lpetrich

Here goes about Augustus Caesar:

1. Atia Balba Caesonia was a daughter of Julius Caesar's second sister Julia; Augustus was her second child and first son: 1/2
2. Gaius Octavius was from a respectable but undistinguished noble family: 1/2
3. 0
4. A snake made Atia pregnant with Augustus: 1
5. The god Apollo appeared in the form of that snake: 1
6. The Senate decreed that no male child was to be raised in the year that Augustus was born: 1
7. 0
8. 0
9. Much less than the details of his infancy, like how he hushed up some frogs; all we learn is that at the age of 12, he delivered a funeral speech in honor of his grandmother Julia: 1
10. He was already in it: 0
11. He defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra: 1
12. He married Clodia Pulchra, Scribonia, and Livia Drusilla, all of whom had some eminent ancestry: 1
13. 1
14. He settled down after defeating A and C: 1
15. He negotiated two Settlements with the Senate: 1
16. 0
17. 0
18. His death was announced by various omens: 1
19. He died indoors: 0
20. His stepson and adopted son Tiberius succeeded him as Emperor: 0
21. Though he was cremated, his remains were deposited in his mausoleum: 0
22. 0
Score: 11

Chris Weimer

But he was adopted into the, at the time, most noble house having been made by the dictator Julius Caesar.

A little more obvious is that Augustus was called son of God. Son of Caesar, Caesar was a divus.

Note that Lord Raglan included in there "infant or boy hero". After Caesar's death, Augustus is in danger having been heir of Caesar.

"When he heard of Caesar's murder, Octavius was in Apollonia in Illyricum, preparing to join Caesar on his Parthian campaign. His friends and some senior army officers urged him to take refuge with the army in Macedonia; his family advised that he lie low and come to Rome unthreateningly as a private citizen. He opted for the latter course of action and arrived in southern Italy, south of Brundisium. Here, he heard more details about Caesar's death and of his own adoption."

He is at first spirited away to safety. Granted that he soon decides to make war is another thing altogether, but the fact remains that he does get to safety. It's a thing that makes you go "well no shit!" but it's there nonetheless. 1

I'd rather give it a 12 1/2. Just a few points shy of Jesus. And far, far more than Mark by itself.

youngalexander

This was discussed extensively back in Feb06 in several threads, eg.here and here in short you (& ac) could not be wronger! Raglan specifically avoided jesus because he regarded him as historical. {IQotH is In Quest of the Hero}

Fascinating. Perhaps you could oblige us? Question is, of what relevance would this be to the 'Mythic Hero' of the JC variety?

lpetrich

But he wasn't rescued from that evil Senate. Instead, someone kept the Senate's decree from being officially recorded, so that it never became recognized law.

Also, while his father died, his mother didn't, so I doubt that he'd qualify as having had foster parents.

He was full-grown, and he wasn't being protected from the Senate, but instead from the likes of Mark Antony.

Meaning that he did it on his initiative as an adult, rather than being rescued as a baby. Score: 0

Chris Weimer

Why does that matter?

It clearly says infant or boy hero. 18 years old in Roman times was still adolescens. One didn't become consul and lead armies until they hit 40. The amazing part of Augustus, like Pompey and Alexander before him, was that he was so young.

lpetrich

Seems like an unreasonable stretch to me. Look at what many hero myths feature -- the hero being taken to safety when he was a baby, not when he was a young man.

Moses, Romulus, Oedipus, Perseus, Krishna, ... though Hercules didn't need to flee

That being said, I note that Suetonius tells us that Augustus's becoming Emperor fulfilled some prophecies and that Augustus was a child prodigy, hushing up some frogs.


Alexander the Great:

1. Olympias was a daughter of a king of Epirus, and Alexander was her only child, or at least her first one: 1
2. Philip of Macedon: 1
3. Philip was scorned because Alexander wasn't 100% Macedonian: 0
4. Olympias dreamed that she was struck by lightning, and a snake was once found with her as she slept: 1
5. The god Zeus: 1
6. 0
7. 0
8. He is raised by his parents in Macedon: 0
9. We learn some details, like how Aristotle was one of his tutors: 0
10. He was already in it: 0
11. He got into power as a result of his father dying; the closest to a triumph over a reigning enemy was suppressing some rebellions: 0
12. He married some Persian princesses: 1
13. 1
14. His reign was one war of conquest after another: 0
15. He adopted Persian customs and tried to get his Greek underlings to do so: 1
16. 0
17. 0
18. His death was rather mysterious: 1
19. In a palace in Babylon: 0
20. His two sons were murdered by some rivals: 1
21. 0
22. 0
Score: 9

Plutarch tells us that on the day that Alexander was born, the temple of Artemis at Ephesus burned down, and that the local soothsayers concluded that something happened that day that would some day devastate Asia. Thus, he fulfilled a prophecy.