Mothers, Murderers and Mistresses: Empresses of Ancient Rome - Season 1 (2013)

Professor Catharine Edwards travels across what was the heart of the Roman Empire lifting the lid on the women behind some of the most fearsome emperors of all time. These women were PR weapons and fashion role models, patrons and matchmakers, politicians and plotters. Everything from murderers to murder victims, and from pagan goddesses to Christian saints. Their lives were bursting with scandal and scarred by violence. Ancient writers claimed that Livia, the remarkable wife of Rome's first emperor, was a serial poisoner. The notorious Messalina was damned as "the whore empress" and met a violent death. As did her rival Agrippina, who killed her husband Claudius and was then murdered by her son Nero. Women could pull the strings of power too, but only at great personal risk. 2013 Hotsauce TV. All Rights Reserved.