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Messalina

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Valeria Messalina
Roman imperial dynasties
Julio-Claudian dynasty
Chronology
27 BC – AD 14
AD 14–37
AD 37–41
AD 41–54
AD 54–68
Preceded by
Roman Republic		 Followed by
Year of the Four Emperors

Valeria Messalina or Messalina (About 18 AD - 48 AD) was a Roman Empress and third wife to Roman Emperor Claudius.

Family

Valeria Messalina was the only daughter to Domitia Lepida Minor and consul Marcus Valerius Messalla Barbatus. Her paternal grandfather was Marcus Valerius Messalla Messallinus who served as a senator and twice consul and her paternal grandmother was Claudia Marcella Minor. Her maternal grandparents were 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.

Her full blooded brother was Marcus Valerius Messala Corvinus II (who was consul in 58 AD) and her half-brother is Faustus Cornelius Sulla Felix. Her father died of unknown circumstances either in 20 or early 21 AD and mother later remarried to Faustus Cornelius Sulla, a descendant of Roman Dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla.

Marriage to Claudius

Around 38 AD, she married her second cousin Claudius and there was a large age gap between them. 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 then Claudius was becoming very influential and popular and probably needed to marry Messalina to strengthen his ties to the Imperial Court.

They had two children: a daughter Claudia Octavia (40 AD - 62 AD) , who was first wife to future Emperor Nero and a son called Britannicus (41 AD - 55 AD).

Empress and Reputation

The unstable Caligula, was assassinated on 24 January 41 AD, Claudius was proclaimed Emperor by the Praetorian Guard and thus, becoming Empress.

Messalina, among the ancient sources has a very poor reputation. If Roman Historians such as Suetonius and Tacitus) are to be believed, Messalina was cruel, avaricious, foolish and one of the wild sluts of all time. She almost surely had many wild sexual affairs and she once challenged a notorious Roman prostitute named Scylla to an all-night sex competition. Scylla gave up at dawn when both women had each taken 25 lovers, but Messalina saw no reason to stop copulating until well into the morning.

Messalina duped Claudius and manipulated him into executing those who displeased or spurned her. She is also recorded as a lover of parties and festivities as well as an enthusiastic 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 aristocratic woman 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.

Claudius the God

This contrasts with Robert Graves's eminently researched novel Claudius the God, in which the emperor's reaction was less restrained — Claudius broke down crying and in his grief decided to become a far more cruel emperor in a futile attempt to hasten the Republic's return. This version of his reaction may seem more in line from a man whom all agree cherished his young wife; however Claudius the God is fiction, and Graves was clearly using poetic licence.

Film/Television

The character of Messalina has been portrayed many times in movies and television films or mini series. Here are some of the actresses who played Messalina:

References

  • 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.
  • Syme, R, Papers B, 425, 1986.

Sources
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