Gcse ancient History
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3.7 Nero as Emperor Tacitus in Annals 13. 4-5 gives the impression that the opening of Nero’s reign was good, and that he said all the right things.
He is intending to avoid some of the unpopular aspects of Claudius’ reign. It is fair to say that for some time he did maintain this, which even Tacitus has to admit. There were serious problems. The threat from Parthia was getting worse but he sent the best general, Corbulo, to deal with it. Eventually a lasting peace was secured. He kept a good relationship with the Senate, allowing it to make decisions. He avoided the trials and executions which had been occurring in other reigns. He was popular with the people and the soldiers, although he had not yet gained a military triumph which even Claudius had managed. However, he was not totally safe. One problem which he could not avoid and was potentially damaging for him was what to do with Britannicus who was gradually approaching adulthood and had as good a claim to be emperor as Nero did. At the same time he needed to avoid the impression or image that he was controlled by a woman, which in Roman terms was worse than anything.
He removed Pallas who was Agrippina’s lover and supporter from his role in the government (Tacitus Annals 13. 14). He also tried to avoid her company, preferring to spend time with Acte. Agrippina, however, became angry as women do and raged that she had a freedwoman for a rival, a slave girl for a daughter-in-law, and other things of the same sort. She could not wait until Nero regretted his action or had had enough of Acte. The worse her complaints got, the more intense became his passion, until overwhelmed by his love he stopped obeying his mother and turned to Seneca. Tacitus Annals 13. 13 This simply made her more angry it seems and she turned to Britannicus. So the two problems seemed to be one and the same. The result of Agrippina’s anger and complaints was to make him decide to remove Britannicus from the scene before he became a real threat, and a means for Agrippina to regain power. In his treatment of his family and others the sources are generally very critical. Read the following from Suetonius Nero 35 After Octavia he married two other women: first Poppaea Sabina who was the daughter of an ex-quaestor and previously married to a Roman eques; second Statilia Messalina, daughter of the great-granddaughter of Taurus, who had been consul twice and had held a triumph. He killed Statilia’s husband, Atticus Vestinus, while he was still consul, in order to marry her. He quickly began to despise Octavia and grew tired of living with her; when his friends complained about his attiude, he replied that she should be happy being his wife. He tried and failed to strangle her a number of times. He divorced her claiming she was infertile. However, the people were not pleased with this and rioted against it, so he banished her instead; and finally he executed her for the crime of adultery. This was so obviously shameful and false, that all denied it even when tortured. Therefore he bribed his former tutor Anicetus to be a witness and confess that he had seduced her by some trick. He married Poppaea twelve days after his divorce from Octavia and he truly loved her; but he also killed her by kicking her when she loudly complained that he had returned home late from the chariot races while she was unwell with her pregnancy. Poppaea and Nero had a daughter, Claudia Augusta, but he lost her when she was still a baby. Suetonius Nero 35 Octavia was exiled and killed in AD 62; Poppaea died in AD 66. Tacitus tells us that it was in order to marry Poppaea that he got rid of Octavia despite the political advantages a marriage with Claudius’ daughter brought. It was also very unpopular. Tacitus also says the people rioted when he divorced her. This section in Suetonius continues with more deaths – Antonia, daughter of Claudius, Aulus Plautius, Rufrius Crispinus, his step-son, Seneca and Burrus. These deaths all take place late in the reign when he no longer had the advice of Burrus and Seneca and was acting in a more independent manner. He was also becoming less popular especially with the Senate as he developed his own style of government. His early promises were not kept especially after the great Fire of Rome in AD 64. But all of this occurs well after the death of his mother in AD 59. 3.8 Agrippina loses power It is clear from the coins issued in the first year of the reign how Agrippina slowly loses her position beside the emperor. At first she is on the same side of the coin facing Nero, then she is pictured behind Nero, her face just visible; finally she is on the reverse and then disappears altogether. Agrippina became alarmed and began to threaten action and she did not care if the emperor heard what she said: that Britannicus had now grown up, and was the true and deserving successor to his father's power, which Nero, introduced by adoption, was now using to wrong his mother. She did not care about revealing all the terrible acts of this unlucky family: first her own marriage; her history as a poisoner; the fact that her stepson was alive was a success for herself and the gods. She said she would go with him to the praetorian camp; they would listen to the daughter of Germanicus; against her would be the crippled Burrus and the exiled Seneca, demanding their right to rule the world, one with a mutilated hand, the other with an educator’s language. Tacitus Annals 13.14 Nero now becomes alarmed, and knowing his mothers ‘tendency to violence’ (Annals 13.15) he decides to act first. Tacitus says that he has already been made aware that there is some sympathy for Britannicus. But in any case: ‘Agrippina’s threats were worrying him’ (Annals 13.15). Suetonius (Nero 33) adds that Nero was jealous of his singing voice, which may be just repeating Tacitus’ story in a way that makes Nero look bad.
