Mother of Nero the Younger. The deadly beauty of Agrippina (Agrippina, mother of Nero). The best of mothers

Agrippina the Younger was the eldest of the daughters of Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder.

The fate of Agrippina the Younger in her youth was not easy.

Agrippina the Younger. Marble. Copenhagen. Glyptothek New Carlsberg

Her father, mother and two older brothers fell victim to criminal machinations; her third brother, Emperor Caligula, first made her his mistress, and then sent her into exile in the Pontic Islands. Claudius, her uncle, having become emperor, returned her to Rome, where she had to endure a lot from Messalina.

Agrippina the Younger was given by Tiberius in marriage to Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, the grandson of Mark Antony and Octavia the Younger, about whom Suetonius says that he was “a most vile man at every time of his life” (Svet. Hep. 5); his father, Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, was an arrogant, cruel and rude man. When Agrippina the Younger gave birth to a son, her husband “in response to the congratulations of his friends exclaimed that from him and Agrippina nothing could be born except horror and grief for humanity” (Light. Hep. 6). This son was Nero, so the words of his father, who died soon, turned out to be prophetic.

Arrogant and cruel, hypocritical and greedy, Agrippina the Younger was possessed by a true passion for power. They said that once Agrippina asked the soothsayers about the fate of her son and they answered that he would reign, but would kill his mother, to which she said: “Let him kill, as long as he reigns!” (Tats. Ann. XIV, 9).

Agrippina the Younger. Marble. Rome. Private collection

After the death of Messalina in 48, Agrippina perked up and resolutely entered into the struggle for power. Tacitus talks about it like this:

“After the death of Messalina, the imperial court was gripped by excitement due to the struggle that arose between the freedmen over which of them should find a new wife for Claudia, who could not stand a celibate existence and fell under the power of each of his spouses. The women were also fired up with the same rivalry: each presented her nobility, beauty and wealth as a worthy basis for such a marriage. The dispute was mainly about who to prefer, the daughter of the former consul Marcus Lollius Lollia Paulina or the daughter of Germanicus Agrippina; the latter was supported by Pallant, the former by Callistus; for his part, Narcissus nominated Elia Petina (Claudius's former second wife). Claudius himself leaned this way and that, depending on which of his advisers he had just listened to.

What Pallant praised most about Agrippina was that she would bring with her her grandson Germanicus; It is quite worthy of the imperial family to add this scion of a noble family to the descendants of the Julios and Claudians and thereby prevent a woman of proven fertility and still young from taking the glory and greatness of the Caesars to another house.

Supported by the charms of Agrippina, these arguments prevailed: often visiting her uncle as a close relative, she seduced him and, preferred to the others, but not yet his wife, already began to use the power of his wife” (Tats. Ann. XII, 1-3).

Although Roman laws prohibited the marriage of uncle and niece, an exception was made for Claudius, and in 49 Agrippina the Younger became empress.

Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus. Bronze. Copenhagen. Glyptothek New Carlsberg

“Everything began to be run by a woman who managed the affairs of the Roman Empire, not at all prompted by unbridled self-will, like Messalina. Agrippina held the bridle taut, as if it were in a man's hand. In public she looked stern, and even more often arrogant; in her home life she did not allow the slightest deviation from the strict family structure, if this did not contribute to the strengthening of her power. She justified her exorbitant greed for gold with the desire to accumulate funds for the needs of the state” (Tats. Ann. XII, 7).

“The appearance of a woman in front of the army was, of course, an innovation and did not correspond to ancient Roman customs, but Agrippina herself did not miss the opportunity to show that she ruled together with her husband, sharing with him the power that her ancestors had acquired” (Tat. Ann. XII , 37).

Agrippina took power into her own hands and wanted to maintain it. Therefore, she ensured that Claudius adopted Nero. But she wanted Nero not to have his own will and to be submissive to her in everything. That is why Agrippina entered into a fierce struggle with Domitia Lepida, the sister of her first husband, the granddaughter of Mark Antony and Octavia the Younger.

“In appearance, age and wealth, Agrippina and Domitius Lepidus were not much different from each other: both depraved, disgraced, unbridled - they competed no less in vices than in the little good that fate may have endowed them with. But most of all they fought among themselves over whose influence on Nero would prevail - the mother or the aunt; Lepida lured his youthful soul with affection and generosity, while Agrippina, on the contrary, was invariably stern and adamant with him: she wanted to give her son supreme power, but she could not tolerate his rule” (Tac. Ann XII, 64).

At the insistence of Agrippina, a criminal case was opened against Domitia Lepida: she was accused of witchcraft and sentenced to death. Narcissus tried with all his might to protect Lepidus, who understood that he would not succeed if Nero became emperor. But Narcissus was unable to fight Agrippina and he himself left Rome for Sinuessa, supposedly to restore his health.

Seneca. Marble. Berlin. State museums

This was the end of Narcissus's career.

Agrippina took advantage of the removal of Narcissus, who was still an influential person, and quickly organized the murder of Claudius. There were different stories about how he was poisoned, but no one doubted the fact of poisoning.

Claudius was deified, and Nero was proclaimed emperor with the cumbersome official name - Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus.

Agrippina quickly began to remove people she disliked; but she was prevented by Afranius Burrus, commander of the Praetorians, and Lucius Annaeus Seneca, whom she herself made Nero's mentor. “They entered into a struggle with the unbridled arrogance of Agrippina, possessed by all the passions of cruel lust for power and supported by Pallant, at whose instigation Claudius destroyed himself through incestuous marriage and fatal adoption. But Nero’s character was not such as to submit to slaves, and Pallant, with his impudent arrogance, exceeded the boundaries of what was permissible for a freedman, incurred his enmity. Outwardly, however, Agrippina was given all kinds of honors” (Tats. Ann. XIII, 2).

Agrippina's relationship with Nero inevitably deteriorated until it reached the point of open hostility and hatred. The enraged Agrippina finally found it necessary to remind Nero that he received power from her hands through a crime, but fourteen-year-old Britannicus, the legal heir of Claudius, was still alive.

The threat had an effect on Nero, and on his orders, Britannicus was poisoned at a feast in the presence of Agrippina.

Tacitus describes the tragic ending of the struggle between mother and son, unprecedented in Roman history, as follows:

“Nero, realizing in the end that his mother is a burden to him, decides to kill her and begins to consult with his entourage whether to do this through poison, or weapons, or in some other way.

First we settled on poison. But if you give it at Nero’s table, then the sudden death of Agrippina cannot be attributed to chance, for Britannicus also died under the same circumstances; and bribing the servants of Agrippina, experienced in atrocities and learned to be careful, was not an easy task; Moreover, fearing poison, she constantly took antidotes.

As for the murder with the use of a weapon, no one could figure out how in this case the violent nature of her death could be hidden; in addition, Nero was afraid that the chosen executor of such a matter might not carry out the orders.

Finally, the freedman Anicetus, commander of the fleet and tutor of Nero during his adolescence, who hated Agrippina and was hated by her, outlined the cunning plan he had come up with. “He declared that he could arrange a special device on the ship so that, when it went out to sea, it would break into pieces and sink the unsuspecting Agrippina: after all, nothing is as fraught with accidents as the sea; and if she dies in a shipwreck, will there be anyone so malicious as to explain as a crime what the wind and waves are to blame for? And Nero will then erect a temple and altars for his deceased mother and generally spare no effort to show himself as a loving son.

This cleverly conceived plan was approved. The circumstances themselves were also favorable to him, for Nero celebrated one of the holidays in Baiae (near Naples). Here he lures his mother, repeatedly declaring that he should patiently endure the anger of his parents and suppress irritation in himself, and hoping that the rumor about his readiness for reconciliation will reach Agrippina, who will believe him with the ease characteristic of women when it comes to what she desires. them.

So, having met her on the shore, he took her hand, hugged her and led her to Bavly (that was the name of the villa near the sea). Here, together with others, a ship stood at the pier, distinguished by its elegant decoration, by which the emperor also seemed to show respect for his mother.

Nero invited her to dinner, hoping that the night would help him attribute her death to accident.

It is well known that someone betrayed Nero and warned Agrippina about the trap, and she, not knowing whether to believe it, went to Bailly on a horse-drawn stretcher.

There, however, her son's affectionateness dispelled her fears; he received her with special courtesy and placed her at the table above him.

Continuously maintaining a conversation, now with youthful ease and liveliness, now with a concentrated look, as if he were telling her something extremely important, he prolonged the feast; seeing her off to his place, he looks into her eyes for a long time, without stopping, and warmly presses her to his chest, either to maintain the pretense to the end, or perhaps because saying goodbye to his mother, doomed to death, touched him soul, no matter how brutal it may be.

But the gods, as if to make the crime obvious, sent Yas - a starry night with a serenely calm sea. The ship did not have time to sail far; Along with Agrippina there were only two of her close associates - Crepereus Gallus, who stood not far from the helm, and Acerronia, who sat down at her feet on the bed and spoke with joyful excitement about the repentance of her son and that she had regained her former influence, when suddenly to this sign, the lead-weighted roof of the cabin they occupied collapses; Creperey was crushed by her and immediately gave up the ghost, and Agrippina and Acerronia were protected by the high walls of the bed, which accidentally turned out to be strong enough to withstand the weight of the collapsed ceiling.

The disintegration of the ship did not follow, since during the general confusion that arose, many, not privy to the secret plan, prevented those who were entrusted with carrying it out.

Then the oarsmen were given the order to tilt the ship to one side and thus sink it; but this time there was no coordination between them necessary for joint actions, and some tried to tilt it in the opposite direction, so that both women were not thrown into the sea by a sudden push, but smoothly slid into the water.

Acerronia, who foolishly shouted that she was Agrippina, was beaten to death with hooks, oars and other ship accessories that came to hand, while Agrippina, who remained silent and for this reason was unrecognized (however, she also received a wound in the shoulder), first swam, and then on one of the oncoming fishing boats she reached the shore and was taken to her villa.

There, having reflected on the purpose for which she was invited by a hypocritical letter, why she was given such honors, how, at the very shore, the ship, not driven by the wind and not running into the rocks, began to collapse from above, like a ground structure, and also taking into account the murder of Acerronia and looking at her wound, she decided that the only way to protect herself from another attempt was to pretend that she did not suspect anything.

She sends the freedman Agerin to her son with instructions to tell him that by the grace of the gods and protected by his happiness, she was saved from almost certain death and that she asks him, no matter how alarmed he was by the danger that his mother experienced, to postpone his visit: for the present all she needs is rest.

After this, with the same feigned calmness, she applies healing potions to the wound and warming compresses to the body, and also orders to find Acerronia’s will and to seal the things left behind, only acting in this without pretense.

And Nero, who was awaiting news of the execution of the atrocity, is meanwhile informed that the slightly wounded Agrippina escaped, having endured so many disasters of this kind that she cannot have any doubt about who their true culprit is.

Dead from fear, Nero exclaims that, seized by a thirst for revenge, whether by arming slaves, stirring up soldiers against him, or appealing to the Senate and people, she is about to appear to blame him for the shipwreck, her wound and the murder of her friends; What then will help him if Burr and Seneca don’t come up with something!

And he orders them to be urgently awakened and orders them to immediately come to him; it is unknown whether they were privy to his plans in advance.

Both of them remain silent for a long time, so as not to contradict him in vain, or, perhaps, believing that things have gone so far that if you don’t get ahead of Agrippina, then nothing will save Nero from death.

Finally, Seneca, having mustered up his resolve, looked at Burrus and asked him whether it was possible to give the order to the soldiers to kill Agrippina.

