Agrippina was the wife of Emperor Claudius. She had a son named Nero from her first marriage. She was determined that her son would be the next emperor. When Claudius began to have second thoughts of his step-son succeeding him, she poisoned her husband. Before she put her plan into effect, she visited a fortune-teller. The seer told her that her son would be emperor some day, but that he would kill her. Agrippina: “Let him kill me, then.” Sure enough, after a few years as emperor, with his mother as the power behind the throne, Nero wearied of her influence. He tried poisoning her, but she had taken the antidote. He tried a collapsible ceiling in the bedroom, but someone warned her. Finally, he had a special ship built that was designed to fall apart in deep water. He then convinced his mom to go on a cruise. The ship collapsed, as designed, but his mother managed to swim ashore. She sent him a note reassuring him that she was still alive. Frustrated, Nero sent one of his guards to kill her with a sword. Supposedly, when she saw the assassin approaching, she bared her breasts and proclaimed: “Strike these, which nurtured so great a monster as Nero.”
– maroon 37
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