Roman Portraits - Claudius I

After the bloody and insane Caligula, the task of picking up the pieces fell to the idiot of the family. The guards found Claudius hiding behind some drapery in the palace. Instead of killing him like they did rest of the family, the guards made him emperor. The senate was not happy, but they had no choice in the matter. Claudius was a scholar of sorts; but he was known for his often foolish behavior; perhaps that was the reason he survived; no one thought of him as a threat to the throne. Claudius was no saint; but he was exactly what Rome needed after Caligula. His down fall was his women. The first empress was the infamous Valeria Massalina. She reputedly held a contest with a famous prostitute to see who could sleep with more men in a night. Massalina won. She lost her head, literally, when she wed another man and intended to overthrow Claudius. The next empress was not much better. Agrippina poisoned Claudius and installed her own son, Nero.

 

I, Claudius is a great historical novel with a very sympathetic treatment of Claudius; nevertheless, along with Claudius the God, those books hold a special place in my library. Without those books, I would not have taken an interest in the classics in high school, and subsequently, ancient coins. Certainly Claudius was not a saint; nor good as we define a person now; but given the circumstances and the unlimited power he weld, few of us could have done it better.

 

 

Æ As (9.50 gm). Bare head left / Libertas standing right, holding pileus. RIC I 113; BMCRE 202; Cohen 47. Ex-CNG