Ancient Rome: Adultery, Scandal, and Caesar's Hypocrisy

Lesson Transcript

But like Caesar Augustus, his niece, I believe it was his niece, I mean, she was just so flagrant in adultery. I mean, it was causing scandal and gossip everywhere. He finally had to banish her under the law, you know, to a remote island just because she wouldn't stop. I mean, after warning, warning, warning, and yet he himself committed adultery, okay? And all throughout Rome, I mean, you see people doing it. So yeah, they knew it was wrong.

It was, like I say, written in the what's called the Lex Julia, you know, the laws that started with Julius Caesar and then Caesar Augustus combined. Yeah, it's against the law, but yeah, people did it. And if it didn't cause a big scandal or anything, yeah, you usually were not punished for doing.