Jump to navigation Jump to search. Valeria Messalina ([waˈɫɛrja mɛssaːˈliːna], sometimes spelled Messallina; c. 17/20–48) was the third wife of the Roman Emperor Claudius. She was a paternal cousin of the Emperor Nero, a second-cousin of the Emperor Caligula, and a great-grandniece of the Emperor Augustus.
What does it mean to be a Messalina?
To call a woman “a Messalina” indicates a devious and sexually voracious personality. The historical figure and her fate were often used in the arts to make a moral point, but there was often as well a prurient fascination with her sexually-liberated behaviour.
Who died on the instigation of Messalina?
Two very prominent senators, Appius Silanus and Valerius Asiaticus, also met their death on the instigation of Messalina. The former was married to Messalina’s mother Domitia Lepida, but according to Dio and Tacitus, Messalina coveted him for herself.
Who was Lady Messalina’s father?
Early life. Messalina was the daughter of Domitia Lepida the Younger and her first cousin Marcus Valerius Messalla Barbatus. Her mother was the youngest child of the consul Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus and Antonia Major.
What is the Banco Ambrosiano scandal and how big is it?
The scandal centers on some $1.4 billion in unsecured loans made in Latin America by Banco Ambrosiano, Italy’s largest privately owned banking group, and endorsed by the Vatican bank.
What does the Ambrosiano affair mean for the Vatican’s finances?
”The Ambrosiano affair makes everyone wonder about the Vatican’s finances, but it really illustrates the fragility of the international banking system that we are all trying to preserve,” said Guido Carli, a former governor of the Bank of Italy and now a prominent industrialist.
Why was Messalina so attractive to Romans?
Messalina was very beautiful and irresistible to most Roman men. In 38, she married Claudius (10 BC-54 AD), when she was eighteen and he was forty-eight. Romans didn’t bother with the fact they were first cousins, once removed. She gave birth to a daughter Claudia Octavia and to a son Britannicus.
