Roman Emperor Caligul A Case Of True Misfortune

The emphasis accorded these contingencies of physiognomy and the resolute refusal of any concession to our - or, so it would appear, antiquity’s - ideas of desirable physical appearance lead one easily to the conclusion that those portraits are uncompromising attempts to transcribe into plastic form the reality of what is seen, innocent of any “idealization” or programmatic bias. These are the portraits of the conservative nobility (and of their middle-class emulators) (luring the death-agonies of the Roman republic. There is no need to doubt that much of their character refers to quite real qualities of their subjects. These are men in later life because the carefully prescribed ladder of public office normally allowed those who followed it to attain only gradually and after many years to such eminence as would allow the signal honor of a public statue. One may well suppose that these hard-bitten and rather unimaginative faces closely reflect the prevailing temperament of the class and society to which they belong, and the twisted and

In the early first century AD, the Roman Empire was subject to autocratic rule and the old Republic was long dead. Augustus had been ruling for forty years and most of that time he was loved and praised by the Senate and the people of Rome. Throughout his reign, Augustus had the one lingering problem of finding a successor to take over the role of Emperor. He had chosen 3 different heirs in his time of rule; however, they all passed before they had the chance to inherit Augustus’ esteemed power. His fourth choice, Tiberius, was the one to succeed Augustus. He was often referred to, by Augustus, as an outstanding general and the only one capable of defending Rome against her enemies. The statement, ‘Tiberius is condemned by many ancient

Calpurnia, or “Cal”, was the Finch’s African-American housekeeper and cook. Her being a black, middle-aged woman in a white dominated society, we can already infer she has experienced great racial injustices. Throughout the novel, we see significant and noticeable changes in the main characters, but little development in Calpurnia´s character. Before you discard this essay on what was supposed to be about a chosen character changing due to social and racial injustices throughout the book, give the thesis some thought. Scout is the narrator of the book, therefore we are seeing changes through her point of view; so we only see Calpurnia changing through the eyes of Scout, but they were not in actuality

Family background and status • Agrippina the Younger lived during the Julio-Causian Dynasty . • Agrippina the Younger was born in modern day city of Cologne in Germany on November the 6th, 15AD in • She was the eldest daughter of Agrippina the Elder and Germanicus but the fourth child in the family. • She came from imperial blood, she was Augustus’s great-granddaughter through her maternal side and her father Germanicus was adopted by Tiberius. • Her elder brothers Nero, Drusus and Gaius, and her younger sisters, Drusilla and Julia Livilla. • Her third brother Gaius, succeeded Tiberius and became emperor, he was also known as Caligula • When Agrippina was 13 years old, she was married her first husband Domitius Ahenobarbus by Tiberius

In the article Domitian and the dynamics of terror in classical Rome, Professor Peter Wiseman defends the historical depictions of several emperors—Domitian in particular—as tyrants.

Writing has always been the primary vehicle for social commentary and reform. From Upton Sinclair’s damning exposure of the meat processing industry in The Jungle, to George Orwell’s grave warning concerning communism in Animal Farm, to William Goulding’s disturbing look at human nature post World War 2 in Lord of the Flies, countless authors have attempted to expose flaws in their society through writing. Rome, as a growing republic, and later as a sprawling empire, was consistently rife with corruption, abuse of power, and the degradation of morals. Writers like Sallust, Juvenal, and Tacitus saw these social flaws as opportunities, whether to drive social or political change, or to increase their influence, or just to make a statement to the government and the Roman people. However, these three writers each took a different approach to his commentary. Through comedic hyperbole and satire, Juvenal looked to expose the moral degradation of Roman women in Satire VI. On the other hand, Sallust focused on political corruption in the late Roman Republic, using the history of the Jugurthine War as a lens by which to observe the corruption he despised. With yet another approach, Tacitus aimed to criticize despots like Emperor Domitian and to denounce imperialism through the biography of Agricola, the Roman general who conquered Britain.

In fact, Agrippina was the daughter of Claudius's brother, Germanicus and a sister of Gaius Caligula. Someone just believed that Agrippina exiled for involvement in the conspiracy of Gaetulicus; in addition, Agrippina married before, so she was second marriage with Claudius. The main point was the law should be changed to avoid consanguineous marriage because Claudius was Agrippina's uncle, which was really ridiculous of consanguineous marriage. Therefore, consanguineous marriage of Claudius could be the second the political invective. Furthermore, Claudius's marriage to Agrippina could be a disaster, especially in the Claudius's last years. The reason was Agrippina had powerful personality, and she wanted to dominate Claudius. If compared with Claudius's previous empress, Agrippina was the brightest because she was recognized by imperial politics, and Agrippina appeared in official coins and inscriptions. The powerful position of Agrippina could facilitate the advancement of her son Domitius, and Domitius could consolidate the status of Agrippina as well. In fact, Claudius had a natural son named Britannicus but he was still a minor, he was only 13 years old; Claudius really liked Britannicus, and then Claudius began to advance Domitius through various signs of favor. However, Claudius marked Domitius as his successor, he might be influence by Agrippina and had

