Emperor Hadrian - An Evil Genius

Hadrian. The builder, the traveller, the restless emperor. Heir to Trajan and a Roman empire which covered more land than it ever would again. Considered by tradition to be one of the 'Five Good Emperors' alongside Nerva, Trajan, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. But should he be?

Hadrian certainly left us with an astonishing legacy. Just take a look at the marvellous buildings he left us. Arches across the world with his name stamped upon them, a gigantic villa in Tibur (Tivoli), Hadrian's Wall, which stretched across the entire northern border of Britain 80 Roman miles long, and Agrippa's Pantheon fully restored after its tragic destruction.

But to say this man had a dark side was an understatement. Contemporary sources called him a genius. He was brilliant. He could recall a book verbatim after a single read with a memory others would consider impossible. His attention to detail alone deterred Rome's enemies from even trying to oppose him. He had successfully led armies to victory as a young man and continued to do so throughout his reign. But. And there's a big but.

He was jealous, ambitious, hedonistic and insatiable in all. If he wasn't the best at something, anything, he'd eliminate his rivals to be so. His reign was marked by killings, exilings, humiliatatings and worse. From politicians, to sophists and to architects, it was either his way or hell. Some say he treated his wife - Vibia Sabina - so poorly, it drove her to suicide. Only one man ever gained his love, and the famous Antinous, though the subject of many love stories, was very young when Hadrian took interest in the boy.

Hadrian was, in short, a sociopath. Fronto wrote to Marcus Aurelius comparing him to gods: Bloodthirsty Mars and the Lord of the Underworld alike. The letters even suggest he feared rather than respected him. Hadrian may have given his heart to Antinous but left no room for respect from anyone else. The senate tiptoed about him in fear and even tried to have his acts annulled after his death.

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Sources Used

Ancient Texts:
Cassius Dio - Roman History (Ῥωμαϊκὴ Ἱστορία)
Disputed - Augustan History, the Life of Hadrian (Historia Augusta: Vita Hadriani)
Marcus Cornelius Fronto - Letters (Epistoles)
Unknown - Introduction of the Caesars (Epitome de Caesaribus)

Credits
If you see any of your artwork in the video, please let me know so I can give you credit!

Film, TV & Game Clips:
'Assassin's Creed: Origins' (2017) | Ubisoft ©
'Rome' (2005) | Milius, MacDonald & Heller | HBO ©
'Spartacus' (1960) | Kubrick | Universal International ©
'The Office' (2005-2016) | Greg Daniels et al. | NBCUniversal Television Distribution ©
'Hadrian' (2018) | Rufus Wainwright ©

Music:
All Music is licensed by Epidemic Sound

Timestamps
00:00 Introduction
02:15 The Early Years
03:39 Cursus Honorum
07:20 Imperator
09:58 The Restless Emperor
13:09 The Dark Side

#Hadrian #Emperor #RomanEmpire #Documentary #AncientHistory #ClassicalStudies

[arthur-yqic]

i like how he showed bar kohba and his rebell scum who is boss

[christopherevans]

Nice job on doing ancient Greek for my favorite historian Dio. Glad I found this

[keithagn]

Excellent video. Most great men are complex thinkers, and in ancient Rome the emperors had to be suspicious, and careful about others. Thank you, and Regards from Canada 🇨🇦

[sucsisna]

I love ancient history esp about Greece myth. Your channel is so interesting and the way you presenting it, is really so clear and very nice. Just one thing, could you please louder the volume ?

[theconservativecoconut]

01:15 damn, i wasnt expecting for you to speak latin... nice. Ill continue watching 🇲🇽

[zntq]

interesting presentation - marred by terrible sound volume

[wilsontheconqueror]

Can you perhaps change microphones. You present very interesting history videos. Would like to perhaps hear you better. Keep at it! Love history channels!

[roundninja]

The false dichotomy of "good emperors" and "bad emperors" is so much less interesting than the real story.

[TheLordRichard]

Hadrian also committed Genocide against Judea and renaming it Palestine after the Phillistines(Ancient Enemy of Judea)