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Seneca (dramatized):
"Dearest Mother:
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00:00:10,844 --> 00:00:13,446
"What other place
could be so desolate
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00:00:13,880 --> 00:00:16,482
"with cliffs so steep,
as this rock?
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00:00:16,483 --> 00:00:20,820
What else so barren,
so uncivilized?"
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00:00:23,857 --> 00:00:26,893
WEAVER:
Near the middle of the first century
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00:00:26,893 --> 00:00:31,230
a man named Seneca was banished
for offending the Roman emperor.
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00:00:31,231 --> 00:00:33,399
He was a living reminder
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00:00:33,400 --> 00:00:37,303
that absolute power
could bring absolute ruin.
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And he was not alone.
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00:00:39,472 --> 00:00:42,074
"One man's exile," Seneca wrote
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"was but a drop in the sea
of human upheaval."
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00:00:48,581 --> 00:00:55,521
For in the first century, no one
was immune from imperial abuse.
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00:00:55,522 --> 00:00:57,690
The emperor's whim was law
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00:00:57,690 --> 00:01:02,895
and the emperor's law could be
harsh, especially under Nero.
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00:01:02,896 --> 00:01:07,667
During his erratic rule,
fire would gut the city of Rome
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Christians would pay the price
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00:01:10,703 --> 00:01:13,739
and brutality would sweep
the empire.
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Soon, winds of change
would begin to blow
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first in the provinces,
then in the very heart
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00:01:22,415 --> 00:01:25,451
of the Roman Empire
in the first century.
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SUETONIUS ( dramatized ):
In his youth, Claudius set out to write a history.
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00:02:00,638 --> 00:02:03,240
His first public reading
was nerve-wracking.
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At the beginning, a fat man
sat down and broke some benches.
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( cracking )
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The audience burst
into roars of laughter.
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Even when the crowd settled
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Claudius could not
control himself
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but kept remembering
the incident
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and dissolving into laughter.
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00:02:24,061 --> 00:02:26,663
WEAVER:
Writing 2,000 years ago
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an imperial biographer describes
a world ruled by Rome
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and Rome ruled
by an unlikely man.
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His name was Claudius.
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Claudius limped and stuttered.
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An embarrassment
to his imperial family
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he lived most of his life
in the shadows.
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00:02:46,184 --> 00:02:49,220
He found solace
as an amateur scholar
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without power or influence.
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00:02:52,690 --> 00:02:55,726
But as the first century
neared its midpoint
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a twist of fate
had left Claudius emperor
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and his critics amazed.
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For Claudius took the helm
of the world's greatest empire
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with more confidence than any
man since the dynasty began.
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Claudius expanded
Roman territory.
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To the south, he completed
Rome's conquest of North Africa.
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00:03:18,716 --> 00:03:20,451
To the north
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he subdued the fiercely
independent tribes of Britain.
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From Turkey to Morocco
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from the Red Sea
to the North Sea
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00:03:29,126 --> 00:03:32,162
the many faces
of the ancient world
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had become part of one empire.
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00:03:36,934 --> 00:03:39,970
But Claudius did more
than expand the empire.
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He passed laws
protecting sick slaves.
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He allowed conquered peoples
to become citizens
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even members of the Senate.
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I like Claudius.
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I find Claudius very winning
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not just because
of the adversity of his youth--
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his illness, his limp,
his stutter--
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00:04:04,262 --> 00:04:05,997
but when he does come to power
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he's truly humane
towards slaves.
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00:04:09,901 --> 00:04:14,238
He cares about the peoples
of the empire
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00:04:14,238 --> 00:04:17,274
and he seems
to be quite remarkable
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00:04:17,275 --> 00:04:20,311
for a man who had
no chance whatever
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00:04:20,311 --> 00:04:23,347
of attaining
the imperial throne.
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00:04:23,347 --> 00:04:26,383
( owl hooting )
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00:04:26,384 --> 00:04:30,721
WEAVER:
But the tranquil years would soon veer sharply off course
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and the empire would confront
the ugly face of imperial rule.
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00:04:38,529 --> 00:04:41,999
Despite his power,
Claudius was fragile.
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00:04:41,999 --> 00:04:47,637
His life had been plagued
by plots and betrayal.
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00:04:47,638 --> 00:04:52,409
Most of his family had been
killed by political enemies
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and Claudius himself had endured
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00:04:54,579 --> 00:04:57,181
the execution
of a disloyal wife.
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00:04:59,350 --> 00:05:04,988
Now in the year 49,
Claudius was seeking a new wife.
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00:05:08,025 --> 00:05:12,362
Roman society mobilized;
the rivalry was intense.
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00:05:12,363 --> 00:05:15,399
Many families sought
to link their bloodlines
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with the emperor's.
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00:05:17,134 --> 00:05:22,339
While they schemed, Claudius
hesitated, and tensions grew.
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00:05:24,942 --> 00:05:29,279
Finally, Claudius made
a decision that startled Rome.
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Writing some years later
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a historian named Tacitus
explained why:
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The emperor chose to wed
his own niece
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a woman of steely resolve
and questionable character.
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Her name was Agrippina.
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00:05:46,631 --> 00:05:50,968
TACITUS ( dramatized ):
From this point, the empire was changed.
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All obeyed a woman.
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But this was a woman
without feminine frivolity.
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She was openly severe
and often arrogant.
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Agrippina's dominance
was almost masculine.
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HALLETT:
The most tragic thing about Agrippina
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is that she wrote memoirs
and they have been lost.
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And I would give anything
to hear her side of the story.
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00:06:19,163 --> 00:06:22,199
The frustrating thing
about recovering Roman women
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is that so little
from them survives.
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It may not have been
very different
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00:06:27,405 --> 00:06:30,441
from what Roman men
would have said about them
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00:06:30,441 --> 00:06:34,344
but it would be wonderful
to hear her rationale
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00:06:34,345 --> 00:06:37,381
for why she did
what she did her way.
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WEAVER:
Agrippina turned her back on Roman ideals of feminine virtue.
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She seized power directly,
and used it proudly.
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Agrippina struck down
her rivals
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founded a colony in her own name
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and reversing her new husband,
Tacitus tells us
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she secured the pardon
of one of his exiles--
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the writer
and philosopher Seneca.
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TACITUS:
Agrippina did not want to be known only for wicked deeds
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00:07:15,986 --> 00:07:18,588
so she obtained a pardon
for Seneca.
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00:07:18,589 --> 00:07:21,191
She assumed this
would please the public
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00:07:21,625 --> 00:07:23,793
because he was a popular author.
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She also wanted Seneca
to tutor her young son.
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WEAVER:
Her son was Nero, a 12-year-old boy by a previous marriage
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and still just a pawn
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00:07:36,373 --> 00:07:39,409
in Agrippina's drive
for total control.
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00:07:39,410 --> 00:07:45,482
Another pawn was Seneca, all too
eager to leave exile behind him.
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TACITUS:
Seneca, she believed, would join her plans for supremacy
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out of gratitude for her favors.
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00:07:57,194 --> 00:08:01,531
WEAVER:
As Seneca returned to the capital's ruthless politics
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00:08:01,532 --> 00:08:03,267
he faced a stark dilemma.
119
00:08:03,267 --> 00:08:05,869
He had always scorned
luxury and power
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00:08:05,870 --> 00:08:08,906
and condemned moral slackness.
121
00:08:08,906 --> 00:08:11,942
But Seneca was obliged
to Agrippina
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00:08:11,942 --> 00:08:14,110
and driven by ambition.
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00:08:14,111 --> 00:08:17,581
After languishing for a decade
in obscurity
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00:08:17,581 --> 00:08:20,617
he was drawn to the promise
of influence
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00:08:20,618 --> 00:08:22,353
and to the thrill of Rome.
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00:08:24,522 --> 00:08:28,859
SENECA ( dramatized ):
Look around at the huge influx of people
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which even a city as large
and diverse as Rome
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00:08:32,329 --> 00:08:33,630
can scarcely house.
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00:08:33,631 --> 00:08:35,799
From the whole world
they converge.
130
00:08:35,800 --> 00:08:39,270
Ambition draws some;
others are compelled by duty.
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00:08:39,703 --> 00:08:44,040
Many thirst for liberal studies;
others crave spectacles.
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00:08:44,041 --> 00:08:48,812
Some put their beauty on sale;
others sell their eloquence.
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00:08:48,813 --> 00:08:52,716
The entire human race
has flocked here
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00:08:52,716 --> 00:08:58,354
a city offering rich returns
for both virtues and vices.
135
00:09:03,127 --> 00:09:05,729
WEAVER:
Inside the imperial palace
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00:09:05,729 --> 00:09:09,199
Seneca would encounter
far more vice than virtue
137
00:09:09,633 --> 00:09:12,235
for after luring Claudius
into marriage
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00:09:12,236 --> 00:09:17,441
Agrippina had begun to weave
an elaborate plot.
139
00:09:17,441 --> 00:09:20,477
First, pushing aside
Claudius's son
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00:09:20,477 --> 00:09:24,380
she convinced the emperor
to adopt Nero
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00:09:24,381 --> 00:09:26,549
and designate him heir.
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00:09:26,550 --> 00:09:30,887
With the line of succession
now clear, Tacitus says
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00:09:30,888 --> 00:09:35,659
Agrippina's only remaining
obstacle was her husband.
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00:09:38,262 --> 00:09:42,165
TACITUS:
Her plans for murder were firm.
145
00:09:42,166 --> 00:09:46,069
As she bided her time,
waiting for opportunity
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00:09:46,503 --> 00:09:49,539
Agrippina sought
the right poison.
147
00:09:49,540 --> 00:09:52,142
A specialist in the field
was chosen
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and by her skill,
a potion prepared.
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00:09:55,179 --> 00:09:57,347
It was delivered to Claudius
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00:09:57,348 --> 00:10:00,818
by the eunuch who served
and tasted his food.
151
00:10:06,457 --> 00:10:10,360
WEAVER:
Claudius collapsed, teetered on the brink of death
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00:10:10,361 --> 00:10:12,096
then began to recover.
153
00:10:12,096 --> 00:10:14,698
Horrified, Agrippina
quickly enlisted
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00:10:14,698 --> 00:10:17,734
the emperor's own physician
in her crime.
155
00:10:17,735 --> 00:10:21,638
While pretending to help
Claudius vomit his tainted food
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00:10:21,639 --> 00:10:24,241
the doctor put a feather
dipped in poison
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down the emperor's throat.
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00:10:26,844 --> 00:10:32,916
"Dangerous crimes," Tacitus
commented, "bring ample reward."
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00:10:32,917 --> 00:10:36,820
Claudius, the emperor of Rome,
was dead.
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00:10:38,989 --> 00:10:43,760
Within hours, the palace gates
were thrown open.
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00:10:43,761 --> 00:10:47,664
Agrippina's son
was declared emperor
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and Seneca was launched
on a path
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00:10:49,833 --> 00:10:52,869
that would batter
his deepest convictions.
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The reign of Nero had begun.
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MAN:
I am a Jewish man
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00:11:14,124 --> 00:11:18,027
educated strictly according
to the law of our fathers.
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00:11:19,330 --> 00:11:22,366
WEAVER:
In the Roman province of Judea
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00:11:22,366 --> 00:11:25,402
during the lifetime
of the emperor Claudius
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00:11:25,402 --> 00:11:30,173
an ardent young Jew named Saul
headed for dilemmas all his own.
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00:11:30,174 --> 00:11:34,077
He was seeking the arrest
of religious heretics--
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00:11:34,078 --> 00:11:36,680
members of a tiny Jewish sect
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00:11:36,680 --> 00:11:39,282
known as
the Followers of Jesus.
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00:11:39,283 --> 00:11:44,488
Saul was dedicated
to wiping them out.
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SAUL ( dramatized ):
Indeed, that is what I did in Jerusalem.
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00:11:47,958 --> 00:11:50,560
I imprisoned many
and cast my vote against them
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when they were marked for death.
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00:11:52,296 --> 00:11:58,368
In my extreme fury, I pursued
others even into foreign cities.
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00:12:02,706 --> 00:12:07,043
WEAVER:
But as he walked the road from Jerusalem to Damascus
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00:12:07,044 --> 00:12:10,514
Saul's future suddenly
changed, and with it
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00:12:10,514 --> 00:12:14,417
the future of his troubled
province, its Roman rulers
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00:12:14,418 --> 00:12:16,586
and of world religion itself.
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00:12:20,924 --> 00:12:22,225
SAUL:
Around midday
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00:12:22,226 --> 00:12:24,828
a mighty light from the heavens
flashed around me.
184
00:12:24,828 --> 00:12:29,165
I fell to the ground
and heard a voice say
185
00:12:29,166 --> 00:12:33,069
"Saul, Saul, why
do you persecute me?"
186
00:12:33,070 --> 00:12:36,106
I replied, "Who are you, Lord?"
187
00:12:36,106 --> 00:12:40,877
And he said to me,
"I am Jesus of Nazareth."
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00:12:43,480 --> 00:12:46,082
I said,
"What should I do, Lord?"
189
00:12:46,083 --> 00:12:50,420
And the Lord said to me,
"Get up and go to Damascus
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00:12:50,421 --> 00:12:56,059
and there you will be told all
that has been ordained for you."
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00:12:56,060 --> 00:12:57,795
Since I could not see
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00:12:57,795 --> 00:13:03,000
those who were with me took
my hand and led me to Damascus.
193
00:13:06,470 --> 00:13:10,807
WEAVER:
Saul became Paul, and he dedicated the rest of his life
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00:13:10,808 --> 00:13:12,976
to spreading the word of Jesus
195
00:13:12,976 --> 00:13:16,879
with the same zeal he had once
directed to wiping it out.
196
00:13:18,182 --> 00:13:22,953
Paul's fervor drew converts
and hatred.
197
00:13:22,953 --> 00:13:27,724
One night, his claim that Jesus
was messiah drew a violent mob.
198
00:13:27,724 --> 00:13:29,459
( crowd shouting )
199
00:13:29,893 --> 00:13:32,495
Trapped in
a top-floor apartment
200
00:13:32,496 --> 00:13:36,399
Paul avoided death
by hiding in a basket.
201
00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:40,737
Supporters lowered him to safety
through a window.
202
00:13:40,737 --> 00:13:45,508
It was but one in a lifetime
of narrow escapes.
203
00:13:48,979 --> 00:13:50,714
For the next 30 years
204
00:13:50,714 --> 00:13:55,485
Paul traveled some 10,000 miles
across territory ruled by Rome.
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00:13:55,486 --> 00:13:58,956
He preached in the empire's
great cities:
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00:13:58,956 --> 00:14:04,161
Ephesus, Philippi, Corinth,
Athens and others--
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00:14:04,161 --> 00:14:07,631
cities that enjoyed
imperial grandeur
208
00:14:07,631 --> 00:14:12,836
but cities teeming with poor
and desperate subjects of Rome.
209
00:14:12,836 --> 00:14:18,041
They made eager audiences for
Paul's message of eternal life.
210
00:14:18,041 --> 00:14:20,209
CALLAHAN:
There's a legend that says
211
00:14:20,210 --> 00:14:23,680
that Paul's family was
originally enslaved by Romans
212
00:14:23,680 --> 00:14:27,150
and then later liberated
from slavery by Romans
213
00:14:27,151 --> 00:14:30,621
and this is how Paul's family
received Roman citizenship.
214
00:14:31,054 --> 00:14:33,656
That is, Paul has internalized
215
00:14:33,657 --> 00:14:36,693
the experience of slavery
and freedom.
216
00:14:37,127 --> 00:14:42,332
Paul speaks a message that finds
power in this powerlessness
217
00:14:42,332 --> 00:14:46,669
that finds community where
community has been destroyed.
218
00:14:47,104 --> 00:14:50,574
Paul is the premier poster child
for the real Roman Empire
219
00:14:50,574 --> 00:14:52,309
in this way: that he speaks
220
00:14:52,309 --> 00:14:55,345
to the underside of
the Roman imperial experience.
221
00:14:58,382 --> 00:15:00,550
WEAVER:
Like Jesus before him
222
00:15:00,551 --> 00:15:04,021
Paul spoke to people
in their homes and synagogues.
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00:15:04,021 --> 00:15:07,057
But while Jesus had preached
only to Jews
224
00:15:07,057 --> 00:15:11,394
Paul believed his message
should be taken to non-Jews--
225
00:15:11,395 --> 00:15:13,997
to the Gentiles
of the Roman Empire--
226
00:15:14,431 --> 00:15:17,901
and that meant relaxing
timeless Jewish laws
227
00:15:17,901 --> 00:15:20,069
about food and circumcision.
228
00:15:20,070 --> 00:15:23,540
It was a radical slap
at Jewish tradition
229
00:15:23,540 --> 00:15:27,010
and key to the spread
of this new faith.
230
00:15:28,745 --> 00:15:32,215
MAN:
The fact that Paul was a staunch advocate
231
00:15:32,216 --> 00:15:33,951
of going to the Gentiles
232
00:15:33,951 --> 00:15:37,854
not requiring of them
that they circumcise themselves
233
00:15:38,288 --> 00:15:40,456
or follow
the Jewish dietary laws
234
00:15:40,891 --> 00:15:46,096
was certainly, in the long run,
of the greatest importance
235
00:15:46,096 --> 00:15:50,867
because it did mean
that Christianity could develop
236
00:15:50,867 --> 00:15:55,204
into something that was
independent of Judaism.
237
00:15:55,205 --> 00:15:59,976
In Paul's day, Christianity was
still an outgrowth of Judaism.
238
00:16:02,145 --> 00:16:06,048
WEAVER:
Paul's abandonment of the laws of his ancestors
239
00:16:06,049 --> 00:16:09,085
horrified many
Jewish followers of Jesus
240
00:16:09,086 --> 00:16:10,821
but Paul was adamant.
241
00:16:10,821 --> 00:16:14,724
As he left the region of
Galatia, now part of Turkey
242
00:16:14,725 --> 00:16:18,628
Paul learned that
his disciples were backsliding
243
00:16:18,629 --> 00:16:21,231
and requiring converts
to be circumcised.
244
00:16:21,665 --> 00:16:23,833
Paul sent an angry letter.
245
00:16:25,135 --> 00:16:28,605
PAUL ( dramatized ):
You foolish Galatians!
