How to Destroy a Democracy (Welcome to the Augustan Age)

When Augustus rolled into town after defeating Marc Antony and Cleopatra, he was greeted as a hero—because the Senate ordered its people to stand outside the gates and cheer. The reality was, there was fear on both sides. Augustus was afraid to grab power too quickly—or he’d find himself meeting Caesar’s fate. The Senators feared bloody proscriptions, like the ones Augustus (Octavian) unleashed with the Second Triumvirate just a few years ago.

Standing outside those walls, anything could have happened. Octavian could have been murdered. He could have given Rome back its democracy, just like it was. Just like before. And for a while, it looked like he was going to do that. He kept promising he would.

But that’s not how it went down. Today we’ll explore how you kill a democracy—with a thousand tiny cuts, or one single stab to the heart. Get the show notes here.