julia herself had fallen from grace under Augustus. There were also those descended from Octavia and from her daughter Antonia Maior (an older sister of Antonia Minor); these included the father of Nero and both mother and father of Claudius' wife Messalina. Another line passed through the natural son of Tiberius.

[[3]] The year (not the date) and the place of her birth are uncertain because of contradictory evidence. Tacitus writes that she was born at oppidum Ubiorum (modern Cologne, Ann.12.27), but the birth may have taken place near the present city of Koblenz. See Mommsen, Humphrey, Barrett,Agrippina (Appendix 2), and Hurley for the arguments. [[4]] Tac. Ann. 2.4. The children advertised the strength of the dynasty for the generations that would follow. [[5]] Tac. Ann. 2.53, 3.1-2; Suet. Cal.10.1. [[6]] Tac. Ann. 4.75. [[9]] Suet. Cal. 15.3, 24.1; Dio 59.3.3-4, 7.4, 9.2. [[10]] Suet. Cal. 24.1, 3; Dio 59.3.6, 11.1, 22.6, 26.5; Jos. AJ 19.204.

[[11]] Dio 59.22.6. [[12]] Suet. Cal. 29.1, Cl. 9.1; Tac. Ann. 14.2; Dio 59.6, 22.8. [[13]] Suet. Ner. 5.2, 6.3; Barrett, Agrippina, p. 70. [[14]] Suet. Cal. 59; Dio 60.4.1. [[15]] Suet. Gal. 5.1. [[16]]. The date of Passienus' death is derived from the fact that there is no notice of it in Tacitus'Annals when the text resumes in AD 47 after ten missing years (Barrett, Agrippina, p. 85; Syme p. 328, n. 12). The allegation of poisoning (Suet.Life of Passienus) may have been appended to the story only after Agrippina's reputation had suffered under Nero and it was assumed that she had poisoned Claudius. Why not an earlier husband as well? [[17]] Tac.

Ann.11.26-38; Suet. Cl. 26.3; Dio 60.31.3-5. [[18]] Tac. Ann. 11.11-12; Suet. Ner. 6.4; Meise, pp. 166-69. [[19]] Tac. Ann. 12.1-2, 25, 65; 13.2; 14.2, Dio 61.3.2. [[20]] Tac. Ann. 12.3; Suet. Cl. 26.3, 39.2; Dio. 60.31.6. [[21]] Tac. Ann. 12.5-8; Suet. Cl. 26.3; Dio 60.31.8. [[22]] Tac. Ann. 12.3, 9; Suet. Cl. 27.2, Dio.60.31.8. They were married in AD 53 (Tac.Ann. 12.58; Dio 60.33.11).

[[23] Tac. Ann. 12.25-6; Suet. Cl. 27.2; Ner. 7.1; Dio 60.32.2, 33.2(2). [[24]] Tac. Ann. 12.26, 27; Dio 60.33.2(a). [[25]] Tac. Ann. 12.37, 42, 56; Dio 60.33.2(1), 33.3, 33.7; Pliny NH 33.63. [[26]] Tac. Ann. 12. 64-7; Suet. Cl. 43-44; Dio 60.34.1-3. [[27]] Tac. Ann. 12.68-69. Suet. Cl. 45. [[28]] Tac Ann. 13.2; Suet. Ner. 9. [[29]] Tac. Ann. 13.2, 5; Barrett, Agrippina, p. 152. [[30]] Griffin, pp.

39-40; Barrett, Agrippina, p. 153. [[31]] Tac. Ann. 13.5; Dio 61.3.3-4. [[32]] Tac. Ann. 13.12-13; Dio 61.7.1-2). [[33]] A temple for divus Claudius was begun but left unfinished until the time of Vespasian (Suet. Cl. 45, Ves. 9.1). The designation of Nero as "son of the god" appears less and less on his coinage and on inscriptions. But he had already begun to separate himself from his adoptive father in his first speech to the senate (Tac.Ann. 13.4). [[34]] Tac. Ann.13.15-17; Suet. Ner. 33.2-3; Dio. 61.7.4. [[35]] Tac. Ann. 13.14, 18-21, 24; Suet. Ner. 34.1; Dio 61.8.4- 6. [[36]] Tac.

Ann.14.1. The affair with Poppaea could not, however, really have been the reason for getting rid of Agrippina in 59. It was not until 62, three years later, that Octavia was sent away and marriage with Poppaea took place (Tac.Ann. 59-64; Suet. Ner. 35.1-2; Dio 62.13.1). [[37]] By another report Nero initiated the seduction; this would have made him, not Agrippina, the desperate party (Tac. Ann.14.2; Suet. Ner. 28.2; Dio 61.11.3-4). [[38]] Tac. Ann 14.3-8; Suet. Ner. 34.2-3; Dio 61.12.2-61.13. Dawson exposes the impossibilities of Tacitus' narrative. [[39]] Tac. Ann 14.10-11. Copyright © 2004, Donna Hurley.

