Roman Empress Meets Modern Temptress: Cinema’s Fascination with Rome’s Leading Ladies

From its conception, cinema has been captivated by the morally corrupt and corrupting women of ancient Rome – especially Messalina, Agrippina the Younger, and Poppaea Sabina. In the midst of the political shift from republic to empire, ancient authors carefully constructed images of these empresses to negotiate their place in the new political economy, using them as narrative tools to emphasise the traits of the emperor and to imply an intimate knowledge of the imperial family. The impressions they created lasted well into the twentieth century and allowed filmmakers to repeat these patterns for their own purposes.

Rome’s empresses quickly became cinema’s go-to temptresses with ancient images laying the foundation for a new evolution of the ever-popular cinematic vamp. This paper will examine the intersection of ancient empress and modern vamp, exploring the contexts of their construction, their enduring appeal, and their capacity to both satisfy and ultimately challenge their audiences.

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