Agrippina the Younger: A Dangerous Woman in Rome's Early Empire

Firmly based on ancient literature and material evidence, this illustrated biography assesses the life of Agrippina the Younger (15–59 CE). Agrippina was declared "unique" by Tacitus, ancient Rome's most insightful political historian, both for her own political standing and as the daughter of a triumphing general and the sister, wife, and mother of emperors--respectively, Caligula (r. 37–41), Claudius (r. 41–54), and Nero (r. 54–68). Tacitus and other ancient historians depict her with horrified fascination as they vividly chart her growing presence through tumultuous vicissitudes, ending with her murder by her son Nero in 59.