246
00:16:28,605 --> 00:16:30,340
Who has bewitched you?
247
00:16:30,340 --> 00:16:35,111
I wish those that set you adrift
would castrate themselves!
248
00:16:35,112 --> 00:16:36,847
You were running well.
249
00:16:36,847 --> 00:16:39,449
Who kept you
from pursuing the truth?
250
00:16:39,449 --> 00:16:42,919
Look! I, Paul, say that
if you are circumcised
251
00:16:42,919 --> 00:16:45,521
Christ will bring you no reward.
252
00:16:45,522 --> 00:16:46,823
For in Jesus Christ
253
00:16:47,257 --> 00:16:50,293
neither circumcision
nor foreskins prevail
254
00:16:50,294 --> 00:16:52,896
but only faith
acting through love.
255
00:16:56,366 --> 00:16:58,968
CALLAHAN:
Paul was a man of very deep convictions
256
00:16:58,969 --> 00:17:00,270
passionate convictions.
257
00:17:00,270 --> 00:17:05,041
He is very invested in these
people to whom he is writing.
258
00:17:05,042 --> 00:17:06,777
They are his life.
259
00:17:06,777 --> 00:17:09,379
And he takes that
very seriously.
260
00:17:09,379 --> 00:17:14,584
So that passion and the pathos
of those troubled relationships
261
00:17:14,584 --> 00:17:17,620
that he's negotiating
long distance
262
00:17:17,621 --> 00:17:19,789
come through in his letters.
263
00:17:22,392 --> 00:17:24,127
WEAVER:
Tradition holds
264
00:17:24,127 --> 00:17:28,464
that Paul returned to Jerusalem
intent on forcing his views;
265
00:17:28,465 --> 00:17:31,501
that he was imprisoned
for causing a riot
266
00:17:31,501 --> 00:17:34,971
by bringing noncircumcised men
into the Temple.
267
00:17:34,971 --> 00:17:39,742
In jail, Paul reportedly
revealed his Roman citizenship
268
00:17:39,743 --> 00:17:41,478
and was sent to Rome.
269
00:17:41,912 --> 00:17:44,514
Along the way,
he was shipwrecked.
270
00:17:46,249 --> 00:17:48,851
PAUL:
Three times I was shipwrecked;
271
00:17:48,852 --> 00:17:52,755
five times I received
the 40 lashes minus one;
272
00:17:52,756 --> 00:17:55,792
once they stoned me.
273
00:17:55,792 --> 00:17:57,960
I've been in danger from robbers
274
00:17:57,961 --> 00:18:01,431
danger from my own people,
danger from false brothers
275
00:18:01,431 --> 00:18:04,467
hungry and thirsty,
often without food.
276
00:18:05,769 --> 00:18:08,371
And in addition to these threats
277
00:18:08,372 --> 00:18:12,709
every day I am weighed down by
my worry for all the churches.
278
00:18:15,312 --> 00:18:17,480
GRUEN:
It's been said
279
00:18:17,481 --> 00:18:20,517
that Christianity might have
been possible without Jesus
280
00:18:20,517 --> 00:18:23,553
but it was certainly not
possible without Paul.
281
00:18:23,553 --> 00:18:27,456
And that is
a very accurate statement
282
00:18:27,457 --> 00:18:31,360
because Paul was able
to spread that message
283
00:18:31,361 --> 00:18:34,397
to various parts
of the Mediterranean
284
00:18:34,398 --> 00:18:36,566
from Palestine to Rome.
285
00:18:39,169 --> 00:18:43,072
WEAVER:
No one knows how or where Paul died;
286
00:18:43,073 --> 00:18:45,241
on this the Bible is silent.
287
00:18:45,242 --> 00:18:48,278
But wherever he spent
his final years
288
00:18:48,712 --> 00:18:52,182
Paul's success outstripped
his boldest dreams.
289
00:18:52,182 --> 00:18:56,953
He had been stubborn and proud,
but Paul had transformed
290
00:18:56,953 --> 00:19:02,158
a Jewish splinter group into
the beginnings of a world church
291
00:19:02,159 --> 00:19:06,496
a church that would one day
conquer Rome itself.
292
00:19:18,208 --> 00:19:20,376
SENECA:
There is a proverb:
293
00:19:20,377 --> 00:19:24,280
"You have as many enemies
as you have slaves."
294
00:19:24,281 --> 00:19:27,317
But in truth,
we make them our enemies.
295
00:19:27,317 --> 00:19:31,220
We abuse them as if they
were beasts of burden.
296
00:19:31,221 --> 00:19:34,691
When we recline for dinner,
one wipes our spittle
297
00:19:34,691 --> 00:19:39,462
another picks up the scraps and
crumbs thrown down by drunkards.
298
00:19:39,463 --> 00:19:42,065
The point of my argument
is this:
299
00:19:42,065 --> 00:19:45,968
Treat your inferior as
you would like to be treated.
300
00:19:48,572 --> 00:19:52,042
WEAVER:
The new emperor's tutor, Seneca
301
00:19:52,042 --> 00:19:56,379
had devoted much of his life
to ethical problems.
302
00:19:56,813 --> 00:20:00,283
He was a follower
of Stoic philosophy.
303
00:20:00,283 --> 00:20:02,018
In an age of slavery
304
00:20:02,018 --> 00:20:06,355
Stoics advanced the notion
of universal humanity
305
00:20:06,356 --> 00:20:11,561
a brotherhood of man, that
predated Christian doctrine.
306
00:20:11,561 --> 00:20:16,766
In an age of opulence, Stoics
shunned ostentatious living.
307
00:20:16,766 --> 00:20:19,368
And in an age of absolute rule
308
00:20:19,369 --> 00:20:25,007
Stoics walked a narrow path
between integrity and hypocrisy.
309
00:20:27,611 --> 00:20:31,081
SALLER:
Seneca was the leading Stoic philosopher of his day.
310
00:20:31,081 --> 00:20:36,286
The main teaching of Stoicism
was the acceptance of one's fate
311
00:20:36,286 --> 00:20:40,189
to play the role that one
had been assigned by fate
312
00:20:40,190 --> 00:20:41,925
in the world.
313
00:20:41,925 --> 00:20:46,262
And so Seneca's fate was to
participate in court politics.
314
00:20:49,299 --> 00:20:54,070
WEAVER:
Seneca participated in court politics through Nero
315
00:20:54,070 --> 00:20:55,805
now a 16-year-old boy
316
00:20:55,805 --> 00:21:00,576
whose path to the imperial
palace had been bathed in blood.
317
00:21:00,577 --> 00:21:02,312
Seneca's task was
318
00:21:02,312 --> 00:21:06,215
to mold this spirited son
of a power-hungry family
319
00:21:06,216 --> 00:21:08,818
into a tolerable world leader
320
00:21:08,818 --> 00:21:11,420
And at first,
his chances were good
321
00:21:11,421 --> 00:21:14,891
for the young Nero had
a sensitive nature.
322
00:21:14,891 --> 00:21:20,096
He loved theater, music and,
the biographer Suetonius reports
323
00:21:20,096 --> 00:21:23,132
the popular pastime
of horse racing.
324
00:21:25,302 --> 00:21:31,374
SUETONIUS ( dramatized ):
Nero had been passionate about horses from early childhood.
325
00:21:31,374 --> 00:21:33,542
At the beginning of his reign
326
00:21:33,543 --> 00:21:37,013
he played every day with
toy chariots made of ivory.
327
00:21:37,013 --> 00:21:40,049
Soon he wished to drive
a chariot himself.
328
00:21:40,050 --> 00:21:42,652
So first, practicing
with his slaves
329
00:21:42,652 --> 00:21:46,122
he appeared before
the whole city in the Circus.
330
00:21:46,122 --> 00:21:50,459
( crowd cheering )
331
00:21:50,460 --> 00:21:55,665
WEAVER:
The Roman Circus, or racetrack, was a rough and raucous place.
332
00:21:55,665 --> 00:21:59,568
Chariot drivers were usually
slaves or former slaves
333
00:21:59,569 --> 00:22:02,171
and fans often
cursed rival teams
334
00:22:02,172 --> 00:22:04,774
with ferocious partisanship.
335
00:22:04,774 --> 00:22:07,376
MAN:
I entreat you, O demon, whoever you are
336
00:22:07,377 --> 00:22:10,847
and demand of you from this
hour, from this very moment
337
00:22:10,847 --> 00:22:14,317
you crucify the horses
of the green and white teams
338
00:22:14,317 --> 00:22:18,220
and that you kill the drivers
Clarus and Felix and crush them!
339
00:22:18,221 --> 00:22:20,389
Do not leave any breath in them!
340
00:22:20,390 --> 00:22:22,125
( crowd cheering )
341
00:22:22,125 --> 00:22:26,028
WEAVER:
Nero's enthusiasm for the sport of commoners
342
00:22:26,029 --> 00:22:30,366
scandalized Rome's elite, but
it endeared him to the masses.
343
00:22:30,367 --> 00:22:34,270
"For such is a crowd," sneered
the stately historian Tacitus
344
00:22:34,270 --> 00:22:36,005
"eager for excitement
345
00:22:36,006 --> 00:22:39,476
and thrilled if the emperor
shares their taste."
346
00:22:39,476 --> 00:22:45,114
Nero did, long past
his childhood years.
347
00:22:45,115 --> 00:22:49,452
It is not clear to me
that Nero ever changed
348
00:22:49,452 --> 00:22:52,054
or that Nero ever grew up
349
00:22:52,489 --> 00:22:55,959
and that was both his strength
and his weakness.
350
00:22:55,959 --> 00:22:59,429
Nero was an extraordinarily
popular emperor.
351
00:22:59,863 --> 00:23:01,598
He was like Elvis.
352
00:23:03,767 --> 00:23:08,104
WEAVER:
But in ancient Rome, popularity was a mixed blessing
353
00:23:08,104 --> 00:23:12,441
and as the pliable young emperor
indulged his various passions
354
00:23:12,442 --> 00:23:15,912
efforts to control him
reached a fevered pitch
355
00:23:15,912 --> 00:23:19,815
particularly between
the emperor's mother and Seneca.
356
00:23:21,551 --> 00:23:24,153
Seneca exerted power discreetly
357
00:23:24,154 --> 00:23:27,190
but Agrippina
would not tread lightly.
358
00:23:27,190 --> 00:23:28,925
She heard stories
359
00:23:28,925 --> 00:23:32,828
that her son seduced
married women and young boys
360
00:23:32,829 --> 00:23:36,732
that he castrated
and "married" a male slave
361
00:23:36,733 --> 00:23:41,070
and, according to the gossipy
Suetonius, much worse.
362
00:23:44,541 --> 00:23:46,709
SUETONIUS:
As soon as it was dark
363
00:23:46,710 --> 00:23:51,047
he was in the habit of going
to the taverns wearing a wig.
364
00:23:51,047 --> 00:23:54,517
He would wander the streets,
looking for action
365
00:23:54,517 --> 00:23:57,119
and not just juvenile
pranks either.
366
00:23:57,120 --> 00:24:00,156
He attacked people
on the way home from dinner
367
00:24:00,156 --> 00:24:02,758
stabbed them when
they fought back
368
00:24:02,759 --> 00:24:05,795
and threw their bodies
into the sewers.
369
00:24:09,265 --> 00:24:13,168
WEAVER:
As stories of Nero's degeneracy increased
370
00:24:13,169 --> 00:24:16,205
so, too, did
Agrippina's disapproval.
371
00:24:16,206 --> 00:24:20,977
Relations between mother and son
deteriorated fast.
372
00:24:22,278 --> 00:24:24,013
BRADLEY:
As Nero grew older
373
00:24:24,013 --> 00:24:27,049
he quickly, I think,
began to realize
374
00:24:27,050 --> 00:24:30,086
that he could not rule
in his own right
375
00:24:30,086 --> 00:24:32,688
as long as Agrippina still had
376
00:24:32,689 --> 00:24:35,291
the ambition to rule
through him.
377
00:24:35,291 --> 00:24:39,194
So it was the clash between
two titans, you might say--
378
00:24:39,195 --> 00:24:43,966
people both of enormous egos and
people with great power lusts.
379
00:24:43,967 --> 00:24:47,437
The system didn't allow
both of them to rule
380
00:24:47,437 --> 00:24:49,172
so she had to disappear.
381
00:24:49,172 --> 00:24:51,340
And if she wouldn't go
voluntarily
382
00:24:51,341 --> 00:24:53,509
well, that left Nero
little choice.
383
00:24:55,245 --> 00:24:57,413
WEAVER:
He decided to kill her.
384
00:24:57,413 --> 00:25:00,015
The plot began
at a seaside resort.
385
00:25:00,016 --> 00:25:03,052
Nero invited his mother
to sail down
386
00:25:03,052 --> 00:25:05,220
to reconcile their differences.
387
00:25:05,221 --> 00:25:09,558
When the reunion ended,
Agrippina set out for home.
388
00:25:09,559 --> 00:25:13,896
Tacitus tells the story.
389
00:25:13,897 --> 00:25:16,933
TACITUS:
The ship had just set sail.
390
00:25:16,933 --> 00:25:20,403
Agrippina was attended
by two servants.
391
00:25:20,403 --> 00:25:22,571
One of them stood
near the rudder
392
00:25:22,572 --> 00:25:25,174
the other leant over her feet
393
00:25:25,175 --> 00:25:28,211
happily recalling
the apologies of Nero
394
00:25:28,211 --> 00:25:30,813
and Agrippina's restored favor.
395
00:25:30,814 --> 00:25:33,850
Then a signal was given.
396
00:25:36,886 --> 00:25:40,356
The roof collapsed
under weights of lead.
397
00:25:43,827 --> 00:25:47,730
Agrippina's attendant was
crushed and died instantly.
398
00:25:49,465 --> 00:25:56,405
But chance intervened: Agrippina
was saved by her sturdy couch.
399
00:25:59,442 --> 00:26:03,345
WEAVER:
Amid the confusion, Agrippina swam to safety.
400
00:26:03,346 --> 00:26:07,683
Nero was stunned to learn
that his mother had survived.
401
00:26:07,684 --> 00:26:11,154
Back in the imperial palace,
he called for Seneca
402
00:26:11,154 --> 00:26:15,925
and the commander of his palace
guard, a man named Burrus.
403
00:26:17,660 --> 00:26:21,997
TACITUS:
It is unclear if they'd been advising Nero from the beginning
404
00:26:21,998 --> 00:26:25,468
but the emperor summoned
these men immediately.
405
00:26:25,468 --> 00:26:26,769
Shuddering, Nero shouted
406
00:26:26,769 --> 00:26:29,371
that Agrippina could appear
at any moment.
407
00:26:29,372 --> 00:26:31,974
She could incite the soldiers.
408
00:26:31,975 --> 00:26:33,710
She could arm her slaves.
409
00:26:34,143 --> 00:26:38,046
Seneca and Burrus were silent
for a long time.
410
00:26:38,047 --> 00:26:40,649
Then Seneca ventured to ask
411
00:26:40,650 --> 00:26:44,987
whether Burrus's troops
should complete the murder.
412
00:26:44,988 --> 00:26:48,891
WEAVER:
Burrus refused to involved his elite battalion
413
00:26:48,892 --> 00:26:53,229
so Nero sent some regular
soldiers to finish the job.
414
00:26:55,832 --> 00:26:59,302
TACITUS:
An armed and threatening force circled her villa
415
00:26:59,302 --> 00:27:01,470
and broke down the doors.
416
00:27:01,471 --> 00:27:04,941
They found her in a dimly lit
room with a single maid.
417
00:27:04,941 --> 00:27:07,109
The assassins
surrounded her bed.
418
00:27:07,110 --> 00:27:10,580
First, the captain struck
her head with a club.
419
00:27:10,580 --> 00:27:14,050
Then another soldier drew
his sword for the deathblow.
420
00:27:14,484 --> 00:27:17,954
Agrippina cried out,
"Stab my womb!"
421
00:27:17,954 --> 00:27:20,990
Again and again
they thrust their swords
422
00:27:21,424 --> 00:27:23,592
and she was stabbed to death.
423
00:27:28,798 --> 00:27:31,400
WEAVER:
Rome was appalled.
424
00:27:31,401 --> 00:27:36,172
Matricide was among the worst
impieties a Roman could commit.
425
00:27:36,172 --> 00:27:38,340
Nero solemnly
informed the Senate
426
00:27:38,341 --> 00:27:41,811
that the Imperial Mother
had conspired to overthrow him
427
00:27:41,811 --> 00:27:43,546
her own son.
428
00:27:43,546 --> 00:27:47,016
But the excuse was
obviously a fiction
429
00:27:47,016 --> 00:27:49,618
and it was not Nero's idea.
430
00:27:49,619 --> 00:27:54,824
Seneca had concocted the story
to justify his pupil's acts.
431
00:27:54,824 --> 00:27:58,727
The moral philosopher
was increasingly implicated
432
00:27:58,728 --> 00:28:02,631
in the brutal realities
of imperial politics.
433
00:28:13,042 --> 00:28:16,512
MAN:
I write this to you from my winter quarters.
434
00:28:16,512 --> 00:28:18,247
I salute you.
435
00:28:18,247 --> 00:28:20,415
( wind whistling )
436
00:28:20,416 --> 00:28:24,319
WEAVER:
Britain was the northern limit of the Roman Empire.
437
00:28:24,320 --> 00:28:28,657
Soldiers and their families
found it a remote, hostile land
438
00:28:28,658 --> 00:28:31,260
with few amenities.
439
00:28:31,694 --> 00:28:36,031
MAN:
I ask that you send me what I need for the use of my lads
440
00:28:36,032 --> 00:28:38,200
things I need
as soon as possible--
441
00:28:38,634 --> 00:28:40,802
since I've just
been transferred here--
442
00:28:40,803 --> 00:28:42,971
six woolen cloaks
and five tunics.
443
00:28:45,575 --> 00:28:50,346
WEAVER:
Lonely letters preserved in mud for 2,000 years
444
00:28:50,346 --> 00:28:53,382
echo with yearning
for loved ones
445
00:28:53,383 --> 00:28:56,419
and the for
the comforts of home.
446
00:28:59,022 --> 00:29:02,925
WOMAN:
I have sent you some socks, two pairs of sandals
447
00:29:03,359 --> 00:29:05,527
and two pairs of underwear.
