Agrippina: Villain as Victim

In this lecture, we think about the figure of Nero’s mother, Agrippina, in Books 13 and 14 of Tacitus’ Annals, focusing in particular on: (i) the figure of Agrippina generally: her dynastic position (sister of Caligula, niece/wife of Claudius, mother of Nero) and her political power; (ii) her fading influence in Book 13, including her complete absence from the second half of the book; (iii) her murder in Book 14, including the nobility of her death; (iv) her status as a tyrant who wants to hold on to power at all costs; (v) her greed and sexual deviancy; and (vi) the extent to which Tacitus’ portrait of Agrippina is historically accurate.
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This lecture is part of a larger course exploring Books 13-14 of Tacitus’ Annals, focusing in particular on Nero’s murder of his mother, Agrippina. The full course can be found here: massolit.io/co...
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