Tacitus is careful to stress that these are comments by other writers and he does not say whether he believes them or not but simply speculates about it. He leaves the reader to decide but on the basis of how corrupt Nero would become, the reader is probably expected to believe this. He does criticise Nero for the context in which the poisoning took place. However, it is also pointed out that the two were very likely to become serious rivals and Romans had enough experience of civil war to want to avoid it. Nero then handed out gifts to make sure he was not criticized. In fact it did not affect his position or his popularity as far as we can tell. It could even be that, apart from authors who sought to blame Nero for every crime, people accepted that Britannicus had died of some epileptic attack as Nero suggested. One thing Britannicus’ death did do was make Agrippina’s position worse. The Silana Accusations But his mother’s anger could not be softened by any extravagant presents; she embraced Octavia; she had secret meetings with her friends; she seized on money everywhere in addition to her natural greed; she welcomed centurions and tribunes in her home; she showed respect for the title and qualities of those nobles who still survived; all of which gave the impression that she was looking for a faction and some one to lead it. Nero knew of all this. He ordered her guard to be removed, which was there to protect first the emperor’s wife and then the emperor’s mother, along with some German troops, recently added for the same honour. He also moved her to a separate house which had once been Antonia’s, to stop her holding frequent gatherings of supporters; whenever he visited, he was surrounded by a crowd of centurions, and used to leave after a brief kiss. Tacitus Annals 13.18
Left with few supporters and being watched by Nero, it was now obvious to all that Agrippina was seriously weakened. Few people came to visit her. One was Junia Silana but they had quarreled and Silana sought revenge. Involved in this plot to blacken Agrippina was Domitia, Nero’s aunt who was an enemy of Agrippina also. They were to accuse her of plotting with Rubellius Plautus, another potential rival to Nero. The idea was to tell Nero of this plot just when he was most likely to believe it. The story is told in Tacitus (Annals 13. 19-21). This is Nero’s reaction when told: It was late at night and Nero was still drinking when Paris entered, as he usually did at this time to add to the emperor’s pleasures. This time, however, he appeared upset and sad. Nero listened to Paris go through the story and was so panic-stricken that he was determined to kill not only his mother but also Plautus, and remove Burrus from his praetorian command, on the grounds that he was promoted by Agrippina and was now repaying her. … Nero, now in terror and eager to kill his mother, could not be put off until Burrus had promised that she would be killed if the crime was proved. However, he added that anyone, especially a parent, should be given the chance to defend themselves; there were no accusers present, only the word of one man from the house of an enemy. He urged Nero to consider the dark night, the fact that he had spent the night awake at a banquet and the whole situation likely to lead to a thoughtless and ill-considered action. Tacitus Annals 13.20
Incest The question of whether or not Nero and Agrippina were involved in an incestuous relationship has been debated a great deal. The ancient sources generally take it as a fact, but they tend to accept any rumour or story which reflects badly on their characters, especially Nero and Agrippina, both of whom receive little support from later historians and biographers. Dio Cassius (Book 61.11.4) questions whether there was any truth in the story, and says that Nero had a mistress who looked very like Agrippina. He also says that Nero liked to claim he had intercourse with his mother as a result of his relationship with this mistress. Tacitus introduces the story only after he has told us that Nero has decided on murder. The author Cluvius writes that Agrippina took her desire to keep power so far as to offer herself more often to a drunken Nero, all dressed up and ready for incest. She did this at midday when Nero was already warmed up with wine and food. Those close to both had seen passionate