448
00:29:06,829 --> 00:29:08,564
WEAVER:
In the year 60
449
00:29:08,564 --> 00:29:12,467
Britain had been a province
for less than 20 years.
450
00:29:12,468 --> 00:29:14,636
Like other provinces
far from Italy
451
00:29:14,637 --> 00:29:17,239
supply lines
were thinly stretched.
452
00:29:17,240 --> 00:29:19,842
Without hope
of quick reinforcements
453
00:29:19,842 --> 00:29:24,613
three legions and a few forts
held the entire province.
454
00:29:24,614 --> 00:29:28,517
Some settlements, such as the
infant community of Londinium
455
00:29:28,518 --> 00:29:31,120
were cities in the making.
456
00:29:33,289 --> 00:29:35,457
Rome held tenuous control
457
00:29:35,458 --> 00:29:38,494
by maintaining client kings
from local tribes
458
00:29:38,494 --> 00:29:41,964
and by encouraging tribes
to war among themselves.
459
00:29:41,964 --> 00:29:45,434
As long as Rome's governor
kept them divided
460
00:29:45,435 --> 00:29:50,206
the imperial army was the
strongest force on the island.
461
00:29:51,941 --> 00:29:55,844
That equation,
common throughout the empire
462
00:29:55,845 --> 00:29:59,748
broke down just four years
after Nero became emperor.
463
00:29:59,749 --> 00:30:05,387
It started among the Iceni,
a local tribe allied with Rome.
464
00:30:05,388 --> 00:30:07,123
When their king died
465
00:30:07,123 --> 00:30:10,593
he left half his estate
to his two daughters.
466
00:30:10,593 --> 00:30:15,364
He offered the other half
in tribute to the emperor Nero.
467
00:30:15,364 --> 00:30:18,400
The historian Tacitus
tells the story.
468
00:30:18,401 --> 00:30:21,437
TACITUS:
The king hoped by such subservience
469
00:30:21,437 --> 00:30:24,907
to safeguard his kingdom
and home from harm.
470
00:30:24,907 --> 00:30:28,377
What happened was
just the opposite.
471
00:30:28,377 --> 00:30:31,413
First, his wife, Boudicca,
was whipped
472
00:30:31,414 --> 00:30:33,582
and his daughters were raped.
473
00:30:34,884 --> 00:30:37,920
Then the army laid waste
to his land
474
00:30:37,920 --> 00:30:40,522
and his household was raided.
475
00:30:40,523 --> 00:30:43,993
The king's own relatives
were enslaved.
476
00:30:49,632 --> 00:30:52,234
WEAVER:
In response to these outrages
477
00:30:52,235 --> 00:30:56,138
Boudicca, the widowed queen,
rallied neighboring tribes.
478
00:30:56,139 --> 00:30:59,175
Together
they attacked Londinium.
479
00:31:06,549 --> 00:31:10,019
The British tribes
routed Roman forces.
480
00:31:10,019 --> 00:31:14,790
It was an astonishing upset,
and it was not the last.
481
00:31:14,790 --> 00:31:17,392
As the Romans fell back
in retreat
482
00:31:17,393 --> 00:31:19,995
the tribes of Britain
seemed poised
483
00:31:19,996 --> 00:31:21,731
to reclaim their native land.
484
00:31:24,333 --> 00:31:29,104
And Boudicca, defying all odds,
was poised to enter history
485
00:31:29,105 --> 00:31:32,575
among the most fearsome
and charismatic leaders
486
00:31:32,575 --> 00:31:35,177
ever to defy Rome.
487
00:31:35,178 --> 00:31:38,648
As her emboldened forces
prepared for another attack
488
00:31:38,648 --> 00:31:42,985
Tacitus has Boudicca mounting
a rostrum of piled earth
489
00:31:43,419 --> 00:31:47,756
and issuing a rallying cry
worthy of dread and admiration.
490
00:31:50,359 --> 00:31:54,696
BOUDICCA ( dramatized ):
I do not fight to reclaim my birthright
491
00:31:54,697 --> 00:31:57,733
but like you, I fight to avenge
my stolen freedom
492
00:31:57,733 --> 00:32:00,335
my abused body
and my raped daughters.
493
00:32:00,336 --> 00:32:02,938
The gods bring vengeance
to the just.
494
00:32:02,939 --> 00:32:07,276
The one legion that dared raise
arms against us has fallen.
495
00:32:07,276 --> 00:32:09,878
The others yearn to escape.
496
00:32:09,879 --> 00:32:13,349
If you consider our numbers
and our reasons for war
497
00:32:13,783 --> 00:32:17,686
you will conquer the Romans
or die trying.
498
00:32:19,422 --> 00:32:21,157
BRADLEY:
It could be said
499
00:32:21,157 --> 00:32:24,193
that Boudicca was the object
of respect to some Romans
500
00:32:24,193 --> 00:32:28,096
who must have admired the
courage that a woman displayed
501
00:32:28,097 --> 00:32:32,000
in mounting rebellion
against Roman troops.
502
00:32:32,001 --> 00:32:36,772
And, of course, at first she was
very spectacularly successful.
503
00:32:36,772 --> 00:32:38,940
She, um, led an uprising
504
00:32:38,941 --> 00:32:41,977
which made the Romans
really seriously think
505
00:32:41,978 --> 00:32:44,580
about the limits
of their power in Britain
506
00:32:44,580 --> 00:32:48,050
and they had to respond to her
very quickly indeed.
507
00:32:50,219 --> 00:32:53,689
WEAVER:
The startled Romans did respond quickly.
508
00:32:53,689 --> 00:32:55,857
Soon, reinforcements arrived
509
00:32:55,858 --> 00:32:59,328
and the battle-tested Roman army
turned the tide.
510
00:32:59,328 --> 00:33:02,798
Some 80,000 Britons
were massacred.
511
00:33:02,798 --> 00:33:05,400
Boudicca poisoned herself.
512
00:33:05,401 --> 00:33:07,569
Suicide was better
than slavery--
513
00:33:07,570 --> 00:33:11,040
the predictable fate
for defeated enemies of Rome.
514
00:33:15,811 --> 00:33:18,847
Tacitus called the outcome
a "glorious victory
515
00:33:18,848 --> 00:33:21,450
comparable with bygone triumphs"
516
00:33:21,450 --> 00:33:23,618
but he meant to be ironic.
517
00:33:23,619 --> 00:33:28,390
The Roman "peace," Tacitus knew,
was imposed by brutal war
518
00:33:28,391 --> 00:33:31,861
and prosperity in the capital
was often bought
519
00:33:31,861 --> 00:33:34,897
with the blood
of conquered peoples.
520
00:33:34,897 --> 00:33:38,367
"Rome creates a desert,"
Tacitus later wrote
521
00:33:38,367 --> 00:33:40,535
"and calls it peace."
522
00:33:52,682 --> 00:33:56,152
TACITUS:
This year saw many omens:
523
00:33:56,152 --> 00:33:59,188
unlucky birds
settled on the Capitol
524
00:33:59,188 --> 00:34:02,224
houses fell
in numerous earthquakes
525
00:34:02,224 --> 00:34:06,561
and the weak were trampled
by fleeing crowd.
526
00:34:09,598 --> 00:34:13,068
WEAVER:
Britain had been stabilized.
527
00:34:13,069 --> 00:34:16,972
But in Rome the situation
was worsening rapidly
528
00:34:16,972 --> 00:34:19,574
for the empire and for Seneca.
529
00:34:19,575 --> 00:34:22,611
New advisers had gained
the emperor's ear.
530
00:34:23,045 --> 00:34:24,780
They criticized Seneca
531
00:34:24,780 --> 00:34:28,250
for his excessive wealth
and unseemly popularity.
532
00:34:28,250 --> 00:34:33,021
They urged the emperor to
discard his childhood teacher.
533
00:34:35,191 --> 00:34:38,227
Perhaps recognizing
his weakened position
534
00:34:38,227 --> 00:34:41,697
perhaps losing his appetite
for affairs of state
535
00:34:42,131 --> 00:34:45,167
Seneca asked Nero
for permission to retire.
536
00:34:45,167 --> 00:34:47,769
The emperor refused.
537
00:34:47,770 --> 00:34:53,408
For the next two years,
Seneca's life was precarious.
538
00:34:53,409 --> 00:34:59,481
Then, in A.D. 64,
a new disaster struck.
539
00:35:02,084 --> 00:35:05,554
TACITUS:
Fire began in shops near the Circus.
540
00:35:09,892 --> 00:35:12,928
Fanned by the winds
and fed by merchandise
541
00:35:12,928 --> 00:35:15,964
the flames engulfed
the entire district.
542
00:35:15,965 --> 00:35:20,302
They surged up the hills
consuming all in their path
543
00:35:20,302 --> 00:35:24,639
gaining strength in the
city's narrow, twisting roads.
544
00:35:26,809 --> 00:35:30,712
The cries of women, children,
invalids, frantic people
545
00:35:30,713 --> 00:35:34,616
trying to help themselves or
others, all added to the panic.
546
00:35:42,858 --> 00:35:48,930
WEAVER:
The great fire of Rome lasted for six days and seven nights.
547
00:35:48,931 --> 00:35:53,702
Of Rome's 14 districts,
only four remained untouched.
548
00:35:53,702 --> 00:35:58,039
Countless temples, homes
and shops were destroyed.
549
00:36:01,076 --> 00:36:03,678
When the fire burnt itself out
550
00:36:03,679 --> 00:36:06,281
Nero surveyed
the smoldering ruins.
551
00:36:06,282 --> 00:36:09,752
He opened public buildings,
even his own property
552
00:36:10,186 --> 00:36:11,921
to the homeless.
553
00:36:11,921 --> 00:36:17,993
But according to Tacitus, the
emperor's aid was cold comfort.
554
00:36:17,993 --> 00:36:23,198
TACITUS:
However well intended, his relief measures were in vain
555
00:36:23,199 --> 00:36:27,970
because a rumor had spread
that while fire ravaged the city
556
00:36:27,970 --> 00:36:31,440
Nero was on
his private stage... singing.
557
00:36:34,477 --> 00:36:37,947
WEAVER:
Nero hadn't "fiddled while Rome burned"
558
00:36:37,947 --> 00:36:40,549
but his gaiety
was equally damning.
559
00:36:40,549 --> 00:36:45,320
And worse, it was even said that
Nero started the fire himself
560
00:36:45,321 --> 00:36:47,923
to clear land for a new palace.
561
00:36:49,225 --> 00:36:52,261
The emperor's
popularity plummeted.
562
00:36:52,695 --> 00:36:56,165
Hostile lampoons appeared
on city walls.
563
00:36:56,165 --> 00:37:00,936
Insolent citizens even dared
to insult Nero in person.
564
00:37:00,936 --> 00:37:05,707
Rumors of his role in the fire
were so widely believed
565
00:37:05,708 --> 00:37:07,876
that the emperor decided
566
00:37:07,877 --> 00:37:10,913
to divert attention
away from himself.
567
00:37:10,913 --> 00:37:12,648
He found a scapegoat
568
00:37:12,648 --> 00:37:16,985
in Rome's strange new
religious sect, the Christians.
569
00:37:19,588 --> 00:37:24,359
TACITUS:
To suppress the rumor, Nero shifted the blame for the fire
570
00:37:24,360 --> 00:37:27,396
onto that band
called the Christians
571
00:37:27,396 --> 00:37:29,998
hated for
their shameful practices.
572
00:37:32,601 --> 00:37:36,071
WEAVER:
Jesus had been crucified barely 30 years before
573
00:37:36,071 --> 00:37:39,107
and while his followers
were spreading his word
574
00:37:39,108 --> 00:37:43,011
the number of Christians in Rome
was still very small.
575
00:37:43,012 --> 00:37:45,180
But already, as Tacitus reveals
576
00:37:45,614 --> 00:37:48,650
Christian converts
were viewed with suspicion.
577
00:37:50,386 --> 00:37:56,024
TACITUS:
The founder of that sect, Christ, had been executed.
578
00:37:56,025 --> 00:37:59,495
His death had briefly suppressed
the destructive cult
579
00:37:59,495 --> 00:38:02,097
but again erupted,
not only in Judea--
580
00:38:02,097 --> 00:38:04,265
the birthplace of the evil--
581
00:38:04,266 --> 00:38:10,338
but also in Rome, where shameful
atrocities fester and spread.
582
00:38:12,508 --> 00:38:15,544
KING:
The Christians would have made a good target.
583
00:38:15,544 --> 00:38:17,712
After all, their main hero
was a criminal
584
00:38:18,147 --> 00:38:20,315
who'd been put to death
by Roman order.
585
00:38:20,316 --> 00:38:22,918
In addition to this,
they were doing things
586
00:38:22,918 --> 00:38:25,954
like exchanging a kiss
among brothers and sisters
587
00:38:25,955 --> 00:38:29,858
at their meetings, which sounded
a little bit like incest.
588
00:38:29,858 --> 00:38:35,496
They were also eating the body
and drinking the blood
589
00:38:35,497 --> 00:38:38,967
of their god, which sounded
a bit like cannibalism.
590
00:38:41,136 --> 00:38:45,039
WEAVER:
Nero rounded up all the Christians in the city.
591
00:38:45,040 --> 00:38:48,510
They were hideously tortured
and executed.
592
00:38:53,716 --> 00:38:57,186
Then Nero plundered
the empire for funds.
593
00:38:57,186 --> 00:38:59,788
Temples were robbed
of their statues.
594
00:38:59,788 --> 00:39:02,824
Treasures that generations
had dedicated
595
00:39:02,825 --> 00:39:08,030
to the greatness of Rome were
absorbed into imperial coffers.
596
00:39:10,633 --> 00:39:13,669
For Seneca,
this was the last straw.
597
00:39:13,669 --> 00:39:18,006
He pretended illness
and confined himself to bed.
598
00:39:18,440 --> 00:39:21,476
Eventually Nero allowed
his aging tutor
599
00:39:21,910 --> 00:39:24,078
to retire to the country.
600
00:39:24,079 --> 00:39:26,247
There, on his private estate
601
00:39:26,248 --> 00:39:30,585
Seneca could reflect on the
tattered remnants of his honor.
602
00:39:32,755 --> 00:39:35,357
SENECA:
If someone who barks against philosophy
603
00:39:35,791 --> 00:39:37,526
should ask
the standard question
604
00:39:37,526 --> 00:39:40,128
"Why do you preach
more boldly than you live?"
605
00:39:40,129 --> 00:39:45,334
I will someday reproach myself
more strongly still.
606
00:39:45,334 --> 00:39:48,804
But for now,
I make this defense:
607
00:39:48,804 --> 00:39:51,840
I am not wise and never will be.
608
00:39:51,840 --> 00:39:55,310
Demand not that I
be equal to the best
609
00:39:55,310 --> 00:39:57,478
but better than the wicked.
610
00:40:02,685 --> 00:40:06,155
WALLACE-HADRILL:
Seneca, of course, knows very well
611
00:40:06,155 --> 00:40:07,890
that he isn't a perfect man.
612
00:40:07,890 --> 00:40:10,058
To play around with the court
613
00:40:10,059 --> 00:40:13,095
is to be trapped
in a system of hypocrisy.
614
00:40:13,095 --> 00:40:20,035
And quite frankly, he pushes
Stoicism at the end of his life
615
00:40:20,035 --> 00:40:22,637
when he's trying
to distance himself
616
00:40:22,638 --> 00:40:25,674
from the vast embarrassments
he's got involved in
617
00:40:25,674 --> 00:40:30,445
as he's gradually realized that
he can't control the young Nero.
618
00:40:32,181 --> 00:40:35,217
WEAVER:
Nero was beyond anyone's control.
619
00:40:35,217 --> 00:40:38,253
With his mother dead,
his tutor retired
620
00:40:38,253 --> 00:40:42,590
Rome was subject to the whims
of an unstable tyrant.
621
00:40:42,591 --> 00:40:45,193
Only one course of action
could remove him.
622
00:40:46,495 --> 00:40:50,398
TACITUS:
A conspiracy was born and grew
623
00:40:50,399 --> 00:40:55,170
a plot which senators, knights
and even women competed to join
624
00:40:55,170 --> 00:40:56,905
out of hatred for Nero.
625
00:40:59,074 --> 00:41:05,146
WEAVER:
In the year 65, a few defiant Romans began talking of murder.
626
00:41:07,316 --> 00:41:09,918
But stymied by fear,
they hesitated.
627
00:41:11,653 --> 00:41:17,725
Finally, a freed slave
named Epicharis took charge.
628
00:41:17,726 --> 00:41:23,364
She found a disgruntled officer
who had access to the emperor.
629
00:41:23,365 --> 00:41:26,401
Meeting him in secret,
she begged the officer
630
00:41:26,401 --> 00:41:30,304
to strike the first blow,
to free Rome of the tyrant.
631
00:41:32,908 --> 00:41:36,811
TACITUS:
Epicharis began by listing the emperor's crimes.
632
00:41:36,812 --> 00:41:39,414
There was only one way,
she said, to punish Nero
633
00:41:39,414 --> 00:41:43,317
and the officer could expect
a worthy reward.
634
00:41:45,921 --> 00:41:48,089
WEAVER:
It was a fatal mistake.
635
00:41:48,090 --> 00:41:51,126
The officer betrayed
Epicharis to Nero
636
00:41:51,126 --> 00:41:55,029
and Nero sought revenge.
637
00:41:55,030 --> 00:41:58,066
He demanded the names
of the plotters.
638
00:41:58,066 --> 00:42:00,668
Epicharis refused.
639
00:42:00,669 --> 00:42:04,572
He raged, he threatened
and worse.
640
00:42:07,176 --> 00:42:11,079
TACITUS:
Assuming a woman's body was not equal to the pain of torture
641
00:42:11,079 --> 00:42:13,247
he ordered her torn to pieces.
642
00:42:16,718 --> 00:42:21,055
But neither whips nor fire
could break her iron will.
643
00:42:21,056 --> 00:42:24,526
Even when dragged back
a second day on dislocated limbs
644
00:42:24,526 --> 00:42:28,429
she did not betray
her coconspirators.
645
00:42:28,430 --> 00:42:31,466
Thus, this freed slave woman
646
00:42:31,466 --> 00:42:35,803
outshone freeborn men,
knights and senators.
