The roman republican aristocratic virtues change from Republic to empire in subtle ways. These are evident with close examination in areas such as how the Roman Aristocrat thought of war and what he attempted to get out of it; holding office and the ages they could hold them and finally the way they acknowledged their superiority or inferiority to others.
To be a Roman aristocrat during the republic meant reaching a certain ideal of what the appropriate aristocrat spent his time doing. War was important to the aristocrats during the republic but for different reasons during the empire, though its importance to the Roman aristocrat remained a constant, the ideals behind it changed as will be indicated in this essay. For the roman aristocrat …show more content…
In Suetonius’, Lives of the Caesars he talks about Augustus in two different ways. In the beginning he starts out by telling him in a way that is ruthless and merciless, but then this can be explained by the very first part he writes is on Augustus and war. In light what appears to be ruthless and cruel may be exactly what the Romans liked about him, what made him so good, in their eyes, at war, “if any of his cohorts yielded ground in battle, he had every tenth man killed and fed the rest on barley. If any centurion left his post he punished him with death, as he did the ordinary soldiers.”(Suetonius, Pg. 54) In the latter part of his biography on Augustus he talks about him as a strong knowledgeable leader of the Roman people, how he used his cunning to keep power and create a prosperous Rome. “on two occasions he considered yielding up the state, first just after the fall of Antony, mindful that Antony had often criticized him for standing in the way of its restoration, and then as a result of a long illness… However, taking the view that he himself would be in some danger as a private citizen and that it was rash to entrust the state with the judgment of the many, he continued to hold power.” (Suetonius, Pg.56) this then makes Augustus a strong general and a smart leader because he knew when, and who he had to be tough and ruthless too, and he knew how to hold on to hold onto
To be a Roman aristocrat during the republic meant reaching a certain ideal of what the appropriate aristocrat spent his time doing. War was important to the aristocrats during the republic but for different reasons during the empire, though its importance to the Roman aristocrat remained a constant, the ideals behind it changed as will be indicated in this essay. For the roman aristocrat …show more content…
In Suetonius’, Lives of the Caesars he talks about Augustus in two different ways. In the beginning he starts out by telling him in a way that is ruthless and merciless, but then this can be explained by the very first part he writes is on Augustus and war. In light what appears to be ruthless and cruel may be exactly what the Romans liked about him, what made him so good, in their eyes, at war, “if any of his cohorts yielded ground in battle, he had every tenth man killed and fed the rest on barley. If any centurion left his post he punished him with death, as he did the ordinary soldiers.”(Suetonius, Pg. 54) In the latter part of his biography on Augustus he talks about him as a strong knowledgeable leader of the Roman people, how he used his cunning to keep power and create a prosperous Rome. “on two occasions he considered yielding up the state, first just after the fall of Antony, mindful that Antony had often criticized him for standing in the way of its restoration, and then as a result of a long illness… However, taking the view that he himself would be in some danger as a private citizen and that it was rash to entrust the state with the judgment of the many, he continued to hold power.” (Suetonius, Pg.56) this then makes Augustus a strong general and a smart leader because he knew when, and who he had to be tough and ruthless too, and he knew how to hold on to hold onto