Hi Susie,
Yes sorry I was looking for her impact, I know the basis of it but I was in desperate need of an in depth view and maybe some sources if you have any. I have some from Tacitus but they're extremely gender biased and I need some sources that are on an equal focal point in relation to Agrippina.
Thank you,
Ange
Ah k! Well in terms of impact, thats a multifaceted issue. In regards to Rome she had A LOT of influence - way more than any other woman from her time! This was partially established through her "superior pedigree" as one of the only individuals with a direct relation to every Julio-Claudian Princeps (including Augustus), but also because she was just fk'n smart! Like super smart and cunning. As she was a woman, direct influence was very difficult - instead she secured her influence through manipulating the various men in her life. I'll go through the important ones below:
- Claudius: Not only did she (allegedly) manipulate him into even marrying her, but she had considerable influence over the latter half of his reign, and according to some modern historians such as Anthony Barrett - that was a good thing! As he suggests:
"It is apparent that the mood and atmosphere of Claudius’s reign improved measurably during its latter half … and it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that much of the impetus for this change for the better should be attributed to the influence and efforts of Agrippina. The influence of Agrippina on the senate would have been considerable…". She had a subsequent influence on the increasing influence of Freedmen and the Imperial Bureaucracy - many of whom she was a patron (eg. Pallas), meaning that they would essentially do what she says. Furthermore, she convinced Claudius to place her own son, Nero, ahead of his own son Britannicus in the line of succession, which had considerable impact down the track (as he was a bit of a shit ngl)
. Apparently, she also was key in orchestrating his death!
- Nero: At the beginning of his reign, Agrippina still held considerable impact over him, and again, this the the part of his reign that exerted the most positive outcomes! Nero was a boy emperor, and thus didn't really make any of his own decisions - pretty much all of them were filtered through his advisors Seneca and Burrus, BOTH of whom were patrons of Agrippina. However, Nero later started to resent Agrippina, as he saw her as too overbearing and controlling when she expressed her disapproval of one of his girlfriends, and thus her demise began. She was exiled from the palace, and Nero began to plot out her assassination. This was tricky, because Nero knew that his mother was politically still quite popular - for example Burrus who was the head of the Praetorian Guard said that they would play no part in her death because they were so loyal to her (and her father Germanicus) According to Tacitus he tried to poison her three times, however she realised this and prepared by taking antidotes. He then apparently had a false ceiling built in her bedroom, which when loosened would collapse on her in her sleep, but this was revealed. Finally he devised a collapsible boat: the idea was to kill her either in a shipwreck or by the collapse of its cabin - however the BAMF survives and swims to shore. Nero's plan finally works, when he just goes super simple and sends a bunch of guys with knives to stab her while she slept.
Legacy is a form of impact, and we can see that her impact there is further multifaceted. She has a very complex image, that is continuously shaped and reshaped. According to many of the Ancient Historians, such as Tacitus, Suetonius and Cassius Dio (and even some Modern historians such as Scullard), she was able to exert so much influence over Rome and the men in her life because she was either a) a wicked, evil 'stepmother' (using archetypal characters), b) a sexual deviant and seducer or c) a hyper-masculine woman commander! However so many modern historians, such as Ginsburg, Leadbetter, Ferrero and Barrett, they take a much more sympathetic look, some of them even presenting her as a feminist icon. We can see that no matter what though, her impact and legacy is intrinsically tied to her status as a woman, and her subversion of the expectations of her time. In terms of sources as well, I highly recommend having a look at archeological evidence - numismatic evidence (coins), statues, the sebasteon reliefs, etc. etc.
Hope this helps to get you started! I suggest also having a look around the notes section
stephanieazzopardi's notes are really really good, I used them a lot for study last year
Susie
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