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Daughter of AGRIPPINA THE ELDER and GERMANICUS, she was married to Gnaeus Domitius
Ahenobarbus in 28, giving birth in December of 37 to Lucius Domitius, later called Nero. When her
husband died in 39, she and Nero were exiled by GAIUS "CALIGULA," so that he could seize their
inheritance. The accession of her uncle CLAUDIUS to the throne in 41 brought them back to Rome. By
49, the aging emperor was convinced by the Freedman Pallas to marry his niece, and Agrippina supplied
her own considerable charms to make his decision easier. The marriage took place and Agrippina
assumed near total control of the state, running the bureaucracy and managing the distribution of gold.
For her son she provided everything possible to ensure his succession to the throne, even to the point of
assuming the powerful title of Augusta in 50. SENECA was recalled to tutor Nero (an act that she was
later to regret). She also developed allies among the Praetorian Guard, especially the prefect, Afranius
Burrus, whom she appointed to the office. Nero was adopted by Claudius in 50, marrying the emperor's
daughter OCTAVIA in 53. Finally, in 54, having outlived his usefulness, Claudius was poisoned by
Agrippina so that her lifelong wish could be fulfilled.
Her power was supreme in the early days of Nero's rule. With the title Augusta she ran most of the
Empire, as Nero was only 17. Nero grew resentful and tired of his mother, however, and ways were
found to break her hold on him. Seneca and Burrus were Nero's allies in this effort. Nero and his advisors
took every opportunity to reduce Agrippina's role in imperial affairs, and the young ruler's relationships
with the freedwoman ACTE and POPPAEA, the wife of Otho, stirred her to curses. When Agrippina
dared to suggest that Claudius' young son, Britannicus, might gain support, the lad was poisoned.
Agrippina also saw her relationship with the Imperial Guards deteriorating. In 55, she moved out of the
palace altogether.
The ruin of Nero, a process in which Agrippina had played a major role, led to her eventual destruction as
well. By 59, driven by his realization of unlimited power and by his lust for Poppaea, Nero began to plot
Agrippina's death. In one of the most bizarre assassination attempts recorded, Nero placed his
mother on a boat designed to collapse off the coast of Baiae. Miraculously she survived, although her close
friend, Acerronia, was beaten to death by the oarsmen. Swimming to shore unaided, she made her way to
her estates with only a slight injury.
Perplexed by the incident, Agrippina composed a letter to Nero, to the effect that she was saved and
would visit him in time. Panic set in as a result, and Nero sent the Freedman Anicetus to complete the
assassination. Seeing the assembled soldiers around her bed, Agrippina thrust out her abdomen,