He replied that the Praetorians were bound by an oath of allegiance to the entire house of the Caesars and, remembering Germanicus, would not dare to raise a hand against his daughter: let Anicetus himself fulfill his promise.

He, without hesitation, offers to entrust the implementation of this crime to him.

In response to his words, Nero says that then he, Nero, will be granted autocracy and that he will owe such a priceless gift to the freedman; so let him hurry up and take with him people who are ready to unquestioningly obey his orders.

And Nero himself, having learned about the arrival of Agerin, sent by Agrippina, decides to bring a false accusation against her. While he is speaking, Nero throws a sword at his feet, and then orders him to be put in chains, intending to later slanderously announce that the emperor’s mother, who had planned to make an attempt on his life and was disgraced by being caught in a criminal act, had voluntarily put herself to death.

Meanwhile, news of Agrippina's accident spreads, and everyone, hearing about it, runs to the shore. Some climb onto the slopes of the coastal dams, others jump into the boats that were there; still others enter the water as far as their growth allows. Some extend their arms forward; The entire coast resounds with lamentations, cries of prayer, confused questions and confused answers. A countless crowd of people with torches gathered, and when it became known that Agrippina was alive, those gathered intended to go to her with congratulations, but fled at the sight of a military detachment that appeared with threats.

Anicetus, surrounding the villa with armed guards, breaks open the gate and, pushing aside the slaves who came out to meet him, approaches the doors of the chamber occupied by Agrippina; A few people remained near him; the rest were driven away by fear of the intruders.

The peace was dimly lit. Agrippina, who had only one slave with her, was increasingly overcome by anxiety: no one came from her son, and Agerin did not return: if things had gone well, everything would have gone differently; and now - emptiness and silence, sudden noises - harbingers of the worst.

When the slave went to the exit, Agrippina, saying: “And you are leaving me,” looks back at the door and, seeing Anicetus with the trierarch (captain) Herculeus and the naval centurion (chief) Obaritus accompanying him, tells him that if he has come, to check on her, let him tell you that she has already come to her senses; if - to commit an atrocity, then she does not believe that this is the will of the son, he did not give the order to kill the mother.

Meanwhile, the killers surround her bed. The trierarch was the first to hit her on the head with a stick. And when the centurion began to draw his sword to kill her, she, exposing her stomach to him, exclaimed: “Strike the belly!” - and he finished her off, inflicting many wounds on her.

Her body was burned that same night with the most modest funeral rites performed.

But only after the commission of this atrocity did Nero feel its enormity. Motionless and immersed in silence, and more often tossing about with fear and half-mad, he spent the rest of the night waiting for the dawn to bring him death” (Tats. Ann. XIV, 3-10).

Children:

Often - Agrippina the Younger, from 50 - Julia Augusta Agrippina.

Origin

Agrippina was born to Germanicus, nephew and adopted son of Emperor Tiberius, and his wife, Agrippina the Elder. Germanicus was the son of Drusus the Elder, brother of Tiberius. Agrippina the Elder was the daughter of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa by Julia, daughter of Emperor Augustus.

On her mother's side she was a direct descendant of the ancient patrician family of the Claudii, and on her father's side she belonged to the equestrian family of the Vipsanii.

Agrippina was born in Oppid Ubior (modern Cologne, Germany), on the Rhine. Until the age of 18, she remained in Germany with her parents and older brothers and sisters. In 18, the entire family, except Caligula, returned to Rome, and the children were left to be raised by the mother of Tiberius and Drusus the Elder - the widow of Augustus, Livia Drusilla. A year later, her father died unexpectedly in Antioch.

Granddaughter of Tiberius

They said that once Agrippina asked the soothsayers about the fate of her son and they answered that he would reign, but would kill his mother, to which she replied, “Let him kill, as long as he reigns.”

Caligula's sister

In favor

A short time after coming to power, Caligula awarded his three sisters - Agrippina, Julia Drusilla and Julia Livilla - special honors, the main of which were:

• the appearance of three sisters on coins of that time,
• granting the sisters the rights and freedoms of vestals, including the right to view games and competitions from the best seats reserved for senators
• public oaths were now taken not only in the name of the emperor, but also in the name of his sisters
• Senate resolutions began with the words “May good luck accompany the emperor and his sisters...”

The reason for this attitude of Caligula towards the sisters lay in the relationships that existed between them. Almost all ancient historians almost unanimously declare that Caligula indulged in debauchery with his sisters, and also did not oppose their promiscuous relationships with other men. Feasts on the Palatine Hill, in which sisters were always participants, often ended in depraved orgies. Agrippina's marriage was not an obstacle to the life she led.

Her main lover was their maternal cousin, Julia Drusilla's husband, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, who also had a love affair with her third sister, Julia Livilla. But in general, at that time Agrippina herself was greedy for men. It is possible that the reason for this was almost complete permissiveness. There is evidence that for some time she tried to make her lover Servius Sulpicius Galba, consul of 33, who in 68 was destined to become the main opponent of her son Nero and, having overthrown him, become emperor himself. However, Galba remained faithful to his wife, and Agrippina was publicly condemned by Galba's mother-in-law, who slapped her.

In exile

Claudius's wife

Emperor's Niece

Agrippina had nowhere to return. Then Claudius arranged the marriage of Agrippina with Gaius Sallust Passienus Crispus. Guy Sallust was at that moment the husband of Domitia Lepida the Elder, another aunt of Nero. Also, Domitia Lepida was a maternal cousin of Claudius himself. However, this did not stop him from forcing Gaius Sallust to divorce Domitia and take Agrippina as his wife.

Guy Sallust was a rich and powerful man, consul and 44. He was a distant relative of the famous Roman historian Sallust, who adopted him. Having married Agrippina, Passienus Crispus also takes the young Nero into his home.

Claudius's wife during these years was Messalina. And although Agrippina practically did not appear in the palace of Claudius and did not engage in politics, Messalina quickly realized that Nero would be a serious rival in the struggle for power with her own son, Britannicus.

Messalina sends hired killers to the house of Passienus Crispus, who were supposed to strangle the boy while he slept. However, according to legend, the killers retreated in horror when they saw that Nero's sleep at his pillow was guarded by a snake.

Silanus was forced to commit suicide, Calvina received a divorce and was sent into exile. Thus, Claudia Octavia became free for Nero. Later, in 54, Agrippina ordered the death of Silanus's elder brother, Mark, in order to protect Nero from the revenge of the Silans.

Immediately after her marriage, Agrippina got rid of another candidate who was considered as a possible wife of Claudius. This was Lollia Paulina, who in 38 was married to Caligula for six months. Caligula divorced her because he considered her infertile. Paulina lived in Rome, and during the time of Caligula she was forbidden to communicate with men. Agrippina accused her of black magic. Paulina's property was confiscated and she was ordered to leave Italy. Having gone into exile, Paulina committed suicide.

in 50 Agrippina persuaded Claudius to adopt Nero, which was done. Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus became known as Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus. Claudius officially recognized him as his heir, and also betrothed him to his daughter, Claudia Octavia. At the same time, Agrippina returned Seneca from exile to become the teacher of the young heir.

In 51, she was granted the right to appear in public in a special chariot, which was previously used only by pontiffs to transport statues of the gods. In the same year, on her instructions, Sextus Afranius Burrus, a native of Narbonne Gaul, was appointed prefect of the Praetorian Guard. Burrus was Nero's mentor, a man devoted and obliged to Agrippina. His task was to set up the Praetorians to transfer power after the death of Claudius to Nero, and not to Britannicus.

Agrippina had complete influence on Claudius. She deprives Britannicus of all rights to power and removes him from the court. In 51, she orders the execution of Britannicus' mentor, Sosebius, who was outraged by her behavior, the adoption of Nero and Britannicus's isolation. On June 9, 53, Nero marries Claudia. However, the emperor begins to become disillusioned with his marriage to Agrippina. He again brings Britannicus closer to him and begins to prepare him for power, treating Nero and Agrippina more and more coolly. Seeing this, Agrippina realized that Nero's only chance of coming to power was to do it as quickly as possible. On October 13, 54, Claudius dies after eating a plate of mushrooms offered by Agrippina. However, some ancient historians say that Claudius died of natural causes.

Nero's mother

Nero was 16 years old when his mother gave him virtually unlimited power over the world. In gratitude for this, she was declared a servant of the cult of the Divine Claudius, who was deified by Nero immediately after his death. During the first time of Nero's reign, Agrippina was the real ruler of the state. She was granted the right to attend Senate meetings behind a curtain.

However, Nero soon fell under the spell of the freedwoman Claudia Acta. Being, most likely, brought by Claudius from his campaigns in Asia Minor, she knew the palace rules quite well. Seeing that Nero was interested in her, Burrus and Seneca, dissatisfied with Agrippina’s rule, brought Acta and the emperor together, hoping to influence Nero through her.

Agrippina was against her son's mistress and publicly reprimanded Nero for getting involved with a former slave. However, Nero had already left her obedience. Then Agrippina began to weave intrigues, intending to nominate Britannicus as the rightful emperor. But her plan failed. In February 55, Britannicus was poisoned on the orders of Nero.

After this, Nero, listening to his mentors, expels Agrippina from the palace and deprives her of all honors, including her bodyguards. When Agrippina tries to stop him, he says that otherwise he will abdicate power and go to Rhodes himself. Following Agrippina, Pallas also loses his place at court. The fall of Pallas was a complete victory for the party of Seneca and Burrus, and the defeat of Agrippina. Now Nero himself became the sovereign ruler of the state.

Then Nero admitted more than once that the image of his mother haunts him at night. In order to get rid of her ghost, he even hired Persian magicians. There were legends that long before Nero became emperor, Agrippina was told that her son would reign, but at the same time kill his mother, to which her answer was: “Let him kill, as long as he reigns.”

see also

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Notes

Literature

• Suetonius. "The Life of the 12 Caesars. Caligula"
• Suetonius. "The Life of the 12 Caesars. Divine Claudius"
• Pliny the Elder. "Natural history"

Cinema

• "Agrippina" by Enrico Guazzoni 1911

Links

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Excerpt characterizing Agrippina the Younger

