Roman Emperor: Life and Reign of Claudius Quiz

Answer: Antonia Minor

Born in 36 BC, Antonia Minor was the youngest of the two surviving daughters of Mark Antony and Octavia Minor. She was the niece of Roman Emperor Augustus, sister-in-law of the Emperor Tiberius, and the grandmother of the Emperor Nero, Emperor Caligula, and Empress Agrippina the Younger.

Antonia Minor died in 37 AD of a supposed suicide, due to the stress of Caligula's constant criticisms. It has also been argued that she was depressed at Caligula's beheading of her grandson, Gemellus, who was executed out of Caligula's paranoia that he may one day unseat him as Roman Emperor. There were, however, rumours that she had been poisoned on Caligula's orders.

When Claudius became Roman emperor he made Antonia Minor's birthday a public holiday, where games were held and animal sacrifices were made. He also gave her the title of "Augusta" - an prestigious honorary title for imperial Roman women.

Answer: Lugdunum

The area where Lugdunum was located is now in the modern day city of Lyon, France. Roman Senator Lucius Munatius Plancus founded the city in around 43 BC. Lugdunum was the capital of the Roman province, Gallia Lugdunensis.

Claudius was born in 10 BC. He was the youngest of three children. Antonia Minor is reported to have had two other children after Claudius, but they died young. His father was Governor of Gaul by then, and chose to make his headquarters in Lugdunum, hence the reason why Claudius was born there.

Caracalla, who was Roman emperor from 198-217 AD, was also born in Lugdunum.

Answer: Augustus

The reason behind this was to have Roman society believe that Augustus, the first Emperor of Rome, was Claudius' paternal grandfather. This would certainly help to strengthen his claim to the Roman throne. While Drusus the Elder was a popular, powerful, and successful Roman general, Claudius understood that being related to a Roman Emperor, particularly Augustus, he would have fewer challenges to his claim to the Roman Empire.

Answer: His disabilities

Claudius was afflicted with what historians have concluded could have been cerebral palsy or Tourette's syndrome, conditions which were not well understood in ancient Rome. Antonia Minor is quoted as describing him as "a monstrosity of a human being, one that nature began and never finished."

Claudius also faced constant public ridicule and humiliation from his nephew, Caligula. If Claudius ever fell asleep during a feast, Caligula would encourage the other guests to throw the stones from dates and olives at him.

Claudius did have a fondness for drinking and sexual encounters, however, this was not the reason he was kept from the public eye. Rome had seen several emperors by then that were fond of both of those things.

Answer: Livy

Claudius was at first kept far from the public eye because of his family's opinion of him. He used this time of being isolated in the background to read books for hours and study continuously.

Livy was a Roman historian who died between 17 AD and 12 AD. He had a friendship with Augustus, the first Roman Emperor. When Livy saw how astute Claudius actually was, he encouraged him to take up writing. Claudius produced a lot of works, all of which have been lost. This includes works covering topics from the Roman alphabet, the history of Carthage, the Roman Republic and the Etruscans.

Answer: Livilla

Born in 13 BC, Livilla was the sole daughter of Drusus the Elder and Antonia Minor. She was also the paternal aunt of Caligula. She was named after Livia Drusilla, Augustus' wife.

Livilla's first husband was Augustus' grandson, Gaius Caesar, who died of a sudden illness in 4 AD. She later married Tiberius' son, Drusus the Younger. They had three children.

Tacitus states that although Livilla was a very beautiful woman, she was jealous and resentful of Agrippina the Elder due to the unfavorable comparisons regularly made between the two of them.

Livilla had an affair with Sejanus, the close friend and confidant of Tiberius, who later had him executed. Rumours abounded that Sejanus was the biological father of Livilla and Drusus the Younger's twins. Suetonius, Tacitus, and Cassius Dio all agree the Sejanus had Drusus the Younger poisoned, and possibly had Livilla's help. This was supported by Sejanus' wife's suicide note, which claimed that both her husband and Livilla had poisoned Drusus the Younger.

It it not known exactly how Livilla died, but she died around 31 AD. According to several sources, Tiberius handed her over to her mother, Antonia Minor. Her mother then locked Livilla in a room to starve to death, as she wanted to avoid public embarrassment for her family.

