Monday, October 13, 2008
This Day in the Long History of Romans Poisoned by their Wives
On this day in 54, the Emperor Titus Claudius Nero Germanicus, Claudius, died after being twice poisoned by his fourth wife (and his niece) Agrippina (Caligula's sister) who was mother to his successor, the horrible Nero. The amazing life of this Emperor is the subject of an extraordinary historical novel, I, Claudius and its sequel, Claudius the God by Robert Graves, as well as a very well received BBC series based on the first novel.
Labels: Claudius, Roman History
Friday, August 03, 2007
This Day in the History of Sad Ends
On this day in 30 B.C., Marcus Antonius, at age 53, commits suicide in Alexandria, Egypt, by falling on his sword, a gladium--up through the diaphragm and into the heart in one swift plunge. It's supposed to be almost painless and death follows in less than a minute. He was at one time a ruler of Rome (part of the second triumvirate with Octavius and Lepidus), Master of the Horse to Julius Caesar; and had singlehandedly, through rhetorical success, turned the crowds against the conspirators Brutus and Cassius, who had assassinated Caesar. His downfall, to the romantic, was his unwise and untempered love of Cleopatra VII, but to the connoisseurs to Roman History, his downfall was losing the admiration and support of Octavius, his brother in law.
Labels: Roman History