This file may be copied on the condition that the entire contents, including the header and this copyright notice, remain intact. Julia Agrippina | Roman patrician | Britannica.com Julia Agrippina Alternative Title: Agrippina the Younger Julia Agrippina Julia Agrippina, also called Agrippina the Younger (born ad 15—died 59), mother of the Roman emperor Nero and a powerful influence on him during the early years of his reign (54–68). Agrippina the Younger, bust by an unknown artist; in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples Anderson—Mansell/Art Resource, New York Agrippina was the daughter of Germanicus Caesar and Vipsania Agrippina , sister of the emperor Gaius , or Caligula (reigned 37–41), and wife of the emperor Claudius (41–54). She was exiled in 39 for taking part in a conspiracy against Gaius but was allowed to return to Rome in 41. Her first husband, Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus , was Nero’s father.

She was suspected of poisoning her second husband, Passienus Crispus, in 49. She married Claudius , her uncle, that same year and induced him to adopt Nero as heir to the throne in place of his own son. She also protected Seneca and Burrus, who were to be Nero’s tutors and advisers in the early part of his reign. She received the title of Augusta. In 54 Claudius died. It was generally suspected that he was poisoned by Agrippina. Because Nero was only 16 when he succeeded Claudius, Agrippina at first attempted to play the role of regent. Her power gradually weakened, however, as Nero came to take charge of the government. As a result of her opposition to Nero’s affair with Poppaea Sabina, the Emperor decided to murder his mother. Inviting her to Baiae, he had her set forth on the Bay of Naples in a boat designed to sink, but she swam ashore. Eventually she was put to death on Nero’s orders at her country house.

Learn More in these related articles: Women in the Roman World: Agrippina the Younger Agrippina the Younger Wife of Claudius and mother of Nero Agrippina the younger was one of three daughters of Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder. She was thirty - four years old when the Roman emperor Claudius married her in A. D. 49. By this time, Claudius had had three wives and his marriages to them had not been very good ones. His previous wife, Messalina, had been not only unfaithful to him but had actually married another man in full public view while Claudius was away visiting the new port of Ostia at the mouth of the Tiber. Claudius was so affectionately disposed towards her that he was not moved to action until his private secretary gave the order for her execution. Messalina had been married to Claudius for seven years and had lived a full and very debauched life by the time of her death at the age of twenty - three. By this time, Claudius was nearing the end of his life.

Agrippina, being an ambitious and intelligent woman married to an emperor considered a weakling and somewhat of a dunce by those around him, naturally took the reins of power into her own hands. During the last five years of Claudius reign, she grew more and more powerful. At the time of their marriage, Agrippina had a teenage son named Nero who was to become the future Roman emperor of that name. She immediately secured his future by having Claudius adopt him. Claudius also had a son by Messalina named Brittanicus. In A.D. 54, Claudius died after eating a dish of poison mushrooms. The early historians perpetuate the rumor that Agrippina had murdered him, but she really didnt have a motive. She already controlled much of imperial policy and had seen to it that her son would be heir to the throne. Even today, people die after gathering and eating poison mushrooms gathered in Italy as they are easily mistaken for the edible kind. When Nero ascended the throne, he was only seventeen and could not legally rule in his own name.

Agrippina acted as his regent and was a powerful controlling influence on him even after he had reached the age of eighteen and could govern in his own right. For the first time in Roman history, a woman was given the title of AVGVSTA, meaning "empress", and her portrait appeared on coins with that of her son. Up until that time, women of the imperial household had only been portrayed on coins after they had died. Nero grew to resent his mothers strong hand in controlling his life. Agrippina had been raised in an upright and conservative Roman home, and was not tolerant of Neros frivolous behavior. After about a year, Nero moved her out of the imperial palace and into a residence of her own. With the help of his two closest advisors, Seneca and Burrus, Nero began to undermine her power until she could do little more than complain. She began to denounce her son more and more in public, and soon made a nuisance of herself. After the tension between mother and son grew to a critical level, Nero determined to be rid of her. He was aided in making this decision by the counsel given him by Seneca and Burrus.

