Cassius Dio's Roles And Contributions Of The Empire And Augustus

Cassius Dio believes the Empire and Augustus owe quite a lot to aid of Maecenas, Marcus Agrippa, and Livia. The trifecta aided Augustus in ruling and improving the empire, while sporadically corralling the Octavian mindset inside of Augustus. Augustus single-handedly appointed Agrippa to settle disputes that arose on the frontier, and in Rome. He was the ultimate plug-n-play general of the Empire, and proved his worth early on. Maecenas had a profound impact on Augustus’ decision to retain the power that he acquired after defeating Marc Antony and Cleopatra. He also handled important business in Rome while the Emperor was absent. Livia attempted to promote the women of Rome, while also helping Augustus soothe relationships with the latter’s

Dio attributes Agrippa to being a foundation of the Roman Empire, as he settled a plethora of disputes on the frontiers, and at home. Agrippa was the admiral of Octavian’s fleet during the battle of Actium in 31 B.C. Octavian was set on allowing Antony’s fleet to flee, and then would chase them down.1 However, Agrippa believed Antony’s ships would have outran them, so he obliged to Octavian to head into battle.2 The overwhelming victory at Actium is due in large part, according to Dio, to Agrippa’s concerns. Dio had shown that Agrippa was a key success in aiding Octavian’s gaining of power, but also showed what Agrippa’s thoughts were regarding his sovereignty. “And you will remember how they treated your own father, Julius Caesar, because of the mere suspicion that he wished to make himself sole ruler.”3 Dio shows through Agrippa’s speech that he was weary of Octavian becoming a king of sort, because he feared for his safety, and the morale of the

Maecenas was, in contrast to Agrippa, a supporter of Octavian holding his supreme power. In his speech that Dio presents, Maecenas offers up suggestions that become part of Augustan culture, including minimum ages for office-holding, and other administrative proposals.7 Dio, in one specific instance, showed how Maecenas succeeded in quelling the inner Octavian anger shown by Augustus. Augustus was on the verge of passing immense amounts of death sentences to unworthy victims.8 Maecenas objected to Augustus, but he could not be perceived. Nevertheless, Maecenas proceeded to inscribe his objections on a tablet and tossed it onto the Emperor’s lap, and a plethora of lives were spared because of it.9 Maecenas, like Livia, wished to see Augustus become a beloved figure of Rome, and not a hated or tyrannical one. Although Augustus held Maecenas in such high regard, in 23 B.C. he became seriously ill, and it appeared that he would need an immediate successor. Surprisingly, Dio shows that Maecenas was not even considered to be the successor, as it was Agrippa who had the distinguished honor of succeeding Augustus, although it never came into