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Description
Senator Fossor finds out that, sometimes, trying to undermine your enemy leaves you open to having your head bitten off.

You know what, I'm going back to doing it all in shades of red. I don't like it in colour, much.

Facts regarding this comic:

- Augustus was, according to surviving records, one of the more shrewd and publically conscious emperors. There are remarkably few times we have records of Augustus losing his composure, with the exception of one major disaster: The Massacre at the Teutoburg Forest, where a rebellious German ally, Arminius, lured the local governor, Publius Quinctilius Varus, into a trap and destroyed three of Rome's legions, along with their auxiliary troops. To put this into context, this loss accounted for over half of the Roman military forces stationed in Germania, and roughly one ninth of Rome's overall military strength.
According to the Roman historion, Seutonius, Augustus was said to have been so distressed by the news that he refused to shave or have his hair cut, banged his head against walls, and cried the refrain "Quintilius Varus, give me back my legions!"

- Whilst being an actor might be a glamorous job in modern times, back in Roman times actors and actresses were seen as very low class, and often scorned or derided. There were reasons for this; those who worked in the theatre often also worked as prostitutes, escorts, or private entertainers.
This was the reason why the Emperor Nero's determination to be an actor was so scandalous, and why Theodora, Justinian's wife, was sometimes regarded with mistrust or scorn, despite he bold personality and efficient spy network.

- The Romans were, by reputation, incredibly sensitive about their Republican government style. Julius Caesar had ostensibly been murdered because he'd been seen as a threat to that structure of rule (which, to be fair, he was), and his nephew and heir, Octavian, learned from that. Instead of declaring himself openly, he instead made himself sole master of the military, and strong-armed the government behind the scenes into giving him power whilst maintaining the illusion of the Republic.
This model of rule became known as the Principate, with Augustus as the Princeps, which translates to "First Citizen", or "First Amongst Equals", and was an already extant title used within the Senate. The Principate would endure up until the Third Century Crisis, when the Emperor Diocletian would revoke it in favour of the Dominate.

- The Senators were never comfortable with the role or position of the Emperor, as it was from what used to be their power and authority that the Emperors derived their status. As time went on the Senate progressively lost its rights and privileges until they became nothing more than a city council, with no authority to affect the greater empire.
As such, there are numerous accounts of attempted usurpations by the Senate to remove Emperors, usually employing the Emperor's personal guard, the Praetorians, to do so.

- Augustus had several names throughout his life:

Gaius Octavius (his father's name)
Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (following his adoption by his uncle. People usually called him Caesar during this period, and he dropped Octavianus)
Gaius Julius Caesar Divi Filius (that later part means "Son of the Divien", which refers to Caesar's deification after his death)
Imperator Caesar Divi Filius (Imperator, replacing Gaius Julius, was the title by which troops referred to their overall commander)
Imperator Caesar Divi Filius Augustus (Augustus was given to him by the Senate following the Battle of Actium, which translates to "venerable")

- Having rabies during this time period was a guaranteed death sentence.

art and concept: © Daniel-Gleebits

Description
Senator Fossor finds out that, sometimes, trying to undermine your enemy leaves you open to having your head bitten off.

You know what, I'm going back to doing it all in shades of red. I don't like it in colour, much.

Facts regarding this comic:

- Augustus was, according to surviving records, one of the more shrewd and publically conscious emperors. There are remarkably few times we have records of Augustus losing his composure, with the exception of one major disaster: The Massacre at the Teutoburg Forest, where a rebellious German ally, Arminius, lured the local governor, Publius Quinctilius Varus, into a trap and destroyed three of Rome's legions, along with their auxiliary troops. To put this into context, this loss accounted for over half of the Roman military forces stationed in Germania, and roughly one ninth of Rome's overall military strength.
According to the Roman historion, Seutonius, Augustus was said to have been so distressed by the news that he refused to shave or have his hair cut, banged his head against walls, and cried the refrain "Quintilius Varus, give me back my legions!"

- Whilst being an actor might be a glamorous job in modern times, back in Roman times actors and actresses were seen as very low class, and often scorned or derided. There were reasons for this; those who worked in the theatre often also worked as prostitutes, escorts, or private entertainers.
This was the reason why the Emperor Nero's determination to be an actor was so scandalous, and why Theodora, Justinian's wife, was sometimes regarded with mistrust or scorn, despite he bold personality and efficient spy network.

- The Romans were, by reputation, incredibly sensitive about their Republican government style. Julius Caesar had ostensibly been murdered because he'd been seen as a threat to that structure of rule (which, to be fair, he was), and his nephew and heir, Octavian, learned from that. Instead of declaring himself openly, he instead made himself sole master of the military, and strong-armed the government behind the scenes into giving him power whilst maintaining the illusion of the Republic.
This model of rule became known as the Principate, with Augustus as the Princeps, which translates to "First Citizen", or "First Amongst Equals", and was an already extant title used within the Senate. The Principate would endure up until the Third Century Crisis, when the Emperor Diocletian would revoke it in favour of the Dominate.

- The Senators were never comfortable with the role or position of the Emperor, as it was from what used to be their power and authority that the Emperors derived their status. As time went on the Senate progressively lost its rights and privileges until they became nothing more than a city council, with no authority to affect the greater empire.
As such, there are numerous accounts of attempted usurpations by the Senate to remove Emperors, usually employing the Emperor's personal guard, the Praetorians, to do so.

- Augustus had several names throughout his life:

Gaius Octavius (his father's name)
Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (following his adoption by his uncle. People usually called him Caesar during this period, and he dropped Octavianus)
Gaius Julius Caesar Divi Filius (that later part means "Son of the Divien", which refers to Caesar's deification after his death)
Imperator Caesar Divi Filius (Imperator, replacing Gaius Julius, was the title by which troops referred to their overall commander)
Imperator Caesar Divi Filius Augustus (Augustus was given to him by the Senate following the Battle of Actium, which translates to "venerable")

- Having rabies during this time period was a guaranteed death sentence.

art and concept: © Daniel-Gleebits