Tacitus tells us the story how Nero sent his mother out on the Bay of Naples in a ship. An accident was to be staged in which part of the ship would collapse and pitch her into the sea. The accident was bungled and she escaped with only a hurt shoulder. A woman friend who had been with her was also thrown into the water. The woman began crying out that she was the emperors mother, hoping that she would be rescued. When Agrippina saw some of the ships crew clubbing her to death in the water instead, the tough old mother of Nero swam to safety in spite of her wounded shoulder. She returned home, believing that Nero would not dare to murder her now that so many people knew about the plot. Agrippina played it cool until the very end. Nero sent an ex-slave and a group of naval officers whom he could trust to complete the foul deed to finish her off with clubs and swords in her bed, to which she had retired to recuperate from her injury. Agrippina the Younger was hated and feared by many of the Roman nobility amongst whom she lived and, no doubt, many of them were secretly glad to have her out of the way.

But the crime of matricide was perhaps the most despicable one in the eyes of the ancient Romans. Today, our society looks upon child molestation as one of the most horrible crimes imaginable and holds the innocence of childhood to be inviolable. The Romans believed the home, hearth, and motherhood to be the very foundation of their society and honoring and protecting his mother were a Roman mans most sacred duties. The Romans would tolerate Neros drunken revels and the wide range of his perversions and sexual appetites. They would even tolerate his brutality in dealing with his enemies, but they would never forgive a man who murdered his mother. Our society remembers Nero as a persecutor of Christians and a degenerate ruler, but it was the crime of murdering his mother that made it inevitable that he should one day be brought down. In A. D. 68, the Romans had finally had enough of him and the Senate declared him a public enemy. Nero finally paid the ultimate price for his crimes by taking his own life while hiding in an ex-slaves house as soldiers were at the point of arresting him.

Roman Emperors - DIR Agrippina the Elder Agrippina the Elder Donna Hurley Vipsania Agrippina, always simply Agrippina or Agrippina the Elder, when it is necessary to distinguish her from Agrippina the Younger , was a daughter of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and of Julia , the daughter and only child of the emperor Augustus . Marcus Agrippa did not belong to one of Rome's distinguished families but had been one of Augustus' chief supporters in his rise to power and remained a trusted ally. In 21 BC Augustus rewarded him with marriage to Julia , hoping for a direct line of descent with Agrippa serving as regent, if necessary, until any male children came of age. He and Julia did not disappoint. They produced five children, but it was only the family of their second daughter, Agrippina, who would play an important role in the Julio-Claudian dynasty during the next century. Augustus lost little time in claiming this family for himself. He quickly adopted the two oldest boys, Gaius, who was born in 20 B.C., and Lucius, who was born in 17.

A daughter, Julia, was evidently born between the boys and Agrippina between 16 and 13. Augustus' plan for succession seemed in order until Agrippa died in 12 BC, and a second interim solution was necessary. It was provided by another marriage for Julia , this time to Augustus' stepson, the son of his wife Livia , Tiberius Claudius Nero , who would follow him as the emperor Tiberius. Tiberius was to serve as guardian for the young boys until they came of age. But plans miscarried again when the two died prematurely in AD 4 and 2 respectively. [[1]] A final arrangement involved Agrippina. In AD 4 Augustus adopted Tiberius and in doing so made him his heir. To further assure the continuation of the dynasty that he had founded, he had Tiberius adopt his own brother's son, the young Germanicus , although he already had a son of his own. Augustus further arranged that Germanicus marry his granddaughter Agrippina. Their union brought Germanicus closer yet to the imperial house.

[[2]] Wife of Germanicus The marriage of Agrippina and Germanicus proved even more fertile than had that of Julia and Agrippa . Of their nine children, two died in infancy and another as a toddler, but six, three males and three females, survived to maturity. These offspring promised a stable future for the imperial house. Near the end of his life, Augustus brought the two oldest, Nero and Drusus, into the royal box at games and showed them off in order to advertise family continuity. They added to the popularity of Germanicus as well, and Agrippina acquired a well-deserved reputation for successful childbearing. [[3]] In AD 12 Germanicus left Rome to assume command of the legions on the Rhine frontier. Agrippina joined him in 14 and, so far as is known, remained in the north until 17. They had with them their youngest son, two-year old Gaius . It was at this time that the little boy acquired his nickname Caligula ("Little Boots") from the footwear worn by the legionaries. Agrippina paraded him about dressed in a soldier's costume, another display of their children for the benefit of the imperial house.

