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Caligula’s Sisters in the Plot of the Three Daggers

Mary Naples
Mary Naples
December
14
/ 2025
Ancient Rome : Emperor Caligula Murdered

After twenty-three years filled with fear, paranoia, and the countless lives lost in its reckless pursuit, the grim and wholly unlikable Emperor Tiberius died at the ripe old age of 78 - a milestone many of his victims would have envied. All of Rome breathed a collective sigh of relief with some debating whether Tiberius should be thrown down the Gemonian steps (a fate reserved for the most heinous of criminals) or cast into the river. In no time "Tiberius in the Tiberim" became a catch-all slogan.

The Tragic Tale of Julia the Younger

Mary Naples
Mary Naples
October
14
/ 2025
Julia the Younger

Living under the long arm of the Lex Iulia de Adulteriis laws, which prohibited all forms of adultery, the twenty-seven-year-old Julia—a widow for over a year—found herself in the unenviable position of being pregnant. She might have known her options were limited, but as Augustus's granddaughter and thus an exemplar of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, her fate was sealed.

Mighty Medusa

Mary Naples
Mary Naples
June
03
/ 2025
The Classic Depiction Of The Head Of The Gorgon Medusa From Ancient Mythology
At first glance, it would seem that Medusa, the mortal Gorgon with writhing snakes for hair, wide glaring eyes, and a protruding tongue, is the least likely of all characters in Greek mythology to be a fashion and cultural icon. Yet, the opposite is true.

Was Messalina, Wife of Emperor Claudius, Mad? Or a Victim of Ancient Roman Misogyny?

Mary Naples
Mary Naples
April
08
/ 2025
The so-called “Whore Empress” sculpture of Messalina, made by Eugene Cyrille Brunet in 1884, on display in Rennes Museum of Fine Arts

 

In the most highly anticipated event of the season, the fragrance of exotic spices and the sounds of boisterous laughter permeated the air as guests indulged in savory dishes and gorged themselves on abundant wine. The bride removed her veil to expose her flowing wild hair; embodying the Bacchic spirit, she shook her head and brandished a thyrsus, or Bacchic wand. Her handsome, ivy-clad groom, decorated in cothurni—footwear linked to Bacchus—was spinning to the euphoric music, swirling under the shimmering lights.

Agrippina the Elder vs Tiberius: The Would-Be Empress of Rome, and the Ruthless Emperor Who Opposed Her

Mary Naples
Mary Naples
March
20
/ 2025
Agrippina Landing at Brundisium with the Ashes of Germanicus, painting by Alexander Runciman, 1781.


 

Long before her boat docked at the port of Brundisium in the winter of 19 CE, Vipsania Agrippina, more widely recognized as Agrippina the Elder (14 BCE- 33 CE), might have known that the mourners would come. Like a perfectly choreographed event—and many believe it was—the waterfront was packed elbow to elbow with people standing for hours or even days as they lined the city walls. The boldest of them were perched atop unstable rooftops, all to catch a glimpse of her. Adored and admired, she was beloved by her compatriots.

Cleopatra: The Early Years, and Her Status as a Goddess

AI image of an ancient Egyptian deity. Cleopatra was considered an Egyptian god.
Mary Naples
Mary Naples
February
21
/ 2025
Before apocryphally rolling out of the carpet and stepping into legend, Cleopatra (69 BC-30 BC) already had a storied past. The 21-year-old and her 13-year-old brother-husband Ptolemy XIII (62 BC-47 BC) ruled together for nearly two years before said brother, influenced by overly ambitious advisors, banished Cleopatra from Alexandria. Prudently using her mastery of the Egyptian language—the first Ptolemy to do so in the nearly 300-year-old dynasty—Cleopatra raised an army to defeat her brother, Ptolemy XIII. It was only shortly thereafter that she had the legendary encounter with Caesar. Yet most of what has been written about Cleopatra concerns her entanglement with ancient Rome—that is to say, it was written from a decidedly biased Roman perspective. Time and again, we

Cleopatra: The Early Years, and Her Status as a Goddess

Mary Naples
Mary Naples
February
21
/ 2025
AI image of an ancient Egyptian deity. Cleopatra was considered an Egyptian god.

Before apocryphally rolling out of the carpet and stepping into legend, Cleopatra (69 BC-30 BC) already had a storied past. The 21-year-old and her 13-year-old brother-husband Ptolemy XIII (62 BC-47 BC) ruled together for nearly two years before said brother, influenced by overly ambitious advisors, banished Cleopatra from Alexandria. 

Fulvia: The “Fourth” Triumvir

Mary Naples
Mary Naples
February
05
/ 2025
AI image of a bronze statue representing an empress of ancient Rome.

It has long been acknowledged that the more powerful a woman was in ancient Rome, the more she was condemned by ancient chroniclers. In a culture that expected women to be subservient and humble, assertiveness in the public sphere was considered improper and unseemly so it is no surprise that few women were more vilified than Fulvia (83 BC to 40 BC), the infamously spurned wife of Mark Antony.

“The First War Between Women”: Olympias and Adea Eurydice

AI image of mythological queen Hera.
Mary Naples
Mary Naples
November
15
/ 2024
The earth turned on its axis the day Alexander the Great (356-323 BCE) died. Notorious for his unrestrained aggressivity and hard drinking, it should have come as no surprise to the Greeks that Alexander the Great would not live to see old age. Yet when the warrior king died at the age of thirty-two, it left a power vacuum the likes of which the ancient world had never seen, resulting in widespread unrest and turmoil throughout Alexander’s vast empire. His son, Alexander IV, by Roxane, his first wife, was born posthumously; thus, at the time of Alexander’s death, his gender was unknown, and Alexander’s half-brother—Arrihidaeus—was cognitively impaired, therefore permanently considered a minor and his next closest male heir. Female Contenders