Agrippina, mother of Nero

“Agrippina must have been a very special woman to have been depicted in such a way.” Alex said. “You are absolutely right,” said Sophia, “let me tell you more about her. She was born around 15 CE into the imperial family. She was the daughter of the most beloved prince and general Germanicus, and of Agrippina the Elder. Her father was grandson of Livia, Augustus’s second wife, and her mother was granddaughter of Augustus himself. Agrippina herself therefore embodied the essence of both families that made up the Julio-Claudian dynasty. She also had two sisters and three brothers, one of whom, Caligula, would later become emperor.” “I know Caligula!” Alex remarked, “He was an evil emperor right?” “Well,” Sophia replied, “that is what ancient authors would like us to believe. But as I said before, these authors were quite biased to anything and anyone they didn’t like, and would depict them in the worst ways possible.” “Wait! Is that also Agrippina on that second coin?” Alex shouted out as he pointed to another coin on the side. “Yes, that is her on the reverse together with her sisters.”, explained Sophia. “Caligula (37-41 CE) was very fond of his sisters, so much in fact that he depicted them on coins like this one. This sestertius here was actually the very first coin that depicted our Agrippina. On this coin she is depicted as a goddess, Securitas, while her two sisters are Concordia and Fortuna.” “I have heard of these goddesses before.” Said Alex “So Agrippina is supposed to be the goddess of stability, while her sisters are Harmony and Luck.” “That is absolutely correct!” said Sophia, “This is how women were mostly depicted on coinage actually, disguised as goddesses.”Beard, Mary: Twelve Caesars: Images of Power from the Ancient World to the Modern (Oxford, 2021) 247-249. “That must also be Agrippina on that third coin over there right? She looks like the same woman on the other coins.” “You have a good eye.” Sophia said, “you would make a good numismatist. This other coin you see here, an aureus, is from Claudius (41-54). He was Agrippina’s and Caligula’s uncle, and he succeeded Caligula after he was assassinated.” “Why is she on this coin then?” asked Alex. “Well,” said Sophia, “despite being her uncle, Agrippina and Claudius would go on to be married. Agrippina had been married twice before. Her first marriage brought forth her son Nero, and from the second marriage she inherited a lot of wealth. Because of this, she was actually very influential behind the scenes, and she was also very popular, especially with the praetorian guards. This is why Claudius wanted to marry her. Agrippina wanted this too, as she would become even more influential as the emperor’s wife, and she could make her son Nero the next heir. After their marriage, Claudius gave her the title of Augusta, as you can see on this other coin.”