CLST 201 Lecture Notes - Messalina, Gladiator, Tigellinus
15 Apr 2014
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Claudius: good emperor in general, wives were problematic, valeria messalina (3rd wife), very young, enjoyed herself at claudius" expense. Liked pomp, splendor, and power related to being royal first real empress. 2 children octavia and britannicus - gave claudius an heir. He was ignored by her and humiliated by her actions. She was actually claudius" niece, so he changed the laws so he could marry her. She already had a son (nero), so now claudius has 2 potential heirs. Unscrupulous, power hungry given title augusta (revered), was even on. She was plotting for her son"s succession (nero was a few years older than britannicus: claudius adopted nero as his guardian, to cement alliance, nero married claudius" daughter, octavia in. This is why people think nero started the fire, so he could build: rumours of him starting fire spread through rome, he blames the christians to shift attention away from him.