“Well, I think that’s enough talking for today!” – Karaffa suddenly exclaimed angrily. And without even letting me get scared, he added: “You will be taken to your rooms.” See you soon, Madonna!
– What about my father, Your Holiness? I want to be present at what will happen to him. No matter how terrible it is...
– Don’t worry, dear Isidora, without you it wouldn’t even be so “funny”! I promise you will see everything, and I am very glad that you have expressed such a desire.
And smiling contentedly, he turned to the door, but suddenly remembering something, he stopped:
– Tell me, Isidora, when you “disappear” – does it matter to you where you do it from?..
– No, Your Holiness, it does not. I don't go through walls. I simply “melt” in one place in order to immediately appear in another, if such an explanation gives you at least some kind of picture,” and, in order to finish him off, she deliberately added, “Everything is very simple when you know how to do it... Holiness.
Caraffa devoured me with his black eyes for another moment, and then turned on his heel and quickly left the room, as if afraid that I would suddenly stop him for something.
I understood perfectly why he asked the last question... From the very minute he saw that I could suddenly just disappear, he racked his proud head, how to “tie me somewhere” more firmly, or , for reliability, put him in some kind of stone bag, from which I would certainly have no hope of “flying away” anywhere... But, with my answer, I deprived him of peace, and my soul sincerely rejoiced at this small victory, since I knew for sure that from that moment on Caraffa would lose sleep, trying to figure out where to hide me more reliably.
These, of course, were just funny moments that distracted me from the terrible reality, but they helped me, at least in front of him, in front of Karaff, to forget for a moment and not show how painful and deeply wounded what was happening to me. I wildly wanted to find a way out of our hopeless situation, wanting this with all the strength of my tormented soul! But my desire to defeat Karaffa was not enough. I had to understand what made him so strong, and what was this “gift” that he received in Meteora, and which I could not see, since it was completely foreign to us. For this I needed a father. But he didn’t respond. And I decided to try to see if the North would respond...
But no matter how I tried, for some reason he also did not want to contact me. And I decided to try what Caraffe had just shown - to go “by blow” to Meteora... Only this time I had no idea where the desired monastery was located... It was a risk, because without knowing my “point of manifestation “, I could not “collect” myself anywhere at all. And that would be death. But it was worth a try if I hoped to get any kind of answer in Meteor. Therefore, trying not to think about the consequences for a long time, I went...
Having tuned in to Sever, I mentally ordered myself to appear where he could be at that moment. I never walked blindly, and this, naturally, did not add much confidence to my attempt... But I still had nothing to lose except victory over Karaffa. And because of this it was worth the risk...
I appeared on the edge of a very steep stone cliff, which “hovered” above the ground, like a huge fairy-tale ship... There were only mountains around, large and small, green and just stone, somewhere in the distance turning into flowering meadows. The mountain on which I stood was the highest and the only one, on the top of which there was snow in places... It proudly towered above the others, like a sparkling white iceberg, the base of which hid a mysterious secret invisible to the rest...
The freshness of the clean, crisp air was breathtaking! Sparkling and sparkling in the rays of the burning mountain sun, it burst into flashing snowflakes, penetrating into the very “depths” of the lungs... One breathed easily and freely, as if not air, but an amazing life-giving force was pouring into the body. And I wanted to breathe it in endlessly!..
The world seemed beautiful and sunny! As if there was no evil and death anywhere, people did not suffer anywhere, and as if a terrible man named Karaffa did not live on earth...
I felt like a bird, ready to spread its light wings and soar high, high into the sky, where no Evil could reach me!..
But life mercilessly brought me back to earth, with cruel reality reminding me of the reason why I came here. I looked around - right behind me stood a gray stone rock, licked by the winds, sparkling in the sun with fluffy frost. And on it... luxurious, large, unprecedented flowers swayed in a white starry scattering!.. Proudly displayed under Sun rays their white, waxy, pointed petals, they looked like pure, cold stars that mistakenly fell from heaven onto this gray, lonely rock... Unable to take my eyes off their cold, wondrous beauty, I sank onto the nearest stone, enthusiastically admiring the bewitching play of chiaroscuro on the blinding white, flawless flowers... My soul rested blissfully, greedily absorbing the wonderful peace of this bright, enchanting moment... A magical, deep and gentle silence hovered all around...
And suddenly I perked up... I remembered! Traces of the Gods!!! That's what these magnificent flowers were called! According to an old, old legend, which my beloved grandmother told me a long time ago, the Gods, coming to Earth, lived high in the mountains, far from the bustle of the world and human vices. Thinking for long hours about the lofty and eternal, they closed themselves from Man with a veil of “wisdom” and alienation... People did not know how to find them. And only a few were lucky enough to see THEM, but then, no one ever saw these “lucky” ones again, and there was no one to ask the way to the proud Gods... But then one day a dying warrior climbed high into the mountains, not wanting to surrender to the enemy alive, who defeated him.
Life abandoned the sad warrior, flowing out with the last drops of cooling blood... And no one was there to say goodbye, to wash his last path with tears... But, already slipping away, his gaze caught on the wondrous, unprecedented, divine beauty!.. Immaculate, snow-white, most amazing flowers surrounded him... Their wonderful whiteness washed his soul, returning the lost strength. Called to life... Unable to move, he listened to their cold light, opening his lonely heart to affection. And right there, before his eyes, his deep wounds closed. Life returned to him, even stronger and more furiously than at birth. Feeling like a hero again, he stood up... right in front of his eyes stood the tall Elder...
-Have you brought me back, God? – the warrior asked enthusiastically.
-Who are you, human? And why do you call me Lord? – the old man was surprised.
“Who else could have done something like this?” – the man whispered. – And you live almost as if in the sky... That means you are God.
- I am not God, I am his descendant... The blessing is true... Come, if you have come, to our monastery. With a pure heart and a pure thought, you came to throw away your life... So they returned you. Rejoice.
– Who brought me back, Starce?
“They, dear ones, are the “feet of God”... - pointing to the marvelous flowers, the Elder shook his head.
From then on, the legend about the Flowers of the Lord began. They say that they always grow at the abodes of God to show the way to those who come...
Lost in thought, I didn’t notice that I was looking around... and literally woke up right there!.. My amazing miracle flowers grew only around a narrow, dark crack that gaped in the rock, like an almost invisible, “natural” entrance!!! A suddenly heightened instinct led me exactly there...
No one was visible, no one came out. Feeling uncomfortable, coming uninvited, I still decided to try and approached the crack. Again, nothing happened... There was no special protection or any other surprises. Everything remained majestic and calm, as from the beginning of time... And who was there to defend against? Only from people as gifted as the owners themselves?.. I suddenly shuddered - but another similar “Caraffa” could have appeared, who would have been gifted to some extent, and would have just as easily “found” them?! ..
I carefully entered the cave. But nothing unusual happened here either, except that the air became somehow very soft and “joyful” - it smelled of spring and herbs, as if I was in a lush forest clearing, and not inside a bare stone rock... After walking a few meters, I I suddenly realized that it was becoming lighter, although it would seem that it should have been the other way around. The light streamed from somewhere above, here below it was dispersed into a very soft “sunset” lighting. A strange, soothing melody began to sound quietly and unobtrusively in my head - I had never heard anything like it before... The unusual combination of sounds made the world around me light and joyful. And safe...
It was very quiet and very cozy in the strange cave... The only thing that was a little alarming was that the feeling of someone else’s observation was growing stronger and stronger. But it wasn't unpleasant. It’s just a parent’s caring gaze behind an unintelligent baby...
The corridor along which I walked began to expand, turning into a huge high stone hall, along the edges of which there were simple stone seats that looked like long benches that someone had carved right into the rock. And in the middle of this strange hall stood a stone pedestal, on which a huge diamond crystal “burned” with all the colors of the rainbow... It sparkled and shimmered, blinding with multi-colored flashes, and looked like a small sun, for some reason suddenly hidden by someone in a stone cave .
I came closer - the crystal shone brighter. It was very beautiful, but nothing more, and did not evoke any delight or connection to something “great”. The crystal was material, simply incredibly large and magnificent. But that's all. It was not something mystical or significant, but just extraordinarily beautiful. But I still couldn’t understand why this seemingly simple “stone” reacted to the approach of a person? Could it be possible that he was somehow “turned on” by human warmth?
“You’re absolutely right, Isidora...” suddenly a gentle voice was heard. - No wonder the Fathers value you!
Startled in surprise, I turned around, immediately exclaiming joyfully - North was standing next to me! He was still friendly and warm, just a little sad. Like a gentle sun that was suddenly covered by a random cloud...
- Hello North! Sorry for coming uninvited. I called you, but you didn’t show up... Then I decided to try to find you myself. Tell me what do your words mean? Where am I right?
He approached the crystal - it shone even brighter. The light literally blinded me, making it impossible to look at it.
– You’re right about this “diva”... We found him a long time ago, many hundreds of years ago. And now it serves a good purpose - protection against the “blind”, those who accidentally got here. – North smiled. – For “those who want, but cannot”... – and added. - Like Caraffa. But this is not your hall, Isidora. Come with me. I'll show you your Meteora.
We moved deeper into the hall, passing some huge white slabs with writing carved into them standing along the edges.
- It doesn't look like runes. What is this, North? – I couldn’t stand it.
He smiled friendly again:
– Runes, but very ancient ones. Your father did not have time to teach you... But if you want, I will teach you. Just come to us, Isidora.
He repeated what I had already heard.
- No! – I immediately snapped. “That’s not why I came here, you know, North.” I came for help. Only you can help me destroy Karaffa. After all, what he does is your fault. Help me!
The North became even more sad... I knew in advance what he would answer, but I did not intend to give up. Millions of good lives were put on the scale, and I could not so easily give up the fight for them.
– I already explained to you, Isidora...
- So explain it further! – I abruptly interrupted him. – Explain to me how you can sit quietly with your arms folded when human lives go out one after another through your own fault?! Explain how such scum as Karaffa can exist, and no one has the desire to even try to destroy him?! Explain how you can live when this happens next to you?..
Bitter resentment bubbled up inside me, trying to spill out. I almost screamed, trying to reach his soul, but I felt that I was losing. There was no turning back. I didn't know if I would ever get there again, and I had to take every opportunity before I left.
- Look around, North! All over Europe your brothers and sisters are burning with living torches! Can you really sleep peacefully hearing their screams??? How can you not have bloody nightmares?!
His calm face was distorted by a grimace of pain:
– Don’t say that, Isidora! I have already explained to you - we should not interfere, we are not given such a right... We are guardians. We only protect KNOWLEDGE.
– Don’t you think that if you wait any longer, there will be no one to preserve your knowledge for?! – I exclaimed sadly.
– The earth is not ready, Isidora. I already told you this...
- Well, perhaps it will never be ready... And someday, in about a thousand years, when you look at it from your “tops”, you will see only an empty field, perhaps even overgrown beautiful flowers, because at this time there will be no more people on Earth, and there will be no one to pick these flowers... Think, North, is this the kind of future you wished for the Earth?!..
But the North was protected by a blank wall of faith in what it said... Apparently, they all firmly believed that they were right. Or someone once instilled this faith in their souls so firmly that they carried it through centuries, without opening up and not allowing anyone into their hearts... And I couldn’t break through it, no matter how hard I tried.
– There are few of us, Isidora. And if we intervene, it is possible that we will also die... And then it will be as easy as shelling pears even for weak person, let alone someone like Caraffa, take advantage of everything we store. And someone will have power over all living things. This happened once before... A very long time ago. The world almost died then. Therefore, forgive me, but we will not interfere, Isidora, we have no right to do this... Our Great Ancestors bequeathed to us to protect ancient KNOWLEDGE. And that's what we're here for. What do we live for? We didn't even save Christ once... Although we could have. But we all loved him very much.
– Do you want to say that one of you knew Christ?!.. But that was so long ago!.. Even you cannot live that long!
“Why – a long time ago, Isidora?” Sever was sincerely surprised. “That was only a few hundred ago!” But we live much longer, you know. How could you live if you wanted...
– Several hundred?!!! – North nodded. – But what about the legend?!.. After all, according to it, already one and a half thousand years have passed since his death?!..
- That’s why she is a “legend”... - Sever shrugged, - After all, if she were the Truth, she wouldn’t need the custom-made “fantasies” of Paul, Matthew, Peter and the like?.. With all that, that these “holy” people had never even seen the living Christ! And he never taught them. History repeats itself, Isidora... It was so, and it will always be so until people finally begin to think for themselves. And while Dark Minds think for them, only struggle will always rule on Earth...
North fell silent, as if deciding whether to continue. But, after thinking a little, he nevertheless spoke again...
– “Thinking Dark Ones” from time to time give humanity a new God, always choosing him from the best, the brightest and the purest... but precisely those who are definitely no longer in the Circle of the Living. Because, you see, it is much easier to “dress” a dead person with a false “story of his Life” and release it into the world, so that it brings to humanity only what is “approved” by the “Thinking Dark Ones,” forcing people to plunge even deeper into the ignorance of the Mind , swaddling their Souls more and more into the fear of inevitable death, and thereby putting shackles on their free and proud Life...
– Who are the Thinking Dark Ones, North? – I couldn’t stand it.
– This is the Dark Circle, which includes “gray” Magi, “black” magicians, money geniuses (their own for each new period of time), and much more. Simply, it is the Earthly (and not only) unification of “dark” forces.
– And you don’t fight them?!!! You talk about this so calmly, as if it doesn’t concern you!.. But you also live on Earth, North!
A deadly melancholy appeared in his eyes, as if I had accidentally touched upon something deeply sad and unbearably painful.
- Oh, we fought, Isidora!.. How we fought! It was a long time ago... I, like you now, was too naive and thought that all you had to do was show people where the truth was and where the lies were, and they would immediately rush to attack for a “just cause.” These are just “dreams about the future,” Isidora... Man, you see, is an easily vulnerable creature... Too easily succumbed to flattery and greed. And other various “human vices”... People first of all think about their needs and benefits, and only then about the “other” living. Those who are stronger thirst for Power. Well, the weak look for strong defenders, not at all interested in their “cleanliness.” And this continues for centuries. That is why in any war the brightest and best die first. And the rest of the “remainers” join the “winner”... And so it goes in a circle. The earth is not ready to think, Isidora. I know you don’t agree, because you yourself are too pure and bright. But one person cannot overthrow the common EVIL, even someone as strong as you. Earthly Evil is too big and free. We tried once... and lost the best. That is why we will wait for it to come right time. There are too few of us, Isidora.
– But why then don’t you try to fight differently? In a war that does not require your lives? You have such a weapon! And why do you allow people like Jesus to be desecrated? Why don't you tell people the truth?..