Agrippina the Younger found inspiration and motivation from her powerful, yet somewhat dysfunctional family. Her mother, Agrippina the Elder, was considered to be a good example of a Roman Mater. Agrippina’s parents were, like most Roman aristocratic couples, were married as a political alliance but unlike most they lived in concordia. Agrippina’s father held many political and military positions and had obtained many victories and was honoured by his emperors. Although in 19AD Germanicus travelled to Egypt and this was said to greatly displease emperor Tiberius as men of senatorial and imperial rank were barred from entering Egypt without permission, and upon his return died of suspected poisoning. Agrippina the Elder publicly blamed and quarrelled with emperor Tiberius and Piso (Tiberius’ appointee to Syria) over her husband’s death and for this she was constantly targeted but she was still popular with the every-day Roman citizens.

Agrippina’s relationship to her stepfather had always been problematic, but it got even worse when the latter was suspected of having played a part in Germanicus’ death. The personal animosity and years of bad blood between the emperor and Agrippina becomes evident on two occasions: after Agrippina fell gravely ill in 26 CE, Tiberius visited his stepdaughter, whom she tearfully begged to be allowed to remarry so that she could find some consolation in her loneliness; Tiberius, however, not wanting to demonstrate weakness, forbade her from doing so. Then, under the pretence that the partes were conspiring of murdering the emperor and seizing the throne, Sejanus, under the auspices of the emperor, instigated a number of trials between 24-29

Two of the more memorable emperors to the Romans were Augustus Caesar (27 BC to 14 AD), and Caligula (37 AD to 41 AD). Although only having ruled the empire by a separation of 23 years and belonging to the same family (through marriage and adoption), their empires couldn’t have been more different. It is possible to determine the impact of an emperor’s rule based on their many vices and virtues, as well as the choices that they make in relation to them. The author Suetonius expressed in his writings the many vices and virtues that put into perspective the kind of leaders that these emperors appeared as to their polis. As we explore the concept of vices and virtues, as well as what kind of ideals these two rulers represented, we will begin to be presented with a clearer picture of what an ideal emperor would have looked like. A vice can be described as an immoral or wicked behavior; while a virtue can be described as a behavior showing high moral standards. Suetonius and the Roman people had a high interpretation of the concept of virtue and vice, as well as their role in the ruler’s life.

Tiberius, who served as emperor from 14 to 37 AD, began his rule after the death of his father-in-law, Augustus. Tiberius was a weak ruler, and he understood that ruling Rome was like “holding a wolf by the ears.” When conflict arose in Europe, Tiberius sent his nephew, Germanicus, to deal with it. Germanicus did his job, and this resulted in Tiberius fearing the newest war-hero. To avoid the issue, Germanicus was appointed governor of the remote eastern provinces by his uncle. After the sudden death of Germanicus, people believed that Tiberius had poisoned him. He denied this, but the accusations never died. When he was in need of advice, Tiberius sought the assistance of Sejanus, a cavalry officer and town cheat. Tiberius sought the

Corrupt by power and mentally ill, Caligula made irrational, egregious decisions regarding the empire. Some were even inhumane. For example, Caligula abused his power and killed political rivals with opposing ideals. Furthermore, Caligula was also a self-absorbed narcissist, claiming that he was a divine figure and ordered that a bridge be built between his palace and the Temple of Jupiter, so that he could communicate with other celestial beings. While these actions are deplorable, they do not compare to his most inhumane act: making parents watch their sons get executed.

He was one of the few to show such disrespect towards the senators of Rome and in this area, his lunacy was truly shown. Caligula’s beloved horse, Incitatus was not only pampered and spoilt, but was treated better than the people of Rome. Incitatus was so loved by his owner that it could classify as an obsession. In fact, one of the very few statues that are left of Caligula is one of him and his beloved horse. It has been claimed that he not only appointed his horse, Incitatus a fellow priest, had birds sacrificed to him daily, and would casually invite him to dinner, but he also promised to appoint him consul, which is a position of high authority in Ancient Rome.

Caligula was the son of Tiberius’ nephew Germanicus and he became emperor in 37 BC after Tiberius’ death. Rome breathed a sigh of relief when Caligula gave amnesty to political prisoners and initiated tax reforms even after he was given extraordinary powers by the Roman Senate. It seemed that peace was within reach with the reign of Caligula—the opposite of the turbulent years during Tiberius. Unfortunately, this peace would not last as Caligula was no less vicious as his predecessor and great-uncle Tiberius (even worse).

Octavian enabled the long, nonviolent time of the Pax Romana, (Latin for Roman peace) by changing Rome from a frail, collapsing republican government to a powerful empire. He is known as the first, and one of the greatest, Roman Emperors ever. Octavian was born on September 23, 63 BC, and died in 14 AD. Born with the name Gaius Octavius Thurinus, he was adopted posthumously by his great-uncle Gaius Julius Caesar via his will, and then was named Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus. This happened in 44 BC when his great uncle, Julius Caesar, was assassinated by a group of conspirators. Additionally, he received the name “Augustus” a term meaning “the revered one” from the Roman Senate in 27 BC. Because of the various names he had, it is