647
00:42:42,744 --> 00:42:45,780
WEAVER:
The next day Epicharis tied a noose around her neck
648
00:42:45,781 --> 00:42:47,949
and ended her life.
649
00:42:53,155 --> 00:42:55,757
With the plotters still at large
650
00:42:55,757 --> 00:43:00,962
Nero redoubled his guard
and unleashed a reign of terror.
651
00:43:00,963 --> 00:43:05,300
Countless people,
some innocent, some guilty
652
00:43:05,734 --> 00:43:09,637
were sucked into
the fury of Nero's revenge
653
00:43:09,638 --> 00:43:12,240
Seneca was one of them.
654
00:43:12,241 --> 00:43:15,711
On meager evidence,
the emperor sent an officer
655
00:43:15,711 --> 00:43:18,747
to demand
the philosopher's suicide.
656
00:43:23,085 --> 00:43:25,253
TACITUS:
Seneca embraced his wife
657
00:43:25,254 --> 00:43:28,724
and gently begged her to live
and temper her grief
658
00:43:28,724 --> 00:43:31,760
but she chose to die with him.
659
00:43:31,760 --> 00:43:35,230
With a single stroke of the
blade they sliced their arms.
660
00:43:37,399 --> 00:43:42,604
Seneca, hardened by frugal
living, did not bleed easily.
661
00:43:42,604 --> 00:43:45,640
He cut the veins
of his knees and thighs
662
00:43:45,641 --> 00:43:49,544
but still he did not die.
663
00:43:49,544 --> 00:43:53,447
He asked his doctor
to dispense some poison hemlock.
664
00:43:53,448 --> 00:43:56,484
He drank it-- in vain.
665
00:43:59,087 --> 00:44:02,990
Finally, he was carried
into the baths...
666
00:44:02,991 --> 00:44:05,593
where he suffocated in vapor.
667
00:44:10,365 --> 00:44:14,268
WEAVER:
Few philosophers had reached such powerful heights.
668
00:44:14,269 --> 00:44:17,305
Few paid so dearly.
669
00:44:17,306 --> 00:44:21,209
Seneca's actions fell
short of his ideals
670
00:44:21,209 --> 00:44:24,679
but history, he hoped,
would judge him well.
671
00:44:29,017 --> 00:44:32,053
SENECA:
The man who considers his generation alone
672
00:44:32,054 --> 00:44:34,656
is born for few.
673
00:44:34,656 --> 00:44:38,559
Many thousands of years
and people will come after him.
674
00:44:38,560 --> 00:44:40,295
Look to these.
675
00:44:40,295 --> 00:44:45,066
If virtue brings fame,
our reputation will survive.
676
00:44:45,067 --> 00:44:49,838
Posterity will judge without
malice and honor our memory.
677
00:44:53,308 --> 00:44:56,344
WEAVER:
As Seneca's lifeblood drained away
678
00:44:56,345 --> 00:45:00,682
the wicked were left
ruling Rome alone.
679
00:45:13,261 --> 00:45:16,297
While Rome was besieged
by its own ruler
680
00:45:16,298 --> 00:45:18,466
the empire's distant subjects
681
00:45:18,467 --> 00:45:21,069
were once again
chafing under Roman rule
682
00:45:21,069 --> 00:45:25,840
this time
in the province of Judea.
683
00:45:25,841 --> 00:45:28,443
After 70 years of subjugation
684
00:45:28,443 --> 00:45:31,479
the region was slipping
into chaos.
685
00:45:31,480 --> 00:45:33,648
Bandits prowled the countryside
686
00:45:33,648 --> 00:45:36,250
and Jewish terrorists
began attacking
687
00:45:36,251 --> 00:45:40,588
people who collaborated with
Rome, people like Josephus
688
00:45:40,589 --> 00:45:43,625
a wealthy Jewish priest
who feared for his life.
689
00:45:45,794 --> 00:45:48,396
JOSEPHUS ( dramatized ):
These criminals would kill men
690
00:45:48,397 --> 00:45:50,565
in broad daylight
in the middle of the city.
691
00:45:50,565 --> 00:45:54,468
Especially during festivals,
they would mingle in the crowd
692
00:45:54,469 --> 00:45:57,071
hiding small daggers
under their clothes
693
00:45:57,072 --> 00:45:59,674
and using them
to stab their enemies.
694
00:45:59,674 --> 00:46:03,577
Many were killed each day
and terror stalked the city.
695
00:46:07,482 --> 00:46:10,952
WEAVER:
Judea was one spark away from revolt.
696
00:46:10,952 --> 00:46:14,855
That spark came in the year 66.
697
00:46:14,856 --> 00:46:18,326
Someone emptied a chamber pot
outside a synagogue
698
00:46:18,326 --> 00:46:20,494
defiling the holy site.
699
00:46:20,495 --> 00:46:23,965
The Jews were outraged;
rioting erupted.
700
00:46:23,965 --> 00:46:27,868
( crowd shouting angrily )
701
00:46:30,472 --> 00:46:34,375
During the melee,
some Jews shouted insults
702
00:46:34,376 --> 00:46:37,846
at the Roman governor,
a man named Florus.
703
00:46:38,280 --> 00:46:42,617
Enraged, Florus pulled Jewish
leaders before a tribunal.
704
00:46:44,786 --> 00:46:48,256
It was a pivotal moment
in Josephus's life
705
00:46:48,256 --> 00:46:50,858
and in the lives
of others struggling
706
00:46:50,859 --> 00:46:54,329
between cooperation with Rome
and their Jewish heritage.
707
00:46:56,498 --> 00:47:01,269
JOSEPHUS:
Florus demanded the Jewish leaders hand over the hecklers.
708
00:47:01,269 --> 00:47:04,739
The men refused, insisting
they could not identify
709
00:47:04,739 --> 00:47:06,907
the guilty from the innocent.
710
00:47:06,908 --> 00:47:10,378
Florus, they said, should
pardon the unknown scoundrels
711
00:47:10,378 --> 00:47:13,414
for the sake of the whole city.
712
00:47:13,415 --> 00:47:16,885
Provoked even more
by this impudent speech
713
00:47:16,885 --> 00:47:20,355
Florus shouted to the soldiers
to plunder the market
714
00:47:20,355 --> 00:47:22,090
and to kill all they saw.
715
00:47:22,524 --> 00:47:25,560
Even prominent citizens
were taken to Florus
716
00:47:25,994 --> 00:47:28,596
who had them whipped
and crucified.
717
00:47:31,633 --> 00:47:34,669
Florus conducted
a wholesale massacre
718
00:47:34,669 --> 00:47:36,404
in the streets of Jerusalem
719
00:47:36,404 --> 00:47:43,778
and the brutality and
viciousness reached a point
720
00:47:43,778 --> 00:47:48,549
where Josephus himself...
or so he tells us--
721
00:47:48,550 --> 00:47:52,453
that Josephus decided
that under these circumstances
722
00:47:52,454 --> 00:47:54,622
there's no way
that he could do anything
723
00:47:54,623 --> 00:47:59,828
other than take up his post
as a leader of the Jews.
724
00:48:01,563 --> 00:48:03,298
WEAVER:
Within months, the former priest
725
00:48:03,298 --> 00:48:06,334
was leading a full-scale
Jewish rebellion
726
00:48:06,334 --> 00:48:09,370
and confronting
a battle-tested Roman army
727
00:48:09,371 --> 00:48:12,841
as it swept across his homeland.
728
00:48:12,841 --> 00:48:16,311
"From one end of Galilee to
the other," Josephus recounted
729
00:48:16,311 --> 00:48:19,781
"there was an orgy
of fire and bloodshed."
730
00:48:23,251 --> 00:48:28,022
Eventually, Josephus and his
beleaguered troops took refuge
731
00:48:28,023 --> 00:48:30,625
within the walled city
of Jotapata.
732
00:48:30,625 --> 00:48:32,793
The Romans surrounded it.
733
00:48:32,794 --> 00:48:35,830
On the 47th day,
just before dawn
734
00:48:35,830 --> 00:48:39,733
Roman soldiers scaled
the city's high walls.
735
00:48:42,337 --> 00:48:46,674
While the Jews slept, Roman
troops streamed into the city.
736
00:48:49,277 --> 00:48:51,445
40,000 Jews were killed.
737
00:48:57,953 --> 00:49:02,290
Josephus and 40 others
fled to a concealed cave.
738
00:49:04,025 --> 00:49:08,362
There was no escape, and
choosing death over surrender
739
00:49:08,363 --> 00:49:11,399
his followers prepared
to kill themselves
740
00:49:11,399 --> 00:49:16,604
but Josephus argued that
Jewish law prohibited suicide.
741
00:49:20,508 --> 00:49:24,411
JOSEPHUS:
Trusting God, I staked my life on a fateful gamble.
742
00:49:24,412 --> 00:49:28,749
"Since we expect to die,"
I said, "let us draw lots
743
00:49:28,750 --> 00:49:31,786
"and assign our deaths
to each other.
744
00:49:31,786 --> 00:49:33,954
"He who draws the first shard
745
00:49:33,955 --> 00:49:36,991
"will fall by the hand
of the next, and so on
746
00:49:36,992 --> 00:49:40,895
and in this way,
no one will kill himself."
747
00:49:40,895 --> 00:49:45,232
My listeners were convinced,
and I drew with the rest.
748
00:49:45,233 --> 00:49:47,401
Each died in turn.
749
00:49:47,402 --> 00:49:50,872
Soon, whether by chance
or God's will
750
00:49:50,872 --> 00:49:53,908
I was left with only one man
751
00:49:53,908 --> 00:49:56,944
and eager to avoid
the fate of the lottery
752
00:49:56,945 --> 00:49:59,547
I persuaded him to stay alive.
753
00:50:01,283 --> 00:50:02,584
GRUEN:
Josephus...
754
00:50:02,584 --> 00:50:05,186
tells us this story--
you would think...
755
00:50:05,186 --> 00:50:07,354
that it would be
embarrassing, humiliating
756
00:50:07,355 --> 00:50:13,861
and utterly... self-destructive,
in a way, to tell this story.
757
00:50:13,862 --> 00:50:16,030
Why does he tell it?
758
00:50:16,031 --> 00:50:19,067
I don't think anybody has come
up with an adequate explanation
759
00:50:19,067 --> 00:50:21,669
of Josephus's psyche here.
760
00:50:21,670 --> 00:50:25,140
One can talk about
guilt feelings and so on.
761
00:50:25,140 --> 00:50:28,610
There may be
a much simpler explanation;
762
00:50:28,610 --> 00:50:31,646
namely, that he got out
of the siege of Jotapata alive
763
00:50:31,646 --> 00:50:33,814
when nobody else did.
764
00:50:34,249 --> 00:50:35,550
I think it was a source
765
00:50:35,550 --> 00:50:37,718
of considerable hostility
to the Jews
766
00:50:37,719 --> 00:50:40,321
so he needed to come up
with some explanation.
767
00:50:42,057 --> 00:50:46,394
WEAVER:
The "explanation" took shape just hours later.
768
00:50:46,394 --> 00:50:49,430
When Josephus emerged
from the cave
769
00:50:49,431 --> 00:50:54,636
he was brought before Vespasian,
the victorious Roman general.
770
00:50:54,636 --> 00:51:00,708
Josephus was sure
to face death or slavery.
771
00:51:00,709 --> 00:51:03,745
But his guile
did not desert him.
772
00:51:03,745 --> 00:51:05,913
Jewish prophets had predicted
773
00:51:05,914 --> 00:51:09,384
that a new world leader
would emerge from the East.
774
00:51:09,384 --> 00:51:14,155
Josephus declared
that Vespasian was that man.
775
00:51:14,589 --> 00:51:18,492
Bemused, Vespasian
let Josephus live.
776
00:51:18,493 --> 00:51:22,396
But as the Roman army prepared
for its final attack
777
00:51:22,397 --> 00:51:26,734
events in Rome brought
the campaign to an abrupt halt
778
00:51:26,735 --> 00:51:30,638
and the imperial household
to a frenzy of panic.
779
00:51:31,072 --> 00:51:32,807
Nero's biographer reports
780
00:51:32,807 --> 00:51:37,578
that the emperor's reign of
terror had finally gone too far
781
00:51:37,579 --> 00:51:43,217
and in the year 68, Josephus's
prediction was becoming reality:
782
00:51:43,218 --> 00:51:45,820
Nero was losing his grip.
783
00:51:47,555 --> 00:51:50,157
SUETONIUS:
Having endured
784
00:51:50,158 --> 00:51:52,760
such a tempestuous emperor
for almost 14 years
785
00:51:52,761 --> 00:51:54,929
the world at last dismissed him.
786
00:51:54,929 --> 00:51:57,965
The uprising began
in the northern territories.
787
00:52:01,002 --> 00:52:04,905
WEAVER:
Nero had tried to purge the ranks of the military.
788
00:52:04,906 --> 00:52:07,074
Armies from
two provinces rebelled
789
00:52:07,075 --> 00:52:09,677
and began to march
towards the capital.
790
00:52:12,280 --> 00:52:14,448
SUETONIUS:
When Nero learned of the revolt
791
00:52:14,449 --> 00:52:16,617
he collapsed
and lay on the floor
792
00:52:16,618 --> 00:52:19,654
stunned and deathly silent.
793
00:52:20,088 --> 00:52:23,558
When word reached him that
other armies had also defected
794
00:52:23,558 --> 00:52:25,293
he tore up the dispatches
795
00:52:25,293 --> 00:52:29,196
and tried to enlist his officers
to flee with him.
796
00:52:29,197 --> 00:52:34,402
Some turned their backs
and others openly refused.
797
00:52:37,005 --> 00:52:40,041
WEAVER:
Senators also turned on Nero.
798
00:52:40,041 --> 00:52:42,209
They declared him a public enemy
799
00:52:42,210 --> 00:52:46,113
permitting him
to be killed with impunity.
800
00:52:46,114 --> 00:52:49,584
Terrified, the emperor
fled to the country
801
00:52:49,584 --> 00:52:52,620
with his few remaining slaves.
802
00:52:56,958 --> 00:53:00,428
SUETONIUS:
Although he was barefoot and wearing only a tunic
803
00:53:00,428 --> 00:53:05,633
he grabbed a hooded cloak and
galloped away to an old villa.
804
00:53:05,633 --> 00:53:09,536
While waiting for servants
to prepare a secret entrance
805
00:53:09,537 --> 00:53:14,742
he cleaned his torn cloak
of thorns, then crawled in.
806
00:53:14,742 --> 00:53:18,212
He ordered them
to dig his own grave.
807
00:53:18,213 --> 00:53:22,550
Weeping as he spoke,
he moaned over and over
808
00:53:22,550 --> 00:53:26,887
"Such an artist dies in me!"
809
00:53:26,888 --> 00:53:29,056
With the help of his secretary
810
00:53:29,057 --> 00:53:32,093
he drove an iron blade
into his throat.
811
00:53:37,732 --> 00:53:40,768
WEAVER:
The dynasty of Augustus was extinct.
812
00:53:40,768 --> 00:53:43,370
The empire was rudderless.
813
00:53:43,371 --> 00:53:45,973
As the year 68 drew to a close
814
00:53:45,974 --> 00:53:49,877
rival generals began
marching towards the capital.
815
00:53:49,878 --> 00:53:53,348
Civil war closed in on Rome.
816
00:54:05,059 --> 00:54:09,396
MAN:
My mind trembles to remember, but I will begin.
817
00:54:10,265 --> 00:54:11,566
( low rumbling )
818
00:54:11,566 --> 00:54:14,602
The earth had been shaking
for many days.
819
00:54:14,602 --> 00:54:18,939
We weren't very frightened,
because that's common here.
820
00:54:18,940 --> 00:54:22,410
But by night, the tremors
had grown so strong
821
00:54:22,410 --> 00:54:25,012
that everything shook and fell.
822
00:54:27,615 --> 00:54:30,217
WEAVER:
In the twilight of the first century
823
00:54:30,218 --> 00:54:34,121
the Roman Empire shook
to its foundations.
824
00:54:35,857 --> 00:54:38,893
MAN:
The buildings around trembled with such force
825
00:54:38,893 --> 00:54:42,796
that we were sure to die
if we stayed.
826
00:54:42,797 --> 00:54:46,267
As we fled,
I took my mother's hand.
827
00:54:46,267 --> 00:54:52,339
The sea swallowed itself and
then hurled back a huge wave.
828
00:54:52,340 --> 00:54:54,942
You could hear women wailing,
babies bawling
829
00:54:54,943 --> 00:54:56,678
and men shouting.
830
00:54:56,678 --> 00:55:01,015
A few were so afraid of death,
they prayed it would come soon.
831
00:55:03,618 --> 00:55:07,088
WEAVER:
The author would survive the eruption of Mount Vesuvius
832
00:55:07,088 --> 00:55:10,124
but other disasters
would rock his life
833
00:55:10,124 --> 00:55:14,027
and the lives of millions
around the empire.
834
00:55:14,028 --> 00:55:17,931
For as the first century passed
its midpoint
835
00:55:17,932 --> 00:55:20,100
civil war would be unleashed
836
00:55:20,101 --> 00:55:25,306
and despotism would once again
stalk the capital city.
837
00:55:26,608 --> 00:55:29,644
Many wondered
if Rome would collapse
838
00:55:29,644 --> 00:55:34,415
after a century of glory, if the
years of eruption would destroy
839
00:55:34,415 --> 00:55:37,451
the Roman Empire
in the first century.
840
00:55:52,634 --> 00:55:54,802
WEAVER:
As the year 68 unfolded
841
00:55:54,802 --> 00:56:00,440
the city of Rome was approaching
a century of unbroken peace.
842
00:56:00,441 --> 00:56:05,212
Prosperity reigned and dangerous
times seemed buried in history
843
00:56:05,213 --> 00:56:09,116
as people pursued lives
of comfortable routine.
844
00:56:09,984 --> 00:56:11,719
They rose at dawn
845
00:56:11,719 --> 00:56:16,056
and prepared to make,
or receive, morning visits.
846
00:56:16,057 --> 00:56:22,129
Women used cosmetics of mineral
and ash and imported perfumes.
847
00:56:22,130 --> 00:56:25,166
The more affluent dressed
in dazzling colors
848
00:56:25,166 --> 00:56:29,503
wore fine jewelry
and elaborate hairstyles.
