Today is Sunday, October 10th, 2021.

On this day in the year 19 CE, Roman general and heir to the throne, Germanicus, died of a mysterious illness.

The cause was believed to be poison, throwing the empire into chaos as political rivals rose and fell.

Welcome to Today in True Crime, a Spotify original from Parcast. Due to the graphic nature of this crime,

listener discretion is advised.

This episode includes discussions and depictions

of murder and suicide.

We advise extreme caution for children under 13.

Today, we're covering the death

and possible poisoning of the Roman general Germanicus.

Let's go back to Daphne near Antioch Syria in the year 19 CE. Germanicus was one of the greatest warriors in the Roman Empire.

Half the world feared his military prowess, while the other half had already been

conquered. But on that morning, the 33-year-old couldn't even muster the strength to speak.

Blue patches appeared all over his body, and he foamed at the mouth. Doctors tried everything

they knew against the strange disease. For a month

straight, Germanicus had been caught in a vicious cycle. He got ill, recovered, and then relapsed.

This time, the physicians knew he wouldn't be recovering again. For the past 24 hours, he'd remained in a coma. Just before that, his brothers in

arms and his wife, 32-year-old Agrippina, gathered around his sickbed. Swallowing between

painful breaths, Germanicus condemned those responsible for his sickness. He blamed Syria's governor, Pizzo, and his wife, Plankina.

Germanicus's men gripped his right hand as a solemn promise to seek vengeance.

The general then whispered into Agrippina's ear before losing the power to speak.

The following morning he gasped his last breath and perished.

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