Aelia Paetina or Paetina was the second wife of the Roman Emperor Claudius

Claudius

Claudius , was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy...

. Her biological father was consul of 4, Sextus Aelius Catus

Sextus Aelius Catus

Sextius Aelius Catus was father of Aelia Paetina, second wife of the emperor Claudius from 28 AD to about 31 AD . His only known grandchild was Aelia and Claudius's daughter Claudia Antonia, born in 30.Sextus Aelius Catus was possibly descended from Sextus Aelius Q.f...

 while her mother is unknown. She was born into the family of the Aelii

Aelia (gens)

The gens Aelia, occasionally written Ailia, was a plebeian family at Rome, which flourished from the 5th century BC until at least the 3rd century AD, a period of nearly eight hundred years. The archaic spelling Ailia is found on coins, but must not be confused with Allia, which seems to be a...

 Tuberones, and thus apparently descended from the consul of 11 BC. Her father may have died when she was very young, as she was raised by her relative Praetorian Guard

Praetorian Guard

The Praetorian Guard was a force of bodyguards used by Roman Emperors. The title was already used during the Roman Republic for the guards of Roman generals, at least since the rise to prominence of the Scipio family around 275 BC...

 Prefect Lucius Seius Strabo

Lucius Seius Strabo

Lucius Seius Strabo or Lucius Aelius Strabo was a prefect of the Roman imperial bodyguard, known as the Praetorian Guard, during the rule of the emperors Augustus and Tiberius. The length of Strabo's tenure as Praetorian prefect is unknown, but he held the position together with various colleagues...

, the biological father of her adoptive brother (if not relative) Lucius Aelius Sejanus

Sejanus

Lucius Aelius Seianus , commonly known as Sejanus, was an ambitious soldier, friend and confidant of the Roman Emperor Tiberius...

, commander of the Praetorian Guard

Praetorian Guard

The Praetorian Guard was a force of bodyguards used by Roman Emperors. The title was already used during the Roman Republic for the guards of Roman generals, at least since the rise to prominence of the Scipio family around 275 BC...

 under the Emperor Tiberius

Tiberius

Tiberius , was Roman Emperor from 14 AD to 37 AD. Tiberius was by birth a Claudian, son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla. His mother divorced Nero and married Augustus in 39 BC, making him a step-son of Octavian...

.

Aelia Paetina married the future Roman Emperor

Roman Emperor

The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...

 Claudius

Claudius

Claudius , was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy...

 in 28, as his second wife. Their only child was their daughter Claudia Antonia

Claudia Antonia

Claudia Antonia was the daughter of the Roman Emperor Claudius and his second wife Aelia Paetina...

, born in 30. Claudius divorced Paetina after October 31, when her adoptive brother fell from power and was murdered. According to Suetonius

Suetonius

Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, commonly known as Suetonius , was a Roman historian belonging to the equestrian order in the early Imperial era....

, Claudius divorced Paetina for slight offenses.

In 48, after the execution of Roman Empress and Claudius’ third wife Valeria Messalina, Claudius considered remarrying for the fourth time. Claudius’ freedman

Freedman

A freedman is a former slave who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, slaves became freedmen either by manumission or emancipation ....

 Tiberius Claudius Narcissus

Tiberius Claudius Narcissus

Tiberius Claudius Narcissus was one of the freedmen who formed the core of the imperial court under the Roman emperor Claudius. He is described as praepositus ab epistulis ....

 supported a remarriage to Paetina. He suggested to Claudius to remarry her and reminded him they had a child together. Narcissus also stated that Paetina would cherish Antonia in addition to Claudia Octavia

Claudia Octavia

Claudia Octavia was an Empress of Rome. She was a great-niece of the Emperor Tiberius, paternal first cousin of the Emperor Caligula, daughter of the Emperor Claudius, and stepsister and first wife of the Emperor Nero...

 and Britannicus

Britannicus

Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus was the son of the Roman emperor Claudius and his third wife Valeria Messalina. He became the heir-designate of the empire at his birth, less than a month into his father's reign. He was still a young boy at the time of his mother's downfall and Claudius'...

. Claudia Octavia and Britannicus were Claudius’ children with Messalina.

But another freedman, Gaius Julius Callistus

Gaius Julius Callistus

Gaius Julius Callistus was a Greek imperial freedman during the reigns of Roman Emperors Caligula and Claudius. Callistus was originally a freedman of Caligula, and was given great authority during his reign, which he used to amass even greater wealth...

, was against Claudius remarrying Paetina and stated to Claudius that he divorced her before; Callistus said that remarrying Paetina would make her more arrogant. Callistus suggested Lollia Paulina

Lollia Paulina

Lollia Paulina was a noble Roman woman who lived in the 1st century, and for six months in AD 38 was a Roman Empress as the third wife of the Emperor Caligula.-Life:...

, Caligula

Caligula

Caligula , also known as Gaius, was Roman Emperor from 37 AD to 41 AD. Caligula was a member of the house of rulers conventionally known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Caligula's father Germanicus, the nephew and adopted son of Emperor Tiberius, was a very successful general and one of Rome's most...

's third wife.

The third freedman, Marcus Antonius Pallas

Pallas (freedman)

Marcus Antonius Pallas was a prominent Greek freedman and secretary during the reigns of the Roman Emperors Claudius and Nero. His younger brother was Marcus Antonius Felix, a procurator of Iudaea Province...

, recommended Claudius' niece and Caligula's sister Agrippina the Younger

Agrippina the Younger

Julia Agrippina, most commonly referred to as Agrippina Minor or Agrippina the Younger, and after 50 known as Julia Augusta Agrippina was a Roman Empress and one of the more prominent women in the Julio-Claudian dynasty...

, who also had a child from a previous marriage, in this case, the future Emperor Nero

Nero

Nero , was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death....

. Agrippina was chosen, with dire implications for Antonia, Octavia, and Britannicus. Paetina's daughter Antonia was executed in AD 65 or AD 66, shortly after the death of Nero's second wife Poppaea Sabina

Poppaea Sabina

Poppaea Sabina and sometimes referred to as Poppaea Sabina the Younger to differentiate her from her mother of the same name, was a Roman Empress as the second wife of the Emperor Nero. Prior to this she was the wife of the future Emperor Otho...

.