Agrippina Influence

Claudius was the third emperor of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty. He was born on 1 August 10 BC at Lagdunnum in Gaul. He was the son of Drusus Cladius Nero and Augustus’s wife Livia. But, he was then adopted by his uncle Tiberius. Claudius was born with defects that led him to limping, drooling, stuttering, and always being ill. His family members kept him out of the public so, there was no embarrassment. His whole childhood and teenage years was spent indoors, hidden away from everyone. He spent every day reading, which led him to learning liberal arts and history which helped him when he had more power.

Agrippina the Younger’s three marriages were significant in her rise to prominence as they all served her political advancement; protection from enemies, fortune and eventually, power in politics. Her first marriage was to Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, a man seventeen years her senior, described as a “wholly despicable character” (Suetonius). Her second marriage was to Gaius Sallustius Passienus Crispus, cut short by his death, but gaining her immense fortune. Her third and final marriage was to her uncle, Emperor Claudius, giving her the political power she craved, just as her mother did before her.

Many of Agrippina’s strengths were also her greatest weaknesses. Her political ability and ambition were great strengths of character, as was her determination, but at times she aimed too high and was ultimately brought down by the very traits that had enabled her to achieve positions of power. Agrippina was able to become one of the most significant women of the Ancient Roman World, but at the same time she was considered manipulative, and was despised by many, including eventually her son - the Emperor Nero, who had her killed in the year 59 CE. Despite holding no official political status, and being limited by her gender, Agrippina reached unprecedented heights and helped stabilise the Claudius Regime, demonstrating her strength as a

However, Valerius, like Cato, associates women with matters that are less substantial and not entirely connected to the empire as a whole. “No offices, no priesthoods, no triumphs, no decorations, no gifts, no spoils of war can come to them; elegance of appearance, adornment, apparel-these are the woman’s badges of honor.” The apparent connection between women and appearance shows that women in Roman society were something to be looked at or shown off. Women were the prizes of men and the better they looked or the more they had been directly linked to his status in society.

How did Cleopatra rise to and maintain her power? Not much is known about her life since she lived so long ago, but what is known is enough to piece together some of her life story. Cleopatra was a strong and intelligent woman who made it through all the struggle and strife of the ancient world until it became too much for her. Cleopatra’s reign began and ended with tragedy, but was maintained by exploited love connections.

The role of women in ancient Rome started out initially to be a limited one, primarily which consisted of being at home with the family. Furthermore, the man was the head of the household, and his authority was not challenged by his wife; she was expected to take a secondary role. This original role for women is often the lasting image that people have.

Unlike Livy, Tacitus uses his history to critique the widespread abuse of power by Rome's leaders. Tacitus was virulently opposed to the great concentration of power in the hands of Roman emperors. It was Tacitus' belief that the Roman emperor had so much power in his hands that no man could occupy the throne without being corrupted by that power. In his writings, Tacitus tries to paint every emperor as a corrupt despot in order to deliver his message that "absolute power corrupts absolutely." His writing is full of tales of corruption, government scandal, and innocent people being destroyed or having

Agrippina the Younger is described to be well educated and aware of her potentially important place

During her time, Agrippina the Younger was able to achieve unprecedented recognition and transcended the boundaries of imperial women to establish herself as a political player. Through her marriage to the Emperor Claudius, she formed a co-ruling alliance that allowed her to manipulate the order of succession to aid her son Nero in becoming Princeps. To a negligible extent, historians agree with Ferrero’s interpretation of Agrippina. Where Ferrero praises Agrippina’s personality, both ancient and modern sources oppose his description of her as ‘intelligent and simple’, often describing her as opportunistic and manipulative. Although they do agree that her upbringing amidst political affairs set her up to becoming a formidable and politically

Ancient Rome was one of the biggest and most influential civilizations in history. The world we know would not be the same without its involvement. Romans practically shaped the Western history, which influenced the whole world as the result. They affected the modern government’s systems, laws, arts, literature, languages and even religions. The importance of it is great and undeniable. Unfortunately, most of the works and sources we have today are written by men and lack sources about women in the ancient Rome. Most of the time in history books, women’s roles and achievements are hardly even mentioned. Even though the Roman Empire was very progressive and