But she began to be accused of bringing attention to herself and to her husband at the expense of the present emperor. [[4]] When Augustus died in the late summer of AD 14, Agrippina was in Germanicus' camp near the present city of Cologne. The legions, dissatisfied with terms of their service, used the occasion to demand improved conditions. The unrest forced her to evacuate to a safer area in the south of the frontier region. In September of AD 15 she was once again in a forward position as she rallied discouraged legions returning from a difficult German campaign. She prevented the destruction of a temporary bridge across the Rhine and by her action gained a reputation for prowess and fortitude. The first two of her three daughters ( Agrippina the Younger and Drusilla) were born during this period, both probably in the territory of the Treveri, near modern Koblenz. [[5]] Germanicus was recalled to Rome after the end of the campaigning year of AD 16. Agrippina returned with him, and their children, now numbering five, all took part in their father's triumphal parade in May of AD 17.

Once again the great-grandchildren of Augustus gave an effective public face to the imperial house. [[6]] Next, Germanicus was given a special command (maius imperium, "greater power") to settle affairs in Rome's eastern theater, Asia Minor today. Agrippina once more went with him, again with "Little Boots" in tow. Their last child, a daughter, Julia Livia (Livilla), was born in early 18 on the island of Lesbos on their way to his headquarters in Syria. In the autumn of AD 19, Germanicus died under suspicious circumstances. Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso commanded the legions in Syria; Germanicus' authority overlapped his. Predictable animosity followed, and Piso would be accused of poisoning the young and popular prince. An additional layer of distrust was added by the allegation that Augustus' wife Livia incited Piso's wife, her friend Plancina, against Agrippina. But even without Livia's prodding, Plancina was jealous of Agrippina's superior status.

[[7]] When Germanicus died, Agrippina was said to have received his dying words: He urged her to "lay aside her intractable temper" in order to avoid conflict with powers in Rome who were stronger than she was, and he asked his circle of friends to present the granddaughter of Augustus and his six children to the Roman people. Whether or not Germanicus actually spoke these words on his deathbed, the narrative legitimately anticipates the difficulties that would follow for Agrippina and their children. She returned to Italy dramatically bearing her husband's ashes. She was met first by an escort of praetorians and then, closer to Rome, by family members. She received the attention due a hero's wife. [[8]] Hostility in the Court of Tiberius Despite Germanicus' warning, Agrippina did become involved in court politics as an advocate for her own sons in opposition to Drusus, the natural son of Tiberius . While Germanicus lived, he had a circle of followers who anticipated the day when he would succeed Tiberius . These men now transferred their attention to his oldest sons, Nero and Drusus, who were in their early teens when their father died.

Their mother anchored the hopes of the boys and their supporters. There was talk of a "party of Agrippina", although the label probably refers to a perception of court politics rather than to an organized movement. The intrigues of the ambitious praetorian prefect, Lucius Aelius Sejanus, made the conflict more lethal, but Agrippina's personality evidently contributed to the hostile atmosphere. [[9]] Her strength and steadfastness could easily be read as ambition and arrogance. She possessed "insolent speech and a stubborn spirit". She was "impatient of equality, eager to be in charge and cast off the faults of women in exchange for the responsibilities of men." [[10]] Conflict between the widow and the emperor grew more serious. She was attacked indirectly when her friends were attacked. At one point Agrippina asked Tiberius for permission to remarry. He refused to answer her, for he understood the implications of her request; a fresh marriage would have allowed the granddaughter of Augustus to introduce a protector for her sons. Besides, although she was no longer very young, her known fertility might bring complications. Distrust escalated.

Sejanus stirred up trouble by telling her that Tiberius wanted to poison her, and as a result Agrippina refused food from his hand; Tiberius did not forgive the insult. [[11]] Finally, Agrippina and her oldest son Nero were arrested, perhaps put under house detention as early as AD 27. When they were exiled to the Pontian islands off the coast of Naples in 29, crowds protested in the streets. Agrippina's second son, Drusus, was arrested in 30 and kept in Rome. Nero was forced to suicide in 31. Agrippina remained intractable even as a prisoner; on one occasion her behavior earned her a beating so severe that she lost an eye. She starved to death in 33, either intentionally or because food was withheld. Drusus died of starvation the same year. The day she died was declared a holiday. [[12]] Conclusion Germanicus and the granddaughter of Augustus continued to provide political capital for their children and grandchildren. Agrippina's last surviving son, Gaius , survived the purges of Sejanus and Tiberius to become emperor in 37.

