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.
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I don’t know what this says about me, but in ninth grade when we studied the fall of the Roman Empire, I was very sad. I wondered why those barbarians had to ruin everything. I’ve always been fond of the ancient Roman stuff because of the art and mythology, not the politics. I find all the traitor-type stuff pretty depressing to read about, although the HBO series makes it more fun.