[UA] Re: TABOO

[Timothy Ferguson]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: ua-admin at lists.uchicago.edu [mailto:ua-admin at lists.uchicago.edu]On
> Behalf Of David M Jacobs
> IIRC, Caligula had an ongoing affair with his sister, and I wouldn't be
> surprised if other Roman emperors had similar relationships.

I would - Caligula is one of those gross exceptions to virtually every rule.
So much does he offend every principle that the temptation is to wonder how
much of what we know of him is fictitious.  The sources on which we depend
for Caligula also give us a child-abusing Tiberius for example, but we
unpack the author's vitriolic intent in a way we don't bother with Caligula.
In a way, I suspect, we prefer him as a monster.

Wouldn't you know it...I've known the precise shelf location of my copy of
the Twelve Caesars for years, then the day before I need it my landlady
repaints the flat and my books are all ahoo.

Anyway from memory I'd suggest that, no, the emperors tended to marry the
sisters of powerful people, and tried not to annoy them too much.


_______________________________________________
UA mailing list
UA at lists.uchicago.edu
http://lists.uchicago.edu/mailman/listinfo/ua