AI Summary
5 min readIn September 1960, at Pinewood Studios outside London, 20th Century Fox began filming Cleopatra. The set was a staggering 20-acre recreation of ancient Alexandria, complete with a Ptolemaic palace, six life-size sphinxes, and real palm trees. Three days in, Elizabeth Taylor came down with pneumonia. The production shut down, relocated to Rome, and spiraled into a three-year, $44 million catastrophe that nearly bankrupted the studio. On the fringes of this chaos, a bit player appeared: Roddy McDowall as Octavian, portrayed as a petulant, sickly youth. In art as in life, the episode notes, you underestimate Octavian at your peril.
The Reluctant Autocrat
By 29 BC, Octavian had achieved total supremacy over the Roman Republic. In just thirteen years, he had avenged Julius Caesar’s assassination, defeated the Liberator armies, and hunted down Mark Antony and Cleopatra, driving them to suicide in Alexandria. But Octavian had learned the central lesson of Caesar’s murder: never appear to want a crown. As Professor Neville Morley puts it, “He’s really, really learnt the lesson of Caesar that whether or not Caesar did want to become king, people thought he did.”
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:00) **Cleopatra Film Opening** - Sets the scene for the lavish, troubled 1963 *Cleopatra* film as a framing device for Octavian's underestimated character.
- 2 (05:45) **Octavian’s Supremacy & The Ghost of Alexander** - Recaps Octavian's rise from obscurity to dominance, culminating in a visit to Alexander the Great's tomb.
- 3 (08:20) **The Triumph and the Lesson of Caesar** - Octavian's return to Rome is marked by a triumph, but he carefully avoids the appearance of seeking kingship.
- 4 (10:17) **The Constitutional Coup of 27 BC** - Octavian stages a dramatic "return of power" to the Senate, which then rewards him with the title "Augustus" and effective autocratic control.
- 5 (14:35) **Coerced Consent and the New Order** - The Roman people, exhausted by decades of civil war, willingly trade freedom for the stability Octavian offers.
- 6 (16:35) **Consolidating the Empire** - Augustus goes on a goodwill tour and centralizes control over the provinces and the army, establishing a single authority.
- 7 (23:56) **The Succession Crisis and the Illness of 23 BC** - A near-fatal illness forces Augustus to confront the issue of succession, setting off a dynastic struggle.
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Show Notes
With his enemies vanquished Octavian returns to a hero’s welcome. Consolidating personal rule over Rome’s vast dominions, he begins dismantling the old republic. The Senate declares him the most “August” of Caesars, an Emperor. But the lack of an heir, once again, will plunge Rome into crisis…
A Noiser podcast production. Narrated by Paul McGann.
Featuring Lauren Ginsberg, David Gwynn, Neville Morley, Joyce Tyldesley.
This is Part 3 of 3.
Written by Jeff Dawson | Assistant Producer: Luke Lonergan | Exec produced by Joel Duddell | Sound supervisors: Tom Pink, Matt Peaty | Sound design & audio editing by George Tapp | Assembly editing by Dorry Macaulay | Compositions by Oliver Baines, Dorry Macaulay, Tom Pink | Mix & mastering: Cian Ryan-Morgan | Recording engineer: Joseph McGann.
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