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Chargement... Augustus: First Emperor of Romepar Adrian Goldsworthy
   Aucun Actuellement, il n'y a pas de discussions au sujet de ce livre.  santhony | Mar 16, 2021 |    ) AnthonyGLast | Oct 14, 2019 | )1  MartinEdasi | Oct 13, 2017 | Augustus is probably the first Roman person I knew by name (from Luke 2), but beyond that I knew virtually nothing about him other than in the context of the lives of Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony. It is interesting to note that the author states the first part of Augustus public life gets most attention, and that this book intended to cover the latter part as well. However, it seems that Augustus great amount of activity in his early life gave the Republic/Empire peace and rest, so that there are fewer momentous events to record and report. Most helpful are a number of family trees at the back of the book. The book also has a few maps, but it's a pity that they do not record the names of many of the places mentioned in the text. The author seems to have been taken to task for paying some attention to the birth of Christ in an effort to appease some lobby. This is odd thing to say seeing that some many of the records of the life of Augustus (and many others in that period) are fragmentary, and second or third hand. Yet we dearly hold them as facts. Goldsworthy's appendix 2 is a fair treatment of this topic. I have heard said, that Roman historians look on in jealousy at the strength of evidence for the life of Christ compared to what they have on. ( ) robeik | Jun 16, 2017 | Overall, a solid and conservative approach to biography, which does include the probably mandatory references to the gospels of Matthew and Luke along with a bit more attention to Herod the Great than would have been given had it not been for Herod's centrality to Matthew's infancy narrative. Here, Goldsworthy seems to be treading on eggs as if afraid to insult any stream of Christian thought and actually considers the possibility, for example, that there really were "wise men from the East" (regarding which, see the view of the great Roman Catholic exegete Raymond Brown, in The Birth of the Messiah, that there "were no wise men, and probably no angels or shepherds either" and finds more a theological/midrash than an actual historical basis for a Bethlehemic birth as well as for any "flight into Egypt"). Anyway, this isn't a book about Christian theology, and Goldsworthy is no expert on New Testament exegesis, so read Augustus: First Emperor of Rome as the classical history that it is. The book includes a generous sampling of photographic plates, and the numerous maps are quite helpful. One thing I would have liked to have seen more of, though, is Goldsworthy's biographical glossary, which was rather skimpy considering the enormous similarity of names (resulting from parentage and adoption) that can make some of the lesser characters' identities quite confusing. (  )2 CurrerBell | Sep 27, 2014 |
 "'Augustus' is a first-rate popular biography by a skilled and knowing hand, a fine companion to Goldsworthy’s Caesar volume." "Historian and biographer Goldsworthy (Caesar) showcases his deep knowledge of Ancient Rome in this masterful document of a life whose themes still resonate in modern times."  Goldsworthy capably guides us over the rapids of “modern scholarship”. He challenges stories that are repeated often but never questioned, dismissing as gossip the idea that Livia poisoned Augustus; more likely, his heart “simply gave out”. Goldsworthy is particularly sound on senatorial power struggles and the use of marriage to cement or break political alliances. "Historian Goldsworthy (Caesar: Life of a Colossus, 2008, etc.) obviously has ancient Rome in his bones, and his biography of Augustus is also a solid chronicle of Rome and its development." Adrian Goldsworthy’s Augustus was ambitious for personal power from the start of his long life. A gambler rather than a planner, he seized control of the state with a military dictatorship (in fact, if not in image) that was accepted by the majority of Romans who saw no better alternative, or feared worse. If ambition was a traditional motivation among the Roman elite, Augustus’ means to supremacy were as unprecedented as the times in which he pursued it, but supremacy saw him act for the common good and his restoration of the res publica, in Goldsworthy’s view, was a success as worthy of praise as the violence of his rise invites censure. This is a cautious and fair biography that contains reasonable interpretations of controversial episodes, such as Crassus and the spolia opima (226-9); the settlement of 23 BC (266-72); Tiberius’ withdrawal to Rhodes (388-91); and the disaster of Varus (446-55). Acute observations pepper the narrative, such as the awareness that Augustus’ supremacy ‘was more rather than less obvious after 23 BC’ (272), or the appreciation that there was ‘something chilling’ in Augustus’ display of ‘absolute assurance’ (i.e. dominance) in objecting to Vedius Pollio’s nasty habit of feeding disgraced slaves to his lampreys (327), or the elucidation of Tiberius’ loss of independence on his adoption by Augustus (430). The biography will satisfy the curiosity of its intended audience of ‘general readers’ who enjoyed Goldsworthy’s Caesar: The Life of a Colossus (2006) and Antony and Cleopatra (2010). Undergraduates will find here a reliable and readable account of Augustus’ life and principate. Advanced students, however, will not be provoked fundamentally to reconsider their view of Rome’s first emperor. Prix et récompenses
Tells the story of the heir to the murdered Julius Caesar who, as Rome's first emperor, brought peace and stability to the empire and presided over a new system of government. Aucune description trouvée dans une bibliothèque |
Discussion en coursAucunCouvertures populaires
 Google Books — Chargement...GenresClassification décimale de Melvil (CDD)937.07092History and Geography Ancient World Italian Peninsula to 476 and adjacent territories to 476 Italian Peninsula to 476 and adjacent territories to 476 Constitutional 31 B.C.-284 A.D.Classification de la Bibliothèque du CongrèsÉvaluationMoyenne: (4.04)
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I have read many histories of the Roman Republic and the civil wars that accompanied its demise. Of course, Octavian played a part in those events, though tangentially in its early stages. I have also read The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, so am somewhat familiar with the events of those year. I was, however, somewhat lacking in the very earliest years of the empire, and thus felt a biography of the first Roman Emperor would be beneficial in that regard.
Surprising to me, Augustus Caesar was never crowned Emperor, but was merely designated “princeps”, essentially “leading man”. Despite being offered added powers on many occasions, he made a point of retaining many of the features of the former Republic. I can only guess that at some point, his successors made the final transition to Emperor.
In any case, this was a perfectly serviceable biography, though not exceptional. I’ve read many better, and several worse. Of course, some of the most underwhelming biographies I’ve read were concerned with individuals from antiquity or Middle Ages, so perhaps source material plays a role. For whatever reason, I can’t wholeheartedly endorse this effort. (