h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: University Project: The Julio-Claudian Emperors - A5836502
Author: echomikeromeo - The Marquess of Queensberry couldn't spell. - U929375

Hi there - this is the project page for the Julio-Claudian Emperors University project, which has been wonderfully sub-edited by SchrEck! The list of entries and all the info about the project can be found on the project page itself. Please (if you would be so kind) comment on any or all of the five entries in this PR thread, so that all the comments are in one place for ease of reference.

Thanks!

Subscribed!

Augustus

Although neither Augustus nor his successors are perfect people -->
Although neither Augustus nor his successors were perfect people

You mention in a footnote that Augustus was also known as Octavian, but then you refer to him as Octavian throughout the early history. People should not be required to read footnotes in order to understand the entry. Since you use the name Octavian, it should be explained in the main text, not in a footnote. I suggest someting like "He is normally referred to in English as 'Octavian'."

completed the execution of Julius' will and tried and executed Cassius' and Brutus' supporters -- unless this is done for comic effect, I think it would be better not to use the word execution twice in this sentence in two different ways. You could say "sorted out the will".

"Also, Antony was married to Octavia, Octavian's sister." -- if this is something that happened as a result of the pact, then you should rephrase it as " Also, Antony married ctavia, Octavian's sister."

a proscribed term of 20 years --> a prescribed term of 20 years
(proscribed means prohibited)

he managed to quell uprisings and territorial disputes while not appear dictatorial -->
he managed to quell uprisings and territorial disputes while not appearing dictatorial

on the basis of one of writer's satires --> on the basis of one of the writer's satires

It's odd to have a section called "Augustus's Downfall" and then to say that he didn't have a downfall. Could you think of a better header?

Is there any way you can fit in the fact that he renamed the 8th month of the year to bear his name?

still looked upon as a pantheon of civilisation -- you don't really mean pantheon here, do you? A pantheon is a collection of all the gods worshipped by a people.

G

A7146597

Inconsistent use of Julius' and Julius's, and Augustus' and Augustus's. Whichever you favour, I suggest 'As Octavian was a relative of Julius's...' --> 'As Octavian was a relative of Julius...'

[Consul] 'The leader of the Senate — a sort of Prime Minister under the Republic.' The term 'leader' could be misleading, since it's reminiscent of 'Leader of the House', and hence could lead to confusion with the Princeps Senatus. http://www.unrv.com/empire/the-senate.php And it might be best to note the alternation between two consuls.

A6638114

'There was little money in the public treasury and the taxes and reduction of public spending...' I suggest a comma after 'treasury'.

'Tiberius had been favouring his nephew[FOOTNOTE: And adoptive son] Germanicus' Perhaps more elegant as 'Tiberius had been favouring his nephew (and adoptive son) Germanicus'

'L Aelius Sejanus' Is the 'L' an initial? Do we not know what it stood for?

A5855466

'In Greek mythology, Zeus and Hera are both brother and sister and husband and wife. There weren't many people around when the world began, you see.' I don't think that's the reason; there weren't many deities full stop, but the Olympian deities were the successors of a previous generation; Zeus and Hera were offspring of Cronos, himself a child of Uranus. So there's quite a gap between them and the beginning of the world.

'Who, incidentally, Caligula's uncle Claudius was later to ride during his conquest of Britain.' You've used 'whom' elsewhere, so I suggest using it here too.

A5855448

'Marc Antony' --> 'Mark Antony'

'Claudius's accession to the Imperial throne was more a matter of chance than anything else. It's very likely that, had he not been in the right place at the right time, Claudius would never have been proclaimed emperor...' The capitalisation of 'Imperial' and 'Emperor' in this Entry is inconsistent, and I can't tell whether there's supposed to be a distinction drawn between emperors in general and the Emperor or whether the inconsistency is accidental.

'including, his favourite horse' --> 'including his favourite horse'

'His last words were Qualis artifex pereo!, translated as 'What an artist the world loses [with my death]!'' Translated by whom, I wonder; 'pereo' means simply 'I perish'.

