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Result of all this . . .
Who is Related to who of the Julio-Claudian Emperors
I always get confused who is related to who. So here is a description of how the Emperors relate to each other and some other important players. Believe me, this family was so messed up and inbreed that a chart will not make this any clearer . . . And no, I am not making these relationships up!
The Emperors
Octavian/Augustus - adopted son of Caesar. His mother is the daughter of Julius Caesar's sister. In other words, he was the great-nephew of Julius Caesar
Tiberius - the son of Livia and Tiberius Claudius Nero. Livia
later married Augustus.
Gaius/Caligula - His father Germanicus is the son of Drusus I, who is the younger son of Livia and T. Claudius Nero. Livia was married to Augustus while pregnant with Drusus I. He is the son of the nephew of Tiberius. His mother Agrippina the Elder is the daughter of Agrippa and Julia, who is the daughter of Augustus.
Cladius - He is the son of Drusus I (Livia and T. Claudius's son). So he is the uncle to Caligula
Nero - His mother Agrippina the Younger is the daughter of Germanicus who is the son of Drusus I and brother to Cladius. His father Domitius Ahenobarbus is the son of Antonia who is the daughter of Octavia and Mark Antony. Octavia is the sister of Octavian who changed his name to Augustus.
Agrippina the Elder - Mother of Caligua. Daughter of Julia who
was the daughter of Augustus. She was married to Germanicus.
Germanicus - the would be heir of Tiberius. The son of Drusus I and Antonia the Younger. Drusus I is the adopted son of Augustus and son of his wife Livia. Antonia the Younger is the younger daughter of Octavia, sister of Augustus.
Agrippina the Younger - Mother of Nero. The daughter of Agrippina the Elder, who is the daughter of Julia who was the daughter of Augustus. Her father is Germanicus. And she was the sister of Caligua.
Result of All this Confusion . . .
Is there a point to this besides from to confuse later generation of
Roman scholars???? Surprisingly, I think there is. This complex
web of relationship shows the politicians using marriage as a form of bargaining
tool. Daughters and sisters were married off to seal alliances and
secure loyalties. The result is a very complicated family tree.
Because each successive Emperor was not related directly to the one before
them, they often hated each other and allowed damaging biographies to be
published. For example, Agrippina the Elder hated Tiberius. And Agrippina
the younger hated a lot of people. Thus, the wilds stories Caligua
and Nero's megalomania and immorality, Tiberius's outrageous behavior in
Caprii, and Claudius's nimbleness survive as products of these complex
relationships.