The Ancients – Emperor Tiberius: Monster or Misunderstood?

Host: Tristan Hughes
Guest: Dr. Daisy Dunn (Classicist & Author)
Date: November 23, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode delves into the reign of Rome’s second emperor, Tiberius (AD 14–37). Host Tristan Hughes and guest Dr. Daisy Dunn grapple with Tiberius’s complicated legacy: Was he a paranoid monster ruling from his isolated fortress on Capri or a misunderstood, capable leader undone by family tragedy and vicious rumor? The conversation tracks Tiberius’s journey from promising general and statesman to isolated, much-maligned ruler, dissecting the sources, political machinations, and infamous rumors that shaped his reputation.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Scene & Tiberius’s Reputation

• Tiberius inherits power after Augustus’s death in AD 14 at 55 years old.
• Ancient sources (Suetonius, Tacitus, Cassius Dio) depict him as declining from effective general to tyrannical recluse.
• Dr. Dunn emphasizes that Tiberius is often unfairly cast as a villain, with less attention paid to his earlier, accomplished life.
• (03:35) Dr. Daisy Dunn: “Augustus … a lot of people have idealized his rule to a degree and Tiberius, they're quite keen to portray him as the opposite. He's almost the villain in the piece and that's not quite what happens.”

2. Tiberius’s Early Life and Family Turmoil

• Born into the prominent Claudian family; his early years were turbulent, fleeing Rome during the civil wars as his father opposed Octavian (later Augustus).
• After his father’s death, Tiberius and his brother Drusus were raised in Augustus’s household.
• The complex dynamics of Livia’s marriage to Augustus and its impact on Tiberius’s fate.
• (07:00) Dr. Daisy Dunn: “This is incredibly difficult… Livia has to marry Octavian instead ... in Roman law … Tiberius and his brother went to live with their father rather than … Octavian.”

3. Rise Under Augustus: Education, Early Career, and Character

• Tiberius benefited from family connections: became consul at 28 and had notable military assignments.
• Was highly educated, skilled in Greek, but perceived as pedantic rather than cultured.
• Chose scholarly pursuits for knowledge’s sake, notably collecting trivia.
• Memorable Moment (12:59): Tristan jokes, “Sounds like being an ancient history podcast host today, to be fair.”

4. Succession Struggles & Family Losses

• Augustus intended his own bloodline to rule; Tiberius was not first (or even second) choice.
• Augustus’s preferred heirs (Marcellus, then Agrippa, then Gaius and Lucius) all died young.
• Only after these losses—and exile of rival heir Agrippa Postumus—does Tiberius become Augustus’s co-heir, alongside the adopted Germanicus.
• Dr. Dunn dismisses conspiracy theories about Livia orchestrating these deaths.
• (16:44) Dr. Daisy Dunn: “Gaius succumbs to a wound he sustains in battle … Alucius gets unwell … These look all like natural deaths.”

5. Tiberius’s Marriages: From Love to Political Tool

• First marriage to Vipsania was happy; he was forced to divorce her and marry Julia, Augustus’s daughter—the union was loveless and fraught.
• Julia was exiled for adultery; Tiberius, against Augustus’s fury, persuades him to spare her life.
• (22:26) Tristan: “Tiberius stays Augustus’ hand from killing his own daughter.”
• (22:35) Dr. Daisy Dunn: “It is horrific ... this is the good side of Tiberius, right? This is showing him in a much more positive light.”

6. Becoming Emperor: Reluctant, Unsteady Beginnings

• Tiberius’s ascension was not smooth—took two months of hesitation and political uncertainty before taking power.
• He deferred to the Senate, less interested in public spectacle than Augustus.
• Cut costs, banned kissing, and shifted governance back to Senate control.
• Financially prudent, made few grand architectural additions.
• Memorable Quote (26:07): “He wants to do things very much his own way, which is bold.” (Dr. Dunne)

7. Military Record & Lack of Expansion

• As emperor, shifted away from active military expansion, despite illustrious earlier campaigns.
• Preferred discipline, order, and pragmatism over conquest or showmanship.
• Humorous Moment (28:42): Dr. Dunne on Tiberius sitting “on the turf with his men, eating lunch... I came out really wrong.”

