Claudius

by Barbara Levick

Claudius became emperor after the assassination of Caligula, and was deified by his successor Nero in AD 54. Opinions of him have varied greatly over succeeding centuries, but he has mostly been caricatured as a reluctant emperor, hampered by a speech impediment, who preferred reading to ruling. Barbara Levick's authoritative study reassesses the reign of Claudius, examining his political objectives and activities within the constitutional, political, social and economic development of Rome. Out of Levick's critical scrutiny of the literary, archaeological and epigraphic sources emerges a different Claudius - an intelligent politician, ruthlessly determined to secure his position as ruler. Now updated to take account of recent scholarship, Claudius remains essential reading for students and historians of the early Roman Empire.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, Ancient History, Roman History, Roman, Biography Memoir

288 pages, Paperback

First published February 5, 1990

About the author

Barbara M. Levick is a British historian, specializing in ancient history. She was educated at St Hugh's College, Oxford, and, since 1959, has been a Fellow of St Hilda's College, Oxford (now emeritus). She is a prolific writer and occasional broadcaster on Roman history.

Levick is best known to the general public for her biographies of Roman emperors.

Reviews

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Claudius - Born too late for bountiful booty

In this book, Barbara Levick offers a revisionist view of who Claudius was, moving away from the malicious words of Tacitus, Suetonius and Cassius Dio, instead relying on less biased evidence. The ancient view of Claudius depicts him as stupid, with his mother, according to Suetonius, calling him a 'monstrosity of a human being, one that Nature began and never finished'. Furthermore, he likely suffered from cerebral palsy, which affected his ability to speak. Seneca states that 'he had a cracked and hardly intelligible voice; it belonged to no land-animal, but the voice a sea-creature had', whilst Dio talks of an 'uncontrollable laughter', something which is associated with palsy. This speech impediment was made worse by the need for aristocracy to perform in public; 'Claudius used to give his speeches in the senate to his quaestor to read'. Claudius was not mentally backwards. He studied literature, rhetoric, music, mathematics, and jurisprudence, later writing twenty books on Etruscan history and eight on Carthaginian in Greek.

Nonetheless, Claudius' disability made it difficult for him to be seen as part of the family: 'Claudius finds a position here as a member of the family - a humiliating one between Germanicus' sister and children'. Coupled with the weak position of Emperor, and the need to relate oneself to Augustus, Claudius lacked the credibility and presentation to be seen as more than an necessary choice, which ultimately led to his assassination.

[Windsor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book probably the most out of the series. Not only am I a HUGE Claudius fan, but Everitt shows everyone why Claudius was not a mentally challenged boy who sulked in the shadows. Everitt does an amazing job of showing how a child who was limp, deaf, and had a speech impediment brought the army and Rome to love him through his knowledge of philosophy, oration, and politics. Definitely would recommend this book to fellow students who brush over Claudius to focus on the more famous Nero.

[Andrew Dockrill · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book but I found it very awkward to read. I mistakenly assumed that it would take on the approach of a chronological biography and as a result i was a bit let down as the biography is structured in categories rather than chronology. Also the writing style of Barbara did not really suit me. I had previously came off reading Augustus by Goldsworthy, Tiberius and Caligula and I could not put them down, I buzzed right through them. This book for me is quite a slog/struggle. It could simply be that there is not an abundance of information about Claudius as he was not remembered as one of the more popular Roman emperors, wrongly considered a dunce by many. Within the first 70 pages Claudius had died by mushrooms and then a poisoned feather at the supposed hands of Agrippina along with Britannicus his son who died at a party. This timing through me off a little and then it jumped right into his politics. For me this approach was a bit jarring and it does not really gel with my reading style. I doubt i'll read it again soon which is a shame because I wanted so much to really like it and also there is so little available on Claudius out there to be read.

[Isaac Clemente ríos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesante visión de Claudio.

Entre otras cosas sugiere su participación en la conspiración contra Calígula. Destaca cómo despliega una política basada en retomar alguno de los proyectos inacabados de Julio César, como la conquista de Britania, la ampliación del puerto de Ostia y el drenaje del lago Fucino.

Me parece meritorio el intento de separar el grano de la paja en la imagen proyectada por las fuentes primarias.

La lectura es todo lo entretenida que permite un ensayo de este tipo.

Mi nota 8,4/10

[John Nichol · Rating 2 out of 5]

Never before has a mere 200 pages been such a slog! Unashamedly academic, this is most definitely not for the lay reader. Prior events are referenced with no explanation of them, and sentences meander through 100 years of history with no pause. Great for a reference book, not so great as a piece of prose.

[Alasdair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terrific, balanced overview of an often misunderstood emperor, still first rate 30 years on. Ok, sections on provincial administration may be a bit dry for non-specialists. But opening pages are best succinct account of rise of principate I've found.

[Brock Tarlton · Rating 4 out of 5]

One book, one 6-page book review, and one very long day later...

[Birgitta Hoffmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Barbara Levick's book can always be expected to be full of detail and interest. Her Claudius volume is,no exception, which is why 25 years after the initial publication it is still a great read. It is beginning to show its age, if only through the fact that many new inscriptions and discoveries are not covered.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful source for those looking to study the emperor Claudius. Goes through all the major primary sources that discuss him. Very helpful for Classical Studies students focusing on Claudius or the Julio-Claudians. I think she is about to release an updated version though (if its not already out), so I would look into that one.