Mothers, Murderers and Mistresses: Empresses of Ancient Rome

This first episode explores the story of the remarkable Livia, wife of the emperor Augustus, mother of the emperor Tiberius and a woman whose influence was felt across the Roman world for over 60 years.

Professor Catharine Edwards explores the dramatic lives of two women, Messalina - whose reputation lives on 2,000 years after her bloody and dramatic death, and Agrippina - a skilled politician but also a murderer and ultimately a murder victim.

This episode follows the stories of four very different women. Among them are the slave turned imperial consort Caenis, the empresses Julia Domna and Helena, mother of the emperor Constantine and a force in converting the empire to Christianity.