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Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 35 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 I, Claudius
Derek Jacobi. I believe the international success of this program gave his career a boost.
Livia. Livia generally poisons people who get in the way of her ambitions for herself and her family.
| When Claudius was a child, he caught a wolf cub dropped from the sky by an eagle. This event is interpreted to mean what? | 'I, Claudius' Rules 1
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One day, Claudius will protect Rome. Naturally, the family thought the idea of Claudius being Rome's protector laughable.
she towered over him in height. One thing we know for sure is Urgalanilla was a giant compared to Claudius. His family found the match positively hilarious.
Germanicus. Germanicus died before he could reach his full potential.
Caligula. How noble Germanicus and Agrippina managed to produce such a twisted child as Caligula we'll never know!
Tiberius. Livia had to get a lot of people out of the way to ensure that her son, Tiberius, succeeded Augustus.
| Like royalty today, Claudius actually had several names. Sometimes, the guards introduce him when he enters the room by rhyming off all these names. What is Claudius's full name? | 'I, Claudius' Rules 1
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Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus. That was for real diehard fans.
on 'Masterpiece Theater'. 'I, Claudius' was probably one of the most daring shows PBS had ever aired at that point.
Derek Jacobi. Kevin Kline is actually more known for ridiculing a stutterer (in 'A Fish Called Wanda') than for portraying one.
| While flying overhead a raptor drops a bloodied animal into young Claudius's arms. A visiting soothsayer interprets the event to mean that Rome will face great calamities, but Claudius will protect and heal it. What kind of animal did Claudius catch? | The Television Series 'I, Claudius'
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a wolf cub. The wolf cub, of course, represented Rome, founded by the twins who had been suckled by a she-wolf. The raptor represented Rome's upper-class, who would tear their empire to pieces.
a serpent. I'm not up on my reptilian studies, but I always liked to think it was an asp.
Tiberius. Tiberius actually wanted nothing to do with her plans, but she manipulated his life to the extent that he couldn't escape her will. Drusus was another of her sons, whom she had killed because he favored a return to The Republic.
| Tiberius was forced to divorce his wife and marry Augustus's daughter, Julia. Julia was later banished for life to an isolated, lonely island. Why? | The Television Series 'I, Claudius'
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her extramarital affairs. Augustus is represented as a forefather of what we may call 'family values.' He was very interested in seeing young Roman nobles well-married and monogamous. When his daughter's promiscuous ways were revealed to him, he allowed himself no choice but to banish her.
| Among Claudius's few childhood friends is a youth from the East, named after a great Roman general. Throughout the series he frequently warns the sometimes gullible Claudius to 'trust no one.' Who is he? | The Television Series 'I, Claudius'
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Herod Agrippa. Herod Agrippa is an interesting companion to Claudius: Where Claudius is naive, Herod is {worldly;} where Claudius is ugly and crippled, Herod is handsome and suave. However, his end is hideous. He succumbs to madness, believing himself to be The Christ, and suffers a rotting body before finally dying.
John Hurt. Never have curly golden locks seemed so out of place.
his bride is a foot taller than him. Poor Clau-Clau-Claudius.
Hamlet's father (The Ghost). A reunion of sorts for Jacobi and Blessed, since Jacobi played Claudius in Branagh's 'Hamlet.' Blessed and Jacobi were also in Branagh's 'Henry V.'
| Livia is thwarted in her attempts to poison Augustus when he decrees that he will only eat the food he grows for himself, and which he alone has touched. How does she finally accomplish her vile task? | The Television Series 'I, Claudius'
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she poisons the fruit on the tree. Livia proves herself to be the quintessential ruthless schemer. She is involved in the deaths of Augustus, Drusus, Postumus, Marcellus, and others who stand in her way.
| It is revealed that Livia's covert goal in having Tiberius attain the throne is entirely self-aggrandizing: when she dies, she wishes to be officially decreed as a goddess, and thus become immortal. When she sees Tiberius will never honor her wish, she makes Caligula and Claudius promise to make it happen. Which one eventually does so? | The Television Series 'I, Claudius'
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Claudius. Deification wasn't uncommon for the great Romans who had passed away. Augustus set a new precedent when he was named a god during his life, an act later copied by the mad Caligula, who believed himself to be Jove.
| Finally, in the 30s there was a failed attempt to make a major motion picture of 'I, Claudius.' Which actor would've appeared as Claudius in this film? | The Television Series 'I, Claudius'
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Charles Laughton. The complete series of 'I, Claudius' on video also contains a documentary on the never completed 1937 film starring Laughton. It contains enough footage to tantalize the viewer, but I've always been more than content with Jacobi's job.
| When Claudius first begins his tale, we are shown a scene where his relatives are gathered to commemorate a particular event. What famous occasion were they marking? | 'I, Claudius'
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The anniversary of the Battle of Actium. The series opens with the old Claudius, who begins to describe the gathering to commemorate the battle. Many of the main characters are pointed out to us, and the rivalry between Marcellus and Agrippa is brought to the fore.
