HBICs of history » M e s s a l i n a

Messalina  (c. 17/20 – 48 AD) was a Roman empress and the wife of emperor Claudius; she was also a cousin of Caligula and Nero. Messalina was very wealthy, an influential figure and a regular at Caligula’s court.  When Caligula was plotted against and murdered, Claudius became emperor and Messalina empress of the Roman Empire. The ancient Roman sources, particularly Tacitus and Suetonius, portray Messalina as extremely lustful, but also insulting, disgraceful, cruel, and avaricious; they claimed her negative qualities were a result of her inbreeding. The oft-repeated tale of Messalina’s all-night competition with a prostitute comes from Book X of Pliny the Elder’s Natural History. Pliny does not name the prostitute; however, the competition lasted for 24 hours and Messalina won with a score of 25 partners.

Roman sources claim that Messalina used sex to enforce her power and control politicians, that she had a brothel under an assumed name and that she sold her influence to Roman nobles or foreign notables. 

In 47 AD, Messalina fell in love with a handsome senator Gaius Silius – they became lovers and Messalina forced him to divorce his wife. They plotted the murder of Claudius after which Silius would be the new emperor. Their plans were discovered and Claudius ordered their execution in 48 AD. In Messalina’s final hours, she was in the Gardens of Lucullus with her mother Lepida. Lepida’s last words to her daughter were: ‘Your life is finished. All that remains is to make a decent end’.