{"product_id":"tiberius-and-his-age-myth-sex-luxury-and-power-9780691139241","title":"Tiberius and His Age: Myth, Sex, Luxury, and Power","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA radical new portrait of the infamous Roman emperor\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eRome's second emperor, Tiberius (42 BCE-CE 37), has traditionally been seen as a villainous hypocrite--treacherous, grasping, vindictive, and depraved. But in \u003ci\u003eTiberius and His Age\u003c\/i\u003e, Edward Champlin draws on vast and diverse evidence to show that Tiberius was--and was seen by contemporaries to be--recognizably human and far more complex than the monster of the hostile tradition that began with Tacitus and Suetonius. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFocusing on the overlapping themes of luxury, sex, power, and, especially, myth, \u003ci\u003eTiberius and His Age\u003c\/i\u003e examines Tiberius's standing as a folkloric figure in the Roman popular imagination and his conscious use of mythological themes to consolidate his power. It argues that the striking stories of Tiberius's sexual depravity, which literary sources passed on to later generations, are ultimately incoherent fictions, the work of a brilliant fantasist who hated the emperor. The book's portraits of three important figures in Tiberius's circle--the gourmands Asellius Sabinus and Marcus Apicius and the emperor's lieutenant, Sejanus--provide new perspectives on the emperor and his age. Tiberius's passions for astrology, gastronomy, and mythology, which have often been seen as eccentric scholarly diversions, are revealed instead to be central to contemporary Roman debates and keys to understanding his personality, his power, and the lasting image of Roman emperors. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIncisive, witty, and original, \u003ci\u003eTiberius and His Age\u003c\/i\u003e presents a startlingly new picture of Tiberius and the culture and politics of the early Roman Empire.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eEdward Champlin\u003c\/b\u003e is professor of classics and Cotsen Professor of the Humanities, emeritus, at Princeton University. His books include \u003ci\u003eNero\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003e Final Judgments: Duty and Emotion in Roman Wills, 200 B.C.-A.D. 250\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eFronto and Antonine Rome\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cb\u003eRobert A. Kaster \u003c\/b\u003eis the Kennedy Foundation Professor of Latin, emeritus, at Princeton. He is the author of, most recently, \u003ci\u003eHow to Do the Right Thing: An Ancient Guide to Treating People Fairly\u003c\/i\u003e (Princeton).\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Princeton University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50888680243474,"sku":"9780691139241","price":41.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_06b0e6b8-02c5-4d11-944a-473495081264.jpg?v=1738157186","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/tiberius-and-his-age-myth-sex-luxury-and-power-9780691139241","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}