Author: Lucilla http://www.twcenter.net/forums/membe...205852-Lucilla
Original Thread: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...eria-Messalina

Life of Valeria Messalina



Messalina was born at 25 January around the year of 20 AD in the city of Rome. She was related to Emperor Augustus through both her mother Domitia Lepida the Younger and her father Valerius Massalla Barbetos, Domitia Lepida was the granddaughter of Mark Antony while her father Valerius Messala was the son of a reputable consul named Marcus Valerius Messalla Appianus. Little is known prior to Messalina's wedding the Emperor Claudius. Messalinia's marriage to Claudius was like all marriages within the imperial family, driven by political considerations. Messalina’s future husband was someone who many believed would never amount to anything -- his own mother called him a monster. Claudius had been married twice before he married with Messalina, first to Plantia Urgulanilla and then Aelia Paetina which he divorced for marrying Messalina. The marriage took place around the year of 38 AD when Messalina was aged 18 years while Claudius was about 48 years old. Messalina would bear him two children , one daughter named Claudia Octavia in the year of 39 BC and a son named Tiberius Claudius Germanicus born in 41 AD better known as Britannicus born just three weeks before Claudius was found quivering behind a curtain and had been appointed emperor.The newborn son received the name of Britannicus because of Claudius' conquest of Britain in 43 AD. The birth of a son gave Messalina additional control over Claudius because it provided Claudius an heir.

Messalina's control over the often gullible Claudius became clear shortly after the emperor ordered the return of cluadius' nieces, Julia Livilla and Agrippina Minor from exile in the Pontile islands. Both women had been exiled by the previous emperor Caligula after years of abuse. Upon their return to Rome, Messalina became jealous, especially of the beautiful Julia who endeared herself to the emperor. Messalina power over Claudius became even more visible after she accused Julia of adultery and convinced Claudius of to exile her once again, she would later die due to starvation. Her husband Marcus Vinicius got executed for the very same reasons Julia Luvilla had been executed for. Meanwhile Julia's sister Agrippina Minor stayed at the background escaping Messalina's attention. The use of trumped up charges like those against Julia was not limited to her; Messalina brought allegations --usually a suspected plot to overthrow Claudius-- against anyone who opposed her, and the timid Claudius could not or would not oppose her.

One of Messalina's fault was her lack of faithfulness to her husband. Likewise, pity anyone with whom she became infatuated. One of the best examples of this was with her own step-father. After her husband’s death, Messalina’s mother married Appius Silanus, governor of eastern Spain. Unfortunately for Silanus, Messalina became infatuated with her new step-father. When Silanus moved to rome and married Messalina's mother she convinced her friend Narcissus to claim he had a vision where Silanus stabbed Claudius. To further convince the emperor Messalina would claim at the same time she received the same vision as Narcissus had, Claudius a stong believer in bad omens, had Silanus executed for treachery.

As a young woman, Valeria Messalina was a popular figure in the court of her cousin Caligula, and she may have picked up some of her sexual habits in Caligula's debacherous halls. Once crowned empress she was truly able to flex her sexual creativity. According to Pliny the Elder's Natural History, Messalina challenged a popular prostitute to a contest: Messalina boasted that she could take more men in a stretch than her rival. She won with 25 men. Another story has her creating a brothel where she and other members of the aristocracy anonymously serviced the men of the city. These stories sound unbelievable and were likely exaggerated by her enemies, but we must remember that this was the Rome that had just suffered through the reign of Caligula, so elaborate sexual excess by rulers was not exactly unheard of.



When Sabinus, the former head of the German bodyguard, was programmed to die in the arena, she saved his life because he was her paramour. Although it cannot be known with whom Messalina really slept and where exaggeration begins, there is no reason to think that she was a chaste wife. Liaisons with the upper class Vettius Valens and Plautius Lateranus are well attested by several sources. The insatiable Messalina did not limit her passion to only revenge. She also enjoyed the acquisition of objects. A good example of this occurred when she set her sights on the beautiful Gardens of Lucullus, owned by Valerius Asiaticus. Of course, as always, she wanted them and knew how to get them. As with others, Valerius was accused of a conspiracy against the emperor and was slated for execution, but instead of being executed, he was permitted to commit suicide. The gardens were now hers. Many of the more astute senators curried favor with the greedy Messalina, using her influence over Claudius to their own advantage.

By 48 AD Messalina’s lifestyle and blatant disregard for her husband’s reputation and Roman values could not go on indefinitely. Her downfall came when she met a Roman senator named Gaius Silius who, despite initial rejection, fell under Messalina’s spell. Silius had earlier divorced his wife, ostensibly in preparation for this move, and Messalina had been transferring to him possessions that belonged to the imperial family. When Claudiuswas out of Rome, an extravagant party celebrated the event. But too many knew about the secret marriage. When he learned of it, his fearful response indicates that he recognized it as a coup attempt. He turned for help to his most trusted freedman Narcissus, the one who had apparently worked so closely with Messalina earlier. Narcissus was careful to see that Messalina did not soften Claudius' resolve to punish. She retreated to the gardens of Lucullus for safety, the same gardens that had once belonged to Valerius Asiaticus, whose prosecution she had influenced. ​Domitia Lepida urged her to make an honorable end by suicide, but she did not have the will or perhaps the strength to kill herself, and so the centurions who had been dispatched to execute her helped the deed along. Silius and a number of others, members of the upper classes and of the imperial bodyguard, were killed as well.