Nero #5 – Fight Club
Nero starts his own Fight Club. Apart from that, the years of 56 – 58 were pretty good. Nero made some wise decisions (no doubt with the help of Seneca), showing moderation and generosity. He was turning out to be an emperor of the calibre of Augustus....
Nero #4 – Nero The Murderer
This is where the story becomes really weird. Nero, up until now the golden child, suddenly becomes a cold murderer with the murder of Britannicus. data-episode-id="794539" data-theme="light" data-height="190" data-enable-volume="true"> The Complete Premium Caesar:...
Nero #3 – Nero In Love
In the first year of his rule, Nero was a big hit. He built a wooden amphitheatre in the Campus Martius, flooded it, and held a naval battle with sea monsters. In his gladiator shows, nobody died, not even criminals. But then… Nero fell in love....
Nero #2 – Nice Guy Nero
Nero becomes emperor on the murder of his step-father. He’s 16 or 17 years old. Why didn’t the Senate stop him? It might have something to do with Seneca and Burrus. Seneca wrote him a speech where he promised to be nice. And, indeed, the first five years of his rule...
Nero #1 – The Last OG
This is the story of Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus. Known to us as Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus. Or just “Nero”. On this episode, we ask – how is it possible that a man tutored and guided by one of the most famous Stoic philosophers, Seneca, would end...
Claudius #15 – A Mushroom & A Feather
Agrippina decides the time has come. She has a poison expert released from prison and they prepare a special dish of mushrooms for Claudius’ last meal. But the mushrooms weren’t enough and so they had to finish him off – with a feather. data-episode-id="771460"...
Claudius #14 – Digging Tunnels
Claudius builds the world’s biggest tunnel and puts on a huge show to celebrate. But things don’t go to plan. Nero gets married and starts to build his political profile – he is only 16. data-episode-id="766474" data-theme="dark" data-visual="true"...
Claudius #13 – Roman Incest
Claudius and Agrippina get hitched despite the fact that she was his niece. She immediately starts to get rid of her enemies, reward her supporters, and prepare the ground for the next stage of her plan to make her young son, Nero, the emperor....
Claudius #12 – Lips That Grip
It’s 48 CE. Messalina is dead. So now Claudius needs a new wife. There are several candidates, including Julia Agrippina, the daughter of Germanicus, making her Claudius’ niece. Conveniently, her rich husband had recently died. She is also the mother of a...
Claudius #11 – Deviant Behaviour
Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo – brother-in-law of Caligula – is sent by Claudius to Germany to deal with some rebellious tribes. But he’s TOO successful, so Claudius calls him home. Messalina decides to get married again – while still married to...
Claudius #10 Santa Claudius
Messalina starts killing off men who refuse her sexual advances or who just have something she wants. Meanwhile, Claudius keeps being a nice guy and the people feel sorry for him. The Complete Premium Caesar: (Protected...
Claudius #9 Vini Vidi Vici Bitchi
The invasion of Brittania continues. When Plautius has them nearly finished, he sends for Claudius who turns up to take credit for the final blow. The Senate granted him tons of honours as a result of his victory. But he’s more interested in explaining to Romans how...
Claudius #8 – Invading Britannia
In 43 Claudius is consul again. Messalina is setting him up with girls to bang while she’s running sex parties in another part of the palace. Then he invades Britain, finishing the job Julius Caesar started nearly a century earlier. The Complete Premium Caesar:...
Claudius #7 – Mauretania
While the attempted coup was going on, Claudius had troops in Mauretania under the command of Suetonius Paulinus. One of Paulinus’ officers, Gnaeus Hosidius Geta, chases the Moors over the Atlas Mountains and into the desert – where he has to call on foreign...
Claudius #6 – The Revolt
Messalina and Tiberius Claudius Narcissus accuse Appius Silanus, consul in 28 CE, with trying to murder Claudius – because they saw him do it in their dreams. After his hasty execution, Scribonianus and Annius, two of the guys behind the assassination of...
Claudius #5 – The Wife
Claudius was a builder and a visionary. Humble and generous. Okay – maybe he liked gladiatorial contests a little too much. But then there was his wife – Valeria Messallina. Like Livia, Messallina often gets blamed for some of the deaths that occurred...
Claudius #4 – The Good Emperor
In the early days of his reign, Claudius tried hard to be fair, humble and down-to-earth. He forbade anyone to worship him or to offer him any sacrifice and declared statues made of him to be a waste of money. It was too good to last. The Complete Premium Caesar:...
Claudius #3 – The Emperor
When Caligula was assassinated in 41, Claudius hid in a room of the palace called the Hermaeum, and then behind a curtain on a balcony. According to Suetonius, he was discovered by a soldier named Gratus – Gratitude – who said to his colleagues:...
Claudius #2 – The Historian
For most of his life, Claudius was the Rosemary Kennedy of the Caesars. Without the ice pick lobotomy. Hidden from the public. If he wasn’t allowed to participate in Roman affairs, he would look elsewhere. He became a historian, writing a ton of books about his...
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#118 - Leonardo da Vinci Part 11 - Matthew Landrus - The Renaissance Times
www.therenaissancetimes.com
We chat with one of the world's leading authorities on Leonardo da Vinci - Matthew Landrus from Oxford University, author of Leonardo da Vinci’s Giant Crossbow.