WHY DO ROMAN MATRONS BEHAVE SO BADLY? I BLAME SUETONIUS.

WHY DO ROMAN MATRONS BEHAVE SO BADLY? I BLAME SUETONIUS. Why is it the fall of the Roman republic that draws so much interest today? Because it resonates with our historical circumstances? I think it’s simply such a good story. Caesar is assassinated, not by a hired killer, but by public figures. The only other event I can think of with such a good story line is the murder of Rasputin. I give the same reason for the rascally Roman matrons on ROME. In I, CLAUDIUS Livia showed how deliciously wicked a wicked Roman matron could be. I was taught that Robert Graves took most of I, CLAUDIUS from Suetonius and that Suetonius, as secretary to a Roman emperor (Hadrian), printed all the gossip from the imperial files. It’s as if a good contemporary tabloid got hold of raw FBI files, whereas most Roman history reads as if the Washington Post or the New York Times was reporting on Hollywood.