Death Becomes Her - The Pax Romana Podcast 16

It is easy to think of Roman emperors as omnipotent rulers who could (and did) whatever struck their fancy. But as we’ve seen so far on this podcast, the truth was far more complex. The senate may not have been in charge anymore, but they still needed managing. The soldiers, especially the praetorians, were a source of power, but had also shown they could topple emperors. In the reign of Claudius, we see a third group that could both support and channel the emperor: his own household. The family members of the emperor—especially daughters, wives and mothers—may not have had formal political power, but they had proximity, access, influence. Between this proximity and their own dynastic credentials, imperial women found themselves being used by emperors and occasionally, as we’ll see with in the next few episodes with Agrippina, using emperors as proxies for their own ambitions. One of the best was Agrippina.

Primary Sources Referenced:

Juvenal Satires 10.329-345

Tacitus, Annals 12.7