Although relegated to the background, women in the Ancient Roman Empire knew how to pull the strings of power to exert great influence. From relevant patricians to warriors, some marked history and their names will never be forgotten. One of them was Poppaea Sabina, an aristocrat who became the wife of Emperor Nero, to whom many of the leader’s actions are attributed. She discovers her story.
Poppaea Sabina (Popea Sabina) the woman who conquered the emperor of Rome
Born into a noble and wealthy family, Poppaea Sabina grew up to become a woman of praised beauty and ambition. His mother, with whom he shared her name, committed suicide after being the victim of an intrigue orchestrated by the emperor Valeria Messalina. His father was Titus Ollius. His paternal grandfather, Poppaeus Sabinus, was a Roman consul, and was a close friend of several emperors.
At 14 years, Poppaea first married Rufrius Crispinus, a man of humble origins who rose to lead the Praetorian Guard, and they had a son. However, determined to climb the social ladder, Poppaea sought to divorce Rufrius early.
Poppaea’s next husband was Otho, a childhood friend of Nero. The decision to marry him came after Poppaea realized that it would be the perfect way to get closer to the younger and already married Emperor Nero.
Indeed, Poppaea became Nero’s lover. Her husband approved of the relationship at first because of the benefits it brought him. Nero granted Otho an important position as governor of Lusitania.
However, Otho, like Nero, fell in love with Poppaea’s charms and began to oppose his wife’s adulterous relationship. It was then that Poppaea had him exiled.
Poppaea now had the world at her feet, but a lover’s position was precarious. She wanted Nero to show him that his devotion to her was above her, even her, inspired by her own mother, someone with great influence over him. Therefore, she encouraged him to think for himself and live as an emperor should, according to her opinion and her wishes.
Taking advantage of the power he had over the emperor, Poppaea convinced him that, under the pretext of infertility, Nero should divorce his wife, Octavia., who was the daughter of his predecessor, Emperor Claudius. This caused a rift with her mother, Agrippina the Younger, who did not approve of Poppaea or the influence she had on her son.
Nero eventually married Poppaea and gave her the title of Augusta when they had their daughter, Claudia, who died not long after being born.
According to the stories told about her, Poppaea urged Nero to kill his mother, Agrippina and execute his first wife, Octavia. Likewise, he would have convinced the emperor to kill the philosopher Seneca, who had supported Nero’s previous lover, Acte Claudia. He is also believed to have convinced Nero to attack Christians after the Fire of Rome and to have helped free Jewish priests at the request of Josephus.
Also He advocated for his hometown of Pompeii and achieved that gained considerable autonomy from the Empire.
Nero and Poppaea were, according to some contemporaries, happy in their marriage, but he had a very bad temper and his behavior became increasingly erratic. Supposedly, Nero kicked her during an argument when she was pregnant in the year 65 AD which resulted in her death, possibly due to the effects of an abortion, the result of the attack.
Nero gave him a public funeral and proclaimed his virtues. His body was embalmed and buried in the Mausoleum of Augustus. Also proclaimed her a divinity and he continued to be obsessed with her, to the point of looking for lovers, both women and men, who looked like her.
What do you think of the story of Poppaea Sabina? Impressive, right?
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Images: Wikimedia Commons