cathschaffstump | I, Claudius Villains #3: Sejanus (Reply)

Livia is the calculating villain who believes she has a higher purpose (we call that delusion.) Tiberius is the tortured and manipulated villain. Sejanus is one of Tiberius' manipulators. His characteristic is like Livia's, the pursuit of personal powers, but he is entirely willing to compromise any principles at all to get it.

(Yes, that is Patrick Stewart with hair. Let's move on now.) Sejanus manages to manipulate himself into Tiberius' good graces and in essence becomes Rome's secret police. He gets what he wants through torture and killing. There's a very chilling scene where he hauls off a senator, has him beaten and hurt. The senator spits in his face, is ultimately beaten some more, and passes out. Sejanus look matter-of-factly at the guards and says, "Wake him up. We'll try again." Yup, another day at the office for Sejanus.

Of course, Sejanus has flaws. His ambition for power, and his adaptability toward getting it causes him to jilt the woman he loves (after she's killed her husband, but since Livilla is a minor villain blip, she doesn't get an entry) for her daughter. Tiberius couldn't possible have Sejanus marry his son's widow (too much status) but the daughter is another story. Sejanus tries to get Livilla to see that ultimately this works, that they can be together after he's married her daughter. Very pragmatic. Livilla's solution is to poison her daughter because she's jealous.

In the end, Claudius and his mother Antonia cause Sejanus' downfall. The jealous Livilla writes a letter to Sejanus that incriminates him in a plot to overthrow Augustus. Antonia sends the letter to Tiberius, camouflaged by a copy of Claudius' history of Carthage. Tiberius has Sejanus arrested and destroyed and has his children from a previous marriage assassinated. Antonia kills Livilla by locking her up and starving her to death.

In the end, Sejanus' downfall is the belief that he has ultimate control over his situation. His week spot is Livilla, who is wild and unpredictable.

Next villain: Caligula. Mad, mad, mad, mad.

Catherine

Mirrored from Writer Tamago.