History Extra Podcast: "Augustus: Life of the Week"

Host: Spencer Mizzen (Immediate Media)
Guest: Ed Watts, Professor of History, University of San Diego
Date: December 30, 2025

Overview

This "Life of the Week" episode explores the remarkable and complex story of Gaius Octavius—better known as Augustus, Rome's first emperor. Ed Watts discusses the dual legacy of Augustus: a ruthless, calculating figure who destroyed the Roman Republic as Octavian, but also an ingenious statesman who rebuilt Rome as a flourishing empire. Together with host Spencer Mizzen, Watts dissects Augustus’s rise to power, his political genius, moral contradictions, and the enduring marks he left on Roman society and the world.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Dual Identity: Octavian vs. Augustus

• The Transformation: Augustus is described as both the destroyer and savior of Rome.
  • “If you were to talk about the career of Octavian, you would be talking about somebody who is a mass murderer...And with Augustus...you have a figure who is actually incredibly constructive.” (Ed Watts, 02:22)
• Strategic Reinvention: Augustus expertly recast his public image, adapting to changing political landscapes, demonstrating remarkable flexibility and persistence.
  • “He’s very savvy in reinventing his public image...very flexible and very smart in understanding how that public image should be deployed.” (Ed Watts, 04:13)

2. Early Life & Relationship with Julius Caesar

• Unexpected Heir: Octavian, Caesar's nephew, shocked Rome by being named his heir, despite expectations that Mark Antony would inherit.
  • “When they open the will, they're sort of shocked that there's this kid...who has been named the heir of Caesar.” (Ed Watts, 05:38)
• Natural Political Talent: Caesar recognized Octavian's prodigious abilities early on, although the true nature of their relationship was a point of intrigue and slander in Roman society. (06:00)

3. The Power of Being Underestimated

• Turning Weakness into Strength: Octavian leveraged being underestimated by rivals like Cicero, using their false sense of security to his advantage.
  • “If somebody underestimates you and you’re aware they’re doing it, you have quite a bit of freedom of action to play along until you decide you don’t want to.” (Ed Watts, 08:13)

4. Outwitting Mark Antony: The Road to Power

• Strategic Alliances and Betrayal: Octavian orchestrated tactical marriages and propaganda to undermine Antony, culminating in the defeat of Antony and Cleopatra at Actium (13:00).
  • “Octavian is just simply better at it...ultimately, when those two forces do conflict...it’s actually a propaganda victory.” (Ed Watts, 13:00–14:30)

5. Ruthlessness and Mass Murder

• The Proscriptions: As a triumvir, Octavian approved widespread executions and property seizures to secure and fund his power, targeting figures like Cicero.
  • “He does...a greater expropriation of property than probably anyone in Roman history had done.” (Ed Watts, 17:07)
• Pragmatic Brutality: After consolidating power, he would later pardon or compensate those he had previously targeted, repairing his image while retaining credit for "fixing" the problems he created.
  • “You can do horrible things, but...if you win, great, you can fix this too. And then you get the benefit of doing the horrible thing, but you also somehow get the credit for fixing the horrible thing.” (Ed Watts, 19:30)

6. Building the Empire: Political Genius

• Selling Autocracy as Stability: Augustus introduced subtle, incremental shifts from republic to autocracy, keeping traditional republican offices and sharing power symbolically.
  • “He in essence figures out what are the things I need, what are the powers I need to do that job and everything else I’m going to give back to the Republic.” (Ed Watts, 21:35)
• Delegation and Image Management: Offloaded unpopular administration to others, intervening as needed to appear the heroic savior.