Answer: Ran away then hid behind a curtain

Although there is no concrete evidence that Claudius had any direct involvement with Caligula's assassination, it could be considered suspicious that he left the scene of the crime just before the murder took place. The Praetorian Guard found Claudius cowering behind a curtain, but instead of killing him, they hailed him as the new Roman Emperor.

Some historians argue, however, that because Claudius pretended to be dimmer than he was to protect himself, he was capable of helping organise a plot against Caligula undetected as nobody would suspect him.

Answer: Caratacus

Caratacus was a British chieftain who reigned in the first century until 50 AD. He ruled the areas between Gloucestershire and Hampshire. He led the resistance against Claudius' army. Claudius was seen as weak and intellectually stupid because of his disabilities, but he proved these claims wrong when his army captured Caratacus. It was certainly good publicity for such a prominent chieftain of Britain to be captured under Claudius' orders.

Claudius was also the first Roman emperor to invade Britain since Julius Caesar in around 56-56 BC.

Caratacus was sent to Claudius in Rome as a war trophy, but made such a good impression on him and the Roman Senate while he was there, that he was pardoned and allowed to live as a free man in Rome.

The new territory that accompanied this Roman victory was part of the Roman Empire for over 350 years.

Answer: Plautia Urgulanilla

Plautia Urgulanilla (birth year unclear) married Claudius in 9 AD, long before he was emperor. He was 18 when they were married. Suetonius asserts that in 24 AD they divorced because of her "scandalous love affairs and the suspicion of murder."

Marcus Plautius Silvanus was Plautia's brother. She was alleged to have killed his wife, Apronia. However, there is no surviving evidence that she had any involvement in her murder, and Tacitus implies that it was not possible for her to have been involved at all.

Apronia was apparently thrown out of a window, although there was speculation that she could have committed suicide, mainly at the word of her husband, who claimed to be asleep when she died. This took place during the reign of Emperor Tiberius, who had the couple's bedroom investigated. There was evidence of a scuffle. Silvanus' grandmother, Urgulania, sent him a dagger before the trial could take place, which he used to end his life.

Claudius likely did not want to be associated with all of this scandal, but before they divorced they had Claudius Drusus, Claudius' eldest son. He was betrothed to the daughter of Sejanus (friend and close confidant of Tiberius, later executed on Tiberius' orders), but the wedding would never happen. Claudius Drusus died as a child. Suetonius suggests he died in 20 AD, but according to Tacitus, in 23 AD Tiberius's son Drusus the Younger said of Sejanus "the grandsons of us Drususes will be his grandsons too" in revulsion. There were rumours that Claudius Drusus was murdered by Sejanus, but Suetonius states that the young boy choked to death on a pear.

Claudius suspected the daughter he had with Plautia, Claudia, who was born five months after their divorce, was not biologically his child. Claudius denied he was her father, accused Plautia of having an affair, and then had Claudia left on Plautia's doorstep.

Answer: Aelia Paetina

Born around the 1st century AD, Aelia Paetina married Claudius around 28 AD. Her mother is unknown, but her father was the Roman senator, Sextus Aelius Catus. Her father is thought to have died when she was young, as she was raised by her relative, Lucius Seius Strabo, a Praetorian Guard Prefect. She was the adoptive sister of Tiberius' confidant and close friend (until he had him executed), Sejanus. Claudius divorced Aelia the same year Sejanus fell from power and was killed.

Claudius and Aelia had one daughter, Claudia Antonia, the oldest surviving child of Claudius, and the only child Aelia ever had.

After the execution of Claudius' third wife in 48 AD, Narcissus suggested that Claudius should re-marry Aelia. They already had a child together and that would bond them, he stated. Claudius however chose Agrippina the Younger as his final wife.

Answer: Valeria Messalina

Born around 20 AD, Valeria Messalina was Nero's cousin, Caligula's second cousin, and Augustus' great-grandniece.

