Agrippina the Younger (lived AD 15/16–59)
Agrippina was the daughter of Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder. After a conspiracy in AD 39 she was exiled and returned after her brother’s death. In AD 49 she married her uncle Claudius, and in AD 50 she persuaded him to adopt her son Nero. Colonia Agrippinensis, today’s Cologne, was named after her.
Tradition ascribes to her the poisoning of her husband and rivals, but scholars (Icks, Dircksen) show that the image of the “wicked empress” is largely a product of a hostile historiographical tradition. Tacitus also mentions her memoirs, which have not survived.
From AD 55 she lost influence, and in AD 59 Nero had her killed.
Related
People
- Germanicus (lived 15 BC–AD 19)
- Agrippina the Elder (lived c. 14 BC–AD 33)
- Claudius (lived 10 BC–AD 54)
- Nero (lived AD 37–68)
- Caligula (lived AD 12–41)
Articles
- Two Faces of One Emperor — Caligula: The Horse in the Senate
- The Niece — Claudius: Found Behind a Curtain, Poisoned With Mushrooms?
- The Lake of the Condemned — Claudius: Found Behind a Curtain, Poisoned With Mushrooms?
- Sixteen Years and Ten Months — Nero: Artist on the Throne, Rome in Flames
- Strike the Womb — Nero: Artist on the Throne, Rome in Flames
- Pliny Sails — Titus: A Cloud Like a Pine Tree