Alexey Venediktov- 18 hours and 7 minutes in Moscow. Good afternoon everyone! Alexey Venediktov is at the microphone. This is the “Everything is so” program. Natalya Ivanovna Basovskaya in our studio. Today we will talk, tell you about girls from ancient Roman history. Maybe you don’t know anything about them, but you certainly know about their sons, husbands and fathers. We switched to such a female line. But before we go further, I would like to play the book by Henryk Sienkiewicz “Camo is coming” and naturally about the novel, the famous great novel, I would say, the great novel about Ancient Rome. I invite you to win 10 books from me. This is the publishing house "E". Well, actually, 2016. Those who know the correct answer will receive a book accordingly, the first 10 people. Plus, of course, Dilettant magazine will benefit. Our next issue was published, dedicated to June 22, 1941, the 75th anniversary. It's already on sale and in kiosks, but you can win. So the question is very simple. The son of our today's heroine, the future... No, not the future. He was already an emperor - Caligula. He declared war on the god Neptune and ordered his army... What did he order his army? How to fight with God, it's called. If you remember, know, find how Caligula ordered his warriors to fight the god Neptune, then you send your answers either by SMS - plus 7 985 970 45 45. Don’t forget to subscribe. Plus 7 985 970 45 45, don't forget to subscribe. Either those who are on Twitter through the “Vyzvon” account, but then you must add your phone number and your name, or via the Internet, through our website, also adding your phone number and name. So, the question is: how, in what way did Caligula order his soldiers to fight the god Neptune? Basic plus 7 985 970 45 45.

This is the “Everything is so” program. Natalya Ivanovna Basovskaya. Hello!

Natalya Basovskaya- I would say good evening, everything is so gloomy.

A. Venediktov- Well, this is such...

N. Basovskaya- ... in our topic today.

A. Venediktov- Next to our girl today, this is still a light... I would say a light stripe.

N. Basovskaya“There are few things more terrible than her fate that can be imagined.” I would give the subtitle: “The tragic shadow of great ancestors.” She is truly tragic. Her whole life is a combination of something bright followed by something infinitely terrible.

A. Venediktov- Just a nightmare.

N. Basovskaya- In fact, everything is so terrible, such a theme, such a fate, such a life. She, like me, having read today’s broadcast of great and brilliant Roman authors, falls into that very moralizing characteristic of them. They wrote history for a reason, but to teach people, to explain, to show. Look, this is how it should be, but this is not how it should be. This is good. This is bad. And to some extent I...

A. Venediktov- Moralizing.

N. Basovskaya- ... I feel this unconditional influence on myself. Well, how can you not feel it if this is Publius Cornelius Tacitus - one of the greatest Roman historians, 55-120 AD. After our Agrippina, after a considerable time, she died in the year 33. But still, fate worried me, and most importantly, Tacitus, like other Roman historians, had his own sources, there were those who did not reach us. And therefore, reading it is simply amazing and delightful, and it is inexhaustible. There are other Roman historians where you will find her fate to one degree or another. Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus is even later, he died in the year 122. Well, a little later than Tacitus. This is an official person. He, Suetonius, had the position of secretary to the emperor.

A. Venediktov- Yes, he was a difficult guy. Yes.

N. Basovskaya- Therefore, this is essential at all times. And therefore he is a court writer, a court historian. This is bad. But he had access to the imperial archives. And this is good. Recently, one charming young student told me: “I read your essay about a certain character. Unclear". I say: “What is unclear?” - “So is he good or bad?” Still, the desire to divide everything into clearly bad and good remains. It’s bad that he’s a courtier, but what are the sources? And he, as a courtier, describes Augustus, the 1st Roman Emperor, as an ideal ruler. And this, to put it mildly, is exactly the opposite. The 3rd historian who cannot but be named is Dio Cassius. That's even later. He died in the 3rd century in 229 AD. His famous "Roman History", 80 books. And their books are scrolls. I already wrote under the Severas. This is a different Rome. These are already very noticeable crisis phenomena, deeper and deeper. He is a supporter of the monarchy, but without despotism. There is very little specialized literature about our character. You can find information about Agrippina the Elder in the book by Elena Vasilievna Fedorova “Imperial Rome in Persons”.

A. Venediktov- Yes.

N. Basovskaya- Numerous reissues.

A. Venediktov- She is very good...

N. Basovskaya- Worthy...

A. Venediktov- A worthy book.

N. Basovskaya- Absolutely. Sometimes someone with professional snobbery: “Oh, just think!”

A. Venediktov- But you know, she writes it without attitude.

N. Basovskaya- Yes. This is wonderful...

A. Venediktov- Agrippina - like this... Women's jealousy.

N. Basovskaya- I think it’s a wonderful work.

A. Venediktov- Women's jealousy.

N. Basovskaya- Well, you know better.

A. Venediktov- Yes.

N. Basovskaya- And there is such Gennady Levitsky, a modern historian, “Captured by passions. Women in the history of Rome", Moscow, 2009. But the best of all is Petr Nikolaevich Kudryavtsev, “Roman Women. Historical stories according to Tacitus", 1856. Pyotr Nikolaevich is a student, an admirer of Granovsky, a friend, and an admirer. The text is brilliant. I especially adore such moments, he repeats them, Kudryavtsev tells, tells some story, but let’s give the floor to Tacitus, and he gives the floor, and we get such statements... Well, for example, “the favorites of the Roman people are short-lived and unhappy.”

A. Venediktov- This is true.

N. Basovskaya- This is wonderful literature, and if anyone is interested, and Kudryavtsev’s book, it was last published, in my opinion, in 1913 on the eve of the great catastrophes of Russia. But there is and you can find it on the Internet, read it, and so on. So, Agrippina the Elder, granddaughter of the great Octavian Augustus. But here is the great, great one. A completely repulsive person, but this is someone who, after all, after the great, namely the great civil wars in Rome, long, hopeless, where such people as Gaius Julius Caesar, Marcus Tullius Cicero, Marcus Licinius Crassus and so on took part. Still, he looks the most nondescript at first, but the most...

A. Venediktov- Bastard. Such a bastard.

N. Basovskaya- Not scientifically, but definitely.

A. Venediktov- Was. Was there when I was little.

N. Basovskaya- This is the definition. So, this is the granddaughter of the great Octavian Augustus, 1st monarch of Great Rome. Her story, her story does not take place under Augustus, especially since she is a granddaughter...

A. Venediktov- Well, under Augusta a little, but still she...

N. Basovskaya- A little under August. But the main character here is Tiberius, the successor of Augustus.

A. Venediktov- The same Tiberius.

N. Basovskaya- … Foster-son. Yes. His adopted son. Some super depraved individual. And in general, a time characterized by cruelty, depravity, and mercilessness towards relatives. What is this?

A. Venediktov- These are the consequences of civil wars.

N. Basovskaya- The consequences of civil wars are obvious. And the moral death of the empire, which came much earlier than physical and political death. Morally they died under this dynasty, the 1st dynasties...

A. Venediktov― Julia Claudia.

N. Basovskaya― Julia Claudia. There weren't many of them. There weren't many of them.

A. Venediktov- But everyone distinguished themselves.

N. Basovskaya- But they are all almost monsters, culminating in Nero. So this is the time, I think, this is moral death. Once upon a time the cry of “O tempora!” O more!” - “Oh, times! Oh, morals! - Marcus Tullius Cicero would have died again by natural causes. And he was executed during proscriptions. And so the personal fate of Agrippina the Elder, I believe, is a mirror of the beginning of the decomposition of the corpse of Great Rome. Here's a terrible preface. But I prepared our radio listeners for the subsequent dark pages of history.

A. Venediktov- Intimidated. Take children away from the radio.

N. Basovskaya- Parents. Yes, here we are talking about parents. No, it’s surprising: father - best friend, close friend of Octavian Augustus. Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa is an amazing man of humble origin, but it happened...

A. Venediktov- Well, civil wars raise these people.

N. Basovskaya- Undoubtedly.

A. Venediktov- Yes, talented people from the bottom.

N. Basovskaya- In the wake of the civil war, no one knows who flies up. And he became the closest friend of Octavian Augustus in his very youth. So why is it fantastic? On the one hand, he is always next to Octavian and helps him strive for power. But at the same time he constantly persuades him not to become a sole ruler. He wins victories in his favor in the hope that when he does become, he will not be a despot, but some kind of benefactor of his people. I will quote. Dio Cassius cites Agrippa's speech, of course, not literal. These are retellings of Roman writers, but they convey the essence. So, quotes as if from Agrippa himself: “The essence of autocracy is that no one wants to see or have any worthy qualities (for he who has the highest power is the enemy of everyone else), as he wants to warn the many, many who follow. “Most people think only about themselves, and everyone hates each other,” this is under despotism. Further: “It is difficult to crush our mass of people, the Roman mass of people, who have lived for so many years in freedom, well, relative. This means that it was still a republic. - It is difficult to again convert our allies, our tributaries, into slavery, some of whom have long lived under a democratic system - this is Greece - and we freed others - the east. “It’s difficult to do this while we are surrounded by enemies on all sides.” So touching, moralizing and at the same time...

A. Venediktov- Our dad is a moralizer. Let's remember our girl's dad, Octavian's close friend.

N. Basovskaya- And the commander.

A. Venediktov- Yes. And a moralizer.

N. Basovskaya- Helping Octavian, he wins victories over Sextus Pompeus, the son of Pompey. Defeats Antony and Cleopatra in the famous...

