Sick Caesars, Madness and Malady in Imperial Rome

New York: Barnes & Noble Books - Everyday Handbooks, 2000. First Barnes & Noble Printing . Hard Back. Fine/Fine. 5 3/4" x 8 1/2. Schurdak, Catherine - Text Design. 178 Pages Indexed. This Barnes & Noble First Printing Edition published by arrangement with Michael Grant Publications, Ltd. Green boards with black quarter-spine. Spine has gold lettering. Beautiful as new gift quality condition. From the ascension of Augustus to the division of the eastern and western empires in 364, Sick Caesars investigates the illnesses that led to the rise and fall of the Roman emperors-and, to some extent, the Roman Empire itself. Continually plagued by plots and intrigues, the Caesars had every rea son to live in fear and suspicion. Michael Grant discusses how, aside from emotional anxieties, the emperors were visited by any number of diseases which the stress of their position seemed only to exacerbate. Alcoholism and epilepsy were two ill- nesses commonly shared by the Caesars, and the list of maladies goes on to include schizophrenia, hyperthyroidism, acute encephalitis, and congenital cerebral paralysis, to name just a few. Their illnesses, both psychological and physical, helped shape the course of history: Aurelius probably would have invaded Germany had he not suffered from bad health, and Septimius Severus likely would have conquered the whole of Britain had his health not prevented him. The emotional disorders of the emperors run the gamut, from the mildly sadistic (Domitian was in the habit, in his free time, of pulling the wings off flies) to the bizarre (Caracalla was known to frequent brothels, driving out the prostitutes and prostituting himself in their place) to the frighteningly homicidal (Caligula stored the corpses of murdered women under his floorboards). Sick Caesars is an account, sometimes funny, some- times tragic, of men transformed, and more often deranged, by absolute power. Contents in Nine Chapters: Julius Caesar, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Domitian and After, Marcus Aurelius and Commodus, Septimius Severus Caracalla and Elagabalus, and Diocletian and Constantine. Plus Epilogue and Notes.