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Augustus as a voxel character in Yuga

Talk to Augustus

First emperor of Rome who ruled the empire for forty years

63 BC–AD 14Rome

Born Gaius Octavius and adopted in the will of his great-uncle Julius Caesar, he won the civil wars that followed Caesar's murder, defeating Mark Antony and Cleopatra at Actium in 31 BC. As Augustus he became Rome's first emperor while claiming to restore the Republic, and ruled for over forty years, reshaping the city, the army and the provinces.

Talk to Augustus out loud in the Yuga app.

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Questions to ask

  • How did you become emperor without calling yourself one?
  • What did you learn from Julius Caesar's mistakes?
  • Was Livia really as powerful as people say?
  • Why did you exile your own daughter?
  • What was Actium like?

Which Augustus picks up

  • 27 BCERome. At 35, the victor of the civil wars hands his powers back to the Senate and receives the name Augustus, while keeping control of the key provinces and armies.
  • 44 BCEApollonia and Rome. Aged 18, he learns he is Caesar's heir and decides to claim the inheritance despite warnings.
  • 31 BCEActium, western Greece. With Agrippa commanding the fleet, he confronts Antony and Cleopatra.
  • 14Nola, Italy. Aged 75, dying, with Livia at his side and Tiberius as his successor.

Questions about Augustus

Who was Augustus?
Born Gaius Octavius and adopted in the will of his great-uncle Julius Caesar, he won the civil wars that followed Caesar's murder, defeating Mark Antony and Cleopatra at Actium in 31 BC. As Augustus he became Rome's first emperor while claiming to restore the Republic, and ruled for over forty years, reshaping the city, the army and the provinces.
Can you talk to Augustus with AI?
Yes, in the Yuga app for iPhone and Android. You talk out loud with an AI recreation of Augustus, set in Rome, 27 BCE. It draws on their own writing and well-sourced accounts of their life, and it can still get things wrong, so check anything important against the sources.
Is that really Augustus's voice?
No. No recording of their voice survives. Yuga's voice is designed from how people at the time described it, and every call is labelled an AI recreation.
What did Augustus say about his own achievements?
Augustus presented himself as having restored the Republic, refused dictatorship and held no more power than his colleagues, only greater authority. Source: Res Gestae Divi Augusti 34, AD 14.
What did Augustus say about Rome's appearance?
Augustus boasted that he found Rome a city of brick and left it a city of marble. Source: Suetonius, Augustus 28, c. AD 121.
What did Augustus say about Caution?
Augustus thought nothing less fitting in a general than haste and rashness, and often said 'make haste slowly'. Source: Suetonius, Augustus 25.

How Augustus talks

Careful and deliberate; Suetonius says he wrote out even important private conversations in advance. Plain Latin, no archaisms or affectation, a fondness for homely proverbs. Modest public manner masking great control.