Show

12-26-25

The show begins in doubts of the veneration of Cicero. and the derogation of Aggripina Minor.

1880 SULLA SACKING ROME

ROME BEFORE THE EMPERORS: CICERO'S RISE Colleague Josiah Osgood. John Batchelor introduces Josiah Osgood to discuss Marcus Tullius Cicero, a "new man" who rose to political prominence through legal skill in the 1st century BCE. They examine Cicero's debut defense of Roscius, accused of patricide, a crime punished by being sewn into a sack with animals. Cicero proved Roscius was framed by relatives seeking to seize his inheritance, establishing his reputation for storytelling and detective work. NUMBER 1

THE PROSECUTION OF VERRES Colleague Josiah Osgood. Cicero takes on the corruption trial of Gaius Verres, the governor of Sicily who looted art and money from the province. Although Cicero usually defended clients to earn favors, he prosecuted Verres to align with political shifts demanding reform. Verres was backed by the Senateestablishment and Sulla's followers, making Cicero's move a bold attack by an outsider against a "crooked establishment" to cleanse the government. NUMBER 2

CICERO VS. CATILINE: THE CONSPIRACY BEGINS Colleague Josiah Osgood. Cicero captivated the jury against Verres by describing the governor partying while pirates raided Syracuse, causing Verres to flee into exile. Later, Cicero achieved the consulship by defeating Catiline, an aristocrat who became his bitter rival. Desperate after losing the election again, Catiline conspired with a fashionable group of young men to overthrow the government, leading to a showdown with Cicero in the Senate. NUMBER 3

THE EXECUTION MISTAKE Colleague Josiah Osgood. Cicero ordered the execution of five high-ranking Romancitizens allied with Catiline without a trial, believing them to be traitors who forfeited citizenship. This decision, made despite Julius Caesar's suggestion of life imprisonment, became a major political error. Cicero's gloating and refusal to grant due process alienated the public and powerful figures, turning him into a target for the populist movement and threatening his future career. NUMBER 4

THE BONA DEA SCANDAL Colleague Josiah Osgood. A scandal erupts when Publius Clodius infiltrates the women-only Bona Dea ceremony at Caesar's house disguised as a female musician, allegedly to pursue Caesar's wife. Although Cicero initially hesitated, he testified against Clodius, destroying his alibi that he was out of town. This testimony created a dangerous enemy in Clodius, who, despite the sacrilege charge, managed to secure an acquittal through bribery. NUMBER 5

EXILE AND THE TEMPLE OF LIBERTY Colleague Josiah Osgood. Seeking revenge, Clodius transitions to plebeian status to become a tribune and passes a law punishing anyone who executed citizens without trial, specifically targeting Cicero. Forced into exile, Cicero flees Rome while Clodius destroys his mansion on Palatine Hill. Clodiusdedicates the site to the goddess Liberty as a political coup and a humiliation to Cicero, while also harassing Cicero'swife, Terentia, who remained in Rome. NUMBER 6

THE IDES OF MARCH Colleague Josiah Osgood. Cicero returns to a Rome on the brink of civil war, eventually being pardoned by the victor, Caesar. Resenting Caesar's tyranny, Cicero seemingly encouraged Brutus but was not part of the assassination plot. On the Ides of March, Cicero witnessed the murder in the Senate; Brutus shouted Cicero's name while holding the bloody dagger, linking the orator to the restoration of the Republic in the public eye. NUMBER 7

THE DEATH OF CICERO Colleague Josiah Osgood. Following Caesar's death, Cicero returns to politics to oppose Mark Antony, delivering the "Philippics" and allying with young Octavian. This strategy backfires when Octavianreconciles with Antony, leading to a kill order against Cicero for his anti-Caesar rhetoric. Cicero is assassinated, possibly meeting his death with theatrical heroism by extending his neck to the soldiers, a scene likely popularized by his loyal secretary Tiro. NUMBER 8

