[33] Agrippina was innocent of the death of Britannicus. The simple pyre had been prepared before and the corpse was consumed that very night in the midst of a sudden tempest.
[34] The sympathy of the people was with Britannicus. The superiority of natural over legal descent seems to have been generally acknowledged.
[35] Poppaea who became Nero’s wife in 62 A.D.
[36] Acte, the favorite concubine of Nero. Originally a slave from Asia Minor, after Nero’s infatuation she was claimed to be a descendant of King Attalus and at one time he even thought of marrying her. See Quo Vadis.
[37] Leda bore by Jupiter, who visited her in the form of a swan, two eggs from one of which came Pollux and Helen and from the other Castor and Clytemnestra.
[38] Europa was carried off to Crete by Jupiter in the form of a bull.
[39] Danae was mother of Perseus by Jupiter who visited her in the form of a shower of gold.
[40] Bacchus, god of wine, son of Jupiter and Semele.
[41] Hercules, son of Jupiter and Alcmena, was pursued by Juno’s hatred.
[42] Hebe was daughter of Juno, cupbearer to the gods, and wife of Hercules after his deification.
[43] After Nero’s adoption by Claudius, he became Octavia’s brother.
[46] The appearance of a comet was considered a herald of misfortune. A comet appeared at this time and was generally supposed to portend the fall of the reigning prince.
[47] In 63, a comet, great tempests, pestilence, the partial destruction of Pompei by an earthquake, and the news of the evacuation of Armenia by the Roman legions seemed to confirm the belief that the blessing of the gods was no longer with the emperor.
[48] Typhon was the youngest son of Tartarus and Tellus who was angry at Jupiter’s giving birth to Minerva. Typhon was a monster with one hundred heads, fearful eyes, and terrible voices, who wished to obtain dominion over gods and men but was subdued by Jupiter.
[50] The Domitian gens was noted for its cruelty.
[51] Tacitus affirms that Messalina was actually married with the most formal ceremonies to her lover, Caius Silius, during the lifetime of Claudius, her lawful husband.
[53] Sextus, son of Tarquinius committed an outrage upon Lucretia who, after informing her husband Collatinus and father Lucretius, stabbed herself. The people then arose and drove out the Tarquins.