With reference to sources, assess the different interpretations of Agrippina the Younger
Sources from ancient historians tend to be more hostile towards Agrippina because she was a woman and she stepped outside the expected role of a Roman matron. In contrast to this, modern historians consider the context of her time and approach her with a neutral attitude. However, most of the historians present her according to three main stereotypes- the seducer and murderer of Claudius, the scheming and dominating mother figure or the imperial woman who …
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…certain admiration for Julia Agrippina, the last of the really great Julio-Claudian matrons.' It is very unlikely that Agrippina would ever have received even this minor praise from ancient writings, as such neutral and impartial descriptions of Agrippina's character are only really native to modern sources.
Sources:
Tacitus, The Annals of Imperial Rome, Penguin Books, Great Britain, 1971, pp 225
Ibid, Introduction by Michael Grant, pp. 16
Bauman, Women and Politics in Ancient Rome, London: Rutledge, 1992, pp 188
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