THE SABINE WOMEN AND AUGUSTAN HISTORY Colleague Emma Southon. Emma Southon discusses A Rome of One's Own, examining history through women's perspectives. They analyze the myth of the Sabine women, abducted by Romulus to populate Rome. This story, recorded by Livy to flatter Augustus, culminates in Hersilia and the women intervening in battle to unite the warring fathers and husbands. It establishes women as the "glue" holding Romanfamilies and society together. NUMBER 9

LUCRETIA: VIRTUE AND SUICIDE Colleague Emma Southon. The discussion moves to Lucretia, the model of Roman female virtue. During a contest among husbands, Lucretia is found virtuously weaving wool while others party. This leads to her rape by Sextus Tarquinius, who threatens her reputation. To protect her honor, Lucretia confesses to her family and commits suicide, an act Augustus later used to define female virtue and which sparked the end of the monarchy. NUMBER 10

TULLIA AND THE BIRTH OF THE REPUBLIC Colleague Emma Southon. Contrasting Lucretia is Tullia, a figure of female ambition and wickedness. Tullia conspires with her brother-in-law to murder their spouses and her own father, the king, even driving over his body. Her crimes and the subsequent assault on Lucretia by her son, Sextus, justify the overthrow of the monarchy. Brutus uses Lucretia's body to incite the revolution that establishes the Roman Republic. NUMBER 11

CLODIA: THE PALATINE MEDEA Colleague Emma Southon. The segment focuses on Clodia, a wealthy, independent woman and sister of Clodius. Cicero, feuding with her brother, attacks Clodia's reputation during the trial of Caelius. In his speech Pro Caelio, Cicero characterizes her as a "Palatine Medea" and a seductress to discredit her claims of attempted poisoning. Unable to speak in court, Clodia is silenced by Cicero's rhetorical assassination of her character. NUMBER 12

JULIA: THE EMPEROR'S REBELLIOUS DAUGHTER Colleague Emma Southon. Augustus uses his daughter Julia as a political tool, marrying her to Marcellus, Agrippa, and finally the reluctant Tiberius to secure an heir. While she had five children with Agrippa, her forced marriage to Tiberius leads to rebellion. Julia engages in public adulterous affairs to humiliate her father, resulting in her permanent exile and eventual starvation by Tiberius after Augustus'sdeath. NUMBER 13

QUEENS OF BRITAIN: CARTIMANDUA AND BOUDICCA Colleague Emma Southon. This segment contrasts two British queens: Cartimandua and Boudicca. Cartimandua, queen of the Brigantes, collaborates successfully with Rome, understanding they are "not to be defeated, they're to be pleased." Conversely, Boudicca represents resistance; provoked by Roman mistreatment, she leads a rebellion but is defeated. While Tacitus claims Boudicca committed suicide to preserve honor, English schools celebrate her as a symbol of resistance against tyranny. NUMBER 14

WOMEN OF COMMERCE AND THE FRONTIER Colleague Emma Southon. We meet Julia Felix, a Pompeianentrepreneur who ran a luxury bath and dining complex, offering "bougie" experiences to the middle class before dying in the Vesuvius eruption. The discussion shifts to Vindolanda in Britain, where letters between Sulpicia Lepidina and Claudia Severa reveal a vibrant social life for women in military forts, including birthday parties and domestic luxuries like wild swan and imported wine. NUMBER 15

PERPETUA AND THE RISE OF CHRISTIANITY Colleague Emma Southon. The final segment discusses Perpetua, a young nursing mother and Christian convert in Carthage. Defying the Roman mandate to sacrifice to the emperor, she views suffering as redemptive rather than a punishment. Unlike Romans who viewed suicide by poison as honorable, Perpetua and her slave Felicity choose martyrdom in the arena, having their throats cut to demonstrate their faith, signaling the rise of Christianity. NUMBER 16

PERPETUA AND THE RISE OF CHRISTIANITY Colleague Emma Southon. The final segment discusses Perpetua, a young nursing mother and Christian convert in Carthage. Defying the Roman mandate to sacrifice to the emperor, she views suffering as redemptive rather than a punishment. Unlike Romans who viewed suicide by poison as honorable, Perpetua and her slave Felicity choose martyrdom in the arena, having their throats cut to demonstrate their faith, signaling the rise of Christianity. NUMBER 16

