Rome's first emperor spent decades holding more power than almost anyone in the ancient world, and on his deathbed, he did not ask to be remembered as a conqueror. Augustus asked his assembled friends whether he had played his part well in the comedy of life, then recited a closing line borrowed from a Greek play. "Since well I've played my part, all clap your hands, and from the stage dismiss me with applause." He was not being modest by accident. It was, by most accounts, exactly the kind of carefully staged final impression he had spent his whole life constructing, delivered in front of an audience one last time, the way almost everything else in his public career had been.
Get breaking news anytime, anywhere. Download the TOI app now!