Tiberius A6638114

general disinterest in the Empire --> general lack of interest in the Empire
(disinterest means lack of bias)

when, circa 38 BC, his mother --> when, in about 38 BC, his mother

it was Julia's sons whom Augustus intended as his successors -->
it was Julia's sons whom Augustus intended to be his successors

went to live at Rhodes --> went to live in Rhodes

It was hoped that, when Augustus did die in 14 AD, the transfer of power would be smooth. -- this suggests that they knew in advance that Augustus was going to die in 14 AD. Remove the date and put it in the first sentence in the next section.

embroglio --> imbroglio


G

Brilliant stuff emr!

Nice to be on the other side of the Subbing though I bet!

Look forward to this going into the EG. I've read them all and enjoyed my history lesson very much.

MJ

Caligula A5855466

Only one comment on this one:

It's really quite difficult to pick away the sensational stories about the reign -- I think you mean "to strip away" here.

G

OK, I've fixed the non-disputable errors. emr should have a look at anything else that was suggested.

Claudius A5855448

24 January, 41 -- although this is standard h2g2 format, it looks odd because the year is so small. I suggest you add AD to it:

24 January, 41 AD

Same comment applies to 13 October, 54.

"saving some people who were on death row, so to speak, and putting some people there who should have been executed under Roman law"
I'm afraid I don't understand that. Do you mean that these people should have been executed, but Claudius put them into a waiting state, where they would not be executed immediately? Or do you mean that he insisted on punishing guilty people who had been ignored under the previous regime?

as she grew tired with them --> as she grew tired of them

a somewhat foolish, but kind old man -- remove the comma

In the future, the Guard became very prone to bribery -- I think this would be better as "In later years"

G

Nero A3625904

ancient gods like Mithros -- this name is normally spelled Mithras

I think his last words are best translated as "I'm dying, but what and artist!".

G

Is that contrast implied in the original, though, or is it just 'What an artist I die'?

From a quick Googling 'What an artist dies in me!' seems quite a popular rendering, and doesn't imply a contrast.

You're probably right. I'm not a fluent Latin speaker.

Alas, neither am I; maybe we should follow the advice I give to all those people who sign up and ask for Latin translations, and try asking at A218882 or A3235628.

I suppose that leaves me to answer the disputable points, then.

<>

I've used the header 'X's Downfall' where X = the emperor in question in all of the entries. All the main headers follow a pattern. I understand what you're saying, though, so if you (or anyone else) have an idea for a better alternative for all the ending headers that would be cool.

<>

My understanding is that Augustus did not in fact name the month himself. I thought it was later named for him (he was considered a god, after all). I can look into that, though.

<>

This is incorrect. Before he became Emperor he referred to himself as Octavian, but upon his ascension to the throne he changed his name to Caesar Augustus. So both names are acceptable in English, but vary depending on the time period that you're using.

<<'L Aelius Sejanus' Is the 'L' an initial? Do we not know what it stood for?>>

It was 'Lucius'. That could indeed be added.

<<'In Greek mythology, Zeus and Hera are both brother and sister and husband and wife. There weren't many people around when the world began, you see.'>>
Fair enough. The last sentence can go because it was only in for a joke.

The inconsistency in the capitalisation of Emperor is largely accidental, most likely. Grammatically, it should be capitalised when talking about the title of someone (i.e. Emperor Claudius, the Emperor declared) and not when talking about the office in general (i.e. he wanted to be the emperor).

Sorry, clicked 'post' accidentally.

<>

Yes.

On Nero's last words: my limited Latin tells me that a literal translation would not be anything like the one I gave. But translating it directly myself I couldn't get it to make any kind of sense, so I just used the popular translation that I found in my sources. Obviously it was done by someone who knows more Latin than me!

Thanks for everyone's help in reviewing!

How about 'X's Reign Ends' for the headers?

I don't see why not.

Or even 'The End of X's Reign'.

"Before he became Emperor he referred to himself as Octavian" - I thought he was called "Octavius" in Latin.


I can see why you might want to have the same headers on each of the entries, but it looks peculiar for Augustus, particularly since his is naturally the first entry, so the reader doesn't know that they all end with X's Downfall.

Well, as MJ proposed, they could all be called something like 'The End of X's Reign'

Well, he was called Octavius in Latin, but in English we call him Octavian. I just meant to suggest that 'Octavian' wasn't English for 'Augustus'.

I have to go to school now, so will resume this discussion when I get home.

No time at the moment - I'll do the corrections tomorrow.