849
00:56:32,540 --> 00:56:36,010
Fashion required men
be clean-shaven
850
00:56:36,010 --> 00:56:39,046
but according
to one ancient humorist
851
00:56:39,047 --> 00:56:44,252
the tools of the day made
fashion a painful pursuit.
852
00:56:44,252 --> 00:56:48,589
MAN:
These scars on my chin make me look like an old boxer.
853
00:56:48,589 --> 00:56:52,492
They were not made by my wife
in a fit of anger
854
00:56:52,493 --> 00:56:56,830
but by the criminal hand
and evil razor of my barber.
855
00:56:57,265 --> 00:57:00,735
The billy goat is the only
animal to have the courage
856
00:57:00,735 --> 00:57:03,337
to wear a beard
and avoid the blade.
857
00:57:05,506 --> 00:57:10,711
WEAVER:
Such peaceful vanities, however, were swept aside in 68 A.D.--
858
00:57:10,712 --> 00:57:16,350
the year the emperor Nero
was overthrown
859
00:57:16,784 --> 00:57:21,121
and with him the dynasty that
had ruled Rome for a century.
860
00:57:25,460 --> 00:57:30,231
The revolt had begun in Gaul
and spread quickly to Spain.
861
00:57:30,231 --> 00:57:34,134
The imperial army posted there
rose up
862
00:57:34,135 --> 00:57:36,737
and marched toward Rome.
863
00:57:36,738 --> 00:57:38,906
Nero committed suicide.
864
00:57:41,509 --> 00:57:45,412
The empire echoed
with the fury of civil war.
865
00:57:45,413 --> 00:57:47,581
Generals worldwide wondered
866
00:57:47,582 --> 00:57:50,184
if they, too, should enter
the fray.
867
00:57:52,787 --> 00:57:55,389
In the province of Judea
868
00:57:55,389 --> 00:57:59,292
one man was already
hardened by battle.
869
00:57:59,293 --> 00:58:01,461
His name was Vespasian
870
00:58:01,462 --> 00:58:05,365
and he was one of the empire's
most successful generals.
871
00:58:08,836 --> 00:58:10,137
For three years
872
00:58:10,571 --> 00:58:14,908
Vespasian had been fighting
to suppress a local revolt.
873
00:58:14,909 --> 00:58:17,077
With victory in sight
874
00:58:17,078 --> 00:58:20,548
Vespasian's ambitions
suddenly turned
875
00:58:20,548 --> 00:58:25,753
in directions unprecedented
for a man of his station.
876
00:58:25,753 --> 00:58:30,958
MELLOR:
Vespasian was not from the old aristocracy.
877
00:58:30,958 --> 00:58:33,560
His family comes from a small
town not very far from Rome
878
00:58:33,561 --> 00:58:37,464
but a world away
in social class.
879
00:58:37,465 --> 00:58:42,236
His father and grandfather
had been tax collectors
880
00:58:42,236 --> 00:58:44,404
and soldiers
881
00:58:44,405 --> 00:58:49,610
and he himself liked to put on
the image of a man of the people
882
00:58:49,610 --> 00:58:54,381
a man of the camp, a man
who is one with his soldiers.
883
00:58:57,418 --> 00:59:00,888
WEAVER:
Vespasian's troops urged him to seize power.
884
00:59:00,888 --> 00:59:03,924
Soldiers in other provinces
backed him, too.
885
00:59:06,961 --> 00:59:09,129
Emboldened by the opportunity
886
00:59:09,130 --> 00:59:13,901
Vespasian directed them
to march on the capital.
887
00:59:13,901 --> 00:59:17,804
Vespasian's advance troops
began in the Balkans.
888
00:59:17,805 --> 00:59:22,142
They rounded the Adriatic Sea
and descended on Rome.
889
00:59:27,348 --> 00:59:29,083
Upon reaching Italy
890
00:59:29,083 --> 00:59:33,420
they found themselves
face-to-face with the enemy
891
00:59:33,421 --> 00:59:36,023
and for the first time
in 100 years
892
00:59:36,023 --> 00:59:39,059
"the enemy" were fellow Romans.
893
00:59:39,060 --> 00:59:43,831
The historian Cassius Dio
describes the tragedy.
894
00:59:46,868 --> 00:59:50,771
CASSIUS DIO ( dramatized ):
They fought as if against foreigners and not kinsmen.
895
00:59:50,771 --> 00:59:54,674
Even when night fell,
they would not relent.
896
00:59:54,675 --> 00:59:58,578
But whenever the moon broke
through the shifting clouds
897
00:59:58,579 --> 01:00:02,049
you could see exhausted
opponents talking.
898
01:00:02,049 --> 01:00:04,651
While over here,
some battled on
899
01:00:04,652 --> 01:00:08,989
over there, others rested,
leaning on their swords.
900
01:00:09,423 --> 01:00:11,591
Occasionally, one would
take another aside
901
01:00:11,592 --> 01:00:15,062
and say, "Fellow soldier,
citizen, what are we doing?
902
01:00:15,062 --> 01:00:17,230
"Why are we fighting?
903
01:00:17,231 --> 01:00:19,399
Defect to my side."
904
01:00:19,400 --> 01:00:23,737
The other would reply,
"No indeed, you come to mine."
905
01:00:23,738 --> 01:00:25,473
And so they spent the night
906
01:00:25,473 --> 01:00:28,943
alternately fighting
and talking, until sunrise.
907
01:00:30,678 --> 01:00:34,581
WEAVER:
In the morning, Vespasian's forces gained the upper hand.
908
01:00:35,016 --> 01:00:38,919
They cut down their countrymen,
ransacked a nearby town
909
01:00:38,920 --> 01:00:45,860
and, inflamed by blood and
plunder, they closed on Rome.
910
01:00:45,860 --> 01:00:49,330
Soon the empire's capital
was a battleground
911
01:00:49,330 --> 01:00:51,065
for competing armies
912
01:00:51,065 --> 01:00:55,836
and Rome's civilians
were caught in the middle.
913
01:00:55,836 --> 01:00:59,739
CASSIUS DIO:
The city of Rome was under siege
914
01:00:59,740 --> 01:01:03,210
and the inhabitants
were fighting or fleeing
915
01:01:03,210 --> 01:01:04,945
or even joining the looting
916
01:01:05,379 --> 01:01:07,981
hoping that they may be
taken for invaders
917
01:01:07,982 --> 01:01:09,717
and save their lives.
918
01:01:13,187 --> 01:01:15,789
WEAVER:
Some 50,000 were killed.
919
01:01:16,223 --> 01:01:18,825
Vespasian's forces won the day
920
01:01:18,826 --> 01:01:22,296
and the feeble Senate
ratified the result:
921
01:01:22,296 --> 01:01:28,802
Vespasian, a rustic man of the
camp, was now emperor of Rome.
922
01:01:31,405 --> 01:01:35,308
MELLOR:
The civil war revealed the dirty secret of the empire:
923
01:01:35,309 --> 01:01:40,947
that power really rested
on military force.
924
01:01:40,948 --> 01:01:44,851
Anyone who had sufficient
military might at his back
925
01:01:44,852 --> 01:01:47,888
could make a run
at the imperial throne
926
01:01:48,322 --> 01:01:54,394
and any emperor in the future
would have to bear that in mind.
927
01:01:57,865 --> 01:02:01,335
WEAVER:
Rome was now a military dictatorship
928
01:02:01,335 --> 01:02:05,672
and the empire's citizens braced
for an uncertain future.
929
01:02:19,553 --> 01:02:21,721
MAN:
Greetings, my friend.
930
01:02:21,722 --> 01:02:24,758
I write to you
in deepest sadness:
931
01:02:25,192 --> 01:02:28,662
The younger daughter of
our mutual friend, Fundanus
932
01:02:28,662 --> 01:02:30,830
has died.
933
01:02:33,434 --> 01:02:36,904
WEAVER:
Pliny the Younger was a witness to his age.
934
01:02:36,904 --> 01:02:39,940
His letters, published
during his lifetime
935
01:02:39,940 --> 01:02:44,277
show Pliny striving to reconcile
with turbulent times
936
01:02:44,278 --> 01:02:46,880
in his public and private life.
937
01:02:49,050 --> 01:02:52,086
PLINY ( dramatized ):
I've never seen a girl more cheerful and friendly
938
01:02:52,520 --> 01:02:54,255
more worthy of long life.
939
01:02:54,255 --> 01:02:58,592
Barely 14, she blended
virginal modesty
940
01:02:58,592 --> 01:03:03,363
with the wisdom and dignity
of a mature woman.
941
01:03:03,364 --> 01:03:06,400
And her early death was
all the more tragic
942
01:03:06,400 --> 01:03:10,303
since she was soon to marry
a fine young man.
943
01:03:10,304 --> 01:03:14,207
The day had been chosen
and the invitations sent.
944
01:03:14,208 --> 01:03:17,244
Such joy has turned
to such sorrow.
945
01:03:23,317 --> 01:03:27,220
WEAVER:
Pliny was just a child during Rome's civil wars.
946
01:03:27,221 --> 01:03:29,389
He was born
into a wealthy family
947
01:03:29,390 --> 01:03:31,992
from the countryside
of northern Italy.
948
01:03:31,992 --> 01:03:33,293
Far from the capital
949
01:03:33,294 --> 01:03:36,330
he was spared the
immediate violence of war.
950
01:03:36,330 --> 01:03:39,800
But he was not spared
personal tragedy.
951
01:03:39,800 --> 01:03:44,137
His own father died while
young Pliny was still a boy.
952
01:03:47,174 --> 01:03:51,945
It was a life-changing blow,
but it was hardly unusual.
953
01:03:51,946 --> 01:03:54,114
Apart from the hazards of war
954
01:03:54,115 --> 01:03:58,886
many Romans died young
from infectious disease, famine
955
01:03:58,886 --> 01:04:01,922
and women, from childbirth.
956
01:04:01,922 --> 01:04:06,259
Funerals and mourning were
painful staples of daily life
957
01:04:06,260 --> 01:04:08,862
and ancient monuments
immortalize
958
01:04:08,863 --> 01:04:11,031
the timeless emotion of loss.
959
01:04:13,634 --> 01:04:16,670
WOMAN:
Here I'm laid to rest.
960
01:04:16,670 --> 01:04:21,441
I lived 27 years
and was married for 16.
961
01:04:21,442 --> 01:04:25,345
I was a faithful wife
who gave birth to six children.
962
01:04:25,346 --> 01:04:27,948
Only one survives me.
963
01:04:30,985 --> 01:04:34,888
MAN:
To my most beloved wife, who lived with me for 18 years
964
01:04:35,322 --> 01:04:37,490
and gave me no cause
for complaint.
965
01:04:37,491 --> 01:04:38,792
But now I complain
966
01:04:38,792 --> 01:04:42,695
and I beg you, spirits,
to return my wife to me
967
01:04:42,696 --> 01:04:47,033
that I may not experience such
criminal separation any longer.
968
01:04:49,637 --> 01:04:53,107
WEAVER:
These were laments young Pliny could easily understand
969
01:04:53,107 --> 01:04:55,709
for the events
of Pliny's childhood
970
01:04:55,709 --> 01:04:59,179
taught him early and well
that life was fleeting.
971
01:04:59,613 --> 01:05:02,649
Fame, he concluded,
was the only tonic.
972
01:05:02,650 --> 01:05:05,686
By chronicling his times,
Pliny hoped
973
01:05:05,686 --> 01:05:10,023
he might shape the empire's
legacy and write his own.
974
01:05:13,494 --> 01:05:16,096
PLINY:
Death seems bitter and premature
975
01:05:16,096 --> 01:05:19,566
for those composing
timeless works.
976
01:05:19,567 --> 01:05:24,338
My own mortality, my own
writings, come to mind.
977
01:05:24,338 --> 01:05:26,940
No doubt the same thoughts
frighten you.
978
01:05:27,374 --> 01:05:30,844
While life is with us, we must
struggle to make our mark
979
01:05:30,844 --> 01:05:33,880
so that death finds
little it can wipe away.
980
01:05:39,086 --> 01:05:41,254
WEAVER:
While Pliny confronted
981
01:05:41,255 --> 01:05:43,857
the precarious nature
of first-century life
982
01:05:43,857 --> 01:05:46,893
the new emperor Vespasian
was in Egypt
983
01:05:46,894 --> 01:05:51,231
confronting the realities
of late-century politics.
984
01:05:53,834 --> 01:05:56,002
His troops controlled Rome
985
01:05:56,437 --> 01:06:01,642
but Vespasian knew that
Egypt was a key to supremacy.
986
01:06:01,642 --> 01:06:05,979
He needed to control
Rome's food supply--
987
01:06:05,980 --> 01:06:09,450
the grain growing
along the Nile.
988
01:06:09,450 --> 01:06:13,787
He needed to control
the army stationed there
989
01:06:13,787 --> 01:06:16,823
and he needed
the aura of grandeur
990
01:06:16,824 --> 01:06:20,727
that Egyptian culture
readily supplied.
991
01:06:22,896 --> 01:06:26,799
SUETONIUS:
The unexpected and still new emperor
992
01:06:26,800 --> 01:06:28,535
lacked authority and majesty.
993
01:06:28,535 --> 01:06:32,872
But both these traits
were offered to him.
994
01:06:32,873 --> 01:06:35,475
WEAVER:
The biographer Suetonius recalled
995
01:06:35,909 --> 01:06:40,246
the new emperor's awkward first
steps towards a new persona.
996
01:06:41,982 --> 01:06:45,452
SUETONIUS:
As Vespasian held court before a large audience
997
01:06:45,452 --> 01:06:47,187
two men approached.
998
01:06:47,621 --> 01:06:51,091
They begged Vespasian
to cure their afflictions.
999
01:06:51,091 --> 01:06:53,693
They told him
a dream had predicted
1000
01:06:53,694 --> 01:06:55,429
that sight would return
1001
01:06:55,429 --> 01:06:58,465
if Vespasian spit
in the blind man's eyes;
1002
01:06:58,465 --> 01:07:00,200
that the other would walk
1003
01:07:00,200 --> 01:07:03,236
if Vespasian's heel
touched his lame leg.
1004
01:07:03,237 --> 01:07:06,707
The emperor was dubious,
and at first refused.
1005
01:07:06,707 --> 01:07:13,213
But his friends persuaded him to
try, openly, before the crowd.
1006
01:07:13,213 --> 01:07:17,984
To Vespasian's amazement
the invalids were cured.
1007
01:07:22,756 --> 01:07:24,924
WALLACE-HADRILL:
All emperors needed legitimacy.
1008
01:07:25,359 --> 01:07:26,660
They needed authority.
1009
01:07:26,660 --> 01:07:31,865
They needed some sign that
their power came from outside
1010
01:07:31,865 --> 01:07:34,901
had the will
of the gods behind it.
1011
01:07:34,902 --> 01:07:38,372
And it's very common
to have miracle-type stories
1012
01:07:38,372 --> 01:07:40,540
hovering around emperors--
1013
01:07:40,541 --> 01:07:45,746
Vespasian particularly, because
he comes to power from nowhere.
1014
01:07:45,746 --> 01:07:49,216
He's not part
of the reigning dynasty.
1015
01:07:49,216 --> 01:07:52,252
He needs these signs
of authority.
1016
01:07:52,252 --> 01:07:55,722
WEAVER:
Vespasian embraced his newfound stature
1017
01:07:55,723 --> 01:08:00,060
but he knew image alone could
not hold the empire together--
1018
01:08:00,060 --> 01:08:03,530
that his real power
came from the military
1019
01:08:03,530 --> 01:08:08,301
and nothing would cement it more
surely than a foreign victory.
1020
01:08:08,302 --> 01:08:12,205
Vespasian fast returned
his attention to Judea
1021
01:08:12,206 --> 01:08:16,109
to the province he left in haste
the year before.
1022
01:08:19,580 --> 01:08:21,315
Judea was still aflame.
1023
01:08:21,315 --> 01:08:26,086
For five long years, the Jewish
population had been waging
1024
01:08:26,086 --> 01:08:29,989
a full-scale war of independence
against Rome.
1025
01:08:29,990 --> 01:08:33,026
The revolt showed
stunning audacity
1026
01:08:33,026 --> 01:08:35,194
and brought staggering costs.
1027
01:08:35,195 --> 01:08:36,930
By the year 70
1028
01:08:36,930 --> 01:08:41,701
Roman forces had reduced much
of Judea to smoldering ruins.
1029
01:08:41,702 --> 01:08:44,304
The Jewish army
had been decimated
1030
01:08:44,304 --> 01:08:47,774
and the few surviving rebels
were now besieged
1031
01:08:48,208 --> 01:08:50,810
inside the walled city
of Jerusalem
1032
01:08:50,811 --> 01:08:52,979
with one notable exception.
1033
01:08:52,980 --> 01:08:56,016
His name was Josephus.
1034
01:08:57,317 --> 01:09:01,220
MELLOR:
Josephus was a Jewish aristocrat.
1035
01:09:01,221 --> 01:09:05,992
He was educated as a Pharisee.
1036
01:09:05,993 --> 01:09:11,631
He was very much
a freedom fighter for his people
1037
01:09:11,632 --> 01:09:14,668
and a military leader.
1038
01:09:14,668 --> 01:09:19,005
But he became convinced--
or perhaps convinced himself--
1039
01:09:19,006 --> 01:09:23,343
that God was on the Roman side
in this battle, in this war.
1040
01:09:28,549 --> 01:09:32,886
WEAVER:
Just months before, Josephus had been a rebel fighter.
1041
01:09:32,886 --> 01:09:36,356
But he had been captured
and changed sides.
1042
01:09:36,356 --> 01:09:38,524
Now he operated freely
1043
01:09:38,525 --> 01:09:41,561
in the Roman camp
outside Jerusalem's walls
1044
01:09:41,562 --> 01:09:44,164
and he offered
useful information
1045
01:09:44,164 --> 01:09:46,332
to the invading army.
1046
01:09:46,333 --> 01:09:50,236
Josephus's former allies--
even his own family--
1047
01:09:50,237 --> 01:09:53,273
were still besieged
inside the city
1048
01:09:53,273 --> 01:09:55,441
but on the Romans' behalf
1049
01:09:55,442 --> 01:09:59,345
Josephus now urged
his fellow Jews to surrender.
