Julia Agrippina, most commonly referred to as Agrippina Minor or Agrippina the Younger, and after 50 known as Julia Augusta Agrippina (Minor Latin for the ‘younger’, Classical Latin: ;, 7 November 15 or 6 November 16 – 19/23 March 59) was a Roman Empress and one of the more prominent women in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. She was a great-granddaughter of the Emperor Augustus, great-niece and adoptive granddaughter of the Emperor Tiberius, sister of the Emperor Caligula, niece and fourth wife of the Emperor Claudius, and mother of the Emperor Nero.
Agrippina the Younger has been described by both the ancient and modern sources as ‘ruthless, ambitious, violent and domineering’. She was a beautiful and reputable woman and according to Pliny the Elder, she had a double canine in her upper right jaw, a sign of good fortune. Many ancient historians accuse Agrippina of poisoning Emperor Claudius, though accounts vary.
Read more about Agrippina Minor: Family, Birth and Early Life, First Marriage To Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, Reign of Caligula, Empress of Rome, Ancestry, In Later Literature
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“Great causes are never tried on their merits; but the cause is reduced to particulars to suit the size of the partizans, and the contention is ever hottest on minor matters.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)