I Claudius Empresses / Characters

The women who were married to the Julio-Claudian Emperors. Note that to go on this page, a woman must have been married to an Emperor while her husband was wearing the Purple.

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Livia

Livia Drusilla

Played by Siân Phillips.

Augustus's scheming wife, who is willing to do anything to ensure that her son gets the throne.

Altar Diplomacy: She was pledged by her husband to Augustus in exchange for not killing him off as a political rival during the civil-war. As far as Livia is concerned she traded up for someone with actual principles.
A Lighter Shade of Black: As cutthroat evil as she, is she both has principles and places Rome above her own happiness. Tiberius ends up being far worse; And even that is nothing compared to the ball of crazy that is Caligula.
Be Careful What You Wish For: Livia is so laser-focused on clearing a path for her son to rule the (known) world that she never once stops to consider the kind of emperor she is molding her son into. Tiberius does indeed become emperor, and he drags Rome into an age of terror and debauchery.
Big Bad: For about the first half of the series she's the one behind the scenes causing all of the misery, manipulating the various characters, and personally poisoning many of the people around Claudius. By "Queen of Heaven" she's largely fallen out of it as Sejanus and Caligula have swung up into more direct antagonists and she has sunk into a pitiable state.
Black Widow: She poisons Augustus by smearing poison on the figs that he picks himself.
The Chessmaster: Oh, wow: she's a scarily effective bitch on wheels and master plotter, this one.
Deadpan Snarker: When you can make Augustus want to wince just imagining what you're going to say before you actually say it, you know you're good.
Did Not Think This Through: In her obsession with destroying any and all obstacles to her son's ascension, she completely neglects grooming him for the position. All of Rome suffers for this mistake.
The Dreaded: After Augustus's death she stops putting up pretenses and the rumors about her lead to this. Claudius, Herod, and even Tiberius are all terrified to have dinner with her, because people have a habit of falling over dead afterwards. Certainly Claudius frames her as a force to be feared in his memoirs. Even Sejanus, who is planning a coup, is waiting for her to die before he tries anything.
Tiberius: They say a snake bit her once... and died.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: She genuinely loves Augustus, if not for his cold-pragmatism ending the Roman Civil-War, then for his constant respect for her, in a society that otherwise has little account for the capabilities of women. You can feel her profound sorrow being in the same room as Augustus's freshly dead body. She is barely holding back tears when she admits killing him was the hardest thing she ever had to do.
Even Evil Has Standards:
- As horrible as Livia was, even she was disgusted to learn that Caligula had murdered his own father.
- She felt genuinely bad about murdering Augustus.
- She was also thoroughly appalled by her son's decadent behavior.
Livia: "I heard about Lollia! Disgusting! Your brother Drusus was worth ten of you!"
Evil Laugh: Such that haunts Claudius through his entire life.
Evil Matriarch: Given her tendencies to have her own family killed or banished if it means Tiberius will become emperor.
The Extremist Was Right: Claudius has a great deal of personal hatred for Livia, but Deifies her anyway after being Emperor and learning how much work she did to make everything work.
- With that said, things might have gotten on the right track a lot sooner (and faster) had she bothered to properly groom her son for imperial rule.
Freudian Excuse: It's implied that a big part of the reason she's so ruthless is because she saw firsthand the instability of the Roman Republic's death throes and is desperate to avoid having to go through them again.
God Save Us from the Queen!: She'll do anything to make sure her lad gets to wear lots of purple. Anything.
Godhood Seeker: She believes she is destined to suffer forever after her death in the afterlife and is absolutely terrified of the prospect of eternal torment. To that end, she places her favor on any relative who she is sure will deify her after they become Emperor since apotheosis wiped away all sins. It's for that reason she places favor on Caligula, even indulging his incestuous loving of her to gain his favor much to Claudius' disgust.
Gruesome Grandparent: If she has to poison some of her grandchildren to secure Tiberius and her power, she'll do it.
Historical Villain Upgrade: In all likelihood, the real Livia was not a scheming mastermind and never poisoned anyone.
Horrible Judge of Character: Usually no, but she falls for Claudius's Obfuscating Stupidity hook, line, and sinker. It's not until she's in her death throes that she finally sees through it, and she is utterly amazed (and delighted) to realize that he had pulled the wool over her eyes for so many years and admits that she underestimated him.
Horrifying the Horror: Professional poisoner, Martina, gets particurally worried when she gets a stomach-ache, just after realizing why Livia is so knowledgable about poisons (it turns out to just be indigestion).
Hypocrite: A big one, too; She claims to have murdered Augustus because his ‘ridiculous favoritism’ was going to tear the empire apart, but she schemes to get Tiberius, her own son, the throne despite the fact she admits to Claudius he ended up being a subpar ruler who kept screwing things up even before he became emperor. (She is therefore directly to blame for both Tiberius and Caligula’s reigns) She is also terrified she’s going to burn in hell for what she’s done, and tries to get out of it by having Caligula and Claudius make her a goddess. Which means for all her I Did What I Had to Do rhetoric, she’s afraid the gods won’t see it her way and is trying to chicken her way out of the consequences.
I Did What I Had to Do: Livia ruthlessly manipulates and kills family members and anyone else close to them to ensure her son becomes emperor and Rome does not return to being a republic, convinced this is the only way for the city to remain great.
Ignored Epiphany: Admits she was a terrible criminal and person, but decides it was all worth it in the end.
