Editing Claudius (section)

=== Public life ===

Claudius' work as a historian damaged his prospects for advancement in public life. According to Vincent Scramuzza and others, he began work on a history of the [[Roman civil wars|Civil Wars]] that was either too truthful or too critical of Octavian,{{sfn|Scramuzza|1940|p=39}} then reigning as [[Augustus|Caesar Augustus]]. In either case, it was far too early for such an account, and may have only served to remind Augustus that Claudius was Antony's descendant. His mother and grandmother quickly put a stop to it, and this may have convinced them that Claudius was not fit for public office, since he could not be trusted to toe the existing [[Party line (politics)|party line]].{{sfn|Stuart}}

When Claudius returned to the narrative later in life, he skipped over the wars of the [[Second Triumvirate]] altogether; but the damage was done, and his family pushed him into the background. When the [[Triumphal arch|Arch]] of [[Pavia]] was erected to honour the Imperial clan in AD 8, Claudius's name (now Tiberius Claudius Nero Germanicus after his elevation to ''[[pater familias]]'' of the Claudii Nerones on the adoption of his brother) was inscribed on the edge, past the deceased princes, [[Gaius Caesar|Gaius]] and [[Lucius Caesar|Lucius]], and Germanicus's children. There is some speculation that the inscription was added by Claudius himself decades later, and that he originally did not appear at all.{{sfn|Stuart}}

When Augustus died in AD&nbsp;14, Claudius – then aged 23 – appealed to his uncle [[Tiberius]] to allow him to begin the ''[[cursus honorum]]''. Tiberius, the new Emperor, responded by granting Claudius consular ornaments. Claudius requested office once more and was snubbed. Since the new emperor was no more generous than the old, Claudius gave up hope of public office and retired to a scholarly, private life.

Despite the disdain of the Imperial family, it seems that from very early on the general public respected Claudius. At Augustus's death, the ''[[Equestrian (Roman)|equites]]'', or knights, chose Claudius to head their delegation. When his house burned down, the Senate demanded it be rebuilt at public expense. They also requested that Claudius be allowed to debate in the Senate. Tiberius turned down both motions, but the sentiment remained.

During the period immediately after the death of Tiberius's son, [[Drusus Julius Caesar|Drusus]], Claudius was pushed by some quarters as a potential heir to the throne. This again suggests the political nature of his exclusion from public life. However, as this was also the period during which the power and terror of the commander of the [[Praetorian Guard]], [[Sejanus]], was at its peak, Claudius chose to downplay this possibility. After the death of Tiberius, the new emperor [[Caligula]] (the son of Claudius's brother [[Germanicus]]) recognized Claudius to be of some use. He appointed Claudius his co-consul in 37 to emphasize the memory of Caligula's deceased father Germanicus.

Despite this, Caligula tormented his uncle: playing practical jokes, charging him enormous sums of money, humiliating him before the Senate, and the like. According to [[Cassius Dio]], Claudius became sickly and thin by the end of Caligula's reign, most likely due to [[Psychological stress|stress]].<ref>{{harvnb|Cassius Dio|loc=60, 2}}; {{harvnb|Suhr|1955}} suggests that this must refer to before Claudius came to power.</ref> A possible surviving portrait of Claudius from this period may support this.