S8 Ep581: 1. The Founding Mothers and Augustan Propaganda(1) Guest author Emma Southon notes that historians like Livy wrote during the reign of Augustus to reshape early Roman history to justify the return to monarchy. These writers aimed to portray Rome as the mo
The John Batchelor Show
John Batchelor
4.5 • 2.8K Ratings
🗓️ 15 March 2026
⏱️ 12 minutes
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Summary
Guest author Emma Southon notes that historians like Livy wrote during the reign of Augustus to reshape early Roman history to justify the return to monarchy. These writers aimed to portray Rome as the most virtuous and god-beloved nation. A primary narrative involves the Sabine women, who were kidnapped to populate the new city. Led by Hersilia, these women eventually intervened in a battle, acting as the "glue" that turned a war between enemies into a family conflict. Southon contrasts the virtuous Hersilia with Tarpeia, a "bad" woman who betrayed Rome for luxury. (2)
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| 0:20.3 | This is CBS Eye on the World. |
| 0:23.6 | Here's John Batchelor. |
| 0:26.6 | A Rome of One's Own, the forgotten women of the Roman Empire. |
| 0:31.7 | I welcome Emma Southing, the author of an extremely witty and careful explication of what I've never read, |
| 0:40.9 | the Roman Empire, the Roman Republic, the Roman monarchy from the point of view of the women who lived and died in it. |
| 0:50.3 | This book presents a completely new version of everything you've assumed about where did Julius Caesar come from? |
| 0:58.3 | What was the decline and fall of the Roman Empire? |
| 1:01.8 | Why did it divide into Constantinople and allow Rome to attenuate so that there were less than 10,000 people there at one point around 1,000 years ago. |
| 1:12.7 | Emma, congratulations and a very good evening to you. |
| 1:15.4 | We begin in the monarchy, the kingdom, somewhere in the mid-8th century BCE, |
| 1:21.5 | ending somewhere in the 6th century BCE, as told by the historian Livy, chiefly, there are other voices, but Livy is a major driver |
| 1:31.5 | here. |
| 1:32.9 | When did Livy write this and who was the audience Livy had in mind? |
| 1:37.5 | Good evening to you, Emma. |
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