Everything about it fascinated dreaming boys searching for love, adventure and madness, although she was considered one of the noblewomen of Rome, she found nothing to prevent her from taking advantage of the magic and beauty that nature endowed with her, so she made all her concern about collecting money by any means, to live a life of extravagance, luxury, adventure, and love, But all of that was limited to friends who supervised alone, there was only one of them who caught her attention, and she decided that he would be her husband, it was necessary for her to favor Otto, who was given all the prestige, all the power, all the experience, and all the money, and even more than that, as he was the close friend of Nero the Emperor. 

 The beauty of wife and the influence of husband

He was Otho who was brought by an old freed woman to accompany emperor Nero, one of the closest men to the young holder of the throne, who never minded that people whispered to him “the leader of thieves and tramps', In fact, Nero did not hesitate to sneak out of his palace under the cover of darkness, disguised as a slave or servant, surrounded by his friends whom he had gathered from the vagabonds, with all their boldness and noise, to engage in the depths of a night life of plunder and rob, filling the night with noise and terror. This ragtag group would move between hotspots and taverns, listening to Nero’s singing, and everyone would set out in the midst of what remained of the Rome night, full of secrets, sins, and shame, spreading songs for tramps and thieves and brandishing the sword in the face of anyone who tried to resist them. 

At first, Poppaea knew nothing of all that was going on, she was filled with confusion every night as she sat alone waiting for her husband, Otho, who spent all his day and much of the night in the company of his master, Nero. 

But when she learned many stories of the debauchery of the emperor, who never shied away from having all the women of Rome he admired - even if they were the wives of his best friends, she realized that she could one day be, through her husband, one of Nero's mistresses, but the day that idea filled her head, she determined not to have the Emperor just a mistress. 

“Popaea” began to move in her life in a path other than the one she had taken before, she retreated to her husband's palace, never leaving it without a thick mask on her face that hid her beauty from people and did not allow anyone to see them. 

The passage of days revealed that people were confused about the condition of that masked woman, many things were known about the Emperor's life in his palace and the conspiracies of the courtiers surrounding him in order to remove his powerful mother, Agrippina, who had sent away his first wife, Octavia, so that he could drown himself in love and whims so that she could be alone with matters of state. 

Betrayal in the name of loyalty

 

 Poppea's husband, Otho, who He was a Roman senator who served as governor of Lusitania from 58 to 62 AD. was not at all a careful boy, despite everything he knew about Nero's character, he used to let loose his tongue while in the ecstasy of wine, praising Poppea's beauty, charm, and great mind. 

Nero visited Poppea in the company of her husband for the first time, she faced him with her long sleeves and her mask pulled down except for her sparkling eyes, due to Nero's relationships with women were often complex and tumultuous, this was not an ordinary sight for a tyrant like Nero, he had witnessed the charms of every woman he wanted since the first meeting, so a desire flared up in him to uncover that hidden secret. 

Nero used to go to Poppea's house in the absence of her husband, and each time his passion increased, and the puzzle  before him became more mysterious.  

Nero got rid of Otho by ordering him to cut the arteries in his hand, Otho was unable to refuse, so he died immediately. 

When Nero set out for Poppaea's houde, he found her still standing against his will, and this time she gave a new reason:  Agrppina was still afraid of the emperor's mother the third wife of Claudius, she was a powerful and influential figure in Roman politics., and who controlled the palace and strengthened the support of his wife, the Empress Octavia.

He decided - in implementation of Poppaea's wish - to get rid of his mother. 

Nero went with his mother, who responded to him by offering to celebrate Minerva's feast with him on a beautiful island far from the coast, After the celebration ended, he did not forget to advise the captain of his ship that would transport the Empress to return to her palace located on Lake Locrin. 

Nero tried to kill his mother Agrine on that trip, but his attempt failed. 

His mother committed suicide after her attempt failed as a response to the assassination of her son Nero. 

Nero spread the news that his mother had tried to kill him to gain control of the throne, but when her plot was exposed, she chose to commit suicide. 

He declared mourning, Nero pretended to be sad and distressed before the people, but he seemed extremely happy as he rushed to throw himself into Poppaea's arms after killing his mother to please her. 

There was no one left except Octavia, Nero's wife, who lost her support with the death of his mother. Poppaea began to harass Nero's heart against the poor wife until he rejected her and banished her from the palace under the pretext of her sterility, and her entourage set up censors over her who counted her movements and movements, only then did the atmosphere clear for Poppea, and barely a few days passed until the royal wedding ceremonies were held, and Poppea Sabina became the Empress of Rome.