Dio's Eclectic Files of Roman History

Chapter 1, Part 1: The Rise of Nero('s Mom)

    Perhaps one of my favorite stories to tell when it comes to the Roman Empire is that of the emperor Nero. Known for many legends surrounding his supposed insanity and... uhhh... talents, I think Nero's story is a good place to start.

   However, Nero's story does not begin with Nero. It begins with- (drumroll please) - his mother! Agrippina Minor, or the Younger, was a woman of great rank in Roman society. I mean, come on, she was the great granddaughter of Augustus Caesar (Rome's first emperor), through her mother, daughter of the great general Germanicus, and sister to the late emperor Caligula, who has just been assassinated when our story begins. Despite all this, Agrippina had her sights set on one man...

Her uncle. Her literal uncle.

   WAIT! Before you close this story, allow me to explain. Agrippina was the niece of Claudius, Caligula's successor and the new emperor of Rome. What better husband could a noble woman choose?
"I don't know, someone who isn't her uncle?" I hear you say. And yes, that is what I say too. But guess what? That's what all of the Romans said too. A marriage between an uncle and niece was viewed as just as disgusting in Ancient Rome as it is viewed today.
    Luckily, Agrippina wasn't driven by love or lust when it came to marrying Claudius. It was for political advancement. For herself, and more importantly, for her son, named Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, Agrippina's son from her first marriage to her cousin (dang this family tree is convoluted. Also, I have no clue how that was fine but the uncle-niece marriage wasn't). Agrippina's ultimate goal was to see her son on the throne of the Roman Empire, and a marriage to Claudius presented that very opportunity.
    So they got married! And the Roman public hated it! Because the family thing is still gross! But what could they do? The emperor was married... again (for the fourth and final time, might I add). Now that the marriage was in place, Agrippina had a plan. Have her son Lucius adopted by Claudius and named as heir to the throne, and hopefully, dispose of Claudius.
   The first part of the plan was accomplished in 53 AD, when Lucius was formally adopted by Claudius as a member of the imperial dynasty. Upon the adoption, he took the name Nero, which he is better known as today. Later that year, to further tangle the family tumbleweed- I mean tree, Agrippina arranged for the 16 year old Nero to marry his step sister Octavia, Claudius' daughter from a previous marriage.
   With Nero's adoption, and the respective marriages of Nero and Agrippina, the mother and son had successfully reached the highest ranks of imperial life. At this point, the main obstacle between Nero and the throne of the empire was the very man sitting upon that throne- the unsuspecting Claudius himself. Fasten your seatbelts, fellow nerds, things are about to get crazy.