Laura Wright 
Ancient Rome could be a dangerous place, particularly among those closest to power.
Political rivals disappeared. Family members became threats. Succession to the imperial throne could transform relatives into enemies, and poison offered a particularly convenient way of eliminating an unwanted obstacle.
Among the people who prospered in this deadly environment was a woman named Locusta.
She became remembered as “Ancient Rome’s Most Accomplished Poisoner” and earned a reputation summarized by the Latin phrase multa scelerum fama, or a great reputation for crime.
By the time her career was finished, Locusta had become associated with some of the most powerful and notorious figures in imperial Rome.
From Gaul to Rome
Locusta is believed to have been born during the first century in Gaul, an area encompassing modern-day France.
According to tradition, she grew up in a household where considerable attention was given to herbs and other substances found in the natural world.
Locusta learned well.
By the time she reached Rome as an adult, she had become an expert in the properties of plants and other substances.
That knowledge gave her a valuable and deadly occupation.
Locusta began assisting Roman nobles with their “problems.”
And in the highest levels of Roman society, some problems could apparently be solved with poison.
Poisoning in Ancient Rome
Locusta was hardly operating in a society unfamiliar with poisoning.
During this period, 150 noble Roman women were reportedly convicted of poisoning.
Among Locusta’s powerful associates was Agrippina the Younger, fourth wife of Emperor Claudius.
Agrippina had a problem of her own.
That problem was her husband.
The Death of Emperor Claudius
Claudius, who lived from 10 BC until AD 54, became emperor following the murder of his nephew Caligula.
The question of who would eventually succeed him was enormously important.
Claudius had recently named Nero as his heir. Nero was Agrippina’s son, but nothing about imperial succession was necessarily secure.
Claudius had been married three other times and had other children.
Agrippina wanted to solidify her son’s claim.
According to the account, she turned to Locusta for a solution.
Locusta Provides the Poison
Locusta supplied Agrippina with a highly effective poison.
By AD 54, Claudius was dead.
Agrippina’s problem had been eliminated, and Nero’s path to power was considerably clearer.
But working for Rome’s elite did not make Locusta untouchable.
Eventually, her reputation caught up with her.
Condemned to Death
Locusta was arrested for supplying poison and condemned to death in AD 55.
Under ordinary circumstances, her career might have ended there.
But Emperor Nero learned of her predicament.
And Nero had a problem.
His name was Britannicus.
Nero’s Rival
Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus, who lived from AD 41 to AD 55, was the son of Claudius and his wife Valeria Messalina.
Nero regarded Britannicus as a rival and potential usurper.
Locusta, conveniently, was an expert poisoner awaiting execution.
Nero decided to make use of her particular talents.
Locusta prepared a poison intended to kill Britannicus.
It didn’t work.
Locusta’s First Attempt Fails
Nero was furious.
According to the account, the emperor physically beat Locusta for her failure.
She was given another opportunity.
This time, Locusta prepared a second concoction that was twice as strong as the first.
The second poison worked.
Britannicus was dead.
Locusta’s fortunes changed almost immediately.
Instead of facing execution, she was about to be rewarded.
Nero Rewards His Poisoner
Nero granted Locusta wealth, power, and an estate.
Her crimes were pardoned.
Even more remarkably, the emperor promised to establish a school where Locusta could teach others her recipes and techniques for poisoning.
The woman who had been condemned to death for supplying poison was now being rewarded by the emperor for doing precisely the same thing.
Under Nero’s protection, poisoning had transformed from a capital crime into a valuable imperial service.
But Locusta’s security depended upon the man protecting her.
And Nero would not rule forever.
The Death of Nero
Nero died in AD 68.
With his death, Locusta lost the protection that had kept her alive and prosperous.
The new emperor, Galba, had no reason to extend the same generosity toward Nero’s favored poisoner.
During Galba’s brief reign from AD 68 to 69, Locusta was once again condemned to death.
This time, there would be no emperor waiting to rescue her.
How Did Locusta Die?
Locusta’s execution eventually accumulated a particularly bizarre legend.
According to some later stories, she suffered a grotesque death involving a giraffe.
There is no basis for this claim in the ancient writings cited by the original article.
Locusta was most likely executed in a considerably more conventional manner, possibly by hanging or decapitation.
She died in AD 68.
Her knowledge largely died with her.
What Poisons Did Locusta Use?
For almost two thousand years, people have speculated about the ingredients Locusta used to produce her lethal mixtures.
Her exact formulas have been lost.
Some scholars have suggested aconite.
Others have proposed hemlock or poppy.
Still other theories involve animal-derived substances.
One particularly intriguing possibility is that Locusta incorporated poison obtained from toads into some of her mixtures.
Whatever her methods, they were apparently effective enough to make her name survive long after the emperors who employed her were gone.
The Mystery of Locusta
Very little survives to tell us who Locusta actually was.
We know the reputation.
We know the accusations.
We know her association with Agrippina, Claudius, Nero, and Britannicus.
And we know that knowledge of poisonous substances could elevate a condemned criminal into someone wealthy and valuable enough to receive imperial protection.
Then the emperor protecting her died.
Locusta’s usefulness became a liability.
She was condemned once again, and this time she did not escape.
Her formulas disappeared with her.
Nearly two thousand years later, historians can still speculate about the plants, minerals, and animal substances she may have employed.
But the recipes of Ancient Rome’s most notorious poisoner remain lost.
And Locusta remains almost as mysterious today as she was in antiquity.
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