Statilia Messalina


Statilia Messalina was a Roman patrician woman, a Roman Empress and third wife to Roman Emperor Nero.

Biography

Background

The ancient sources say little of her family; however, Suetonius states that she was a great-great-granddaughter of Titus Statilius Taurus, a Roman general who was awarded a triumph for his victory and was twice consul. She was either the daughter of Titus Statilius Taurus Corvinus, consul in 45 AD, and who was involved in a plot against the Emperor Claudius, or a daughter of the sister of Corvinus, Statilia Messallina. Her grandmother might have been Valeria Messalina Corvina, one of the daughters of Roman senator Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus who served as consul in 31 BC.

Marriages

Her first husband was the consul Marcus Julius Vestinus Atticus to whom she may have borne a son. Around 65, she became Nero's mistress. After the death of the emperor's second wife Poppaea Sabina, Vestinus was forced to commit suicide in 66, so Nero could marry Statilia.
Although witty and scheming, she was far less flamboyant than her predecessor and kept a rather low profile in the public eye. She was one of the few of Nero's courtiers who survived the fall of his reign. After Nero's death, Otho promised that he would marry her, before his suicide in 69.

Citations