The Julian and Claudian lines united
Agrippina was a daughter of Agrippa and Julia the Elder and therefore a granddaughter of Augustus. Her marriage to Germanicus joined Augustus’s biological descendants to the Claudian family. Nine children were born to the couple; six survived their father: Nero Caesar, Drusus Caesar, Caligula, Agrippina the Younger, Julia Drusilla, and Julia Livilla.
At the armies of the Rhine
Agrippina accompanied Germanicus on campaign and was present during the Rhine mutiny of 14 CE. Ancient narratives portray her courage and popularity with the soldiers’ families. The child Gaius wore miniature military boots in camp, producing the nickname Caligula.
Ashes of Germanicus
After Germanicus died at Antioch in 19 CE, Agrippina returned publicly with his ashes. Suspicions of poisoning and hostility toward the Syrian governor Piso intensified her conflict with Tiberius, but neither an imperial order nor the precise cause of Germanicus’s death can be established.
Exile and rehabilitation
Agrippina promoted the succession claims of Nero Caesar and Drusus Caesar and became a target of Sejanus’s political network. Arrested in 29 CE, she was exiled to Pandateria and died in 33 CE after refusing food or being deprived of it. Caligula later brought her remains to Rome for burial in the Mausoleum of Augustus; her inscribed funerary urn survives.
Historical sources
Tacitus, Annals 1.40–44; 2.69–75; 4.52–54; 6.25
The Rhine mutiny, Germanicus’s death, conflict with Tiberius, and Agrippina’s death.
Suetonius, Caligula 8; 15
Caligula’s childhood and the return of his mother’s remains.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Julio-Claudian Dynasty
Modern context for the marriage and dynastic succession.