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If the ancient histories are to be believed, Valeria Messalina (~20-48 AD) was the most ruthlessly ambitious and promiscuous woman in the history of the Roman Empire, and that’s saying something. Messalina’s disposition germinated from an amalgamation of curiously discordant patrician blood. Her grandmothers (Claudia Marcella and Antonia Major) were half-sisters descended from Octavia, Augustus’ sister, and her great-grandfather was Augustus’ fellow triumvir-turned-nemesis, Marc Antony.
Messalina secured her place in history when she married back into the Julio-Claudian dynasty around 39 AD. Admittedly, the young, voluptuous Messalina and her disfigured and physically handicapped new husband Claudius made a unlikely pair. But for Messalina, it was an opportunity to attend the imperial court as Claudius was named co-consul by his nephew, Emperor Caligula. Messalina's status was further upgraded in 41 AD, when the Praetorian Guard murdered Caligula and placed Claudius on Rome's throne. Messalina was now part of Rome's First Family, along with her two children, daughter Claudia Octavia and son Britannicus.
Messalina jealously guarded her position as Rome’s most powerful woman. She likely played a key role in eliminating key female rivals, such as Caligula’s sisters Julia Livilla and Livia Julia. Caligula’s oldest sister, Agrippina Junior, avoided the purge by distancing herself from Messalina. Even so, Messalina targeted Agrippina’s son Nero, who was Britannicus’ chief rival as Emperor Claudius’ successor. Reportedly, Messalina's assassin-for-hire planned to strangle Nero in bed, but bolted in fright when a snake emerged from under the boy’s pillow. While Messalina failed to eliminate Nero, she probably played an active role in the large number of executions that transpired during Claudius’ reign.
Messalina’s reputation for bloodthirstiness was only eclipsed by her notoriety for nymphomania. Historical accounts describe numerous adulterous escapades, including claims that she worked at a brothel. According to Pliny the Elder, Messalina once bested a prostitute at a sex competition by pleasuring 25 partners in 24 hours. Ultimately, Messalina’s penchant for passion proved her downfall.
Around 48 AD, Messalina courted Claudius’ consul-delegate, Gaius Silius, regarded by many as Rome’s most handsome patrician. So infatuated was Messalina that she forced Silius to divorce his wife and marry her instead. However, Messalina was still married to Claudius, who was conveniently absent from the ceremony since he was away from court at that time. Messalina and Silius probably planned to have Claudius murdered and have Britannicus take his place. However, news of the wedding reached Claudius, and before the Emperor decided how to respond, the Praetorians took matters into their own hands; Silius was executed and Messalina was either executed or forced to suicide. The Senate - some of whom were probably eager to hide their own perfidies - declared Messalina’s
damnatio memoriae, ordering her erasure from history.
Although most traces of Messalina were indeed expunged, some of her coins survived, including this very rare ancient bronze struck in Cnossus, Crete around 41-43 AD. The obverse depicts the bare head of Claudius, and the reverse bears the draped bust of Messalina. This seemingly harmonious portrayal of Emperor and his Empress belies the latter’s betrayal.
The extent to which the ancient histories accurately reflect Messalina’s extramarital affairs is uncertain. At least two of the primary sources, Tacitus and Suetonius, wrote several generations after Messalina’s time, relying on the memoirs of Agrippina, who had good reason the slander her predecessor. Hyperbole or not, tales of Messalina’s escapades have propagated for two millennia in the arts, from prose, paintings, and sculptures, to plays, films, and television series. To any extent Messalina craved to be the world’s sexist woman, her endurance in that regard exceeded even her wildest expectations.
Coin Details: ROMAN PROVINCIAL, CRETE, Cnossus. Claudius, with Messalina, AD 41-54, Æ (18mm, 4.03 g, 6h), Capito and Cytherus, duovir, struck circa 41-43(8?) AD, NGC Grade: Ch VF, Strike: 3/5, Surface: 2/5, Obverse: Bare head of Claudius left, uncertain inscription (TI KLAUDIOS KAISAR GERMA SEBA(?)), Reverse: Draped bust of Messalina right, uncertain inscription (OUALERIA MESSALEINA(?)), References: RPC I 1001-2, cf. Svoronos, Numismatique 212 and 214 (same).