David

WOMEN OF COMMERCE AND THE FRONTIER Colleague Emma Southon. We meet Julia Felix, a Pompeianentrepreneur who ran a luxury bath and dining complex, offering "bougie" experiences to the middle class before dying in the Vesuvius eruption. The discussion shifts to Vindolanda in Britain, where letters between Sulpicia Lepidina and Claudia Severa reveal a vibrant social life for women in military forts, including birthday parties and domestic luxuries like wild swan and imported wine. NUMBER 15

1790

QUEENS OF BRITAIN: CARTIMANDUA AND BOUDICCA Colleague Emma Southon. This segment contrasts two British queens: Cartimandua and Boudicca. Cartimandua, queen of the Brigantes, collaborates successfully with Rome, understanding they are "not to be defeated, they're to be pleased." Conversely, Boudicca represents resistance; provoked by Roman mistreatment, she leads a rebellion but is defeated. While Tacitus claims Boudicca committed suicide to preserve honor, English schools celebrate her as a symbol of resistance against tyranny. NUMBER 14

1700

JULIA: THE EMPEROR'S REBELLIOUS DAUGHTER Colleague Emma Southon. Augustus uses his daughter Julia as a political tool, marrying her to Marcellus, Agrippa, and finally the reluctant Tiberius to secure an heir. While she had five children with Agrippa, her forced marriage to Tiberius leads to rebellion. Julia engages in public adulterous affairs to humiliate her father, resulting in her permanent exile and eventual starvation by Tiberius after Augustus'sdeath. NUMBER 13

1713 BATTISTA

CLODIA: THE PALATINE MEDEA Colleague Emma Southon. The segment focuses on Clodia, a wealthy, independent woman and sister of Clodius. Cicero, feuding with her brother, attacks Clodia's reputation during the trial of Caelius. In his speech Pro Caelio, Cicero characterizes her as a "Palatine Medea" and a seductress to discredit her claims of attempted poisoning. Unable to speak in court, Clodia is silenced by Cicero's rhetorical assassination of her character. NUMBER 12

1702

TULLIA AND THE BIRTH OF THE REPUBLIC Colleague Emma Southon. Contrasting Lucretia is Tullia, a figure of female ambition and wickedness. Tullia conspires with her brother-in-law to murder their spouses and her own father, the king, even driving over his body. Her crimes and the subsequent assault on Lucretia by her son, Sextus, justify the overthrow of the monarchy. Brutus uses Lucretia's body to incite the revolution that establishes the Roman Republic. NUMBER 11

1675 LUCA

LUCRETIA: VIRTUE AND SUICIDE Colleague Emma Southon. The discussion moves to Lucretia, the model of Roman female virtue. During a contest among husbands, Lucretia is found virtuously weaving wool while others party. This leads to her rape by Sextus Tarquinius, who threatens her reputation. To protect her honor, Lucretia confesses to her family and commits suicide, an act Augustus later used to define female virtue and which sparked the end of the monarchy. NUMBER 10

1640 RUBENS

THE SABINE WOMEN AND AUGUSTAN HISTORY Colleague Emma Southon. Emma Southon discusses A Rome of One's Own, examining history through women's perspectives. They analyze the myth of the Sabine women, abducted by Romulus to populate Rome. This story, recorded by Livy to flatter Augustus, culminates in Hersilia and the women intervening in battle to unite the warring fathers and husbands. It establishes women as the "glue" holding Romanfamilies and society together. NUMBER 9

1640 SABINWS

THE DEATH OF CICERO Colleague Josiah Osgood. Following Caesar's death, Cicero returns to politics to oppose Mark Antony, delivering the "Philippics" and allying with young Octavian. This strategy backfires when Octavianreconciles with Antony, leading to a kill order against Cicero for his anti-Caesar rhetoric. Cicero is assassinated, possibly meeting his death with theatrical heroism by extending his neck to the soldiers, a scene likely popularized by his loyal secretary Tiro. NUMBER 8

1880 ASSASSINATION