The Random Digressions of Drusus Germanicus

However, Claudius singles out Asiaticus for special damnation in his speech on the Gauls, which dates over a year later, suggesting that the charge must have been much more serious. Asiaticus had been a claimant to the throne in the chaos following Caligula's death and a co-consul with the Titus Statilius Taurus Corvinus mentioned above. Most of these conspiracies took place before Claudius' term as Censor , and may have induced him to review the Senatorial rolls.

The Annals (Tacitus)/Book 4

The conspiracy of Gaius Silius in the year after his Censorship, 48, is detailed in the section discussing Claudius' third wife, Messalina. Suetonius states that a total of 35 senators and knights were executed for offenses during Claudius' reign. Claudius was hardly the first emperor to use freedmen to help with the day-to-day running of the Empire. He was, however, forced to increase their role as the powers of the princeps became more centralized and the burden larger.

This was partly due to the ongoing hostility of the Senate, as mentioned above, but also due to his respect for the senators. Claudius did not want free-born magistrates to have to serve under him, as if they were not peers. The secretariat was divided into bureaus, with each being placed under the leadership of one freedman. Narcissus was the secretary of correspondence.

Pallas became the secretary of the treasury. Callistus became secretary of justice. There was a fourth bureau for miscellaneous issues, which was put under Polybius until his execution for treason. The freedmen could also officially speak for the Emperor, as when Narcissus addressed the troops in Claudius' stead before the conquest of Britain. Since these were important positions, the senators were aghast at their being placed in the hands of former slaves.

If freedmen had total control of money, letters, and law, it seemed it would not be hard for them to manipulate the Emperor.

I, Claudius - Wikipedia

This is exactly the accusation put forth by the ancient sources. However, these same sources admit that the freedmen were loyal to Claudius. He was similarly appreciative of them and gave them due credit for policies where he had used their advice. However, if they showed treasonous inclinations, the Emperor did punish them with just force, as in the case of Polybius and Pallas' brother, Felix. There is no evidence that the character of Claudius' policies and edicts changed with the rise and fall of the various freedmen, suggesting that he was firmly in control throughout.

Regardless of the extent of their political power, the freedmen did manage to amass wealth through their positions. Pliny the Elder notes that several of them were richer than Crassus , the richest man of the Republican era. Claudius, as the author of a treatise on Augustus' religious reforms, felt himself in a good position to institute some of his own.

He had strong opinions about the proper form for state religion. He refused the request of Alexandrian Greeks to dedicate a temple to his divinity, saying that only gods may choose new gods. He restored lost days to festivals and got rid of many extraneous celebrations added by Caligula. He re-instituted old observances and archaic language.

Claudius was concerned with the spread of eastern mysteries within the city and searched for more Roman replacements. He emphasized the Eleusinian mysteries which had been practiced by so many during the Republic. He expelled foreign astrologers, and at the same time rehabilitated the old Roman soothsayers known as haruspices as a replacement. He was especially hard on Druidism , because of its incompatibility with the Roman state religion and its proselytizing activities.

Claudius forbade proselytizing in any religion, even in those regions where he allowed natives to worship freely. It is also reported that at one time he expelled the Jews from Rome, probably because the Jews within the city caused continuous disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus. According to Suetonius, Claudius was extraordinarily fond of games. He is said to have risen with the crowd after gladiatorial matches and given unrestrained praise to the fighters. Soon after coming into power, Claudius instituted games to be held in honor of his father on the latter's birthday. Claudius organised a performance of the Secular Games , marking the th anniversary of the founding of Rome.

Augustus had performed the same games less than a century prior. Augustus' excuse was that the interval for the games was years, not , but his date actually did not qualify under either reasoning.

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At Ostia, in front of a crowd of spectators, Claudius fought a killer whale which was trapped in the harbour. The event was witnessed by Pliny the Elder:. A killer whale was actually seen in the harbour of Ostia, locked in combat with the emperor Claudius. She had come when he was completing the construction of the harbour, drawn there by the wreck of a ship bringing leather hides from Gaul, and feeding there over a number of days, had made a furrow in the shallows: The Emperor ordered that a large array of nets be stretched across the mouths of the harbour, and setting out in person with the Praetorian cohorts gave a show to the Roman people, soldiers showering lances from attacking ships, one of which I saw swamped by the beast's waterspout and sunk.

Claudius also restored and adorned many public venues in Rome. At the Circus Maximus , the turning posts and starting stalls were replaced in marble and embellished, and an embankment was probably added to prevent flooding of the track. Suetonius and the other ancient authors accused Claudius of being dominated by women and wives, and of being a womanizer. Claudius married four times, after two failed betrothals. The first betrothal was to his distant cousin Aemilia Lepida , but was broken for political reasons.

