By Martijn Icks In December 62 BCE, Rome was gripped by a bizarre scandal. Publius Clodius Pulcher, a young man from a noble family, had been caught trespassing in the house of one of the most prominent and powerful men in the city: none other than Julius Caesar. He had been trying to sneak in …
By Martijn Icks Women don’t have it easy in politics. They are held to high, often conflicting, standards by men, but perhaps by other women too. If they happen to be attractive, they run the risk of being shelved in the “bimbo” or “dumb blonde” category: all beauty, no brains. Others may be criticized for …
Continue reading Femmes Fatales in Ancient Rome: Messalina and Agrippina
By Martijn Icks “Politicians fiddling while the NHS burns,” wrote an editor in the Belfast Telegraph last week. “Tweeting while the world burns,” an angry blogger denounced Donald Trump’s stance on climate change. Wherever we turn, it seems, powerful men and women have an irrepressible itch to hit the strings as soon as something or …
Continue reading Fiddler on the Roof: Nero and the Great Fire of Rome
Character Assassination and Reputation Politics Research Lab 