A. Venediktov- It’s him. Yes.

N. Basovskaya- ... the battle of Actium. 31st year BC.

A. Venediktov- Yes.

N. Basovskaya- The famous defeat of Antony and Cleopatra. The fleet is destroyed. Fought in Spain. And always next to August. He created a lot in Rome, rebuilt Rome. He built baths, the Pantheon, and an aqueduct. Now this is the Trevi Fountain, one of the most famous. And all this is wonderful Agrippa. We love...

A. Venediktov- Dad.

N. Basovskaya- We love the people.

A. Venediktov- Dad. Our dad.

N. Basovskaya- Mother.

A. Venediktov- Mother.

N. Basovskaya- The opposite.

A. Venediktov- So.

N. Basovskaya“It’s from such amazing things that something amazing should be born, and it was born.” Mom is the only daughter of Octavian Julia the Elder, her own only daughter. It seems that she was destined to be, well, as terrible as Octavian, because on the day of her birth, Octavian, on the day of her birth, divorced her mother Scribonia and married Livia.

A. Venediktov- So?

N. Basovskaya- A sinister figure. That is, on the girl’s birthday, he kicks her mother out. And she grows up from childhood, from birth with a strange woman, this same Livia in the Octavian family. Fate is further broken. He endlessly thinks, Octavian, who would benefit, politically benefit from giving his only daughter.

A. Venediktov- Well, he’s such a usurper, to put it roughly.

N. Basovskaya- Certainly. Famous dynastic product.

A. Venediktov- Yes.

N. Basovskaya- He pretended that he preserved the republic, becoming a real emperor, in the sense of a monarch. He even planned whether to give her to the barbarian. No one asked her anything.

A. Venediktov- No, well, what else should I ask them?

N. Basovskaya- But I gave it away cousin. As a result, he died suddenly, and at the age of 16 she was a widow. At 18, she is married to this noble Agrippa, who is already over 40. She managed to bear him five children, including Agrippina the Elder. And what? At the same time, the mother continues to live her life completely wild.

A. Venediktov- Loose.

N. Basovskaya- Her father tortured her so much with these auctions...

A. Venediktov- Octavian I mean.

N. Basovskaya- Octavian. He tortured her so much. He even married her for some time to Tiberius, his adopted son and depraved heir. They hated each other fiercely. And as a manifestation of hatred, she began to lead a demonstrably depraved lifestyle. And Roman debauchery, like many things Roman, was distinguished by its brightness and some kind of deliberateness.

A. Venediktov- Demonstration.

N. Basovskaya- Demonstration. Augustus, who declared himself a fighter for the purity of morals...

A. Venediktov- Yeah.

N. Basovskaya- He really wanted to be good. He exiled his only daughter...

A. Venediktov- This mother of ours?

N. Basovskaya- Our mother. He exiled Julia to the islands, where she was tortured especially under Tiberius, simply, one might say, tormented and tortured, and she died there. This is the origin of this Agrippina. She was the 3rd child of Agrippa and Julia the Elder, this unfortunate woman. 3rd child of five in Agrippa's family. At the age of 19, that is, in the 5th year of the new era, she was married to Germanicus, the son of Tiberius's brother Drusus the Elder, a noble man. That is, for the nephew of the ruling depraved emperor...

A. Venediktov- Well, I must say, Natalya Ivanovna, that grandfather Octavian was responsible for her education, that he watched over her...

N. Basovskaya- There was education.

A. Venediktov- Yes. He was watching her. He also prepared it as a commodity, as you said.

N. Basovskaya- Exactly.

A. Venediktov- She couldn’t leave the house. She shouldn't have dated...

N. Basovskaya- He is a fighter for morality.

A. Venediktov- Yes Yes. Well, apparently, my mother’s example stood before my eyes...

N. Basovskaya- And now the unnominal, purely Roman villain Tiberius wants to combine the virtues of Agrippa and the evil of his daughter Julia the Elder in this marriage of Agrippina...

A. Venediktov- Octavian. Yes Yes. August.

A. Venediktov- Her and Germanicus?

N. Basovskaya- Yes. Something that cannot be. This marriage took place in the 5th year of the new era. And after this, Agrippina and Germanicus lived in a happiest marriage for 14 years. Something that cannot be.

A. Venediktov- And we don’t know any examples of families like this, I suddenly began to remember, this never happened.

N. Basovskaya- No.

A. Venediktov- All these Tiberii, Drusus, Nero, Vipsanii...

N. Basovskaya- In my opinion, this is a unique phenomenon.

A. Venediktov- This is a unique phenomenon.

N. Basovskaya- This is purity in the final analysis, this is the theme of her life and the merciless reprisal against her... Tiberius dealt with it...

A. Venediktov- Don't get ahead of yourself.

N. Basovskaya- Yes. Crazy. This is that the demonstrative villainy and depravity of Tiberius cannot see and bear the spectacle of virtue. Germanicus is a virtuous, decent person.

A. Venediktov- Roman commander too.

N. Basovskaya― Roman military leader. He is considered among the candidates as Augustus's successor. True, August wants to live forever.

A. Venediktov- Well, yes.

N. Basovskaya- But he is experiencing insane pressure from this very wife Livia and understands... he cannot resist her pressure. She is trying to get her son from Tiberius’s other marriage to be adopted. The Romans had a special feature: a native and adopted son... This seems to be a noble feature.

A. Venediktov- Yes.

N. Basovskaya- They thought they were the same. It didn't matter whether the child was adopted or born. It seems that something that was intended to be good, but sometimes turned into something crazy. So, Germanicus is noble, worthy. He is growing in his career. He is not offended. He served as quaestor and consul in the 12th year. And in the 14th Tiberius becomes emperor...

A. Venediktov- August is dying, we must... August is dying.

N. Basovskaya- August is dying. And many thought that Germanicus would be the heir. No, they say, he is young.

A. Venediktov- Too much.

N. Basovskaya- Tiberius becomes the heir and immediately sends the noble Germanicus, young, self-confident, strong, married to our Agrippina the Elder, to the banks of the Rhine to fight the terrible Germans. And at this time, nothing could be imagined more terrible for Rome than the Germans. Everyone remembered, everyone knew the famous defeat of the Romans in the Teutoburg Forest in the 9th year of the new era under Augustus.

A. Venediktov- Still fresh. Hurts.

N. Basovskaya- It hurts.

A. Venediktov- The eagle of the legion is lost...

N. Basovskaya- How he banged his head against the door lintel, August. He did everything for show.

A. Venediktov- Yes.

N. Basovskaya- This cunning one. Quintilius, return the legion.

A. Venediktov- Give me back my legions.

N. Basovskaya- Bring back the legions. Because legions of Romans died there. It was a terrible defeat in the German forests. That's where Germanicus is sent. On the one hand, it seems clear that the best is to fight the most dangerous. As soon as he arrived there, in an unusual way - together with his wife Agrippina.

A. Venediktov- And it’s important to explain why in an unusual way.

N. Basovskaya- But no one can say for sure... Yes? Nobody can explain why. This was not in the tradition of the Romans.

A. Venediktov- Here.

N. Basovskaya- It is not customary to go to war with your wife. She will always be by his side as long as he lives. She gives birth to children there. She gave birth to four children, including Caligula and Agrippina the Younger, one more, there.

A. Venediktov- On hikes?

N. Basovskaya- On hikes. There are soldiers around.

A. Venediktov- This really was not accepted in Rome. The woman should...

N. Basovskaya- It was not accepted.

A. Venediktov- ... wait for my husband in Rome.

N. Basovskaya- It was considered as a virtue. The fact is that the topic of virtue at this time became the most relevant. Obviously there was debauchery after the civil wars. The last one...

A. Venediktov- ... NEP is like that.

N. Basovskaya― Yes, the last one to seal it... To Cicero “O tempora!” O mores!”, and it is clear that nothing helped. Morals are decaying and disintegrating. The famous Roman concept “virtus” has no literal translation. Formally, “valor.” Formally, “dignity.” But in general, this is a set of Roman classical qualities: love for the homeland, willingness to die for it, a virtuous lifestyle, a strong family. In Rome, all these moral principles were once in their heyday, well, until... the 1st century AD.

A. Venediktov― Civil wars they destroyed it all.

N. Basovskaya- Yes Yes.

A. Venediktov- That's how it is.

N. Basovskaya- It was very strong, and then it all collapsed. So her act, so unusual, of course, was perceived by someone, and then they did not forget it, as a manifestation of an attempt to return the Roman virtuous family, let in an unusual way. Well, in those old days, for example, the wife did not go on hikes with Scipio Africanus.

A. Venediktov- Yes.

N. Basovskaya- Or maybe this is a way to restore the great dignity and strength of the family. And this is an unusual coincidence...

A. Venediktov- She lives in the camp. She lives in a camp.

N. Basovskaya- She is in the camp. As soon as Germanicus arrived at the camp, Tacitus described this with absolutely stunning vividness, the legionnaires tried to say: “You are good, Tiberius is bad there in Rome. Let us announce you...” The secret of imperial power has been revealed. You can become an emperor not only in Rome. We will declare you emperor. So Germanicus threatened to commit suicide, took out his sword, said: “I’m ready to stick it in,” they see that I’m ready. “If you don’t stop.” He stopped this riot. And Agrippina helped him and was not afraid of anything. And then she even helped him in military operations. This couple is absolutely extraordinary.

A. Venediktov― Natalya Ivanovna Basovskaya today in the “Everything is So” program. We are talking about Agrippina the Elder. There will be another Junior in a week. And now the Elder. Let's not be confused. I got confused in them myself. This is the daughter of Agrippa and Julia, granddaughter of Octavian. She and her husband Germanicus set an example...

N. Basovskaya- A bearer of virtue.

A. Venediktov- Yes, a bearer of virtue. We will return to our studio immediately after the news.

A. Venediktov: 18- 35 in Moscow. Natalya Basovskaya, Alexey Venediktov in the program “Everything is so” about Agrippina the Elder. I asked you how Caligula, the son of our today’s heroine Agrippina the Elder, began to fight with the god Neptune or Poseidon, as you write. As you wish. Correct answer: he started throwing spears into the sea. He ordered his soldiers to throw spears into the sea. And those who wrote to carve the sea probably had in mind the story of Xerxes...

N. Basovskaya- Persian...

A. Venediktov― King Xerxes. Yes. Our winners, who receive the book “Camo Coming” by Henryk Sienkiewicz and 3 issues of the magazine “Dilentant”, are as follows: Galina, whose phone number ends in 74, Natalya - in 71, Lena - 01, Vladimir - 24, Nina - 12, Tatyana - 81 , Mark – 49, Armen – 77, Ksenia – 62 and Anna – 83.

So, our heroine is with her husband, who threatened to commit suicide if the soldiers do not stop the uprising against the emperor, she is in a military camp.

N. Basovskaya- ... cannot break the oath of allegiance to Emperor Tiberius. He is noble. He is impossibly noble. And, as all ancient authors believe, and they nevertheless fed on many sources, he could have done this. He was such a man, a bearer of nobility. And these 14 years of marriage, from the 5th to the 17th year, she is constantly nearby. And it is described by all the Romans that she even stopped the soldiers who were ready to retreat, the Roman soldiers, by destroying the bridge. She prevented the destruction of this bridge, she convinced them, convinced them. They returned, pushed back the Germans and returned across this bridge. And she greeted them with flowers.

A. Venediktov- Wow! What a woman!

N. Basovskaya- It ruined her because her popularity is unthinkable. Her youngest son, a terrible man in the future, Caligula, is a little boy. He is 2 years old here when he already appears, in a soldier’s uniform. He is dressed in a soldier's uniform...

