Octavia Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Hello all. I was compairing the movie and book I, Claudius, to what I read in encyclopedias. The sources asay that both children were Claudius's, but also I remember from the book and movie, that FClaudius had speculations about them being his. We will never know, but I'm totally blind, so I was curious if from coins, busts and such, if there were any resymblence to their father in their faces? What do you all think of this debate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primus Pilus Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Hello all. I was compairing the movie and book I, Claudius, to what I read in encyclopedias. The sources asay that both children were Claudius's, but also I remember from the book and movie, that FClaudius had speculations about them being his. We will never know, but I'm totally blind, so I was curious if from coins, busts and such, if there were any resymblence to their father in their faces?What do you all think of this debate? While Robert Graves, the writer of I, Claudius, relied heavily upon the ancient source material to write his fiction, we must still acknowledge that it is in fact a fiction. After a rather cursory review of Suetonius, Tacitus (though much of his account of Claudius' reign is lost) and Cassius Dio, I couldn't find any instance of Claudius' (nor anyone else) suggesting that his children were not his own. It definately would not have been advantageous for any of the major players in this particular case for Claudius' children by Messalina to have been accused of not actually being his. It certainly wouldn't have helped Messalina any, and Agrippina needed the popularity of Octavia to tie Nero to the Julio-Claudian line through marriage. However, accusations against Britannicus in particular might have saved his life since he wouldn't have been a potential challenge to Nero. In any case, his murder makes it quite clear that the Roman world had no doubt that he was the son of Claudius. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Octavia Posted July 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2007 That's very true. If Octavia wasn't his, then why would Agrippina want so badly for her son to be married to him to further his cahnces at being emperor. And, Britannicus, the same way. Why would she have been so concerned aboout Nero's chances if they wern't his.All I can say is, those two children suffered so much and it's very sad. ad smile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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