Women had very different rights in Republican Rome to their male counterparts, and although they could be classified as citizens and could play certain roles in Roman religion, they were unable to participate in many of the activities that clearly defined a Roman, such as military service, voting on legislation and candidates for office, and holding and elective position either locally or at Rome. It was also considered anomalous for women to be in learned professions, so female teachers and poets were ignored, which means that the only evidence that we have for women in this period comes from what men have written about them, either in poetry, histories or where they are concerned in laws. This means that when studying women of this time it must be considered that the sole perspective that has survived is male, and that the thoughts of the women themselves are not represented at all, therefore it could be argued that women, in general, played a very small role in the world of Roman politics and intellectual culture.

Throughout this time, they were meant to be loyal to their husbands, and could not speak up and defend themselves. This expectations are illustrated at many points in the story. For instance, when there were suitors waiting at Odysseus’ palace to marry Penelope, she waited for Telemachus to make them leave. She went downstairs to tell the bard to sing a different song, and Telemachus said “Mother, why begrudge our singer/…?/ .../ You should go back upstairs and take care of your work,/ Spinning and weaving.../ Speaking is for men,” (1.366-378). These words show many stereotypes women were tied to, such as not being able to fight for themselves, and not being able to do whatever the. Another representation of the lack of power of the females was exposed in the underworld. While odysseus was talking with the spirits, he had the opportunity to talk with Agamemnon, who has had been assassinated by his wife. Agamemnon explains “As I lay dying with a sword on my chest,/...my wife, turned her back on me,/...Nothing/ Is more grim or more shameless than a woman/ Who sets her mind on such an speakable act/ As killing her own husband” (11.341-346). She was insulted because she did not want to have any type of relationship with her husband, and this shows how tied they were to the idea of loyalty. She was not being shamed because she killed a person, since many men in the story killed sons and daughters and fathers

Tamora was begging Titus to not kill her son Alarbus, “ Stay Roman brethren, gracious conqueror, victorious Titus, rue tears I shed, a mother's tears in passion for her son (1.1 104-105). Titus kills Alarbus to hurt Tamora only because she and her sons were Goths and he thought this was some kind of revenge on the Goths after her son was killed Tamora is ready to get revenge on Titus and the Romans. After Saturninus becomes emperor, he tries to force Lavina to be his wife even though she is with Bassianus, “Lavinia will I make my empress”(1.1 242). Lavina is being forced to be his wife even Titus doesn't try to stop it, Lavinia shows him that he doesn't want to be with him so he moves on to the only other woman in the play Tamora.”Behold I choose thee Tamora for my bride”(1.1 325), Tamora agrees to be his wife only because she wants power and she can have if she is the Empress. The men have power over the woman they can not fight back or refuse to do anything, they are taken advantage of, they are hurt and have things taken from them like their own children or like Lavina her husband Bassianus.

During the time period of the early Roman Empire, and through the early times of Octavian, it is important to note the roles that each sex played. Unlike current western culture, men and women were not equal. Each sex was thought of differently, with women being less than men. According to Severy, the Romans thought of the Roman women as “weakness, instability, and irrationality” (Severy 23). These viewpoints of women lead to women being treated in way that was subservient to men. According to Severy, in contrast, the Romans thought of men as “strength, integrity, and self-control” (Severy 23). This thought process lead to men being in positions of power and control and ultimately the decision makers. This was so much the case that women had to have a male guardian to go out with them during major purchases to verify that was what was supposed to be bought at points (Severy 23). This thought process bled into the

From the expansion days of Ancient Rome to the fall of the Roman Empire, women have always succumbed to living subjacent to the status of their omnipotent and dominant male figures. After leaving her childhood home and the rule of her father, a young Roman girl would then be coerced into the dominion of her husband, often taking a plethora of roles, ranging from lover, caretaker, and best friend. It is often lightheartedly stated that, “Behind every great man is an even greater woman,” and William Shakespeare exemplifies this concept beautifully in Julius Caesar, in which he effectively used the spouses of the two main characters to add more depth, drama, and literary elements to the play, bringing it to life. Although the only two