Messalina, the Wife of Emperor Claudius
The first paper counts 20% of your final grade.
You have to hand in your midterm paper. Otherwise you will fail the class.
Missing the deadline without giving reasonable excuses (serious health problems etc.) in advance will lead to downgrading one lettergrade for every day of delay. No unexcused papers will be accepted more than a week after the due date.
Your paper is an obituary of an important historical person in the style of a New York Times-obituary. An obituary usually praises a person but also sticks to the historical facts. You are allowed to be creative, to experiment, to be funny, as long as you follow these rules. Go wild, but check with us beforehand. You can place yourself in the role of a contemporary figure, a friend, a family member etc.
You get extra credit if you make us laugh.
Your task is thus to gather information, to process this information (thus, make a choice what you regard as important) and to produce a coherent, well written text in a specific style. Your obituary should not be based on internet resources (Wikipedia, Encyclopedia Britannica, Answers.com etc.) and if you use internet sources, you have to mention them in your source report. The last discussion section took place in the library, in order to show you how you can find information there. You already know the Encyclopedia of Ancient. Moreover, we put together a portfolio of primary sources and secondary literature on each of these persons. You are required to use this material, but you can use other primary sources and other academic scholarship.
You do not need to work with footnotes, but copy-pasting or any literal quotations are forbidden (plagiarism!), unless you use quotation marks and disclose your source. You may be creative in the way you refer to your sources (for example: “as Monica’s close friend Peter Brown told me…”). If you want to work with footnotes, you are allowed to do so.
You may not use AI (chat-GPT etc.). AI usually creates nonsense and invents historical facts. The results may look very convincing – but only to those who are no experts. We are. Using AI equals plagiarism and will be sanctioned as such.
You are not allowed to use AI (chat-GPT etc.). AI usually creates nonsense and invents historical facts. The results look very convincing – but only to those who are no experts. We are. Using AI equals plagiarism and will be sanctioned as such.
Your paper should be 3-4 pages long, 12 pt, double space, plus ½ page report on which resources you have used.
Choose one of the following persons. You might have a look at the source material before you make your choice. I also give some information on a sheet in each portfolio.
- Esther, the Jewish wife of the Persian king Ahasuerus
- Messalina, the wife of Emperor Claudius
- Poppaea Sabina, the second wife of Emperor Nero
- Theodora, the wife of Emperor Justinian
- Monica, the mother of Saint Augustine, the church father
MESSALINA, THE WIFE OF EMPEROR CLAUDIUS
Student’s Name
Course
Date
Messalina, the Wife of Emperor Claudius
The mere mention of the name Messalina evokes such vivid memories among history enthusiasts, especially those with a keen interest in Imperial Rome. One would think she was some revered goddess. The interesting aspect of her story is that people do not remember her for outstanding and exemplary feats, such as war conquests or bearing intelligent children. They remember her for her wild and reckless sexual escapades, which are well documented. Her infamy has stood the test of time and continues to generate intense interest many eons after her demise. To be precise, Messalina holds the dubious distinction of being the most promiscuous woman and renowned villain that the Roman Empire had the misfortune of producing. She had the knack for courting scandal at every available opportunity and did so without any misgivings. Indeed, she worked overtime to break all existing records and norms revolving around sexual transgressions. That seemed to be her most consuming desire. To date, some people derogatorily use the term "Messalina" to refer to women whose sexual appetite and impulsive behavior are conspicuously out of control. Moreover, history is replete with a scathing condemnation of her unruly conduct and evil machinations.
Valeria Messalina was born around A.D. 20, and there is scanty information on her childhood and upbringing. In A.D. 38, when she was around 18 years old, she married her husband, Tiberius Claudius Nero Germanicus. There are reports that Messalina later contracted a marriage with her paramour by the name of Silius. However, many believed that the marriage was a smokescreen designed to avert a danger that posed a threat to the emperor. The veracity of this rather ridiculous claim is as uncertain as when Jesus Christ will return. On the other hand, Claudius was 47, twice divorced, and the father of two. The first wife of Claudius was Plautia Urgulanilla, whose father had received an honor with triumph. His second wife was Aaelia Paetina, the daughter of an ex-consul. Claudius and Messalina were first cousins and the direct descendants of the Divine Augustus's sister, Octavia. That said, the marriage to Messalina was a great honor, given the humble extraction of his two previous wives.[Southon, Emma. 2023. This empress was the most dangerous woman in Rome. March 2. /history/history-magazine/article/messalina-sex-politics-power-ancient-rome-empress.] [Tranquillus, C. Suetonius. 1914. The Lives of the Twelve Caesars. http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Claudius*.html.]
On the flip side, Messalina exhibited little thrill and enthusiasm towards the marriage. That, to a considerable extent, was because Claudius had been an embarrassment to the family throughout his entire life. He bore visible disabilities that prompted his relatives to treat him with pronounced disdain. For instance, his mother referred to him as a monster, while his great-uncle, Augustus, forbade him from appearing in public with the rest of the family. The Roman Empire demonstrated absolute hostility to disabled people, and Claudius' lineage did not exempt him from such. In a word, Claudius had no prestige or anything apart from his bloodline to enhance Messalina’s social disposition. That explains why she did not fancy marrying a man 30 years her senior and whose achievements were not worth any mention. That notwithstanding, the couple sired two children in quick succession before Claudiu...