Public Image and Propaganda

Emperors actively craft their public personas through games, building projects, eulogies, and titles (like 'Augustus' or 'Germanicus'), while Suetonius also reveals how scandals, rumors, and insults are used to undermine or shape their reputations.

Augustus's careful cultivation of his public image, including his building projects, his edicts about restoring the Republic, and his efforts to present himself as the author of a stable government.

Caligula manipulates public perception by bewailing the murder of a retiarius, deploring the lack of public disasters, and threatening to destroy the works of Homer, Virgil, and Livy, showing his obsession with controlling his legacy.

Claudius's censorship, his triumph for the British campaign, and his edicts reflect his efforts to shape public perception.

Nero staged elaborate shows, including the reception of Tiridates, shaved his first beard in a public ceremony, and closed the temple of Janus to project an image of peace and victory.