Status Updates From Augustus: First Emperor of ...

The presiding consul now became formally Imperator Caesar Augustus divi filius. No Roman had ever had such a name, and it is easy for familiarity to make us forget just how novel it was. Augustus carried heavy religious overtones of the very Roman tradition of seeking divine guidance and approval through augury. Ennius, Rome’s earliest and most revered poet, spoke of the City being founded with ‘august augury’...

Goldsworthy has struck the balanced mix of academic insight and story telling.