A. Venediktov- Children's room?

N. Basovskaya- Children's room. They sewed a small one for him, and everyone made this one. And he received the nickname Caligula. This is a form of shoe, a boot. Caligula is short for boots. And this boot, it touches everyone. Everyone knows what Agrippina did on that famous bridge. Everyone knows how noble her husband is. Here she is…

A. Venediktov- And this boy, he...

N. Basovskaya- Nobody knows how terrible he will be.

A. Venediktov- He walks around the camp...

N. Basovskaya- Yes. He touches.

A. Venediktov- He touches.

N. Basovskaya- He touches. And the flowers with which she greeted the soldiers are not forgotten. Therefore, Tiberius, who is probably already seething with anger and jealousy...

A. Venediktov- Denunciations, denunciations.

N. Basovskaya- Still, in the 17th year of the new era, 3 years after the death of Augustus, Tiberius was in power for 3 years, he arranged the triumph of Germanicus in Rome. This is the 1st triumph after 29 BC. The triumph of Octavian, who came...

A. Venediktov- That is, 50 years ago they only saw conquest...

N. Basovskaya“They haven’t seen triumphs for a long time.”

A. Venediktov- Yes.

N. Basovskaya- And this triumph, which Cleopatra did not get into, committed suicide in the 29th year BC.

A. Venediktov- Yes Yes.

N. Basovskaya- And this is the first triumph after this huge pause. Tiberius will demolish this...

A. Venediktov- He arranged it himself, but he can’t do it himself.

N. Basovskaya- He sends Germanicus, it’s enough to fight on the Rhine, where you are so popular...

A. Venediktov- Well, yes.

N. Basovskaya- Where Agrippina made you an unprecedented name, where virtue itself reigns...

A. Venediktov- And popular with his legions.

N. Basovskaya- This is the worst thing. The soldiers adore him and little boy nicknamed Caligula, Boot. He sends him... Well, where? So, to the east. This is the situation in the West. He... Formally, everything is fine. He appoints Germanicus as ruler of the eastern part of the empire. And exactly one year later, this is the 18th year of the new era, in the 19th the news comes: Germanicus suddenly died from an unprecedented, unknown illness in Antioch.

A. Venediktov- Well, it’s hot, insects, dysentery.

N. Basovskaya- Lightning-fast rumors - poisoned. Rome goes into mass hysteria. In Rome there is simply hysteria, and popular hysteria at that. The Roman plebs, he knows how to demand spectacles, and knows how to admire and hate. And now these excited crowds suddenly come to the false... the news that turns out to be false, that he is alive, Germanicus... It is not true, he is alive. And in the middle of the night, Tiberius, the emperor who would soon flee from Rome to Capri and live there as an evil hermit, was awakened by the deafening cry of the crowd. What were they shouting? Alive and healthy. Let's save Germanicus. Rome is saved and the world is saved. For them, Rome and the world are one and the same.

A. Venediktov- Yes, sure. Certainly.

N. Basovskaya- Roman world. And this woke up the evil Tiberius. All. They are doomed. And Agrippina and her children. And as much as he can take revenge, he will do so. Germanicus died. She’s a virtuous widow, and this, as it were, further adorns her. What is the noble, virtuous widow of the Roman hero Germanicus Agrippina doing? We understand what she has to do. Goes to court. Virtue believes in the judicial system.

A. Venediktov- So.

N. Basovskaya- Even Roman. And in court he accuses the ruler of Syria, Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, of the death of his husband. This is a reversal...

A. Venediktov- Poisoned?

N. Basovskaya- A new turn of the tragedy.

A. Venediktov- Poisoned?

N. Basovskaya- Yes. Yes. He accuses that this ruler of Syria did not organize the poisoning himself, but organized it. At this trial, where the noble widow is, many shudder and are ready to understand, to hear her...

A. Venediktov- Yes Yes.

N. Basovskaya- Driven into a corner by this investigation, Piso, this same ruler of Syria spoke, as they say now.

A. Venediktov- Oh, he shouldn’t have spoken.

N. Basovskaya- Not for long. He accused Emperor Tiberius himself. He told the truth for sure. And the all-powerful praetorian prefect. Commander of the Praetorians, a position created by Octavian Augustus.

A. Venediktov- Well, yes.

N. Basovskaya- Well, this is an all-powerful figure. Lucius Aelius Sejanus. This Sejanus will finish the tragedy. They scheduled a hearing of the case now in the Senate and transferred it to a higher authority. And everything, perhaps, would have been clarified if the accused Piso had not suddenly committed suicide.

A. Venediktov- So.

N. Basovskaya- Finished.

A. Venediktov- So.

N. Basovskaya- What remains for the noble widow? The case has not been fully investigated. Everything was limited to rumors, horrors, delights. And since the year 19, since the death of Germanicus, Agrippina has lived in Rome. She's in front of everyone. Which is also hard for Tiberius, although...

A. Venediktov- With my sorrow.

N. Basovskaya- Yes. With noble sorrow, with the fact that I did not achieve the truth in court, although, of course, there are plenty of rumors. And she noticeably inclines her statements, remarks, and behavior towards opposition to the all-powerful Sejanus. And since this is the all-powerful praetorian prefect, he must have enemies.

A. Venediktov- He's the favorite. Favorite.

N. Basovskaya- Tiberius is cold and wary towards her. He had not yet completely left Rome. In 26, he refused to give her permission to remarry. She, of course, was looking for protection. Remarriage could provide her with some protection. In principle, this is the order in the empire without the permission of the emperor...

A. Venediktov- She is a member of the family. Well, she's part of the family.

N. Basovskaya- Moreover, she is a member of the family. She was denied.

A. Venediktov- He also understood that she was looking for protection. Why do we need this?

N. Basovskaya- And Sejanus continuously whispers: “This woman is dangerous. This woman is dangerous." The story told by Suetonius. At the feast, where she was still invited, Tiberius served Agrippina an apple, obviously poisoned. I don’t know why, but they knew the customs of Rome well. She refused to eat it. And then Tiberius’ feigned anger: “How dare she suspect me?!” If she ate it, she would die. But if she didn’t eat it, she became suspected and completely hated. In the 28th year...

A. Venediktov- We need to remind you about the family, that there are children. There are 3 sons and a daughter.

N. Basovskaya- Yes. They are still alive.

A. Venediktov- Let us just remind you that she is not alone.

N. Basovskaya- They are still alive. They are in the light, as they say. In the 28th year... Until the 28th year, nothing. But in the 28th, the last defender of Agrippina, very a famous person Titus Sabinus. He visited her with the children. He showed sympathy. He invited them to the house. I went and visited their house. All. By a wild libel he disappeared. The road to the tragic ending is completely open. Agrippina based on rumors, 28th year of the new era, rumors that she intends to seek protection from the army... Nothing but rumors.

A. Venediktov- Well, yes. Where will she go?

N. Basovskaya- But underneath that is her popularity. The former truth.

A. Venediktov- Well, yes, Germanicus generally became a mythological person. There he died a martyr's death, it is not clear what kind.

N. Basovskaya- Everyone understands that he is poisoned. The trial has been terminated. And 9 years have passed since this tragic year 19.

A. Venediktov- But the family is close. Caligula is there.

N. Basovskaya- The boys are growing up.

A. Venediktov- The boys are growing up. The Emperor greets them.

N. Basovskaya- The older brothers are already young men.

A. Venediktov- Yes Yes. Already girded with a sword, as they say.

N. Basovskaya- And her circle was dispersed, the last intercessor...

A. Venediktov- Well, yes.

N. Basovskaya- ... imprisoned. And so, based on rumors, which, of course, Sejanus himself created throughout Rome, that she intended to seek protection from the army, Tiberius gave the order to send her into exile on the island of Pandateria, approximately the same place where his daughter Julia was...

A. Venediktov- Daughter of Octavian, I mean.

N. Basovskaya- Daughter of Octavian. Not his.

A. Venediktov- Yes. Stepsister. Yes.

N. Basovskaya- Julia. When she was arrested, she tried to be indignant and express her shock. How can you do it without any evidence? It is not yet understood that absolute power is absolute. In Rome, everyone lives with some memories, some illusions, some courts, some speakers of the past, some figures like, of course, already slaughtered Gaius Julius Caesar, but who knew how to be popular, and here he is everyone offers the crown, but he refuses. And now at least 10 crowns. Tiberius agrees to everything. How can it be based on rumors? And she expressed her indignation, and what happened is that in gangster films and TV series they say: “Do not stand on ceremony when arresting someone.” For the centurion struck the woman, this noble widow and matron, so that he knocked out her eye. It seems incredible. It seems…

A. Venediktov- On Germanicus’s wife it’s impossible at all...

N. Basovskaya- The wife of the absolutely ideal, completely idealized Germanicus...

A. Venediktov- And she herself is completely idealized.

N. Basovskaya- ... the hero Tsiof...

A. Venediktov- Nothing. Ordered. I fulfilled the order.

N. Basovskaya- Do not stand on ceremony when arresting.

A. Venediktov- Don't stand on ceremony. It was the subordinate of the prefect Sejan who arrested?

N. Basovskaya- Yes.

A. Venediktov- Same…

N. Basovskaya- For a centurion to gouge out a woman’s eye is, in general, not very... Not that it’s unusual. It seems impossible, incredible...

A. Venediktov- Yes, it was possible to kill according to lists back in the time of Sulla. Yes?

N. Basovskaya- Since the time of Sulla from the 1st century...

A. Venediktov- Kill, please.

N. Basovskaya- ... before the new era. But it was, as it were, legalized.

A. Venediktov- Yes.

N. Basovskaya- This list is an approved document. He is hanging out. From this list we know the names of people, by killing whom you will be doing a favor to the dictator Sulla, and then to Octavian, who pretends that there is a republic. Actually the emperor. You are doing a service to the state. True, for this you will receive half of his property. Well, that's fair. This is payment for your merits. And now, when a lot of time has passed, such super immoral norms are in effect, and the Roman concept of “virtus” is being forgotten more and more, they led to the fact that the all-powerful praetorian prefect Sejanus probably said: “When you arrest, do not stand on ceremony.” This woman, a noble matron, a noble widow, a participant in, let’s say, military operations on western front Roman, on the banks of the Rhine - this is incredible - this woman, mutilated, was sent into hopeless exile.

A. Venediktov- What was this manner of sending to the islands in general? Not to execute, not to imprison, but to send... Well, they actually sent... Here is Tiberius, he also lived on the island of Capri.

N. Basovskaya- He then went into voluntary exile.

A. Venediktov- Well, yes.

N. Basovskaya- The idea was this: there is nothing worse for a Roman or Roman woman with the concepts of “virtus” and other virtues than to be outside Rome. You are alive because you are in Rome. Rome is life. Rome is the whole world. For people with such origins as these, as relatives of the 1st dynasty Julio-Claudians, their ancestors, to be sent away from Rome is worse than to be killed. This also began under Augustus. The famous tristia, written by Ovid on the banks of the Danube, somewhere in present-day Romania, there in the region of present-day Romania, tristia, that is, sad poems. He wrote them in exile, where Augustus, a famous moralist, also sent him for what he considered depraved.

A. Venediktov- But it’s one thing to be sent into exile in a distant province there, the Danube, or even there...

N. Basovskaya- Times change.

A. Venediktov- ... deserted ...

N. Basovskaya- Conditions are getting worse. He was sad there. But what is the melancholy about? I don't live because I'm outside of Rome. And in these exiles there was an idea to be outside Rome... We seem to be preserving... Of course, they don’t speak Chinese, they will be re-educated, but what if the emperor then decides...

