Do people really think about the Roman Empire every day? This claim, which has made the rounds over the past few years, might very well be true. With podcasts, YouTube channels, and endless commentaries on Rome, the empire seems to remain very much alive. Adrian Goldsworthy, the Oxford-educated historian, has assisted in driving this trend—both for Rome as an republic and an empire.
Goldsworthy’s biography, “Augustus: First Emperor of Rome,” gives readers a glimpse of the rise of Octavius, the adopted son—the Roman legal equivalent of a natural son—of Julius Caesar, who was made Caesar’s heir. The author chose the antique “Octavius” over the modern “Octavian,” although he became known in Rome and to history as Caesar Augustus.
