Download Augustus Information Augustus was born Gaius Octavius on Sept

Augustus Information
Augustus was born Gaius Octavius on Sept. 23, 63 B.C., in a house on the Palatine hill in
Rome. The people who most influenced Octavius in his early years were his mother, Atia, who
was Julius Caesar's niece, and Julius Caesar himself. When Caesar's will was read, it was
revealed that Caesar had adopted Octavius as his son and heir.
Octavian's power was based on his control of the army, his financial resources, and his
enormous popularity. Octavian was extremely farsighted in his political arrangements, but he
continually emphasized that his rule was a return to the “mos maiorum”, the customs of the
ancestors. Early in January of 27 B.C., therefore, Octavian went before the Senate and
announced that he was restoring the rule of the Roman world to the Senate and the Roman
people. The Senate, in gratitude, voted him special powers and on January 16 gave him the title
Augustus, signifying his superior position in the state, with the added connotation of "revered."
The Emperor was interested in public buildings and especially temple buildings. In 28
B.C. he undertook the repair of all the temples in Rome, 82 by his own count. He also built many
new ones. It was with good reason that Augustus could boast that he had "found Rome built of
brick and left it in marble." Repairing the temples was only one aspect of the religious and moral
revival which Augustus fostered. There seems to have been a falling away from the old gods of
the state, and Augustus encouraged a return to the religious dedication and morality of the early
republic. In 17 B.C. he held the Secular Games, an ancient festival which symbolized the
restoration of the older religion. Augustus tried to improve morals by passing laws to regulate
marriage and family life and to control promiscuity. In A.D. 9, for example, he made adultery a
criminal offense, and he encouraged the birthrate by granting privileges to couples with three or
more children.
Nero Information
Born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, Nero took his familiar name when he was adopted at age 13
by his great-uncle, the emperor Claudius. Nero’s mother had married Claudius after arranging the death
of her second husband and was the driving force behind her son’s adoption. She arranged for Nero to wed
Claudius’ daughter Octavia in 53, further sidelining the emperor’s son Britannicus. Upon Claudius’
sudden death in 54—classical sources suggest Agrippina fed him poisoned mushrooms—the 17-year-old
Nero ascended the throne.
In his first five years as emperor, Nero gained a reputation for political generosity, promoting
power-sharing with the Senate and ending closed-door political trials, though he generally pursued his
own passions and left the ruling up to three key advisers—the Stoic philosopher Seneca, the prefect
Burrus and ultimately Agrippina.
Following his mother’s death, Nero gave himself fully to his longstanding artistic and aesthetic
passions. At private events beginning in 59, he sang and performed on the lyre and encouraged members
of the upper classes to take dancing lessons. He ordered public games to be held every five years in Rome
and trained as an athlete himself, competing as a charioteer.
Early in the morning of June 19, 64 a blaze broke out in the shops around the Circus Maximus
and quickly spread throughout the city. Over the next nine days, three of Rome’s 14 districts were
destroyed and an additional seven were severely damaged. Several classical sources placed Nero on the
roof of his palace during the fire, dressed in stage garb and singing from the Greek epic “The Sack of
Ilium.” Rumors quickly circulated that the emperor had started the fire to clear land for an expanding
palace complex on the Palatine Hill. Nero deflected attention by blaming members of the fledgling
Christian religion for the fire. He ordered all manner of creative and brutal persecutions: Some were
condemned to be dressed in animal skins and torn apart by dogs, while others were burned to death in
nighttime pyres that provided light for the emperor’s garden parties. Nero exhausted the Roman treasury
rebuilding the city around his 100-acre Domus Aurea (“Golden House”) palace complex. At its center he
commissioned a 100-foot-tall bronze statue of himself, the Colossus Neronis.
Caligula Information
Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus was born in 12 A.D., the third son of the renowned Roman
general Germanicus and his wife, Agrippina the Elder. During his childhood, his family lived at his
father’s posting on the Rhine, where the general’s troops gave the future emperor his nickname
“Caligula,” meaning “little boot,” in reference to the miniature uniform in which his parents dressed him.
After Germanicus died in 17 A.D., Caligula’s family fell from favor in the eyes of the emperor
Tiberius and the powerful Praetorian guardsman Sejanus, who saw the elder sons of the popular general
as political rivals. Caligula’s mother and brothers were accused of treason, and all died in prison or exile.
