History UsefulNotes / Claudius

Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus was the fourth [[UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire emperor of Rome]] and of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. He was UsefulNotes/{{Caligula}}'s uncle and UsefulNotes/{{Tiberius}}' nephew as well as the grand-nephew of UsefulNotes/{{Augustus}} through his sister Octavia. Although Claudius suffered from illness, he is generally considered to have been an excellent emperor providing stable rule and expanding the empire with the conquest of Britain. While ancient writers dismissed him as an idiot, modern reappraisals have tended towards the positive.

Before becoming Emperor, he wrote several histories, one of which was censored by the Imperial Family for being too truthful. He was also fluent in Etruscan--one of the last if not ''the'' last person to have full command of that ancient language--and wrote a comprehensive Latin-Etruscan dictionary... [[MissingEpisode which is now lost]]. (Cue the wails of modern historians, archaeologists, and linguists, who are stuck making educated guesses to interpret Etruscan texts.)

Claudius was born in 10 B.C at Lugdunum,Gaul to Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia, one of Mark Anthony's daughters with Octavia. As a child he suffered from a sickness that left him with a severe stammer and weak knees. His mother once described him as “a monster of a man, not finished but merely begun by Nature". The full extent of his illness has been debated but he proved to have a keen intellect despite his handicaps, studying under the historian Livy and the philosopher Athenodorus. UsefulNotes/{{Augustus}} was impressed by his oratory.

* The controversial Film/{{Caligula}} portrays Caludius, played by Giancarlo Badessi, as a complete imbecile in stark contrast to Graves' character.

His candidness as a historian is believed to have undermined his prospects of public office, as Claudius spent Tiberius' reign in private scholarly pursuits. Claudius managed to evade both the treason trials of Tiberius (in spite of being married to a relative of Sejanus) and latter the tumultuous reign of Caligula, [[ObfuscatingStupidity by exaggerating his ailments and playing the fool to survive.]] Caligula took a gleeful delight in tormenting his uncle: playing cruel practical jokes, forcing him to pay ridiculous sums of money and humiliating him in public. In the wake of Caligula's assassination, he was found hiding behind the curtains in the Imperial Palace by the Praetorian Guard and acclaimed Emperor.