She was bold enough to marry another man, Roman Seantor Gaius Silius, in Claudius' absence in 48 AD. It is theorized that she intended to overthrow Claudius and have her new husband take over as Roman Emperor. Claudius certainly saw it that way. Valeria even had the gall to throw an expensive wedding banquet that drew attention. It drew the attention of Narcissus, a freedman who was a pioneer in forming the imperial court with Claudius. He told Claudius of her treachery. Claudius rushed back to Rome, where he was greeted by Valeria and their children.

Claudius investigated the house of her lover and new husband, and found several of his family heirlooms that she had given to Gaius Silius as a gift.

Despite all the evidence against her, Valeria began to win Claudius over, and he said he would have a private meeting with her in the morning. Sensing she was getting away with her actions, Narcissus pretended to have received an order from Claudius to have Valeria executed, and told this to the Praetorian Guards. She was given the option of suicide but failed to muster the courage to cut her own throat, so one of the Praetorian Guards stabbed her to death.

Answer: Pallas

Agrippina the Younger was Claudius' niece. Pallas was a Greek freedman who chose to support Agrippina the Younger loudly as Claudius' next potential wife. Tacitus states that Pallas intended to re-unite the Julian and Claudian families once again, via marriage. However, some historians also assert that Pallas engineered the marriage because Agrippina and Claudius were already lovers. Claudius married Agrippina on New Years Day, 49 AD.

Pallas was originally a slave of Antonia Minor, Claudius' mother. Between 31-37 AD she freed him. He is recorded as owning land in Egypt, which could be a reward for his years in servitude. After Antonia Minor's death, Pallas became a client of Claudius, working his way up to Secretary of the Treasury. His work greatly impressed Claudius, who had respect and trust in his capabilities and opinions.

Tacitus also states that Narcissus intended to bring down Agrippina the Younger, by revealing her alleged affair with Pallas. Agrippina later ordered Narcissus' execution, just weeks of Claudius' death in 54 AD. The next year, Emperor Nero dismissed Pallas from service. He was later accused of treason by Nero and executed in 62 AD.

Answer: Whale

In Pliny the Elder's work "Natural History" he details how Claudius fought a killer whale, at the new seaport of Ostia. The story can be found in Book 9.

Given Claudius' feeble health and frail strength, contrasted with the size and strength of a killer whale, Pliny the Elder is likely embellishing this tale. A killer whale was, however, seen at at the harbour in Ostia, being attracted there from a cargo wreck consisting of animal hides imported from Gaul. It was there feasting for several days, and ended up becoming trapped in the sand that had built up behind it. Rather than bludgeon the whale to death, as might be imagined from the statement that Claudius killed a whale, he actually ordered the nets to trap it further. Although the whale was killed, it managed to damage a nearby ship into sinking.

Claudius made the port of Ostia his solution to the grain shortages the Roman Empire dealt with in the winter.

Answer: Britannicus

Britannicus was born in 41 AD, the son of Claudius and Valeria Messalina. Born about a month into Claudius' reign, he was intended to be Claudius' heir until 48 AD, the year of his mother's downfall. Claudius' legacy seemed to be secure when he produced an heir so soon. However, the surety of Claudius being his biological father was called into question. Nero also married Claudia Octavia, Britannicus' sister.

In 43 AD, Claudius was honored with the title "Britannicus" by the Senate, honoring his conquest of Britain. Claudius never used the name for himself, but decided to pass this name to his son. Suetonius states that Claudius adored Britannicus as a toddler, carrying him at public events and encouraging the crowds to cheer for him.

Claudius adopted Nero when he was around 13 years old. Britannicus died at 13 years old in 55 AD.

Answer: Draining the Fucine Lake

In 41 AD, Claudius decided to increase Rome's arable land by draining the Fucine Lake. This would also mean the river would be sailable all year round. Claudius had around 30,000 workers digging tunnels through hills near Avezzano to drain the lake over an 11 year period. The water from the lake was intended to drain into the Liri River.

A miscalculation from the workers meant that the water began to rush out too soon. Claudius and his party were in the vicinity, and were nearly drowned due to the accident. Building these tunnels had already claimed many lives, and almost took that of the emperor.

Answer: Cassius Chaerea

Cassius Chaerea was a member of the Praetorian Guard when Caligula was emperor, and a tribune or "chiliarch" in Germanicus' army. Tacitus states that Chaerea quelled a mutiny in Germanicus' army upon the death of Augustus in 14 AD.

