Messalina
Valeria Messalina (la; c. 17/20–48) was the third wife of Roman emperor Claudius. She was a cousin of Emperor Nero, a second cousin of Emperor Caligula, and a great-grandniece of Emperor Augustus. She was a powerful and influential woman known for promiscuity, she allegedly conspired against her husband and was executed on the discovery of the plot.
| Valeria Messalina | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Roman empress | |
| 24 January 41 – 48 | |
| Born | 25 January AD 17 or 20 Rome, Italy |
| Died | 48 (aged 28 or 31) Gardens of Lucullus, Rome, Italy |
| Spouse | Claudius |
| Issue | Claudia Octavia Britannicus |
| Father | Marcus Valerius Messalla Barbatus |
| Mother | Domitia Lepida |
Early life
Little is known about Messalina's life before her marriage in 38 to her cousin Claudius, who was then about 47 years old. They had two children: a daughter Claudia Octavia (born 39 or 40), a future empress, stepsister, and first wife to the emperor Nero; and a son, Britannicus. When the Emperor Caligula was murdered in 41, the Praetorian Guard made Claudius the new emperor and Messalina became empress.
Messalina Media
Messalina in a coin minted in Crete, c. AD 42
A bust believed to be of Messalina, in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence
Messalina guides the dragon chariot in the triumph of Claudius. Sardonyx cameo plaque in enamelled frame. (Cabinet des Médailles, Paris)
Peder Severin Krøyer, Messalina, 1881, Gothenburg Museum of Art
Hans Makart's painting of Charlotte Wolter in Adolf Wilbrandt's tragedy, Arria und Messalina