kisses and sensual caresses, which seemed to imply wrongdoing it was then that Seneca who looked for a woman’s help against this woman’s charms, introduced Acte to Nero. This freedwoman who was anxious because of the danger to herself and the damage to Nero’s reputation, told Nero that the incest was well known since Agrippina boasted about it. She added that the soldiers would not tolerate the rule of such a wicked emperor. Fabius Rusticus writes that it was not Agrippina, but Nero, who was eager for incest, and that the clever action of the same freedwoman prevented it. A number of other authors agree with Cluvius and general opinion follows this view. Possibly Agrippina really planned such a great wickedness, perhaps because the consideration of a new act of lust seemed more believable in a woman who as a girl had allowed herself to be seduced by Lepidus in the hope of gaining power; this same desire had led her to lower herself so far as to become the lover of Pallas, and had trained herself for any evil act by her marriage to her uncle. Tacitus Annals 14.2 Tacitus had mentioned Acte much earlier (Annals 13.12-13) and Agrippina’s reaction to Nero’s relationship, which had been encouraged by Seneca to weaken Agrippina’s hold on Nero. However, he did not mention incest at that point (AD 55). Suetonius (Nero 28) has a slightly different version: No one doubted that he wanted sexual relations with his own mother, and was prevented by her enemies, afraid that this ruthless and powerful woman would become too strong with this sort of special favour. What added to this opinion was that he included among his mistresses a certain prostitute who they said looked very like Agrippina. They also say that, whenever he rode in a litter with his mother, the stains on his clothes afterwards proved that he had indulged in incest with her. Suetonius Nero 28 This is part of a section in which he is giving details of Nero’s sexual immorality; he adds this as a likely happening in keeping with the other actions of Nero. There had been similar rumours about Agrippina and Gaius. It is importan to note that two authors have doubts about the truth of the story. Tacitus suggests how it had been attached to Agrippina’s character because of her behaviour in general. In addition, the stereotype of the ambitious and powerful woman in Roman politics, such as Livia, Agrippina the Elder, Messalin and others allows these writers to believe such actions were committed. Nero certainly, once he realised the rumour was around when warned by Acte, started to avoid her company and be more careful. 3.9 Agrippina’s death Suetonius Nero 34 and Tacitus Annals 14. 1-9 The two authors give accounts which differ in some details, but essentially they agree on most of the important aspects. Tacitus tells us more of the preparations and motives for the murder and also gives a more vivid and dramatic recreation of the event, along with the words of those involved in some cases. Suetonius is briefer, but does have some extra information, for example about which method of murder to use. Dio Cassius (book 61.12-14) does mention some details which neither Suetonius nor Tacitus mention. He is certain that it was Poppaea who, worried about Agrippina’s influence (even in AD 59) persuades Nero that Agrippina is plotting against him. He also adds that Seneca was part of the planning and also in urging Nero to commit the crime. Translation of Dio: http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/62*.html Nero no longer delayed the crime he had thought about for a long time. His daring increased with the length of his reign; he was also daily becoming more passionate in his love for Poppaea. She had no hope of Nero marrying her and divorcing Octavia while Agrippina remained alive. So she frequently complained to Nero, sometimes making fun of him, calling him a child controlled by another, with no power over the empire let alone his own freedom to act. Tacitus Annals 14.1 He was annoyed by the way his mother questioned and criticised his every word and action but he only went so far at first as to make her disliked by giving the impression that that he would give up being emperor and go and live on the island of Rhodes. Next he took away all her privileges and her power, as well as her guard of Roman and German soldiers. He refused to let her live with him in the Palace. Then he tried everything possible to annoy her: he bribed men to bring law suits against her while she stayed in the city of Rome; then, when she went to live in the country by the sea, he got others to go past her house and interrupt her peace and quiet with noisy partying and insulting jokes. Therefore terrified by her violence and threats, he decided to get rid of her. Suetonius Nero 43
