Agrippina the Younger

16–59

DESTRUCTION OF AGRIPPINA AND HER SHIP

Agrippina the Younger was the daughter of Germanicus and the mother of the emperor Nero. She is notorious for her treachery and murders, and for her dramatic death at the hands of her son. Her first husband, Domitius Ahenobarbus, was the biological father of Nero. She is thought to have murdered her second husband, and then convinced her uncle Claudius, then Emperor, to make her his fourth wife. She then persuaded him to adopt Nero and make him heir to the imperial throne instead of his own biological son Britannicus. Once she had secured Nero's position, she poisoned Claudius and then sought to rule the Empire in her son's name. It was not long before a rift between Nero and Agrippina opened up, and when she threatened to withdraw her support for him, he murdered his younger brother Britannicus. Once Nero fell under the influence of his mistress Poppaea, the dispute between Nero and his mother grew more intense and he made various unsuccessful attempts to kill her discreetly before sending his soldiers to murder her in her home.

Key events during the life of Agrippina:

Year	Event
28	Married Domitius Ahenobarbus.
37	Birth of Nero to first husband Domitius Ahenobarbus.
47	Second husband dies suddenly. Agrippina is suspected of poisoning him.
49	Agrippina marries her uncle, the emperor Claudius.
50	Claudius adopts Nero as heir to the imperial throne.
54	Agrippina murders Claudius. Nero ascends to the throne.
	Nero feuds with his mother over a woman; Agrippina loses influence.
55	Nero poisons his brother Britannicus.
58	Nero falls under the influence of Poppaea.
59	Nero has his mother murdered.

Other Resources

Story Links	Book Links
Nero's Mother  in	Nero  by  Jacob Abbott
Fate of Agrippina  in	Nero  by  Jacob Abbott
Death of the Younger Agrippina  in	Pictures from Roman Life and Story  by  Alfred J. Church
Nero's First Crimes  in	The Story of the Romans  by  H. A. Guerber
Nero in	Famous Men of Rome  by  John H. Haaren & A. B. Poland
Murder of an Empress  in	Historical Tales: Roman  by  Charles Morris

Image Links
The Poisoning of Claudius  in Nero	The Attempt of Anicetus  in Nero	Nero Receiving the Body of his Mother  in Greatest Nations - Germany
Destruction of Agrippina and her ship  in Greatest Nations - Rome

Contemporary	Short Biography
Claudius	Fourth emperor. Manipulated by wicked wives, Messalina and Agrippina.
Nero	Fifth emperor. Murdered mother, wife, and brother. Fiddled while Rome burned.
Seneca	Tutor and minister to Nero. Forced to commit suicide after falling from grace.
Messalina	Wicked, profligate, and promiscuous wife of Claudius.
Poppaea	Wicked mistress of Nero. Urged him to kill his mother and first wife.
Domitius Ahenobarbus	First husband of Agrippina, father of Nero.