I, Livia: The Counterfeit Criminal

Remember Livia, the treacherous, poisoning grandmother of I, Claudius? Livia Drusilla, the third wife of the Roman emperor Augustus, has the reputation of having been one of the most vicious dynastic criminals in history. After her marriage to Augustus proved childless, she supposedly murdered his nephew, and then his grandsons through his daughter by a previous wife. Augustus had hoped to arrange for one of these blood relatives to succeed him as emperor; but their deaths forced him to confer that honor upon Tiberius, Livia’s son by her own prior marriage. Livia presumably was not content to stop with this accomplishment. She allegedly destroyed Augustus’ daughter and son in law, disgraced one of their daughters and harassed the other, and finally connived at the murder of her own grandson all because she felt they threatened her majesty, privileges, and control of government affairs. None of this is true about poor Livia. When studied carefully and analytically, the accusations against her simply fall apart. They prove to be shallow, contradictory, and ultimately impossible. Why, then, did Livia’s unsavory image develop, and what makes it cling to her? The roots of Livia’s sinister representation go back to her own era. Traditional Roman folklore held that all stepmothers were inherently evil. Political opponents of Augustus and Tiberius used this preconception to create malicious rumors about Livia. Skillful Roman writers made the accusations seem plausible at least on the surface. Modern dabblers in Roman history–unable or unwilling to see the fallacies of the insinuations–have perpetuated and promoted the myth of Livia’s criminality. The most famous and entertaining distortion of Livia in our era, is Robert Graves’ malignant portrayal of her in I, Claudius. This celebrated novel, and the British Broadcasting Corporation’s adaptation of it for television, have persuaded millions that Livia was genuinely guilty of the crimes imputed to her. There is far more to Livia’s life, than false accusation and undeserved contempt. She was a formidable public figure, an essential functionary of Augustus’ government. Moreover, she was enthusiastically accepted as such, by a society that stringently rejected the notion of professional women. Personally, Livia was an amiable soul, with a self deprecating sense of humor. She was a loving, supportive, forbearant wife and mother, an intellectual with profound political insights, an enthusiastic traveler, a connoisseur of art. Although generally patient and demure, she could also be impulsive, assertive, opinionated, emotionally volatile and, especially in later life, petulant. I, Livia: The Counterfeit Criminal aspires to correct the misconception, and present an accurate assessment of this much maligned woman. Learn the truth about someone who has been sorely and undeservedly misrepresented for millennia.