Historical Accuracy of "I, Claudius"...(Any Roman scholars here?)

[SirJethro]

As anyone who is well versed in Roman history read I, Claudius by Robert Graves? It is widely recognized in the top books of the 20th century, and many say is the best historical fiction novel fo the 20th century.

I'm reading it now, and after finishing 2/3rds agree that it is an absolutely fantastic book. What I really want to know from someone who is really schooled on the real history of Rome is where this book sits in the spectrum between "historical" and "fiction". Is there real historical basis for the personalities and actions of many of the main characters (specifically Claudius, Agustus, Tiberius, Livia (especially Livia), Germanicus, Caligula, etc.)?

What about some of the more minor characters? Are these people inventions of Robert Graves...or did he take pains to base them on real people?

Claudius refers also thoughout the book to other "books" he wrote throughout his life. Do these exist, or is he taking liberties?

Anyway....one way or the other, it is a book I recomend, but I hope someone can answer to the accuracy for me.

 

[Quokka]

Claudius WAS a Roman Emperor, in fact so was Augustus, Tiberius and Caligula. If it is a story, it is one based on fact. License was probably taken for dramatic purposes, but he wouldn't have had to stray far (if at all) from the truth.
Caligula was a complete bastard that would crash weddings and screw both participants, he married his sister and forbade bathing or kissing, on pain of death, for a month after her death.

All of the people existed, when, where and in relation to each other as stated in the book. It is also a series that the BBC did years ago. I enjoyed watching the series as well.

 

[SirJethro]

Originally posted by Quokka
Claudius WAS a Roman Emperor, in fact so was Augustus, Tiberius and Caligula. If it is a story, it is one based on fact. License was probably taken for dramatic purposes, but he wouldn't have had to stray far (if at all) from the truth.
Caligula was a complete bastard that would crash weddings and screw both participants, he married his sister and forbade bathing or kissing, on pain of death, for a month after her death.

All of the people existed, when, where and in relation to each other as stated in the book. It is also a series that the BBC did years ago. I enjoyed watching the series as well.

What about the portrail of Livia (Augustus's wife and Claudius's grandmother) as being the evil poisioner puppeteer that basically killed anyone who threatened her, and completely dictated the rule of Augustus and Tiberius (I haven't gotten beyond Tiberius's rule yet).

 

[SirJethro]

MODs....can one of you please move this thread to the History Forum? I should have put it there to start with but had a brain lapse......

 

[Knight-Dragon]

Moved as requested.

 

[ZultanofZex]

The series is very much based on Tacitus and Suetonius, that both describe this period in history. It is actually quite true to their description of events...however, much of their writing could of course be propaganda...

 

[Blitz79]

I read this book a couple of years ago and the Livia thing bothered me as well. From what I could gather from reading a few historical books from the Augustan age, Livia was definitely a real person and had some influence over Augustus.

How much is anyones guess. The sources are all stone tablets, coins, a few papyrii and stuff. The characters are all correct, but as for Athenodorus and the other minor characters, I don't know. Also, the poisoning and the events around posthumus are something else I don't know about, I don't even know how he died. I think Tiberius' daughter was exiled though. In fact, that was quite a common punishment.

 

[Lefty Scaevola]

The parts that deal with 'facts' are based on acnient sources, however reliable they may be, but the bulk of the material in interpolation and inference.

 

[Xen]

Originally posted by SirJethro


What about the portrail of Livia (Augustus's wife and Claudius's grandmother) as being the evil poisioner puppeteer that basically killed anyone who threatened her, and completely dictated the rule of Augustus and Tiberius (I haven't gotten beyond Tiberius's rule yet).

make no mistake, Augustus was a great politician, climbing all the way to emperor by himself, but while Livia did have some influence on him, it was for the most part limited to who was to be the great heir to the throne of Augustus, and perhaps in some cases matters of public concern, but still limited

 

[Stefan Haertel]

I have read the shortened german version of this book, and while some things in the translation bothered me (modern-day geographical and military terms for instance), I agree that it is really a great book.
As far as I can see, the author used all the historical sources he could gather, but propably also included his own ideas of how it might have been. For example, no historian states that Caligula killed his sister (Suetonius states she died of a disease), but of how Graves writes it, it seems very plausible. Even if it can't be taken for a fact, it is enough to say that he could have killed her (BTW, Caligula is my favourite emperor).
In the foreword, the translator says much about Graves spending much time on studying historical sources, and I think, if there were any notable historical inaccuracies in the book, somebody would already have pointed out (I've got the impression that historians have a rather positive opinion of this book).

Of course, it's always a matter of how you see Claudius. Even some modern-day historians seem to think that he was mentally ill, or even an idiot, and that his politics were done by his wife and his councellors (note: I don't think so myself, I only wanted to point this out).

 

[Porphyrogenitos]

Robert Graves is very well respected in historic circles. He spent most of his time translating Greek and Roman works (Suetonius for example), writing about Greek myths and composing numerous introductions to other classic and medieval works (Le Morte D'arthur for example). The Claudian novels are some of the few historic novels read by historians due to their brilliant interweaving of raw facts and poetic narrative. Just as with all histories, the novels read like a history based on a historians view (there is a debate in another thread here on CivFanatics on what is history if you're interested). His interpretation is highly possible though disputable, but which history isn't. To put it succinctly, Graves has managed to blur the lines between history and fiction so well as to not be able to disentangle them. Is it history or fiction? It is both.

 

[History Guy]

Well, both the book and the series stretch facts a little, but remain true to Tacitus, Cassius Dio, and most importantly Suetonius.

Most all of the characters are real, except for a few minor instances.

The portrayal of Livia is, I must say, a bit bothersome. As far as we know, she wasn't quite so clever or manipulative (though she dabbled in her husband's affairs to a moderate extant). As for poisoning, it was rumored that she'd done in old Augustus, but it was never taken as fact.

As far as accuracy goes, it is overall very accurate indeed (the series might even be called too accurate...), and does follow the truth for the most part.

Claudius did write a few books, actually. For example, he wrote what was considered the definitive work on Etruria, which is unfortunately lost to us.

 

[lord_byron_nz]

I'm a big fan of both the first book and "Claudius the God", although I will admit that the second one is a step down in quality.

As far as historical accuracy goes, Graves once said that he never made a character up. Of course, some of the people he used would be nothing more than names so he would have had to use poetic license on their characters. Still, the accuracy of the book and the mood it creates (Rome was no utopian wonderland) is a major achievement and, IMHO, the book is highly underestimated.

 

[CruddyLeper]

Loved both books. Can't really comment on accuracy because there is nothing to measure them against.

Thought the TV series a bit lame... not that there aren't some great moments (death scene of Augustus is brilliant).