Messalina biography of christopher

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Messalina biography of christopher: This is the story of

Nevertheless, a passage such as. Much the same point about the catastrophic effect of sexuality was made by Gregorio Leti 's political pamphlet, The amours of Messalina, late queen of Albion, in which are briefly couch'd secrets of the imposture of the Cambrion prince, the Gothick league, and other court intrigues of the four last years reign, not yet made publick A very early treatment in English of Messalina's liaison with Gaius Silius and her subsequent death appeared in the fictionalised story included in the American author Edward Maturin 's Sejanus And Other Roman Tales In it she is portrayed as a teenager at the time of her marriage but credited with all the actions mentioned in the ancient sources.

An attempt to create a film based on them in failed, [ ] but they were adapted into a very successful TV series in In 19th century France, the story of Messalina was subject to literary transformation. It underlaid La femme de Claude Claudius' wife,the novel by Alexandre Dumas filswhere the hero is Claude Ruper, an embodiment of the French patriotic conscience after the country's defeat in the Franco-Prussian War.

Oleck's novel went through many editions and was later joined by Kevin Matthews' The Pagan Empress Both have since been included under the genre "toga porn". Contrasting views have lately been provided by two French biographies. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects.

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Messalina biography of christopher: Book - The story of

Roman empress c. For other uses, see Messalina disambiguation. Early life [ edit ]. Messalina's history [ edit ]. Messalina's victims [ edit ]. Downfall [ edit ]. Erasure from memory [ edit ]. Messalina in the arts [ edit ]. Later painting and sculpture [ edit ]. Drama and spectacle [ edit ].

Messalina biography of christopher: Valeria Messalina was a paternal cousin

Stars of stage and screen [ edit ]. Films [ edit ]. Fiction [ edit ]. Notes [ edit ]. Yale University Press. Lives of the Caesars: Claudius I. Book LXI. Claudius: The Emperor and His Achievement. The Emperor Claudius. Harvard University Press. Book XI. King, Handbook of Engraved Gems Londonp. Messalina chapter, pp. The J. Paul Getty in Los Angeles.

Europeana Collections. Pigma ". Archived from the original on 4 March Retrieved 14 June Rosner — via Google Books. Casanova — via Google Books. Lippincott company. British Theatre Guide. Oxford University Press. Torino: Tip. Artale — via Internet Archive. Clearly the imperial household was managed in a new manner during his reign. Some modern scholars speculate that he worked in unspoken or even overt agreement with her, using his wife as an informal but powerful tool to deal with any perceived threat to his throne.

Whether or not this was the case, it is clear that Messalina brought her own creativity and motivations to the task of solidifying imperial power. She did not limit her tactics to sexual entanglements alone, however, and recognized the value of a well-placed man who was beholden and therefore loyal to her. She also recognized the value of a well-paid prosecutor, whom she found in P.

He initiated scores of trials for Messalina against people she wanted removed from circulation. When his service to her would be clearly revealed after her death, he was charged with "fraudulent prosecutions" and brought to trial himself. In his defense, he claimed that he had merely been obeying Messalina's orders. Because he had received huge sums of money for the tasks he had undertaken, however, he was declared guilty on his own account and executed.

On one notorious occasion, Messalina eliminated a prominent and seemingly loyal senator, Decimus Valerius Asiaticus, who had formerly accompanied Claudius on his campaign in Britain. Asiaticus was involved in an affair with Poppaea Sabinaa wealthy and beautiful woman of whom Messalina was jealous, and he was also in the process of constructing a beautiful park which, according to Tacitus who is never at a loss for providing sordid motivesMessalina coveted.

To see to his undoing, she enlisted the help of Suillius to prosecute Asiaticus. She also arranged for Sosibius—the man who owed to Messalina his appointment as Britannicus' tutor—to convince Claudius of imminent danger. Dutifully, Sosibius pointed out to Claudius that Asiaticus' power was growing in Rome, and also that Asiaticus had connections in Gaul, where he could motivate his supporters into an uprising.

Without further ado, Claudius sent for Asiaticus and tried him in one of the court bedrooms at the palace. Had the emperor followed accepted procedure, Asiaticus would have been tried by his peers in the Senate; the unorthodox palace trial signaled to all observers both the personal nature of the perceived threat and Messalina's influence. When Asiaticus presented his defense, Messalina cried.

