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Augustus brought better roads, wine and a taste for the nicer things in life to the Gauls. He also brought other aspects of Roman culture, like their religions, their amphitheatres, and he banned human sacrifices. But one of his appointees took advantage of the new Roman calendar. For that, he is the first recipient of […] The post Augustus Caesar #72 – #DBAC appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

Augustus goes back to Gaul and brings his stepsons, Drusus and Tiberius, to help conquer the hilltop tribes in the Swiss Alps. [powerpress] The post Augustus Caesar #71 – Drusus Goes Up The Aenus appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

In 17 BCE Augustus decided to throw a huge party, The Secular Games, which was held only once every 110 years. Somehow this gets us talking about sex, animal sacrifices, holy trinities, Barabbas and Leviticus. Don’t ask me. I just work here.  [powerpress] The post Augustus Caesar #70 – Fight For Your Right To Party appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

There’s a story about how Augustus dined one night with an old friend, Vedius Pollio, an equestrian known for his wealth, love of luxury, cruelty – and his pet lampreys.  [powerpress] The post Augustus Caesar #69 – The Lamprey appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

Augustus was a pretty approachable guy (like us!). We tell some stories about how he made himself readily available to everyone from Senators to the general public. And yet they weren’t trying to assassinate him, which says a lot about his popularity by 18BCE. But he was concerned that the elite weren’t getting married and having […] The post Augustus Caesar #68 – Mr Nice Guy appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

Julia the Elder, the only legitimate biological child of Augustus (which makes her the daughter of the son of god), was definitely hot stuff. She had what you might politely call “a reputation”. We don’t know much about Julia’s childhood or early teenage years. But by her late teens she had become a popular figure in […] The post Augustus Caesar #67 – Julia The Elder appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

In this episode, we’re dealing with events around 18 BCE: The most important innovation Aug created around this time was his new small council, the consilium principis (advisers to the princeps). Another thing he did to reduce the numbers of the Senate was to raise the amount of wealth you had to have from 400,000 sesterces […] The post Augustus Caesar #66 – Consilium Principis appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

Augustus returns to Rome and he comes up with a cunning plan. He also fires the entire Senate. And Cam finds out who Vanna White is.    [powerpress] The post Augustus Caesar #64 – The Cunning Plan appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

Aeneas reflects Augustus in many ways – they both place duty and piety before their own comfort and interests.  Both have to endure great hardships and struggles for many years before final victory is won and the greater community can enjoy peace and prosperity. Sometimes they needed to do dreadful things for the greater good and […] The post Augustus Caesar #62 – Virgil & The Aeneid Part 3 appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

It would be a mistake to see Virgil’s poetry as purely political propaganda.  It was a matter of self-respect for Augustus to allow artists to do their art.  He genuinely wanted to be admired for what he did for Rome – not for what he could do to you. His victory and the peace it […] The post Augustus Caesar #61 – Virgil & The Aeneid Part 2 appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

Augustus does a deal with the Parthian King Phraates IV to return the standards and prisoners from their previous encounters with Crassus and Antony. And Lucius Cornelius Balbus gets a triumph – the last one awarded to a private citizen (eg who wasn’t a member of the Emperor’s family) – for five and a half centuries. […] The post Augustus Caesar #59 – The Last Triumph appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

While Augustus is out in the provinces, he tends to give his speeches in Greek rather than Latin, to show how much he respects their regional cultures. He also treats them fairly magnanimously – except when he doesn’t. [powerpress] The post Augustus Caesar #58 – It’s All Greek To Me appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

One of the client rulers who is best known during these years is Herod The Great. He was brutal, but the Romans didn’t mind, as long he paid his respects and kept his people under control. He built the Second Temple in Jerusalem but it didn’t buy him much love from his main constituency – the […] The post Augustus Caesar #57 – Herod The Great appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

In the year 22 BCE, Augustus went to Sicily, Rome’s oldest overseas province. But the people aren’t prepared to let him go that easily. They start burning shit down and breaking the furniture, until he pays them attention – and sends Agrippa home. [powerpress] The post Augustus Caesar #55 – Augustus Goes To Sicily appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

Gary Arndt has been everywhere. Which is why his blog is called Everything Everywhere. Since 2007 he’s been travelling nearly non-stop, taking photos – and has been named  Travel Photographer of the Year three times. He joined us on Skype from an undisclosed location recently to discuss Caesar-related travel destinations. [powerpress] The post Augustus Caesar #54 – Gary Arndt appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

The Primus Affair continues. Shortly after, there’s another scandal – the Fannius Caepio conspiracy. It’s time for Augustus to crack down. [powerpress] The post Augustus Caesar #53 – The CrackDown appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

The people try to convince Augustus to become dictator. He refuses. Then the proconsul of Macedonia, Marcus Primus, is brought up on serious charges of ruining the reputation of Rome. He blames his actions – on Augustus! [powerpress] The post Augustus Caesar #52 – The Primus Affair appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

In 23 BCE Augustus fell very sick with man flu once again. It was so bad, everyone thought he was going to die. When he miraculously recovered, he decided he’d had enough of the stress of being consul – and he resigned. This time – for good. Which caused some problems. [powerpress] The post Augustus Caesar #50 – Imperium appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

When Augustus finally returns to Rome late in 24, he travels along newly restored roads that he had mostly paid for himself. They were adorned with statues of him. But how much did those statues, and those that survive today, actually resemble his true likeness? Also, Marcellus and Tiberius, the young guns, are being prepped […] The post Augustus Caesar #49 – Covered With Spots appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

We’re back! First show of 2017! On his way back from Spain, Augustus falls deathly ill with man flu, which forces him to think about his future. It doesn’t stop him from becoming consul for the 10th time where his new colleague is a guy with an unfortunate name that leads us into some dark […] The post Augustus Caesar #48 – Man Flu appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.