The third wife of Emperor Claudius, Valeria Messalina, was a nymphomaniac. According to Roman historians, she once decided to compete with a professional prostitute. The women were to confirm who would be able to hold more lovers in one night. It is said that Messalina, who made love with 150 men, was to win.
Interestingly, this disgraceful act did not lead the empress to her death. She poured out the scales of bitterness by concluding a formal wedding with senator Gaius Silius in 48 CE. The emperor eventually sentenced her to death.