One of his first acts upon accession was to retrieve the relics of his mother Agrippina and his brother Nero from the islands where they had died and to give them proper burial in the Mausoleum of Augustus . [[13]] Her three daughters, Agrippina, Drusilla, and Livilla, were players in the power struggles that took place during the reigns of Gaius and Claudius . The oldest of them, Agrippina the Younger , became the wife of Claudius and then the mother of the emperor Nero . BIBLIOGRAPHY How Empress Agrippina the Younger Scandalized Rome By N.S. Gill's Ancient/Classical History Glossary Roman Empress Julia Agrippina, also known as Agrippina the Younger, lived from A.D. 15 to 59. The daughter of Germanicus Caesar and Vipsania Agrippina, Julia Agrippina was the sister of the Emperor Caligula, or Gaius. Her influential family members made Agrippina the Younger a force to be reckoned with, but her life was plagued by controversy and she would die in a scandalous manner as well. Marriage Woes In A.D.

28, Agrippina married Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus. He died in A.D. 40, but before his death Agrippina bore him a son, the now notorious Emperor Nero. After a short time as a widow, she married her second husband, Gaius Sallustius Crispus Passienus, in A.D. 41, only to be accused of fatally poisoning him eight years later. That same year, A.D. 49, Julia Agrippina married her uncle, the Emperor Claudius. The union may not have been the first time Agrippina was involved in an incestuous relationship. She is also rumored to have had sexual relations with Caligula when he served as emperor. continue reading below our video Test Your General Science Knowledge Historical sources on Agrippina the Younger include Tacitus, Suetonius, and Dio Cassius. Historians indicated that Agrippina and Caligula might have been lovers as well as enemies, with Caligula exiling his sister from Rome for allegedly conspiring against him. She wasn’t banished forever but returned to Rome two years later.

Thirst for Power It’s unlikely that Julia Agrippina, described as power hungry, married Claudius for love. A year after they wed, she persuaded Claudius to adopt her son, Nero, as his heir. He agreed, but that proved to be a fatal move. Early historians argued that Agrippina poisoned Claudius. She certainly profited after his death, as it led to Nero, then roughly 16 or 17 years old, assuming power, with Julia Agrippina as regent and Augusta, an honorary title given to women in imperial families to highlight their status and influence. Unexpected Turn of Events Under Nero’s reign, Agrippina did not end up exerting more influence over the Roman Empire. Instead, her power waned. Because of her son’s young age, Agrippina tried to rule on his behalf, but events did not turned out as she’d planned. Nero eventually exiled Agrippina. He is said to have considered his mother overbearing and wanted to distance himself from her. Their relationship grew especially strained when she objected to his romance with his friend’s wife, Poppaea Sabina, according to the editors of Encyclopaedia Brittanica.

His mother also challenged his right to rule, arguing that her stepson Brittanicus was the real heir to the throne, the History Channel notes. Brittanicus later died in mysterious circumstances likely orchestrated by Nero. The young emperor also plotted to kill his mother by arranging for her to board a boat designed to sink, but that ploy failed when Agrippina swam safely back to shore. Still determined to commit matricide, Nero later ordered his mother be assassinated in her home. All in all, a scandalous woman met a scandalous end. Nero would rule Rome until his suicide in A.D. 68. Debauchery and religious persecution characterized his reign. Links to Websites Cited: Go to Other Ancient / Classical History Glossary pages beginning with the letter Agrippina | Define Agrippina at Dictionary.com Agrippina noun 1. called the Elder. c. 14 bc–33 ad, Roman matron: granddaughter of Augustus, wife of Germanicus, mother of Caligula and Agrippina the Younger 2. called the Younger.

15–59 ad, mother of Nero, who put her to death after he became emperor Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 People invent new words all the time, but which ones actually make it? Word of the Day Agrippina the Younger (Empress) - Pics, Videos, Dating, & News Agrippina the Younger Agrippina the Younger Female Julia Agrippina, most commonly referred to as Agrippina Minor or Agrippina the Younger, and after 50 known as Julia Augusta Agrippina was a Roman Empress and one of the more prominent women in the Julio-Claudian dynasty.

She was a great-granddaughter of the Emperor Augustus, great-niece and adoptive granddaughter of the Emperor Tiberius, sister of the Emperor Caligula, niece and fourth wife of the Emperor Claudius, and mother of the Emperor Nero.… Read More related links Learn about the memorable moments in the evolution of Agrippina the Younger. CHILDHOOD 15 AD Birth Agrippina was born on 6 November AD 15 or possibly 14, at Oppidum Ubiorum, a Roman outpost on the Rhine River located in present-day Cologne, Germany. … Read More A second sister Julia Drusilla was born on 16 Sept. AD 16 also in Germany. As a small child, Agrippina traveled with her parents throughout Germany (AD 15-16) until she and her siblings (apart from Caligula) returned to Rome to live with and be raised by their maternal grandmother Antonia.

