Today we went back to the Forum Romanum, which remains gorgeous. The best part, though, was that we got to take a special tour of the houses of Augustus and his wife, Livia. Although Augustus is famous for being a relatively humble emperor, he and his wife were definitely living in style. Check out Augustus's awesome study!
Augustus's original name was Gaius Octavius, then Octavian. He was the nephew heir of Julius Caesar. When his uncle was assassinated, Octavian proclaimed him as a god and buoyed himself politically by stirring up outrage over his death. Before long, though, Augustus gained momentum from his own achievements, and became Rome's first emperor. He spent the rest of his life delicately balancing his authoritarian position with an image of appreciation for Rome's traditional (Republican...) values.
Livia's house is similarly majestic. As an avid fan of I, Claudius, I like to imagine her plotting the demise of Augustus's heirs in her luxurious digs.
Livia has gone down in history as a wicked plotter and potentially a murderer. But she was also an important woman in many ways. The senate even voted her a triumphal arch, even though she was a woman and no woman had ever had an arch before. She also helped Augustus, her husband, to form a public image of his family that gave moral superiority and a sense of "Roman-ness" to the first family—a major part of Augustus's legacy as emperor.
After a lovely morning in the Forum, we went to the Colosseum, the center of Roman entertainment after it was built by the Flavians. Although you may be imagining Nero feeding Christians to the lions in the Colosseum, that is not actually possible. There was no Colosseum at the time Nero was emperor, and there are actually no recorded Christian martyrdoms in the Colosseum itself (although they may have been killed as part of the afternoon public executions that often took place on show days). The sands of the Colosseum were, however, the site of many epic gladiator battles, and possibly a ship battle for which the entire arena was flooded. (One ancient author says so, but it's not entirely certain that it really happened.)
Compared to other ancient arenas, the Colosseum truly is enormous. I like to walk through it and imagine what it was like in its heyday—people everywhere, food vendors hawking their wares, people spraying perfume to cover the rampant B.O. I bet it was awful and amazing and unforgettable.
Near the Colosseum is one of my other favorite monuments, the Arch of Constantine. Constantine was the first Christian emperor, but he was still very Roman—he built himself a classic triumphal arch and maintained a cozy relationship with the sun god, Sol Invictus. People are complicated, and that's what makes history so interesting.
Augustus's original name was Gaius Octavius, then Octavian. He was the nephew heir of Julius Caesar. When his uncle was assassinated, Octavian proclaimed him as a god and buoyed himself politically by stirring up outrage over his death. Before long, though, Augustus gained momentum from his own achievements, and became Rome's first emperor. He spent the rest of his life delicately balancing his authoritarian position with an image of appreciation for Rome's traditional (Republican...) values.
Livia's house is similarly majestic. As an avid fan of I, Claudius, I like to imagine her plotting the demise of Augustus's heirs in her luxurious digs.
Livia has gone down in history as a wicked plotter and potentially a murderer. But she was also an important woman in many ways. The senate even voted her a triumphal arch, even though she was a woman and no woman had ever had an arch before. She also helped Augustus, her husband, to form a public image of his family that gave moral superiority and a sense of "Roman-ness" to the first family—a major part of Augustus's legacy as emperor.
After a lovely morning in the Forum, we went to the Colosseum, the center of Roman entertainment after it was built by the Flavians. Although you may be imagining Nero feeding Christians to the lions in the Colosseum, that is not actually possible. There was no Colosseum at the time Nero was emperor, and there are actually no recorded Christian martyrdoms in the Colosseum itself (although they may have been killed as part of the afternoon public executions that often took place on show days). The sands of the Colosseum were, however, the site of many epic gladiator battles, and possibly a ship battle for which the entire arena was flooded. (One ancient author says so, but it's not entirely certain that it really happened.)
Compared to other ancient arenas, the Colosseum truly is enormous. I like to walk through it and imagine what it was like in its heyday—people everywhere, food vendors hawking their wares, people spraying perfume to cover the rampant B.O. I bet it was awful and amazing and unforgettable.
Near the Colosseum is one of my other favorite monuments, the Arch of Constantine. Constantine was the first Christian emperor, but he was still very Roman—he built himself a classic triumphal arch and maintained a cozy relationship with the sun god, Sol Invictus. People are complicated, and that's what makes history so interesting.
1 comment:
What a great day. I especially like the house tours! - Mom
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