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heylook's review against another edition
3.0
Very dry at points, and more about the politics of Rome at the time of Augustus than his life.
stevenyenzer's review against another edition
2.0
Maybe I shouldn’t read popular nonfiction about ancient history. The narrative seemed so full of assumptions and speculation that it almost didn’t feel worth reading.
thehabro's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
horacelamb's review against another edition
4.0
I've had two Augustus books on my reading list. This one recently completed and this one which is fiction: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/89231.Augustus
Since I'm relatively ignorant about Augustus, I thought it would be wise to read this one, the non-fiction one, first. It certainly did fill in gaps for me. However, there's probably a reason why Julius Caesar is much more famous than his successor Augustus. Shakespeare had much more drama to work with when writing about Julius Caesar. Once Augustus defeated Antony and ascended to emperor, which happened relatively early in the book, the drama seemed pretty much done. Now that's not Goldsworthy's fault and perhaps it speaks to the greatness of Augustus that he kept drama to a minimum.
During the less dramatic years, Goldsworthy's rendering is still interesting as he describes the life and culture of the Romans during the years before and shortly after the birth of Jesus. (Jesus is only mentioned in passing but Goldsworthy has an appendix about the dating of his birth.)
A few interesting tidbits:
-the friendship of Virgil and Augustus.
-that Virgil's Aeneid was written to praise Augustus by drawing parallels between him and the protagonist, Aeneas. Virgil does so by mirroring Caesar with Aeneas and by creating a direct lineage between Aeneas and Augustus. (I was once again reminded that I'm glad I chose to take Latin in high school and college.)
-Horace is featured! He and Virgil are described as talented craftsmen. Horace's relationship status with Augustus- complicated. I suppose I really should now read more about the most famous Horace: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horace (I'll admit this Wikipedia entry is much longer than I expected. I guess Latin teachers like Wikipedia?)
Since I'm relatively ignorant about Augustus, I thought it would be wise to read this one, the non-fiction one, first. It certainly did fill in gaps for me. However, there's probably a reason why Julius Caesar is much more famous than his successor Augustus. Shakespeare had much more drama to work with when writing about Julius Caesar. Once Augustus defeated Antony and ascended to emperor, which happened relatively early in the book, the drama seemed pretty much done. Now that's not Goldsworthy's fault and perhaps it speaks to the greatness of Augustus that he kept drama to a minimum.
During the less dramatic years, Goldsworthy's rendering is still interesting as he describes the life and culture of the Romans during the years before and shortly after the birth of Jesus. (Jesus is only mentioned in passing but Goldsworthy has an appendix about the dating of his birth.)
A few interesting tidbits:
-the friendship of Virgil and Augustus.
-that Virgil's Aeneid was written to praise Augustus by drawing parallels between him and the protagonist, Aeneas. Virgil does so by mirroring Caesar with Aeneas and by creating a direct lineage between Aeneas and Augustus. (I was once again reminded that I'm glad I chose to take Latin in high school and college.)
-Horace is featured! He and Virgil are described as talented craftsmen. Horace's relationship status with Augustus- complicated. I suppose I really should now read more about the most famous Horace: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horace (I'll admit this Wikipedia entry is much longer than I expected. I guess Latin teachers like Wikipedia?)
brnycx's review against another edition
4.0
A surprisingly readable (considering how dense it is) biography of Augustus, the first Roman Emperor. This book does a good job of painting the complexity of Augustus's character, and did away with some of my assumptions of what a man who paved the way for turning the Republic into a monarchy would be like.
It starts with a lot of context, painting the scene of the Rome Augustus grew up in - one ravaged by a series of vicious civil wars, and which he in turn partook in when he sailed against Antony and Cleopatra. At this stage, he's essentially a warlord - able to exert huge influence by the (illegal) acquisition of a private army after Julius Caesar's murder.
Once all the threats are eliminated, Augustus shows himself to be an adept politician and propagandist, delicately maintaining the appearance of an independent Senate whilst increasingly consolidating his power. Over time, his military dominance of the empire brought a peace Rome hadn't experienced in decades.
This book, although limited by the sources, does a good job of bringing the complex man to life too. His reign was marked by many personal tragedies, including the loss of close family members, heirs and friends. One letters to his grandson, a favoured successor who died at the age of 23, is especially moving, where he affectionately calls him "my dear Gaius, my dearest little donkey". But, on the other hand, he harshly exiles his only daughter Julia for adultery and never sees her again, giving express orders for her not to be buried in the grand family mausoleum he had built. There are many contradictions like this - clear-headed statesman prone to fits of petulant rage, murderous warlord likely to grant you clemency, insanely rich while maintaining a humbler lifestyle (relative to the standards of later emperors of course) - and Goldsworthy draws them out, making Augustus feel more realised than I was expecting for a such a historic figure from our distant past.
It starts with a lot of context, painting the scene of the Rome Augustus grew up in - one ravaged by a series of vicious civil wars, and which he in turn partook in when he sailed against Antony and Cleopatra. At this stage, he's essentially a warlord - able to exert huge influence by the (illegal) acquisition of a private army after Julius Caesar's murder.
Once all the threats are eliminated, Augustus shows himself to be an adept politician and propagandist, delicately maintaining the appearance of an independent Senate whilst increasingly consolidating his power. Over time, his military dominance of the empire brought a peace Rome hadn't experienced in decades.
This book, although limited by the sources, does a good job of bringing the complex man to life too. His reign was marked by many personal tragedies, including the loss of close family members, heirs and friends. One letters to his grandson, a favoured successor who died at the age of 23, is especially moving, where he affectionately calls him "my dear Gaius, my dearest little donkey". But, on the other hand, he harshly exiles his only daughter Julia for adultery and never sees her again, giving express orders for her not to be buried in the grand family mausoleum he had built. There are many contradictions like this - clear-headed statesman prone to fits of petulant rage, murderous warlord likely to grant you clemency, insanely rich while maintaining a humbler lifestyle (relative to the standards of later emperors of course) - and Goldsworthy draws them out, making Augustus feel more realised than I was expecting for a such a historic figure from our distant past.