(Vipsania) Agrippina (PIR¹ V 463) (14 BC – 18 October 33), most commonly known as Agrippina Major or Agrippina "the Elder", was one of the most prominent women in the Roman Empire in the early 1st century AD. She was the daughter of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa by his third wife Julia the Elder, was a granddaughter of Augustus and wife of Germanicus. Template:Julio-Claudian Dynasty The Julio-Claudian Dynasty refers to the first five Roman Emperors: Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... For other persons named Octavian, see Octavian (disambiguation). ... For other Roman women named Julia Caesaris, see Julia Caesaris Julia the Elder (October 39 BC - AD 14), known to her contemporaries as Julia Caesaris filia or Julia Augusti filia (Classical Latin: IVLIA•CAESARIS•FILIA or IVLIA•AVGVSTI•FILIA[1]) was the daughter and only natural child of Augustus. ... Gaius Julius Caesar Vipsanianus (20 BC - AD 4), most commonly known as Gaius Caesar, was the oldest son of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia the Elder. ... Lucius Julius Caesar (17 BC-2 AD), most commonly known as Lucius Caesar, was the second son of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia the Elder. ... Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa Postumus, (12 BC-14 AD) also known as Agrippa Postumus or Postumus Agrippa, was a son of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia the Elder. ... For other persons named Tiberius, see Tiberius (disambiguation). ... For other persons named Tiberius, see Tiberius (disambiguation). ... Drusus the Younger, son of Tiberius. ... Germanicus Julius Caesar Claudianus (24 May 15 BC–October 10, 19) was a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty of the early Roman Empire. ... This article is about the Roman emperor. ... For the identically named daughter of Germanicus, see Drusilla (sister of Caligula). ... Tiberius Gemellus, son of Drusus the Younger and Livilla Tiberius Julius Caesar Nero , known as Tiberius Gemellus, (10 October AD 19–AD 37 or 38) was the son of Drusus and Livilla, the grandson of Tiberius, and the cousin of Gaius Caligula. ... For other persons named Claudius, see Claudius (disambiguation). ... Antonia (30–66 AD) was Claudius only child from his second marriage to Aelia Paetina. ... Octavia was the name of three women of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty of ancient Rome: two were sisters of Augustus Caesar, and the younger was the daughter of Claudius and wife of Nero. ... Britannicus (41 - 55 A.D.) was the son of the Roman emperor Claudius and his third wife Messalina. ... For other uses, see Nero (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Nero (disambiguation). ... Claudia Augusta was the only daughter of the Roman Emperor Nero by his second wife Poppaea Sabina. ... Centuries: 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century Decades: 60s BC 50s BC 40s BC 30s BC 20s BC - 10s BC - 0s 10s 20s 30s 40s Years: 19 BC 18 BC 17 BC 16 BC 15 BC 14 BC 13 BC 12 BC 11 BC 10 BC 9 BC... is the 291st day of the year (292nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see 33 (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ... Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa (c. ... For other Roman women named Julia Caesaris, see Julia Caesaris Julia the Elder (October 39 BC - AD 14), known to her contemporaries as Julia Caesaris filia or Julia Augusti filia (Classical Latin: IVLIA•CAESARIS•FILIA or IVLIA•AVGVSTI•FILIA[1]) was the daughter and only natural child of Augustus. ... For other persons named Octavian, see Octavian (disambiguation). ... Germanicus Julius Caesar Claudianus (24 May 15 BC–October 10, 19) was a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty of the early Roman Empire. ...

Early life

Agrippina was born in Athens, Greece. In 5 she had married Germanicus, her second cousin and step-grandson of the Emperor Augustus. This article is about the capital of Greece. ...

