Agrippina the Younger was the third wife of Claudius and the mother of Nero. Ancient writers have perceived her as a manipulative woman, controlling her husband and doing anything to place her son Nero upon the Imperial throne. Agrippina has gone down as one of the most powerful and most ruthless women in history. However modern historians have reviewed the images of Agrippina, free from the sexual bias of the Ancient writers. The histrorian James Romm portrayed Agrippina as a woman who was simply trying to escape the restrictions imposed on her by society.
In the words of Tacitus, “she could give her son the empire, but not endure him as emperor”. The “Empire was ruled by a woman” (Grant) as during Nero’s early reign, Agrippina achieved her height of political dominance “ruling through her son” (Scullard) over foreign affairs. This is evidenced through Narcissus and Silanus sentencing to death, without Nero’s knowledge. Nero exemplifies her power by making the first password to the tribune of the watch “optimum mater” translating to ‘best of mothers’. The most damming evidence which supports Agrippina’s power and authority can be seen in the numismatic evidence with silver and gold coins displaying Agrippina and Nero face to face and of equal size on the obverse in 54AD and showing them side to side in 55AD.
Barnett states that “Agrippina would make much of her Julian descent… this dynastic connection was powerful in itself.” This source is can be considered a strong reference in responding the question of discussing the basis of Agrippina’s power and influence. It shows that through her Julian descent, not only was she born into royalty and a strong bloodline, but brought into a world where her parents were greatly loved by the people of Rome making the power she longed for much easier to fall into. There are several aspects to Agrippina’s power and influence that allowed her to succeed in the Roman Empire. Her ability to gain power was not only through influencing the people around her; both immediate and extended family, staying faithful in marriage she might of come by and being a mother like hers that Rome looked up to and desired to be. Julia Augusta Agrippinilla (little Agrippina), born in AD 15 in the era of Tiberius’s reign, was brought into a strong and powerful dynasty of the Julio-Claudian’s.
Agrippina’s calculated and at times, violent actions stemmed from her desire of becoming a powerful and influential figure in the Roman society. Actions which eventually lead to her grisly death, murdered under the order of her own son, Emperor Nero. Agrippina’s third marriage was to Claudius, her uncle and the Emperor of Rome. Ancient sources claim that she poisoned Claudius with a plate of deadly mushrooms. Accounts differ greatly, but the results are the same, Claudius is dead and Agrippina’s son became Emperor.
Lady Macbeth went to great measures to make sure Duncan was killed; she even called upon the evil spirits to aid her. If Lady Macbeth had not been in the play, Macbeth mostly likely would have continued to serve the King honourably even if he had some doubts. Shakespeare, W 1994, Macbeth, London, Penguin
Part of the reason behind Agrippina’s power was her close proximity to some of the most powerful men in the ancient world, she was the great-granddaughter of the great Augustus: who also had achieved a deified status, daughter of Germanicus: said to be the reincarnation of Apollo himself, sister of an emperor (Caligula), wife of an emperor (Claudius), and mother of an emperor (Nero). She used this impeccable family bloodline to secure power in both the Senate and in Roman society, but was she the evil temptress and nymphomaniac the ancient sources made her out to be? Agrippina held immeasurable and unprecedented power for a woman of the time period, even outstripping the great Livia, wife of Augustus. Her power, according to the written evidence provided by men such as Tacitus, Suetonius and Cassius Dio, was a mix of several different components: • Proximity to powerful male members of Roman politics/society • Her lineage/bloodline, and • Her charm, beauty and sexual allure These factors supposedly enabled Agrippina to climb both the social and political ladders in Roman society with relative ease, influence high ranking men throughout the Roman Empire, and acquire information and support for her son Nero in his political career. Her relentless ambition to secure her son's emperorship and to gain as much power as emperor gives her a legendary status.
Arguably women achieved the vote as the social position of women was improving which helped erode male prejudices against them. The Married Women’s Property Act of 1882 and 1893 granted women full legal control of all property they had owned at marriage or that they had gained after marriage, by earnings or inheritance. Changing attitudes was therefore an important factor in winning women the vote in 1918 The militant suffragettes
This provides your essay with a clear, structured argument. In 1918, the Representation of the People Act gave women over 30 the vote, if they owned property or were married to a property owner. The major reason for women receiving the vote has been a fundamental source of debate amongst historians. Whilst traditional schools of thought argue that women’s work during WWI radically changed male ideas about their role in society with traditional historians such as Ray suggesting that giving women the vote in 1918 was almost a ‘thank you’ for their efforts, revisionist historians, however, find this analysis too simplistic. AJP Taylor, for example, argues that the war ‘smoothed the way for democracy’ and so there are other factors of significance, such as, suffrage campaign groups (WSPU & NUWSS) and growing equality with men.
Cleopatra was the queen of Egypt and Julius Caesars mistress. Marc Antony was Julius Caesar’s lieutenant. They both wanted the power and thought if they joined forces, they could take down Octavian. During the battle, Cleopatra thought that Marc Antony had died so she went back home. Once Marc Antony saw her leaving, he chased her, leaving his navy alone.
Verna Thorton, dying of terminal Lung Cancer, tells Fitz about the election rigging, and how she was the one that ordered the attempted assassination on him because he did not deserve to be president. He in turn suffocates her with a pillow. I relate this back to Macbeth, with the death of Banquo. The witches prophesied that Banquo’s sons would be Kings, so Macbeth kills him and his son so that he can keep the crown. Fitz kills Verna, because he didn’t want to lose his presidency, and since she has already tried to assassinate he knows she is a threat alive.