Resumo de I, Claudius - Robert Graves

Popularized as a BBC drama series I, Claudius tells the story of Tiberius Claudius Drusus Germanicus and his rise from despised invalid to emperor of Rome. Claudius is the grandson of Mark Antony and Octavia and also of Livia the third wife of the emperor Augustus. Through his eyes we see the history of the Julio-Claudian line. The story begins with the history of the civil and the rise of Augustus. Prominent in this story is Livia who guides Augustus into the supreme power of Rome carefully influencing his favourites and culling those who stand in the way of her son Tiberius. Livia?s murderous streak leads to the death of statesmen, step-children, grandchildren and even the emperor himself. But Livia is an apt stateswoman and after she poisons Augustus, Tiberius is able to control Rome in a profitable manner until arguments and paranoid drive mother and son apart. Claudius?s older brother Germanicus proves a popular and able soldier returning the eagles lost under Augustus. However the adulation and respect he receives from the troops disturbs the emperor and soon Germanicus dies in a mysterious way. A local witch is condemned for the crime along with the statesman who supposedly hired her but the murderer turns out to have been closer to home. Meanwhile in Rome terror reigns as accusations of treason fly. The emperor imposes new taxes but prefers to stay at his villa far from the city indulging in unspeakable acts. Tiberius is deeply unpopular and in order to salve his reputation he appoints his sadistic great-nephew Caligula as his heir. Caligula is the golden prince, the son of the hero Germanicus and great-grandson of Augustus. His accession is rejoiced but his uncle Claudius is not fooled.The coming of Caligula is marked with great entertainments and sword fights but soon the expenses mount up. The imperial purse is empty and the new taxes soon mount up. In addition the emperor turns part of his palace into a brothel with his sisters as whores.Caligula declares himself not only a god but the greatest of the gods. He marries the brides of other men and then casts them aside while carefully boasting that Jove only had one of his sisters while he had slept with all three of his. It is not long before a plot is hatched against Caligula. Using Roman guards as murderers the emperor is torn to pieces. The assassins plan to kill the entire imperial family and replace them with a republic. However after Caligula is dead the plotters realise that they only way to regain order is to have a supreme ruler. At this point one of the guards finds Claudius hiding behind a curtain and instead of killing him they decide that he is harmless enough to make emperor. I, Claudius is a compelling romp through ancient Rome. It might not be 100 percent accurate history but it has all the elements that make for good drama; sex, death, money, power and the triumph of the underdog.

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