Agrippina had nine children by Germanicus, three of whom died young. The six who survived to adulthood were:

• Nero Caesar
• Drusus Caesar
• Caligula, future Emperor
• Agrippina the Younger, mother of Emperor Nero
• Julia Drusilla
• Julia Livilla

Nero Julius Caesar Germanicus (AD 6–AD 30) was a close relative to the Roman Emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. ... Drusus Caesar , also referred to as Drusus III, (7 - 33 AD) was a member of a noble family of ancient Rome. ... This article is about the Roman emperor. ... Julia Agrippina; known as Agrippina Minor (Latin for the ‘younger’, Classical Latin: IVLIA•AGRIPPINA; from the year 50, called IVLIA•AVGVSTA•AGRIPPINA[1], Greek: η Ιουλία Αγκιππίνη, November 6, 15 - between 19-23 March, 59), was a Roman Empress. ... For other uses, see Nero (disambiguation). ... This article is about the sister of the Roman Emperor Caligula. ... Julia Livilla, daughter of Germanicus Julia Livilla or Julia Germanici filia (Lesbos, early 18 AD-Pandateria (?) late 41 or early 42 AD) was the youngest child of Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder and one of Caligulas sisters. ...

Traveling wife

The well regarded Germanicus was a candidate for the succession and had won fame campaigning in Germania and Gaul, where he was accompanied by Agrippina. This was most unusual for Roman wives, as convention required them to stay at home, and earned her a reputation as a model for heroic womanhood. She bore him two children in Gaul, a boy and Agrippina the Younger in the Rhine frontier. Map of the Roman Empire and the free Germania, Magna Germania, in the early 2nd century For other uses, see Germania (disambiguation). ... Gaul (Latin: ) was the name given,in ancient times, to the region of Western Europe comprising present-day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western Switzerland and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the Rhine river. ... Julia Agrippina; known as Agrippina Minor (Latin for the ‘younger’, Classical Latin: IVLIA•AGRIPPINA; from the year 50, called IVLIA•AVGVSTA•AGRIPPINA[1], Greek: η Ιουλία Αγκιππίνη, November 6, 15 - between 19-23 March, 59), was a Roman Empress. ...

Agrippina and Germanicus travelled to the Near East in 19, incurring the displeasure of the emperor Tiberius. Germanicus quarrelled with Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, the governor of Syria, and died in Antioch in mysterious circumstances. It was widely suspected that Germanicus had been poisoned – perhaps on the orders of Tiberius himself – and Agrippina returned to Rome to avenge his death. She 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. The Near East is a term commonly used by archaeologists, geographers and historians, less commonly by journalists and commentators, to refer to the region encompassing Anatolia (the Asian portion of modern Turkey), the Levant (modern Israel/Palestine, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon), Georgia, Armenia, and... For other persons named Tiberius, see Tiberius (disambiguation). ... Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, (c. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Antakya. ...

Time in Rome

Agrippina landing at Brundisium with the Ashes of Germanicus, Oil on canvas, c. 1768.

From 19 to 29, Agrippina remained in Rome, becoming increasingly involved with a group of senators who opposed the growing power of Tiberius' favourite Sejanus. Her relations with the emperor became increasingly fraught as she made it clear that she believed that he was responsible for the death of Germanicus. The climate was further poisoned by the "inveterate hatred" that Tiberius' mother felt for her (Tacitus, Annals 4.12), since Agrippina's ambition, to be the mother of emperors and thus Rome's first woman, was an open secret. In 26, the emperor rejected her request that she be allowed to marry again. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2048x1385, 184 KB) Description: Title: de: Agrippina landet in Brundisium mit der Asche des Germanicus en: Agrippina Landing at Brundisium with the Ashes of Germanicus Technique: de: Öl auf Leinwand en: Oil on canvas Dimensions: de: 164 × 270 cm en: 64. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2048x1385, 184 KB) Description: Title: de: Agrippina landet in Brundisium mit der Asche des Germanicus en: Agrippina Landing at Brundisium with the Ashes of Germanicus Technique: de: Öl auf Leinwand en: Oil on canvas Dimensions: de: 164 × 270 cm en: 64. ... Lucius Aelius Seianus (or Sejanus) (20 BC – October 18, 31 AD) was an ambitious soldier, friend and confidant of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. ...

Exile and death

Cinerary urn of Agrippina, in the tabularium.

