Preview

Agrippina Influence

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1565 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Agrippina Influence
Agrippina the Younger had four main factors that highly influenced her power before her marriage to Claudius. She was born into the Julio-Claudian bloodline making her an Imperial woman of a noble dynasty, she was as a result of her family background reasonably wealthy and educated, she had the backing of the Roman Army as her father Germanicus was the commander of the 5th legion of the army in Germany and finally her two marriages which provided her with wealth and a son to be heir of the throne.

The Julio-Claudian dynasty ran strong before and after the birth of Agrippina. She was born into power in 15 AD. She was a direct descendant of respected Augustus and was the daughter of the most popular couple in Rome, Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder.
“Agrippina’s exceptionally illustrious birth is indisputable” (Tacitus, Annals. XII.6.p.254)

Her birth into the Julio-Claudian bloodline meant that Agrippina was born into wealth as her family was a noble dynasty in Rome and Germany. But most of her wealth grew with her two marriages. The combination of both her wealth connected through her father and her marriages gave Agrippina great social and political influence. The bloodline she was born into also resulted in her becoming highly educated in Rome’s affairs, military and politics. Unlike many other Imperial women she showed signs of diplomacy and caution in political matters.

Her father, Germanicus had the favouring of Augustus and was a highly respected Roman soldier “Germanicus is everywhere described as having been of outstanding physical and moral excellence” (Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Gaius, 3). He had the skill of winning over people’s respect and this was passed on to Agrippina. Having a father with such high ranks his legion of the Roman army acted as a huge power for Agrippina even at the young age of four as it offered protection and after her fathers death in 19AD, Agrippina had the loyalties of the army behind her.

In 28 AD Agrippina was married

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    nature of her ideas, often times she was not supported by anyone. However, she continued to fight for what…

    • 342 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tacitus stated that Agrippina’s “passion to acquire wealth was unbounded”. This is indeed indicative of the general consensus of ancient sources toward her, with greed, manipulation and ambition forming the central tenets of her character. Her marriages played a central role in fulfilling her idealistic goals, in the process, propelling her into the public consciousness.…

    • 661 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Agrippina was related to the Claudian ‘gens’, one of the oldest and most illustrious patrician families with imperial connections. Her father Germanicus had risen through the cursus honoroum to two consulships and the proconsulships of Germany and Gaul. Germanicus’s brother was the brother was the future Claudian emperor, Claudius. Agrippina’s family lineage was therefore immensely prestigious. Her mother is quoted twice by Tacitus asserting her descent from the blood of the divine Augustus. According to revisionist Barret, Agrippina would have learnt from her mother in her formative years a powerful sense of her important place in the scheme of things.…

    • 633 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    As soon as Agrippina had come to the place, she gained complete control over Claudius…

    • 333 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cleopatra

    • 286 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Cleopatra VII ruled ancient Egypt as co-regent (first with her two younger brothers and then with her son) for almost three decades. She became the last in a dynasty of Macedonian rulers founded by Ptolemy, who served as general under Alexander the Great during his conquest of Egypt in 332 B.C. Well-educated and clever, Cleopatra could speak various languages and served as the dominant ruler in all three of her co-regencies. Her romantic liaisons and military alliances with the Roman leaders Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, as well as her supposed exotic beauty and powers of seduction, earned her an enduring place in history and popular myth. Since no contemporary accounts exist of Cleopatra's life, it is difficult to piece together her biography with much certainty. Much of what is known about her life comes from the work of Greco-Roman scholars, particularly Plutarch. Born in 70 or 69 B.C., Cleopatra was a daughter of Ptolemy XII (Auletes). Her mother was believed to be Cleopatra V Tryphaena, the king's wife (and possibly his half-sister). In 51 B.C., upon the apparently natural death of Auletes, the Egyptian throne passed to 18-year-old Cleopatra and her 10-year-old brother, Ptolemy XIII.…

    • 286 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Describe the basis of Agrippina’s power and influence in her time (10 marks) The female role models in her life were the Imperial Women. Livia, wife of Augustus was a great influence. She was a powerful woman who held the title of Augusta after her death. The Julio-Claudian women held great prominence and would have acted as role models to Agrippina. Her Claudian grand-mother, Antonia retained her status after the death of her husband Drusus and was the woman who uncovered the plot of Sejanus. These great examples of power would have acted as a guide to young Agrippina.…

