“Valeria Messalina (22 - 48 CE) was the third wife of the Roman emperor
Claudius. She was the daughter of Domitia Lepida and Valerius Messalla
Barbatus, of a noble family and had been a regular at the court of
Caligula.
She married Claudius around 38 CE and bore him two children, Britannicus
(39) and Octavia (41). In 48 she conspired to kill Claudius with Caius
Silius while her husband was in Ostia. She actually went into a public
marriage ceremony with Silius (he was also already married, to Junia
Silana), her motivation is believed to have been the protection the
powerful and popular Silius could give her over the weakness of Claudius,
her plotting was sufficiently promising that many senior officials were
sayed to her side. Exposed by Narcissus, an advisor to Claudius,
Messalina, Silius and a number of others were summarily executed.
Messalina was apparently offered the opportunity of suicide but was
unable to do it.
Her reputation is very poor, a number of Roman historians (mainly Tacitus
and Suetonius) portray her as a cruel, avarious, foolish nymphomaniac who
had many wild affairs and duped Claudius and manipulated him into
executing those who displeased or spurned her. She is also recorded as a
lover of parties and festivities as well as a enthusiastic player of
court politics, selling her influence to Roman nobles and foreign
notables. Her name is now used as a synonym for others with her supposed
vices.
As a wife she succeeded Plautia Urgulanilla? and Aelia Paetina?. She was
in turn replaced by Agrippina the Younger.

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