Cargill-Martin, Honor Messalina

Intrigen, Macht und Orgien im antiken Rom

Messalina was still young when she ascended the Roman imperial throne alongside Claudius. Numerous rumours damaging to her reputation quickly began to circulate: not only was she said to have been extremely cruel and scheming, but above all an insatiable nymphomaniac. This sensationalist image continues to have an impact to this day. But who was the historical figure Messalina? What motivated her actions in the shark tank of the imperial court? And what can we really learn about her, beyond the exclusively male slander and clichés? She is said to have secretly sneaked out of the palace at night to wear out countless suitors in the city's brothels until the early hours of the morning, and once she is even said to have engaged in a 24-hour sex competition with a prostitute. Ancient authors such as Tacitus and Suetonius spread salacious rumours of this kind about Messalina. Oxford ancient historian Honor Cargill-Martin has now re-evaluated all available sources on the scandalous empress and, in her book, offers for the first time a historically grounded view of Messalina as an intelligent, strategic, passionate and also ruthless young woman who successfully asserted herself in the strongly male-dominated Roman political arena for years. The author's aim is not to restore Messalina's honour, but to understand her life and actions in the context of the time and to reveal her as a human being beyond the distorting attributions of others.