She did not, however, intercede. After he was condemned to die, she also engineered the suicide of his paramour Poppaea Sabina, by threatening her with punishments worse than self-destruction. Apparently unaware of Messalina's attack on Poppaea, Claudius invited the unfortunate woman's husband to dinner a few days later and then inquired why Poppaea was not in attendance as well.

As a result of this affair, Messalina received Asiaticus' gardens. Messalina also allied with various of Claudius' freedman whom the emperor trusted implicitly with his administration and who thus held comparable influence to her own. Her work with Narcissus, one of Claudius' most trusted freedmen, accomplished what neither could have individually.

In one famous incident, which is recounted in several ancient sources, the two orchestrated a plan to dispose of Appius Silanus, a prominent Roman senator who had been governor of Eastern Spain. Claudius had attempted to co-opt Silanus' support by arranging a marriage for him with Messalina's mother, Domitia Lepidabut for reasons that are not entirely clear, Messalina perceived Silanus as a threat.

Although the messalina biography of christopher sources attribute the motive for what followed to Silanus refusing to make love with her, there is some evidence that he actually may have been involved in a conspiracy against the emperor. Executing the elaborate plan he and Messalina had contrived, Narcissus ran into Claudius' bedroom just before daybreak and recounted a dream in which Silanus had violently attacked Claudius.

Messalina woke up and, feigning astonishment, claimed she had dreamed the same dream several nights in a row. In the meantime, the two conspirators had summoned the unsuspecting Silanus to visit Claudius, hoping the emperor would interpret the visit as proof positive of an intent to murder; Claudius sentenced the unlucky man to death.

Although Messalina possessed great influence over her husband, she was aware that her position was not invulnerable. Thus she unflaggingly sought to undermine perceived rivals, including Agrippina the Younger and Julia Livillathe two surviving sisters of the former emperor Caligula. Sent into exile by Caligula for suspected treason, they had been recalled to Rome upon Claudius' accession.

Messalina "persecuted" Agrippina the Younger, which provoked a general sympathy for her, but Agrippina was clever enough to maintain a low profile.

Messalina biography of christopher: The story of Messalina

Julia Livilla, however, was a beautiful woman who often spent time alone with Claudius, and who refused to give Messalina the respect due her. This inspired Messalina's hatred, and she accused Julia Livilla of having an affair with the philosopher-politician Seneca—an accusation important mainly for the implications of a conspiracy.

As a result, Seneca was given a formal trial which resulted in his banishment to the island of Corsica. Julia Livilla was banished without a trial and then killed. In the end, Messalina was destroyed by the conjunction of power and sex which apparently dominated her life. According to Tacitus, she became infatuated with Gaius Silius, "the best-looking young man in Rome," whom she forced to divorce his wife so she could have him to herself.

Gaius Silius knew better than to refuse the woman who could engineer his downfall and death, so he abandoned himself to the affair. Messalina showered him with wealth and distinction, engineering his nomination for the important office of consul and actually moving furniture and slaves from the royal palace into his house. Roman matron.

Birth date unknown; committed suicide in 47 ce; daughter of Poppaeus Sabinus, governor of Moesia for 24 years; married; mistress of Valerius Asiaticus; children: Poppaea Sabina d. Claudius was seemingly unaware of his wife's dalliances, and might have remained so had not Messalina and G. Silius decided to make the relationship public.

Tacitus portrays G. Silius as the one who urged that they should risk all, while Messalina was unenthusiastic. Her motive for giving in, says Tacitus, was the outrageousness of being called Silius' wife when she was still married to Claudius. Messalina: biography. Messalina: the cameo. Messalina shown with Britannicus and Octavia, her children by Claudius.

A cameo is a carved piece of stone jewellery where the subject is carved in relief to stand out from and contrast with its background, often a different colour. This cameo is cut from a coloured, banded stone called sardonyx ; the surrounding, jewelled mount is "modern". In the National Library, Paris. Messalina: the statue 1. Marble staue dating to c.

In the Louvre, Paris. Messalina: the statue 2. The only other scupture thought to represent Messalina is this one in the Sculpture Museum, Dresden. She wears a "turret crown", associated with the goddess Fortune. Messalina: the coin 1. This provincial coin from Knossos on Crete depicts Claudius on the obverse and Messalina on the reverse.

Claudius: Jump to the separate weblink section Gaius Silius the Younger. Britannicus - sculpture. A marble head showing Britannicus the son of Claudius and Messalina aged about 8 - and so contemporary with the events in this passage. Here's a full biography.