Read Less 18 AD 3 Years Old Her parents departed for Syria in AD 18 to conduct official duties, and, according to Tacitus, the third and youngest sister was born en route on the island of Lesbos, namely Julia Livilla, probably in March AD 18. … Read More In October AD 19, Germanicus died suddenly in Antioch (modern Antakya, Turkey).<br /><br /> Germanicus' death caused much public grief in Rome, and gave rise to rumors that he had been murdered by Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso and Munatia Plancina on the orders of Tiberius, as his widow Agrippina the Elder returned to Rome with his ashes. Agrippina the Younger was thereafter supervised by her mother, her paternal grandmother Antonia Minor, and her great-grandmother, Livia, all of them notable, influential, and powerful figures from whom she learnt how to survive. She lived on the Palatine Hill in Rome. Her great-uncle Tiberius had already become emperor and the head of the family after the death of Augustus in 14.

Read Less TEENAGE 28 AD 13 Years Old After her thirteenth birthday in 28, Tiberius arranged for Agrippina to marry her paternal first cousin once removed Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and ordered the marriage to be celebrated in Rome. … Read More Domitius came from a distinguished family of consular rank. Through his mother Antonia Major, Domitius was a great nephew of Augustus, first cousin to Claudius, and first cousin once removed to Agrippina and Caligula. He had two sisters; Domitia Lepida the Elder and Domitia Lepida the Younger. Domitia Lepida the Younger was the mother of the Empress Valeria Messalina.<br /><br /> Antonia Major was the elder sister to Antonia Minor, and the first daughter of Octavia Minor and Mark Antony. According to Suetonius, Domitius was a wealthy man with a despicable and dishonest character, who, according to Suetonius, was "a man who was in every aspect of his life detestable" and served as consul in 32.

Agrippina and Domitius lived between Antium (modern Anzio and Nettuno) and Rome. Not much is known about the relationship between them. Read Less TWENTIES Show Less Tiberius died on March 16, 37 and Agrippina's only surviving brother, Caligula, became the new emperor. … Read More Being the emperor's sister gave Agrippina some influence.<br /><br /> Agrippina and her younger sisters Julia Drusilla and Julia Livilla received various honors from their brother, which included but were not limited to: Read Less Around the time that Tiberius died, Agrippina had become pregnant. Domitius had acknowledged the paternity of the child. In the early morning hours in Antium of December 15, 37, Agrippina gave birth to a son. … Read More Agrippina and Domitius named their son Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, after the Domitius' recently deceased father. This child would grow up to become the Emperor Nero. Nero was Agrippina's only natural child.

Suetonius states that Domitius was congratulated by friends on the birth of his son, whereupon he replied "I don't think anything produced by me and Agrippina could possibly be good for the state or the people".<br /><br /> Caligula and his sisters were accused of having incestuous relationships. On June 10, 38, Drusilla died, possibly of a fever, rampant in Rome at the time. He was particularly fond of Drusilla, claiming to treat her as he would his own wife, even though Drusilla had a husband. Following her death Caligula showed no special love or respect toward the surviving sisters and was said to have gone insane. Read Less 39 AD 24 Years Old In 39, Agrippina and Livilla, with their maternal cousin, Drusilla's widower Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, were involved in a failed plot to murder Caligula, a plot known as the Plot of the Three Daggers, which was to make Lepidus the new emperor. … Read More Lepidus, Agrippina and Livilla were accused of being lovers.

Not much is known concerning this plot and the reasons behind it. At the trial of Lepidus, Caligula felt no compunction about denouncing them as adulteresses, producing handwritten letters discussing how they were going to kill him.<br /><br /> Lepidus was executed. Agrippina and Livilla were exiled by their brother to the Pontine Islands. Caligula sold their furniture, jewellery, slaves and freedmen. In January 40 Domitius died of edema (dropsy) at Pyrgi. Lucius had gone to live with his second paternal aunt Domitia Lepida the Younger after Caligula had taken his inheritance away from him.<br /><br /> Caligula, his wife Milonia Caesonia and their daughter Julia Drusilla were murdered on January 24, 41. Agrippina's paternal uncle, Claudius, brother of her father Germanicus, became the new Roman Emperor.<br /><br /> Claudius lifted the exiles of Agrippina and Livilla. Livilla returned to her husband, while Agrippina was reunited with her estranged son.

