The Big Read II: I, Claudius -- Robert Graves Chapters 14-16

Chapter Fourteen -- The Augustus Aftermath.

• On the Senate's debate about officially deifying Augustus:

It is possible that Gallus would have succeeded in blocking the decree by this appeal to Roman pride and sanity had it not been for a man called Atticus, a senior magistrate.

Once again, Claudius subtly (har har) slips his opinion in there.  I love it when he does that.  And then, just a little bit later, when he writes about the deaths of Romulus and Hercules, he does his story within a story thing -- I love that.  (Okay, about the reference to Hercules being poisoned by his wife -- was Gallus suggesting that there WAS a parallel, that there was NOT a parallel, and if he was saying there was NOT a parallel, was he actually saying there was?  My head hurts.)

• The Vestal Virgins have Augustus' will?  Oh, I'm sure it's totally safe with them, then.  Not.

• Wait, Tiberius KNEW about the suppressed will?  Dirtbag.  Even if he went along with the suppression because he's afraid of Livia, couldn't he have, I don't know, left it lying around in public somewhere?

• Gallus rules.  I hope nothing bad happens to him due to calling Tiberius' crappy bluff.

• Ah.  Yes.  Fear of Livia is clearly part of Tiberius' assholic behavior:

There was another explanation of this cautious behavior of his, namely that Livia had boasted in pubic that he was receiving the monarchy as a gift from her hands.  She made the boast not only to strengthen her position at Augustus's widow but to warn Tiberius that if her crimes ever came to light he would be regarded as her accomplice, being the person who principally benefited from them.

• So now everyone but Livia thinks Postumus is dead.  Where IS he?

Chapter Fifteen -- Mutiny and Dice.

• "They asked why in Hell's name had he come then if he had no power to do anything for them."

Fair question.  And, sheesh, I don't blame the soldiers for revolting in either situation.  Also, why do they know what a beast Livia is when it's taken the people so much closer to her so much longer to figure it out?  Is it just easier to see the Eeevil from a distance, did Everything Change after Augustus' death, or are Rumors Flying?  I don't know why I'm feeling so indecisive today. 

• While I don't blame the soldiers for revolting, sacking France might be a tad excessive.  March on Rome, guys!  March on Rome!  (Sorry.  I've developed a real dislike for Tiberius.)

• Tiberius plans to go to Germany to "do his own dirty work":

He therefore told the Senate that he would go to Germany, and began slowly to make preparations, choosing his staff and fitting out a small fleet.  But by the time he was ready the approach of winter made navigation dangerous and the news from Germany was more hopeful.  So he did not go.  He had not intended to go.

I wish I had a time machine.  I'd go back in time and spray-paint TIBERIUS STINKS on every available surface.

• Claudius' humorous book on dice falls flat.  Claudius just can't win.  Also, what happens if he runs out of money?  And did the real will get destroyed?  Will it be discovered at the eleventh hour, just as Claudius is about to marry the eeevil Stefano DiMera because he's broke?  Oh, wait.  Sorry.  I'm mixing up my soaps.

Chapter Sixteen -- Enter Caligula.

• As I said, Enter Caligula.  I wondered when he would turn up.  No, I've never seen the movie.

• Wow.  Everyone is so open about their distrust of Livia now:

Germanicus insisted on Agrippina's going away, though she swore that she was afraid of nothing and would far rather die with him there than have news from safety of his murder by the mutineers.  But he asked her whether she thought Livia would make a good mother for their orphaned children, and this decided her to do as he wished.

Well, open about it as long as Livia isn't there, I'd wager.

• Holy cow, these soldiers are fickle.  All it finally took was the loss of young Caligula the good luck charm, and they ended it.  Almost a hundred men beheaded in two hours.  What a gruesome scene.  And then:

So everything was all right again at Bonn, and Caligula was told by the men that he had put down the mutiny single-handed and that one day he'd be a great emperor and win wonderful victories; which was very bad for the child, who was already, as I say, disgracefully spoilt.

Uh oh.

• "He divided his forces into four columns and wasted the country on a fifty-mile frontage, burning the villages and slaughtering the inhabitants without respect for age or sex."  I wouldn't have expected that from Germanicus.

• And, at three years old, Caligula burns Claudius' house down.  On purpose.  Excellent.  Is it wrong of me to dislike a three-year-old so intensely?  Probably.  I do really hope something awful happens to Tiberius.  (I think he makes me crazy because, while he is one of the Bad Apple Claudians, he is still "easily tempted to virtue", so I feel like he should step up.)  To balance all that out, I totally adore Agrippina.

Previous posts:

Reading schedule
Chapters 1-3
Chapters 4-6
Chapters 7-10
Chapters 11-13

Other reader/bloggers:

Becky's Online Reading Group
Garish & Tweed
Adventures in Multiplicity
There's Always Time for a Book

Comments

[cc]

Gallus DOES rule. So what do you think his odds are?

[Erin A]

I was pleased with Germanicus' loyalty to his country and his troops. Pretty amazing that he kept his word about bounty for folks and even took it from his own pocketbook. And, Claudius' generosity! If I had a time machine, I'd go around shouting the praises for Claudius -- of course Livia would surely have me locked up and poisoned in the end.

Caligula. I can ONLY imagine what I jewel he will turn out to be in this book. NOT!

