Poppaea Sabina is a beautiful, ambitious woman embroiled in the plots and schemes of Imperial Rome. She manipulates her way to the bed of Roman Emperor Nero, with her sights on the title of Empress. Two women stand in her way - his mother, and his wife.
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Poppaea Sabina (30 AD – 65 AD), also known as Ollia, is born in Pompeii and later has a residence near Heracleum. Historians of antiquity describe her as a beautiful woman who strategizes her way to the top.
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The Villa Poppaea at Oplontis near Pompeii bears her name due to the archaeological finds there. A species of African moth, Poppaea sabina, is named for her.
Poppaea Sabina the Younger is born in Pompeii in 30 AD, daughter of Titus Ollius and Poppaea Sabina the Elder. For most of her childhood she uses her patronymic name "Ollia". Before her first marriage she switches to her mother's name.
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The name change may be due to her father's disgrace and suicide. Her family lives at the Casa del Menandro in Pompeii. The house is so named by archaeologists due to a painting of the 4th century BCE playwright Menander found there.
Most evidence linking Poppaea to Pompeii is found during excavations of a town destroyed in the 79 AD Mount Vesuvius eruption. Documents from Herculaneum describe her as the owner of a brick or tile business, which she inherits after her mother's death in 47.
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The sumptuous Villa Poppaea at Oplontis near Herculaneum is her main residence outside Rome. Her family history is not fortunate. Poppaea Sabina the Elder, her mother, is praised by Tacitus (c. 56 - c. 118 CE) as wealthy and "the loveliest woman of her day".
Poppaea the Elder is known for her beauty, a trait inherited by her daughter. Titus Ollius, a prominent Roman citizen, comes from Cupra Maritima in Picenum, east central Italy on the Adriatic Sea. An inscription there includes his name and names of three of his freedmen.
On October 18, 31 AD Roman statesman Lucius Aelius Sejanus, friend and confidante of Emperor Tiberius, attempts a coup and fails. Sejanus is executed for treason. Known as a friend of his, Titus Ollius commits suicide, a common practice for disgraced persons.
After the death of Titus Ollius, Poppaea's mother marries Publius Cornelius Lentulus Scipio the Elder, a Roman senator. She and Publius arrange her daughter's marriage to Rufrius Crispinus, a wealthy member of the equestrian class.
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Poppaea the Younger is 14 years old when she marries Rufrius Crispinus in 44 AD. He's prefect of the Praetorian Guard, the personal bodyguard of the Emperor until 51 AD, during the first 10 years of the reign of Claudius.
Poppaea the Elder meets a tragic end in 47 AD. The wife of Claudius, Empress Messalina, wants the Gardens of Lucullus. Built in 60 BCE, the gardens are famed for spectacular beauty, vast expanse and active ecology.
They're owned by recurring consul Decimus Valerius Asiaticus. Besides desire for the gardens, Messalina is a rival of Poppaea the Elder for the affections of renowned pantomime actor Mnester.
Mnester is active during the reigns of Caligua and later Claudius, who both admire him greatly. Roman historian Suetonius (69 - 122 AD) writes
"... in relation to all those who were [Caligula's] favorites, his behavior constituted madness. He used to kiss the pantomime actor Mnester even in the middle of the games. And if, when Mnester was performing, anyone made the slightest noise, he had him dragged from his seat and flogged him himself."
Based on rumors of Poppaea the Elder and garden owner Asiaticus being lovers, Messalina orders her servant Suilius to accuse Asiaticus of treason, and accuse the pair of adultery. Asiaticus is tried in the private chambers of Emperor Claudius.
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Asiaticus receives a choice between a guilty plea, or suicide. He chooses the latter. Meanwhile, Messalina sends people after Poppaea the Elder with threats of torture and prison, until she commits suicide in 47 AD, clearing the way for the desires of Messalina.
Messalina's victory doesn't last long. For plotting against her husband Emperor Claudius, she is executed in 48 AD. The next year, Claudius marries his niece and fourth wife, Agrippina the Younger. In 50 AD he adopts her son Nero, making the boy his legitimate heir.
Agrippina removes Poppaea's husband Rufrius Crispinus and others from the Praetorian Guard. She sees them as loyal to the memory of treacherous Messalina. Agrippina herself plots to get rid of Claudius and put Nero on the throne.
During her marriage to Rufrius, Poppaea the Younger gives birth to his son, also called Rufrius Crispinus. Later, the boy also becomes an innocent victim of inheritance schemes. Poppaea and Rufrius the Elder divorce.
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In Imperial Rome, divorce is simple. The couple declares intent to divorce, in front of seven witnesses. There are no lawyers yet, except orators and "friends" with legal knowledge, who are not allowed to charge a fee. Emperor Claudius legalizes lawyers during his reign.