8. Relationship with Livia & Other Female Relations

• Tense relationship with his mother; resented her public status and influence.
• Uncomfortable with powerful women generally, e.g., Germanicus’s wife Agrippina.
• Did not attend Livia’s funeral and resented public honors given to her.
• (29:32) Dr. Daisy Dunn: “He doesn’t seem to be very comfortable, per se, with women in power…”

9. The Germanicus Affair & Rumors of Foul Play

• Germanicus, popular general and Tiberius’s adopted son, dies under suspicious circumstances; Tiberius is rumored to be complicit.
• Tiberius’s attempt to quell public mourning for Germanicus backfires, creating public distrust.
• A subsequent Senate trial condemns Piso (the governor accused of poisoning Germanicus), with heavy public involvement.
• (34:57) Dr. Daisy Dunn: “And Tiberius says, okay, let’s bring the trial to court...but the people’s sympathy are very much with Agrippina and the family.”

10. The Rise of Sejanus and the Shadow State

• Praetorian Prefect Sejanus becomes Tiberius’s closest advisor, increasingly influential and ruthless.
• The ‘Maiestas’ treason trials proliferate, stoking fear and corruption in the Senate.
• Sejanus manipulates rumors, targets Agrippina and her sons Nero and Drusus, leading to their exile, starvation, and deaths.
• (38:46) Dr. Daisy Dunn: “Her downfall is really, really dire... she loses an eye ... Drusus is imprisoned and starved … eats his mattress to survive...”

11. Personal Tragedy & Retreat to Capri (AD 26 Onwards)

• After the (possibly orchestrated) death of his own son Drusus and being further isolated, Tiberius undergoes a psychological breakdown: “He decides to leave Rome. He goes off to Capri, the island of Capri. And he seems to be suffering from paranoia at this stage.” (43:02)
• Becomes reclusive and paranoid, turning to drink, and becomes the subject of lurid sexual and sadistic allegations.
• Notable Story (44:34): The fisherman and the fish—Tiberius, in his paranoia, slaps a fisherman with a giant mullet for breaching security, then follows up with a crab for the same poor man.

12. Debauched Rumor and Ancient ‘Epstein Island’ Mythos

• Capri becomes mythologized as a site of scandalous perversion and sexual abuse; sources blur fact and slander.
• (46:15) Dr. Daisy Dunn: “This is really grim ... He’s meant to have an erotic library ... It’s just in case he had someone there to have kind of sex in front of him, they didn’t know what to do, he could then get a library book down and show him how it was done.”
• Dr. Dunn points out that many accounts are likely exaggerated or fabricated posthumous smears.

13. Late Reign: Succession and Years of Neglect

• Tiberius is slow to designate a successor, finally naming both Caligula (Germanicus’s son) and his own grandson Gemellus.
• Sejanus is finally purged, but Tiberius’s neglect leaves government riddled with corruption; provincial governors and officials stay in place far too long, increasing chaos and vulnerability.
• (49:17) Dr. Daisy Dunn: “He just doesn’t seem to switch people around. He’s just kind of completely let go.”

14. Death and Legacy

• Tiberius dies in AD 37 at age 77; rumors circulate that Caligula finished him off.
• His final years are characterized by absence, administrative paralysis, and public fear/disdain.
• Financially, Rome remained stable and prosperous, mostly due to lack of costly wars.
• (53:20) Dr. Daisy Dunn: “He was respected in that [military] sphere... He seems to have been very introspective, very reserved ... but who really suffered after the death of his son and descended into something like tyranny.”