The second was to Livia Medullina , which ended with Medullina's sudden death on their wedding day. Plautia Urgulanilla was the granddaughter of Livia's confidant Urgulania. During their marriage she gave birth to a son, Claudius Drusus. Drusus died of asphyxiation in his early teens, shortly after becoming engaged to Junilla, the daughter of Sejanus. Claudius later divorced Urgulanilla for adultery and on suspicion of murdering her sister-in-law Apronia.

When Urgulanilla gave birth after the divorce, Claudius repudiated the baby girl, Claudia, as the father was allegedly one of his own freedmen.

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This action made him later the target of criticism by his enemies. Soon after possibly in 28 , Claudius married Aelia Paetina , a relative of Sejanus, if not Sejanus's adoptive sister. During their marriage, Claudius and Paetina had a daughter, Claudia Antonia. He later divorced her after the marriage became a political liability, although Leon suggests it may have been due to emotional and mental abuse by Paetina. Some years after divorcing Aelia Paetina, in 38 or early 39, Claudius married Valeria Messalina , who was his first cousin once removed and closely allied with Caligula's circle.

Shortly thereafter, she gave birth to a daughter, Claudia Octavia. A son, first named Tiberius Claudius Germanicus, and later known as Britannicus , was born just after Claudius' accession. This marriage ended in tragedy. The ancient historians allege that Messalina was a nymphomaniac who was regularly unfaithful to Claudius— Tacitus states she went so far as to compete with a prostitute to see who could have the most sexual partners in a night [43] —and manipulated his policies in order to amass wealth.

Sources disagree as to whether or not she divorced the Emperor first, and whether the intention was to usurp the throne. Under Roman law, the spouse needed to be informed that he or she had been divorced before a new marriage could take place; the sources state that Claudius was in total ignorance until after the marriage.

Claudius did marry once more. The ancient sources tell that his freedmen put forward three candidates, Caligula 's third wife Lollia Paulina , Claudius's divorced second wife Aelia Paetina and Claudius's niece Agrippina the Younger. According to Suetonius, Agrippina won out through her feminine wiles. The truth is probably more political. This weakness was compounded by the fact that he did not yet have an obvious adult heir, Britannicus being just a boy. Agrippina was one of the few remaining descendants of Augustus, and her son Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus the future Emperor Nero was one of the last males of the Imperial family.

Coup attempts could rally around the pair and Agrippina was already showing such ambition. It has been suggested that the Senate may have pushed for the marriage, to end the feud between the Julian and Claudian branches. In any case, Claudius accepted Agrippina and later adopted the newly mature Nero as his son. Nero was married to Claudius' daughter Octavia, made joint heir with the underage Britannicus , and promoted; Augustus had similarly named his grandson Postumus Agrippa and his stepson Tiberius as joint heirs, [50] and Tiberius had named Caligula joint heir with his grandson Tiberius Gemellus.

Adoption of adults or near adults was an old tradition in Rome, when a suitable natural adult heir was unavailable as was the case during Britannicus' minority. Claudius may have previously looked to adopt one of his sons-in-law to protect his own reign. Besides which, he was the half-brother of Valeria Messalina and at this time those wounds were still fresh.

Nero was more popular with the general public as the grandson of Germanicus and the direct descendant of Augustus. The historian Suetonius describes the physical manifestations of Claudius' affliction in relatively good detail. He stammered and his speech was confused. He slobbered and his nose ran when he was excited. The Stoic Seneca states in his Apocolocyntosis that Claudius' voice belonged to no land animal, and that his hands were weak as well. However, he showed no physical deformity, as Suetonius notes that when calm and seated he was a tall, well-built figure of dignitas.

Historians agree that this condition improved upon his accession to the throne. Modern assessments of his health have changed several times in the past century. Prior to World War II , infantile paralysis or polio was widely accepted as the cause. This is the diagnosis used in Robert Graves ' Claudius novels , first published in the s. Polio does not explain many of the described symptoms, however, and a more recent theory implicates cerebral palsy as the cause, as outlined by Ernestine Leon.

As a person, ancient historians described Claudius as generous and lowbrow, a man who sometimes lunched with the plebeians. Claudius' extant works present a different view, painting a picture of an intelligent, scholarly, well-read, and conscientious administrator with an eye to detail and justice. Thus, Claudius becomes an enigma.