1050
01:09:59,346 --> 01:10:01,514
JOSEPHUS:
I circled the wall.
1051
01:10:01,515 --> 01:10:05,418
I begged them to spare
themselves and their country
1052
01:10:05,419 --> 01:10:06,720
and their temple.
1053
01:10:06,720 --> 01:10:09,756
They knew Roman strength
was irresistible.
1054
01:10:09,756 --> 01:10:12,358
What land had escaped
the Romans?
1055
01:10:12,359 --> 01:10:16,696
Fortune's favor had turned to
Rome and God was now in Italy.
1056
01:10:17,130 --> 01:10:20,166
"You stubborn men!
1057
01:10:20,167 --> 01:10:24,504
"Throw down your weapons
and pity your collapsing city!
1058
01:10:24,505 --> 01:10:26,673
"My family is trapped inside
with you.
1059
01:10:26,673 --> 01:10:29,275
"Perhaps you think
that's why I urge surrender.
1060
01:10:29,276 --> 01:10:30,577
"But kill them!
1061
01:10:30,577 --> 01:10:33,179
"Take my blood as the price
for your salvation.
1062
01:10:33,614 --> 01:10:37,084
I, too, am ready to die
if that will teach you sense."
1063
01:10:39,686 --> 01:10:42,288
WEAVER:
The defenders ignored his appeal.
1064
01:10:44,024 --> 01:10:46,626
The Roman noose continued
to tighten.
1065
01:10:46,627 --> 01:10:50,097
Roman soldiers stripped
the countryside of trees
1066
01:10:50,097 --> 01:10:51,832
for miles around.
1067
01:10:51,832 --> 01:10:55,735
They built a giant siege tower
to scale the Jewish fortress.
1068
01:10:55,736 --> 01:10:57,904
But supply tunnels
dug by the rebels
1069
01:10:57,905 --> 01:11:00,073
had weakened Jerusalem's walls.
1070
01:11:00,073 --> 01:11:03,543
To the amazement of all, one
of them suddenly collapsed...
1071
01:11:05,712 --> 01:11:09,182
and the astonished Romans
flooded in.
1072
01:11:09,182 --> 01:11:11,350
Romans and Jews fought
face-to-face
1073
01:11:11,351 --> 01:11:13,953
through the narrow,
winding streets.
1074
01:11:13,954 --> 01:11:16,990
Soon the surviving Jews
were driven back
1075
01:11:16,990 --> 01:11:18,725
into their last bastion:
1076
01:11:18,725 --> 01:11:22,628
the walled sanctuary of
Jerusalem's sacred temple
1077
01:11:22,629 --> 01:11:25,231
deep inside the city.
1078
01:11:25,232 --> 01:11:27,834
GRUEN:
The Temple was the symbol of the faith
1079
01:11:27,834 --> 01:11:31,304
and not just for the Jews who
happened to live in Jerusalem.
1080
01:11:31,305 --> 01:11:34,775
This was true of the Jews
all over the Mediterranean
1081
01:11:34,775 --> 01:11:37,377
most of whom had never been
to Jerusalem
1082
01:11:37,377 --> 01:11:39,112
had never seen the Temple
1083
01:11:39,112 --> 01:11:46,052
but for whom it was the emblem
of continuity of Judaism.
1084
01:11:46,053 --> 01:11:48,221
WEAVER:
However sacred
1085
01:11:48,221 --> 01:11:52,558
the walls of the Temple could
not withstand the onslaught.
1086
01:11:52,559 --> 01:11:54,727
A Roman soldier flung
some burning wood
1087
01:11:54,728 --> 01:11:56,463
into the temple grounds.
1088
01:11:56,463 --> 01:11:59,065
Immediately the Temple
burst into flames...
1089
01:12:01,234 --> 01:12:02,969
and Roman troops invaded.
1090
01:12:04,271 --> 01:12:06,873
Josephus witnessed the massacre.
1091
01:12:09,910 --> 01:12:12,946
JOSEPHUS:
Passion alone took charge.
1092
01:12:12,946 --> 01:12:15,982
Flight and death
were everywhere.
1093
01:12:15,983 --> 01:12:19,019
Most of those killed
were unarmed citizens
1094
01:12:19,019 --> 01:12:21,621
butchered wherever
they were caught.
1095
01:12:21,622 --> 01:12:24,658
Around the holy altar,
corpses piled up
1096
01:12:24,658 --> 01:12:28,128
and slid in a river of blood
down the steps.
1097
01:12:31,164 --> 01:12:35,501
The cries of the stricken
spread everywhere.
1098
01:12:35,502 --> 01:12:41,140
I can imagine nothing more
horrifying than those cries.
1099
01:12:45,479 --> 01:12:48,515
WEAVER:
The rebellion was broken.
1100
01:12:48,515 --> 01:12:49,816
Thousands died.
1101
01:12:49,816 --> 01:12:51,551
But for many Jews
1102
01:12:51,551 --> 01:12:54,587
the fate of the Temple was
even more devastating
1103
01:12:54,588 --> 01:12:56,756
than the human carnage.
1104
01:12:56,757 --> 01:12:59,793
With no place to conduct
their timeless rituals
1105
01:12:59,793 --> 01:13:01,528
the Jews of Jerusalem braced
1106
01:13:01,528 --> 01:13:04,130
for the extinction
of their religion.
1107
01:13:05,866 --> 01:13:08,902
But Judaism would not die.
1108
01:13:08,902 --> 01:13:11,070
Jews outside Jerusalem
1109
01:13:11,071 --> 01:13:14,974
would keep their practices
and memories alive.
1110
01:13:14,975 --> 01:13:18,011
Ironically, one of them
was Josephus.
1111
01:13:18,011 --> 01:13:21,914
The rebel-collaborator followed
the conquering army
1112
01:13:21,915 --> 01:13:25,385
back to Rome,
even became a Roman citizen
1113
01:13:25,385 --> 01:13:27,987
but he did not abandon
his heritage.
1114
01:13:27,988 --> 01:13:30,156
Perhaps to ease his conscience
1115
01:13:30,157 --> 01:13:33,193
Josephus would dedicate
his remaining life
1116
01:13:33,193 --> 01:13:36,229
to recording the events
he had witnessed.
1117
01:13:36,229 --> 01:13:40,132
He would become one of the great
chroniclers of Jewish history.
1118
01:13:55,749 --> 01:13:59,219
PLINY:
Recently, I have spent all my time
1119
01:13:59,653 --> 01:14:01,821
among writing tablets and books.
1120
01:14:01,822 --> 01:14:05,292
"How is that possible
with the races on?" you ask.
1121
01:14:05,292 --> 01:14:09,195
They're not the kind of
spectacle I find tempting.
1122
01:14:09,196 --> 01:14:12,232
I marvel that thousands
are so childish
1123
01:14:12,232 --> 01:14:14,400
and long to see, again and again
1124
01:14:14,401 --> 01:14:18,304
galloping horses pulling men
standing in chariots.
1125
01:14:23,076 --> 01:14:24,811
WEAVER:
While Judea burned
1126
01:14:24,811 --> 01:14:28,714
the empire's capital returned
to the rhythms of peace
1127
01:14:28,715 --> 01:14:32,185
and Pliny, to the rhythms
of a young Roman gentleman.
1128
01:14:33,487 --> 01:14:36,523
Pliny and his widowed mother
had moved to Rome.
1129
01:14:36,523 --> 01:14:39,559
Only the capital,
his family decided
1130
01:14:39,559 --> 01:14:42,595
could provide the boy
a suitable education.
1131
01:14:43,029 --> 01:14:46,499
But writing later,
the bookish newcomer found Rome
1132
01:14:46,500 --> 01:14:48,235
a city of contrasts
1133
01:14:48,235 --> 01:14:51,705
both richly endowed
and wasteful with its culture.
1134
01:14:53,874 --> 01:14:57,344
PLINY:
This year has produced a great crop of poets
1135
01:14:57,344 --> 01:15:00,814
despite the reluctance of
the public to come and listen.
1136
01:15:00,814 --> 01:15:04,717
People say that in our parents'
day, things were different.
1137
01:15:04,718 --> 01:15:07,320
Once the emperor Claudius
was walking
1138
01:15:07,320 --> 01:15:09,055
on a rare break from work
1139
01:15:09,055 --> 01:15:12,525
when he learned that a poetry
reading was in progress.
1140
01:15:12,526 --> 01:15:14,261
So great was his love of letters
1141
01:15:14,261 --> 01:15:17,731
that unexpectedly,
he joined the audience.
1142
01:15:17,731 --> 01:15:23,369
But today, even men with
ample leisure neglect the arts.
1143
01:15:25,105 --> 01:15:28,141
WEAVER:
The lost refinement that Pliny mourned
1144
01:15:28,141 --> 01:15:30,743
may have been more imagined
than real
1145
01:15:30,744 --> 01:15:35,081
but Rome had changed over
the course of the first century.
1146
01:15:35,081 --> 01:15:37,249
Many old families had died out
1147
01:15:37,250 --> 01:15:42,021
and new ones, such as Pliny's
own, were rising to prominence.
1148
01:15:43,757 --> 01:15:47,227
Foreigners also enjoyed
growing influence
1149
01:15:47,227 --> 01:15:51,564
and their cultures left
a strong mark on Rome.
1150
01:15:51,565 --> 01:15:55,902
New religions such as the
worship of Isis and Mithras
1151
01:15:55,902 --> 01:16:00,239
were absorbed from the East,
and philosophy from Greece.
1152
01:16:00,674 --> 01:16:04,144
GALINSKY:
The Romans were not cultural imperialists
1153
01:16:04,144 --> 01:16:05,445
who came in and said
1154
01:16:05,879 --> 01:16:08,481
"You've got to do
just like we are doing.
1155
01:16:08,481 --> 01:16:09,782
Quite the opposite.
1156
01:16:09,783 --> 01:16:11,951
They gave a lot of freedom.
1157
01:16:11,952 --> 01:16:15,855
It is not simply Rome coming in,
laying things down from the top.
1158
01:16:15,856 --> 01:16:18,892
The local cultures are
being given the opportunity
1159
01:16:18,892 --> 01:16:21,928
to make their own contributions
in many different ways.
1160
01:16:24,965 --> 01:16:28,868
WEAVER:
Rome's willingness to embrace cultures not its own
1161
01:16:28,869 --> 01:16:31,037
was one key
to the empire's strength.
1162
01:16:31,037 --> 01:16:36,242
But for some, it was also
profoundly unsettling.
1163
01:16:36,243 --> 01:16:39,279
Towards the end
of the first century
1164
01:16:39,279 --> 01:16:42,749
a man named Juvenal
wrote scathing satire
1165
01:16:42,749 --> 01:16:45,785
voicing the frustrations
of many Romans.
1166
01:16:45,785 --> 01:16:49,688
Few groups escaped
Juvenal's poison pen.
1167
01:16:49,689 --> 01:16:55,327
JUVENAL ( dramatized ):
Now, let me say something about that race that most appalls me.
1168
01:16:55,328 --> 01:16:57,930
I just can't stand
our city full of Greeks.
1169
01:16:58,365 --> 01:16:59,666
For too long now
1170
01:16:59,666 --> 01:17:03,569
the East has dumped this scum
into our beloved Tiber
1171
01:17:03,570 --> 01:17:06,172
carrying with them
their language and habits
1172
01:17:06,172 --> 01:17:10,075
their flutes and ridiculous
stringed instruments.
1173
01:17:10,076 --> 01:17:11,811
What a travesty!
1174
01:17:11,811 --> 01:17:16,148
Foreigners just blown into Rome
get a better deal than I do--
1175
01:17:16,149 --> 01:17:19,185
I, who drew my first breath
in the city.
1176
01:17:21,354 --> 01:17:23,522
With Juvenal, what you've got is
1177
01:17:23,523 --> 01:17:26,993
a satirist who will fire
at any target that moves.
1178
01:17:26,993 --> 01:17:32,631
But in firing, he creates a
consistent figure for himself.
1179
01:17:32,632 --> 01:17:35,668
And the figure is
of a good Roman
1180
01:17:35,669 --> 01:17:38,705
what a Roman really ought to be
1181
01:17:38,705 --> 01:17:43,042
in a city where
everything is going wrong--
1182
01:17:43,043 --> 01:17:44,778
where Rome has ceased
to be Roman
1183
01:17:44,778 --> 01:17:46,513
where it's flooded
with immigrants.
1184
01:17:46,513 --> 01:17:50,850
Juvenal is a voice
of the old-fashioned Roman
1185
01:17:51,284 --> 01:17:56,922
protesting about the way the
world is changing around him.
1186
01:17:59,526 --> 01:18:03,429
JUVENAL:
Really aggravating is that woman who sits down at a dinner party
1187
01:18:03,430 --> 01:18:05,598
and immediately starts
holding forth
1188
01:18:05,598 --> 01:18:09,068
weighing the merits
of Virgil against Homer.
1189
01:18:09,502 --> 01:18:14,273
Words spew from her mouth,
clattering like pots and pans.
1190
01:18:14,274 --> 01:18:18,611
Lawyers and vendors and even
other women dare not speak.
1191
01:18:18,611 --> 01:18:21,647
Such matters are men's concerns.
1192
01:18:27,287 --> 01:18:30,323
WEAVER:
Juvenal's bitterness was not universal.
1193
01:18:30,323 --> 01:18:33,793
Indeed, as the century entered
its final decades
1194
01:18:34,227 --> 01:18:37,263
most Romans were enjoying
a surge of optimism
1195
01:18:37,263 --> 01:18:42,034
a sense that the empire
was back on course.
1196
01:18:42,035 --> 01:18:44,203
Now with Jerusalem conquered
1197
01:18:44,204 --> 01:18:48,107
the capital was marking its
first foreign victory in years.
1198
01:18:48,108 --> 01:18:51,578
The former rebel
Josephus was there.
1199
01:18:55,048 --> 01:18:58,518
JOSEPHUS:
That day, the city of Rome celebrated
1200
01:18:58,518 --> 01:19:01,554
the victory over her enemies,
the end of civil war
1201
01:19:01,554 --> 01:19:05,457
and the beginning of hope
for a prosperous future.
1202
01:19:05,458 --> 01:19:08,494
In the procession,
spoils of war flowed
1203
01:19:08,495 --> 01:19:12,398
like a river of gold,
silver and ivory
1204
01:19:12,399 --> 01:19:15,001
fashioned into all forms.
1205
01:19:15,001 --> 01:19:18,471
Marvelous statues of the gods
were carried
1206
01:19:18,471 --> 01:19:21,073
huge and made with great skill.
1207
01:19:21,074 --> 01:19:24,544
And there were creatures
of many lands.
1208
01:19:24,544 --> 01:19:27,580
But what stood out
above the rest
1209
01:19:27,580 --> 01:19:32,351
were those objects captured
in the Temple of Jerusalem.
1210
01:19:35,388 --> 01:19:40,159
WEAVER:
Josephus well understood that this was a pivotal moment.
1211
01:19:40,160 --> 01:19:44,931
It symbolized the revival of an
empire traumatized by civil war
1212
01:19:45,365 --> 01:19:48,835
the mending
of Rome's frayed society
1213
01:19:48,835 --> 01:19:54,907
and the unassailable authority
of the new emperor, Vespasian.
1214
01:19:54,908 --> 01:19:58,378
Vespasian restored
the war-torn capital.
1215
01:20:00,980 --> 01:20:03,148
He built temples, a theater
1216
01:20:03,149 --> 01:20:07,486
and began a massive amphitheater
later called the Coliseum.
1217
01:20:09,222 --> 01:20:13,559
But Vespasian also constructed
something less tangible:
1218
01:20:13,560 --> 01:20:17,463
He constructed a fresh image
for the position of emperor.
1219
01:20:19,632 --> 01:20:23,969
SUETONIUS:
Vespasian was almost always in high spirits
1220
01:20:23,970 --> 01:20:28,307
his sense of humor often
scurrilous and off-color.
1221
01:20:28,308 --> 01:20:31,778
Once his son Titus
scolded the emperor
1222
01:20:32,212 --> 01:20:36,115
for his unseemly new tax
on public toilets.
1223
01:20:36,116 --> 01:20:39,152
Vespasian held a coin up
to his son's nose
1224
01:20:39,152 --> 01:20:42,188
and asked whether the odor
caused offense.
1225
01:20:42,188 --> 01:20:43,923
And when Titus denied it
1226
01:20:43,923 --> 01:20:47,393
Vespasian said,
"But it comes from piss."
1227
01:20:48,695 --> 01:20:52,165
WEAVER:
Vespasian approached the business of government
1228
01:20:52,599 --> 01:20:54,767
with an earthy humor
and common sense
1229
01:20:54,767 --> 01:20:56,935
rarely shown
by his predecessors.
1230
01:20:56,936 --> 01:20:58,237
He was frugal.
1231
01:20:58,238 --> 01:21:01,274
Expenditures were financed
by new taxes.
1232
01:21:01,274 --> 01:21:03,009
And he was approachable.
1233
01:21:03,009 --> 01:21:07,346
SUETONIUS:
Vespasian was stocky
1234
01:21:07,347 --> 01:21:11,684
with strong, firm limbs
and a strained expression.
1235
01:21:11,684 --> 01:21:16,455
Once, when Vespasian invited
a local wit to take a jab at him
1236
01:21:16,456 --> 01:21:18,191
the man replied
1237
01:21:18,191 --> 01:21:23,396
"I will, when you have finished
unloading your bowels."
1238
01:21:23,396 --> 01:21:26,866
WEAVER:
The emperor roared with laughter
1239
01:21:26,866 --> 01:21:29,468
and the empire sighed
with relief.
1240
01:21:29,469 --> 01:21:32,939
For after decades
of abuse and uncertainty
1241
01:21:32,939 --> 01:21:36,842
Vespasian became much more
than a conquering general.
1242
01:21:36,843 --> 01:21:40,313
He became the empire's
hope for stability.
1243
01:21:44,217 --> 01:21:47,253
Vespasian,
an adventurer in politics
1244
01:21:47,253 --> 01:21:50,723
was able to found
the new dynasty
1245
01:21:50,723 --> 01:21:53,759
and he held on to power
for ten years
1246
01:21:53,760 --> 01:21:56,362
against the odds, one might say.
