#augustus freedman

[ancientcharm]

Commodus: The end of an Era. "The reign of Commodus marked the end of the Golden Age and the beginning of the Age of Rusty Iron." Cassius Dio

Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus was born on August 31, 161. Curiously, he was born on the same day and month as 'Caligula', the first assassinated Roman emperor. Commodus was the first emperor to be born the son of the reigning emperor Marcus Aurelius.

Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus ruled together in perfect cooperation for eight years. Verus fought against the Parthians who had threatening to take Syria and Armenia. Returned to Rome and had his triumphal parade without knowing that he and his legions were carrying a virus that arose in the war zone. The plague spread throughout the empire and was the deadliest in Roman history. In 169 Lucius Verus died due this plague.

The boy Commodus

In 172, at age of 11, he received, in the presence of the army in Germania, the title Germanicus (a victory tittle). He participated alongside his father in several battles.

175. His mother, Empress Faustina the Younger, died of natural causes in Cappadocia where she accompanied her husband. On the same year Commodus entered the College of Pontiffs, which was the starting point of his public career.

176. Marcus Aurelius granted him the position of Imperator, and the following year the title Augustus.

In January of 177, at the age of 15 , he became the youngest consul in the history of the Empire.

178. At age of 16 married to Bruttia Crispina, a very rich 13 year old girl from a family close to the imperial Domus since the time of emperor Hadrian.

March 17, 180, Marcus Aurelius died of natural causes and Commodus became sole emperor at the age of 18.

His first measure was to sign peace treaties both with Germanic tribes and some rebellious people of Britannia. This was frowned upon by his contemporaries, but modern historians agree that it was the only good action he ever took during his entire reign.

About his sister.

Lucilla had been co-empress and held the title Augusta along with her mother when she married the co-emperor Lucius Verus. Following Verus' death, Marcus Aurelius married her to senator Tiberius Pompeianus, a man of humble origins and without ambitions. In this way she lost the privileged position that she had.

In the winter of 181-182 Lucilla with her cousins Quadratus Annianus and Ummidia Faustina, her husband's nephew, Quintianus, and her own daughter Plautia, agreed to assassinate Commodus in the exit hallway of Flavian amphitheater (Colosseum) .The one chosen to kill was Quintianus. Incredibly, although proven, Pompeianus was completely unaware of the plot of his wife.

According to historical sources, when Quintiano saw Commodus, instead of stabbing him, slowly took out his dagger, showed it to him and said "The Senate send to you this dagger." Commodus shouted for his guard who immediately arrested him. The names of the involved were quickly known; Quintianus and Quadrato were executed. Lucilla, her daughter, and U. Faustina were sent into exile on Capri but and also executed there.

Following this event, he distanced himself from the elite and began to trust only in people of humble origins, among them Marcus Aurelius Cleander, former slave and freedman of Marcus Aurelius. In a short time he held important positions until he became the head of the Praetorian Guard.

In 187 due his wife's failure to become pregnant, banished her to Capri. 26-year-old Commodus, instead of marrying another aristocratic woman, chooses to have a concubine- Marcia, daughter of a freedwoman of co-emperor Lucius Verus.

The emperor treated her as a wife, so she had the same power and influence as an empress. It is very probable that Marcia was a Christian since she convinced Commodus to implement a pro-Christian policy, and had a close relationship with Victor I , Bishop of Rome.

Villa of the Quintilii and the rebellion of the people.

Commodus and Marcia retired to the lavish Villa of the Quintilii, whose ruins are today an archaeological site. On April of 190 the people had revolted in Rome because of famine.

There is a suspicion that the shortage of food may have been caused by the prefect of Annona (the import and free distribution of grain to the people) Papirius Dionysius who blamed Cleander.

During a horse-race in the Circus Maximus, the audience to rioted against Cleander. He escaped and managed to reach the Villa of the Quintilii to ask the emperor for help, but the mob followed him there. Commodus, fearing the fury of the people, ordered Cleander to be beheaded. He then also ordered the execution of the prefect of Annona Papirius Dionysius.

By then Commodus was already showing signs of an extreme megalomania and paranoia. The list of people executed, accused without evidence of conspiracy, including his own aunt, consuls, senators and praetorians, is endless. Those conspiracies were only in his mind.

He gave himself the title PIUS, title that the Senate had granted to his maternal grandfather the Emperor Antoninus, and ordered sculptures and busts of himself to be made representing him as Hercules.

Madness and death

In 192 changed the name of Rome to "Comodiana" and announced that a new era was approaching, he called it Saeculum Felix (Happy Century). The months also was renamed with Commodus own names and titles as well of his dynasty. Thus, the year would begin with the month Imperator followed by Caesar, Augustus, Commodus, Germanicus, Pius, Lucius, Aelius, Aurelius, etc, not even the mystical month of July was saved from this folly.

According to historical sources, he had shaved his beard, which had been in fashion since his grandfather's time, and also changed his thick curly hair for Gladiator curt hair style. Had his own games in which he fought with gladiators, who were forced to consume opium and drink wine excessively to ensure the victory of Commodus.

On December he announced that starting in the new year everything would change in Rome since the Senate wold be dismissed. Senators along with Marcia, who had had enough of Commodus, began to plan his death.

During the feast of December 31 Marcia put poison in his food, but Commodus had drunk too much and vomited immediately, so he ended the party and ordered that his bath be prepared.

Senators made Plan B; They sent a freedman named Narcissus, who "because of his size and strength he did not need to hide daggers or swords, his hands were enough." Narcissus found Commodus in the bathtub, and strangled him. Other sources say he drowned him in the bathtub. Be that as it may, 31 years old Commodus never saw his long-awaited new year.

On January 1, 193, Praetorian Guard auctioned the throne to the highest bidder; The final price was stipulated at 25,000 sesterces per soldier. Pertinax bought the position of emperor but on March he was also murdered. Then Didius Julianus ruled for a few days. Finally, that same year, the winner of the civil war Septimius Severus became the first emperor originally from the province of Africa. Born in Leptis Magna (in modern Libya) was of Berber and Punic origin, and with his wife Julia Domna, a young noblewoman born in Syria and Arab origin, they created the Severan Dynasty.

Commodus was not wrong when he said that from that year on everything would change in Rome.

Emperor Septimius Severus ( 193-211 )

[visit-new-york]

William Tecumseh Sherman, also known as the Sherman Memorial or Sherman Monument, is a sculpture group honoring William Tecumseh Sherman, created by Augustus Saint-Gaudens and located at Grand Army Plaza in Manhattan, New York. Cast in 1902 and dedicated on May 30, 1903, the gilded-bronze monument consists of an equestrian statue of Sherman and an accompanying statue, Victory, an allegorical female figure of the Greek goddess Nike. The statues are set on a Stony Creek granite pedestal designed by the architect Charles Follen McKim. 764 Doris C Freedman Pl, New York, NY

[whencyclopedia]

Horace

Quintus Horatius Flaccus (65-8 BCE), better known to most modern readers as Horace, was one of Rome's best-loved poets and, along with his fellow poet Virgil, a member of Emperor Augustus' inner circle at the imperial palace. Despite his early allegiance to one of Julius Caesar's assassins during the early dark days of the civil war, Horace eventually became a close friend to the emperor and supported his attempts at moral reform, believing it brought new life to a suffering empire, a new golden age.

Early Life

Horace was born on December 8, 65 BCE, in the town of Venusia in Apulia, a region in southeastern Italy, bordering the Adriatic Sea. As an adult, he was described by the Roman historian Suetonius as being short and fat. His father was a freedman and small landowner in Venusia, working part-time as a public auctioneer or co-actor; historians disagree on whether or not he had ever been a slave. Suetonius added that his father may have been a 'dealer in salted provisions.' Obviously, Horace's father was capable enough to send the young poet to Rome and Athens (where he studied literature and philosophy) to complete his education.

It was while Horace was in Athens that he joined the army of Caesar's assassin Marcus Junius Brutus as a tribunus militum or military commander (a post normally held by a member of the equestrian class) against the heir apparent Octavian (the future Augustus). The assassin's forces eventually lost at the Battle of Philippi in 42 BCE, and this defeat left the impressionable Horace and many others with a bitter taste for warfare. Unfortunately, his support of Brutus cost him his family's property.

Despite having supported Caesar's assassin, Horace returned to Rome where he was fortunate to procure a position in government as a scriba quaestorius, an accountant or cashier, working under a quaestor in the imperial treasury. Some question whether or not he actually held the position having opposed Augustus at Philippi, nevertheless, Suetonius claimed he was pardoned and purchased the position. It was at this time that Horace wrote his first series of poems, something that brought him into contact with both Virgil, the author of the Aeneid, and the poet Varius Rufus, the author of De Morte, a poem intended to comfort men and not to fear death. Rufus was a devout follower of the philosopher Epicurus and his school 'The Garden.' Horace was drawn to the Epicurean philosophy and its principle that pleasure was the only good. According to historian M. Beard, both Virgil and Horace represented 'memorable and eloquent images' of the new 'golden age' of Rome. In the words of historian N. Rodgers, Virgil, Horace, and the banished poet Ovid created a classical style that many believed was comparable to that of the ancient Greeks.

Continue reading...

[alovelywaytospendanevening]

Homosexuality and the First Fifteen Roman Emperors

English historian Edward Gibbon (1737–1794) famously declared that "of the first fifteen emperors, Claudius was the only one whose taste in love was entirely correct" [i.e. strictly heterosexual]... but how true is that statement?

I did a little research and, while in no way offering a definitive answer over the matter, found evidence of homosexual activities for thirteen out of fifteen names. Besides the already mentioned Claudius, I didn't find any allegations about Vespasian and Antoninus Pius, who also seemed to be strictly attracted to women.

With the exception of the ones about Nerva and Hadrian, all following quotes were taken from Craig A. Williams' Roman Homosexuality.

(Warning: most quotes include mentions of some kind of non-consensual relationship, including with minors)

AUGUSTUS

Augustus himself acquired the reputation of an avid womanizer, but he also was said to have kept male slaves as his deliciae or “darlings,” one of whom, named Sarmentus, is mentioned in passing by Plutarch.

Augustus, one late source gossips, used to sleep in the midst of twelve catamiti and as many girls.

TIBERIUS

Funerary inscriptions from the imperial household under Augustus and Tiberius reveal that among the different positions filled by slaves in the palace were those of glaber ab cyatho (a smooth boy who served wine), glabrorum ornator (a male slave who served as beautician for the smooth boys), and puerorum ornatrix (a female beautician for boys).

Suetonius’ allusion to Galba’s tastes for mature males is far removed in tone from his explicitly moralizing condemnation of Tiberius’ shocking sexual use of very young boys (what he did “cannot be mentioned or heard, let alone believed”).

CALIGULA

Suetonius uses the coded phrase “pudicitiae neque suae neque alienae pepercit” (“he spared neither his own nor others’ pudicitia,” signifying that he played the receptive and insertive roles in penetrative acts respectively), and then reports some examples in rapid succession: two relationships with men that seem to have involved an exchange of role; an affair with a young nobleman named Valerius Catullus in which Caligula played the receptive role (Valerius claimed to have been worn out by his exertions).

CLAUDIUS

Suetonius has this to say of the emperor Claudius: “He was possessed of an extravagant desire for women, having no experience with males whatsoever."

NERO

Suetonius, Tacitus, Dio Cassius, and Aurelius Victor tell us that the emperor Nero publicly celebrated at least two wedding ceremonies with males, one in which he was the groom and one or perhaps two in which he was the bride, and they provide stunning details: dowry was given, a bridal veil worn.

GALBA

Suetonius records that the emperor Galba was particularly fond of men who were “very hard and grown up,” and it is worth noting that Galba’s fondness for mature men seems to have caused no eyebrows to rise, presumably because he was observing the two basic protocols of masculine sexual comportment: maintaining the appearance of an appropriately dominant stance with his partners and keeping himself to his own slaves and to prostitutes.

OTHO

Dio notes that Galba’s successor Otho alienated many people by having relations with Sporos and generally associating with Nero’s followers.

VITELLIUS

Vitellius began his brief reign as emperor in A.D. 69 by publicly honoring a freedman of his named Asiaticus, with whom he had had a stormy affair when Asiaticus was a young slave of his.

VESPASIAN

[No reports of homosexual activities.]

TITUS

Dio also mentions Domitian’s affair with Earinos, adding that the emperor’s brother and predecessor Titus had shared his tastes for eunuchs.

DOMITIAN

Statius imagines Venus proclaiming that Domitian’s beloved eunuch, Earinos, will surpass in his beauty some legendarily gorgeous young men: Endymion, Attis, Narcissus, and Hylas—the first two of whom were loved by goddesses.

NERVA

It is often insisted that Domitian was sexually abused by his eventual successor, the Emperor Nerva.

TRAJAN

Trajan kept delicati, and this detail is dropped in such a way as to suggest that this was a standard feature of the imperial household.

HADRIAN

Hadrian appears to have preferred the company of men and homosexual relations. The great love of his life, Antinous, was a young man from Bithynia.

ANTONINUS PIUS

[No reports of homosexual activities.]

[acertainidontknowwhat]

Dissertation Diary #3

The Performative Humility of the Princeps

I have been able to work on my dissertation for the last two days because I am behind on grading a summer semester class. However, I thought I’d just give a general update concerning what I have been working on as of late.

I have been working on connecting Trimalchio and the freedmen’s speech in general with the principes as a part of my argument is that the kind of speech that we see at the Cena Trimalchionis is not actually indicative of an authentic lower-class speech, but is instead imitative of the an intentional form of speaking used by the princeps, in this case Augustus, as a form of self effacement. Within this imperial society, there is only one figure for whom humility has become a virtue, and that is the princeps who is now a singular entity whose level of authority and power is now far beyond the reach of any other person in society. In order to counteract the negative effects of this obvious power imbalance, the princeps must engage in performative acts of self effacement that maintain the fiction that he is merely the first citizen among citizens. We see this in Suetonius who records the speaking and writing patterns of Augustus, who himself uses slang, idioms, and “greekisms” just like Trimalchio and the freedmen. Sprinkling Greek into one’s speech, moreover, is a characteristic of an elite class that consisted of widespread bilingualism.

Throughout Suetonius’ writing on Augustus’ habits, we continuously see an emphasis on modesty, a characteristic that had no currency among the constant political competition that raged during the Republican period. Augustus’ house, furniture, dress, personal grooming, sleeping habits, eating habits, speech, etc. are all described by Suetonius as being humble, old-fashioned, or somewhat ascetic. This goes hand in hand with Augustus’ insistence that almost every aspect of his life be on view for the public.

It is within this context that we can reassess several aspects of Trimalchio’s character. Instead of a desperate freedman trapped by his limited status attempting to imitate his betters and getting it all wrong—a characterization that has more in common with the nouveau riche of the Industrial Revolution—Trimalchio is a hyper-mimetic representation of the princeps and is in fact getting everything exactly right. The critique then becomes the gross-exaggeration of what is clearly a performative aspect of the figure of the princeps.

[sunnyapollonjabrigidotter]

Gaius Iulius Hyginus ...

"Latin author, a pupil of the scholar Alexander Polyhistor, and a freedman of Caesar Augustus. He was elected superintendent of the Palatine library by Augustus according to Suetonius' De Grammaticis, 20. It is not clear whether Hyginus was a native of the Iberian Peninsula or of Alexandria." Wikipedia

"Under the name of Hyginus there are extant what are probably two sets of school notes abbreviating his treatises on mythology; one is a collection of Fabulae ("stories"), the other a "Poetical Astronomy"."

He's got many lost writings... (hate when this happens, but nah...)

More on the Fabulae..

"The Fabulae consists of some three hundred very brief and plainly, even crudely, told myths (such as Agnodice) and celestial genealogies,[3] made by an author who was characterized by the modern editor, H. J. Rose, as adulescentem imperitum, semidoctum, stultum—"an ignorant youth, semi-learned, stupid"—but valuable for the use made of works of Greek writers of tragedy that are now lost. Arthur L. Keith, reviewing H. J. Rose's edition (1934) of Hygini Fabulae,[4] wondered "at the caprices of Fortune who has allowed many of the plays of an Aeschylus, the larger portion of Livy's histories, and other priceless treasures to perish, while this school-boy's exercise has survived to become the pabulum of scholarly effort." Hyginus' compilation represents in primitive form what every educated Roman in the age of the Antonines was expected to know of Greek myth, at the simplest level. The Fabulae are a mine of information today, when so many more nuanced versions of the myths have been lost.

In fact the text of the Fabulae was all but lost: a single surviving manuscript from the abbey of Freising,[5] in a Beneventan script datable c. 900, formed the material for the first printed edition, negligently and uncritically[6] transcribed by Jacob Micyllus, 1535, who may have supplied it with the title we know it by.[7] In the course of printing, following the usual practice, by which the manuscripts printed in the 15th and 16th centuries have rarely survived their treatment at the printshop, the manuscript was pulled apart: only two small fragments of it have turned up, significantly as stiffening in book bindings.[8] Another fragmentary text, dating from the 5th century is in the Vatican Library.[9]

Among Hyginus' sources are the scholia on Apollonius of Rhodes' Argonautica, which were dated to about the time of Tiberius by Apollonius' editor R. Merkel, in the preface to his edition of Apollonius (Leipzig, 1854)."

Yeah, seems.. idk... im confused...

Gotta appreciate the ones who can work a nice way out w too little infos, really want to know what he had to say on the godess he & probably a select group of ppl envisioned as a primordial, was it instead of another primordial as we learn in Hesiod's Theogony... or was an addition, did i read right? Appeared b4 Chaos?? Or im already confusing w sth else... my bad, cs taken a mlp pause to work on a ship edits, of which two i lost cs picsart got bugs agn...

But here's the one that didnt (cs didnt forget to save)... the pony on the right is the oc, ik, i placed cheese sandwich too much in center, so it looks like its abt him, but no, he's just a pal... the name of the blue one w what i envisioned as brown curly mane w blue highlights, is Swirling Magus - & he's oc kid of wizwinds (wiz & winds) gay ship from mlp equestria girls... he's a nice guy, an ambivert, likes both to study like twillight, & hangout w friends, hold magical performances, & he can be so silly... pronouns: he/they

Yeah, just explained my dizzy mind 😆😁

Now ill back to Higynus ...

Found it on topostext.org 😍

"§ 0.2 Preface: From Caligine (Mist) (was born) Chaos; from Chaos and Caligine: Night, Day, Erebus, Aether. From Night and Erebus: Fate, Old Age, Death, Dissolution, Continence, Sleep, Dreams, Love — that is, Lysimeles, Epiphron, dumiles [?} Porphyrion, Epaphus, Discord, Wretchedness, Wantonness, Nemesis, Euphrosyne, Friendship, Compassion, Styx; the three Fates, namely, Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos; the Hesperides, Aegle, Hesperie, aerica." ...

Here

[lboogie1906]

Rev. Samuel Green (c. 1802 – February 28, 1877) was an enslaved, freedman, and minister of religion. A conductor of the Underground Railroad, he was tried and convicted in 1857 of possessing a copy of the anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe following the Dover Eight incident. He received a ten-year sentence and was pardoned by the Governor of Maryland Augustus Bradford in 1862 after he served five years.

He married Catherine, and they had two children. His wife and their children were enslaved by Ezekial Richardson. He was able to buy his wife’s freedom in 1842 for $100, but he was unsuccessful in purchasing the freedom of his children.

An African American lay minister, he was a founder and trustee of the Mt. Zion Methodist Church in New East Market. After the American Civil War, he co-founded and worked at the Centenary Biblical Institute. The school taught men to become ministers. The Greens were members of the Orchard Street United Methodist Church in Baltimore.

He was possibly related to Harriet “Ritt” Green, the mother of Harriet Tubman.

He was an enslaved field hand in Dorchester County, Maryland. When his enslaver, Henry Nicholas, died in 1832, a provision in his will provided that he should be freed after five more years of servitude.

He became a blacksmith, which allowed him to earn and save money after his workday. He was able to buy off the remaining four years and was freed.

He worked as a farmer and as a lay minister or exhorter in the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Dorchester County. He served as a delegate to the Convention of the Free Colored People of Maryland, where he resisted efforts to encourage emigration to Africa.

He was a suspected operator, but he was held in high esteem by the white community so he was able to operate freely for some time.

He helped coordinate Underground Railroad activity, including the escape of his son, his son’s friends, and the Dover Eight. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[nero-the-emperor-of-rome]

Nero and how he became on of the most infamous Roman Emperors

Rise to Power.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Nero rose to power due to his mothers heinous actions. At the age of three, Nero's father died. His mother, Julia Agrippina, killed her second husband to be able to get closer to her uncle, Claudius. They married and she decided she would stop at nothing to get her son on the throne. During her time as Claudius's wife, she killed any of Claudius's palace advisors that opposed her. During this time Nero, at the age of 15, was set to marry Octavia who was 14 at the time. Agrippina Managed to convince Claudius to favor her son over his own for the throne due to her relation to previous Roman emperor Augustus. Soon after this she poisoned her husband and step-son and placed Nero on the Roman throne at the age of 16.

Details on Time as Emperor.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

In the very beginning, Nero wasn't as bad as the Emperors before him. He but an end to the secret trials before the Emperor and the dominance of corrupt freedman during Claudius' reign. He gave the Senate more independence. Up to the year 59 CE he was cited as being extremely generous. He banned capital punishment and he allowed slaves to bring forward complaints against unjust masters. As his reign continued he started to abandon his duties in favor exploring his more artistic interests. In 59 CE he killed his own mother because he felt she was becoming too unstable at seeing her son slip out of her grasp. In 62 CE he also murdered his wife Octavia due to him falling in love with another woman, Poppaea Sabina. He married Sabina in 62 CE but she died in 65 CE. It was rumored that Nero killed her by kicking her when she was pregnant but due to Nero being widely hated these accounts can't be fully trusted. Nero viewed himself as a lyre player and a poet. The Romans viewed these interests as scandalous. He began losing favor in the public eye. In 63 CE he began showing interest in cult activities. In 64 CE a fire ravaged most of Rome. During this time Nero was nowhere to be found. Due to his low reputation and erratic behavior the Romans blamed him for the fire. The end of Nero's reign was near. At this time in his life he was spending lavishly in aesthetic changes to the Roman empire. In 66 CE he took an extended trip to Greece for 15 months. He returned to Rome in 68 CE.

Details of Death.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

The senate condemned him to death by crucifixion. His reputation was so low at this point that even his household guard abandoned him. He committed suicide on June 9, 68 CE

Why Significant.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Nero was Emperor at a time of significant social change. He not only banned capital punishment but he also gave slaves the ability to speak out about unjust masters. Even though he brought on a handful of good changes, he was still an extremely poor ruler. So much so that he was considered to be one of Rome's most hated emperors. Some of his most horrendous actions include killing both his mother and two of his wives. He neglected his duties as emperor in favor of exploring his personal interests.

[black2infinity]

Meet Anna Murray Douglass, first wife to Frederick Douglass. Anna helped Frederick escape enslavement. Anna was the first of her siblings to be born free after her parents were manumitted. When she met Frederick she was financially prepared to start a life with him but first, he needed freedom. By borrowing a freedman’s protection certificate from a friend and wearing the disguise of a sailor sewn by Anna, Frederick made his way to New York City by train, spending Anna’s money to buy the ticket. She continued to support his abolitionist work for the rest of her life. There is no Frederick Douglass without Anna Murray Douglass. Protect Black women at all costs. Anna Murray Douglass was an American abolitionist, member of the Underground Railroad, and the first wife of Frederick Douglass, from 1838 to her death. In the 1830s, when a teenaged Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey was enslaved in the Baltimore household of Hugh Auld, teaching himself, painstakingly and largely in secret, to read and write, a young Black woman named Anna Murray was also at work in that city, shouldering the domestic labor of white households. The families of both these young people had been torn apart by the practice of slavery. Frederick had been separated from his mother so early his memories of her were mere shadows and fragments, and again parted from his maternal grandparents as a young child, “given” by the owner of his plantation birthplace on Maryland’s Eastern Shore to a family member in Baltimore. Anna was the eighth of 12 children—the first who was born free, just a month after her parents’ manumission in rural Denton, MD. She moved to Baltimore at 17 to earn a wage. It was around this time that Anna and Frederick met, perhaps in church (the details are lost to history), and hatched a plan. Frederick took a train to New York City using false papers, Anna followed shortly after, and the two married there in the home of abolitionist David Ruggles in 1838.

[cartoonfangirl1218]

This is my son

So in honor of YJ: Outsiders and the fact that we have an onscreen view of Amistad. Here is a little fic I did ages ago of how Rocket may have introduced her son to the Team. Lots of info was taken from the comics since the show doesn’t explore Raquel’s past a lot. Hope you enjoy. 

Raquel sighed as she settled a fussy Amistad for bedtime. She had to read him three books by Dr. Seuss and sing to him before his eyes even started to droop. He was a stubborn little boy, sorta like her. She gently rocked his blue cradle before turning off the lights to his room. 

She padded downstairs and glanced at the old Colonial grandfather clock. 11 pm. It was that late, maybe if she tried to really hard, she could write her economics proposal now, half of her History essay and then finish it in the morning along with her trigonometry homework. 

She shook her head as she thought over the coming morning, she'd have to do both essays right now especially if Amistad won't eat his food right away. It's a literal battle to feed him, and then get him out of the house to daycare. She hated the thought of dealing with him when he gets older. 

She settled on the living room couch spend out the books she needed and her laptop on her lap with a tray of coffee cups. 

She had crunched through the history essay. It was defiantly not her best but it would have to do, she'd settle for a C at the least. 

Then Augustus Freeman aka the superhero alien known as Icon came in. 

"Raquel you're still up?"

"No, I'm sleep-walking. Yes I'm still awake" Raquel snapped back sarcastically. 

"You do know that you have training with the Team tomorrow afternoon right?" Raquel groaned. 

The life of a teenage superhero. She recently joined a Team of teenage superheroes who no longer wanted to be treated as sidekicks. Batman (yes that freakin Batman!) was the one who assigned them black ops missions as they saved the world. 

Unlike some of the sidekicks like Robin or Aqualad, she had only become a superhero two years ago when she and her ex-boyfriend, Noble (the irony) had tried to steal some stuff from this old Colonial house that had been standing since the Civil War. 

While Noble looked for things to loot, she had been fascinated by the immense library the house had. She always loved to read and dreamed of becoming a writer, so that room was like a personal heaven for her. She wanted to just curl up on the old couch and look at the gleaming hardcover volumes. 

Then they saw the alien technology. 

Unfortunately they hadn't counted for the house to be occupied by a superhero. Augustus Freeman, lawyer by day but in reality a three thousand year old alien, the last of his kind as all aliens that crash land to Earth seem to be, who fought for justice. 

Though they had ran away that day, Raquel had returned to the house. 

She had been the one to convince Augustus to become a superhero. He was Batman. She was his Robin. Icon had initially refused, but she kept needling him until he had decided to give it a go. 

The city sure needed them as heroes. Dakota City may not be a Gotham in terms of danger, but there was plenty of violence and injustice that needed to be righted.  

It had been a tense first months since Icon was so damn conservative and analytical while she was more impulsive, liberal and action-oriented. But they eventually made their partnership turn into a smooth in sync team. 

Back back to her impulsive habits.

Something she wished she reined her impulsivity earlier. That same impulsiveness led her to agree to having sex with Noble. Their relationshop didn't last, him being an asshole had a major part to do with it. What did last was the fact that she had gotten pregnant. 

Raquel never felt so miserable in her life. The taunts and the whispers and the same old comment, "Oh she's from Paris Island what did you expect?" 

Abortion had been an option, Augustus highly advised it, and Noble even gave her the money to do it when he found out the news. But she quite obviously didn't get an abortion. 

She asked and asked around for opinions and the answer was always "Yes, get one" but she had felt disappointed by that. She finally realized that disappointed was that she had wanted someone to say "No, keep the baby" because she, she wanted to see this through and have a baby. Not the smartest decision in the world, but it was her's nonetheless. 

Despite his disapproval, Augustus had been very helpful when she had been pregnant. He dealt with her food cravings and mood swings, and buying baby stuff, reading parenting books and eventually with the labor. Amisted's middle name was Augustus in honor of her mentor, and she had asked him to be the godfather. 

Her friend, Denise even stood in as Rocket for her while her baby bump started to show. Make that ex-friend. The girl ran off with Noble awhile later, insisting "He changed." So what? You don't date the ex that got your friend pregnant, it is a common friendship rule! She hoped they gave each other syphilis.

Eventually she settled into a routine of taking care of Amisted in the mornings, drop him off at daycare, go to school, take care of him until he fell asleep and then do homework at whatever hour at night. In the weekends it had been easier since she could spend the whole doing Mommy and Me stuff with Amistad and more leisure time while he napped. 

Then she joined the Team, and things started to go a bit downhill. Besides the missions, they had required training sessions with Black Canary, and strategic planning with Captain Atom. And then, Miss Martian, such a sweetheart, always had plans for Team bonding time. It was a bit stressful with work and such, not that the team members didn't get that, they went to regular school too. But... She hadn't told them she had a son. 

It's been four months now, and they had no clue. Just as she wanted. It had been a struggle, with the lies on why she was so tired, her refusals to join Team bonding (on account of being needed at home), her worry during overnight missions (IT WAS OVERNIGHT, WHO KNOWS WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN TO AMISTAD WHEN SHE'S GONE!!). She'd saying that she was babysitting her baby brother, but Robin was starting to question why she was always babysitting when her parents could do that. 

There was one embarrassing incident, that she had fallen asleep next to Wally, when she heard the alarm, mistaken it for the baby monitor and started rocking Wally's head like how she usually rocked Amsted when he was crying. That involved a very interesting yet lame explanation about her Rosemary's Baby inspired dream.  

It's just she always swore to herself that she wouldn't be the kind of teen mom that let all things go. That she failed at school, hardly cared for her child and did whatever she wanted. She did want to get straights As and be a good mother. She loved Amistad more than she loved anyone else in the whole world and the thought of someone trying to harm him made her want to kill. But it was all so stressful. 

"You know, Raquel I'm sure they would understand.." Augustus started to say, 

"Don't finish that sentence" Raquel scowled. 

They had been having this argument ever since she joined the Team. "Just tell them you have a son, they'll be understanding." Augustus insisted. 

Oh, no they wouldn’t. They're teenagers. No offense to her own kind but teens are very critical. And she did't want to further the stereotype that girls from the 'hood' were sluts that had babies and nothing else to show for the life.

Okay, yes she was from the hood and yes, she had a baby but that was where the parallels stopped!

Besides she wanted so badly to impress the Team with her maturity and bravery and just general heroics. The whole having a son thing would kind of ruin it. 

Oh and ruin any possible love life. 

Most boys at her school avoided her like a plague and those who didn't. Well they thought she was so easy because she had a child. Perverts. 

She hated school for all the people and the Team was the only place she wasn't judged. Sure, she wasn't spending so much time hanging out with them as she would like too but she still appreciated hanging out with them. They were chill, and mature and they understood all the grey in life. 

Grey like death, cloning, discriminations, things out of their control. They couldn't be blamed for being a White Martian, or raised by villains or having to kill people.  

But grey situations like teen pregnancy hadn’t been out of her control. It had been her own stupid decision and there wasn't anyone to blame but herself. 

"Raquel, they've been through a lot. They won't judge you so harshly." 

"Yes they will" Raquel muttered bitterly. 

"Raquel please think about it. It would be a lot easier on yourself. You could take Amistad to the Cave, and I'm sure Red Tornado could take care of him while you're on missions, I'll help of course. Please consider it." 

Raquel didn't know why, but she was tired of hearing the same explanation of why she should tell. Augustus didn’t understand. It wasn’t like he went to work where people stared at him as if he were trash. He didn’t have to deal with the mothers gossiping about him when he picked Amistad up from daycare. He didn't have to explain to Amistad, why no one wanted to go on playdates with him. 

"No, I cannot tell the Team, I just can't! Once I tell them, they’ll think I'm just another idiot that sleeps around. I have been trying so hard to go to school, and take care of Amistad, and live a normal life. But I can't! Sometimes I just wish he hadn't been born. Then I feel like a horrible mother because I do love him, I love him, he's he's my baby boy but it's it's... 

I mean yeah, I always talk about how the Team is so mature and how they’ve been through stuff, but they wouldn't understand this. They're still teenagers. They’re gonna be like the kids at my school, offering me condoms and sending notes on HOW TO USE a condom. 

You’ve got to believe me I did use one. I just didn't know how put it on okay. No one teaches you how to do that. They just say use it and you'll be safe. Well that didn’t worked did it? 

The team cannot accept me. They won't. I'll spell it out for you. My own parents didn't accept me. They took me to the hospital, confirmed I was pregnant, and left me. They left me in the hospital and drove away. I spent three days in that hospital with nurses pitying me or scolding me on how I could have done this to myself and how I ruined my life!" Raquel shouted.

After those three days in the hospital, she had gone to Augustus’ house in tears and explained what happened. He had offered for her to live in the third floor of the old mansion and that's where she had stayed. 

Eventually, months later, with a lot of prodding from Augustus she decided it was time to face her parents and confront them for what they did to her.  She told him that they had refused to see her, but it didn't exactly go that way. 

"And that time I told you I would face my parents after what they did to me. I lied. I didn't see them at all. I mean I was going to, but they weren't home. My sister, Denise was. And she was so surprised and happy. Know why? 

Because my parents told him I was dead."

Augustus stared at her in horror which only made her talk faster to get the whole awful explanation over with. 

"They said that on that day they drove me to the hospital. They collided with a car and it burst into flames. They couldn't have my funeral because they didn't know which ashes were mine.

They went through so much trouble pretending to grieve and needing their privacy and lied to my sister about it. 

How could I face them after hearing that! 

My own parents would want me dead then have to admit to having a teen mom.

My own parents who were suppose to love me unconditionally, left me! That's why I can't tell the Team. I mean if my own parents who cared for me for 13 years want me dead then how can people I know for less than 7 months ever understand." Raquel slammed her laptop shut and stomped up to her room where she fell onto her bed, crying. 

It had felt good to let it out in the open. The whole thing with parents had bothered her. 

She agonized over it for days afterward as. And for a short period, she acted extra nice to Augustus, in case he ever decided it was stupid to keep taking care of her. Until she realized he would never do that. Sure, he could be critical of her choices but he wasn't heartless. 

They developed a respect for one another. He had became her grandfather figure. Plus she was pretty sure if he hadn't ran for the hills after she gave birth to Amisted, he wasn't going to leave any time soon. 

Agustus entered her room a few minutes later, cautiously knocking on the door before he sat at the edge of her bed. 

"Raquel, I'm sorry about your parents." He whispered softly. 

"S'okay. I've gotten over it." Raquel mumbled to her pillow. 

"I promise I won't badger you to talk to the Team about Amistad." He told her.  

"Thank you" Raquel sighed, turning over to face him. He looked so grim and forbidding in the moonlight. It was so unlike him to her. She was used to seeing  the soft smile that she had seen wear when he played with her son. To her, he was far too compassionate and mellow to be intimidating. 

He let out a deep exhale, his large hand ruffling her cropped hair affectionately. "You must know, not everyone is going to leave you for your mistakes. You are a very smart lady, and you have been a better mother to Amistad starting at 14 than many have been starting at 30. I think we've both learned a lot life lessons from taking care of him. He brings a certain liveliness to the house, and I'm never been prouder to be called Uncle Auggy." 

Raquel gave a thin smile, "And what about my parents?”  

"I can't condone what they did, Raquel. But I promise I will not do that to you. I'll even fight Batman myself if he or the Team thinks less of you for this. You are more than your mistakes. It’s what you have done to fix them and improve yourself that makes you a good person. You haven't lost your drive, your integrity or your spirit, and you are willing to make sacrifices for your child. If the Team can't see that. You should feel that they are less than you instead of the other way around." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------—————The next afternoon at training, Raquel kept glancing nervously at the door. 

After her talk with Augustus yesterday and a long restless night, no thanks to Amistad’s latest nightmares about It. She and come to the decision that she would finally tell the team. She agreed with Augustus that she should stop pinning shame onto herself and she should judge the Team for their reaction. 

Also she knew what harm secrets had done to the Team, and it was unfair that she knew so much of their struggles and they didn't know hers.

Besides she remembered his other points, it would make life a whole lot easier for her if the other members took turns to take care of him. It wasn’t like everyone was going to react like her parents. 

Worse case scenario would be that she got kicked out of the Team. Augustus leaves the League. Then they both would be banned from ever super-heroing again.

Okay that was probably an exaggeration. 

But then again, Batman could do anything. Especially if he got angry that she lied to him.

With those doubts swirling in her head, Raquel didn't feel like a good idea any more, and was trying to think of a way to contact Augustus before he entered the Cave. 

I should leave. I'll stop them before they even enter. This is stupid. I'm right. What kind of person WOULDN'T judge a teen mom. They're all gonna think I'm a slut! Why would that want to work with a slutty superhero? I'm going to get kicked out for sure.

She glanced at the zeta-beams, wondering if she could make her escape before anyone would notice. 

Just then the computer announced,  "Entering Icon A-14. Entering Unknown Person" 

Raquel let out a silent moan. Here comes the judgement day.

The whole Team, and Back Canary looked questioningly at the two entering. 

"Awww Rocket, is this your baby brother?" Zatanna asked.

Icon pried a nervous Amisted clinging from his leg, handing him to her told and and went to talk to Black Canary about the situation. 

Raquel bit back an instinctive aww as Amistad tried hiding his face into her shoulder. He was just so adorable! 

"He's so cute!" Miss Martian squealed. 

"I guess he's cute" Superboy grunted. 

Raquel took a deep, shuddery breath "Uh well...That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I haven't been entirely honest with you about my home life and the exact way we are related. You see, Amistad isn’t my brother. 

They stared at her questioningly. 

"He's my son," They stared at her in silence with confused looks on Miss Martian and Superboy's faces. The others gave embarrassed glances at her. 

"I don't get it. Aren't you only 16?" Miss Martian asked innocently, Raquel nodded reluctantly. 

More staring. This was as awkward as she feared. They were never going to treat her the same way again. Forget getting kicked out, she might have to quit. She wouldn't be able to deal with this kind of silence and pitying stares aimed her. 

Since it seemed like her announcement had stunned them into muteness she decided to make an exit. "So, yeah. That’s my big..secret. I should be going." 

She turned to leave when Wally zoomed in front of her. "Can I hold him?" 

Raquel was so surprised that she almost dropped Amistad. Hold him? No one ever held him, but her and Icon. 

Yet she saw the sincerity in Wally's eyes, and the encouraging smile, nodding at her to say yes. No one had ever looked at her that way after they realized her teen mom status. No one ever looked so eager to hold her son. 

"Yeah, um here you go.” She placed Amistad in his arms, and corrected the way to hold him. 

"Hey Amistad, it's your Uncle Wall-man. We are gonna have a blast when you get older" Wally said holding out a finger for Amistad to grab. 

"Wall-e?" Amistad asked, wonder and amazement streaking across his face, making him look even more adorable in Raquel’s eyes. 

"No, no not the robot. I'm the greatest speedster of all time. Superhero of this Earth. I save the day with charm, and wit and the amazing power of science!" Wally gestured exaggeratedly.

Raquel smiled at him. She never been so grateful for the hungry speedster in her life. 

"Thank you" she mouthed to him, and he mouthed back "No problem," as he continued detailing his amazing exploits to the boy who was clearly going to idolize him when he got older. 

Slowly the others gathered around them.

"Is he gonna be visiting more often? I have the perfect bat light he'll love." Robin said. 

"We can be like his honorary aunts and uncles," Zatanna chimed in, cooing at him.  "That would be great, that would be really great.” Raquel smiled, feeling like she was starting to truly become apart of the Team’s ragtag family at last. 

[realhist]

Julia Agrippina or Agrippina the Younger was one of the most prominent and powerful women in the Julio-Claudian Dynasty.

She was the daughter of the great general Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder. She was born at a Roman outpost on the Rhine river while her father was on campaign in Germania.

Her early life was not a particularly happy time. Her father died suddenly in Antioch in 19 CE. Her mother returned to Rome and promptly accused the emperor Tiberius of ordering her husbands death. For his part, Tiberius was happy to punish her for the accusations. This caused a deep feud between the Julia and Claudia branches of the imperial family. Eventually, her mother and her brother Nero were sent into exile. The latter died in 31 CE and the former died of starvation in 33.

Agrippina the Younger married her first husband in 28, at the age of 13. This union would produce her only natural son, who was named Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus after his father. The nature of their relationship is unknown.

After Tiberius’ death in 37, Agrippina’s only surviving brother Caligula became emperor. This brought his sisters to political prominence. Indeed, Caligula seems to have been unusually devoted to his sisters, which of course fuelled rumours of incest.

Two years later, Agrippina was implicated in a plot to assassinate Caligula and was exiled. While in exile, her first husband died.

After the accession of her uncle Claudius, she was allowed to return and the inheritance of her son was restored.

With her political prominence and her place within the imperial family restored, Agrippina and her son became targets of the empress Messalina, who viewed the boy as a rival to her own son, Britannicus.

After Messalina’s downfall, Agrippina appears to have set her sights on marriage to her uncle Claudius. She was certainly an ambitious woman, both for herself but mostly for her son. His elevation increased her own influence.

The scandalous marriage between Claudius and Agrippina was framed by some as an attempt to heal the rift between the two branches of the imperial dynasty.

After the wedding, Agrippina quickly began engaging in back room politics to spread her influence. She eliminated any officials she considered loyal to the late Messalina and she had an intense political rivalry with the freedman Narcissus.

As her husband became increasingly ill, the prominence and influence of Agrippina continued to expand.

She successfully manoeuvred for her son to replace Britannicus as heir presumptive, an effort that culminated with Claudius officially adopting the boy. His name was changed to Nero Claudia Caesar Augustus Germanicus, known to history simply as Nero.

Claudius died in 54. Essentially every contemporary source accuses Agrippina of poisoning him, but it is just as likely that he died of natural causes. In any case, Agrippina moved swiftly, tightly controlling news of the emperor’s death until she could have Nero elevated as his successor.

If she has wielded great influence before, her power only grew in the early years of her son’s reign. She sat alongside the emperor while they held court, an unprecedented public display of power. It is said she also attended Senate meetings behind a curtain.

Agrippina dominated Nero’s first years in power, but her control soon began to slip. The lad began to increasingly chafe at his mother’s domineering presence. No doubt sensing her waning influence, Agrippina moved to bring Britannicus back to prominence. Whether this was a genuine attempt to replace Nero on the throne or merely to create an implied threat if Nero continued to defy her, it backfired. Nero had Britannicus poisoned in 55 and the relationship between mother and son became increasingly hostile.

This power struggle continued for several years before the emperor had had enough. In 59, her orchestrated her death. The ancient accounts of her demise contradict each other in their descriptions of the elaborate assassination scheme. According to Tacitus, Nero rigged her ship to sink when she came aboard, but his mother survived and swam ashore, forcing him to send assassins after her.

Regardless of the circumstances of her death, Agrippina the Younger died in 59 CE. She was the last in a long line of formidable Julio-Claudian women who had wielded great power and influence.

[dwellordream]

“...In early portraits Livia sports the nodus hairstyle, in which the hair rolls forward over the forehead and is then drawn back to form a distinctive topknot. This style was seen by Ovid as a useful corrective to a very round face. Generally in the heads of this group the face is a regular oval with broad cheekbones. The eyes are large and the brow above them arches slightly. The nose is large and aquiline, while the curving mouth and the chin are very small. The portraits project an image well suited to Livia—one of ageless and elegant beauty, calm and dignified, perhaps strangely emotionless.

The severity of the nodus style would be less appealing with age. Thus the hair in portraits of the Tiberian period generally has a centre parting, and falls from either side in waves. The head is still relatively youthful, given that Livia must have been now in her seventies, a tradition maintained by modern aging monarchs, whose images on stamps and coins tend to be frozen for several decades. It could be argued that the elusive issue of Livia’s appearance is irrelevant in a political biography. But it has some historical importance. The sources suggest that Augustus was drawn to Livia initially by basic sexual attraction. Some knowledge of her physical appearance would help us place that claim in a proper context. 

Whatever attributes Livia was granted by Nature she could enhance by Art. When it came to dress, Ovid attributes to Livia a surprisingly progressive attitude, that she was simply too busy to spend a lot of time on her appearance. The assertion has to be seen against the background of a large household and an enormous staff, whose task it would have been to pay attention to those details deemed unworthy of their mistress’s time and effort. The evidence for the wide range of functionaries operating within the household of Livia is dealt with in chapter 9.

At this point we can limit ourselves to noting the surprising number of helpers devoted to Livia’s personal appearance. Inevitably there were several ornatrices (dressers), as well as staff a veste/ad vestem, whose task it was to keep her clothes in good order. In addition, the ab ornamentis would have had responsibility for her ceremonial garments and accessories, along with a specialist who looked after those she wore as priestess of Augustus, a freedman ab ornamentis sacerdotalibus. Her calciator made her shoes. Augustus liked to boast that his clothes were made by his wife and sister. Perhaps, but they would have had help. Livia employed both lanipendi (wool weighers) and sarcinatores / sarcinatrices (sewing men / women). For her comfort she had an unctrix (masseuse). 

Perhaps most striking are the skilled craftsmen who would have been employed for the manufacture and maintenance of luxury items. Her aurifex (goldsmith) and inaurator (gilder) might have been occupied mainly with furniture, but the margaritarius (pearl setter) sounds like someone who would have been employed to work on her personal jewellery. Elizabeth Bartman has noted the absence of jewellery from the sculpted images of Livia, which she describes as ‘‘bordering on the ascetic.’’ This, of course, may have been a deliberate fabrication of Livia’s image in the sculptural prototypes that she allowed to be distributed. There was a tradition of Roman women making a sacrifice of luxury items for the good of the state, such as the women who donated their jewellery to help fund the war against Veii in the early republic. 

But it may be that Livia aimed for understated elegance, to be simplex munditiis, as Horace expressed the concept in his famous poem. This could explain why Augustus aroused amused disbelief among the senators when he held up Livia as an example of womanhood and, when pressed to explain, cited as evidence her appearance and dress and her exodoi (her public forays) as illustrations of moderation to be emulated. Augustus had the evidence of his own eyes, and he admired her for avoiding extravagance. But the senators perhaps may have seen a kind of elegant moderatio, the appearance of simplicity that only the best dressmakers, coiffeurs, and jewellers can produce, using the finest and most expensive material. 

Livia’s energies would have been channelled mainly into her role as wife of Augustus and as mother of Tiberius. We know little of her private interests, or of how she tried to relax. Only one scrap of evidence survives for anything remotely approaching frivolity. She seems to have competed inanely with Julia, the granddaughter of Augustus, over the record for owning the smallest dwarf. This was settled honourably, as Julia owned the smallest male, at two feet, one palm (about sixty-seven centimetres), but Livia could boast the smallest female dwarf, Andromeda, height not recorded. We might also detect perhaps a hint of a certain silliness when she was a young woman.

The story of her trying to foretell her child’s sex by means of a hen’s egg is noted in chapter 1. After Tiberius’ birth she seems to have consulted an astrologer (mathematicus), Scribonius. He was able to forecast that her son would govern, but without the trappings of monarchical rule, an especially impressive performance, because he anticipated this before the principate had been established and before Livia had even met Augustus. But this kind of behaviour should be viewed in the context of its age, and Livia was probably no more unsophisticated in such matters than the great mass of her contemporaries. 

Otherwise her interests are likely to have been more serious, and she seems to have been a literate and educated woman. At any rate, in one of his letters to her Augustus quotes frequently and extensively in Greek, presumably on the assumption that she would understand him. She did of course spend some time in the Greek world during the period of her first husband’s exile, but she would at that time have moved mainly in a Latin-speaking milieu. It is more than likely that she learned the language through formal tuition. Given her family background, we can assume that Livia would have been well educated as a child. Roman girls shared domestic tutors with their brothers before their marriage. There are many examples of the happy result of this practice. Pliny the Younger was flattered to find his young wife reading and memorizing his works, and setting his verses to music. Cornelia, the wife of Pompey, was educated in literature, music, and geometry, and enjoyed attending philosophical discussions. 

The existence of the highly educated woman, at least at a slightly later date, is confirmed by the caustic observations of the atrabilious Juvenal, who proclaims horror at females who speak with authority on literature, discuss ethical issues, quote lines of verse the rest of humanity has not even heard of, and even correct your mistakes of grammar. Apart from Livia’s knowledge of Greek, however, we have no concrete evidence of her intellectual pursuits, in contrast to her great-granddaughter Agrippina, whose memoirs survived and were read by Tacitus. But we do have some testimony about Livia’s intellectual sophistication. Philo was a contemporary and, though a resident of Alexandria, very familiar with Rome and the imperial house. 

For example, he met Caligula in person when he headed a delegation to Rome to represent the case of the Jews of his native town. In a speech that he attributes to Caligula’s Jewish friend Herod Agrippa, he has Agrippa cite the precedent of Livia, whom he represents as a woman of great mental ability and untypical of her sex, for he contended that women were generally incapable of grasping mental concepts (whether this is Agrippa’s or Philo’s prejudice is not made clear). Agrippa supposedly attributed Livia’s superiority in this sphere to her natural talents and to her education (paideia). Livia was well disposed to the Jews and generous to the Temple, and we might expect some gilding of the lily. But Philo’s characterization of her could clearly not have been absurdly wide of the mark, or the arguments attributed to Agrippa would have been discredited. 

The Corinthian poet Honestus describes Livia as fit company for the muses, a woman who saved the world by her wisdom. The inflated language traditional in such a dedicatory piece, however, means that it has little historical value. Apart from the uncertain case of Honestus, we have no other case of Livia’s supporting any cultural or intellectual endeavour, although she was an active patron in many other areas. In this sphere she was eclipsed by Augustus’ sister Octavia, who was a sponsor of the architect Vitruvius and to whom the Stoic philosopher Athenodorus of Tarsus dedicated a book of his work. Although Livia’s interest in fostering artistic and cultural undertakings might have been limited, there was one field in which her enthusiasm seems to have been boundless: the issue of healthy living, both physical and psychological. Despite her general reserve in most other matters, she seems to have been willing, even eager, to impart her views on the issue of how to live a long and robust life. 

She was ahead of her time in her use of what would now be called a grief counsellor. When her son Drusus died in 9 bc, she was devastated. That she managed to handle the situation with dignity was due to no small extent to the counselling given her by the philosopher Areus (or Areius) Didymus of Alexandria. Areus was basically a Stoic but kept an open mind to other schools and ideas, the kind of eclectic pragmatist that the Romans found appealing. He was clearly a man of great charm, and at the time of Actium, Octavian described him as his mentor and companion. Octavian reputedly spared all the Alexandrians after the battle and stated publicly that he did so because of the fame of Alexander the Great, the beauty of the city, and his regard for one of its citizens, Areus. In the event Alexandria did not emerge totally unscathed, for Octavian followed up his generous gesture by visiting the corpse of Alexander, where he behaved like the worst kind of bad tourist, touching the nose and breaking it off.

According to Seneca’s account, to which the author undoubtedly added his own imaginative touches, Areus, in giving his advice to Livia, described himself as an assiduus comes (constant companion) of her husband and claimed to know not only their public pronouncements but also the secretiores animorum vestrorum motus (the deeper emotions of the two of you). He clearly knew his patient well, and in the event proved a highly effective consultant. He gently observed that Livia had been in the habit of repressing her feelings and of being constantly on guard in public. He encouraged her to open up when dealing with the subject of Drusus, to speak to her friends about the death of her son, and to listen to others when they praised him. She should also dwell on the positive side of things, particularly the happiness that he brought her when he was still alive. The advice may have the shallow ring of the popular psychology handed out in the modern media, but it worked. 

Seneca observed how well Livia coped with her loss by following this advice, in contrast to the morbidly obsessive Octavia, sister of Augustus, who never ceased to be preoccupied with thoughts of her dead son Marcellus. Livia lived a long and, by her own description, healthy life, with only one serious illness recorded, when she was already eighty. Her formula for her robust constitution seems to have been proper diet and the use of ‘‘natural’’ remedies. She clearly had the irritating habit of healthy people who insist on inflicting on others their philosophy of wholesome living. For history this has proved fortunate, because some of her dietary recommendations are recorded. In her early eighties she anticipated a trend that was to reemerge almost two thousand years later, attributing her vigorous condition to her daily tipple. She drank exclusively the wine of Pucinum. This was a very select vintage, grown on a stony hill in the Gulf of Trieste, not far from the source of the Timavo, where the sea breezes ripen enough grapes to fill a few amphorae. Pliny confirms its medicinal value, which he suspects might long have been recognised, even by the Greeks.

It need not be thought that in following this regimen Livia had simply invented a formula for healthy living. In fact, she was echoing a nostrum that had become very trendy in her youth, and in doing so marked herself as an acolyte of one of the master-gurus of health-faddists, Asclepiades of Prousias. According to tradition, Asclepiades started as a poor professor of rhetoric before turning to medicine. During his career he acquired considerable fame (Pliny speaks of his summa fama) and provoked the animosity of other medical writers—he was still being attacked by Galen almost three hundred years after his death. The anger of his fellow healers is not hard to explain, because he turned ancient medicine on its head by distancing himself from dangerous pharmacological and surgical procedures, even describing traditional medicine as a ‘‘preparation for death.’’ Instead, he placed emphasis on more humane and agreeable treatments—diet, passive exercise, massages, bathing, even rocking beds. Pliny felt that he mainly used guesswork but was successful because he had a smooth patter. 

How effective he was cannot be gauged now. He is said to have recovered a ‘‘corpse’’ from a funeral procession and then to have successfully treated it. But famous doctors in antiquity routinely restored the dead to life. Perhaps more impressive, and more alarming to the medical profession, was Asclepiades’ pledge that by following his own prescriptions he could guarantee that he would never be ill, and that if he lapsed, he would retire from medicine. He was apparently never put to the test, and eventually died by accident, falling from a ladder. It is not hard to believe that Asclepiades might have exercised an influence on Livia, especially in that Pliny remarks that he almost brought the whole human race round to his point of view, and Elizabeth Rawson argues that a case can be made that he was the most influential Greek thinker at work in Rome in the first century bc. Pliny notes a dilemma that has a strangely contemporary ring—whether wine is more harmful or helpful to the health. 

As the champion of the latter belief Pliny cites Asclepiades, who wrote a book on wine’s benefits, based to some extent on the teaching of Cleophantus. Asclepiades received a familiar nickname oinodotes (wine giver), although to avoid being cast as someone who encouraged inebriation, he did advocate abstinence under certain circumstances. As Pliny words it, Asclepiades stated that the benefits of wine were not surpassed by the power of the gods, and the historian, like Livia, seems to have been won over, conceding that wine drunk in moderation benefitted the sinews and stomach, and made one happy, and could even be usefully applied to sores. Livia might have become acquainted with Asclepiades’ teaching while he was still alive (it is uncertain when he died), but in any case Pliny makes it clear that after his death his ideas took a firm hold on the population, and would still have been in circulation for many years after he made his ultimate precipitous descent from the ladder.

Apart from her views on the benefits of fine wines, Livia was known for other health tips. Pliny adds his personal recommendation for one of her fads, a daily dose of inula (elecampane). The elecampane, with its broad yellow petals, is a common plant throughout Europe, and its root has long been a popular medicine. Because it is bitter and can cause stomach upset if eaten alone, it is usually ground up, or marinated in vinegar and water, then mixed with fruit or honey. It was supposedly useful for weak digestion. Horace describes its popularity among gluttons, who could overdo safely by using elecampane afterwards. Then, as now, celebrity endorsements helped; Pliny observes that the use of the plant was given a considerable boost by Livia’s recommendation. In some modern quarters it is still promoted as an effective tonic and laxative.

…These curiosities do provide a possible context for one of the charges levelled against Livia, which the scholarly world generally agrees was groundless: that of using poison to remove those who blocked her ambitions. The accusation is one that powerful women in competitive political situations throughout antiquity and the middle ages found difficult to refute, because poison has traditionally been considered the woman’s weapon of choice. Because women took the primary responsibility for family well-being, they would have been the inevitable targets of suspicion if a person died of something brought on by gastric problems. If Livia had insisted on inflicting her home cures on members of her family, it is not difficult to imagine that a malign reputation could have arisen after a death that was advantageous to her. One also should not discount the possibility that the combination of birthwort and ash of swallows did more harm than good, and that she might indeed have helped despatch some of her patients, despite the very best of intentions. 

Allied to Livia’s preoccupation with herbal remedies is her passionate interest and regular involvement in various aspects of horticulture. The most vivid illustration of this comes from her villa at Primaporta . The highlight of the complex is the garden room, built and decorated around 20 bc in the form of a partially subterranean chamber nearly 12 metres long by 6 metres wide, perhaps a dining room intended for summer use. The most impressive feature of the room is the magnificent wall painting, unparalleled for its scale and detail. It creates an illusion of a pavilion within a magical garden, teeming with flowers and birds. Unusually for the Pompeian Second Style of painting, all structural supports have been dispensed with, even at the angles, although along the tops of the walls there is a rocky fringe, which conveys the impression of the mouth of a grotto. In the foreground stands a wicker fence. Behind that is a narrow grassy walk, set with small plants, bordered on its inner side by a low stone parapet. A small recess is set in the wall at intervals to accommodate a bush or tree. 

Behind it stands a rich tangled forest of carefully painted shrubs and trees, with various types of laurel predominating. The rich mass of foliage is framed at the top by a narrow band of sky. The painting is detailed and accurate, with flowers and fruit and birds perched on the branches or on the ground. The birds, of many species, range freely, with the exception of a single caged nightingale. Flowers and fruit of all seasons are mingled together. This rich extravaganza belonged clearly to an owner who exulted in the richness and variety of nature. But Livia’s horticultural interests went beyond a mere feast for the eye—she had a direct and practical interest in produce. She developed a distinctive type of fig that bore her name, the Liviana, mentioned by agricultural writers and recommended by Columella and Athenaeus, and which may have contributed to the tradition that she eliminated Augustus by specially treated figs grown in their villa at Nola.“

- Anthony A. Barrett, “The Private Livia.” in Livia: First Lady of Imperial Rome

[splendidemendax]

Classical reception projects I'd do if Star Trek were real and I was living in the 24th century:*

*In this version of reality, everyone in the whole galaxy reads ancient Greco-Roman lit and is ready to talk about it at a moment's notice bc I say so.

Vulcan reception of the Iliad

So like, the most obvious project would be to see how the Vulcans read the Stoics, since Stoic ethics is remarkably similar to Surakian philosophy. But I don't think they'd go for the Stoics I like (mostly Epictetus, who is excellent); I have the feeling they'd be more into, like, Seneca.*

*tl;dr: Epictetus was a freedman and his Stoicism is about keeping your head and preserving your identity and moral core at any cost when everything is really, really hard. Seneca is more, like, high-academic, theoretical Stoicism. I find Epictetus' approach both much more interesting and much more useful; I also personally find Seneca very annoying.

But the Iliad is so emotive and emotion is so explicitly tied to loss and destruction, specifically loss and desctruction through war. If you've never read it, these are the first few lines:

Anger be now your song, immortal one, Akhilleus' anger, doomed and ruinous, that caused the Akhaians loss on bitter loss and crowded brave souls into the undergloom, leaving so many dead men-carrion for dogs and birds; and the will of Zeus was done. —Iliad, 1.1–6, trans. Robert Fitzgerald

I also had a prof in college who studied emotions in Homer and her favorite way of reading the Iliad was to reframe the narrative as being about longing (ποθή) rather than rage (μῆνις), which is a take I'll never forget.

All in all: I think it would remind Vulcans of their own history and make them super uncomfy and I love to see how people deal with texts that make them uncomfy.

Cardassian reception of the Aeneid

So the obvious bits here are the focus on the family and the state and the sacrifice involved in preserving/creating/honoring them.

What's particularly fun is Vergil's ambivalence about the Augustan project.* The classic (ha) argument about the Aeneid is whether it's pro- or anti-Augustan, but it doesn't have to be entirely one or the other and I personally think the ambivalence is the point. When you're living in a state coming off, like, a century of on-and-off civil war, you might have some complicated feelings about an authoritarian's peace. It would be super cool to see whether or not Vergil's ambivalence would come through.

*tl;dr: Augustus wins a civil war and takes control of the Roman government. He plays a delicate balancing game during his lifetime, but will later be recognized as the first Roman emperor. The year he is granted the title Augustus ("venerable, noble; sacred"; his actual name is Octavian) by the Roman Senate is the standard date for Rome's transition from republic to empire.

The Aeneid is also interesting because of how simultaneously hopeful and hopeless it is. Case in point: book six, where Aeneas goes to the underworld to talk to his dead father and he sees the entire future of Rome down there. The future is good, but it's got this awful shadow hanging over it because Aeneas, founder of the Roman people, is seeing this glorious future in the land of the dead.

The person who is described in the most depth is Marcellus, who gets a good thirty lines (note that I've omitted some lines):

                                      At which point Aeneas saw A young man in step with Marcellus, arrayed In glittering arms, exceedingly handsome But with lowered eyes, unhappy looking, so he asked, “Who, father, is that companion at his side? A son, or another of his great descendants? What crowds and clamour follow him! What presence He has! But black night wreathes his brow With dolorous shadow.”                                            Choking back his tears, Anchises answered, “Do not, O my son, Seek foreknowledge of the heavy sorrow Your people will endure. Fate will allow the world Only to glimpse him, then rob it of him quickly... O son of pity! Alas that you cannot strike Fate’s cruel fetters off! For you are to be Marcellus... —Aeneid, 6.1169–1198, trans. Seamus Heaney*

*Seamus Heaney's translation of Aen. VI is the best translation I've ever read of any Latin text. I paid a truly stupid amount of money for it (like $20 or smthg for a 100-ish page book) and it was entirely, 100% worth it. Cannot recommend highly enough.

Marcellus will be Rome's great hope and he'll die before he gets to do anything; he hasn't been born yet and he's already in the underworld. His ancestors grieve the bright future he's already doomed never to have, centuries before he's even born.

I'd love to see what Cardassians would make of all the ambivalence, especially if I could compare approaches before and after the Dominion War.

[terato-onlyfangs]

What I gathered for Etruscan so you can use it for the vamps

[1],[2],[x],[4 18+],[5]

World, Earth

cel"earth, ground, soil

"thi"water; creak ?

"una"flowing, stream

"huin(-)"spring, well

"ushil"sun

"tiur"moon

"pulum(chva)"star(s)

"trut-*"lightening, bolt ?

"zeri"serene, unclouded (weather, sky)

"lur(i)"brightness (of stars)"

Law and Justice    

cecha"treaty"

shurnu-"order ?, testament ?

"teur-"jugdement, panel, award

"tevarath"jugde, arbitrator o.s.

"tupi"punishment"

Warfare  

macstrna(appr.) "aide de camp"

Animals

thevru"bull

"leu"lion(ess)

"krankru"cat ?, 

panther ?

"tusna"swan"

hiul(s?)"owl"

Bodily functions

am-"to be"

acnanas"begot, bore

"svalce, svalthas (, ril ?)"(s)he lived, had lived"

Death/ grave

lupu"(has) died

"cesu"was/were interred

"tesham(-)"burial

"celuca*"interment ?

"hinthial"soul (of the deceased), 'shade'

"mutna"coffin, casket

"mursh"coffin, urn

"capra"coffin"ma(n)

"monument, tomb stone

"shuthi"vault, grave (building)

"tamera"grave chamber

"tus"coffin, kline, place (in a vault)

"hupnina"kline, coffin

"zelar"niche(s)

"zelarvena*"being supplied with niches

"shuthina"grave gift" 

Clothes/ etc

caper"cloak

"zam(a)thi"brooch

"mal(e)na"mirror (made of bronze)

"lur(i)"adornment"

House

per(a)"house

"ara- per(a)=c"house and home; property

"scuna"place, room"kanna (1x), cana"precious item, work of art (length of cloth, stele o.s.)"cver(a)"work of art, sculpture, statue

"trepu"craftsman, carpenter

"zinace"produced (pottery)

"acil(u)"producer, potter

"cerichunce"erected, built, had erected

"ce(ri)nu"(was) erected, built"

Numbers

churu"full (in number)

"heva"all, everyone"

snuiaph"as much/many as

"thu"one

"zal"two

"ci"three

"mach"four

huth"five

"sha"six

"sar"ten

"huthzar"fifteen

"ciem zathrum"seventeen

"eslem zathrum"eighteen

"thunem zathrum"nineteen

"zathrum"twenty

"ci zathrum"twenty-three

"huth zathrum"twenty-five

"thunem cealch"twenty-nine

"ce/ialch"thirty

"muvalch"forty

"shealch"sixty

"thunz"once

"eslz"twice

"ciz"thrice"

Property

al(i)ce / muluvanece / tur(u)ce"gave, dedicated

"alpan"gift of thanks

"alicha"gift, present"

lautn"possession

"thaura"property ?"

Emotions

hathna"happy

"mlach / mlaka-"good, beautiful

"azaru(a)"good ?

"calus(u-)"excellent, best

"zeri"free (person); accessible (water)

"thuta (f.)"chaste, married only once"

Speech/ writing

zichuche"was written; incised; carved"zich"book; letter ?"zic(h)u"clerk, writer"penth(u)na"(inscribed) stone, stele"

Religion

ais > eis"god

"flere"deity

"tmia"temple, sanctuary

"tamera"(temple) cella

"fler"sacrifice, ritual o.s.

"aisna"sacrifice, ritual o.s.

"fase"libation"un(n.) "pouring out, spill (as a libation)

"cletram"litter, table ? (applied in cultual practise)"caper heci'(ritual) cloak'tuthi(u)"pledge, vow, votum

"tuthina"votive gift"cana, cver(a), shuris, tinscvil'consecrated objects'trutnuth"fulguriator (lat.): a seer, reading lightnings"netshvis"haruspex (lat.): a seer, reading animal entrails

"maru"chairman of a cultual society"zilath'cultual functionary'al(i)ce / muluvanece / tur(u)ce"donated, dedicated

"cenu"(was) built"

Family/people

mi"I

"sa"self

"marish (m.)"(male) baby, boy, youth

"leinth"old age; old woman

"lasa"bride ?" ("nymph")

marish"bridegroom ?

"ati"mother

"apa"father

"apana"paternal

"puia"wife; woman ?

"sech"daughter

"sech farthana / harthna"stepdaughter

"clan"son

"clanti"adoptive son

"clan thunchultha

"step son

"hush(i)ur"children

"ati nacn(uv)a, teta"grandmother

"apa nacna, papa"grandfather

"tetals"grandson/granddaughter (in relation to a grandmother)

"papals"grandson/granddaughter (in relation to a grandfather)

"nefts"nephew

"prum(ath)s"grandnephew

"netei (f.)"mother-in-law ?

"ati(v)u"stepmother

"ziv(a)-"relatives, kinship

"hatrencu (f.)"?

"ath(e/u)mica (plural)(plural) 'relatives'arce"(s)he raised (children)"

Food

eleiva-*"oil

"vinum"wine

"achapri"jug, oinochoe

"hushlna"(wine) mug ?, amphore ? (for cultual use)

"pruchum"jug"qutum"jug

"qutumuza"little jug (for straining)

"lechtumuza"little jug, aryballos"thina"ewer"eleivana"container of oil"vertun'some sort of vessel'zavena"two-handled vessel, kantharos"zavenuza'same as before ?' (however, see Biondi, Acme 50, 1997, 3-31)fasena"vessel for libations; (askos)

"spanti"bowl for libations and drinking; plate

"culichna"bowl

"thafna, thapna"drinking vessel, cup, lid (of a thina)"s(h)untheruza"pyxis, (little, round clay) box"

[Wallace, Studi Etruschi 64, 201ff.]

Rooms

scuna"place, room

"shuth"to put ?

"ika > eca (noun), ca, gen. cla, (adj.)"this, that"cal, gen. clal"this here"ita > eta (noun), ta (adj.)"this, that

"eclthi, clthl (loc.)"here"thui, thuves"inside

"thva-* ?"interior, inner

"(ce)hen"outer, outside

"cipen > cepen, pen"below, under

"srenc-*"above, upper

"srancza-"upper part/piece

"penza-"lower part/piece

"hampha-"right side

"laiva-"left side

"thes(h)viti"to/in the East

"faviti"in the West

"ushil"South ?"

Transport

truth-"to cast, to throw"tezan"way, road

"favin"to descend ?

"thes-"to mount"

Age

leine"at the age of

"mean"childhood, youth"sh(i)ans"beginning, scheme, plan

"hintha (hinth(i)u)"to cease, to finish" ("(was) finished")thesan"dawn, sunrise, morning

"ushil"noon

"tinia"day

"tiur"month

"avil"years

"ilucu'a period: part of a month ? o.s.'ena"today ?, now(adays) "ishveita > eshvita"following, later day

"uelcitanus (lat.)"martius (March)"aberas (lat.)"aprilis (April)

"apirase"in the month of April"ampiles (lat.)"maius (May)"anpilie"in the month of Mai"aclus (lat.)"iunius (June)"acal(v)e"in the month of June"traneus (lat.)

"iulius (July)"thucte"in the month of July ? / August ?"ermius (lat.)"augustus (August)"celius (lat.)"September"celi"in the month of September

"xof(f)er ? (lat.)"October"alshase"in *Alshasa (~ phoenician "in the month of K(i)r(a)r")"tulerase"in *Tulerasa (~ phoenician "in the month of the sacrifice to the Sun")"

Social areas

spur(a)"city, polis

"methlum"township

"rasna"public, belonging to the state

"thunchultha- (thunchver-?)"private

"tular"border(s), frontier(s), territory

"cel"(piece of) soil, territory

"nape(r)"borderstone(s)

"hilar"marked off

"mech"lady, queen

"sacni and derivations"citizen(s)"eter(a), eterti'member of a class of citizens'marish"servant, slave

"snenath"woman servant, lady's maid

"lautni"slave, freedman

"lautnitha"female slave, freedwoman

"themias-"had obeyed

"zeri"free"

[classicalmonuments]

Mausoleum of Zoilos

Aphrodisias, Asia Minor (Turkey)

1st century BCE

The large figured reliefs from a tomb monument to C. Julius Zoilos, a great benefactor of Aphrodisias who lived in the time of Julius Caesar and Augustus, were discovered in 1956 and succeeding years. They were restored once in 1979, and were re-restored and installed in their correct sequence in a new display in the Aphrodisias Museum in 1993-1994. The frieze is the earliest figured marble monument in the city.

C. Julius Zoilos had an extraordinary career. A native of Aphrodisias, he was enslaved and spent much of his life away from the city. Eventually, he was freed and became the freedman and trusted agent of Octavian, later called Augustus, the first emperor of Rome. Zoilos returned to Aphrodisias in c. 40 BCE an extremely wealthy man, and played a prominent role in the life of the city. He was a priest of Aphrodite and paid for at least three major marble buildings: the first phase of the temple of Aphrodite, the elaborate stage building of the theatre, and the north colonnade of the North Agora in the city centre. He was honoured at Aphrodisias with at least two public statues, and died sometime after 28 BCE. He was also honoured with the monumental tomb which the frieze decorated.

Nothing of the tomb building itself has been found, but it can be deduced that the frieze occupied the sides of a square mausoleum. It presents an allegorical account of Zoilos' life and virtues. The main preserved frieze is composed of two groups of three figures, all identified by inscriptions. Zoilos himself is seen in two different costumes in the centre of each group. In the left-hand group Bravery (ANDREIA) presents a shield to Zoilos, who wears a Roman toga, while Honour (TIMĒ) crowns him from the right. The scene celebrates Zoilos' military courage and his status as a Roman citizen. In the right-hand group, the personification of the People (DĒMOS) stretches out his hand to greet Zoilos, who wears a long travelling cloak and cap, while the City (POLIS) crowns him from behind. This scene is an elevated representation of Zoilos' return home from Rome. Subjects represented in other surviving panels included: Eternity (AIŌN), Roma (inscription not preserved), Remembrance (MNĒMĒ), Minos, a judge in the underworld (MEINŌS), Excellence (ARETĒ), and Loyalty (PISTIS).

I used a picture of Gümüşkesen, which is a different tomb, to illustrate the hypothesized reconstruction. 

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4

[acertainidontknowwhat]

Dissertation: one year later.

After a year of dissertation I have somewhere between 20 and 50 good pages alongside tons of notes and several ideas that are just that, which feels like an absolute failure on my part. This process has been difficult and while I haven't been the best dissertation writer, my academic support system has been severely lacking as well. During this semester alone one of my committee members sadly passed away after a very long battle with cancer and my lead committee member resigned effective immediately without any sort of forewarning and has not been in contact since.

I settled on my topic relatively early and found it exciting in the beginning because I saw it as being novel, but I don't know anymore. I tried to move from my Petronian niche to broader themes within the Julio-Claudian period: a reassessment of Petronius as an author of an imperial critique that goes beyond Nero and is instead focused on the Augustan legacy as a whole. I don't think that it is a coincidence that Petronius (whoever that is) is writing at the same time as Lucan.* Lucan's Bellum Civile is the repetition and continuation of mourning for a new generation describing the civil war between Caesar and Pompey in visceral detail for the purpose of bringing those events into the present. The Satyrica also seem to be obsessed with the idea of repetition as an act of definition, both literary and political. While comedic, many aspects of the Satyrica revolve around issues of trauma both at the individual and societal level. I am taking Petronius more seriously (a funny idea in itself) in my dissertation and when one does so the narrative becomes filled with the presence of loss as if the characters are existing in the fallout of civil war.

A reassessment of Trimalchio is due as well, not as a caricature of Nero but as an amalgam of the figure of princeps. Moreover, a metaphorical reading of the freedmen (liberti - the emancipated ones) is far more appropriate than a literal reading of Petronius' characterization of this class of people. It has been clearly shown that Petronius' freedmen in no way reflect the lived reality of actual Roman freedmen (see Henrik Mouritsen's The Freedman in the Roman World) and thus who is being represented by Petronius? Could it be a representation of the Julio-Claudian princeps, his family, and their closest associates as liberti and thus Petronius could claim plausible deniability while writing about the emperors? Not to mention the dinner takes place inside a home that is distinctly described as having characteristics of a mausoleum, the most famous of which would be associated with the one Augustus built for the imperial family.

I got carried away. I love this project, but I feel like I should be done already and I need to stop living in the future trying to prepare for the next step when I still haven't been able to finish the most important thing in the present.

*The ongoing debate over who wrote the Satyrica and when it was written means that making claims about what the Satyrica does or does not say becomes more difficult. I have read papers and dissertations claiming that the Satyrica should be dated variously as end of the first century CE, sometime in the second century CE, and even as late as the third century CE. I know that the general consensus still seems to accept a Neronian date for the work, but it is something that is frustratingly undergoing continual reassessment.