Livia

"Don't touch the figs."

- Livia in I Claudius by Robert Graves

Livia is a character, played by Siân Phillips, in the BBC mini-series I Claudius based on Robert Grave's novals I Claudius and Claudius the God. She is the fictionalized or at least exagerated version of real life historical figure Livia Drusilla wife of Augustus Caesar. She kills numerous people in order to get her son Tiberius the throne when her husband dies. She is the grandmother of the story's first person narrator, Claudius.

Livia lived through Rome's first civil-war and married her second husband, Augustus, because she saw he was the one who would put an end to it. She entered into the marriage with her son, Tiberius, from her first marriage and in the early days after the war helped her new husband establish order. But as the years wore on Augustus became more and more inclinded to listening to friends and family who were ether corrupt, dim, too old or just plain ill-expirenced to make state decisions or influnece Augustus on such decisions. As a result Livia begins to take it upon herself to kill off anyone Augustus might make his heir and lead Rome to a second civil War after Augustus died. Livia wanted her son to rule because she could rule through him. All the rivials that might have earned Augustus's favor are killed off or banished or both by Livia or her agents.

Livia's first murder is that of Marcellus, her step-daughter's husband and Augusta's obvious favorite for succeeding him. Marcellus frequently antagonized Marcus Agrippa, Augustus's old time war buddy who was a moral leader of the military. When things became heated enough where Augustus needed to choose between the two he choose Marcellus, a choice that Livia felt would cause untold discord as Aggrippa was favorite amongst army vets and officals that had lived through the war. So eventually when Augustus, Marcellus's wife and Marcellus's mother all were out of state and Marcellus caught a cold Livia saw a golden oppertuinty to poison him by slipping poison in his food and medicines while claiming she would nurse him back to health. When Marcellus did die Livia's doctor claimed it must have been some form of food poisoning, a partial truth Livia was quick to use to take the blame off her. Inbetween poisoning Marcellus Livia was trying to hook Tiberius up with Marcellus's soon to be widow, Julia, as she was also Augustus's daughter and would easily link Tiberius as an heir. When Marcellus died however Augustus had to offer Julia's hand to Agrippa to win his allegiance back. Livia waited, ten years until Agrippa's services could be spared and then poisoned him as well to clear the way for Julia to marry TIberius.

Tiberius had been forced to divorce his former wife paritally to satisfy his own ambisions and partially because there was good chance Livia would arrange for her to no longer be an issue; so as it turned out Tiberius and Julia had a loveless marriage one that Tiberius rarely acknowledged and Julia delt with through many affairs. Tiberius eventually slapped Julia one night when she was taunting him about his former wife's apperance, saying she was so flat chested she reminded her of one of the young men she was sleeping with. Augustus had Tiberius exiled for the gesture and though he was not offically divorced from Julia he was clearly and unfavorite for an heir of Augustus's now.

After many years of trying to get Augustus to reconsider his lifting Tiberius's exile Livia realized the only way to clear her son was to smear Julia's reputation. Livia bribed Plautius, one of Julia lovers and a friend of her son Lucius, to document her many other affairs. Livia wanted lists, names, times and places and in exchange would not only not report Plautius's part in the scandal but would pay him well enough to get his familly out of their many debts. Plautius made a very thorough list with nothing there that could not be verified through the house slaves and time tables confirming the many mens' scheduels. Julia had three sons Gaius, whome Livia had already poisoned in battle made to look like he died of his wounds, Postumus, who was just a boy at the time and Lucius who was quickly becoming a likely heir to Augustus. When Livia had the list of Julia's comings and goings she decided to use it to shame Lucius into wanting to come forward with is mother's behavior and inform Augustus for Livia. It worked and Livia made Lucius think it was his idea to expose his mother and since Augustus did not know the information came from Livia she ensured Augustus would believe it easier. Julia was banished and Lucius was killed in a "boating accident" arranged by Plautius under Livia's instructions, thus Augutus had no one to turn to to help him manage affairs of state other than Tiberius and lifed the exile.

When Postumus came of age he was married off but was unhappy with his wife and was having an affair with Livilla, Claudius's sister and Livia's grand-daughter. Livia found out about the affair and confrounted Livilla. Livia disguised her suggestion to turn against Postumus as concern for Livilla's behavior. She said if the two ever had a falling out and Postumus ever did anyting rash Augustus would surely dispose of Postumus though in doing so Tiberius would surely be made heir with no rivals and this would mean that Tiberius's son, whom Livilla was married to, would become Emperor after him. Livilla took the hint and claimed Postumus was trying to rape her one night when he came to visit her, planting a knife at the scene and "forgeting" to mention that her husband was in the next room. Postumus was banished by Augustus and Tiberius's place as heir to the throne was firmly secured.

Claudius is one of the only people left alive who finds out the truth about Postumus and eventually gets word to Augustus of what Livia has been doing. Livia could not find out who got word to Augustus but knew him well enough to have him watched. When Augustus went to change his Will out of Tiberius's favor Livia makes a desperate move to keep her plans from completely fallning appart; she has Postumus killed in his exile, Augustus wittness who had been with him when he changed his Will and Augustus himself. Though Livia has assassins act for her to take care of Postumus and Augustus's friend Livia decides to kill Augustus herself by poisoning his figs then replaces his altered Will with a forgery making Tiberius the new Emeperor.

Over the years Livia becomes jaded and dispointed in Tiberisus as the only good decisions he ever makes are the ones she tells him to make. Livia becomes sure the empire will fall appart when she dies as Tiberius has surrounded himself with the sort of corruption she was trying to keep away from the throne but at that point is resigned to the distopian future. Livia is feared even in her older years and people seem to dread having dinner with her and rumors spread that those that cross her have s habbit of falling down dead. Livia becomes romorseful as well as fearful in her old age fearing that she will go to hell for her many misdeeds. Livia had apparently been collecting prophecies and among them found that Claudius would eventually become Emperor and asked him to deify her after she died so that she would eventually join the gods instead of remaining in hell for eternity. In exchange for promising to make Livia a goddess when he got the chance Claudius asked Livia to tell him the truth of what she had done to get Tiberius the throne.

Personality
Livia thinks that she is doing the greater good and is completely devoted to seeing her goals met. She is a control freak that feels her opinions are ignored because she is a woman and that the empire would have been better off if she was it's high ruler. She usually hides behind the facade of a concerned motherly persona puplicly but in truth is cold and calculating in most reguards. Even in her old age she retains her intellect and lucidity and all those that know her best including, Tiberius, his generals and heads of state show a mixture of fear and respect when she enters a room. She shows little to no remorse for most of her murders save for some false concern here and there. However Augustus's murder is one she takes very personally falling into heavy drinking at the time the poison was starting to take effect and making sure she was in the room with Augustus for his last moments where she confesses her true concerns for the empire and where it would have been headed if Augustus's decisions had gone unchallenged. When Augustus dies she insists that Augustus be deified after his death. The time of Augustus' death is also the only time she genuinly cries and falls into a deep depression that sticks with her for the rest of her life.

Trivia
-Though the Livia portrayed in the BBC production of I Claudius is very much the same to her portrayal in I Claudius the book it is some what different than the real life Livia: who, while though feared and rummored to be a corrupt politcan by rivals was also credited as being the paragon for Roman womanhood.

-In real life Augustus's death is never confirmed as poisoning.

-Livia lived to be 87 years old.

-Real life Livia was in fact deifed after death by her grandson Claudius.

- In real life Tiberius's rule degraded into corruption and near rebellion after Livia died.