I saw the movie in college. I went to a midnight showing in Harvard Square with the guys who lived on my floor (that and Rocky Horror ran in a small theatre there for AGES). Oh. My. Word. I had NO IDEA what I was getting myself into...YOWZERS!

[Becky]

http://readingwithbecky.wordpress.com/miscellaneous/i-claudius-day-five-chapters-14-16/

[emmaco]

Wow, you're really hating Tiberius, aren't you? Not that he's not deserving of the hate, I just kept forgetting to hate him (I guess he's still lagging far behind Livia in terms of evilness).

Sorry about missing the last session! I've got random thoughts (that's all I seem to manage these days) for the six chapters here.

[Leila]

Well, I like Gallus, so his odds aren't good. But I know that you're a tricky one, cc, so maybe I'm in for a surprise.

Erin, you're talking about the theater on Church Street, yes?

Oh, and also: DOWN WITH TIBERIUS!

[cc]

That's TOTALLY what Gallus was getting at: to admit the parallel with Hercules you had to admit the (other) parallel with Hercules. Ha ha!

Re: the relative evilnesses of Livia and Tiberius. I think I'm mostly with Leila and find Tiberius more repellent because he could have been a decent guy. (It gets worse...way, way worse) and his tremendous hypocrisy is really icky. Livia is such a towering figure of evil--she never screws up, she never does anything banal, she never loses her cool.

The Roman historian Tacitus covers this period in the Annales (as opposed to the Histories) and I can highly recommend them even for those with only a casual interest in the period. Especially after reading the Graves' books it's easier to keep things/people straight. And believe it or not, but his account of the Rhine mutinies is even more exciting/dramatic than the I, Claudius version. Super. There's also a full (if slightly different) account of the Postumus affair. Oh. Also, his description of the funeral of Augustus? Priceless. I'll see if I can hunt up a translation of some of the better parts and pass them on.

(I got them! I love them! Yay!)

[Heidi]

Woo! I am caught up....for about 5 minutes anyway.

"towering figure of evil--she never screws up, she never does anything banal, she never loses her cool" I wished I'd said that, cc. Spot on. I look forward to your selections from Tacitus.

[cc]

Here's Tacitus' account of the Rhine mutiny. Book 1.30-ish

"But the nearer Germanicus was to the highest hope, the more laboriously did he exert himself for Tiberius, and he made the neighbouring Sequani and all the Belgic states swear obedience to him. On hearing of the mutiny in the legions, he instantly went to the spot, and met them outside the camp, eyes fixed on the ground, and seemingly repentant.

As soon as he entered the entrenchments, confused murmurs became audible. Some men, seizing his hand under pretence of kissing it, thrust his fingers into their mouths, that he might touch their toothless gums; others showed him their limbs bowed with age. He ordered the throng which stood near him, as it seemed a promiscuous gathering, to separate itself into its military companies. They replied that they would hear better as they were. The standards were then to be advanced, so that thus at least the cohorts might be distinguished. The soldiers obeyed reluctantly. Then beginning with a reverent mention of Augustus, he passed on to the victories and triumphs of Tiberius, dwelling with especial praise on his glorious achievements with those legions in Germany. Next, he extolled the unity of Italy, the loyalty of Gaul, the entire absence of turbulence or strife. He was heard in silence or with but a slight murmur.

As soon as he touched on the mutiny and asked what had become of soldierly obedience, of the glory of ancient discipline, whither they had driven their tribunes and centurions, they all bared their bodies and taunted him with the scars of their wounds and the marks of the lash. And then with confused exclamations they spoke bitterly of the prices of exemptions, of their scanty pay, of the severity of their tasks, with special mention of the entrenchment, the fosse, the conveyance of fodder, building-timber, firewood, and whatever else had to be procured from necessity, or as a check on idleness in the camp. The fiercest clamour arose from the veteran soldiers, who, as they counted their thirty campaigns or more, implored him to relieve worn-out men, and not let them die under the same hardships, but have an end of such harassing service, and repose without beggary.

Some even claimed the legacy of the Divine Augustus, with words of good omen for Germanicus, and, should he wish for empire, they showed themselves abundantly willing. Thereupon, as though he were contracting the pollution of guilt, he leapt impetuously from the tribunal. The men opposed his departure with their weapons, threatening him repeatedly if he would not go back. But Germanicus protesting that he would die rather than cast off his loyalty, plucked his sword from his side, raised it aloft and was plunging it into his breast, when those nearest him seized his hand and held it by force. The remotest and most densely crowded part of the throng, and, what almost passes belief, some, who came close up to him, urged him to strike the blow, and a soldier, by name Calusidius, offered him a drawn sword, saying that it was sharper than his own. Even in their fury, this seemed to them a savage act and one of evil precedent, and there was a pause during which Caesar's friends hurried him into his tent."

[Erin A]

Leila, Church Street sounds right -- I can't remember exactly, but it was a side street off Harvard Square and there was a bead store across from the movie theatre (ok, so this was totally back in 80s...)

:)

[jessmonster]

Ooh, thanks for sharing the Tacitus quotes!

Here's are my thoughts

[jessmonster]

"Here's are" - ouch! You know what I meant ;)

Also, I agree about Tiberius - he's all the more icky because he could be good and isn't.

[Heidi]

Hey, Leila, hope everything's alright.

I created a bubblus mindmap...I welcome collaborators.

http://bubbl.us/view.php?sid=89658&pw=yaoFwWCVZkqtUNTRoS1NaNzZOeGdzLg