Agrippina: Sex, Power, and Politics in the Early Empire

by Anthony A. Barrett

Book Overview

Agrippina the Younger attained a level of power in first-century Rome unprecedented for a woman. According to ancient sources, she achieved her success by plotting against her brother, the emperor... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0300065981
• ISBN13: 9780300065985
• Release Date: August 1996
• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Length: 330 Pages
• Weight: 2.12 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.4" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Intrigue in Rome

This is the first book published in English written solely about the life of Agrippina. FYI the original title of this book, published in England, was "Agrippina, Mother of Nero." The subtitle of this book is great because she really embodied all of this. She used marriage and sex to get power and make political decisions through first her brother Caligula then her husband Claudius then her lovers Seneca, Dio and others then finally through her son Nero. When Nero was a child emperor and he was advised by tutors, namely Seneca, Agrippina wielded huge influence on the entire Roman Empire. The first and pretty much only woman ever able to do that in ancient Rome. Even after Nero grew up and killed Seneca and everyone else who plotted against him Agrippina still influenced Nero on public policy and probably advised him on who to kill next. Barrett argues that she made wise decisions. However, it wasn't enough to stop her son from killing her in 59 after a lovers fight. Apparently they had an argument and subsequent falling out and when you fall-out of favor with Nero you could count on certain death; mother or not. Barrett's got some great stuff in here. A section on "Significant Events and Figures" is a great reference and contains lists like Agrippina's husbands, lovers, and victims. He also has a good timeline of her life, a few maps, and a lot of further reading in the huge 20 page bibliography. It is the only book in English on the subject.

A fascinating study of an influential Roman Imperial woman

Overall, this was a very good biography of Agrippina. The author should be commended for writing a biography from the perspective of a highly influential and important woman during Imperial Rome. The author certainly takes an academic approach to the study, and appears to have done a good job with research and use of sources. His treatment of Agrippina seems fair and even-handed. The author does a very good job of providing the story of Agrippina, the Imperial family, and other important Romans. My only criticism of the book is that somewhat more background about Roman society, social classes, the economy, foreign affairs was needed. Nevertheless, the author has provided us with a very informative and entertaining biography. I will undoutedly read his newest book on Livia. I highly recommend this biography of Agrippina.

An Essential Biography

I have had a copy of this book since it was first published and have found it an invaluable resource. Anthony Barrett discusses the life of Agrippina and her times completely, and presents a well-formed opinion on the more obscure and difficult aspects of Roman history. Claudius, for example, comes off as being intelligent and politically astute rather than an ugly, dithering fool. The complexities and politics of Claudius' reign are very well discussed. Aspects of Agrippina's life (that are usually taken for granted) are examined in full by Mr. Barrett. Did she poison Claudius? It certainly appears to have suited her aims in keeping Nero as the sole heir to the empire but there are so many inconsistencies among ancient sources that renders it impossible to definitely say Agrippina did the crime. Mr. Barrett also discusses the closing years of Agrippina's life as the Empress Mother particularly well. He covers the lack of any information about her in sources and relates her presumed murder at Nero's hands in detail with a critical view of what Tacitus, Suetionius and Dio say what happened. He does not go into detail concerning points of view that suggest Agrippina was, in truth, involved in a conspiracy but he does make mention of this idea and footnotes the article. In short, a very readable and balanced account of the younger Agrippina. Mr. Barrett takes the time to present a full picture of Agrippina, her family and her role in Roman history. In particular, I found the description of Nero's youth and path to becoming Claudius' successor as more detailed and of greater use than Miriam Griffin's book about Nero. The bibliography is among the more useful I have encountered. Readers will find Mr. Barrett's account of the early empire to be stimulating.

Sister, Wife, Mother: A Freudian Quagmire

Agrippina was the sister of Caligula, the wife of Claudius and the mother of Nero. She survived the first two but was murdered by the latter in spectacular style: after surviving an elaborately engineered attempt to kill her aboard her sailboat she swam to shore only to be stabbed to death by Nero's henchmen. Like Agrippina, Barrett proves adept at keeping afloat: despite the many competing and unreliable sources, he avoids turning the book into a set-piece, overly-footnoted plethora of quotes and counter-quotes (or worse still, an extended book on coins). He explains, in terms a modern reader can easily understand, how Agrippina used her considerable powers of tact and persuasion to win influence in a patriarchal system. He also displays a keen sense of humor, not least in dispelling some of the many myths about Agrippina. Which is not hard: the Roman historians Tacticus and Suetonius accused her of cheating on all her husbands, sleeping with Caligula, murdering Claudius and then sleeping with the newly-installed Caesar, her son Nero, and if you don't immediately chuckle at the sheer implausibility of these charges, you'll at least find some amusement in the Freudian implications.

A rare and fascinating commodity, Agrippina.

Antony Barrett, as a historian and biographer, accomplishes more in this work than providing a persuasive case as to why Agrippina the Younger has been misjudged and requires rehabilitation. One of the additional values of this biography of Agrippina, is the appreciation that the reader obtains as to the reality of maintaining ongoing political balance between the elite who comprised the executive and legislative branches of Roman government. Agrippina, as a daughter, sister, niece, wife and mother, was a lifelong protagonist in this politic, playing for personal survival or Julio-Claudian family pre-eminence and dynastic continuation. The end of the Republican political compromise is thrown into relief by Antony Barrett's focus on the diplomatic balance that Agrippina rationally maintained, and the political chaos which preceded, punctuated and followed her life is better explained by our understanding of her work methods in various political partnerships. Agrippina was, and remains, a rare and fascinating commodity.