    • 342 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tacitus, an ancient historian, was the closest to Agrippina's time and was hostile towards her since he disliked the principate, instead favouring the senate to be in power. He portrayed Agrippina as a deceptive, ill- mannered woman and is highly- critical when he relates her many schemes and intrigues in her pursuit of power not only for the men in her life, but also, and more despicably, for herself, as can be seen in the following quote from The Annals.…

    • 614 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When Germanicus died at Antioch in AD 19, his wife Agrippina the Elder returned to Rome with her six children where she became entangled…

    • 881 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    One can imagine that the courtship and marriage of Claudius and Agrippina must have been all joy, excitement, sweetness and light. She must have been delighted at her husband-to-be’s influence in getting the incest law rewritten just for her. The honeymoon intensity between them may not have lasted very long. Donald L.…

    • 1253 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Women In Ancient China

    • 881 Words
    • 4 Pages

    However, even with disadvantages in status, citizenship, and education, women were sometimes able to influence the political system. In China, women of the imperial family often played an important role in politics, usually listening behind a screen so that they didn’t distract the men from negotiating, but telling their husbands their opinions later that night. In Rome, women weren’t allowed in places of political debate, but there were several notable women who gained a reasonable amount of power from affecting politics in the only ways available to them: birth, marriage, or murder. A legendary example would be Tullia who lived in circa 500 BC. She was the daughter of a very early Roman king, but conspired with her husband to kill her father. After she ran over her father in a carriage, her husband became the next king of Rome. (Padgett) There are various examples like this throughout Roman history: women whispering and plotting where men paid no attention, but forever changing the history of Rome with changes in kings and…

    • 881 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Julia Agrippina or known better as Agrippina Minor or most famously Agrippina the younger was one of the most powerful and inferential women in the entire roman empire. Her power and her influence was one of her most remarketing features and it is also those features which become her demise and the main cause of her murder.…

    • 655 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Caesar’s family background and Marian connections gave him a base to build his career as well as enhancing his reputation and status in society. His family, Gens Julia were of noble patrician roots, but at the time neither rich nor influential. However they were able to claim decent from Trojan prince Aeneas, supposed son of the goddess Venus. This claim to both royal and divine decent gave Caesar high social standing within roman society at the time. Caesar’s aunt Julia was married to Gaius Marius who during Caesar’s infancy was the most powerful man in Rome, holding an unprecedented seven consecutive consulships along with leading the faction known as the populares. These Marian connections were exploited by Caesar himself at every possible opportunity most notably the funerals of his aunt Julia and his wife Cornelia. While delivering their eulogies he flaunted his Marian heritage, Plutarch telling us that “As nephew of Julia the deceased wife…

    • 1744 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The social wars created turmoil all over Italy and Marius, and Sulla were the great leaders of that time. Julius Caesar was excepted at the completion of his education to assume a modest office on the lower end of the long ladder of the Roman political career. however, Julius Caesar was not like other Romans. At a young age he had realized that money was the key to Roman politics as the system had by his time long been corrupt. When he was fifteen years old his father died, with him died the fatherly expectations that Julius Caesar should engage on a modest political career. Instead, Julius Caesar had set out to better himself. His first step was to marry into another but more distinguished family. Further he began building a network of connections some of which with politicians currently out of favour.…

    • 894 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    “Agrippina was a formidable adversary. She had political allies at all levels, acquired during Claudius’ reign, and she knew how to exploit her Augustan lineage and descent from Germanicus to the full.” – Griffin…

    • 2158 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Tacitus made his thoughts clear that Agricola was the best type of man from the beginning. He suggests that the tender care of his mother played a huge part in him being sheltered from the temptations of evil companions. Tacitus also put this down to the fact that Agricola had “sound instincts”1. He was described by Tacitus as someone that did nothing for show, a man that was not lazy and wanted to make himself known to the army. He would learn from the skilful and would associate himself with the bravest of men. He did not appear to be scared of anything, ideally the model soldier. He served his military apprenticeship to the satisfaction of “Suetonius Paulinus a hard working and sensible officer”2. Suggesting that from the beginning, Agricola was set up to be a model leader and of great significance to anywhere he went in terms of military operations. “Agricola…

    • 1939 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays