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I claudius graves5/21/2023 While Augustus is emperor in name, Livia is still the true power and force behind his position. Over the next several years, Livia’s influence helps Augustus to gain enough political power to become emperor. When he refuses, Livia forces him to divorce her and marries Augustus instead, realizing that Augustus will be much easier to manipulate in order to achieve her political goals. An extremely ambitious and manipulative woman, Livia attempts to convince Claudius' grandfather to seize control of the Roman government and declare himself to be king. Claudius’ autobiography is fated to tell the true story of his life to future generations, and, in the same way, his position as emperor is also pre-ordained.Ĭlaudius begins the description of his life with the account of his grandmother, Livia, and her marriages, first to his grandfather and then to Augustus. With that in mind, Claudius assures the readers that his narrative is a factual account of all of the importance occurrences in his life, particularly the events leading to his ascension as emperor. According to Claudius, the existence of the text was prophesied by the Sibyl at Cumae, who declared that Claudius would “speak clear” in nineteen hundred years by writing an accurate account of his life. Robert Graves’ novel opens with Claudius (or Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus) introducing himself and describing his personal motivation for writing this autobiography.
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