Was Nero the natural son of Claudius?

[AjayAlcos]

I chanced upon this interesting hypothesis a while back. Although it is a fascinating and quite entertaining piece, I personally found it to be something more to be amused at rather than as a theory to be taken with any actual seriousness. Firstly, although one cannot say that it is unlikely that Agrippina Minor would cheat on her admittedly violent & unattractive husband (she was notoriously promiscuous after-all), it is baffling why she would even consider doing so with a bumbling stutterer such as Claudius. I concede that it wouldn't be the first case of a beauty falling for a fool (as experience has repeatedly shown me), but nevertheless I digress. Also, physical depictions of Nero seem to show him as taking more after his father compared to the likenesses of the other Julio-Claudian emperors (he looks more akin to the Ptolemies in my eyes though it is doubtful whether Agrippina's loins were capable of time-travel ). What are your thoughts?

 

[Henry IX]

A plausible speculation, although it creates more questions than it answers. Given the tendency for rumour, gossip and speculation amongst the contemporary sources (I'm looking at you Suetonius) if there had been even hints of a scandal as juicy as 'Claudius is the father of Nero' I find it odd that it was not recorded. As such, I would tend to discount it as a serious theory, although it is fun.

 

[Drakken]

On the incest theory's side, odds are higher that Nero was Gaius Ceasar's natural son rather than Claudius.

 

[AjayAlcos]

On the incest theory's side, odds are higher that Nero was Gaius Ceasar's natural son rather than Claudius.

Great Scott! So basically Caesar frigged the fruits of his loins into a TARDIS which then disposed of it into his nephew's wife's great-granddaughter's womb?!

 

[yerm]

Great Scott! So basically Caesar frigged the fruits of his loins into a TARDIS which then disposed of it into his nephew's wife's great-granddaughter's womb?!

Still a better love story than Twilight.

 

[Okcydent]

Great Scott! So basically Caesar frigged the fruits of his loins into a TARDIS which then disposed of it into his nephew's wife's great-granddaughter's womb?!

I think that the Gaius Ceasar who was mentioned here is Caligula (Gaius Iulius Caesar Germanicus, 12AD - 41AD). Romans weren't inventive with names. Augustus was Gaius Iulius Caesar Octavianus. Julius Caesar was Gaius Julius Caesar, and his father bore the same name and so has his grandfather.

 

[AjayAlcos]

I think that the Gaius Ceasar who was mentioned here is Caligula (Gaius Iulius Caesar Germanicus, 12AD - 41AD). Romans weren't inventive with names. Augustus was Gaius Iulius Caesar Octavianus. Julius Caesar was Gaius Julius Caesar, and his father bore the same name and so has his grandfather.

Yeah, they also had a tendency to name their children, or rather thir girls specifically - in numerical fashion. So basically it wasn't at all uncommon nor inconceivable for a bloke with four daughters to each name them "Prima, Secunda, Tertia et Quartia" (i.e. "First, Second, Third & Fourth") respectively.

 

[Sabotage13]

Yeah, they also had a tendency to name their children, or rather thir girls specifically - in numerical fashion. So basically it wasn't at all uncommon nor inconceivable for a bloke with four daughters to each name them "Prima, Secunda, Tertia et Quartia" (i.e. "First, Second, Third & Fourth") respectively.

And plenty of women, even prominent ones, only got recorded by a female variant of their genus name (Iulia, Octavia) or their father's name (Livia Drusilla, Vipsania Agrippina).

 

[Henry IX]

Yeah, they also had a tendency to name their children, or rather thir girls specifically - in numerical fashion. So basically it wasn't at all uncommon nor inconceivable for a bloke with four daughters to each name them "Prima, Secunda, Tertia et Quartia" (i.e. "First, Second, Third & Fourth") respectively.

Some Italian families still do that. I had a great uncle whose name on his birth certificate was Secondo, although he always went by his second name of Francesco (or Franco).