Nero is remembered for being the fifth Roman emperor, the last of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. But why he killed his mother?

History has given us a dark picture of him.

He reigned for fourteen years, from 54 to 68 AD, and is described by historians contemporary with him as a tyrant, responsible for terrible events, including the great fire of Rome in 64.

In recent times his figure has been re-evaluated by historians, who consider his attitudes “out of line” typical of most emperors.

Among the unspeakable crimes attributed to him is the famous murder against his mother, Agrippina.

From Agrippina the Younger to Roman Empress

Lucius Domitius Enobarbus, better known as Nero, was born in 37 AD, from the combined marriage between his mother Agrippina the Younger and a man she hated and older than thirty years. In 50 AD Agrippina, thanks to its hypnotic attractiveness and personality, convinces the emperor Claudius to marry her. One detail is missing: Agrippina is his niece. Nothing too scandalous for the time, and the problem is solved with a quick law that allows the two to marry. Agrippina acquires the title of Augusta and becomes very popular thanks to her charisma. Here the figure of the young Nero reappears.

His mother convinces the emperor to adopt him and designate him as heir to the throne, stepping on the legitimate candidate: Britannicus, the natural son of Claudius. Nero is the classic son a bit ‘wild. He does not like to study, weapons are not for him, and he lets himself go to all his desires.

As a child, while his mother was involved in a conspiracy against his brother Caligula, he lived for a few years with his aunt Domizia Lepida and thanks to her, he developed a passion for theater and dance.

But Agrippina has a different future in mind for her son and makes him marry Claudia Octavia, daughter of the emperor and his deceased ex-wife Messalina.

Why Nero killed his mother? The murder of Agrippina

Things get complicated when the emperor Claudius seems to have second thoughts about Nero. According to the historian Tacitus, Agrippina decides to intervene and solve the old-fashioned way: Claudius dies poisoned by a bowl of mushrooms. In 54, at the age of seventeen, Nero is elected emperor. Agrippina reaches the maximum power for a woman of that era, and for the first time, she governs alongside her son. But the dream lasts little. As time goes by, the mother-son relationship becomes turbulent: Nero is suffocated by the constant presence of his mother. On the other hand, she does not accept his libertine lifestyle.

Nero falls in love with a former slave, the free Atte, so much so that he prefers her to his wife, Octavia. The emperor, fed up with Agrippina, appoints the Roman politician Afranio Burro and the philosopher Seneca as his advisors. Tensions increased after the mysterious death of Britannicus (probably poisoned by Nero) so that Agrippina is removed from the court. A few years later, fearing a conspiracy against him, Nero decides to kill his mother.

An enterprise far from simple. After the death of Britannicus, another poisoning is unthinkable. He organizes, therefore, an ambush. One night, returning from a party in Baia (Naples), Agrippina’s ship is sunk. But she miraculously manages to save herself and takes refuge in her villa.

Nero tries again, this time with success: on March 23, 59, his assassins break into the house of Agrippina and kill her.