Both Tacitus and Suetonius suggest that poison was considered but the idea abandoned, although Suetonius says Nero tried it three times first. Tacitus says they even considered violence but decided against it. Suetonius mentions a false ceiling in her bedroom to fall on her but someone betrayed the plot. Finally they come up with the collapsible boat idea – or rather Anicetus, the freedman, and admiral of the fleet, does in Tacitus (Annals. 14.3). Dio (book 61 12-13) adds that Nero and Poppaea had seen the collapsible boat in a play at the theatre. The whole plot is set up for the festival of Minerva at Baiae on the Bay of Naples. It is generally agreed that there was an informer, and Agrippina, hearing of the trap, uncertain whether to believe it, journeyed to Baiae by litter. Her fears were lessened by his attention to her; she received a friendly welcome and was seated above Nero himself. They talked a lot together – Nero was youthfully familiar or apparently discussing some serious matter. The meal lasted quite a while; as she was going he walked with her, staring into her eyes and clinging on to her breast, either to complete his pretence or the final sight of his mother about to die affected even his cruel heart. Tacitus Annals 14.4
Nero, on the other hand, reacts as follows: So out of his mind with fear, he claimed she soon would be there seeking revenge; she might arm her slaves or raise troops or make her way to the senate and the people, and charge him with a shipwreck, wounding her and killing her friends; he asked what defence he had against this, if Burrus and Seneca did not have any suggestion. He had summoned both of them at once, although it is uncertain whether they knew about it beforehand. Both were silent for along time to avoid dissuading him without success, or they believed that matters had reached the point that Nero was bound to die if Agrippina were not dealt with first. Seneca was quick enough to respond first and looked back at Burrus, as though asking if the soldiers ought to be ordered to murder her. Burrus replied that the praetorians were attached to the household of the Caesars, and, in memory of Germanicus, would not dare anything so terrible against his daughter; he suggested Anicetus should fulfil his promise Next he heard that Agerinus had arrived from Agrippina with a message; he himself then arranged for a little piece of play-acting for the accusation against Agrippina; while Agerinus was reporting his message, Nero threw a sword at the freedman’s feet, and then ordered him to be taken to prison as if caught in the act of assassination; this was so that he could pretend that his mother had plotted to kill the emperor, but in the shame of being caught had chosen to commit suicide. Tacitus Annals 14.7
Tacitus tells us that people gathered when they heard of the accident and were rejoicing that Agrippina was saved until the soldiers arrived with Anicetus to complete the murder. Tacitus offers a dramatic account of the final moments of Agrippina, appropriately defiant and courageous for a woman who had for a brief moment been co-ruler of the Roman world. There is some disagreement about what followed. Suetonius prefers to report the horrible facts: Credible writers provide horrible facts: he could not wait to see the dead body; he held her limbs; he criticised some and praised others; being thirsty during all this he had drinks. However, he could never, not at the time nor afterwards, bear the knowledge of his crime, although the soldiers, the Senate and the people supported him with their congratulations; he often confessed that he was hunted by his mother's ghost and harrassed by the whips and burning torches of the Furies. Suetonius Nero 34 Tacitus says ‘Everyone agrees on the facts so far. There is some disagreement over whether he inspected his mother’s dead body and praised her beauty’. (Annals 14.9)
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