After the death of her first husband, Agrippina tried to make shameless advances to the future emperor Galba, who showed no interest in her and was devoted to his wife Aemilia Lepida. On one occasion, Galba's mother-in-law gave Agrippina, in a whole bevy of married women, a public reprimand and a slap in the face. Read Less THIRTIES 47 AD 32 Years Old In 47, Crispus died, and at his funeral, the rumor spread around that Agrippina poisoned Crispus to gain his estate. … Read More After being widowed a second time, Agrippina was left very wealthy. Later that year at the Secular Games, at the performance of the Troy Pageant, Messalina attended the event with her son Britannicus. Agrippina was also present with Lucius. Agrippina and Lucius received greater applause from the audience than Messalina and Britannicus did. Many people began to show pity and sympathy to Agrippina, due to the unfortunate circumstances in her life.

Agrippina wrote a memoir that recorded the misfortunes of her family (casus suorum) and wrote an account of her mother's life. Read Less 48 AD 33 Years Old After Messalina was executed in 48 for conspiring with Gaius Silius to overthrow her husband, Claudius considered remarrying for the fourth time. … Read More Around this time, Agrippina became the mistress to one of Claudius' advisers, the former Greek Freedman Marcus Antonius Pallas. At that time Claudius' advisers were discussing which noblewoman Claudius should marry. Claudius had a reputation that he was easily persuaded. In more recent times, it has been suggested that the Senate may have pushed for the marriage between Agrippina and Claudius to end the feud between the Julian and Claudian branches. This feud dated back to Agrippina's mother's actions against Tiberius after the death of Germanicus, actions which Tiberius had gladly punished.<br /><br /> Regardless, for Agrippina's seduction, it was a help that she had the niece's privilege of kissing and caressing her paternal uncle. Claudius was seduced by her passions.

Claudius made references to her in his speeches: "my daughter and foster child, born and bred, in my lap, so to speak". When Claudius decided to marry her, he persuaded a group of senators that the marriage should be arranged in the public interest. In Roman society, an uncle (Claudius) marrying his niece (Agrippina) was considered incestuous, and obviously immoral. Read Less Show Less Agrippina and Claudius married on New Year's Day, 49. … Read More This marriage caused widespread disapproval. This was a part of Agrippina's scheming plan to make Lucius the new emperor. Her marriage to Claudius was not based on love, but on power. She quickly eliminated her rival Lollia Paulina. Read Less In 49, shortly after marrying Claudius, Agrippina charged Paulina with black magic. … Read More Paulina did not receive a hearing. Her property was confiscated.

She left Italy and, on Agrippina's orders, committed suicide.<br /><br /> In the months leading up to her marriage to Claudius, Agrippina's maternal second cousin, the praetor Lucius Junius Silanus Torquatus, was betrothed to Claudius' daughter Claudia Octavia. This betrothal was broken off in 48 when Agrippina, scheming with the consul Lucius Vitellius the Elder, the father of the future Emperor Aulus Vitellius, falsely accused Silanus of incest with his sister Junia Calvina. Agrippina did this hoping to secure a marriage between Octavia and her son. Consequently, Claudius broke off the engagement and forced Silanus to resign from public office.<br /><br /> Silanus committed suicide on the day that Agrippina married her uncle, and Calvina was exiled from Italy in early 49. Calvina was called back from exile after the death of Agrippina.

Towards the end of 54, Agrippina would order the murder of Silanus' eldest brother Marcus Junius Silanus Torquatus without Nero's knowledge, so that he would not seek revenge against her over his brother's death. Read Less In 49, Agrippina was seated on a dais at a parade of captives when their leader the Celtic King Caratacus bowed before her with the same homage and gratitude as he accorded the emperor. 50 AD 35 Years Old In 50, Agrippina was granted the honorific title of Augusta, a title which, up until this point, no other imperial woman had ever received in the lifetime of her husband. … Read More She was only the third Roman woman (Livia Drusilla and Antonia Minor received this title) and only the second living Roman woman (the first being Antonia) to receive this title.<br /><br /> Also that year, Claudius had founded a Roman colony and called the colony Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensis or Agrippinensium, today known as Cologne, after Agrippina who was born there. This colony was the only Roman colony to be named after a Roman woman.

Read Less Show Less In 51, she was given a carpentum which she used. … Read More A carpentum was a sort of ceremonial carriage usually reserved for priests, such as the Vestal Virgins, and sacred statues. That same year she appointed Sextus Afranius Burrus as the head of the Praetorian Guard, replacing the previous head of the Praetorian Guard, Rufrius Crispinus.<br /><br /> Ancient sources claim that Agrippina successfully manipulated and influenced Claudius into adopting her son and having him become his successor. Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus in 50 was adopted by his great maternal uncle and stepfather. Lucius' name was changed to Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus and he became Claudius's adopted son, heir and recognised successor. Agrippina and Claudius betrothed Nero to Octavia, and Agrippina arranged to have Seneca the Younger return from exile to tutor the future emperor. Claudius chose to adopt Nero because of his Julian and Claudian lineage. Read Less Agrippina deprived Britannicus of his heritage and further isolated him from his father and succession for the throne in every way possible.

