{"id":5662,"date":"2012-10-13T10:41:17","date_gmt":"2012-10-13T14:41:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/?p=5662"},"modified":"2012-10-13T10:43:31","modified_gmt":"2012-10-13T14:43:31","slug":"claudius-dies-under-mysterious-circumstances","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2012\/10\/claudius-dies-under-mysterious-circumstances.html","title":{"rendered":"Claudius Dies Under Mysterious Circumstances"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

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\nI see at Wikipedia that by someone\u2019s calculation today is the day in the year 54 that the Emperor Claudius<\/a> died, poisoned under mysterious circumstances. He would be succeeded by his nephew Nero.<\/p>\n

This leads me to recall the mid nineteen seventies when the BBC series based upon Robert Graves\u2019 novel I, Claudius came to America. <\/p>\n

I couldn\u2019t get my hands on a copy of the novel quickly enough so, somewhat grumpily I turned to the primary source for Graves, Suetonius<\/a> \u201cThe Lives of the Twelve Caesars<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n

If you haven\u2019t read these classic histories, you are missing something.<\/p>\n

Just a word to the wise\u2026<\/p>\n

And, in case you\u2019re unclear on where Claudius fits into the arc of Roman history, here you go\u2026<\/p>\n