During his time in the Praetorian Guard under Caligula, Chaerea was made to suffer at the hands of the emperor, who constantly made fun of his high-pitched voice and perceived effeminacy. Whenever Chaerea would be made to kiss Caligula's ring, the emperor would make obscene gestures implying his experience with men. During night watch, Chaerea was given watch-words such as "Venus" which was a colloquialism for male eunuch.

The constant humiliation at the hands of Caligula most likely made it easier for Chaerea to assassinate him in 41 AD at the Palatine Hill in Rome. Personal attacks on Chaerea aside, Caligula's behaviour was becoming more and more erratic, and the Praetorian Guard conspired to dispose of him for the good of Rome. Chaerea was not the only Praetorian Guard entertaining ideas about assassinating Caligula, and eventually all of these ideas came together in a conspiracy against the emperor, not just involving the Praetorian Guard, but also senators and equestrians.

Caligula was stabbed to death by Cassius Chaerea and the Praetorian Guard, as were his final wife, Caesonia, and daughter Julia, Drusilla.

Cassius Chaerea was executed shortly after Claudius was hastily proclaimed Roman Emperor. Some sources state that he asked to be executed with his own sword, which he was. Claudius was reportedly reluctant to have Cassius Chaerea executed. These events were either likely a shock to the system, being suddenly proclaimed Roman emperor after the murder of his nephew. Or perhaps Claudius was reluctant because he was aware of the plot, and supported it. Regardless, it would not have been good publicity to refuse to execute the man who had murdered his nephew, his wife, and baby daughter, and his predecessor to the Roman Empire.

Answer: Robert Graves

First published in 1934, "I, Claudius" is highly fictionalized, featuring a lot of dialogue between the characters not mentioned precisely by witnesses or ancient historians of Rome. Having said that, the plot of "I Claudius" is mainly taken from recorded historical events.

Robert Graves was born in 1885, and died in 1985. He later wrote "Claudius the God" as a sequel in 1935. He also wrote many other novels in his lifetime, including "Count Belisarius" in 1938.

Answer: Rhodes

In 44 AD Claudius annexed the Roman island territory of Rhodes, to the province of Asia. There had been rioting and deaths of Roman citizens there, and he wanted the island under control. Generally, client states (states which had some sort of agreement, treaty or law under Rome) were only annexed when there was a need for intervention or direct rule. However, he gave the island independence later after Nero, at the age of 15, had made an impassioned speech in Greek about the plight of the island. Nero had been fond of Rhodes since spending there as a child, and was likely concerned for his Roman companions still on the island.

Rhodes remained a client state of Rome until 70 AD, when Emperor Vespasian annexed it.

Answer: Agrippina the Younger

Cassius Dio, Tacitus, Suetonius, and Juvenal all agree that Agrippina shared a plate of mushrooms with her husband, Claudius, giving him a poison one. However, modern historians cite his age, illnesses, rich diet, and fondness to drink possibly contributed to his death when he was in his 60s. Also, the nature of Claudius' death does not fit with mushroom poisoning at the time, some historians argue. The most commonly available poisonous mushrooms in the Mediterranean available at the time, take 10-15 hours to take effect, culminating in liver failure, which is inconsistent with Claudius death - bar Suetonius' account, which states that Claudius was suddenly "in agony" in the early hours of the morning. Several sources also state that Claudius was aided in his death - when the poison was too mild from the mushrooms - with a poisoned feather.

Agrippina the Younger had made enemies who would happily spread rumour that she would murder her husband. But her ambition in regards to her son, Nero, who succeeded Claudius, is apparent.

Answer: Camulodunum

Camulodunum is now Colchester, Essex, England.

The Temple of Claudius was built between 49 AD and 60 AD, and was one of around eight Roman temples in the area of what is now Colchester. It was being constructed during Claudius' reign, and was dedicated to him after he died during its construction. It was destroyed during the Boudican rebellion, an uprising by the Celtic tribes against the Roman Empire.

Despite its destruction, over a millennium later, a decade after his own invasion of Britain, William the Conqueror used the podium of the ruined temple as the base for the largest Norman keep in Britain.