1247
01:21:56,362 --> 01:21:59,398
He was able to restore
the stability
1248
01:21:59,399 --> 01:22:03,736
that Augustus had first
introduced many decades earlier.
1249
01:22:05,471 --> 01:22:09,808
WEAVER:
All of Rome benefited by Vespasian's steady hand.
1250
01:22:09,809 --> 01:22:11,544
But for young Pliny
1251
01:22:11,544 --> 01:22:15,014
the unconventional emperor
opened the world.
1252
01:22:15,014 --> 01:22:18,050
He was not yet a teenager
when Vespasian took control
1253
01:22:18,051 --> 01:22:20,219
and for the next decade
of his life
1254
01:22:20,220 --> 01:22:23,256
Rome would be
an exhilarating place to live.
1255
01:22:24,557 --> 01:22:26,725
Pliny studied
with famous teachers
1256
01:22:26,726 --> 01:22:28,461
particularly his uncle
1257
01:22:28,461 --> 01:22:31,063
a man born far
from the center of power
1258
01:22:31,064 --> 01:22:32,799
whose prodigious talents
1259
01:22:32,799 --> 01:22:35,835
brought him to the attention
of the emperor
1260
01:22:35,835 --> 01:22:39,305
and into the inner circle
of imperial advisers.
1261
01:22:41,474 --> 01:22:45,377
Pliny's uncle was
an accomplished scholar
1262
01:22:45,378 --> 01:22:47,113
and a prolific author.
1263
01:22:47,113 --> 01:22:50,149
He compiled
a 37-volume encyclopedia
1264
01:22:50,149 --> 01:22:52,317
on the natural world.
1265
01:22:52,318 --> 01:22:54,920
His writings covered everything
1266
01:22:54,921 --> 01:22:57,957
from marine life
to planetary motions
1267
01:22:57,957 --> 01:23:00,125
and provide a unique glimpse
1268
01:23:00,126 --> 01:23:04,029
into the world view
of ancient Rome.
1269
01:23:04,030 --> 01:23:08,801
PLINY THE ELDER ( dramatized ):
An octopus, when he fears capture, emits a dark ink
1270
01:23:08,801 --> 01:23:10,536
which he has instead of blood
1271
01:23:10,536 --> 01:23:14,006
and is able to conceal himself
in the darkened water.
1272
01:23:15,308 --> 01:23:19,211
The whole world is divided
into three continents:
1273
01:23:19,212 --> 01:23:21,380
Europe, Asia and Africa.
1274
01:23:22,682 --> 01:23:26,585
When bees die, some think they
can be brought back to life
1275
01:23:26,586 --> 01:23:30,489
by covering them with the
stomach of a newly killed cow.
1276
01:23:33,092 --> 01:23:36,562
WEAVER:
"We are now in such a happy time of peace"
1277
01:23:36,562 --> 01:23:39,598
the elder Pliny wrote,
"under an emperor
1278
01:23:39,599 --> 01:23:43,069
who welcomes the pursuit
of research and writing."
1279
01:23:43,503 --> 01:23:45,671
Young Pliny was deeply impressed
1280
01:23:45,672 --> 01:23:48,274
by his uncle's
exhaustive curiosity
1281
01:23:48,274 --> 01:23:50,009
and exhausting efforts.
1282
01:23:50,443 --> 01:23:53,913
Industry and proficiency,
the boy observed
1283
01:23:53,913 --> 01:23:56,081
paved the road to success
1284
01:23:56,516 --> 01:24:00,419
and made his revered uncle
a celebrated figure.
1285
01:24:00,420 --> 01:24:05,625
PLINY THE YOUNGER:
You marvel how my uncle could have written so many volumes
1286
01:24:05,625 --> 01:24:07,360
when he was so busy.
1287
01:24:07,360 --> 01:24:12,131
His enthusiasm was unbelievable,
and he would rise before the sun
1288
01:24:12,131 --> 01:24:14,299
to pursue his studies
by lamplight.
1289
01:24:14,300 --> 01:24:18,637
Sometimes while working, he
would nod off and wake again.
1290
01:24:18,638 --> 01:24:22,108
Still before dawn, he would
go to the emperor Vespasian
1291
01:24:22,108 --> 01:24:23,843
who also worked at night
1292
01:24:24,277 --> 01:24:27,747
and only then start
his professional duties.
1293
01:24:29,482 --> 01:24:34,253
WEAVER:
Vespasian rewarded Pliny's uncle with important posts
1294
01:24:34,253 --> 01:24:35,988
in Spain, Gaul, Africa
1295
01:24:35,988 --> 01:24:40,759
and the boy rejoiced
when the elder returned to Italy
1296
01:24:40,760 --> 01:24:43,362
to command the Roman fleet.
1297
01:24:43,363 --> 01:24:49,435
But in the year 79, a shadow
fell across young Pliny's path.
1298
01:24:49,435 --> 01:24:53,772
After ruling for a decade,
the family patron
1299
01:24:53,773 --> 01:24:58,110
the emperor Vespasian,
became gravely ill.
1300
01:24:58,111 --> 01:25:00,279
The emperor knew he was dying
1301
01:25:00,279 --> 01:25:02,881
but his humor
remained to the end.
1302
01:25:02,882 --> 01:25:04,183
"Oh, dear!" he quipped--
1303
01:25:04,617 --> 01:25:07,653
mocking Rome's habit
of deifying dead emperors--
1304
01:25:07,653 --> 01:25:09,821
"I think I'm becoming a god."
1305
01:25:12,859 --> 01:25:15,027
Vespasian had brought Rome
1306
01:25:15,027 --> 01:25:18,930
through the gravest crisis
of the century, civil war
1307
01:25:18,931 --> 01:25:23,702
and left the empire stronger
and more resilient than ever.
1308
01:25:25,004 --> 01:25:28,907
But Vespasian passed on
a troubled legacy, too.
1309
01:25:29,342 --> 01:25:33,245
"My sons will succeed me,"
he declared openly
1310
01:25:33,246 --> 01:25:35,848
"or no one will."
1311
01:25:35,848 --> 01:25:40,619
The empire was still plagued by
the scourge of hereditary rule.
1312
01:25:44,090 --> 01:25:47,993
Vespasian had done nothing
to change that.
1313
01:26:02,308 --> 01:26:04,910
MAN:
And so the day came.
1314
01:26:04,911 --> 01:26:07,079
The people had already gathered
1315
01:26:07,079 --> 01:26:09,247
for the spectacle
of our punishment
1316
01:26:09,248 --> 01:26:10,983
and those who were about to die
1317
01:26:10,983 --> 01:26:13,151
were forced to march
through the arena.
1318
01:26:16,622 --> 01:26:20,959
WEAVER:
Ritualized violence had been a favorite entertainment
1319
01:26:20,960 --> 01:26:23,128
of the Roman populace
for centuries.
1320
01:26:23,129 --> 01:26:25,297
Criminals, slaves
and war captives
1321
01:26:25,298 --> 01:26:27,466
were often sent to the arena
1322
01:26:27,467 --> 01:26:30,937
where they fought to the death
before roaring crowds.
1323
01:26:39,178 --> 01:26:43,081
PRISONER:
All around I could hear the instruments of death.
1324
01:26:43,082 --> 01:26:46,552
I could hear the sound
of a blade being sharpened
1325
01:26:46,552 --> 01:26:48,720
of metal weapons heating
in the fire
1326
01:26:48,721 --> 01:26:51,757
the clatter of sticks,
the cracking of whips.
1327
01:26:51,757 --> 01:26:54,793
The trumpets sounded
the death knell.
1328
01:26:54,794 --> 01:26:57,396
Stretchers for the dead
were brought on
1329
01:26:57,396 --> 01:26:59,564
a funeral parade before death.
1330
01:26:59,565 --> 01:27:05,203
Everywhere there were
wounded men, groans, gore--
1331
01:27:05,204 --> 01:27:08,674
nothing but danger
before my eyes.
1332
01:27:14,747 --> 01:27:18,217
BRADLEY:
We have to recognize that the Romans
1333
01:27:18,217 --> 01:27:21,687
actually enjoyed the spectacle
of seeing people die.
1334
01:27:21,687 --> 01:27:24,723
This is one of the fundamental
characteristics of Rome.
1335
01:27:24,724 --> 01:27:28,627
They were a militaristic society
from their very beginnings.
1336
01:27:28,628 --> 01:27:30,796
And when they saw
gladiatorial combats
1337
01:27:30,796 --> 01:27:32,964
they were seeing in many ways
1338
01:27:32,965 --> 01:27:36,868
a symbol of their own
martial prowess
1339
01:27:36,869 --> 01:27:39,037
and enjoying the bloodlust
1340
01:27:39,038 --> 01:27:42,508
that was always part
of the national character.
1341
01:27:44,243 --> 01:27:46,411
WEAVER:
While most had no choice
1342
01:27:46,412 --> 01:27:49,448
some volunteered
to enter the arena.
1343
01:27:49,448 --> 01:27:52,050
Ancient graffiti hint
at the attraction.
1344
01:27:54,220 --> 01:27:58,991
MAN:
The gladiator called Celadus is the heartthrob of all the girls.
1345
01:28:02,028 --> 01:28:07,666
WOMAN:
Crescens, who fights with a net, ensnares his female fans.
1346
01:28:09,402 --> 01:28:12,872
BRADLEY:
In many ways, gladiators were like movie stars today.
1347
01:28:13,306 --> 01:28:15,908
They could achieve
great fame, great success
1348
01:28:15,908 --> 01:28:17,643
and become extremely wealthy.
1349
01:28:17,643 --> 01:28:22,848
There was almost a show-business
atmosphere to what went on there
1350
01:28:22,848 --> 01:28:25,450
and the desire for popularity
1351
01:28:25,451 --> 01:28:28,921
certainly must have impelled
many gladiators
1352
01:28:29,355 --> 01:28:32,825
to go out into the amphitheater
and fight
1353
01:28:32,825 --> 01:28:34,560
despite all the risks
that were involved.
1354
01:28:37,597 --> 01:28:41,934
MAN:
Suettius Certus presents a band of gladiators
1355
01:28:41,934 --> 01:28:44,536
to fight in Pompeii on May 31!
1356
01:28:44,537 --> 01:28:47,139
Shade will be provided.
1357
01:28:52,345 --> 01:28:56,248
WEAVER:
In the summer of 79, the city of Pompeii
1358
01:28:56,682 --> 01:29:00,585
was a thriving community
of some 10,000 people.
1359
01:29:01,020 --> 01:29:04,923
Many are known to us,
thanks to a twist of fate
1360
01:29:05,358 --> 01:29:09,261
that preserved their world
for 2,000 years.
1361
01:29:09,261 --> 01:29:13,598
Like most Roman cities,
Pompeii boasted a stadium
1362
01:29:13,599 --> 01:29:18,370
theaters, temples,
public baths and shops.
1363
01:29:20,973 --> 01:29:24,443
On any given day,
the residents of Pompeii
1364
01:29:24,443 --> 01:29:26,611
ate, drank and socialized
1365
01:29:26,612 --> 01:29:30,515
in the cafés and taverns
that lined the streets.
1366
01:29:32,251 --> 01:29:35,721
WOMAN:
Here a decent drink costs a few coins.
1367
01:29:35,721 --> 01:29:37,889
Twice that buys something better
1368
01:29:37,890 --> 01:29:41,793
and for four times the price,
you can savor the best wine.
1369
01:29:45,264 --> 01:29:50,035
WEAVER:
The wine may have been supplied by Pompeii's Vettii brothers.
1370
01:29:50,036 --> 01:29:54,373
Former slaves, they entered
the wine trade and prospered.
1371
01:29:56,542 --> 01:29:58,710
Their home was large and elegant
1372
01:29:58,711 --> 01:30:02,181
radiating signs
of newly acquired wealth.
1373
01:30:05,217 --> 01:30:08,687
This couple is thought
to have owned a bakery.
1374
01:30:08,688 --> 01:30:10,856
They posed for their portrait
1375
01:30:10,856 --> 01:30:13,892
holding symbols
of education and status.
1376
01:30:18,230 --> 01:30:21,266
Across town lived a woman
named Julia Felix
1377
01:30:21,267 --> 01:30:24,737
a wealthy landowner
who rented real estate
1378
01:30:24,737 --> 01:30:29,074
on the grounds
of her expansive villa.
1379
01:30:29,075 --> 01:30:35,147
WOMAN:
On the estate of Julia Felix, the following are for rent:
1380
01:30:35,147 --> 01:30:39,050
luxurious baths, shops,
cafés, workspaces
1381
01:30:39,051 --> 01:30:42,087
and second-story apartments.
1382
01:30:42,088 --> 01:30:46,859
WEAVER:
And then there was Eumachia, a woman of wealth and authority
1383
01:30:47,293 --> 01:30:49,461
so esteemed
for her contributions
1384
01:30:49,462 --> 01:30:54,233
to Pompeii's civic life that a
statue was erected in her honor.
1385
01:30:57,703 --> 01:31:02,040
These people and countless
others, rich and poor
1386
01:31:02,041 --> 01:31:05,077
lived and flourished
in the region.
1387
01:31:05,511 --> 01:31:08,547
Ancient graffiti
reveal the vitality
1388
01:31:08,547 --> 01:31:11,149
of their everyday lives.
1389
01:31:11,150 --> 01:31:15,053
WOMAN:
A copper pot has vanished from this shop.
1390
01:31:15,054 --> 01:31:18,524
Whoever returns it,
the reward is yours.
1391
01:31:18,524 --> 01:31:22,427
WALLACE-HADRILL:
Pompeiian graffiti are wonderful
1392
01:31:22,428 --> 01:31:25,464
because they give
a sort of unedited voice
1393
01:31:25,464 --> 01:31:30,669
an informal voice, when we're so
used to hearing from antiquity
1394
01:31:30,669 --> 01:31:34,139
those very formal voices
of formal literature
1395
01:31:34,140 --> 01:31:36,742
or imperial pronouncements,
or so on.
1396
01:31:37,176 --> 01:31:41,947
You go into a bar, and you
find this little inscription
1397
01:31:41,947 --> 01:31:44,549
about the barkeeper's daughter.
1398
01:31:46,285 --> 01:31:51,056
MAN:
Successus the weaver loves the handmaiden Iris
1399
01:31:51,056 --> 01:31:56,261
who does not care for him,
but he begs her to pity him.
1400
01:31:56,262 --> 01:31:59,298
And then, written
in another hand beneath:
1401
01:31:59,298 --> 01:32:01,466
"Ha! So says the jealous rival.
1402
01:32:01,467 --> 01:32:03,202
Eat your heart out."
1403
01:32:03,202 --> 01:32:05,804
MAN:
You're bursting with jealousy!
1404
01:32:06,238 --> 01:32:09,274
I wish you wouldn't harass
the handsomer man
1405
01:32:09,275 --> 01:32:12,311
the one who is the most noble.
1406
01:32:12,311 --> 01:32:16,214
MAN 2:
I have said this to you and now I have written.
1407
01:32:16,215 --> 01:32:19,251
You love Iris
who doesn't care for you.
1408
01:32:22,288 --> 01:32:25,324
WEAVER:
Such rivalries would all be forgotten
1409
01:32:25,324 --> 01:32:27,926
on the afternoon of August 24.
1410
01:32:30,529 --> 01:32:33,999
On that day, Pliny the Younger,
now 17 years old
1411
01:32:34,433 --> 01:32:38,336
was vacationing with his mother
on the Bay of Naples
1412
01:32:38,337 --> 01:32:40,939
across the water from Pompeii.
1413
01:32:44,844 --> 01:32:49,615
His uncle had come down
from Rome on naval business.
1414
01:32:51,784 --> 01:32:53,952
Suddenly, an unusual
cloud appeared
1415
01:32:53,953 --> 01:32:56,555
in the sky above Mount Vesuvius.
1416
01:33:00,025 --> 01:33:03,928
PLINY THE YOUNGER:
The cloud was shaped like an umbrella pine
1417
01:33:03,929 --> 01:33:06,531
with a long trunk
that branched at the top.
1418
01:33:15,207 --> 01:33:19,110
It was so remarkable, my uncle
wanted to study it closer.
1419
01:33:19,111 --> 01:33:21,713
He ordered a boat
to be prepared.
1420
01:33:21,714 --> 01:33:23,882
Fearlessly, he headed
across the bay
1421
01:33:23,883 --> 01:33:26,919
straight for danger,
all the while making notes
1422
01:33:26,919 --> 01:33:29,955
of the movements
and shapes of the clouds.
1423
01:33:31,690 --> 01:33:35,160
Soon, ashes were falling,
hot and dense.
1424
01:33:35,160 --> 01:33:39,063
Next came pumice stones,
black and scorched by fire.
1425
01:33:39,064 --> 01:33:42,100
He came ashore
near his friend's villa
1426
01:33:42,101 --> 01:33:45,571
and hoping to calm him
by his own composure
1427
01:33:45,571 --> 01:33:48,607
my uncle asked
to bathe and rest.
1428
01:33:48,607 --> 01:33:52,077
Soon the courtyard outside
his room filled with ash.
1429
01:33:52,077 --> 01:33:55,547
The buildings swayed
with heavy tremors.
1430
01:33:55,547 --> 01:33:58,149
The sky turned blacker
than night.
1431
01:33:59,451 --> 01:34:03,788
Then flames and sulfur fumes
sent everyone into flight.
1432
01:34:05,958 --> 01:34:10,295
He asked for water, then stood
up and suddenly collapsed
1433
01:34:10,296 --> 01:34:13,766
his breath choked
by the thickening fog.
1434
01:34:18,971 --> 01:34:22,007
Daylight came three days later.
1435
01:34:26,779 --> 01:34:29,381
WEAVER:
The young Pliny survived.
1436
01:34:29,381 --> 01:34:34,152
But his uncle, Pliny the Elder,
felled by his own curiosity
1437
01:34:34,153 --> 01:34:37,189
was one of thousands
who perished.
1438
01:34:37,189 --> 01:34:41,526
Pompeii and the nearby city
of Herculaneum were buried
1439
01:34:41,527 --> 01:34:43,695
in a torrent of ash and mud
1440
01:34:43,696 --> 01:34:47,599
and lost to history
for the next 1,600 years.