A. Venediktov- And so it happened.

N. Basovskaya- ... and forgive.

A. Venediktov- It happened like that.

N. Basovskaya- That is, everything is hypocritical through and through. Pretty scary. But it fits into the deformed norms of Roman morality, which essentially became immoral.

A. Venediktov- And now these deserted islands.

N. Basovskaya- Deserted islands. They, of course, have a very humid climate. But it's not that scary. It's scary there winter time of the year. This is what is now and then a perfect resort in the summer, in the winter it is very dreary. It's raining. This is a terrible humidity from which the Romans living in Rome, the rich and the nobility, take refuge in the famous baths. Why do they keep building and adding to the thermal baths? It 'warm over there. Political issues are discussed there. All sorts of decisions are made there. And when there are no terms...

A. Venediktov- But only caves.

N. Basovskaya- ... all-pervasive humidity - yes, - in a cave, well, a basement like a cave, it exhausts and destroys a person, and eats up gradually. But the idea, well, what if something happens, is there. In the 30th year she... In the 31st year... No, first she... 30th. She received terrible news there in exile that her eldest son named Nero was killed on the orders of Tiberius, not to be confused with the next one...

A. Venediktov- Not with that Nero. Well, they were all Nero, Drusus...

N. Basovskaya- Yes Yes.

A. Venediktov- ... Agrippa, Severus. Yes.

N. Basovskaya- Killed...

A. Venediktov- In prison there.

N. Basovskaya- ...by order of Tiberius. She receives the news there.

A. Venediktov- This is the son of Germanicus, we must remember.

N. Basovskaya- Germanika. But in 1931 there is hope in less than a year, because the news comes that the all-powerful Sejanus has been executed for treason, well, naturally for treason.

A. Venediktov- The same praetorian prefect.

N. Basovskaya- That same praetorian prefect was executed on the orders of that same Tiberius. And Agrippina hopes that this could happen. The Emperor is omnipotent. The Emperor may want to appear magnanimous...

A. Venediktov- And we must remember that our youngest son Agrippina Caligula is on Capri with the emperor, a boy. Maybe he said something. Maybe he asked for his mother.

N. Basovskaya- Oh I do not know.

A. Venediktov- And she didn’t know.

N. Basovskaya- Agrippina hopes for changes for the better. Another 2 years pass. And in the 33rd she learns about the death of the 2nd son of Drusus. My God! He was starved to death. And as Roman historians write, she was told these details. There are scary details. He ate the stuffing from his mattress.

A. Venediktov- In prison?

N. Basovskaya- In prison. He was not fed.

N. Basovskaya- Which…

A. Venediktov- Difference. Yes? It becomes.

N. Basovskaya- They didn’t feed him. And then Agrippina, a woman of unprecedentedly strong spirit, extraordinary, of course, nobility... Virtue played some amazing thing here, because her parents were so opposite. Noble, albeit utopian, Agrippa. A libertine, but unwillingly, Julia. What was formed? Most noble husband. She is a woman of unbending will, as it turned out, having learned that her son, the 2nd son of Drusus, a young man, had been starved to death in such a cruel way, she decides to starve herself to death. That’s when there are authors like Suetonius who try to somehow shield even Tiberius...

A. Venediktov- Well, yes. They love their heroes.

N. Basovskaya- I can't. And what to do with what... Tiberius, they reported to him: he’s not eating.

A. Venediktov- He replied.

N. Basovskaya- ... familiar at all times.

A. Venediktov- Yes, he answered: “Force-feed.”

N. Basovskaya- He ordered: “Force feed.” God! How familiar all this is from other times, when it seems to us that this is an invention of a depraved civilization...

A. Venediktov- The twentieth century is cruel and so on.

N. Basovskaya- Yes, fascism.

A. Venediktov- Yes.

N. Basovskaya- Everything was there. They began to force feed her. But as the Romans write, she resisted, resisted so much that she died. That is, she died, one might say, well, under torture.

N. Basovskaya- Because force-feeding is a form of torture. Epilogue.

A. Venediktov- Was this in exile? Just so our listeners understand.

N. Basovskaya- Yes Yes. On these islands.

A. Venediktov- Here on this deserted island...

N. Basovskaya- Never returned from this small island.

A. Venediktov- Her 2 sons died, leaving a son and a daughter.

N. Basovskaya: 33- th year. She died. The son is somewhat honored. About the daughter Agrippina the Younger...

N. Basovskaya- ...we planned to tell you separately. So, the epilogue. A strange ending, a strange interweaving of facts. Tiberius appoints as heir the youngest son of Germanicus and Agrippina, the same Caligula, a former touching boy nicknamed Boot, the son of virtuous parents. Parents who turn out to be the monster's parents. Caligula is a monster.

A. Venediktov- Yes. But the parents are no longer there.

N. Basovskaya- ... they believe that he was mentally ill. Maybe Tiberius saw this. Maybe he saw this. And as the Roman moralists say, he would like to prove that things could be worse.

A. Venediktov- Well, this is such...

N. Basovskaya- I saw Caligula...

A. Venediktov- ... fantasy.

N. Basovskaya- They will see Nero...

A. Venediktov- Fantasy.

N. Basovskaya- ... and maybe they will love me. Moralistic reasoning.

A. Venediktov- Certainly.

N. Basovskaya- Tiberius survived himself... Emperor Tiberius outlived Agrippina by 3 and a half years. Well, maybe he passed away into that world in some beautiful, noble way. Yes, it's monstrous. Obviously dying, he seemed to have ceased to show signs of life, and Guy Caesar Caligula, this same heir, began to accept congratulations from court flatterers. Suddenly new news: he woke up. Tiberius woke up. The scene in Tacitus is described charmingly. They turned around and began to mourn. They had just congratulated us, but they had already begun to mourn. Oh-oh-oh, we were scared, what if he came to life. There will always be a new praetorian prefect Macron. Sejanus, Macron. New Macron, new Seyan. Having seen that he really seemed to be breathing and signs of life, some say that he crushed him... ordered him to be strangled, and personally suffocated him with a pillow. Others say he ordered to throw clothes and bedding lying around him...

A. Venediktov- In general, well, so that he suffocates in short.

N. Basovskaya- Such a pile of rags formed, under which Emperor Tiberius died quietly.

A. Venediktov- Choked.

N. Basovskaya- And the former charming Boot...

A. Venediktov- The son of our heroine.

N. Basovskaya― Gaius Caesar Caligula, whom she loved so much, whom the soldiers loved in the camp of the ideal Germanicus in the fight against the Germans, the most dangerous for Rome, this man again began to accept congratulations. Everything is forgotten.

A. Venediktov- Oh, I haven’t forgotten yet, I remembered that I have...

N. Basovskaya- Not everything is forgotten.

A. Venediktov- No, not everything is forgotten, that when Agrippina died, her birthday was the emperor...

N. Basovskaya- It was declared a bad day.

A. Venediktov- Can you imagine?! After her death, here she is... Tiberius declared by decree the birthday of Agrippina, who had already died - this is an unlucky day.

N. Basovskaya- Just don’t think that it’s a day of mourning there. No.

A. Venediktov- No. Bad, unsuccessful.

N. Basovskaya- This is a day when you don’t have to do anything. Failure will overtake you. It will be - excuse me - failure. Bad calendar day.

A. Venediktov- The boy came, Caligula, her son, and naturally canceled it.

N. Basovskaya- Moreover, the first thing he did was go to the islands... At first he started out as if he was normal. He collected the ashes of his mother on this island, and his brothers on the neighboring one, solemnly buried them, brought them personally in an urn, and buried their ashes. But very quickly he turned into Caligula.

A. Venediktov― Natalya Ivanovna Basovskaya in the program “Everything is so.”

The Senate helped Claudius forget Messalina, as it decided to remove her name and her statues from all public places and from private houses. Narcissus was awarded the quaestor insignia - a very insignificant reward compared to his hopes - because in this matter he surpassed Pallantus and Callistus in his merits.

Yes, his motives were honest, but they led to the worst consequences" (Tats. Ann. XI, 38).

Agrippina the Younger

Agrippina the Younger was the eldest of the daughters of Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder.

The fate of Agrippina the Younger in her youth was not easy.

Agrippina the Younger. Marble. Copenhagen. Glyptothek New Carlsberg

Her father, mother and two older brothers fell victim to criminal machinations; her third brother, Emperor Caligula, first made her his mistress, and then sent her into exile in the Pontic Islands. Claudius, her uncle, having become emperor, returned her to Rome, where she had to endure a lot from Messalina.

Agrippina the Younger was given by Tiberius in marriage to Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, the grandson of Mark Antony and Octavia the Younger, about whom Suetonius says that he was “a most vile man at every time of his life” (Svet. Hep. 5); his father, Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, was an arrogant, cruel and rude man. When Agrippina the Younger gave birth to a son, her husband “in response to the congratulations of his friends, exclaimed that from him and Agrippina nothing could be born except horror and grief for humanity” (Light. Hep. 6). This son was Nero, so the words of his father, who died soon, turned out to be prophetic.

Arrogant and cruel, hypocritical and greedy, Agrippina the Younger was possessed by a true passion for power. They said that once Agrippina asked the soothsayers about the fate of her son and they answered that he would reign, but would kill his mother, to which she said: “Let him kill, as long as he reigns!” (Tats. Ann. XIV, 9).

Agrippina the Younger. Marble. Rome. Private collection

After the death of Messalina in 48, Agrippina perked up and resolutely entered into the struggle for power. Tacitus talks about it like this:

“After the death of Messalina, the imperial court was gripped by excitement due to the struggle that arose between the freedmen over which of them should find a new wife for Claudius, who could not stand a celibate existence and fell under the power of each of his spouses. The same rivalry arose among the women: each flaunted her nobility, beauty and wealth as a worthy basis for such a marriage. The dispute was mainly about who to prefer, the daughter of the former consul Marcus Lollius Lollia Paulina or the daughter of Germanicus Agrippina; the latter was supported by Pallant, the former by Callistus; for his part, Narcissus nominated Aelia Petina ( Claudius's former second wife.) Claudius himself leaned this way and that, depending on which of his advisers he had just listened to.

What Pallant praised most about Agrippina was that she would bring with her her grandson Germanicus; It is quite worthy of the imperial family to add this scion of a noble family to the descendants of the Julios and Claudians and thereby prevent a woman of proven fertility and still young from taking the glory and greatness of the Caesars to another house.

Supported by the charms of Agrippina, these arguments prevailed: often visiting her uncle as a close relative, she seduced him and, preferred to the others, but not yet his wife, already began to use the power of his wife" (Tats. Ann. XII, 1-3).

Although Roman laws prohibited the marriage of uncle and niece, an exception was made for Claudius, and in 49 Agrippina the Younger became empress.

Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus. Bronze. Copenhagen. Glyptothek New Carlsberg

“Everything began to be run by a woman who ran the affairs of the Roman Empire, not at all prompted by unbridled self-will, like Messalina. Agrippina kept the reins tightly taut, as if it were in a man’s hand. In public, she looked stern, and even more often - arrogant; in home life did not allow the slightest deviation from the strict family structure, if this did not contribute to the strengthening of her power. She justified her exorbitant greed for gold with the desire to accumulate funds for the needs of the state" (Tats. Ann. XII, 7).

“The appearance of a woman in front of the army was, of course, an innovation and did not correspond to ancient Roman customs, but Agrippina herself did not miss the opportunity to show that she ruled together with her husband, sharing with him the power that her ancestors had acquired” (Tat. Ann. XII , 37).

