Classical Wisdom Litterae - May 2020

If Agrippina had hoped that the downfall of Sejanus would help her dire situation, she would be most cruelly disappointed. After Sejanus shuffled off this mortal coil, Tiberius became even more vocal and antagonistic against Agrippina and her two eldest sons. Unfamiliar with the notion of clemency, the small minded, tight-fisted Princeps held fast to his petty grudges and grievances. Even the subsequent deaths of his adopted sons were not enough to calm down his ire. Long past the point of defending themselves, Tiberius heatedly denigrated the young men by repeating the spurious allegations used against them and further ridiculed his imprisoned daughter-in-law. By then she had lived on the windswept and barren island of Pandateria for a few years— never known for her forbearance—Agrippina was increasingly vocal about the grievous conditions there. In retribution for her ire, Tiberius ordered a centurion to beat her so brutally she lost an eye. Defiant unt i l the end , Agrippina vowed to starve to death, but Tiberius had her force fed instead. Finally, at forty-seven years of age, on October 18 in 33 CE, two years to the date that Sejanus was executed, the granddaughter of the Divine Augustus perished. Pr iding himse l f on hi s leniency, Tiberius boasted to all and many how—but for his clemency—he could have had his stepdaughter and adopted daughter-in- law strangled or tossed on the Gemonian Steps. Tel l ing tales about her unpleasantness, he then declared the anniversary of Etching of the death of Sejanus, by by Jan Luyken, 1698 LX