Literature For The Gods (Claudius the God - Robert Graves)

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Product:	Claudius the God - Robert Graves
Date:	18.03.02 (193 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Entertaining From Start To Finish, Does I, Claudius Justice, Distinct Characters

Disadvantages: A Lot Of Historical Content Inaccurate

Claudius The God is the sequel to the mesmerizing I, Claudius. The novel sees the return of Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus, a roman disadvantaged by his over spiteful family; because of his clumsy, unintelligent and fault ridden nature, Claudius in I, Claudius was cast away by his family and friends. I would recommend reading I, Claudius before Claudius The God because Graves introduces the interface of Claudius as a character. We see him overcome humiliation and tyrannical reign and so he is criticised by his fellow men, blind to his accomplishments in his secret history classes. At the conclusion of I, Claudius, Claudius is discovered and brought back into life, which he deserted.


Although, previously Claudius feared that with his discovery would come his inevitable downfall, this is not the case and he is hailed as the new emperor of Rome. It is crucial to realise that Claudius is the only member of his family who was not educated in the fields of conquering and leadership, so the new mission and accomplishment is one which greats with mischievous intentions.


Claudius' ignorant and filled with a lack of a knowledge stasis starts his reign with the execution of those that assassinated his nephew. He pardons the senate but Claudius befriends Herod Agrippa who has plans that end in catastrophe. Claudius The God takes us through the journey of a man, fraudulent in his position, he has no experience or right to rule Rome but the bloodline to which regrettably has been handed to him. The dream of Claudius as an old man sees him striving to return the powerful Rome to its most glorious of days.


The important and valuable fact to remember when reading Claudius the God is that it is not something that is fact throughout. There is a lot of fiction and the novel is simply the interpretation of author Robert Graves. In saying this, a lot of Claudius' public actions are disguised by Graves and swept away by winds of
entertaining sub plots and invigorating characters. When I first read I, Claudius I doubted strongly that the sequel, although necessary would reach my pre-expectation but if did somehow. I appreciate that sequels to classic can often be an anti-climax but Robert Graves in Claudius The God maintains the high standards of literature and enthusiasm almost as if he wrote the sequel at the same time as the original and just decided to release the two sections at different intervals. It is hard to tell where Robert Graves retired and restarted during the reading of this novel, the descriptions and literature is kept identical throughout without prejudice.


One objection I would have to Claudius The God is that it introduces the new character Herod Agrippa, Graves spends a large amount of the novel discussing the orientation of Herod, his upbringing and general personality, he makes it apparent that Herod was around during the events that transpired during I, Claudius but I believe it would have been better to just include him in the original. Admittedly this does damage the flow of the literature slightly but Graves quickly recovers by making the readers understanding of Herod a critical aspect in the climax of the novel.


"Always be most suspicious of those you trust the most".

This is a piece of advice, which Herod gives to Claudius and throughout the novel its relevance and truth becomes more and more apparent to you and Claudius alike. The additional climax to the novel sees Claudius hilarious taking his journey to mount Olympus to join the other Gods awarded by this prestigious honour. He is greeted by mixed emotions but it is interesting to explore how he reacts to these.


The characters in this wonderful novel are brought to life with the use of dialogue and close relation with the actual historical facts. The characters feel like you personally know them and throughout the novel I found myself proud of
the Claudius, a man who I had observed and watched over since his infant years and now he had become a honoured God. This kind of emotion and sensation of self-satisfaction is what makes Claudius The God such an enthralling and exciting tale.


I, Claudius and Claudius The God are two incredible novels that go hand in hand. If you choose to read I, Claudius it is absolutely imperative you move onto Claudius The God but if you read the sequel first you will, I promise thirst for its older brother. Robert Graves has created the most interesting and captivating character in Claudius. Claudius The God is such a novel that inspires one to further read on; they must explore new, closely related topics. Personally I found myself reading in awe Roman literature and Greek mythology. I give kudos to any book that inspires its readers to hunger for more literature, books are a wonderful things and nothing is more entertaining than the quest for knowledge.

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