Valeria Messalina- whose name would be become synonymous with promiscuity and wanton womanhood- probably suffered from bad press. As most of the historical sources we have were written many years after she lived from universally hostile sources. Notorious for her sexual proclivity- Messalina was the third wife to the Emperor Claudius- who succeeded to the throne following the assasination of his nephew- the also much maligned Gaius Julius Caeser- Caligula. Messalina used her position as Empress to remove obtacles to her power- like the odd senator or neice of the Emperor. Her downfall in 48 CE was allegedly after marrying a rival senator- who had designs on the throne. Subsequently she was condemned to death a following her demise was subject to a damnatio memoriae - all mention of her in public records being removed- airbrushed from history. Or in this case more like being chipped out of history or public monuments. This obviously did not work as we are still talking about her today. My portrait involves a lot of help from Sickleyield who has furnished Valeria with a imperial robes and leafy crown business. Messalina was probably about 30 years old when she was executed- her husband being about 30 years her senior more or less.