| During Caligula's illness, which senator (foolishly) promised to give his own life so that the Emperor's would be spared? | 'I, Claudius'
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Lentulus. He obviously believed that the Emperor was dying, and that he wouldn't need to act on his promise. Unfortunately for him (and for everyone else) Caligula recovered. Although Lentulus thought that his pledge would be forgotten, Caligula made a point of remarking that he was there, and Lentulus was there, and they couldn't both be there....
| Apart from the first scene of the series, how many times do we see Tiberius' first wife, Vipsania? | 'I, Claudius'
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Once. Tiberius was happily married to Vipsania, but his mother had other plans. She wanted to enhance his standing by marrying him to Augustus' only child, Julia. Livia had already brought about the death of Julia's first husband, Marcellus, when it looked likely that he would become Augustus' successor. She did away with Julia's second husband, Agrippa, for the same reason. As we all know, the marriage of Julia and Tiberius was not spectacularly successful, particularly as Tiberius was still in love with Vipsania.
Tiberius is unbale to stay away from Vipsania, and goes to see her. It's a touching scene, as Tiberius says: 'I'm afraid of what I will become without you.'
| Herod Agrippa sends Claudius a very welcome gift. What was it? | 'I, Claudius'
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Weighted dice. Claudius had a great fondness for dice, and so was very happy to receive this gift from his great friend. The dice were weighted so that whoever threw them would throw 'Venus', the highest combination, all the time. Claudius lends the dice to Caligula when the emperor was getting stroppy about being on a losing streak. Claudius probably saved some lives through this act.
| Claudius is compelled into matrimony for the third time with Valeria Messalina, by Caligula, who thinks it will be a wonderful joke. After Claudius enters, along with his family and friends, and greets the Emperor and Messalina, who is announced into the room? | 'I, Claudius'
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The noble Senator Incitatus. Yes, it's Caligula's horse that enters the room next. Wearing the imperial purple, no less.
| The dialogue in 'I, Claudius' is full of memorable lines, but some in particular stick in the mind.
Who delivered these lines? 'You know you mustn't mind if you dislike me. A mother cannot love all her children.' | 'I, Claudius'
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Drusus (to Livia). Livia had a powerful ambition: that her son Tiberius should become emperor. She never considered Drusus for that role as he believed that Rome should become a republic once more. You get the feeling that Drusus had much more in the way of moral fibre and ethics than Tiberius, who went off the rails quite quickly after he lost the good influences in his life. Drusus probably wouldn't have made such an easy channel for Livia's dreams.
Therefore, Livia didn't have much love for Drusus, and he knew it. When he mentions her 'children', he was most likely referring to himself, Tiberius and to Rome. On his deathbed he remarked to Tiberius that 'Rome has a brutal mother'.
Claudius didn't have a very good relationship with his mother, although he clearly loved her. She probably loved him too, but couldn't get past his physical infirmities. As Roman matrons were expected to produce strong, healthy sons, she might have felt that she had failed in her duty as a wife and mother when she produced such a sickly child.
Tiberius resented his mother for her plotting and her ambition, and Caligula didn't really seem to show any great love for his mother either.
| Messalina contrives to get Appius Silanus back to Rome, as she has a secret passion for him. When she reveals her love to him (as well as her scheming) how many times does she slap him? | 'I, Claudius'
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Three. Silanus didn't quite react in the way Messalina anticipated: he rejected her advances, and she slaps him three times to display her displeasure. Basically, she didn't get her own way, so she had a tantrum.
Messalina's plans blew up in her face, as Silanus later tried to assassinate Claudius. He did this as Messalina had told him that her husband knew all about her love for him, and condoned it as he wanted to sleep with the wives of many senators, and didn't want her to get bored in the meantime. Believing Claudius to be dissolute and depraved, Silanus resolved to kill him. He failed, and despite Messalina's pleas, he was executed. Messalina had brought about the death of her great love.
| Toward which woman did Tiberius NOT harbour bad feelings? | 'I, Claudius'
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The Lady Antonia. Tiberius resented his mother Livia's machinations and ambition on his behalf, and positively despised Julia, whom he was forced to marry. He also harboured a great hatred for Agrippina, the wife of Germanicus, and often accused her of twisted ambition and haughtiness. Agrippina seems to have been the model Roman matron, who took great pride in her lineage, her husband and her sons, and the more Tiberius persecuted her, the more verbal she was in her condemnation of him. He later had her exiled to the island of Pandataria, where her own mother, Julia, hated wife of Tiberius, was sent by Augustus.
Tiberius' attitude to Antonia, the mother of Claudius, was entirely different. When she exposed her daughter Livilla's treason, Tiberius looked kindly on her, and described her as a noble and good woman.
| Following the murder of Caligula, why did the Praetorian Guard proclaim Claudius emperor? | 'I, Claudius'
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Because without an Emperor, there is no Praetorian Guard. They took the pragmatic line, saying that Claudius would do nicely for Emperor, as he was harmless enough. Despite his frantic protests, they took him hostage until he agreed to take the crown.
And that is how Clau-Clau-Claudius, the great survivor, came to be Emperor of Rome...I hope you enjoyed my quiz about this wonderful series!
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