Poppaea Sabina
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Poppaea Sabina (died 65) was the second wife of the Roman Emperor Nero. She rates as one of the most infamous women of Ancient Rome.
Ambitious and ruthless, Poppaea was initially Nero's favourite mistress. Even as a mistress, she was hated and feared by many in Rome. It is said that Nero's mother Agrippina the Younger, saw the danger and tried to persuade Nero to get rid of her. This dispute over Poppaea was one of the reasons that saw Nero finally murder his mother. With Agrippina gone, Poppaea's influence over Nero became so great that due to the pressure she put on him, he divorced (and later executed) his first wife Octavia in order to marry Poppaea in 62AD. The new empress had many other unfortunates who challenged her power murdered or sent into exile. Nero's former tutor Seneca is thought to be among her victims. In some Church sources it is claimed that it was Poppaea and not Nero who instigated the persecutions against Christians, in order to cover up her murderous deeds.
She bore Nero one daughter, Claudia Augusta, who died at only four months old.
According to Suetonius, while she was awaiting the birth of her second child, she quarreled fiercely with Nero over his spending too much time at the games. In a fit of rage, Nero kicked her in the abdomen, so causing her death.
The opera L'Incoronazione di Poppea by Claudio Monteverdi concerns her life.