The Suetonius Series: Caesar III

Tiberius

• He banned astrologers and kissing on New Years
• He gave one Aselius Sabinus 2,000 gold pieces to show his appreciation for a story he told in which a mushroom, a fig-picker, an oyster and a thrush took part in a competition.
• He had his daughter-in-law Agrippina flogged. She lost an eye. She then starved herself to death and Tiberius had the Senate declare her birthday a day of ill omen.
• He had his grandsons starved to death and their bodies were "chopped in so many pieces that great difficulty was later found in collecting them for burial."
• A Greek literature professor asked Tiberius's servants what books Tiberius had been reading. Tiberius was annoyed by this and had the professor killed.
• His left hand was so strong that he could poke a finger into the skull of a boy.
• He could see in the dark for two minutes.
• There was a big party when he died.