What Actually Happens
Setting the scene: It's a beautiful starry night with a calm sea. noctem sideribus inlustrem et placido mari quietam quasi convincendum ad scelus dii praebuere - "the gods provided a night bright with stars and a calm, quiet sea as if to convict them of the crime." Tacitus is being sarcastic here - the perfect conditions make it obvious this wasn't a real shipwreck. If the sea's totally calm, how did the ship sink?
Who's on board:
- Agrippina - reclining on a couch
- Crepereius Gallus - standing near the helm/steering
- Acerronia - lying at Agrippina's feet, chatting away about how lovely it is that Nero's forgiven his mum (paenitentiam filii et reciperatam matris gratiam per gaudium memorabat). Poor Acerronia has NO IDEA what's about to happen.
💥 THE ATTACK HAPPENS
dato signo ruere tectum loci multo plumbo grave - "at the given signal, the roof of the cabin, weighted with a lot of lead, collapses." This is the collapsible ship Anicetus designed back in Chapter 3.
Crepereius: crushed instantly, dead. pressusque Crepereius et statim exanimatus est - no messing about, just bang, gone.
Agrippina and Acerronia: SAVED by the raised sides of their couch! eminentibus lecti parietibus ac forte validioribus quam ut oneri cederent protectae sunt - the couch walls were higher and stronger than expected. Anicetus's plan is already failing.
Problem: The ship isn't sinking. nec dissolutio navigii sequebatur - "the breaking apart of the ship didn't follow." Everyone's in chaos - some rowers are in on the plot (conscios) but others aren't (ignari), and they're literally working against each other.
Plan B: The rowers try to tip the ship by all leaning to one side. But other rowers push back the opposite way (alii contra nitentes), so that doesn't work either. The whole thing is a shambles.
⚔️ ACERRONIA'S FATAL MISTAKE
In a panic, Acerronia shouts: "se Agrippinam esse utque subveniretur matri principis clamitat" - "I'M AGRIPPINA! HELP THE EMPEROR'S MOTHER!"
BAD MOVE. The assassins beat her to death with oars, boat hooks, and whatever else is lying around: contis et remis et quae fors obtulerat navalibus telis conficitur.
Agrippina: Stays SILENT (silens) and therefore isn't recognised (eoque minus adgnita). Smart mum, stupid friend.
The escape: Agrippina takes one wound to the shoulder (unum tamen vulnus umero excepit), then swims away. She's picked up by fishing boats (occursu lenunculorum) and taken to her villa on Lake Lucrinus.
✅ Result: Anicetus's plan has COMPLETELY FAILED. Agrippina's alive, she's got evidence (the wound), and she definitely knows it wasn't an accident now. Nero's in deep trouble.
Key Themes
Divine Irony
Perfect conditions = obvious it's not natural. Gods "providing" evidence against them.
Intelligence vs Stupidity
Agrippina: silent, escapes. Acerronia: shouts, dies.
The Plan Fails
Ship doesn't break, rowers confused, everything goes wrong.
Dramatic Irony
Acerronia thinks reconciliation is real. We know it's murder.
Visual/Cinematic Quality
This chapter is basically a film scene:
- Opening shot: Beautiful starry night, calm sea (establishing shot)
- The attack: Sudden violence, roof collapsing, instant death
- The chaos: Ship not sinking, rowers pushing different directions
- The murder: Acerronia beaten with oars and poles - brutal
- The escape: Agrippina swimming in the dark
- Closing shot: Fishing boats, the rescue, the villa
Tacitus structures it like a screenplay - we can SEE everything happening. The pacing is perfect: calm → violence → chaos → escape. This is what makes him such a great narrative historian.
Structural Importance
This is the CLIMAX of the assassination attempt
- Chapters 1-4: Build-up, planning, the trap
- Chapter 5: THE ATTEMPT - maximum action
- Chapter 6: Agrippina's response
- Chapters 7-8: Nero's panic and the final murder
This chapter turns everything. The plan fails. Now Nero HAS to finish the job because Agrippina knows. There's no going back.
Connections
⬅️ Ch. 3: Anicetus promised nihil tam capax fortuitorum quam mare (nothing looks more accidental than the sea). WRONG.
➡️ Ch. 6: The ship breaking summa sui parte (at the top) proves to Agrippina it was terrestre machinamentum (a contraption).
Key Contrasts
| Agrippina | Acerronia |
|---|---|
| silens (silent) | clamitat (keeps shouting) |
| Thinks quickly | imprudentia (stupidity) |
| Not recognised | Pretends to be Agrippina |
| Escapes | Dies horribly |
Tacitus shows that survival in this world requires intelligence AND silence. Noise = death.
Style 1: Sarcastic Opening
noctem sideribus inlustrem et placido mari quietam quasi convincendum ad scelus dii praebuere"the gods provided a night bright with stars and a calm, quiet sea as if to convict them of the crime"
Effect:The quasi makes it sarcastic - AS IF the gods are deliberately setting the scene. The perfect conditions will actually PROVE it wasn't an accident. If the sea's dead calm, how did the ship sink? Divine irony.
Style 2: Short Brutal Clause
pressusque Crepereius et statim exanimatus est"and Crepereius was crushed and instantly killed"
Effect:Two facts, no emotion. Crushed. Dead. Done. The brevity mirrors the suddenness of his death. Tacitus doesn't waste words because Crepereius didn't have time - roof fell, he died, next.
Style 3: Polysyndeton (Lots of "ands")
contis et remis et quae fors obtulerat navalibus telis conficitur"she is killed with boat-hooks and oars and whatever naval weapons chance had provided"
Effect:The repeated et... et... et creates a relentless battering. They're hitting her with EVERYTHING - boat hooks AND oars AND whatever else is lying around. Brutal, chaotic, overwhelming.
Style 4: Contrast Through Single Words
silens eoque minus adgnita"silent and therefore less recognised"
Effect:Tacitus makes the causal connection explicit with eoque (and therefore) - her silence is PRECISELY why she isn't recognised. One word characterises Agrippina (silent), one word explains the result. Maximum efficiency.
Style 5: Characterisation via Reported Speech
paenitentiam filii et reciperatam matris gratiam per gaudium memorabat"she was mentioning through her joy the son's change of heart and the mother's recovered favour"
Effect:We hear Acerronia's naive optimism just before she dies - maximum pathos. The phrase per gaudium (through joy) emphasises how happy she is. This makes her death more shocking and shows how complete Nero's deception was.
Style 6: Damning Single Word
imprudentia"through stupidity/lack of foresight"
Effect:One word = Tacitus's verdict on Acerronia. She didn't think it through. Agrippina would NEVER make such an amateur mistake. That's the difference between survival and death.
Exam-Style Questions
- How does Tacitus create tension and drama in this chapter?
- What does this passage reveal about Agrippina's character?
- How does Tacitus present the role of fate/the gods?