Members with This Book
Most Helpful Reviews
see all reviews
Liked It “Excellent historical journey through the life of the longest tenured ruler in Roman history. Chronicles the relationship with Julius Caesar through his conquest of Marc Antony and Egypt to his death as an old man. Very well written as Everitt takes you to Rome and you seemingly walk with...” see full review » see other reviews » |
Newest Reviews
see all reviews-
“ Augustus has been a hero of mine since my first interest in Roman history arose in my teenage years. He was born Gaius Octavius in the year 63 B.C. The date of his birth is September 23rd. Octavi – his family name - refers to the number eight, and the eighth month of the year – August - is named for him, just as July is named for Julius Caesar. The rural family into which he was born was politically active and moderately wealthy. He was the great-nephew of Julius Caesar who later adopted him as his son. After the death of Julius Caesar, Augustus came into power as part of a triumvirate whose two other members were Mark Antony and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus. His sister Octavian, whom he loved dearly, married Mark Antony who eventually betrayed her for Cleopatra. Partially due to Mark Antony’s betrayal and partly due to Lepidus’s weakness Augustus - through political and military machinations - became sole ruler of Rome. He was politically astute and restored some rights to the Senate which had been lost. His goal was to convince the people that they were living in a republic when in actuality Augustus ruled as an autocrat. He was successful in this. He knew the power of projecting the correct image and as a military commander overcame an innate fear of battle. In his early years he had become ill with fear prior to battle, but he was successful in overcoming this. He came to be seen as a great conqueror and extended the Roman Empire further than any other ruler. Once he rode into Rome in triumph in a gold chariot drawn by six leopards. He used every opportunity – military or religious – to project the desired image. In fact Augustus had provincial morals and was deeply religious. As a ruler he felt that Romans had become soft and wanton. He sought to restore traditional family values and morals to his subjects. He lived in a comfortable but modest villa. He had his daughter Julia’s house destroyed because it was too luxurious. He exiled the same daughter for adultery. Much of the beauty of Rome is attributable to his building campaigns and his military success can be largely credited to his system of paved roads. He was loyal to his wife. His sister, Octavian lived in his home after her divorce from Mark Antony. It is said of him that he found Rome a city of mud and bricks and left it a city of marble and gold.
CCarter G wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
A very good book, is this one.”
“A compelling read, especially if you want to find out what really happened in the HBO series, "ROME"”
Mary A wrote this review Thursday, October 22 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“good take - fun way to learn about augustus.”
Monteskewed wrote this review Monday, August 31 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Excellent historical journey through the life of the longest tenured ruler in Roman history. Chronicles the relationship with Julius Caesar through his conquest of Marc Antony and Egypt to his death as an old man. Very well written as Everitt takes you to Rome and you seemingly walk with Augustus through his life. Detailed historical accounts yet written easily and involves you as the reader.”
Chris V wrote this review Saturday, August 8 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“So far it is an interesting read. I started listening to the History of Rome pod casts and decided to start reading this. ”
Izzy A wrote this review Monday, July 6 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Had to read it for history class, but was pleasantly surprised. Very interesting!”
Cassandra C. wrote this review Friday, January 23 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Augustus the first Caesar - that is after the actual Caesar - seems still to get remarkably good press considering he was an absolute ruler and a technical tyrant. Shows you what you can do with a bit of personal modesty and a good budget.
Paul O wrote this review Friday, December 19 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Octavius believed in and practiced the maxim "keep your friends close and your enemies closer" when he didn't, like, mop the near east and north Africa with their carcasses.
And who can forget that he was the one that gave us that clan of zany emperors that ruled the world for the next 438 years.
”
