Since Rome conquered Greece and assimilated its extraordinary cultural legacy as its own, it began to value theater as a natural form of citizen expression, a way of temporarily freeing itself from the painful day-to-day vicissitudes or banalities of a group of willing actors. to distract the public with their interpretations, nothing valued, by the way; actor was one of the most demeaning professions of the time. And although things have changed, and a lot, especially due to the prestige and cachet of many actors, from that time to our days, no one has been able to match, or for so long, the art of the emperor Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanic playing a role... the fool . I recommend the novel Yo, Claudio by Robert Graves.
Member of the Julio-Claudia dynasty , who would give the first five emperors of Rome, Claudius was removed from any position of responsibility as a child due to his obvious physical defects (lame, stuttering...) and alleged mental defects (Antonia, his own mother, used him to utter insults « you're dumber than my poor Claudio"). This collection of faults, the obvious ones and the supposed ones, allowed him to live away from the intrigues of the palace, and take advantage of the time to write his own biography, study mathematics, grammar, geometry, medicine and history, as well as learn Greek... and practice his two great passions:drinking wine and chasing any skirt that moved around him. Already in his adolescence, some close to him began to glimpse certain green shoots of lucidity that Claudio quickly took care of uprooting. Everything would change on January 24, 41, when his nephew, the emperor Caligula , was assassinated by the Praetorian Guard in a plot in which several senators were also implicated. If Claudius was aware of or even led this plot, it would unravel traditional accounts that have him hiding behind a curtain while the Praetorians searched for members of the imperial family to assassinate. So, and with your permission, I'll stick with the traditional version and believe that he was found hiding behind the curtains and the Praetorians named him emperor to get their hands on a weak character to handle at will. Crash mistake, Claudio had perfectly interpreted, I refer to the tests, a role for 50 years.
I know you consider me a poor fool. But I'am not. I have pretended to be and that is why I am here today.
“An AD41 Roman Emperor” (1871) – Lawrence Alma-Tadema
Those were his first words before the Senate. Of course, before pronouncing them, he had secured the support of the Praetorian Guard with a good bonus and, logically, had ordered the execution of the murderers of his nephew – it is not right to kill emperors -. His first measures were aimed at amending all the madness of Caligula, repealing the laws of his nephew and electing for the relevant positions of the Administration those most prepared for each position (something logical but that it is difficult for kings, emperors and current politicians to understand ), setting aside a corruptible and capricious Senate. He also proved to be a capable administrator and a great promoter of public works:two new aqueducts, the Aqua Claudia and the Anio Novus , a new port at the mouth of the Tiber north of Ostia, expanded the network of roads... In addition, he knew that he had to win over the people and he did so by abolishing or reducing some taxes on basic goods, or by increasing the arable area of land , in this case drying out Lake Fucino . Taking advantage of such a great work, and before completing it, he decided to give the town an unforgettable show (you know that thing about " panem et circenses » written by the poet Juvenal) supporting a naumachia on Lake Fucino -by the way, the first and only time in Rome that “morituri te salutant” (those who are going to die salute you) were heard-.
What was the only thing Claudio lacked?
military glory. Just like Crassus did in 53 BC, when he searched for her in Carrhae facing Surena's Parthians in the episode that we tell about the lost legion, Claudius did it by leaving at the head of his army to conquer Britannia . Nobody gave a penny for that apprentice hero, once declared useless for a military career, but Claudio, aware of his limitations and his lack of ability to lead an army, knew how to delegate to his best general, Aulus Plautius -as a legacy of the II Augusta there was the future emperor Vespasian – to achieve a great triumph and the capture of Carataco , the leader of the British resistance whom Claudius pardoned.
Caratacus in Rome
His final would come via one of his hobbies:women. As Suetonius tells us, «he had a great passion for women, but no interest in men » -something unusual for the time and its DNA-, and got married five times:Livia Medulina, died suddenly on the day of the wedding, Plaucia, Elia Petina, the famous Messalina and her niece Agrippina , the downfall of him. The latter came with a prize, her son Nero . Agrippina knew how to manage her husband to adopt Nero and appoint him as her successor, even leaving aside her own son British (From his previous marriage to Messalina and who adopted the nickname that had been given to his father for the conquest of Britannia). When the relationship between Claudius and Agrippina began to deteriorate, she feared for Nero's succession and decided to act. Following the advice of her particular poisoner, Locusta , Agrippina managed to strain amanita phalloides -which the taster was lucky not to taste- in a plate of mushrooms that the emperor was about to eat. Claudius died in the year 54 without modifying Nero's appointment as successor. Agrippina's first present to the new emperor was Locusta.