Agrippina and her sons Nero and Drusus were arrested in 29 on the orders of Tiberius. They were tried by the Senate and Agrippina was banished to the island of Pandataria (now called Ventotene) in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the coast of Campania where her mother had once been banished. There she was treated with great brutality, losing an eye from the blow of a centurion and later undergoing forcible feeding (Suetonius, Tib.53). She died on 18 October 33 in suspicious circumstances. Her death, according to Suetonius the result of voluntary starvation (ibid), was probably hastened by her realisation that the fall of Sejanus had "led to no abatement of horrors" (Tacitus, Annals 6.25). Tacitus also mentions malnutrition as a likely cause. After her death Tiberius accused her of "having had Asinius Gallus as a paramour and being driven by his death to loathe existence" (Annals 6.25). At Tiberius' prompting the Senate decreed that her birthday should be marked as a day of ill omen (Suet.ibid.). Image File history File links Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1704 × 2272 pixels, file size: 262 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Roma, Tabularium al Campidoglio: lapide di Agrippina maggiore. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1704 × 2272 pixels, file size: 262 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Roma, Tabularium al Campidoglio: lapide di Agrippina maggiore. ... The Tabularium, on the right, with the medioeval Senate palace built upon. ... Ventotene and the Pontine Islands The village, seen from the harbour Piazza Castello Ventotene is an island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, off the coast of Campania, Italy. ... Tyrrhenian Sea. ... For other uses, see Campania (disambiguation). ... is the 291st day of the year (292nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see 33 (disambiguation). ...

Drusus died of starvation after being imprisoned in Rome and Nero Caesar either committed suicide or was murdered after his trial in 29. Only two of her children are of historical importance: Agrippina the Younger and Gaius Caesar, who succeeded Tiberius under the name of Caligula. Despite Tiberius' enmity towards Caligula's elder brothers, he nonetheless made Caligula and his cousin Tiberius Gemellus joint heirs to his property. For other persons named Tiberius, see Tiberius (disambiguation). ... This article is about the Roman emperor. ... Tiberius Gemellus, son of Drusus the Younger and Livilla Tiberius Julius Caesar Nero , known as Tiberius Gemellus, (10 October AD 19–AD 37 or 38) was the son of Drusus and Livilla, the grandson of Tiberius, and the cousin of Gaius Caligula. ...

There is a portrait of her in the Capitoline Museums at Rome and a bronze medal in the British Museum showing her ashes being brought back to Rome by order of Caligula. Michelangelos design for Capitoline Hill, now home to the Capitoline Museums. ... For other uses, see Rome (disambiguation). ... The British Museum in London, England is one of the worlds greatest museums of human history and culture. ... For other uses, see Rome (disambiguation). ...

Personality

Agrippina was widely regarded by contemporaries as being a woman of the highest character and exemplary Roman morals, notwithstanding a profound arrogance and a vaulting ambition: Tacitus' verdict is of a woman who "could not endure equality and loved to domineer, [and who] with her masculine aspirations was far removed from the frailties of women" (Annals 6.25).

A superficial assessment views Agrippina as the innocent victim of tyranny. In reality, however, Agrippina herself had done much to provoke her fate. Her constant dwelling on her birth (e.g. Annals 1.40) and her being the "sole surviving offspring of Augustus" (Annals 3.4) was not merely an insult to Tiberius, Augustus’ son by adoption, but also to Livia, who was Julia Augusta only by testamentary adoption; her attitude also implied a challenge to Tiberius' own position.

See also

Tacitus, Annals i.-vi.

Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars

Julio-Claudian Family Tree

For other uses, see Tacitus (disambiguation). ... The Annals, or, in Latin, Annales, is a history book by Tacitus covering the reign of the 4 Roman Emperors succeeding to Caesar Augustus. ... The Twelve Caesars is a set of twelve biographies of Julius Caesar and the first 11 emperors of the Roman Empire. ... The Julio-Claudian dynasty of the early Roman Empire has a family tree complicated by multiple marriages between the members of the gens Julia and the gens Claudia. ...

References

• E. Klebs, H. Dessau, P. Von Rohden (ed.), Prosopographia Imperii Romani, 3 vol., Berlin, 1897-1898. (PIR¹)
• Robin Seager, Tiberius, London (Eyre Methuen) 1972

External links