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Locusta
Locusta or Lucusta (died 69), was a notorious maker of poisons in the 1st-century Roman Empire, active in the final two reigns of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. She supposedly took part in the assassinations of Claudius and Britannicus. She was a favourite of emperor Nero for several years, and Nero had her provide training to other poisoners in his service. Following Nero's death, Locusta was executed by his successor, Galba (reigned 68–69). Primary sources Locusta's career is described by the ancient historians Tacitus (''Annals'' 12.66 and 13.15), Suetonius''Life of Nero'' 33 and 47), and Cassius Dio (61.34 and 63.3). Juvenal also mentions Locusta in Book 1, line 71 of his '' Satires''. Biography Locusta was said to have come from Gaul. Poisons expert Locusta served as a poisons expert under empress Agrippina the Younger. According to some historians, in AD 54, already notorious and imprisoned on poisoning charges, Locusta was ordered by the empress Agrippina the Younger ...
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Britannicus
Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus (12 February AD 41 – 11 February AD 55), usually called Britannicus, was the son of Roman emperor Claudius and his third wife Valeria Messalina. For a time he was considered his father's heir, but that changed after his mother's downfall in 48, when it was revealed she had engaged in a bigamous marriage without Claudius' knowledge. The next year, his father married Agrippina the Younger, Claudius' fourth and final marriage. Their marriage was followed by the adoption of Agrippina's son, Lucius Domitius, whose name became Nero as a result. His step-brother would later be married to Britannicus' sister Octavia, and soon eclipsed him as Claudius' heir. Following his father's death in October 54, Nero became emperor. The sudden death of Britannicus shortly before his fourteenth birthday is reported by all extant sources as being the result of poisoning on Nero's orders – as Claudius' biological son, he represented a threat to Nero's claim ...
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Nero
Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his death in AD 68. He was Adoption in Ancient Rome, adopted by the Roman emperor Claudius at the age of 13 and succeeded him on the throne. Nero was popular with the members of his Praetorian Guard and lower-class commoners in Rome and its provinces, but he was deeply resented by the Roman aristocracy. Most contemporary sources describe him as tyrannical, self-indulgent, and debauched. After being declared a public enemy by the Roman Senate, he committed suicide at age 30. Nero was born at Antium in AD 37, the son of Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (father of Nero), Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and Agrippina the Younger, a great-granddaughter of the emperor Augustus. When Nero was two years old, his father died. His mother married the e ...
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Gaius Stertinius Xenophon
Gaius Stertinius Xenophon (c. 10 BC54 AD), often referred to in ancient literature as simply Xenophon, was a physician who served the Roman Emperor, Claudius, the fourth member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Xenophon is primarily remembered for his suspected involvement and collaboration in the murder of Claudius by poison. Xenophon was born on the island of Kos, where he trained as a physician before voyaging to Rome. Once there, he began to practice medicine, and as his reputation as a physician grew, Xenophon became very wealthy. He lived well, owning a manor situated on the Caelian Hill. Later, Xenophon spent time serving in the military, and it was through this participation in the armed forces that Claudius first became aware of Xenophon's renown as a physician. As a result, Xenophon become Claudius' personal physician. Xenophon died in 54 AD. How Xenophon died is unknown; whether it was coincidence that he died in the same year as Claudius' death, or whether his death w ...
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Halotus
Halotus (c. 20–30 ADc. 70–80 AD) was an eunuch servant to the Roman Emperor Claudius, the fourth member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty.Anthony A. Barrett ''Agrippina: Sex, Power, and Politics in the Early Empire'', page 140. Routledge, 1996. He served Claudius as a taster and as a chief steward; it was because of his occupation, which entailed close contact with Claudius, that he is and was a suspect in the murder of the latter by poison. Along with Agrippina the Younger, the wife of Claudius, Halotus was considered one of the most likely to have committed the murder, although speculation by ancient historians suggest that he may have been working under orders of Agrippina. Following the death of Claudius, much public outrage ensued, and there was a clear desire in the general public that Halotus and several other suspects (such as Tigellinus, another servant who served Claudius), be executed. Nero, who acceded to the throne, allowed Halotus to continue as chief steward a ...
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Atropa Belladonna
''Atropa belladonna'', commonly known as belladonna or deadly nightshade, is a toxic perennial herbaceous plant in the nightshade family Solanaceae, which also includes tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplant (aubergine). It is native to Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia. Its distribution extends from Great Britain in the west to western Ukraine and the Iranian province of Gilan in the east. It is also naturalised or introduced in some parts of Canada and the United States. The foliage and berries are extremely toxic when ingested, containing tropane alkaloids. These toxins include atropine, scopolamine, and hyoscyamine, which cause delirium and hallucinations, and are also used as pharmaceutical anticholinergics. Tropane alkaloids are of common occurrence not only in the Old World tribes Hyoscyameae (to which the genus Atropa belongs) and Mandragoreae, but also in the New World tribe Datureae - all of which belong to the subfamily Solanoideae of the plant f ...