I Was Quite a Looker: Livilla mentions that she was said to be the most beautiful woman in the world in her youth.
Kill the Ones You Love: Say what you will about Livia, as demonstrated during Augustus' death, she genuinely loved the man and killed him purely because she felt he was traveling the path of ruin for her nation.
- If her son, Drusus, hadn't died of his wounds after being crushed by a horse, she would have killed him to prevent his devotion to returning Rome to a Republic from ever bearing fruit.
The Kingslayer: Livia ends up doing in Augustus by poisoning his figs, though she's not happy about doing so.
Manipulative Bitch: She plays Augustus like a fiddle.
Master Poisoner: To the point where a fellow Mistress of the art gets a chance to really panic at how much she knows. Over lunch.
Mother Makes You King: It's all to make her son emperor.
Morality Chain: A rare look at a villain version. She has leverage over Tiberius, Caligula and Sejanus which she uses to keep them all from doing anything that would endanger the good of her beloved Rome.
My Beloved Smother: To Tiberius.
Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant / Villains Out Shopping : As seen when we are shown her and professional poisoner, Martina, having supper and casually discussing poisoning techniques in the same tone one would use to discuss fashion.
Noodle Incident: She briefly references how there was only one woman in the empire more beautiful and cunning than her, but she was in Egypt. For history buffs this is a reference to her first husband being one of the senators woed by Cleopatra, but we are giving no context in-film.
Not Me This Time: She had nothing to do with the deaths of Drusus and Germanicus (The former dying of his wounds and the latter poisoned by Plancina), but admits that she probably would have killed them eventually.
Offing the Offspring: She's not afraid to prune a few of her family tree's branches if she suspects they'll end up a hindrance to her grander ambitions.
Outliving One's Offspring: She outlives her son Drusus by nearly 40 years. She also outlives her grandsons Germanicus and Castor.
Patriotic Fervor: She will do anything, A N Y T H I N G, to protect the legacy of Rome.
Pet the Dog:
- In her last conversation with Claudius, Livia realizes that his bumbling demeanor is a complete facade and compliments him on it.
- As shown in the scene with professional poisoner, Martina, Livia is willing to hide Martina from the law, as little more than professional courtesy for a fellow poisoner.
Ruling Couple: She may not have any official positional power, but Augustus saw her as capable enough to give her enough power and influence to effectively be his co-ruler wife.
Sarcastic Devotee: To Augustus. Despite her ultimate plans, she did love the man, she just never indulged him.
Secret-Keeper: She walked in on Caligula and Drusilla's Brother–Sister Incest and uses this as leverage to make him do what she wants. She stops short of outright confirming what she saw to Claudius but he quickly figures it out.
Silk Hiding Steel: Livia is just as capable of ending a life as anyone August ever served in the army with, the difference is she will do it with concern in her voice.
Trauma Button: A Roman Republic - So much as mention the idea of Rome returning to a republic and she gets flash-backs to just barely surviving the civil war to "turn Rome into a republic", AKA a bunch of greedy senators, including her ex-husband, all vying to be the new Emperor. This is also why she is willing to kill anyone to who would make a return to a republic even a slight possibility.
Vetinari Job Security: Aside from just loving her, Livia’s propensity for handling state busy-work is what keeps her as something closer to Vice-Caesar than a Trophy Wife. Tiberius, Caligula and Sejanus are all kept from killing or exiling her based on the dirt she has over them and how innovative she can be against those who turn on her.
Villain Respect:
- She sees Augustus as true gods' send for Rome.
- Once she realizes Claudius has been exaggerating his stammer and clumsiness, she reforms her view of him to that of high respect for having been able to fool her with Obfuscating Stupidity for most of his life.
- When she meets Claudius for dinner, he accepts several glasses of wine from her in spite of her reputation as a serial poisoner. Though Caligula mocks him for it, Livia appreciates the gesture as a sign of respect and Claudius displaying an implicit trust in her to not poison him.
Visionary Villain: Livia never wants Rome to fall into civil-war again, she is willing to kill anyone/everyone who would topple the monarchy Augustus established to give Rome order. Including Augustus himself.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: In both his memoirs, and his speech before the Senate in favor of her deification, Claudius owns that she was an utterly heartless bitch, but heartlessness can be a divine quality if it's applied towards a genuine concern for the good of the state; throughout her life, Claudius acknowledges, she worked twice as hard as Augustus, appointed the most honest and qualified men as provincial governors and generals (ignoring less-qualified candidates who tried to curry favor with her), and saw eliminating any of Tiberius's rivals to the succession as the best way of keeping the Empire stable after the destructive civil wars. Her one blind spot was that her heartlessness also stamped out whatever shreds of good Tiberius had in him, and ensured that his rule, while relatively stable for the Empire as a whole, would be a nightmare for the city itself.
Wham Line: It is left ambiguous what happened to Augustus until just before leaving Tiberius alone in the room with Augustus's body she coldly gives him a warning - making things horrifically clear to the audience.
Livia: "Oh, by the way... Don't touch the figs."
Wicked Stepmother: She slowly and methodically has Augustus's relatives murdered or otherwise removed from succession to pave the way for her own son Tiberius to eventually take the Imperial mantle. (Livia and Augustus never had any children together.)
You Killed My Father: In the novel, when Claudius asks her if she felt any guilt over poisoning Augustus, she replies that she never forgot (or forgave) that her father, Claudian, was proscribed by the Second Triumvirate during the civil war and killed himself to avoid capture and execution.

