Life Of Caesar

The Nemi ships were two pleasure barges, one larger than the other, built under Caligula at Lake Nemi. Although there were several attempts to recover them from the 15th century onwards, it wasn't until 1929 that Mussolini ordered the whole of Lake Nemi would be drained and they were recovered and housed in a museum. And then the Americans decided to drop bombs on them, and they were destroyed, lost forever. The post Caligula #9 – The Ships of Nemi appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

According to Suetonius, Caligula was quite proud of his "adiatrepsia" - shamelessness. He lived in habitual incest with all his sisters and was especially fond of Drusilla. He made her divorce her first husband and marry his friend and lover Marcus Aemilius Lepidus. In 37 he interrupted the wedding of Livia Orestilla so he could marry her himself - and then kicked her to the curb 24 hours later. Then he made Lollia Paulina divorce her husband and marry him - but he tired of her in six months. Then he married Caesonia, "a woman of reckless extravagance and wantonness". Six months into his rule, Caligula fell seriously ill.  While he was sick in bed, Macro and Silanus apparently prepared for the worst. They started the wheels in motion for Gemellus to be declared the successor. The post Caligula #8 – Shamelessness appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

One of the other first things Caligula did when he took power was to release Herod Agrippa from jail - King Herod from the New Testament. The grandson of Herod the Great. Which all gives me an excuse to talk about The Maccabean Revolt and a short history on Judaean politics from 169 BCE to Caligula.  The post Caligula #6 – The Maccabees appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

By all accounts, Caligula was extremely popular with the people, as his father, Germanicus, had been. Suetonius reports that Caligula was “the emperor most earnestly desired”. When he entered Rome, the celebrations are said to have gone on for almost three months, and more than 160,000 animals were sacrificed—and eaten.  The post Caligula #5 – Caligula’s Popularity appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

We all think we know something of the story of Caligula. We have a picture of him as a destructive monster, an insane sadist. But truth is rarely that simple. Let's take a look at the sources and their individual biases. And let's keep in mind that Caligula was Rome's first true emperor.  The post Caligula #4 – Monster or Misunderstood? appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

In March 37 CE, aged seventy-seven years, four months, and nine days, of which time he had been emperor twenty-two years, seven months, and seven days, Tiberius Caesar Divi Augusti filius Augustus fell ill and died. OR DID HE? The post Tiberius Caesar #40 – I’M NOT DEAD YET appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

When Ray’s away, the Cam doth play.

It’s the year 24 CE. Sejanus is trying to convince Tiberius that the sky is falling. His advice: sweep the leg. [powerpress]   The post Tiberius Caesar #31 – Sweep The Leg appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

In 21 there was a revolt by a number of Gallic tribes under the leadership of Julius Florus and Julius Sacrovir.  And in 28, there was another revolt. This time by the Germanic Frisii tribe – all because their cows weren’t large enough.  [powerpress]   The post Tiberius Caesar #26 – Florus, Sacrovir & the Frisii appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

Listen to me read the INTRODUCTION to my new book THE PSYCHOPATH ECONOMY. And you only have until 20 March to pre-order your copy! 

Claudius, son of Drusus and Antonia Minor, grandson of Livia and Mark Antony, was born in 10 BCE. He’s so disabled, his mother refers to him as a monster and uses him as a synonym for stupidity.   [powerpress]   The post Tiberius Caesar #17 – I, Claudius appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

I just launched my second and last Kickstarter campaign for the Jesus film! Check it out, promote it, support it, lick it, rub yourself all over it!

To Germanicus, Piso’s appointment will have been clear proof that Tiberius still did not trust him. To some extent it followed the pattern whereby a tried and trusted man was sent to watch over a young and inexperienced prince. But Germanicus was neither so young nor by any means so inexperienced as Gaius Caesar had […] The post Tiberius Caesar #11 “Father of the Legions” appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

A special philosophy episode. Nothing at all to do with Augustus or Rome. No Ray. Just me and a special guest – Dr. Richard Carrier, who has a M.Phil. and a Ph.D. Ancient History from Columbia University.  Talking about FREE WILL. Now most of you know that I’m as passionate about philosophy as I am […]

A quick hello from our hotel room in Durham, North Carolina.

Hey folks, I’m trying to gauge interest in a 2018 tour of Europe. I’ve had a bunch of people email me over the last six months asking for details – well, here they are. It’s hard to come up with exact dates or costs until we have a much better idea of how many people […]

Our Kickstarter campaign went live today, so please jump on over there, and support us if you can. And, if you can’t, but still want to support us, Tweet it, Facebook it, Reddit it. Thanks!