[Ancient Rome] The Infamous Rose

Here is a long review (I wrote it on a whim, there may be messy typos or reversed word order, please ignore it) After reading the full text, I suddenly thought of Augustus' "Legend of the Son of God." Although Octavian historically refused the honor of deification, in the end the name "Son of God" penetrated his power as the head of Rome in a roundabout way. This legend greatly strengthened Augustus's dominance and legitimacy of power. In Roman society, especially in a culture deeply influenced by religion and mythology, having divine blood and divine qualities often meant that the ruler's power and decision-making had unquestionable authority. Augustus' "Legend of the Son of God" is based on this logic. His blood relative, Caesar, was almost his only capital before he entered the political stage. Caesar called himself a "god" during his lifetime, so there is almost no dispute that Octavian became the "son of god". By associating himself with gods, his right to rule was bolstered by religion and mythology, thereby enhancing the people's acceptance and loyalty to his rule. This political propaganda strategy was very effective at the time and helped consolidate Augustus' dominance. So when we look back at the heroine Livia, the first thing we can see is that the narration starts from God. Ancient Roman culture itself has a strong mythological color, and the author's arrangement of the identity of "god" for Livia also injects new elements and stories into this cultural tradition. On the one hand, "sanctification" was used by Livia for political propaganda, and on the other hand, it also developed new beliefs for the heroine's identity as a "god" (I think this will help the heroine as a god gain strength when she regains her identity), and it also reflects the complex attitudes of ancient Roman society towards power and religion. In ancient societies, power and religion were often inseparable, and rulers often used religion to consolidate their dominance. "For example, the Vestal Virgins kept Caesar's will, but this will was still used by Octavian to seize power). Augustus's "Legend of the Son of God" is the product of this interweaving of power and religion, and our Livia's experience is similar to this. The author shows us the worship of mysticism and supernatural power in ancient Roman society (of course the heroine has no magical power from beginning to end), and also reveals how the rulers used this worship to strengthen their rule. I think this is also a big help for Livia to finally stand up to Octavian. "Sanctification" is in favor of Octavian. Assuming true historical development, then this is still an inheritance from the "Father's Universe". We can see that in the article, except when Octavian first inherited everything from Caesar, he used "sanctification" and kinship. Later, after marrying Livia, he rarely used such methods (perhaps I did not see it specifically in the article). Therefore, such means can also be reasonably used on Livia at the same time. Although it is difficult for the "Father's Universe" to transform, subsequent rulers may be able to complete the transformation. Currently under Livia's rule, we can initially see the improvement of women's social status. The social status of women in the Augustan period presented a complex and diverse situation. On the one hand, women's role in the family has been emphasized and valued; on the other hand, their status in the political, economic and cultural fields is still severely restricted. In the past, women had almost no power to participate in political affairs. They played an important role in the family, but were often regarded as accessories to men. In the economic field, although women can inherit property, their economic activities are strictly restricted. In the cultural field, women have limited access to education, which affects their status in society to a certain extent. There were many restrictions on women in the ancient Roman legal system. However, under Livia's series of reforms, women gradually began to have political participation (Fulvia and other women were able to enter the political stage), and improved their status as male accessories (female reading companions, the emergence of guards, allowing women to receive education, etc.). These all indicate the possibility and direction of improving women's social status in the future: let women eat at the table first! Another major event that Livia had to mention for improving the social status of Roman women was her daughter Hecate. The author mentioned before that Livia and Octavian would have children. What I thought at the time was, wouldn't that have a "driving" plot? (Oh no, please forgive the sudden appearance of yellow waste in my mind) But what is more regrettable is that there are some "small car joys" in the whole text, and I have also thought about how Livia would change if she experienced the pain of childbirth? (After all, with the lessons learned from my sister Leto, I think the heroine was hesitant.) Unexpectedly, the author directly arranged for the "Child-Sending Guanyin" to send Hecate to Livia (I laughed for a long time at the time, but maybe under the influence of traditional Chinese concepts, it was a pity and I felt sorry for Octavian. There was no biological child between the two, so Octavian could not "pay more attention to the father than the son"). At that time, women's fertility and marriage were controlled and interfered by male family members. Although Octavian advocated female childbearing to increase the population, it was true that under the medical conditions at the time, having children was undoubtedly a "death gate" (refer to Cicero's daughter Tulia). I think the author's arrangement of sending Hecate to Livia is very reasonable and ingenious. People generally believe that fertility is blessed by gods (such as Queen Hera), and they will pray to the gods for fertility, so it is equivalent to Livia going to the temple and returning with Hecate, haha. Another question that suddenly comes to mind is that the cultural concept of ancient Rome has always emphasized the strength and bravery of men, while women are expected to play the role of good wives and mothers in the family. But in the novel, I always feel that it is the other way around, so it can be said that it is the brave Livia and the good wife and mother Octavian? The last thing I want to say is that the author's background analysis and description of the work are really detailed, as if he has unfolded a magnificent and soul-stirring female heroic epic to us. As a side note, I recommended this article to a friend majoring in history. After reading it, he expressed that he had new ideas about his research direction. Because he had always felt confused about Roman history, he specifically read "The Biography of the Twelve Emperors of Rome" before reading the novel. Looking back, he told me that the novel was super nice and he liked it very much, haha. This work provides us with a window into the history of Octavian, Livia and the Roman Empire (Roman history novels are really unpopular), allowing us to feel the atmosphere of that era and the flavor of history while reading. Not only can I understand the political wisdom and military talents of Octavian and Livia, but I can also feel the emotions and struggles of the heroine's "divineness" and "humanity". I think this book is not only a novel, but also an exploration of human nature with profound connotations. Thanks to Mr. Mu Xing He Xun for writing such a good work for us!!! Looking forward to the next article (manual comparison) Another note: I just checked the text message and found out that I actually won the lottery. (Come from a female college student who crawled, twisted, and screamed in the dark in the middle of the night.) This is so nice, thank you very much! (Are you manually comparing yourself again?)

Please pray to the Meteor Goddess to bless me and ensure that I pass every exam.

The next welfare episode will be at 0:00 on Thursday. It has already been coded [Pigeon]. It will be the interaction between the female protagonist and the male protagonist.

I really like Hecate, the future monarch.

When are you going to write a spin-off again? I want to see the male protagonist and Perseus [Let Me Be Well]

So is the male protagonist the reincarnation of Perses? Also, I would like to ask the teacher if there will be a new episode. I would also like to watch it.

Forever Augusta (bgm lights up!)

It is well written and has all the elements I wanted, including a heroine, a yandere, group portraits of women, and historical facts. The historical facts really made me cry to death. I hope I can take the ancient Rome test in the world history test next week (?? ∨ ???)??

Ahhhhhh this extra chapter is really, really good, and suddenly I can't bear to leave them. Woohoo XThe peripheral gifts given by Mrs.

After reading it, I wanted to wait and take a screenshot of the 8888 collection. Now at 4:30 in the morning, I suddenly remembered that it had already increased by almost 100 (!)