Cambridge scholar revisits the dark side of Roman emperors in Geneva talk

As part of the Latsis University 2025 awards at the University of Geneva, Cambridge professor Mary Beard will give a lecture on how Roman authors depicted their emperors. She will challenge these long-standing portrayals of imperial power. + Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox From Tiberius "the hypocrite" to Commodus "the psychopath", via Nero "the tyrant", ancient texts convey a dark and authoritarian image of imperial power, according to the University of Geneva. Mary Beard, a specialist in antiquity, proposes to examine these portraits, at a time when the modern media regularly compare today's rulers to Roman emperors. + Facing up to Switzerland's Roman past Entitled "Tyrants, bureaucrats and victims. Do the Roman emperors have anything to teach us?", the lecture will be given in English with simultaneous interpretation into French on October 30 at at Uni Dufour, the main building of the University of Geneva. It will be preceded by the presentation of the ...