Nero’s power and strength derived from his mother, Agrippina the Younger. At the beginning of his rule Agrippina acted as a regent, taking control of many aspects of the empire. She manipulated Nero so much that she in essence ran the empire from behind the scenes. Her constant predilection for manipulation eventually causing her son’s rebellion and possible madness as he began to despise her, giving way to her fall of power and ultimately her death. In the words of Tacitus, “she could give her son the empire, but not endure him as emperor”.
In AD 39, Agrippina was exiled because she was accused of aligning with others in order to overthrow her brother, Gaius Caesar. However, in AD 41, Gaius was assassinated and Claudius became Princeps. Agrippina was recalled back to Rome and was considered to be a candidate for Claudius’ fourth marriage, after his marriage to Messalina had failed. Agrippina, had the advantage of a niece, and used it to make sexual advances upon Claudius. Her alliance with Marcus Antonius Pallas proved to be a significant factor in Agrippina’s marriage to Claudius.
After Cleopatra and Anthony became lovers they made an agreement that Anthony will help her to fight her anomies and kill her sister Arsinoe, in return she will pay for his Partian campaign ( what kind of women p.6….). Anthony was blinded by Cleopatra’s love. To satisfy his queen Antony gradually moved to restore
Agrippina the Elder, among other noteworthy achievements, is considered to be one of the main contributors to Nero’s succession to Claudius’ throne. Nero’s decision to kill his mother was influenced by many different factors including but not limited to: her dominating nature while he was in power, her public admonishment of him, her sudden support of Britannicus, and the influence that his mistress Poppaea Sabina had over him. Dio states that, once Nero had come into power, “Agrippina managed for (Nero) all the business of the empire.” This was a handsome honour accorded to Agrippina, especially considering she was a female. Straightaway Agrippina was afforded substantial power and, according to Tacitus, was held in high regard by her son, the princeps. “...in public, every compliment was heaped upon the princess; and when the tribune, following the military routine, applied for the password, her son gave: ‘The best of mothers.’” With all of these honours, it can be suggested that Agrippina and Nero came to rule the throne together.
Antigone’s tragic flaw is that she is too passionate and strong-willed for her own good. She insists on burying her brother, Polyneices, even when the king forbade it. When asked why she ignored his demand Antigone replied, “I dared. It was not God’s proclamation” (783, 64-65). Antigone is telling Creon that rather than listen to his man made laws that she would rather follow the higher authority of the God’s.
Livia was portrayed as the patron of family life being both the first wife and mother of the state, symbol of chaste and old-fashioned Roman womanhood. As Livia was the wife of Augustus, she was granted many privileges. Firstly, in 35BC she was given the sacrosanctity of a tribune. This was significant as this was the first time it had ever been given to a woman who was not a Vestal Virgin. In 35BC she was given the unprecedented honour of managing her own finances, this was important because it gave Livia independence and had set an example to the woman of Rome which had then influenced the woman to be of the same.
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.
She was one of the most beautiful famous queens in ancient Egyptian history, and her face was used in many sculptures and carvings during Egyptian times. Nefertiti was believed to be the daughter of an army official who was not confirmed to be of royal blood, but despite that she was married to Akhenaten, the tenth pharaoh during the Eighteenth Dynasty who ruled from 1352 B.C. to 1336 B.C. Together they had six daughters and Akhenaten had two other sons with one of the three of his royal wives or concubines. These sons, Smenkhkare and Tutankhamun, were the heirs to the throne.
Who was Julia Agrippina? Julia Agrippina (Agrippina the younger) was a Roman Empress. She was the great granddaughter of the Emperor Augustus, great niece and adopted granddaughter of the Emperor of Tiberius, sister of the emperor Caligula. She was niece and fourth wife of the emperor Claudius and mother of Nero. Julia Agrippina was and has been described by ancient and modern sources as ruthless, ambitious, violent and domineering.
Though after this execution Constantine's mother Helena convinced the emperor of Crispus' innocence and that Fausta's accusation had been false. Escaping the vengeance of her husband, Fausta killed herself at Treviri. A brilliant general, Constantine was a man of boundless energy and determination, yet vain, receptive to flattery and suffering from a choleric temper. Had Constantine defeated all contenders to the Roman throne, the need to defend the borders against the northern barbarians still