Messalina

views updated Jun 11 2018

Messalina (c.22–48 bc), Roman empress, third wife of Claudius. She became notorious in Rome for the murders she instigated and for her extramarital affairs, and was executed on Claudius' orders, after the disclosure of her secret marriage with one of his political opponents. Her name is used for the type of a licentious and scheming woman.

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