Since the discovery of his " Letter to the Alexandrians " in the last century, much work has been done to rehabilitate Claudius and determine where the truth lies. Claudius wrote copiously throughout his life. The trend among the young historians was to either write about the new empire or obscure antiquarian subjects.

Claudius was the rare scholar who covered both. Besides the history of Augustus' reign that caused him so much grief, his major works included Tyrrhenica , a twenty-book Etruscan history, and Carchedonica , an eight-volume history of Carthage , [64] as well as an Etruscan dictionary. He also wrote a book on dice-playing. Despite the general avoidance of the Republican era, he penned a defense of Cicero against the charges of Asinius Gallus. Modern historians have used this to determine the nature of his politics and of the aborted chapters of his civil war history.

He proposed a reform of the Latin alphabet by the addition of three new letters , two of which served the function of the modern letters W and Y. He officially instituted the change during his censorship but they did not survive his reign. Claudius also tried to revive the old custom of putting dots between successive words Classical Latin was written with no spacing.

Finally, he wrote an eight-volume autobiography that Suetonius describes as lacking in taste. None of the works survive but live on as sources for the surviving histories of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Suetonius quotes Claudius' autobiography once and must have used it as a source numerous times. Tacitus uses Claudius' arguments for the orthographical innovations mentioned above and may have used him for some of the more antiquarian passages in his annals. Claudius is the source for numerous passages of Pliny's Natural History.

The influence of historical study on Claudius is obvious. In his speech on Gallic senators, he uses a version of the founding of Rome identical to that of Livy, his tutor in adolescence. The speech is meticulous in details, a common mark of all his extant works, and he goes into long digressions on related matters. This indicates a deep knowledge of a variety of historical subjects that he could not help but share.

Many of the public works instituted in his reign were based on plans first suggested by Julius Caesar. Levick believes this emulation of Caesar may have spread to all aspects of his policies. His censorship seems to have been based on those of his ancestors, particularly Appius Claudius Caecus , and he used the office to put into place many policies based on those of Republican times.

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This is when many of his religious reforms took effect, and his building efforts greatly increased during his tenure. In fact, his assumption of the office of Censor may have been motivated by a desire to see his academic labors bear fruit. For example, he believed as most Romans did that his ancestor Appius Claudius Caecus had used the censorship to introduce the letter "R" [69] and so used his own term to introduce his new letters. The consensus of ancient historians was that Claudius was murdered by poison—possibly contained in mushrooms or on a feather—and died in the early hours of 13 October 54 AD.

Nearly all implicate his final wife, Agrippina , as the instigator. Agrippina and Claudius had become more combative in the months leading up to his death. This carried on to the point where Claudius openly lamented his bad wives, and began to comment on Britannicus' approaching manhood with an eye towards restoring his status within the imperial family. Some implicate either his taster Halotus , his doctor Xenophon , or the infamous poisoner Locusta as the administrator of the fatal substance. In modern times, some authors have cast doubt on whether Claudius was murdered or merely succumbed to illness or old age.

Already, while alive, he received the widespread private worship of a living Princeps [77] and was worshipped in Britannia in his own temple in Camulodunum. Claudius was deified by Nero and the Senate almost immediately. Many of Claudius' less solid supporters quickly became Nero's men. Claudius' will had been changed shortly before his death to either recommend Nero and Britannicus jointly or perhaps just Britannicus, who would have been considered an adult man according to Roman law only a few months later. Agrippina had sent away Narcissus shortly before Claudius' death, and now murdered the freedman.

The last act of this secretary of letters was to burn all of Claudius' correspondence—most likely so it could not be used against him and others in an already hostile new regime. Thus Claudius' private words about his own policies and motives were lost to history. Just as Claudius had criticized his predecessors in official edicts see below , Nero often criticized the deceased Emperor and many of Claudius' laws and edicts were disregarded under the reasoning that he was too stupid and senile to have meant them.

Seneca 's Apocolocyntosis mocks the deification of Claudius and reinforces the view of Claudius as an unpleasant fool; this remained the official view for the duration of Nero's reign. Eventually Nero stopped referring to his deified adoptive father at all, and realigned with his birth family. Claudius' temple was left unfinished after only some of the foundation had been laid down. Eventually the site was overtaken by Nero's Golden House. The Flavians , who had risen to prominence under Claudius, took a different tack.

They were in a position where they needed to shore up their legitimacy, but also justify the fall of the Julio-Claudians.

