Messalina



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MESSALINA (Valeria), fourth wife of the Emperor Claudius, was daughter of Val. Messala Barbatus and Domitia Lepida (daughter of Domitius Lepidus and of Antonia, daughter of Mark Antony and Octavia, sister of Augustus.) Though high in birth and rank, and the mother of Octavia and Britannicus, the name of this woman has descended with horror to posterity, as a monster of shameless lust, avarice, and cruelty.  She caused Julia Livilla, Julia, daughter of the younger Drusus, Silanus, Vinucius, Poppaea senior and many other to be put to death; and was herself subjected to the same fate, from her adulteries and prostitutions, by order of Claudius, A.D. 48. There are no Latin coins of this Augusta, except colonial.  

MESSALINA (Statilia), third wife of Nero, who put to death her fourth husband, Atticus Vestinus. She was distinguished for her taste in the sciences, and for her perfect eloquence.  After Nero's death, Otho would have married her, if he had survived his defeat. Of this Empress, no Latin coins exist.
 


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