The Letter from Claudius to Lucius Aemilius Rectus - Essay Example

Several interesting themes regarding Roman culture are manifest throughout the body of this letter from Claudius to Lucius Aemilius Rectus, the prefect of Egypt. While few aspects of Roman culture are blatantly revealed, attitudes towards the emperor and the proposed deification of the emperor are shown. Other elements of culture are hints about the Roman attitude towards class divisions, the emperor’s expected style of leadership, the role of precedence in lawful governance and the Roman attitude towards conflict between different ethnic groups. The first element of Roman culture that is of particular interest and is revealed in this letter is the question of deification of the emperor and the apparent expectation that the emperor demurely decline or feign resistance towards such adulations. The declaration of Lucius Aemilius Rectus clearly shows the Alexandrian concept of Caesar as god when he states, “I have deemed it necessary to display the latter publicly in order that reading it individually you may admire the majesty of our god Caesar [Claudius] and feel gratitude for his food will toward the city.” Claudius alludes later to the rightful deification of prior emperors, such as Augustus, but seems reluctant to accept any such references to his own deification. In fact, he draws a distinction between himself and other emperors that might rightly be accepted as deity when he declines the request of Lucius Aemilius Rectus to appoint a high priest in his honor and to begin the construction of temples in his name. Claudius gives reason for his refusal by stating, “…for I do not wish to be offensive to my contemporaries, and my opinion is that temples and the like have by all ages been granted as special honors to the gods alone.” Clearly he does not consider himself a god, as yet, but does that explain his continued display of apparent humility towards the honors proposed by Lucius Aemilius Rectus? The embassy to the emperor proposed several honors be offered to Claudius and his family. Among these are making his birthday a holiday, the establishment of a Claudian tribe that would organize festivals and adulation ceremonies on the Emperor’s birthday, the erection of various statues in cities throughout the realm, the creation of sacred groves for use on the festival day and the afore mentioned temples and high priests that were denied by Claudius. At the beginning of the paragraph where theses honors are being offered, Claudius attempts a show of humility. He states, “Wherefore I gladly accepted the honors given to me by you, though I am not partial to such things.” Are these genuine displays of humility? Does he really not want to be thought of as a god and are the honors offered by the Alexandrians really but a trifle? The answer lies in the balance of the paragraph where Claudius directs how he wants the proposed honors to be implemented. Claudius spends nearly a full 20% of the entire letter telling the Alexandrians when, where and how the honors are to be implemented. He even subtly adds to them, suggesting details that should be included in the procession planned each year for his birthday. Clearly an individual that felt nothing towards such honors would take such an active hand in directing said honors. His statement that he wished to avoid being “offensive to my contemporaries” by denying the request to build the temple smacks somehow of political necessity and not the true desires of Claudius’s heart. Clearly that a show of humility was expected of the Roman emperor when honors were presented, but Claudius appears to do little more than make a half-hearted attempt before throwing himself into the work of explaining just how best the Alexandrian’s could honor him. Another attitude of the emperor is revealed as the letter turns to the conflict between the Jews and the Greeks. Claudius adopts a decidedly paternalistic tone towards both parties at the outset of this paragraph. The emperor informs Lucius Aemilius Rectus that Dionysius son of Theo made a zealous argument against the actions of the Jews. Claudius makes it clear that he listened to the embassy, but decided that, “nevertheless, I was unwilling to make a strict inquiry, though guarding within me a store of immutable indignation against any who renewed the conflict;…”. Then comes the paternal threat. Claudius states, “…and I will tell you once and for all that unless you put a stop to this ruinous and obstinate enmity against each other, I shall be driven to show what a benevolent emperor can be when turned to righteous indignation.” Like two naughty children, the Greeks and the Jews were told in no uncertain terms to knock it off. They had better stop their bickering and learn to get along or the emperor was going to have to come down from his throne on the Palatine and neither of them wanted that to happen! It is clear that the emperor expects to be obeyed because he is the emperor, not because he has anything to offer towards the way of solution. It is a threat where force is implicitly implied, especially when Claudius describes the conflict between Greek and Jew not as a feud or a riot but as a war. How does one settle a war? In the Roman way of thinking, wars are settled with armies and military strength. A final glimpse into Roman culture at this time is the desire to maintain the status quo. The peace of Augustus had been established and all of the government’s efforts were aimed towards maintaining that peace. This is shown in the emperor’s edict concerning the ephebes, those trying to gain Alexandrian citizenship, often as a means of gaining Roman citizenship thereafter. Claudius decrees that all shall go on as before, specifically by maintaining the laws concerning the children of slaves never being able to be Alexandrian citizens. Claudius maintains the status quo by stating, “And it is equally my will that all the other privileges shall be confirmed which were granted to you by the emperors before me, and by the kings and their prefects, as the deified Augustus also confirmed them.” This attitude is also shown in the suggestions Claudius offers the Greeks and Jews on how to resolve their differences. In essence, he tells both sides to stop quarrelling because the rights and privileges they currently possess is enough. He tells the Greeks to stop harassing the Jews because of their customs as beliefs because the Jews have been in Alexandria for as long as the Greeks have been. He tells the Jews to stop seeking Alexandrian citizenship and to be happy with the rights they currently possess. He also scolds the Jews for sending a separate embassy to address him, as though they lived in a different city than the Greeks. Again, this was not acceptable because nothing like this had ever been done before and was beyond the confines of the status quo. Claudius’s letter to the Alexandrians is an interesting one. In the body, desires to maintain the status quo, to appear humble and to preserve the Augustan peace are all subtly displayed. Much can be inferred about Roman culture from this reading. Read More