Messalina: Did you mean...?

She was about 15 and beautiful, while he was over 50 and the future emperor of the Roman Empire. In 38 CE (dates vary) Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus —known to history as Claudius— married his second cousin, Valeria Messalina. This was...

Claudius (10 BCE to 54 CE) was the fourth Roman emperor, who reigned from 41 to 54 CE. Though a member of the imperial Julio-Claudian Dynasty, his rise to power had always seemed unlikely. Indeed, for much of his life, he had been ostracized...

Messalina holding Britannicus, marble sculpture, c. 45 AD. Inspired by Cephisodotos' renowned sculpture, Eirene bearing the child Ploutos. Louvre Museum, Department of Greek, Etruscan and Roman antiquities, Denon, ground floor, room 24.

A recreation of the Roman empress Valeria Messalina (c. 20-22 CE-48 CE), wife of the emperor Claudius (r. 41-54 CE). Messalina's facial features are very loosely based on a combination of Roman portraits and artistic license. Messalina is...

The Death of Messalina, oil on canvas painting by Georges Antoine Rochegrosse, 1916. Depicted here is the killing of Valeria Messalina, wife of the Emperor Claudius.

Modern marble sculpture (1884 CE) depicting Valeria Messalina, by Eugène Cyrille Brunet (1828–1921). Museum of Fine Arts, Rennes.

A cameo depicting Valeria Messalina and her children, wife of Roman emperor Claudius. (Cabinet des Médailles, Paris)

Britannicus (41-55 CE) was the second child and only son born to the Roman emperor Claudius (r. 41-54 CE) and Valeria Messalina (c. 20-48 CE). Seen as a threat by Claudius' fourth wife, Agrippina the Younger (15-59 CE), and her son, the future...

Poppaea Sabina (30-65 CE) was the wife of Praetorian prefect Rufrius Crispinius and then Marcus Salvius Otho (r. 69 CE) before she became the second wife of Roman emperor Nero (r. 54-68 CE). Considered by ancient sources both attractive and...

Julia Agrippina or Agrippina the Younger (6 November 15 - 19/23 March 59 CE) was a prominent woman during the early Roman Empire, niece to Tiberius (r. 14-37 CE) and Claudius (41-54 CE), whom she married, sister of Caligula (r. 37-41 CE...