A Roman Parallel With the 44th U.S. President
Wednesday November 5, 2008
You probably expected me to find one, so I did, albeit a loose one. I know Obama's father wasn't a slave, but in the aftermath of his victory many great-grandchildren of slaves are seeing an opportunity opening for them. In ancient times, a bottom of the social ladder-slave's offspring were not expected to rise to the top echelons, but it did happen. One became the Roman emperor who succeeded the very unpopular Emperor Commodus* of Gladiator fame. He was Pertinax, who was made Augustus (originally, a title meaning something like "illustrious" that was given to the first emperor of Rome) on the same day he was also given the title pater patriae, 'father of his country' -- a first. While emperor, Pertinax tried to replenish the treasury that Commodus had squandered....
Read more about Pertinax.
*Commodus was one of those emperors despised by the senatorial classes and loved by the military and lower classes. The reason is mainly financial. Commodus taxed the senators and was generous with the others. [See Economic reasons for the Fall of Rome]
Pertinax photo © Clipart.com
Comments
Wow. Reading about P. actually makes me think he is much more like McCain. Old. Military. Petty. Ha. But thanks for the great history lesson linking with today.
jh
bodanutrition
Sorry, but I do not see parallelism, Obama establishes a new precedent and he represents a hope for the mankind . nevertheless bush is a son of a (piiip), irresponsible, cynical and immoral, as Commodus was.
I think Obama is the other face of NorthAmerica, he rescues the spirit of the American constitution, from the hands of authoritarism. Pertinax did not want the power, the killers of Commodus had to convince to him to accept the Imperial throne. Furthermore Pertinax was assassinated and I hope that it does not happen the same with Obama
Salva-It sounds as though you do see the parallels. (I)Commodus (Bush) preceded Pertinax (Obama). Commodus was very unpopular, so is Bush. (II)Bush is in charge of an amazingly large debt. Commodus had also spent too much. (III)Pertinax was given great accolades when he stepped in. Obama is being heralded as the great new hope, the new Kennedy. Dancing in the streets. People from around the world are chiming in with how wonderful the nomination is.(IV)Pertinax was from a social group that had had little chance of rising to the top, and so is Obama (sort of).
As I said, it isn’t a close parallel, but it is there.