Res Gestae Divi Claudi
Jul. 22nd, 2021 09:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
qatsiBook Review: Claudius the God, by Robert Graves
Following on from I, Claudius, this chronicles in an autobiographical style the reign of the emperor Claudius. On Goodreads it's titled Claudius the God and his wife Messalina, but the copy here has the shorter title, and whilst Messalina is a significant character, it doesn't really feel as though the book is about her.
In fact, the first few chapters are devoted to documenting the life of Herod Agrippa, who is perhaps just one among many characters seeking to take advantage of Claudius' good nature, in this case ultimately by stoking a rising in the Roman territories around Palestine. Despite his stated republican ambitions, Claudius doesn't shy away from quite a few summary executions, with many others encouraged to pre-empt this by taking their own life; all in a day's work, apparently. The writing perhaps hints at a descent into this behaviour, but there's no suggestion that Claudius isn't generally reconciled to it all. I suppose after all he had seen beforehand, it was just the accepted way.
Graves also makes a good chunk of the book about Claudius' invasion and early conquest of Britain. Perhaps the idea of the late middle-aged armchair general directing things is a bit reminiscent of Pliny's hunting escapades. But it's clear that the insecure Claudius felt the need for some military campaign and success before he could accept the honours the obsequious Senate periodically attempted to award him.
There is some discussion about engineering works commissioned or completed by Claudius, such as aqueducts and the harbour at Ostia (Portus).
For the rest, it's mostly about plots against him, whether real or imagined by others to get rid of their own rivals. Messalina is eventually found out, but her behaviour has been known to all but Claudius for a long time. Whilst the subject of the book may be compared to Augustus' own Res Gestae, the writing style is definitely Graves/Suetonius masquerading as Clau-Clau-Claudius.
Following on from I, Claudius, this chronicles in an autobiographical style the reign of the emperor Claudius. On Goodreads it's titled Claudius the God and his wife Messalina, but the copy here has the shorter title, and whilst Messalina is a significant character, it doesn't really feel as though the book is about her.
In fact, the first few chapters are devoted to documenting the life of Herod Agrippa, who is perhaps just one among many characters seeking to take advantage of Claudius' good nature, in this case ultimately by stoking a rising in the Roman territories around Palestine. Despite his stated republican ambitions, Claudius doesn't shy away from quite a few summary executions, with many others encouraged to pre-empt this by taking their own life; all in a day's work, apparently. The writing perhaps hints at a descent into this behaviour, but there's no suggestion that Claudius isn't generally reconciled to it all. I suppose after all he had seen beforehand, it was just the accepted way.
Graves also makes a good chunk of the book about Claudius' invasion and early conquest of Britain. Perhaps the idea of the late middle-aged armchair general directing things is a bit reminiscent of Pliny's hunting escapades. But it's clear that the insecure Claudius felt the need for some military campaign and success before he could accept the honours the obsequious Senate periodically attempted to award him.
There is some discussion about engineering works commissioned or completed by Claudius, such as aqueducts and the harbour at Ostia (Portus).
For the rest, it's mostly about plots against him, whether real or imagined by others to get rid of their own rivals. Messalina is eventually found out, but her behaviour has been known to all but Claudius for a long time. Whilst the subject of the book may be compared to Augustus' own Res Gestae, the writing style is definitely Graves/Suetonius masquerading as Clau-Clau-Claudius.