7. Cultural Legacy: Patronage of Writers

• The Augustan Age: Supported poets and writers like Horace and Virgil, who helped shape imperial mythology.
  • “There is in Virgil probably, and in Horace definitely genuine enthusiasm for what Augustus has built.” (Ed Watts, 26:27)
• Ancient Rome: From Brick to Marble: Augustus revolutionized Rome's infrastructure, incentivizing massive urban improvement projects for function and grandeur.
  • “The city of Rome, by the time Augustus takes power, has a million people in it...he’s using his own resources...to do things like connect new aqueducts and improve sanitation in the city.” (Ed Watts, 28:57)

8. Personal Life and Morality

• Public Virtue vs. Private Conduct: Augustus promoted traditional morals publicly while practicing double standards; his family bore the brunt of political machinations.
  • “Yes, it’s known that he did this...But really, he’s playing like ninth-dimensional chess. These are political actions that he’s undertaking.” (Ed Watts, 35:55)

9. Imperial Expansion and Professional Military

• Securing Borders: Shifted from opportunistic conquests to long-term defense strategies, establishing defensible frontiers (Danube, Elbe), and using professional armies rather than ad-hoc levies. (36:26)

10. Succession and Death

• Meticulous Succession Planning: Struggled to secure a worthy heir; after several personal losses, Tiberius became successor. Ruthless elimination of rivals persisted to the very end.
  • “It’s clear this is Augustus’s order...This is just Augustus doing what Augustus did for his entire life. Right. Being sure that there is a clear and unchallenged person in charge of maintaining the stability of Rome.” (Ed Watts, 41:27)

11. Greatest Legacies and Historian’s Dilemma

• Enduring Impact: Augustus constructed a system that lasted for over a millennium, but his legacy is a dual one of both horrific violence and civilizational advancement.
  • “I admire what he built...But it’s really, really hard to speak about this person without also acknowledging the horrible things he did.” (Ed Watts, 41:59)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the paradox of Augustus

  “It is really useful to disaggregate the career of Augustus from the career of Octavian...with Augustus, you have a figure who is actually incredibly constructive.”
  (Ed Watts, 02:22)

• On political precocity

  “As someone who spends a lot of time in classrooms with 18-year-olds, I’ve never met anybody like that.”
  (Ed Watts, 04:13)

• On being underestimated

  “If somebody underestimates you and you’re aware they’re doing it, you have quite a bit of freedom of action.”
  (Ed Watts, 08:13)

• On Roman poets

  “I think they’re actually enthusiastic. If you’ve actually lived through...fields that are fertilized with blood. That’s not abstract to them.”
  (Ed Watts, 26:27)

• On moral double standards

  “Publicly, he sells himself as a champion of ancestral, traditional virtue...But it’s a case of do what I say, not what I do.”
  (Spencer Mizzen, 33:45 / Ed Watts, 33:54)

• On legacy

  “I really struggle with how you can take somebody who in the first part of his life is one of the great villains of ancient history and in the second part of his life is probably the greatest sort of architect of long-term political structures.”
  (Ed Watts, 41:59)

Important Timestamps

• [02:22] – Duality of Octavian/Augustus’s career and character
• [05:38] – Early life and Caesar’s perception of Octavian
• [08:13] – Rivals’ underestimation as a weapon
• [13:00] – The propaganda war and defeat of Antony
• [17:07–19:30] – Ruthlessness in civil wars, proscriptions, confiscations
• [21:35] – Shifting from Republic to autocracy; management of power
• [26:27] – Relationship with Horace, Virgil, and Roman culture
• [28:57] – Urban transformation: from brick to marble
• [33:54] – Family, morality, and double standards
• [36:26] – Imperial expansion and border defense
• [38:54] – Death, succession, and persistence of ruthlessness
• [41:59] – The legacy of Augustus, civil war, and historical ambivalence

Conclusion

Ed Watts’s nuanced portrait of Augustus reveals a man who reshaped Roman society through extreme cunning, violence, and ultimately, enduring statesmanship. Augustus’s legacy is fraught with contradiction, as Watts repeatedly emphasizes: he is both a precursor of mass murder and the architect of a system that would stabilize the Mediterranean world for generations. This episode captures the tension between the necessity and cost of empire, leaving listeners with profound questions about power, legacy, and historical judgment.