The Many Marriages Of Claudius
As I look back on my marriages I see many difficulties, especially in my marriages to Messallina and Agrippina. The years I spent with them are indescribable. I never really knew how far love would take someone until I experienced it myself. Love did not take me far at all. I can remember when I met Messallina and Agrippina, and I remember every part of our marriages. When I say every part I mean the "good, the bad, and the ugly!" Here is a story on how a man never knew that there was more to a marriage than love, trust, and honesty.
When I married Messallina 39 years ago, it was a strong relationship. She had not only improved our marriage but also my work as an emperor. I should mention that Messallina was my cousin once removed. When she was young (about fifteen) she was beautiful. But over the years, age was a problem to her. She became quite unattractive and very jealous of others in the empire. I can recall two particular times when Messallina's beauty and frustration got to her head. In the year AD 39 Messallina had set her eyes on Julia Livilla. This lady was exiled because she had become threatening to Messallina and me. Back then that was the only reason that I knew for her exile. Later I was told by a friend that there was more to this story than threats. It turns out that Messallina had heard that Julia Livilla had been trying to take over the empire and in order to do so she had to charm me with her beauty. She did this because she needed everyone to see how sweet and caring she was, and for no one to see what her plans were. I was told that Julia Livilla's plan was to court me and have Messallina exiled so I would marry her. After that I would have a "mysterious death" and she would take over. But as it turned out, Julia Livilla was the one to be exiled and not Messallina.
The other incident that set off Messallina, before I came to power, was when Drusus Caesar's daughter Julia attempted to kill Gaius. She did this because if he were killed I would take power , she would marry me, kill me, and become ruler. I guess in her mind it was a smart plan, but in reality it could not have been done. But surely enough 41 years ago Gaius was assassinated and I became ruler. This plan made Messallina mad because she did not want anyone to kill me, but also because if Julia Livilla had done that, Messallina would have been exiled for some sort of reason. If anything should have happened to me, Messallina thought that she would become ruler. I do not think that anyone would want to pass on the opportunity to became a leader of Rome. I am sure that Messallina had many ideas of how to run the empire if she were to become a ruler.
Messallina had many other ideas that she kept to herself, but one of them no one could hide from. A man named Silius, who was an ex-praetor, fell in love with Messallina. Of course she thought of a plan to try to get Silius to take my place. So in AD 48 Messallina and Silius were so much in love that he divorced his wife and I executed both of them.
Messallina, in the beginning of our marriage, was a woman whom I appreciated as someone on my side. She did many things for me that improved my life as a ruler. But towards the end of our marriage she really turned on me. Messallina fell in love with another man, and I was not the one she loved anymore. But I feel as though I did what had to be done, executing them along with their followers. Silius was ready to take power and I wasn't ready to give it up. I believe my choice was wise, and after Messallina, my marriage to Agrippina was somewhat different but somewhat similar.
My marriage to Agrippina, my niece, was basically one-sided. I mean that because she was really only in it for one reason, to make Nero emperor. When I married Agrippina 49 years ago, her needs for power were far more great than Messallina's. Every move that she made was for her son, Nero.
There were many ways in which Agrippina tried to get Nero to become emperor. One way was by having me adopt him as my son. I did this in AD 50, the same year that Agrippina had become Augusta. In 51 years ago, Nero had took the "toga of manhood" which was one sign that he was not only getting older but that he was becoming more noticed and more well recognized. If Nero were to take power Agrippina would rise in power as well. When I became ill, Nero claimed power. But if I am going to die soon, I will not be able to give my position to Nero. I know that the Senate would rather him not be emperor , so that is one reason. Another reason why I don't want to give up my position is because I am still alive. Until my last breath I will still be emperor, and no one else will. After that, it does not matter to me. I'm sure that Nero will gain even more power when I die, so right now all that he has to worry about is how he is going to take over when I pass away.
Agrippina also gained power while we were married. She did many things, and in return she got many things back. There are a few examples on what Agrippina did in order to gain power. When she was trying to get Nero to become emperor. she had told Britannicus, my son with Messallina, that if he tried to become, ruler she would have him killed. This scared Britannicus off terribly because he was what everyone wanted for the dynasty. Also, when Silius adopted Britannicus while he was married to Messallina, it gave him an even better chance of being a ruler because a lot of people liked Silius. This was another downfall for Agrippina, because not everyone liked me, and if Britannicus was with me it would not look as good for him. Agrippina wished that I had kept Britannicus, and not let Silius adopt him, so that way he would have less of a chance to become a ruler. These are only a few examples of how sneaky Agrippina was. She wanted to benefit from everything that went on in the empire. It was not until many years later that I realized the plans that she had had for Nero. She wanted him to become emperor so bad that she would stop at nothing in order to make him what she wanted him to be. Once again, I had thought that there was more to my marriage with Agrippina than a way to become a part of the empire. I guess I was wrong once again.
Now I have come to a close on two of my somewhat abusive marriages. Both Messallina and Agrippina were concerned about gaining power for themselves and for their children, that they did not have the opportunity to enjoy being married to a man that is more than just an emperor. But that is their loss and not mine, because I outlived them with my power which they tried to take away from me. Now that I am ill and old, I can only hope that the empire is still running strong when I am no longer here to watch it. I hope that if Nero becomes the next emperor that he does an outstanding job with the title that he will have.
By Liz P. '02, Germantown Academy.