LOST ROMAN HEROES

Silly, skinny little pleb Octavian, what were you thinking?  Or more importantly, what was Caesar thinking, what did he see, when the two of you shared a carriage from Hispania to Gaul in the autumn of 45BC, that made him change his will to name you the 17-year-old Gaius Octavius his sole heir and adopted son?  Join us in Episode 27 on the first steps of Octavian's journey, from awkward teen to colossus that bestrode the world (with the invaluable aid of Agrippa, the best, best friend that any human could ever hope for). 

The younger son of a no-name family from a no-name provincial town, this young man would do more than anyone else (even more than Julius Caesar himself) to establish Octavian at the pinnacle of the Roman power structure, doing everything that needed to be done with supreme competency, and humility.   He vanquished Marc Antony, singlehandedly rebuilt Roman infrastructure, left buildings of indelible beauty, and always had Octavian/Augustus' back, from the day they met in school as teenagers to the day he died. 

Join @LostRomanHeroes for a special episode on the men who conspired to murder Julius Caesar, with a special focus on Cassius, Brutus, and Decimus.  Were these men patriots, heroes of the Republic who brought down a tyrant, or, is the story more complex?  

ALIA IACTA EST!  He crossed a little stream just north of Ravenna, and drove a stake through the heart of the Republic.  Join JC for the ride of a lifetime, as he sweeps through Italy, chased Pompey to Greece and Egypt, has an affair, has a love child with Cleopatra, and returns to Rome just in time for the Ides of March.  Ah Caesar, you were so close to your dreams.  But in the end, are you a hero?  Or just another aspiring tyrant?

Consul!  Gaul! Triumvirate!  Julius Caesar starts picking up steam, the situation on Rome's streets deteriorates, and the Senate, led by Cato the Younger, starts to get very anxious about Caesar, who is starting to smell vaguely Marian...

One of the most complex fellows that we will cover, Gaius Julius Caesar, the first of three episodes devoted to the man, the mystery, the legend.  What is a figure that is universally know doing in a podcast on Lost Roman Heroes?  What can possibly be lost about Caesar?  And what is heroic about Caesar, the man who drove a stake through the heart of the Republic?  Join us here for Part 1, Caesar's early years.

Julius Caesar's legate in Gaul, Titus Labienus was the original Marc Antony, a friend to Caesar in his early days and a critical piece to Caesar's victories in Gaul.  But when Caesar crossed the Rubicon, Labienus sided with the Republic, fighting under Pompey to preserve the government, until one day at Munda he found himself face to face with his old friend Caesar in a fight for his life.  

Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, triumvir, the golden boy, the high school QB and most popular kid in school, always in the right place at the right time with the right friends.  Was he more than that?  What is the substance behind the legend? Who was Caesar's friend and mortal enemy, and does he merit a place in the Hall of Heroes?

Perhaps one of the most well recognized names from Roman history but what do we really know of Spartacus the man?  Born in Thrace, he may have fought in the Roman army before being enslaved and trained as a gladiator.  He would bring Rome to her knees, but was that really his objective, or was he simply a tragic hero who simply wanted to go home?  Can an enemy of Rome make it into the Hall of Heroes?

Crassus, Rome's richest man and one of the richest humans in history.  He was the elder statesman of the Triumvirate, ally of Caesar and Pompey and Sulla, yet he went through life with a chip on his shoulder, endless searching for glory.  For all that he was, and all that he accomplished, does he deserve to be in the Hall of Heroes?