
How to be a Roman emperor - diodorus
https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/how-to-be-a-roman-emperor-essay-mary-beard/
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3pt14159
Since this is HN I'd like to share something one of my friends just put
together. He's used an ML module and research on the ethnic backgrounds and
physical attributes of various Roman emperors as well as multiple photos of
various statues to generate near-photorealistic renders of them.

[https://twitter.com/dvoshart/status/1286704635370143745](https://twitter.com/dvoshart/status/1286704635370143745)

It's super neat and he's releasing low res versions under Creative Commons, so
I'm looking forward to seeing these in different textbooks and stuff like that
in the coming years.

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thaumasiotes
Statues of Augustus don't actually depict Augustus. Did this practice change
for later emperors?

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wlll
I've not heard that before, who did they depict?

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thaumasiotes
No one we know. Quoting from _SPQR_ :

> One of his [Augustus'] most significant and lasting innovations was to flood
> the Roman world with his portrait: heads stamped on the small change in
> people's pockets, life-size or larger statues in marble and bronze standing
> in public squares and temples, miniatures embossed or engraved on rings,
> gems and dining room silverware. This was on a vastly bigger scale than
> anything of the sort before.

> about 250 statues, not to mention images on jewels and gems, found right
> across Roman territories and beyond, from Spain to Turkey and Sudan, show
> Augustus in many different guises, from heroic conqueror to pious priest.

> These all have such similar facial features that standard models must have
> been sent out from Rome, in a coordinated attempt to spread the emperor's
> image to his subjects. They all adopt an idealising, youthful style that
> echoes the classical art of fifth-century BCE Athens and makes a glaring and
> loaded contrast with the craggy, elderly, wrinkled, exaggerated 'realism'
> that is characteristic of the portraits of the Roman elite in the earlier
> part of the first century BCE. They were all intended to bring a far-flung
> population, most of whom would never see the man himself, face to face with
> their ruler. And yet they almost certainly look nothing like the real
> Augustus at all. Not only do they fail to match up with the one surviving
> written description of his features, which -- trustworthy or not -- prefers
> to stress his unkempt hair, his bad teeth and the platform shoes which, like
> many autocrats since, he used to disguise his short stature; they also look
> almost exactly the same throughout his life, so that at the age of seventy-
> plus he was still being portrayed as a perfect young man.

The point of the statue is to make the viewer feel respect and awe, not to
accurately depict the man's appearance. Compare Oliver Cromwell's unusual
official portrait showing him as he actually appeared, warts and all.

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wlll
Interesting, thanks!

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colechristensen
I love Mary Beard and highly recommend her _SPQR_ , which is a Roman history
more or less with the midpoint as the fall of the Republic and transition to
Empire... a very apt piece of history in the current political climate.

I would be happy to hear suggestions of other historian writers to broaden my
perspectives.

> it was the first time I realized that disagreement about historical method
> might be important (rather than something you dutifully nodded to at the
> beginning of an essay, before moving on regardless)

Now that is something that should be taken and applied everywhere. Realizing
the value of disagreement respecting the differences of opinion, and taking
action to not just have an obligatory sense of doing so but actually making
the effort. These days it seems everybody is right and whoever disagrees is a
fool or worse. (and everyone else is silent)

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travmatt
If you enjoy podcasts, then Mike Duncan's History of Rome is an excellent
piece of work. Similarly, his book "Storm Before the Storm" is very good,
focusing on the events that began the collapse of the Roman Republic: Sulla,
and his civil wars. If you enjoy biographies then Adrian Goldsworthy's books
"Caesar" and "Augustus" are very good as well.

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ngold
I can't wait for Mike to come back and finish the revolutions podcast. He's
been MIA since april. I know he's busy with his book, but common man, throw us
a bone. I miss you mike.

~~~
boomboomsubban
I'm generally fine with the planned breaks, but every time I wonder when it's
coming back this time I remember this is the last revolution he's covering.

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gringoDan
Interesting perspective here.

For further reading, I highly recommend Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius. They
show the thoughts and practical advice of someone who took very seriously the
responsibility of being a Roman Emperor.

~~~
acabal
You can download a free high-quality epub at Standard Ebooks:
[https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/marcus-
aurelius/meditation...](https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/marcus-
aurelius/meditations/george-long)

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rogerdickey

      The Roman biographer Suetonius claims that Julius Caesar mastered the art of dictating letters from horseback, and used to deal with his paperwork while attending the circus games (thereby annoying the people at large, who saw this as snobbish disdain for popular entertainment).
    

Sounds like the ancient equivalent of texting while driving or using your
phone at a movie theater :)

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MDWolinski
I'd also recommend Anthony Everitt's biographies. He has books on Cicero,
Augustus, Hadrian and an overall Roman history called, The Rise of Rome.

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cheaprentalyeti
There used to be a really good but infrequently produced podcast called
"Ancient Rome Refactored" and I was going to link to it here but I suddenly
can't find it.

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bfuclusion
I don't think I'd want to be a Roman emperor. Senator maybe, but that big a
target on your back has to keep you up at night.

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29athrowaway
Being an emperor sounds cool, but your life expectancy once you become emperor
was not very high.