Drusilla

Julia Drusilla

Played by: Beth Morris

Caligula's sister and wife.

Affectionate Nickname: Eventually starts to call Caligula "Zeusie".
Brother–Sister Incest: With her brother Caligula. It seems to haves been more consensual in their youth, but by the time he becomes emperor it's more an effort on Drusilla's part to stay alive.
Didn't Think This Through\Too Dumb to Live: She's delighted at taking the role of Zeus (or rather, Caligula believes himself as Zeus) wife, even bearing his child and him being afraid of it becoming more powerful. However, she doesn't seem to realize how far is her brother willing to go in recreation of Metis's fate — though justified in that a) she does seem to be drunk or high most of the time, to cope with her situation and b) she thought she was Hera in this scenario, not Metis.
Fan Disservice: We see how Caligula ties her up and strip her naked just before he slices her open and eats her unborn child.
"Not So Different" Remark: When asked by Claudius why she goes along with Caligula's A God Am I delusion, she's quick to point out how he played a fool for so many years.

Caesonia

Milonia Caesonia

Played by Freda Dowie.

Caligula's second wife, who is not related to him, and who bears him a living child. Caligula somehow has a soft spot for her and married her for love, and she finds it in herself to love him back.

Age-Gap Romance: She's about a decade Caligula's senior.
Domestic Abuse: Caligula might love her, but he's still ... well, The Caligula. He doesn't physically hurt her, but he subjects her to bizarre and humiliating rituals, like parading her naked in front of his Germanic guardsmen.
Family Extermination: Despite having married into the Imperial family rather than being a blood desdendant, Caesonia is murdered along with her daughter Drusilla, since Cassius wants to destroy any chance of a relative of Caligula taking power again.
Morality Pet: Caligula is still depraved and perverse, but he cares about her, and she loves him back. She's one of the few people who can talk Caligula down when he's feeling extra-bloodthirsty.
Not with Them for the Money: Marrying the Emperor was a huge leap up the social ladder for her, but she truly loves him.
Unequal Pairing: Caligula is already the reigning Emperor when they get married. She's the daughter of a complete nobody who somehow won Caligula's heart.

Messalina

Valeria Messalina

Played by Sheila White.

Claudius's wife as part of a practical joke by Caligula.

