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Emperors of Rome – La Trobe University — History
Emperors of Rome – La Trobe University

“Great empires are not maintained by timidity.” – Tacitus. A podcast series looking at the rulers of the ancient Roman empire, by Dr Rhiannon Evans, Dr Caillan Davenport and Matt Smith.

Copyright: © (c) 2021 La Trobe University

Latest Episodes:

Episode CXXXIII - Anthology of Interest II Jan 14, 2020

Show notes

Rhiannon Evans, Caillan Davenport and Matt Smith each share three Roman topics of interest for three minutes! You will hear:
- Scaurus and the marble columns
- The 206 fragments of the Portland Vase
- The paranoia of Emperor Claudius
- The Roman perception of Ireland (featuring exploding sheep)
- The vanity of the Alexander the Sophist
- An early example of chemical warfare
- Living it rough with Seneca
- Goldflake and Innocence
- The nazi fascination with Tacitus' Germania

Guest:
Associate Professor Rhiannon Evans (Classics and Ancient History, La Trobe University)
Dr Caillan Davenport (Senior Lecturer, Roman History, Macquarie University/Humboldt Research Fellow, Goethe University, Frankfurt)

Episode CXXXII - Q and A V Dec 19, 2019

Show notes

For the fifth time, listeners provide questions and Rhiannon and Matt answer!
In this episode:
- How the orders of Roman society worked
- The materials Romans used in clothing
- How Romans marked years by Consul
- Augustus adopting his wife, Livia
- The truth about the Cantabrian warrior Cococotta
- How to actually pronounce ‘Pompey’
- Is the Roman salute accurate?
- How much of Latin is Greek?
- How did the Romans say their own numbers?
- How did the relationship change between Patricians and Plebs?
- Which Roman figure do we wish we knew more about?

Guest:
Associate Professor Rhiannon Evans (Classics and Ancient History, La Trobe University)

Episode CXXXI - Champions of the People (Gracchi IV) Nov 27, 2019

Show notes

Gaius Gracchus - awe-inspiring and passionate to exaggeration, a demagogue pure and simple, seemingly shunned the family business, at least to begin with. But however much you may try to defer your fate, sometimes decisions are made for you.

Guest:
Associate Professor Rhiannon Evans (Classics and Ancient History, La Trobe University)

Episode CXXX - Unpopular Reforms (Gracchi III) Nov 06, 2019

Show notes

Tiberius Gracchus had introduced property laws that, while unpopular with the ruling elite, went down well with the people of Rome. You can please some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time. But that’s just politics, isn’t it? Nothing to lose your head over.

Guest:
Associate Professor Rhiannon Evans (Classics and Ancient History, La Trobe University)

Episode CXXIX - Tiberius Gracchus and the Landless Masses (Gracchi II) Oct 22, 2019

Show notes

Any system of government that has been around for long enough is going to develop its problems, and that is definitely the case with the Roman republic. There was inequality between the ruling class and the common people, and if young Tiberius Gracchus decides to take up the cause, what’s the worst that could happen?

Guest:
Associate Professor Rhiannon Evans (Classics and Ancient History, La Trobe University)

Episode CXXVIII - Cornelia, Mother of the Gracchi (Gracchi I) Oct 08, 2019

Show notes

What we do know about Cornelia is mostly through the lens of her famous sons, but to the Romans she was much more than that. She was put on a pedestal, in bronze, no less, as the ideal mother for Romans to aspire to, and may have been quite influential in politics at the time.

Guest:
Associate Professor Rhiannon Evans (Classics and Ancient History, La Trobe University)

Episode CXXVII - Augustus: The Making of an Emperor (Live in Melbourne) Sep 25, 2019

Show notes

Octavian was barely an adult when he arrived in Rome in 44BCE. Two months had passed since his adopted father, Julius Caesar, was murdered by members of the senate who resented his control as dictator. Octavian stood to inherit Caesar’s fortunes, but few could have imagined that he would inherit Caesar’s power.

He would become emperor in 27BCE, reigning as the Augustus and transforming the republic of Rome into an autocratic principate. Under his leadership of forty years Rome would grow in territory, reputation, economy and culture, and change from a city of sun-dried bricks and leave it clothed in marble. How did the young Octavian transform himself into Rome's first emperor?

Sponsored by the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, La Trobe University. Held at the Wheeler Centre in Melbourne on 23 September, 2019.

Guest:
Associate Professor Rhiannon Evans (Classics and Ancient History, La Trobe University)

Episode CXXVI - Vestal Virgins Sep 11, 2019

Show notes

The Vestals were an order of priestesses who were sacred to Rome, and were respected and referred as symbols of a safe and stable empire. They had the all-important duty of maintaining the sacred flame, and if it were extinguished, it would be a sign of impending disaster.

Guest:
Dr Peta Greenfield (Public Historian, co-host of 'The Partial Historians' podcast)

Episode CXXV - Call Me Not a Lord, for I Am a Lady (Elagabalus III) Aug 28, 2019

Show notes

Elagabalus has long been remembered as deviant and sexually depraved. His behaviour was shocking for a Roman citizen, let alone the leader of the empire, and Rome was relieved to see the end of him.

Guest:
Dr Caillan Davenport (Senior Lecturer, Roman History, Macquarie University/Humboldt Research Fellow, Goethe University, Frankfurt)

Episode CXXIV – The Lowest Depths of Foulness (Elagabalus II) Aug 12, 2019

Show notes

When Elagabalus finally reached Rome, the city seemed to hold its breath. The young Emperor embraced both the roles of ruler and high priest of a foreign religion, and there were many that questioned where his priorities lie.

Guest:
Dr Caillan Davenport (Senior Lecturer, Roman History, Macquarie University/Humboldt Research Fellow, Goethe University, Frankfurt)

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