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MESSALINA
Valeria Messalina (PIR1 V 161) , sometimes spelled Messallina, Mesalina (c. 20-48) was a Roman Empress and third wife to Roman Emperor Claudius.
Family
Valeria Messalina was the only daughter to Domitia Lepida and Marcus Valerius Messalla Barbatus (PIR1 V 88; Suetonius, Vita Claudii, 26.29). Her father was the son of Marcus Valerius Messala Barbatus Appianus (PIR1 V 89), a Claudius Pulcher by birth (son of Appius Claudius Pulcher, cos. 38BC) adopted by Marcus Valerius Messala, cos. suff. 32 BC. His mother was Claudia Marcella Minor. Messalina's mother, Domitia Lepida, was the youngest child and daughter to Antonia Major and the consul Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus.
Her grandmothers were half-sisters and the nieces to Rome’s first Emperor Caesar Augustus and daughters to Augustus’ elder sister Octavia Minor. Claudia Marcella Minor was the youngest daughter of Octavia Minor from her first marriage to Roman Consul and Senator Gaius Claudius Marcellus. Antonia Major was the eldest daughter of Octavia Minor from her second marriage to Roman Triumvir Mark Antony.
Born no later than 12 BC and on the basis on his family distinction, Barbatus could have expected a consulship by 23. Since he didn't become consul, it has been suggested that he must have died before that date (cf. Barrett, Agrippina, p. 233). Messalina's mother later remarried with Faustus Cornelius Sulla, to whom she bore a son, named Faustus Cornelius Sulla Felix. This younger half-brother of Messalina was married in 47 to Claudius' elder daughter, Claudia Antonia.
Marriage to Claudius
Around AD 38, she married her second cousin Claudius; there was a large age gap between them. It is unlikely that this was her first marriage considering her age (20 or older), but there is little information about her early life. At the time Messalina was a wealthy, influential figure and a regular in the court of then Emperor Caligula. Claudius was Caligula’s paternal uncle and was likewise becoming very influential and popular; he probably needed to marry Messalina to strengthen his ties to the Imperial Court.
They had two children: a daughter Claudia Octavia, who was first wife to future Emperor Nero, and a son called Britannicus.
Poor Reputation
The unstable Caligula was assassinated on 24 January 41. Claudius was proclaimed Emperor by the Praetorian Guard and thus as Claudius' wife, Messalina became Empress.
Messalina, among the ancient sources, has a very poor reputation. According to Suetonius and Tacitus, Messalina was cruel, avaricious and foolish. Many women of her age and station enjoyed festivities and great parties, but the two historians contended that Messalina unwisely combined this zest for meeting people with an insatiable sexual appetite. A widely reported tale was of Messalina's challenge to a notorious Roman prostitute named Scylla of an all-night sex competition. Scylla gave up at dawn when each woman had taken 25 lovers, but Messalina saw no reason to stop copulating until well into the morning.
Messalina certainly duped Claudius and manipulated him into executing those who displeased or spurned her. She is also recorded as a cheerful player of court politics who sold her influence to Roman nobles and foreign notables. Her name is used as a synonym for others with her supposed vices.
Death
In 48, Messalina conspired with Gaius Silius to kill Claudius while her husband was in Ostia. She actually went through a public marriage ceremony with Silius (he was already married to an aristocratic woman named Junia Silana). Apparently, she was motivated by the protection the powerful and popular Silius could give her over the weakness of Claudius.
Her plotting was sufficiently promising that many senior officials were swayed to her side. However, the plot was exposed by Narcissus, an advisor to Claudius. Messalina, Silius and a number of others were summarily executed. Messalina was apparently offered the opportunity of suicide but was unable to do it. Claudius was at dinner when he was informed of her death; his response was to ask for more wine.
As a wife, she succeeded Plautia Urgulanilla and Aelia Paetina. She was in turn replaced by Agrippina the Younger.
Messalina in Fiction
Messalina was featured prominently in Robert Graves' novel I, Claudius and its sequel Claudius the God. In keeping with the historical views at the time the novels were written (1934), Messalina is portrayed as a young teenager at the time of her marriage. She is also credited with all the actions mentioned in the ancient sources.
The character of Messalina has been portrayed many times in movies and television films or miniseries. Here are some of the actresses who played Messalina:
Merle Oberon was to have played Messalina in Josef von Sternberg's 1937 film of I, Claudius, but her car accident ended filming.
References
- E. Klebs, H. Dessau, P. Von Rohden (ed.), Prosopographia Imperii Romani, 3 vol., Berlin, 1897-1898. (PIR1)
- Levick, Barbara, Claudius. Yale University Press, New Haven, 1990.
- Anthony A. Barrett, Agrippina: Sex, Power and Politics in the Early Roman Empire. Yale University Press, New Haven, 1996.
Sources
- Tacitus, Annals, XI. 1, 2, 12, 26-38
- Dio Cassius, Roman History, LX. 14-18, 27-31
- Juvenal, Satires 6, 10, 14
- Suetonius, Lives of the Twelve Caesars: Claudius 17, 26, 27, 29, 36, 37, 39; Nero 6; Vitellius 2
- Sextus Aurelius Victor epitome of Book of Caesars, 4
- Pliny the Elder, Natural History 10
- Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews XX. 8; The Wars of the Jews II. 12
- Seneca the Younger, Apocolocyntosis divi Claudii; Octavia, 257-261
- Plutarch, Lives
External links
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