Talk:Locusta

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Untitled

Um, judging by the information on the page Locusta would appear to have been a contract-hitwoman, working for the government, not a serial killer.

I probably should have made it clear that she also poisoned others in her spare time. --Auric 17:12, 13 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

This article is in slight conflict with the article concerning Claudius. In said article, cause of death and those responsible are not certain, while this states solidly.

"The general consensus of ancient historians is that Claudius was murdered by poison — possibly contained in mushrooms — and died in the early hours of October 13, 54. Accounts vary greatly. Some claim Claudius was in Rome[29] while others claim he was in Sinuessa.[30] Some implicate either Halotus, his taster, Xenophon, his doctor, or the infamous poisoner Locusta as the administrator of the fatal substance.[31]"

from Wikipedia article "Claudius"

Please mend what needs to be mended.

Any sources about murders she would have committed "for kicks" (or that she did)? Her being other than a for hire poisoner is definitely not in Suetonius, and I don't remember it in Tacitus either. IIRC, the only source I'd not have read would be Dio Cassius. Seriously, the "serial killer" bit about her seems to be from Ramsland, whose works I am familar enough with to be about sure she's a shameless sensational writer who's got no qualms about stretching the truth to get better copy, or a couple more paid pages. --Svartalf (talk) 21:33, 27 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Sources for this article

I don't have the time to improve this article at the moment; however, I did find more sources about Locusta on Google books.

Also, the external link uses Outrageous Women of Ancient Times by Vicki León as a source.

--momoricks ^talk 10:06, 10 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Death

I'm skeptical about her death. While I wouldn't put it past human because of its cruelty (as I have learned, there is nothing that man finds "too cruel" to inflict upon another human being), it just seems a bit ridiculous. So I did a bit of fact-checking (thanks momoricks!), and Uppity Women of the Ancient Times claims she was executed "efficiently" without stating the exact method (Link), while Blood and Splendor: The Lives of Five Tyrants, from Nero to Saddam Hussein states that she was beheaded (Link). That seems a bit less absurd, if you ask me.65.182.82.248 (talk) 12:52, 8 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

In fact, I just checked the given source in the article on google books (Link), and it has no mention at all of rape or a giraffe. It states that she was publicly executed in the Coliseum on January 9th, but gives no more details. Furthermore, upon checking the edit history, this seems to be a case of vandalism. Should have thought to check that first. /facepalm65.182.82.248 (talk) 12:59, 8 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The Schechter book does have the claim mentioned but it directly quotes Newton's Encyclopedia on the subject. I've not been able to find any other mention of this wild claim anywhere else. The sentence has been reworded a bit to make it clear that this is Newton's claim only. If better sources cant be found, the claim should be removed.--RadioFan (talk) 14:40, 22 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I recall the same thing being mentioned on the Nero page (the emperor). Might be worth checking out edit history there, too. --Falkvinge 16:51, 22 August 2012 (CET)