The next year, Caligula moved in with the aging Tiberius. Tiberius adopted Caligula and made him and
his cousin Gemellus equal heirs to the empire. When the emperor died in 37, Caligula’s Praetorian ally
Marco arranged for Caligula to be proclaimed sole emperor. But by the spring of 38 the character of
Caligula's rule changed drastically. An illness late in 37 seemed to have seriously affected his mind. He
soon regarded himself as a god.
Caligula was not quite 25 years old when he took power in 37 A.D. At first, his succession was
welcomed in Rome: He announced political reforms and recalled all exiles. Caligula lavished money on
building projects, from the practical (aqueducts and harbors) to the cultural (theaters and temples) to the
downright bizarre (requisitioning hundreds of Roman merchant ships to construct a 2-mile floating bridge
across the Bay of Bauli so he could spend two days galloping back and forth across it). In 39 and 40 he
led military campaigns to the Rhine and the English Channel, where he eschewed battles for theatrical
displays, commanding his troops to “plunder the sea” by gathering shells in their helmets).
His relationships with other individuals were turbulent as well. He tormented high-ranking
senators by making them run for miles in front of his chariot. Caligula was tall, pale and so hairy that he
made it a capital offense to mention a goat in his presence. He worked to accentuate his natural ugliness
by practicing terrifying facial expressions in a mirror. But he literally wallowed in luxury, allegedly
rolling around in piles of money and drinking precious pearls dissolved in vinegar. He continued his
childhood games of dress-up, donning strange clothing, women’s shoes and lavish accessories and wigs.
Julius Caesar Information
At the age of 40 Julius Caesar was elected to consul. Consul was the highest ranking
position in the Roman Republic. The consul was like a president, but there were two consuls and
they only served for one year. At the end of his year as consul, Caesar became governor of the
province of Gaul. As governor of Gaul, Caesar was in charge of four Roman legions. He was a
very effective governor and general. He conquered all of Gaul. He gained the respect and honor
from his army and by conquering Gaul the Roman Empire became the strongest in the world.
Politics in Rome became increasingly hostile while Caesar was in Gaul. Many of the
leaders were jealous of Caesar and his following. Even Pompey became jealous and soon Caesar
and Pompey became rivals. Caesar announced that he was going to return to Rome and run for
consul again. The Roman Senate replied that he must give up the command of his army first.
Caesar refused and the Senate said he was a traitor. Caesar began to march his army to Rome.
Caesar took control of Rome in 49 BC and spent the next 18 months fighting Pompey. He finally
defeated Pompey, chasing him all the way to Egypt. When he reached Egypt, the young Pharaoh,
Ptolemy VIII, had Pompey killed and presented his head to Caesar as a gift.
In 46 BC Caesar returned to Rome. He was now the most powerful man in the world. The
Senate made him dictator for life and he ruled like a king. He made many changes to Rome. He
put his own supporters in the Senate. He built new buildings and temples in the city of Rome. He
even changed the calendar to the now famous Julian calendar with 365 days and a leap year.
Some people in Rome felt that Caesar was too powerful. They were worried that his rule
would put an end to the Roman Republic. They plotted to kill him. The leaders of the plot were
Cassius and Brutus. On March 15, 44 BC Caesar entered the Senate. A number of men ran up to
him and began to attack him and killed him. He was stabbed 23 times.
Incitatus
Incitatus, whose name means “swift” in Latin, was Caligula’s favorite horse. The
emperor pampered him during his reign. According to the historian Suetonius, Incitatus lived in a
stable made of marble, and slept in an ivory manger with purple blankets. In Roman times, the
color purple was a very rare dye and was used to signify royalty and the greatest social status.
Suetonius also says that Incitatus had an elaborate and jeweled collar. Another chronicler,
Cassius Dio, writes that Incitatus was fed meals of oats mixed with gold leaf.
The second incident with Incitatus has also become what Caligula is most remembered
for; naming the horse to the Senate and possibly proclaiming him consul alongside Caligula.
There were also other rumors claiming that Caligula also appointed the stallion as a priest. The
plan to appoint Incitatus as consul was used as a proof of Caligula’s insanity. However, if the
story is true, it may not be one of insanity but rather an attempt to make a political statement. By
making Incitatus a senator and a consul, Caligula could have been making the claim that the
Senate was no better at their job than an animal, or that Incitatus was actually better at their
positions that the senators were. Additionally, this affront may have been an attempt to outright
provoke the Senate during Caligula’s feud with them. In the end, however, Caligula never could
make Incitatus a consul as the emperor was assassinated in 41 AD, four short years into his
reign.