Old King Log story
Rome, AD 54. Claudius' benevolent rule of Rome leads the populace to accepting an emperor, but he decides that Rome must come to hate its ruling family, overthrow it, and restore the Republic. To do this, he marries his niece Agrippinilla and adopts her son Nero, making him co-heir with his son Britannicus. Because of the Sibylline prophecy Livia revealed to him (in "Queen of Heaven"), Claudius knows that Nero will become the next ruler of Rome, but he still tries to protect Britannicus by planning to send him to Britain so that he may take over later when Nero dies; unfortunately, Britannicus does not believe in the republic and demands that he be allowed to compete with Nero. Claudius, knowing the ultimate future, must leave his son to his fate. Ready for his end, Claudius voluntarily eats a poisoned mushroom from his wife's fork and dies. Looking for Claudius' will, Agrippinilla and Nero come upon his autobiography and burn it. Lying on his bier, Claudius and the Sibyl, knowing that Britannicus, Agrippinilla and Nero will ultimately die violently, have a good laugh over the fact that he buried another copy of his book to be found later. Claudius is told that although the Republic won't be restored, Nero will be last of the Claudians and most of the emperors that follow won't be as bad.
25 total · 2 choice · 14 major · 9 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| courtly intrigues | choice | The plot turns on people of influence jockeying for power in the imperial court of Claudius. Notably, Agrippinilla and Nero were making moves that were calculated to put them in control of Rome. |
| life in Ancient Rome | choice | The drama is mainly set in 54 AD within the imperial court of Claudius in Rome. |
| betrayal | major | Pallas together with Agrippinilla betrayed Claudius by poisoning him and burning his will. Unbenownst to them, Claudius knew what they were doing and had planned for it all along. |
| coming to terms with one's own death | major | Claudius knew the end was coming. In the end, he ate a poison mushroom seemingly knowing exactly what he was doing. |
| corruption in society | major | Agrippinilla was said to be the most corrupt woman in Rome. Claudius kept repeating the phrase "Let all the poisons that lurk in the mud hatch out". By "poisons" he was referring to the unscrupulous and immoral members of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. |
| democracy vs. autocracy | major | Claudius decided that Rome must come to hate its ruling family, overthrow it, and restore the Republic. He therefore arranged it so that his heir would be as loathsome and corrupt as could be. |
| extramarital affair | major | Agrippinilla was naturally unfaithful to Claudius. She slept with both Pallas, and was implied that she slept with her own son Nero. |
| father and son | major | Claudius and Britannicus were at the center of the story. |
| greedy heir | major | Nero and his unscrupulous mother Agrippinilla schemed to inherit Claudius' wealth and power. |
| handing over the mantle before retirement | major | Claudius plotted, in a roundabout way, to have Nero become a loathsome emperor so that Britannicus could overthrow Nero and restore the Republic. |