![]() ![]() The 30-year age gap and general incompatibility between them were overlooked in favor of their heritage. Lineage was a key factor in the match between Claudius and Messalina. The Julia family (Julii) was held in high regard by the Roman people, who looked to the family as successors of Julius Caesar (Emperor Augustus was Julius Caesar’s great-nephew and adopted son). It is hard to imagine that she looked forward to marriage to a man 30 years her senior whose achievements she could not even brag about. Claudius had no prestige and brought little but his bloodline to enhance Messalina’s own. He had seen his siblings receive glorious honors and advantageous marriages. Imperial Rome was an unfriendly place for disabled people, and no one knew that better than Claudius. He had visible disabilities that allegedly prompted his mother to refer to him as a monster, his great-uncle Augustus to forbid him from sitting with the rest of the family in public, and his uncle Tiberius to banish him from any public office. Her new husband had spent his entire life until this point as a family embarrassment. (Caligula thought he was a god, and it got him killed.)įor Messalina, however, the marriage was likely less thrilling. His marriage to a descendant of Octavia coincided with his belated entry into public life and was a sign that the new emperor-his nephew Caligula-approved of him and was tying him closely to the line of succession. The marriage was a great honor for Claudius, as his previous wives had been of moderate prestige compared to Messalina. The pair were first cousins once removed, both descended from the Divine Augustus’s sister Octavia. Claudius on the other hand was a 47-year-old, twice-divorced, father of two. 38 when she married her only husband, Tiberius Claudius Nero Germanicus. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |