Astral, loved the podcast! One comment: toward the end, you say that Augustus arrived with the Praetorian Guard to deal with the factions in Rome and didn't have to really do anything to wrangle control of the state firmly into his hands. That's not exactly accurate. In reality, the Second Triumvirate "liquidated" most of its enemies upon gaining the power to do so, wiping those pieces off the chess board.
As Goldsworthy put it in Augustus: First Emperor of Rome "The triumvirs presented the proscriptions as the necessary elimination of enemies of the state and its leaders. They declared that Julius Caesar had shown clemency only to be murdered by the very men he had spared. They did not intend to repeat that mistake, and so would kill without mercy anyone they considered to be an enemy, ignoring even ties of friendship and family."
It was after that and his successful war with Antony that he gained complete power and was able to wield power without having to convince the factions, as the ones that had stopped Julius Caesar were gone, as were his rivals.
"The young, murderous warlord of the civil wars then managed to reinvent himself as the beloved guardian of the state, took the name Augustus with its religious overtones, and was eventually dubbed ‘the father of his country’, an inclusive rather than divisive figure. He held supreme power for forty-four years – a very long time for any monarch – and when he died of old age, there was no question that his nominated successor would follow him."
I very much appreciate this comment! And thanks for elaborating. I knew all that, in fact I even have that book, and one on Hadrian that I believe is by the same author. However, this conversation wasn’t mapped out ahead of time, though some of my podcast episodes are. As I started talking I kind of realized I was saying it a little wrong, that the people in the senate weren’t *the same* people involved in the assassination of Julius Caesar and the ensuing civil wars, but they had watched it all happen, and when Augustus entered the senate, they immediately knew it was all over.
To go back and edit, or to stumble over my words and recant is just too much, gotta keep moving. Appreciate you
Absolutely. Wasn't trying to be nitpicky, just noticed it and thought I'd bring it up for added reference on how Augustus cemented his control. Appreciate all you do!
And I'll have to check out the Hadrian one, I didn't realize he wrote one on Hadrian.
Excellent podcast, both of you guys. This is quite off-topic but I found this youtube channel and I felt this guy would be amazing for an interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BLAUhBl0nA
He really has insightful and original thoughts on this phenomena of "friendship simulators", parasocial relationships and all manner of unsavory things that our hypermodern era has thrust upon us. He's also very young from what I gather and would provide a good view into how Gen-Z has been affected by the pandemic/lockdowns.
Astral, loved the podcast! One comment: toward the end, you say that Augustus arrived with the Praetorian Guard to deal with the factions in Rome and didn't have to really do anything to wrangle control of the state firmly into his hands. That's not exactly accurate. In reality, the Second Triumvirate "liquidated" most of its enemies upon gaining the power to do so, wiping those pieces off the chess board.
As Goldsworthy put it in Augustus: First Emperor of Rome "The triumvirs presented the proscriptions as the necessary elimination of enemies of the state and its leaders. They declared that Julius Caesar had shown clemency only to be murdered by the very men he had spared. They did not intend to repeat that mistake, and so would kill without mercy anyone they considered to be an enemy, ignoring even ties of friendship and family."
It was after that and his successful war with Antony that he gained complete power and was able to wield power without having to convince the factions, as the ones that had stopped Julius Caesar were gone, as were his rivals.
"The young, murderous warlord of the civil wars then managed to reinvent himself as the beloved guardian of the state, took the name Augustus with its religious overtones, and was eventually dubbed ‘the father of his country’, an inclusive rather than divisive figure. He held supreme power for forty-four years – a very long time for any monarch – and when he died of old age, there was no question that his nominated successor would follow him."
I very much appreciate this comment! And thanks for elaborating. I knew all that, in fact I even have that book, and one on Hadrian that I believe is by the same author. However, this conversation wasn’t mapped out ahead of time, though some of my podcast episodes are. As I started talking I kind of realized I was saying it a little wrong, that the people in the senate weren’t *the same* people involved in the assassination of Julius Caesar and the ensuing civil wars, but they had watched it all happen, and when Augustus entered the senate, they immediately knew it was all over.
To go back and edit, or to stumble over my words and recant is just too much, gotta keep moving. Appreciate you
Absolutely. Wasn't trying to be nitpicky, just noticed it and thought I'd bring it up for added reference on how Augustus cemented his control. Appreciate all you do!
And I'll have to check out the Hadrian one, I didn't realize he wrote one on Hadrian.
Sorry, it’s by Anthony Everitt
Sorry, it’s by Anthony Everitt
Excellent podcast, both of you guys. This is quite off-topic but I found this youtube channel and I felt this guy would be amazing for an interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BLAUhBl0nA
He really has insightful and original thoughts on this phenomena of "friendship simulators", parasocial relationships and all manner of unsavory things that our hypermodern era has thrust upon us. He's also very young from what I gather and would provide a good view into how Gen-Z has been affected by the pandemic/lockdowns.
Really great episode! BTW, it appears that your Telegram channel is gone. Hope that doesn´t mean that there´ll be less content in the future.