From Publishers Weekly
Southern (Domitian: Tragic Tyrant) has contributed the first true biography of Augustus Caesar in 75 years. Even though hundreds of books and articles have appeared, Southern's approach is to disregard all the writing about politics, the arts and other specialized studies. Instead, she concentrates on the man himself, a daunting task because the man originally known as Octavian carefully orchestrated the public perception of himself. Her approach is chronological, from his family's heritage to his deathbed, when Octavian asked his family and friends if they had enjoyed the performance. Along the way, Southern analyzes problems and conflicts among surviving Roman sources and offers her own informed opinion as to which were more accurate. The frail youth Octavian was hardly suited to greatness, but his ties to Julius Caesar brought him into prominence. In the death throes of the Republic, Octavian emerged as Caesar's avenger, crushed his chief rival, Mark Anthony, then went on to hold supreme power for 44 years. Always careful to appear that he followed legal procedures, Octavian, Southern cogently argues, did not have a master plan to change the Republic into an empire. He simply brought order out of chaos, improvising as he went, and held power for so long that upon his death in A.D. 14 many of his subjects knew no other form of government. Although Octavian could have failed many times, Southern's astute character portrait shows why he ultimately succeeded. 30 b&w photos. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Publishers Weekly
"Southern has contributed the first true biography of Augustus Caesar in 75 years."


Kirkus
"[a] crisply written and well-researched biography..A concise and thoughtful contribution to the literature of one of history's great turning points."

FROM THE PUBLISHER

This biography of Augustus is unique in its presentation of Augustus the man. Pat Southern traces the life, works and times of the emperor chronologically, presenting ideology and events as they occurred frown Augustus' point of view, including his transition from heir and successor of Julius Caesar to head of the new Principate and his development of the Roman Empire. Pat Southern's biography provides a compelling depiction of an extraordinary man, who was the guiding light in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire.

FROM THE CRITICS

Kirkus Reviews

In this crisply written and well-researched biography, Southern (librarian at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, England) presents Octavian/Augustus as an opportunistic genius whose creation of the Roman Empire was more a matter of pragmatic adaptation to circumstance than adherence to a master plan. Octavian, the sickly kinsman of Julius Caesar who became the dictator's confidant and adopted son, was one of the truly great figures of history. Achieving power at the end of over a century of violent turbulence that saw repeated civil wars among warlords, he created a form of government that preserved the forms of the old republic while allowing him to exercise absolute power over the Roman apparatus of state. Southern shows that, once Octavian was catapulted into prominence, this result was no accident: his unique blend of self-control, common sense, tact, careful calculation, and ruthlessness allowed him to take advantage of the turmoil that enveloped the Roman world after the assassination of his benefactor in 44 b.c. Aged just 19 when elevated to the consulship in 43 b.c., he used his constitutionally exalted office to strengthen his position both against his manifest enemies, the assassins of Julius Caesar who were allied with the senatorial aristocracy, and against his ostensible allies and fellow triumvirate members Marc Antony and Lepidus. Southern details Augustus's brief and sanguinary role in the battle on both fronts. Following his victories, Octavian consolidated both his power and his prestige: he assumed the elevated name Augustus in 27 b.c., built strong military frontiers, and, while avoiding the trappings of kingship, wielded immense power behind innocuouslyrepublican-sounding offices like consul and princeps (first citizen). By the time of his death in 14 a.d., the Roman Senate and people had, seemingly willingly, abandoned all pretensions to republicanism, and constituted an empire in name and in fact. A concise and thoughtful contribution to the literature of one of history's great turning points.