Timestamps of Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |------------|--------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:35 | Tiberius’s negative portrayal vs. Augustus’s idealization | | 06:30 | Tiberius’s turbulent family background | | 11:41 | Confessions about Tiberius’s character and pedantry | | 14:36 | Succession crises—Marcellus, Agrippa, Gaius/Lucius, etc. | | 19:41 | Tiberius’s marriages and Julia’s exile | | 23:11 | Tiberius’s succession, Senate hesitancy, quote about ‘wolf’ | | 26:07 | Early emperor years, distinctive and unpopular policies | | 29:32 | Relationship with Livia and other prominent women | | 31:15 | Germanicus’s death and the Piso trial | | 36:35 | Sejanus’s rise and expansion of treason trials (Maiestas) | | 41:21 | Death of Drusus, Tiberius’s surviving son | | 43:00 | AD 26: Tiberius’s breakdown and retreat to Capri | | 44:34 | Fisherman with the mullet—paranoia and cruelty | | 46:15 | Capri’s reputation and sexual allegations | | 48:11 | Succession: Caligula and Gemellus | | 49:17 | Administrative neglect and failures in late reign | | 51:48 | Death of Tiberius | | 53:20 | Judging Tiberius’s legacy today |

Notable Quotes

• “Augustus … they’re quite keen to portray him as the opposite. He’s almost the villain in the piece and that’s not quite what happens.”
  (Dr. Daisy Dunn, 03:35)

• “He wants to do things very much his own way, which is bold.”
  (Dr. Daisy Dunn, 26:07)

• “He cuts the pay of actors. He’s not keen on putting on loads of public shows to try and endear people to him. He even bans kissing, Tristan.”
  (Dr. Daisy Dunn, 27:44)

• “So senators start almost spying on each other, looking around, trying to report each other for maiestas, real Gestapo-like almost kind of thing.”
  (Dr. Daisy Dunn, 37:29)

• “Tiberius blamed Sejanus for this. Later. He says that, you know, Sejanus is really attacking the family of Agrippina, which I kind of think is slightly hiding behind Sejanus at that point.”
  (Dr. Daisy Dunn, 39:57)

• “He decides to leave Rome. He goes off to Capri, the island of Capri. And he seems to be suffering from paranoia at this stage.”
  (Dr. Daisy Dunn, 43:02)

• “He’s meant to have an erotic library ... just in case he had someone there to have kind of sex in front of him, they didn’t know what to do, he could then get a library book down and show him how it was done.”
  (Dr. Daisy Dunn, 46:15)

• “Actually, he left Rome in quite a strong position, and it was quite wealthy … financial strength. The economy of Rome was actually flourishing.”
  (Dr. Daisy Dunn, 52:11)

• “He was respected in that [military] sphere … a man of discipline ... but who really suffered after the death of his son and descended into something like tyranny.”
  (Dr. Daisy Dunn, 53:20)

Memorable Moments

• Fisherman Incident:
  Tiberius, paranoid on Capri, attacks a fisherman with a giant mullet and a crab for bringing him gifts, illustrating his cruel paranoia (44:34).
• Tiberius’s “Ancient Pub Quiz” Hobby:
  Testing scholars with obscure Greek myth tidbits (12:59).
• Comparison to Modern Podcast Hosting:
  Tristan jokes about Tiberius’s trivia obsession (12:59).
• Rumors Become Legend:
  Capri as ancient “Epstein Island,” highlighting the blend of truth, gossip, and posthumous smear campaign (46:15).

Summary for New Listeners

This episode paints a nuanced portrait of Emperor Tiberius—both monster and misunderstood. While infamous for the lurid rumors of his elderly years, Dr. Daisy Dunn stresses his capable, disciplined, if somewhat introverted, early life as a military leader and administrator. A combination of personal tragedy, manipulation by Sejanus, and profound psychological decline soured his reign and helped fuel ancient slander. Tiberius left Rome wealthy and stable but haunted by tales of cruelty and debauchery.

If you want to understand the tragic arc from Rome’s promising second emperor to the maligned recluse of Capri, this episode provides rich detail, sharp analysis, and a lively, ironic discussion of ancient sources and enduring myths.