In 54 BCE Agrippina the Younger murders Emperor Claudius with poison mushrooms, believed to be death cap (Amanita phalloides). As per his mother's plans, Nero becomes Roman Emperor at the age of seventeen.
Claudius has a young daughter, Octavia, by Valeria Messalina. She marries Nero before his ascension and becomes Empress in 54 AD. As Octavia and Nero are siblings due to Nero's adoption by Claudius, Octavia has to be adopted by another family before the wedding.
In 55 AD, the son of Messalina, Britannicus, dies at his own banquet at the age of 14. Emperor Nero explains the boy's seizures as an epileptic condition since childhood. Thus is a potential pretender to the throne eliminated.
In 58 AD, Poppaea the Younger marries future emperor Otho. Member of a noble Etruscan family, Otho is friend and courtier of Nero.
In The Lives of the Caesars Suetonius describes Otho's looks and habits.
He is said to have been of moderate height, splay-footed and bandy-legged, but almost feminine in his care of his person. He had the hair of his body plucked out, and because of the thinness of his locks wore a wig so carefully fashioned and fitted to his head, that no one suspected it. Moreover, they say that he used to shave every day and smear his face with moist bread, beginning the practice with the appearance of the first down, so as never to have a beard.
Always a strategist, Poppaea weds Otho to get close to the Emperor. Nero falls madly in love with this charming beauty, and she becomes his mistress. It's not long before Otho finds himself divorced, and sent as governor to the remote province Lusitania in Portugal.
As Poppaea and Nero carry on their affair, Nero's mother Agrippina the Younger, now Empress Dowager, is alarmed. Ambitious and clever, Agrippina seeks to control Nero's decisions and the affairs of the empire. She knows the fiery redhead Poppaea is trouble.
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Poppaea taunts and belittles Nero for his dependence on his mother. Nero's resentment and paranoia grow. He wants to rule without his mother's interference. He's afraid he'll be next on her murderous agenda. Poppaea is worried about becoming a target for Agrippina.
Three times Nero tries to poison Agrippina, and three times she discovers or suspects his plans, and takes an antidote beforehand. In 59 AD, frustration reaches a boiling point, and Nero plans his most extravagant method of murder yet.
He has her royal barge rigged to fall apart in the water, and bribes the crew members. When Agrippina takes her next voyage, the barge doesn't destruct as planned. Crewmen try to sink it and drown her.
As they're distracted by killing a woman they think is Agrippina, she swims to shore and hides in a peasant village. The information leaks to Nero. He sends three assassins with long blades. Her final cry is "smite my womb!" referring to the evil she has birthed.
With Agrippina gone, Poppaea is that much closer to the throne of Imperial Rome. Not satisfied with the role of mistress, she pressures Nero to divorce Octavia, so he can marry her. In 62 AD Poppaea becomes pregnant.
Nero's marriage of eight years to Octavia is childless. He divorces Octavia on the grounds of infertility and banishes her. Although the marriage of Nero and Octavia is one of mutual dislike, people of Rome love the young Empress. Uprisings and protests break out.
Her mere existence is dangerous for Poppaea. Exile is not good enough. Nero has to search hard for a man who will lie and admit adultery with Octavia, but he finds one. He sends assassins. Octavia meets her tragic end at the age of 22.
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Nero's marriage to Poppaea Sabina twelve days later gives Poppaea the title of Empress of Rome. In January 63, she gives birth to a girl, Claudia Augusta.
Five months later, the baby dies of an unknown cause. Nero and Poppaea Sabina mourn her death. Claudia is declared a goddess. Gold statues are erected in temples. Circus games are held in her honor. A shrine and a priest are dedicated to her.
During her reign as Empress Poppaea shows sympathy for the Roman Jews, convincing Nero toward tolerance and understanding. At one point she takes the side of Jewish priests in a dispute over a wall blocking view of the temple.
However, in 64 Poppaea grants the position of procurator of Judaea to Gessius Florus, husband of a friend, who is cruel toward the Jews. Also in 64, flames of destruction rage through the city of Rome.
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The fire starts in merchant shops near Rome's chariot stadium, Circus Maximus. After six days, the fire seems under control, but reignites and burns for three more days. In the end, 71% of Rome is destroyed.
Nero blames the Christians, as he has no liking for Apostle Paul trying to convert Romans to the faith of the Christian god. Judaism is a legal religion in the Roman Empire. Although Christianity evolves from Jewish traditions, it has no legal protection.
Soon, Poppaea is pregnant again. In summer of 65, awaiting the birth of the child, she and Nero quarrel. The conflict turns violent and Nero kicks Poppaea in the abdomen. In another version he jumps on her belly. The miscarriage kills her and the unborn baby.
After the brutal death of Poppaea, Nero drowns her son Rufius on a fishing trip. He descends further into madness as he thinks his mother is haunting him. His activities get more outrageous, such as marrying a eunuch who, oddly enough, resembles Poppaea.
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