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Humanity Through The Ages
''Humanity Through the Ages'' (french: La Civilisation à travers les âges), released in the US initially as ''Humanity Through Ages'', is a 1908 historical drama film directed by Georges Méliès. The film, now presumed lost, is an episodic narrative displaying examples of humankind's brutality, from the story of Cain and Abel through the Hague Convention of 1907. Summary The film's first ten episodes feature Cain and Abel, the Druids, Nero and Locusta, the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire, the pillories of the Middle Ages, the Gibbet of Montfaucon, torture processes in the Middle Ages, Louis XIII, contemporary Parisian ''apaches'', and the Hague Convention of 1907.Malthête & Mannoni, p. 229. The Hague scene ends with the convention collapsing into chaos, with the delegates, who had convened to limit the power of armies, directly attacking each other. The eleventh and final scene, titled "Triumph", shows an Angel of Destruction hovering over a battlefield cov ...
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Claudius
Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Drusus and Antonia Minor at Lugdunum in Roman Gaul, where his father was stationed as a military legate. He was the first Roman emperor to be born outside Italy. Nonetheless, Claudius was an Italian of Sabine origins. As he had a limp and slight deafness due to sickness at a young age, he was ostracized by his family and was excluded from public office until his consulship (which was shared with his nephew, Caligula, in 37). Claudius's infirmity probably saved him from the fate of many other nobles during the purges throughout the reigns of Tiberius and Caligula, as potential enemies did not see him as a serious threat. His survival led to him being declared emperor by the Praetorian Guard after Caligula's assassination, at which point he was the last adult m ...
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Alexandre Dumas
Alexandre Dumas (, ; ; born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where '' '' is French for 'father', to distinguish him from his son Alexandre Dumas fils), was a French writer. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the most widely read French authors. Many of his historical novels of adventure were originally published as serials, including '' The Count of Monte Cristo'', ''The Three Musketeers'', '' Twenty Years After'' and '' The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later''. His novels have been adapted since the early twentieth century into nearly 200 films. Prolific in several genres, Dumas began his career by writing plays, which were successfully produced from the first. He also wrote numerous magazine articles and travel books; his published works totalled 100,000 pages. In the 1840s, Dumas founded the Théâtre Historique in Paris. His father, General Thomas-Alexandre Dumas ...
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The Count Of Monte Cristo
''The Count of Monte Cristo'' (french: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo) is an adventure novel written by French author Alexandre Dumas (''père'') completed in 1844. It is one of the author's more popular works, along with ''The Three Musketeers''. Like many of his novels, it was expanded from plot outlines suggested by his collaborating ghostwriter Auguste Maquet. The story takes place in France, Italy, and islands in the Mediterranean during the historical events of 1815–1839: the era of the Bourbon Restoration through the reign of Louis-Philippe of France. It begins on the day that Napoleon left his first island of exile, Elba, beginning the Hundred Days period when Napoleon returned to power. The historical setting is a fundamental element of the book, an adventure story centrally concerned with themes of hope, justice, vengeance, mercy, and forgiveness. It centers on a man who is wrongfully imprisoned, escapes from jail, acquires a fortune, and sets about exacting revenge on ...
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Patrobius
Patrobius (d. 69) was a prominent freedman in the time of ancient Roman Emperor Nero. He and Helius In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Helios (; grc, , , Sun; Homeric Greek: ) is the god and personification of the Sun (Solar deity). His name is also Latinized as Helius, and he is often given the epithets Hyperion ("the one above") an ... exercised great and pernicious power and influence under Nero. In 66 AD he put on a luxurious show at Puteoli to honor the Armenian king Tiridates. Patrobius was executed along with several other of Nero's favorites after Galba came to power.Gregory, A. P. "A Study in Survival: The Case of the Freedman L. Domitius Phaon." ''Athenaeum'' 83 (1995): 401. ''ProQuest.'' Web. 24 November 2015. They were marched in chains around the city before they were publicly executed. References {{reflist Imperial Roman slaves and freedmen Executed ancient Roman people 69 deaths ...
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Hyoscyamine
Hyoscyamine (also known as daturine or duboisine) is a naturally occurring tropane alkaloid and plant toxin. It is a secondary metabolite found in certain plants of the family Solanaceae, including henbane, mandrake, angel's trumpets, jimsonweed, tomato, the sorcerers' tree, and deadly nightshade. It is the levorotary isomer of atropine (third of the three major nightshade alkaloids) and thus sometimes known as levo-atropine. Brand names for hyoscyamine include Symax, HyoMax, Anaspaz, Egazil, Buwecon, Cystospaz, Levsin, Levbid, Levsinex, Donnamar, NuLev, Spacol T/S, and Neoquess. Uses Hyoscyamine is used to provide symptomatic relief of spasms caused by various lower abdominal and bladder disorders including peptic ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, diverticulitis, pancreatitis, colic, and interstitial cystitis. It has also been used to relieve some heart problems, control some of the symptoms of Parkinson's disease, as well as for control of abnormal respiratory symp ...
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Flagellation
Flagellation (Latin , 'whip'), flogging or whipping is the act of beating the human body with special implements such as whips, rods, switches, the cat o' nine tails, the sjambok, the knout, etc. Typically, flogging has been imposed on an unwilling subject as a punishment; however, it can also be submitted to willingly and even done by oneself in sadomasochistic or religious contexts. The strokes are typically aimed at the unclothed back of a person, though they can be administered to other areas of the body. For a moderated subform of flagellation, described as ''bastinado'', the soles of a person's bare feet are used as a target for beating (see foot whipping). In some circumstances the word ''flogging'' is used loosely to include any sort of corporal punishment, including birching and caning. However, in British legal terminology, a distinction was drawn (and still is, in one or two colonial territories) between ''flogging'' (with a cat o' nine tails) and ''whippi ...
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