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queensthiefI was reading a Wikipedia article about starvation being used historically as a form of punishment (trust me, it took some serious link-hopping to get there in the first place) and I saw this: In ancient Greco-Roman societies, starvation was sometimes used to dispose of guilty upper class citizens, especially erring female members of patrician families. For instance, in the year 31, Livilla, the niece and daughter-in-law of Tiberius, was discreetly starved to death by her mother for her adulterous relationship with Sejanus and for her complicity in the murder of her own husband, Drusus the Younger.
Well. You can guess what I clicked on in that sentence.
Most of you have probably already Wikipedia'd every QT character's name already, but for those of you who haven't (like me) (yet), I'd like to share what I found, which is strikingly similar to some of the things mentioned in the King of Attolia. For instance, Sejanus used to be a member of the Queen's Guard, and---well, you know, the whole awesome Eugenides-is-a-wonderful-bastard scene. Ahem.
Lucius Aelius Seianus (20 BC – October 18, 31 AD), commonly known as Sejanus, was an ambitious soldier, friend and confidant of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. ("...the king and I are becoming allies and better friends every day." Isn't irony wonderful?) An equestrian by birth, Sejanus rose to power as prefect of the Roman imperial bodyguard, known as the Praetorian Guard, of which he was commander from 14 AD until his death in 31. . . .
During the 20s, Sejanus gradually accumulated power by consolidating his influence over Tiberius and eliminating potential political opponents, including the emperor's son, Drusus Julius Caesar. When Tiberius withdrew to Capri in 26, Sejanus was left in control of the entire state mechanism as de facto ruler of the empire. For a time the most influential and feared citizen of Rome, Sejanus suddenly fell from power in 31, the year his career culminated with the consulship. Amidst suspicions of conspiracy against Tiberius, Sejanus was arrested and executed, along with his followers.
Although it looks like Emperor Tiberius was more harsh than our King Attolis. Thoughts?
Oh, and in checking, it looks like someone has already posted about this. The character of Sejanus in "I, Claudius" was played by Patrick Stewart.
Also, didn't Attolia leave that traitor Malaveras to starve in a cage in the courtyard for a week before executing him? I seem to remember Eugenides mentioning something like it in QoA.
Well. You can guess what I clicked on in that sentence.
Most of you have probably already Wikipedia'd every QT character's name already, but for those of you who haven't (like me) (yet), I'd like to share what I found, which is strikingly similar to some of the things mentioned in the King of Attolia. For instance, Sejanus used to be a member of the Queen's Guard, and---well, you know, the whole awesome Eugenides-is-a-wonderful-bastard scene. Ahem.
Lucius Aelius Seianus (20 BC – October 18, 31 AD), commonly known as Sejanus, was an ambitious soldier, friend and confidant of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. ("...the king and I are becoming allies and better friends every day." Isn't irony wonderful?) An equestrian by birth, Sejanus rose to power as prefect of the Roman imperial bodyguard, known as the Praetorian Guard, of which he was commander from 14 AD until his death in 31. . . .
During the 20s, Sejanus gradually accumulated power by consolidating his influence over Tiberius and eliminating potential political opponents, including the emperor's son, Drusus Julius Caesar. When Tiberius withdrew to Capri in 26, Sejanus was left in control of the entire state mechanism as de facto ruler of the empire. For a time the most influential and feared citizen of Rome, Sejanus suddenly fell from power in 31, the year his career culminated with the consulship. Amidst suspicions of conspiracy against Tiberius, Sejanus was arrested and executed, along with his followers.
Although it looks like Emperor Tiberius was more harsh than our King Attolis. Thoughts?
Oh, and in checking, it looks like someone has already posted about this. The character of Sejanus in "I, Claudius" was played by Patrick Stewart.
Also, didn't Attolia leave that traitor Malaveras to starve in a cage in the courtyard for a week before executing him? I seem to remember Eugenides mentioning something like it in QoA.
no subject
Date: 3/4/10 02:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 3/4/10 02:41 pm (UTC)He's very charismatic. You can see why Tiberius likes him.
no subject
Date: 3/4/10 08:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 3/5/10 02:25 am (UTC)At what you wrote, I realized with horror that I have NOT wikipedia'd or googled every single character's name.
But I just discovered:
Relius is a small town in western Upstate New York.
Medea is a town in northern Algeria.
EDDIS is an acronym for "electronic document delivery, the integrated solution" ... whatever THAT means.
Costis can be a nickname for Constantine.
Sophos is a computer security company.