Antagonistic Offspring: She manipulated her own mother into marrying Silanus just so she could have him herself. When Silanus refused her, she framed him for rape after he tried to kill Claudius in revenge, and forced his mother to comply under the threat of death by framing her as a conspirator to Silanus.
Bait the Dog: She seems like another victim of Caligula's rule and then an effective co-ruler with Claudius. Things quickly go downhill.
Big Bad: After Caligula is assassinated and Claudius becomes emperor, she becomes the closest thing the series has to one.
Face Death with Dignity: Averted. Her mother tries to encourage her to commit suicide (an honorable death by Roman standards) once her execution becomes imminent. Unable to work up the courage to do so, Messalina is executed by the impatient soldiers while screaming.
The Hedonist: She becomes this after becoming Empress, indulging herself in luxury and sexual orgies.
It's All About Me: She cared little for Roman law whenever it interfered with her desires, such as when she pleaded with Claudius to spare her childhood crush Silanus after he attempted to murder the Emperor. After Silanus is executed in accordance with the law, Messalina's relationship with Claudius soured. As her hedonism worsens, she becomes even more intolerant of those who criticize her, often arranging their execution through Claudius on false charges. For this reason, she is feared by those loyal to Claudius alone.
Manipulative Bitch: She manages to play Claudius like a fiddle for a while and convinces Silanus, Mnester, and Silius that Claudius wants them to bone. She also plotted to rule the Roman Empire with Silius by publicly marrying him under Claudius' nose as a signal to the Senate to restore the Republic with her at its head.
Off with Her Head!: She is decapitated by the Praetorian Guards after Claudius signs her execution warrant.
Psychopathic Manchild: Clever she may be, she's completely immature and goes nuts when things don't go her way. The fact she hasn't grown past her crush on Silanus is noted as bizarre by the man himself.
Really Gets Around: She cheats on Claudius with a large number of people. After her downfall, Narcissus complies a list of her lovers. The first draft contains 54 names, but it's later extended to 155.
Stalker with a Crush: She's wanted to sleep with Silanus ever since she was a child and is enraged when Claudius is forced to order his death. She later switches her affections to Silius.
Villainous Breakdown: She devolves into a shrieking mess when she's finally caught.

Agrippina the Younger

Played by Barbara Young.

Claudius' niece and final wife. She is also the mother of Nero and the younger sister of Caligula.

Be Careful What You Wish For: She gets her wish to have Nero crowned Emperor, but he would later have her murdered to solidify his own power.
Big Bad Duumvirate: Alongside Nero, Agrippina acts as the final antagonist of the series.
Black Widow: She kills Claudius discreetly with a poisoned mushroom from her own plate.
Destroy the Evidence: Averted. She discovers Claudius' manuscript about the history of Julio-Claudian dynasty after his death and spitefully destroys it in order to preserve her family's good name. Fortunately, Claudius already made a copy of the manuscript and buried it somewhere for future generations to discover.
Evil Matriarch: Fills this role for what is left of her family, dominates and corrupts her son,whom she raises to power.
Evil Stepmother: Acts as this to Brittanicus, and possibly Octavia, who are also her first cousins. She does so in a manipulative, passive aggressive manner, flaunting her power in front of him.
Foreseeing My Death: Played With. After Claudius recalled her from exile, she bragged that living on a remote island had developed her into a first-rate swimmer, and anyone who tried to kill her had better choose some other method than drowning. Years later, Nero tries to kill her by sabotaging the boat she is riding in, but she swims to shore.
Freudian Excuse: The series never explicitly invokes this, but it can be imagined. Her childhood consisted of the early death of her father in suspicious circumstances and systematic destruction of her family by Tiberius. She then witnessed the unhinged reign of Caligula who coerced Agrippina and her sisters into incest with him, murdering one of the others and then banishing Agrippina and the third. Her only other sister was executed by Claudius (though not stated in the TV series.) This would serve to explain why she is so heartless and manipulative, using it as a survival mechanism.
God Save Us from the Queen!: She is absolutely ruthless when it comes to preserving her son's, or her own, political power.
The Kingslayer: She murders Claudius as soon as Nero's successorship is secured.
Laser-Guided Karma: She is eventually killed by Nero after he becomes tired of her dictating and dominating his life. The Julio-Claudian dynasty itself would end with Nero's death.
Manipulative Bastard: She manipulates Pallas and others into helping her secure Nero's place as Claudius' successor and ensure her own rise to power.
Mother Makes You King: Like Livia, she manipulates and murders many people to ensure that her own son becomes Emperor.
My Beloved Smother: She dominates Nero for much of his early life.
Only Known by Their Nickname: She is referred to as "Agripinilla" (literally "Agrippina the Younger") in the series, likely to distinguish her from her mother Agripinna the Elder (who was also a major character).
Villainous Incest: She is in an incestuous relationship with her son, which she also uses as a method to control him. Claudius also accuses her of being "more willing" than her sisters to sleep with Caligula when he demanded it.
Villainous Valor: Claudius describes her as a thoroughly rotten woman but with one lonely virtue, which is that she was very brave (in sharp contrast to Messalina, who was a Dirty Coward right up until her last moment). She went out like a boss: when her son's assassins finally cornered her, she told them to stab her in the belly, where she had carried such an abominable creature.

Characters / I Claudius Empresses

Livia Drusilla

Julia Drusilla

Milonia Caesonia

Valeria Messalina

Agrippina the Younger

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Characters / I Claudius Empresses

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Livia Drusilla

Julia Drusilla

Milonia Caesonia

Valeria Messalina

Agrippina the Younger

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