1441
01:34:59,745 --> 01:35:02,347
MAN:
We hired a porter called Corax
1442
01:35:02,348 --> 01:35:05,384
who turned out to be
more trouble than help.
1443
01:35:05,384 --> 01:35:08,854
He often dropped his load,
complaining about the pace
1444
01:35:09,288 --> 01:35:12,324
and griping, "What do you
think I am, a horse?
1445
01:35:12,324 --> 01:35:13,625
"I am no less free than you
1446
01:35:14,059 --> 01:35:17,529
even if my father
left me a pauper."
1447
01:35:17,529 --> 01:35:21,432
Not content with cursing us,
he lifted his foot
1448
01:35:21,433 --> 01:35:26,204
and filled the air with the
noise and stench of his fart.
1449
01:35:28,807 --> 01:35:31,843
WEAVER:
The people who toiled to earn their living
1450
01:35:31,844 --> 01:35:34,012
rarely wrote about their lives.
1451
01:35:34,013 --> 01:35:37,483
The vibrant mass of porters,
cooks, builders and merchants
1452
01:35:37,483 --> 01:35:39,218
was mostly illiterate.
1453
01:35:39,218 --> 01:35:43,989
Even those who could write
had little time to reflect.
1454
01:35:43,989 --> 01:35:48,326
Instead, we hear of them through
the voices of their patrons--
1455
01:35:48,327 --> 01:35:51,363
men whose ancestral fortunes
often freed them
1456
01:35:51,363 --> 01:35:53,531
from the need to work.
1457
01:35:55,267 --> 01:35:59,170
MAN:
Some trades are too coarse and vulgar for a gentleman.
1458
01:35:59,171 --> 01:36:02,207
We disdain customs officers
and moneylenders.
1459
01:36:02,641 --> 01:36:05,243
Also beneath us
are all occupations
1460
01:36:05,244 --> 01:36:07,846
requiring labor alone
without skill.
1461
01:36:07,846 --> 01:36:10,448
They are no better than slavery.
1462
01:36:13,919 --> 01:36:17,822
WEAVER:
Even less vocal were the throngs of slaves
1463
01:36:17,823 --> 01:36:19,991
who kept the empire running.
1464
01:36:20,426 --> 01:36:25,197
They worked everywhere: in Roman
mines, fields and households.
1465
01:36:25,197 --> 01:36:29,968
Many came as war captives.
1466
01:36:29,968 --> 01:36:33,438
Others were born into bondage.
1467
01:36:33,439 --> 01:36:36,041
And while the ancient
institution festered
1468
01:36:36,475 --> 01:36:39,077
with the same abuses
seen later in history
1469
01:36:39,078 --> 01:36:42,114
in the Roman Empire,
it had a different complexion.
1470
01:36:44,283 --> 01:36:46,451
Slavery was not based on race.
1471
01:36:46,452 --> 01:36:48,620
In fact, it was
what you could call
1472
01:36:48,620 --> 01:36:50,788
an equal-opportunity condition.
1473
01:36:50,789 --> 01:36:54,259
Anyone was liable to become
a slave at any time.
1474
01:36:54,259 --> 01:36:56,427
And, in fact,
the biggest difference
1475
01:36:56,428 --> 01:36:59,898
between ancient forms of slavery
and modern forms of slavery
1476
01:37:00,332 --> 01:37:02,934
is this absence
of a sharp color contrast.
1477
01:37:04,670 --> 01:37:08,140
WEAVER:
Roman slaves merged so well into the population
1478
01:37:08,140 --> 01:37:10,742
that the Senate
once considered a plan
1479
01:37:10,742 --> 01:37:13,344
to distinguish them
by special dress.
1480
01:37:13,345 --> 01:37:15,080
The idea was rejected.
1481
01:37:15,080 --> 01:37:19,417
If slaves saw how numerous
they were, the Senate decided
1482
01:37:19,852 --> 01:37:22,454
they might be
emboldened to rebel.
1483
01:37:24,189 --> 01:37:27,225
Pliny the Younger was
no stranger to slavery.
1484
01:37:27,226 --> 01:37:31,129
His family owned a large
country estate, several homes
1485
01:37:31,130 --> 01:37:35,467
and, like most affluent Romans,
many slaves.
1486
01:37:35,467 --> 01:37:38,503
While secure that
full-scale revolts were rare
1487
01:37:38,504 --> 01:37:43,275
Pliny knew well that discontent
simmered beneath the surface.
1488
01:37:45,444 --> 01:37:49,347
PLINY:
I must tell you what has happened.
1489
01:37:49,348 --> 01:37:52,384
The atrocity
Larcius Macedo suffered
1490
01:37:52,384 --> 01:37:56,287
at the hands of his slaves
deserves public outrage.
1491
01:37:58,891 --> 01:38:01,927
He was washing
in his bathhouse.
1492
01:38:01,927 --> 01:38:05,830
Suddenly, his servants
surrounded him.
1493
01:38:05,831 --> 01:38:08,433
One grabbed his throat,
others beat him
1494
01:38:08,433 --> 01:38:12,770
and, it sickens me to say,
they even crushed his genitals.
1495
01:38:14,506 --> 01:38:16,674
You can see
what danger of violence
1496
01:38:16,675 --> 01:38:20,578
what outrageous contempt
we live under!
1497
01:38:20,579 --> 01:38:22,747
He was an arrogant
and cruel master
1498
01:38:23,182 --> 01:38:25,350
but there is
no security for anyone
1499
01:38:25,350 --> 01:38:29,687
not even those
who are lenient and gentle.
1500
01:38:29,688 --> 01:38:33,158
For slaves kill not to bring
justice to their master
1501
01:38:33,158 --> 01:38:35,326
but from their criminal nature.
1502
01:38:38,797 --> 01:38:41,833
WALLACE-HADRILL:
For Pliny and for the ancients in general
1503
01:38:41,833 --> 01:38:46,604
slavery was just part of
the natural order of things.
1504
01:38:46,605 --> 01:38:48,340
When it was rationalized
1505
01:38:48,340 --> 01:38:50,942
it could be rationalized
quite simply
1506
01:38:50,943 --> 01:38:54,846
in terms of the natural
superiority and inferiority
1507
01:38:54,846 --> 01:38:56,147
that's built into nature.
1508
01:38:58,750 --> 01:39:01,352
WEAVER:
In such an ordered society
1509
01:39:01,353 --> 01:39:05,256
landed gentry such as the family
of Pliny the Younger
1510
01:39:05,257 --> 01:39:06,992
had rich prospects.
1511
01:39:06,992 --> 01:39:10,895
At age 18, after inheriting
his uncle's fortune
1512
01:39:10,896 --> 01:39:14,799
young Pliny set out to follow
his elder's footsteps.
1513
01:39:14,800 --> 01:39:17,836
He launched a career
in law and politics.
1514
01:39:17,836 --> 01:39:21,739
But while his uncle had
flourished under a good emperor
1515
01:39:21,740 --> 01:39:24,776
the younger man would seek
his fame and fortune
1516
01:39:24,776 --> 01:39:27,378
under very different
circumstances.
1517
01:39:28,680 --> 01:39:33,885
In the year 81, Vespasian's
youngest son ascended to power.
1518
01:39:33,885 --> 01:39:35,620
His name was Domitian
1519
01:39:35,621 --> 01:39:39,091
and as the biographer
Suetonius recounts
1520
01:39:39,091 --> 01:39:45,163
he would prove to be as terrible
a tyrant as any who came before.
1521
01:39:45,163 --> 01:39:49,934
SUETONIUS:
Early in his rule, he would seclude himself for hours
1522
01:39:49,935 --> 01:39:53,405
catching flies and sticking them
with sharpened pens
1523
01:39:53,839 --> 01:39:56,007
so that once when someone asked
1524
01:39:56,008 --> 01:39:59,044
whether anyone was inside
with the emperor
1525
01:39:59,044 --> 01:40:03,381
a palace wit cleverly replied,
"Not even a fly."
1526
01:40:03,382 --> 01:40:06,852
Domitian's savagery
was unexpected.
1527
01:40:06,852 --> 01:40:11,189
He once called a steward
into his bedroom to dine.
1528
01:40:11,189 --> 01:40:14,225
The next day
the man was crucified.
1529
01:40:16,395 --> 01:40:19,431
WEAVER:
Domitian indulged mercurial whims.
1530
01:40:19,431 --> 01:40:21,599
He launched treason trials
1531
01:40:21,600 --> 01:40:25,503
and executed or banished
even his mildest critics.
1532
01:40:25,504 --> 01:40:29,841
He terrorized the Roman elite
and presented Pliny the Younger
1533
01:40:29,841 --> 01:40:32,443
with the greatest challenge
of his life:
1534
01:40:32,444 --> 01:40:35,046
how to navigate
treacherous times
1535
01:40:35,047 --> 01:40:38,950
without compromising his values;
how to maintain honor
1536
01:40:38,950 --> 01:40:44,155
while climbing the ranks
of a despotic system.
1537
01:40:44,156 --> 01:40:47,192
Pliny admired, even befriended
1538
01:40:47,192 --> 01:40:49,794
those who balked
at Domitian's rule
1539
01:40:49,795 --> 01:40:52,397
but the martyr's path
was not for him.
1540
01:40:52,397 --> 01:40:54,999
Instead, Pliny staked
his morality
1541
01:40:55,000 --> 01:40:59,771
on a ground of compromise,
befitting his compromised times.
1542
01:40:59,771 --> 01:41:04,976
He was efficient and dutiful
to friend and tyrant alike.
1543
01:41:04,976 --> 01:41:08,446
Even while serving the emperor,
he brokered marriages
1544
01:41:08,447 --> 01:41:11,483
for the children
of worthy exiles
1545
01:41:11,483 --> 01:41:14,953
promoted their careers,
lent money.
1546
01:41:14,953 --> 01:41:18,856
And through it all,
Pliny's career thrived.
1547
01:41:18,857 --> 01:41:22,760
But his success was
tinged with remorse.
1548
01:41:22,761 --> 01:41:27,098
PLINY THE YOUNGER:
I have avoided shame, but deserve no praise.
1549
01:41:27,532 --> 01:41:31,435
Admittedly, when Domitian
expelled his critics from Rome
1550
01:41:31,436 --> 01:41:34,472
I visited one,
even loaned him money
1551
01:41:34,473 --> 01:41:37,943
though this jeopardized
my own position.
1552
01:41:37,943 --> 01:41:43,148
Seven of my friends had already
been killed or exiled.
1553
01:41:43,148 --> 01:41:46,618
I was clearly standing
amid a rain of thunderbolts
1554
01:41:46,618 --> 01:41:50,955
and there were signs that a
similar end was in store for me.
1555
01:41:55,293 --> 01:41:58,329
BRADLEY:
The fact remains that Pliny the Younger
1556
01:41:58,330 --> 01:42:00,932
was a very successful
career politician
1557
01:42:00,932 --> 01:42:05,269
and he prospered under Domitian
as did many of his social class.
1558
01:42:05,270 --> 01:42:09,607
And what I think we can see
going on here is a recognition
1559
01:42:09,608 --> 01:42:13,078
on the part of upper-class
individuals like Pliny
1560
01:42:13,078 --> 01:42:15,246
that it was perfectly possible
1561
01:42:15,247 --> 01:42:18,283
for them to collaborate
with a political system
1562
01:42:18,283 --> 01:42:20,451
that provided good government
1563
01:42:20,452 --> 01:42:23,488
even if the emperor of the day
was an absolute tyrant.
1564
01:42:25,223 --> 01:42:27,825
WEAVER:
Pliny, like the empire itself
1565
01:42:27,826 --> 01:42:30,428
would outlast
the troubling times.
1566
01:42:30,429 --> 01:42:34,332
In the year 96, Rome
once again shed its despot.
1567
01:42:34,766 --> 01:42:41,272
Domitian was murdered by a group
that included his own wife.
1568
01:42:41,273 --> 01:42:46,044
And once again, the army
would command Rome's future.
1569
01:42:46,044 --> 01:42:50,381
From here events followed
a remarkable new course.
1570
01:42:50,382 --> 01:42:52,117
For the first time
1571
01:42:52,117 --> 01:42:56,454
Roman generals cooperated
to choose the next emperor
1572
01:42:56,455 --> 01:42:57,756
and they compelled him
1573
01:42:58,190 --> 01:43:02,093
to adopt an acceptable heir
from outside his own family.
1574
01:43:03,829 --> 01:43:06,431
It was startlingly innovative
1575
01:43:06,431 --> 01:43:09,901
and the result
was resoundingly successful
1576
01:43:09,901 --> 01:43:12,937
for the next major emperor
to rule Rome
1577
01:43:12,938 --> 01:43:17,709
was a Spanish-born senator
and general named Trajan.
1578
01:43:17,709 --> 01:43:22,914
His reign took Rome one more
step toward universality.
1579
01:43:22,914 --> 01:43:27,251
Now educated and wealthy men
from all over the empire
1580
01:43:27,252 --> 01:43:30,288
became eligible
for the highest office.
1581
01:43:30,288 --> 01:43:35,926
Trajan expanded the Roman Empire
to its greatest geographic size.
1582
01:43:35,927 --> 01:43:41,999
He extended prosperity to levels
of society not before reached.
1583
01:43:42,000 --> 01:43:48,072
He launched public works, tax
relief, a child welfare program
1584
01:43:48,073 --> 01:43:52,410
and among his most trusted aides
was Pliny the Younger.
1585
01:43:52,410 --> 01:43:54,578
As the century turned
1586
01:43:54,579 --> 01:43:58,049
Pliny now reveled
in the benefits of success
1587
01:43:58,049 --> 01:44:01,952
and publicly praised
the new emperor, Trajan.
1588
01:44:03,255 --> 01:44:05,857
PLINY:
We are suffering no longer.
1589
01:44:05,857 --> 01:44:08,893
There is no need
to flatter him as a god.
1590
01:44:08,894 --> 01:44:13,231
We speak not about a tyrant,
but a fellow citizen;
1591
01:44:13,231 --> 01:44:15,399
not a master, but a parent.
1592
01:44:15,400 --> 01:44:18,002
He is one of us and remembers
1593
01:44:18,003 --> 01:44:22,774
that though he rules over men,
he is himself a man.
1594
01:44:25,377 --> 01:44:29,714
WEAVER:
Trajan would close the door on the empire's defining epoch.
1595
01:44:29,714 --> 01:44:33,184
He would set the course
for generations to come
1596
01:44:33,184 --> 01:44:36,654
and project the collective voice
of the first century
1597
01:44:36,655 --> 01:44:40,992
across two millennia,
where it resonates today.
1598
01:44:44,462 --> 01:44:47,498
Europe today draws on the power
1599
01:44:47,499 --> 01:44:51,836
of an image created
by the Roman Empire.
1600
01:44:51,836 --> 01:44:54,438
Rome takes the cultural systems
1601
01:44:54,873 --> 01:44:59,210
developed initially
in the eastern Mediterranean
1602
01:44:59,210 --> 01:45:04,415
and spreads them in a dramatic
way, and lays the foundations
1603
01:45:04,849 --> 01:45:10,054
of a whole cultural zone
that is our modern Europe.
1604
01:45:12,223 --> 01:45:17,861
The first century provided us
with a powerful model
1605
01:45:17,862 --> 01:45:20,898
for a global society
1606
01:45:21,333 --> 01:45:22,634
consisting of people
1607
01:45:22,634 --> 01:45:26,971
from different ethnicities
and different cultures
1608
01:45:26,972 --> 01:45:30,008
who were able to unite
on certain fronts
1609
01:45:30,008 --> 01:45:33,478
and remain distinct
and separate in others.
1610
01:45:37,816 --> 01:45:39,551
In the first century, we see
1611
01:45:39,551 --> 01:45:42,587
in the midst,
in the very teeth
1612
01:45:42,587 --> 01:45:47,792
of the most powerful system
of imperial domination
1613
01:45:47,792 --> 01:45:50,394
that the world had ever seen up
to that time...
1614
01:45:50,395 --> 01:45:52,130
we see right
in the midst of that
1615
01:45:52,130 --> 01:45:56,467
the florescence of a notion
of human freedom
1616
01:45:56,468 --> 01:46:00,371
that grows up like a lotus
1617
01:46:00,372 --> 01:46:03,408
out of the mud pond
of Roman domination.
1618
01:46:07,746 --> 01:46:12,083
PLINY:
All around us, how much things have changed.
1619
01:46:12,083 --> 01:46:17,721
My work brought me success,
then danger, then success again.
1620
01:46:19,024 --> 01:46:22,060
WEAVER:
Towards the end of his life
1621
01:46:22,060 --> 01:46:25,530
Pliny the Younger prepared
to enter history
1622
01:46:25,530 --> 01:46:27,698
as a spokesperson for his age.
1623
01:46:27,699 --> 01:46:29,434
Few had basked longer
1624
01:46:29,434 --> 01:46:32,904
in the might and majesty
of imperial Rome.
1625
01:46:32,904 --> 01:46:35,506
Few knew better its darker side.
1626
01:46:35,507 --> 01:46:38,109
But Pliny's perspective
was long
1627
01:46:38,109 --> 01:46:40,711
and like those who came before
1628
01:46:40,712 --> 01:46:44,615
he trusted that his better side
would endure.
1629
01:46:46,785 --> 01:46:51,122
PLINY:
Whether posterity will remember us I do not know.
1630
01:46:51,122 --> 01:46:54,158
But we certainly
deserve distinction--
1631
01:46:54,592 --> 01:46:58,929
not for our genius,
for this would sound arrogant
1632
01:46:58,930 --> 01:47:04,135
but for our dedication, labor
and concern for the future.
1633
01:47:04,135 --> 01:47:07,171
We will continue on the road
that we have taken
1634
01:47:07,172 --> 01:47:10,642
which, while it carries few
into the full light of fame
1635
01:47:10,642 --> 01:47:14,545
leads many from the shadows
of oblivion.
1636
01:47:16,281 --> 01:47:20,618
WEAVER:
The Roman Empire would survive for centuries to come.
1637
01:47:21,052 --> 01:47:24,088
But the men and women
of the first century
1638
01:47:24,089 --> 01:47:26,257
left a legacy for the ages
1639
01:47:26,257 --> 01:47:31,462
deserving forever
"the full light of fame."
1640
01:47:46,211 --> 01:47:50,114
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