Agrippina took power into her own hands and wanted to maintain it. Therefore, she ensured that Claudius adopted Nero. But she wanted Nero not to have his own will and to be submissive to her in everything. That is why Agrippina entered into a fierce struggle with Domitia Lepida, the sister of her first husband, the granddaughter of Mark Antony and Octavia the Younger.

“In appearance, age and wealth, Agrippina and Domitius Lepidus were not much different from each other: both depraved, disgraced, unbridled - they competed no less in vices than in the little good that fate may have endowed them with. But most of all they fought among themselves over whose influence on Nero would prevail - his mother or his aunt; Lepida lured his youthful soul with affection and generosity, while Agrippina, on the contrary, was invariably stern and unyielding with him: she wanted to give her son supreme power, but she could not tolerate his rule" (Tats. Ann XII, 64).

At the insistence of Agrippina, a criminal case was opened against Domitia Lepida: she was accused of witchcraft and sentenced to death. Narcissus tried with all his might to protect Lepidus, who understood that he would not succeed if Nero became emperor. But Narcissus was unable to fight Agrippina and he himself left Rome for Sinuessa, supposedly to restore his health.

Seneca. Marble. Berlin. State museums

This was the end of Narcissus's career.

Agrippina took advantage of the removal of Narcissus, who was still an influential person, and quickly organized the murder of Claudius. There were different stories about how he was poisoned, but no one doubted the fact of poisoning.

Claudius was deified, and Nero was proclaimed emperor with the cumbersome official name - Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus.

Agrippina quickly began to remove people she disliked; but she was prevented by Afranius Burrus, commander of the Praetorians, and Lucius Annaeus Seneca, whom she herself made Nero's mentor. “They entered into a struggle with the unbridled arrogance of Agrippina, possessed by all the passions of cruel lust for power and supported by Pallant, at whose instigation Claudius destroyed himself through incestuous marriage and fatal adoption. But Nero’s character was not such as to submit to slaves, and Pallant, with impudent arrogance, crossed the boundaries acceptable for a freedman, incurred his enmity. Outwardly, however, Agrippina was given all kinds of honors" (Tat. Ann. XIII, 2).

Agrippina's relationship with Nero inevitably deteriorated until it reached the point of open hostility and hatred. The enraged Agrippina finally found it necessary to remind Nero that he received power from her hands through a crime, but fourteen-year-old Britannicus, the legal heir of Claudius, was still alive.

The threat had an effect on Nero, and on his orders, Britannicus was poisoned at a feast in the presence of Agrippina.

Tacitus describes the tragic ending of the struggle between mother and son, unprecedented in Roman history, as follows:

“Nero, realizing in the end that his mother is a burden to him, decides to kill her and begins to consult with his entourage whether to do this through poison, or weapons, or in some other way.

First we settled on poison. But if you give it at Nero’s table, then the sudden death of Agrippina cannot be attributed to chance, for Britannicus also died under the same circumstances; and bribing the servants of Agrippina, experienced in atrocities and learned to be careful, was not an easy task; Moreover, fearing poison, she constantly took antidotes.

As for the murder with the use of a weapon, no one could figure out how in this case the violent nature of her death could be hidden; in addition, Nero was afraid that the chosen executor of such a matter might not carry out the orders.

Finally, the freedman Anicetus, commander of the fleet and tutor of Nero during his adolescence, who hated Agrippina and was hated by her, outlined the cunning plan he had come up with. “He declared that he could arrange a special device on the ship so that, when it went out to sea, it would break into pieces and sink the unsuspecting Agrippina: after all, nothing is as fraught with accidents as the sea; and if she dies in a shipwreck, Is there anyone so malicious as to explain as a crime what the wind and waves are guilty of?And Nero will then erect a temple and altars for his dead mother and generally spare no effort to show himself as a loving son.

Agrippina went into labor. Overcoming the pain, she prayed to all the gods to send her a boy. “Boy, boy, boy,” she repeated. The boy is the fulfillment of all her hopes, expectations, everything that she dreamed of during long nights and never forgot during the day. The body was torn apart sharp pain, and then she heard the first cry of her child. “You have a son, madam!” - the slave exclaimed joyfully. “Son,” the woman smiled tiredly, “I’ll call him Nero.”

She had been waiting for this day for nine years. Nine for long years has passed since the moment when thirteen-year-old Agrippina, the great-granddaughter of Emperor Augustus, vegetating in poverty and oblivion, married one of the richest and most noble Romans, Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus. Young Agrippina carefully examined her future husband, who was thirty years older than her, and decided that he was quite suitable for the implementation of her plan. And she had one plan. It seemed that she was born with a thirst for power.

“I will become an empress, I was created for the throne,” the vain girl repeated, looking with pleasure at her flexible body, blond curls and a proud head posture.

But, having bet on her husband, she miscalculated. Ahenobarbus, a bully and rowdy, a lover of drinking parties, girls and gladiators, had absolutely no desire for imperial power. She did not forgive him for this, and in a few years the young creature turned into a despotic, evil and sarcastic wife. Terrible scenes played out between the spouses. Agrippina threw such scandals at her husband that the witnesses who happened were initially afraid that Ahenobarbus would strangle the brawler.

But that was not the case, the colossal husband was afraid of his fragile wife and treated her with involuntary respect for her character - even more vile than his own. Ahenobarbus, knowing his wife’s temperament, was very afraid for his life and tried to stay away from Agrippina. Only occasionally did he visit her bedroom in order to conceive an heir. And now this moment has come - their son was born.

“He will do what you failed to do,” said Agrippina, “he will become emperor.”

“Yes,” answered Ahenobarbus, “in that case I feel sorry for the Romans.”

And he left his young wife forever. When Ahenobarbus died two years later, Agrippina could not contain her joyful sigh of relief. Now she is free and can begin to realize her dream.

At this time, her brother Caligula sat on the throne. Caligula was a charming and well-educated young man, and at first he ruled quite wisely. But then something happened to his head, and Rome drowned in blood. It was useless to influence the emperor with the power of female charm. Caligula did not like women. His heart belonged to young Lepidus. Agrippina decided to act through him.

She rightly believed that the Romans would not be very sad if their crazy emperor died a little earlier than expected. Lepidus fell at the feet of the beautiful Agrippina without hesitation. They became not only
lovers, but also accomplices. The cunning woman deftly led the imperial concubine by the nose, assuring that after the death of Caligula, he would receive the imperial crown. All that was left to do was to eliminate Caligula.

Agrippina went to the famous fortuneteller Locusta. The witch gave her poison. But the plot was discovered. Locusta was thrown into prison, Lepidus was executed, and Agrippina and little Nero were sent to the Pontic Islands.

- I'll come back! - the woman screamed in impotent anger.

And she returned. A few months later, when Caligula died at the hands of the more successful conspirator Cassius Chaerea.
Emperor Claudius, who replaced Caligula, was Agrippina’s uncle and was considered weak-minded. In fact, he was not as stupid as he seemed, although he did not have outstanding abilities. In general, Claudius was a meek, quiet man and madly in love with his wife Messalina. Messalina was forty years younger than her husband, and her treacherous temper was well known throughout Rome.

The beautiful brunette shamelessly pushed the emperor around and hated Agrippina. Agrippina answered her in kind. Both beauties were worth each other, but Messalina had the power. To neutralize her rival, she persuaded Claudius to marry his niece. Agrippina had to come to terms. She chose as her husband the talented, rich speaker Passien, who was immensely in love with her.

Passien loved his wife dearly, but, alas, he turned out to be absolutely devoid of ambition. But Agrippina was not satisfied with quiet family happiness; she strove for power. And while circumstances were not in her favor, she devoted herself to raising her son. Young Nero, it must be said, was not delighted by his mother’s zeal. She demanded that he surpass Messalina's son, young Britannicus, in everything, and this was not easy.

Britannicus was an excellent athlete, and the somewhat corpulent Nero loved music and poetry. Instead, he had to exhaust himself for hours with gymnastics, horse racing and other sports activities.

And yet Agrippina waited in the wings. The Empress fell in love with the handsome Gaius Silius. All of Rome knew about this connection. Only Claudius himself remained blissfully unaware. Messalina, completely forgetting about caution, decided to get rid of her unloved husband and marry her lover. However, the plot was uncovered not without the help of Agrippina. Silius was executed, and Messalina was secretly stabbed to death.

Immediately after her elimination, the emperor began to bitterly mourn the death of his beloved wife. Agrippina volunteered to console him. The matter ended as it should have ended. The elderly Claudius fell in love with his beautiful niece. However, there was one annoying “little thing” on Agrippina’s path: she was married. The intriguer went to Locusta and soon poor Passienus died suddenly.

In the spring of 49, Claudius and Agrippina were united in marriage. But that's not the end of the story. Claudius had two favorites - Narcissus and Pallant. The latter simply burned with passion for Agrippina. Having made up his mind, he came to new Augusta and in exchange for love, he promised to persuade the emperor to adopt Nero and make him his heir, bypassing Britannicus. Agrippina accepted the proposal and they soon became lovers. For several years this couple ruled Rome unchallenged, and Claudius was only a pathetic puppet in their hands.

However, the second favorite, Narcissus, considering himself left out, started a war against the young empress and began to defend the interests of Britannica. Moreover, he tried to persuade Claudius to execute Locusta. The Empress rushed to the defense of the sorceress, and in order to finally protect herself, she decided to get rid of her elderly husband. Locusta’s poison did not fail this time either, and soon Claudius gave his soul to the gods. The cunning Agrippina, in order to detain Britannicus in the palace, threw herself sobbing on his neck. And at this time, the praetorians loyal to her proclaimed Nero emperor.

Agrippina achieved the goal she had been striving for all her life! However, this did not bring her happiness. The self-confident mother believed that her son would be an even more obedient toy in her hands than her husband. However 17-year-old Nero was very burdened by Agrippina's tutelage . He did not like the cold Octavia, who was forced by his mother to marry him, and he generally hated Pallanta terribly. The latter was stripped of all honors and sent into exile. The enraged Agrippina rushed to her son and angrily reminded him to whom he owed the crown and that there was also Britannicus, who was also not averse to becoming emperor.

Nero turned pale; he did not forget the words spoken by his mother in his hearts. After some time, Britannicus died suddenly. Agrippina guessed that the matter could not have happened without Locusta and was very scared. She realized that her influence was over once and for all. The proud woman retired to her country estate. But she secretly hoped that her son would come to his senses and call her back. Maybe it would have happened that way, but Nero fell in love with the calculating beauty Poppea. The power of the green-eyed mistress was so great that Agrippina became worried and returned to Rome. Poppea sensed a dangerous enemy in her and persuaded Nero to kill his mother.

Not immediately, but Nero agreed. He invited Agrippina to stay on his galley. After dinner, the woman went to sleep in the cabin, where a skillfully hewn beam fell on her. Agrippina miraculously survived. The canopy that rose above the bed softened the blow. She jumped into the water and reached the shore safely. When Nero learned that his mother had escaped, he became furious and afraid. She could deal with him the same way as with everyone who stood in her way. A false conspiracy led by Agrippina was quickly concocted. And the emperor, without wavering his hand, signed the death warrant for all the instigators.

Soldiers burst into the villa in Baul. Without stopping, they went to Agrippina's bedroom. When they left there, Agrippina had already left this mortal world. Nero turned out to be worthy son to his mother.

Lyudmila GORSHKOVA