“The Reign Of The Emperor Nero”

8 Pages 2020 Words

control over her son. This nearly drove her insane, so she resorted to violent abuse to try to regain control; however, the more violent she became, the more infatuated Nero became with Acte. When Agrippina realized that violence was not working, she tried flattery. “Agrippina now changed her tactics, and indulgently offered the privacy of her own bedroom for the relaxations natural to Nero’s age and position” (qtd. in Krasavin). However, as before, this did not change Nero’s mind, leaving Agrippina with one last option – to try to scare him. In front of everybody, Agrippina took the side of his stepbrother Britannicus, claiming that he was the true heir to the throne since he was Claudius’s blood relative. Nero realized that he needed to kill Britannicus before his mother started a revolt (Krasavin). So, he had a family friend, Locusta, brew a special poison for Britannicus, guaranteed to act as a sword thrust. During dinner one night, Britannicus was given a hot drink that had already been tested for poison. As was intended, he gave it back, complaining that it was too hot. Cold water containing the poison was added, which worked so quickly that his airway closed off almost immediately (Lissner 113). Britannicus’s death made everybody wonder that if Nero could kill his own stepbrother without any sign of remorse, who in his family was safe?
The death of her stepson made Agrippina realize that she no longer held the power in the emp...