4. Commentary

They reached back to Claudius in contrast with Nero, to show that they were good associated with good. Commemorative coins were issued of Claudius and his son Britannicus , who had been a friend of the Emperor Titus Titus was born in 39, Britannicus was born in However, as the Flavians became established, they needed to emphasize their own credentials more, and their references to Claudius ceased.

Instead, he was lumped with the other emperors of the fallen dynasty. His state cult in Rome probably continued until the abolition of all such cults of dead Emperors by Maximinus Thrax in — The main ancient historians Tacitus , Suetonius , and Cassius Dio all wrote after the last of the Flavians had gone. All three were senators or equites. They took the side of the Senate in most conflicts with the Princeps, invariably viewing him as being in the wrong. This resulted in biases, both conscious and unconscious.

Suetonius lost access to the official archives shortly after beginning his work. He was forced to rely on second-hand accounts when it came to Claudius with the exception of Augustus' letters, which had been gathered earlier. Suetonius painted Claudius as a ridiculous figure, belittling many of his acts and attributing the objectively good works to his retinue. Tacitus wrote a narrative for his fellow senators and fitted each of the emperors into a simple mold of his choosing.

During his censorship of Tacitus allows the reader a glimpse of a Claudius who is more statesmanlike XI. Tacitus is usually held to have 'hidden' his use of Claudius' writings and to have omitted Claudius' character from his works. Dio was less biased, but seems to have used Suetonius and Tacitus as sources. Thus the conception of Claudius as the weak fool, controlled by those he supposedly ruled, was preserved for the ages. As time passed, Claudius was mostly forgotten outside of the historians' accounts.

His books were lost first, as their antiquarian subjects became unfashionable. In the 2nd century, Pertinax , who shared his birthday, became emperor, overshadowing commemoration of Claudius. In literature, Claudius and his contemporaries appear in the historical novel The Roman by Mika Waltari. Canadian-born science fiction writer A. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. For other people named Claudius, see Claudius disambiguation.

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. October Learn how and when to remove this template message. Reverse of Claudius' denarius with "S C" meaning " Senatus consultum ". Claudius' expulsion of Jews from Rome. Ancestors of Claudius 8.

Drusus Claudius Nero I 4. Tiberius Claudius Nero 9. Nero Claudius Drusus Marcus Livius Drusus Claudianus 5. Marcus Antonius Orator Marcus Antonius Creticus 6. Atia Balba Caesonia Suhr suggests that this must refer to before Claudius came to power. The Royal Titulary of Ancient Egypt. Retrieved March 12, British Museum Online Collection. Retrieved 26 February Hogarth, in Momigliano It is reported by Suetonius and in Acts Some scholars hold that it didn't happen, while others have only a few missionaries expelled for the short term.

LXI 31, and Pliny Nat. A Treasure of Royal Scandals , p. Penguin Books, New York. XII 6, 7; Suet. See also Scramuzza p. Retrieved 24 June The Case of Claudius Caesar". Journal of the History of the Neurosciences. LX 2, 5, 12, He argues that, depending on their focus, humor theories can be grouped under these categories: So it's not surprising that "Customs " is now out of date; see What is Customs ?

It's a safe bet that further updates are in the offing. I won't try to give specific acknowledgments here, but colleagues will notice that I have been paying attention to them when they have been telling amusing stories epub. The nonpractical attitude in humor would not be beneficial, of course, if I were in imminent danger. When immediate action is called for, humor is no substitute. One of his major activities seems to have been playing with children.

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So ask your librarians for more suggestions. All men are idiots, and I married their King. Work is for people who don't know how to fish. I didn't fight my way to the top of the food chain to be a vegetarian epub. She cannot cash her check since her husband cannot endorse it. She has called and written many times over the last few months, simply asking that the check be reissued in her name only.

They have agreed to take it for consideration. Months later they are still considering it. He is not flexible enough to adapt himself to the complex and changing demands of reality. As a typical example of comic rigidity, Bergson cites the story of the customs officers who went bravely to the rescue of the crew of a wrecked ship pdf.

Sometimes I wake up grumpy; Other times I let him sleep. I didn't fight my way to the top of the food chain to be a vegetarian Traveler read epub. Johan Huizinga's Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play-Element in Culture defined the human condition in terms of play, an activity closely related to humor, and inspired many in their reflections on the importance of humor , source: Definitions of Wit and Humor: Wit can be defined as keen intelligence or else a natural talent for using words and ideas in quick, amusing ways , cited: A Novel The Mathematician's Shiva: Other pieces may require more context to be fully appreciated, such as the multiple examples of caricature and political cartoons that reference a specific historical phenomenon, such as Sue Coe's Thank You America The Mark and the Void http: