Agrippina: Sex, Power, and Politics in the Early Empire by Anthony A. Barrett (review)

BOOK REVIEWS/COMPTES RENDUS ISS ANrHONY A. BARREIT. Agrippina: Sex, Power, and Politics in the Early Empire. New Haven: Ya1e Vniversity Press, 1996. Pp. xxi + 330.US $35.00. ISBN 0-300-06598-1. With the significant growth in the number of publications appearing each year. it has become increasingly difficult to find anything new to say about the Julio-Claudian period. Interest in postmodern theory and gender theory have opened up additional possibilities but the novelty of these approaches is now wearing thin. a fact clearly evident in the increasingly specialized subject matter and jargon-laden language of some recent scholarly work. Tony Barrett in his biography of Agrippina the Younger eschews such approaches in favour of old-fashioned political analysis and commentary (although without foregoing the p0tential marketability of a very modern-sounding title). Barrett defends his choice. in his usual forthright way. by rebuking theorists for their nihilism. social historians for their narrow-minded interest exclusively in the lower classes, and feminists who write only to attribute blame. Barrett contends that it is indeed possible to come dose to recapturing historical reality. that the lives of members of elite groups are significant , and that harping on unfair treatment is a waste of everyone's time. In this context he offers his life of Agrippina. emphasizing her accomplishments as an active participant in Roman politics. The book is divided into nine chapters. The first provides background information for the general reader but also contains an interesting analysis of the reasons why women gained influence and personal autonomy under the Republic and the Principate. Barrett attributes this mostly to their possession of wealth. Money, as MacMullen (1986) has said. is power no matter who possesses it. The titles of the next six chapters ("Family." "Daughter." "Sister." "Niece." "Wife." "Mother") imply a thematic approach to the material but are. in fact. chronological markers in a narrative account of the life and times of the imperial family. Chapter 2 deals with the early prosopography of the Julio-Claudians with extensive discussion of Agrippina the Younger's bloodline and the importance of that bloodline to her career (she was both a Julian and a Claudian). Barrett also discusses Livia's career and its importance for the imperial women who followed her, especially her acquisition of the tribunician sacrosanctity which Barrett sees as a benchmark in women's acquisition of power. Chapter 3 is an account and analysis of Germanicus' career with some consideration of the affect that he and his wife. Agrippina the EIder, had on their daughter. From her mother. Barrett condudes, the most important lesson Agrippina learned was to avoid direct confrontation as this was an ineffective weapon for women in the public arena, a lesson still BOOK REVIEWS/COMPTES RENDUS valid for women today. From her father she inherited the adulation of the populace. tranferred to her and her siblings on his death. Of more importance. perhaps. she absorbed. from both parents. a sense of superiority which bred an unhesitating confidence in a right to respect and in an ability to succeed in a11 her undertakings. The next chapter affords Barrett the opportunity to revisit the reign of Gaius (cf. his Caligula: The Corruption oi Power. 1989). The chapter contains little about Agrippina beyond an analysis of her condernnation and exile to the Pontian islands on acharge of adultery. Barrett speculates that she was part of a conspiracy together with Gaetulicus (Legate of Upper Germany). Lepidus and Livilla against Caligula either so that she could secure military protection for her son Nero. or out of fear that Caligula's growing unpopularity might lead to a movement to restore the Republic. a political system which would not suit her interests nor the interests of the other three. The latter explanation . not advanced in Caligula. might be the cornrnon ground that brought these four people together. Chapters 4 and 6 offer an interesting analysis of the political imperatives of Claudius. Barrett asserts that his rise to power was a military coup d'etat engineered by Claudius hirnself and that Claudius' overriding concern was always the stability of his reign. so much so that he was willing to pass over his son...