# Claudius

*The Urth list — 3 messages, 3 voices, 16 Jul 1998*

<https://urth.darkrealm.vip/thread/urth/999>

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### Alex David Groce
*16 Jul 1998, 16:04*

	Has there been any discussion on the list (sorry, I'm new and haven't
had time to exhaustively browse the archives) of similarities between Severian
and Claudius, both the historical emperor and the charming narrator of the two
Robert Graves novels?

	I'd have to refer to the books to recall the whole correlation, but
major points include the unlikely lamed emperor, the prophetic implications of
the first chapter, their wives' names (though Severian's Valeria is no Valeria
Messalina), and perhaps even the apparently catastrophic "renewals" (Severian's
flood, Claudius' prediction of the dire reign of Nero).

```
"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free." - John 8:32
--
Alex David Groce (adgroce at eos.ncsu.edu)
Senior (Computer Science/Multidisciplinary Studies in Technology & Fiction)
'98-99 NCSU AITP Student Chapter President
608 Charleston Road, Apt. 1E (919)-233-7366
http://www4.ncsu.edu/~adgroce
```

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### CRCulver
*17 Jul 1998, 03:56 · follows Alex David Groce*

Alex:
< Has there been any discussion on the list (sorry, I'm new and haven't had
time to exhaustively browse the archives) of similarities between Severian and
Claudius, both the historical emperor and the charming narrator of the two
Robert Graves novels?>

The point that comes to mind first is that both Claudius and Severian plan to
write a manuscript they believe no one will read and get rid of it in a lead
coffer.

Christopher R. Culver <crculver at aol.com>
http://members.aol.com/crculver/index.html

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### Charles Dye
*18 Jul 1998, 12:36 · follows CRCulver*

CRCulver at aol.com writes:

> Alex:
> < Has there been any discussion on the list (sorry, I'm new and haven't had
> time to exhaustively browse the archives) of similarities between Severian and
> Claudius, both the historical emperor and the charming narrator of the two
> Robert Graves novels?>

> The point that comes to mind first is that both Claudius and Severian plan to
> write a manuscript they believe no one will read and get rid of it in a lead
> coffer.

The dead giveaway, for me anyhow, was the scene where Severian produces one
of 'his' aes in the era of Typhon:

    He examined it, bit it, and gave it back to me.  "Gold all right.
    Looks a trifle like you, 'cept he seems to have got himself cut up.
    Don't suppose you noticed."

    "No," I said.  "I never thought of it."

    Hadelin nodded and pushed back his chair.  "A man doesn't shave himself
    sidewise.  See you in the morning, sieur, madame."

Compare with a scene from "Claudius the God" chapter 6 :

    It pleased my vanity to have my head on the coins....  Portraits on
    coins, however, are always disappointing because they are executed in
    profile, and it comes as a shock, when one sees it in a portrait, that
    one really looks like that to people standing beside one.  For one's
    full face, because of the familiarity that mirrors give it, a certain
    toleration and even affection is felt; but I must say that when I first
    saw the model that the mint-masters were striking for me I grew angry
    and asked whether it was intended to be a caricature.

Robert Graves once did a translation of "The Lives of the Twelve Caesars"
in which each Emperor's chapter was illustrated with the appropriate aureus.

raster at highfiber.com

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