For instance, in 51, Agrippina ordered the execution of Britannicus' tutor Sosibius because he had confronted her and was outraged by Claudius' adoption of Nero and his choice of Nero as successor, instead of choosing his own son Britannicus. Nero and Octavia were married on June 9, 53. … Read More Claudius later repented of marrying Agrippina and adopting Nero, began to favor Britannicus, and started preparing him for the throne. His actions allegedly gave Agrippina a motive to eliminate Claudius. Read Less 54 AD 39 Years Old The ancient sources say she poisoned Claudius on October 13, 54 with a plate of deadly mushrooms at a banquet, thus enabling Nero to quickly take the throne as emperor. … Read More Accounts vary wildly with regard to this private incident and according to more modern sources, it is possible (but exceedingly convenient) that Claudius died of natural causes; Claudius was 63 years old.<br /><br /> Agrippina was named a priestess of the cult of the deified Claudius. She was allowed to visit senate meetings, watch and hear the meetings behind a curtain.

This evidently shows that she had real power.<br /><br /> In the first months of Nero's reign Agrippina controlled her son and the Empire. She lost control over Nero when he began to have an affair with the freedwoman Claudia Acte, which Agrippina strongly disapproved of and violently scolded him for. Agrippina began to support Britannicus in her attempt to make him emperor. Britannicus was secretly poisoned on Nero's orders during his own banquet in February 55. The power struggle between Agrippina and her son had begun. Read Less FORTIES 55 AD 40 Years Old … Agrippina between 55 and 58 became very watchful and had a critical eye over her son. Read Less In 55, Agrippina was forced out of the palace by her son to live in imperial residence. … Read More Nero deprived his mother of all honors and powers, and even removed her Roman and German bodyguards. Nero even threatened his mother he would abdicate the throne and would go to live on the Greek Island of Rhodes, a place where Tiberius had lived after divorcing Julia the Elder. Pallas also was dismissed from the court.

The fall of Pallas and the opposition of Burrus and Seneca, contributed to Agrippina's loss of authority.<br /><br /> Towards 57, Agrippina was expelled from the palace and went to live in a riverside estate in Misenum. While Agrippina lived there or when she went on short visits to Rome, Nero had sent people to annoy her. Although living in Misenum, she was still very popular, powerful and influential. Agrippina and Nero would see each other on short visits.<br /><br /> The circumstances that surround Agrippina's death are uncertain due to historical contradictions and anti-Nero bias. All surviving stories of Agrippina's death contradict themselves and each other, and are generally fantastical. Read Less 58 AD 43 Years Old According to Tacitus, in 58, Nero became involved with the noble woman Poppaea Sabina. … Read More With the reasoning that a divorce from Octavia and a marriage to Poppaea was not politically feasible with Agrippina alive, Nero decided to kill Agrippina. Yet, Nero did not marry Poppaea until 62, calling into question this motive.

Read Less 59 AD 44 Years Old Additionally, Suetonius reveals that Poppaea's husband, Otho, was not sent away by Nero until after Agrippina's death in 59, making it highly unlikely that already married Poppaea would be pressing Nero. … Read More Some modern historians theorize that Nero's decision to kill Agrippina was prompted by her plotting to set Gaius Rubellius Plautus (Nero's maternal second cousin) or Britannicus (Claudius' biological son) on the throne.<br /><br /> Tacitus claims that Nero considered poisoning or stabbing her, but felt these methods were too difficult and suspicious, so he settled on - after the advice of his former tutor Anicetus - building a self-sinking boat. Though aware of the plot, Agrippina embarked on this boat and was nearly crushed by a collapsing lead ceiling only to be saved by the side of a sofa breaking the ceiling's fall. Though the collapsing ceiling missed Agrippina, it crushed her attendant who was outside by the helm.<br /><br /> The boat failed to sink from the lead ceiling, so the crew then sank the boat, but Agrippina swam to shore.

Her friend, Acerronia Polla, was attacked by oarsmen while still in the water, and was either bludgeoned to death or drowned, since she was exclaiming that she was Agrippina, with the intention of being saved. She did not know, however, that this was an assassination attempt, not a mere accident. Agrippina was met at the shore by crowds of admirers. News of Agrippina's survival reached Nero so he sent three assassins to kill her. Read Less Original Authors of this text are noted on .

Question: Agrippina the Younger was the mother of which Roman Emperor?
Answer: Nero