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... enate to do the same. The soldiers, courtiers, freedman and foreigners were his main followers. Nevertheless, they did not dream that Claudius would be known as one who would contribute much greatness to the Roman Empire. Thus, the Roman era was clearly a time of deception.
This is clear in the theme of deception that was evidently portrayed in I, Claudius and Claudius the God, and also portrayed the Roman era as a time of intrigue. Romans were also very deceiving because they did not always accentuate their intentions, including their intentions for marriage. Romans had such a lack of value for love, and this aspect was another theme that was portrayed in I, Claudius and Claudius the God. Their idea of the word marriage was different from society's understanding today. In fact, Roman weddings took place often for financial or political reasons (Simon James, page 22). For example, in I, Claudius, Claudius was betrothed three times and he met each of the ladies for the first time during the betrothal ceremony.
He was betrothed to each of them for political reasons (to bring specific chosen families closer to the imperial family). Also, in Claudius the God, Messalina took advantage of her marriage to Claudius when Claudius became Emperor. She often acted sweetly and used her charms and beauty to persuade Claudius into seeing things her way or doing things she wanted. Being Claudius wife meant she had a large influence on Claudius decisions. Livia even managed to convince Claudius to have Lesbia executed by using her charms and beauty and by acting scared of Lesbia. In addition to marriages not taking place for the right reasons, they also werent honest.
In fact, most marriages had one or both spouses commit adultery. In I, Claudius, Julia, Julia's daughter with Agrippa, committed adultery against her husband, Aemilius, several times with several other men. Her adulterous acts resulted in a pregnancy. Also, in Claudius the God, Poppaea wanted to divorce her husband because she was in love with Asiaticus. Because she could not divorce her husband, Poppaea committed adultery with Asiaticus every time he came to visit from the South of France.
Romans clearly lacked a value for love. Some Romans even used lust to entertain themselves. In I, Claudius, Agrippinilla and Lesbia often played games of lust with Caligula, even though they were both married, and Caligula was married at the time to Aemilia. Agrppinilla and Lesbia's husbands didnt even seem to mind. Claudius the God also portrayed how Romans used lust to entertain themselves when Messalina challenged courtesans to stud contests, where the object of the game was to see who could wear out the most gallants in the night.
When dawn came, a prostitute she had challenged went up to Messalina to admit defeat, but Messalina continued out of bravado. Worst of all, most of the nobility in Rome were invited to attend the contest. Many women had also taken part in this contest. Thus, the theme of love that was portrayed in both I, Claudius and Claudius the God, also portrayed the Roman era as an era of lust and perversion. Romans clearly had different values during their time, including their value for love (or lack there of).
Though Romans lacked value for love, they did value religion. This is evident through the portrayal of the theme of spiritual beliefs that was depicted in both I, Claudius and Claudius the God. Romans had different values. They followed a different set of rules for conduct, and some aspects of their conduct would be seen as barbaric in todays society. For example, I, Claudius showed how Romans enjoyed watching people slaughter each other.
While watching gladiators fight in the amphitheatre, Augustus and Livia (along with 50, 000 other people) yelled out statements to encourage or discourage favourite / hated gladiators. Romans were very thrilled and excited during these gory games. In Claudius the God, Claudius promoted and hosted numerous of these gory games in the amphitheatre to please his people after he became emperor, though he was one of the very few who did not enjoy watching gladiator games much. Both I, Claudius and Claudius the God portrayed how Romans also had unique beliefs in the super-natural.
I Claudius showed how Romans believed in numerous gods and spirits. It portrayed how Romans also believed in sibyls, witches and omens when Claudius mentioned different gods that were responsible for different tasks. For example, Apollo was the God of the Sun who, each day, rode a chariot across the sky to give light to the world. Also, Romans prayed to a different god depending on what they were praying for.
In Claudius the God, Romans showed much commitment and devotion to their spiritual beliefs. Claudius told the Romans to build a temple to the god Augustus. The Romans confused what Claudius had meant in the god Augustus for Augustus in Claudius full name, and built a temple to honour the god Claudius instead. Though it was a mistake, this depicts the Romans commitment to their gods. Both I, Claudius and Claudius the God also depict how the Romans belief in the super-natural had a great deal of influence on them. In I, Claudius, Claudius described how important people would pay a large sum of money to hear a sibyls prophecy (Graves, 10).
Clearly, these prophecies had a large influence in peoples lives; otherwise, no one would pay attention to them, let alone a large sum of money. Claudius the God rendered the Roman belief in astrology and how it influenced even people as great as Emperors. The astronomer Barbellus made mathematical calculations that informed Claudius there would be an eclipse of the sun (which was a most unlucky omen) on his birthday. This caused Claudius much alarm because it would give anyone who planned to assassinate him much confidence of success. This prediction caused Claudius to take drastic actions. Thus, the Roman value for religion was portrayed in the theme spiritual beliefs which was depicted in both I, Claudius and Claudius the God, and depicted the Roman era as a time of bloodshed and intrigue.
All in consideration, both I, Claudius and Claudius the God depict the Roman times as an era of intrigue, lust, perversion and bloodshed by touching on the themes of ambition, deception, love and spiritual beliefs. Both I, Claudius and Claudius the God contain ambitious characters that went as far as assassination to follow their aspirations. Both novels also included deceiving characters and spoke of events of perversion. Moreover, both novels portrayed how Romans played with love and lust, and enjoyed in watching people slaughter one another. Though the city of Rome truly was one of the best run in the world, the Ancient Roman era was truly a time of intrigue, lust, perversion and bloodshed. Perhaps these aspects of the Roman era were what caused the downfall of the mightiest empire this world has ever seen.
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Research essay sample on Spiritual Beliefs Committed Adultery
