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 | |
|---|---|
| File:Messalina from Rome Louvre Ma1224 n3.jpg | |
| 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
- Messalinavalcng11000491obverse.jpg
Messalina in a coin minted in Crete, c. AD 42
A bust believed to be of Messalina, in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence
- Arte romana, claudio e messalina su un cocchio, I sec.JPG
Messalina guides the dragon chariot in the triumph of Claudius. Sardonyx cameo plaque in enamelled frame. (Cabinet des Médailles, Paris)
- Messalina (Peder Severin Krøyer) - Gothenburg Museum of Art - GKM 0173.tif
Peder Severin Krøyer, Messalina, 1881, Gothenburg Museum of Art
- Hans Makart - Charlotte Wolter als „Messalina“.jpg
Hans Makart's painting of Charlotte Wolter in Adolf Wilbrandt's tragedy, Arria und Messalina