ABSTRACT
The adoption of Tiberius signifies for some authors a capitulation in the face of the inevitable, and for others merely the culmination of the perpetual grand design. Ancient authors assume that there was constant discord and distrust between Augustus and Tiberius, but there is no contemporary record unsullied by retrospective bias, so their relationship cannot be truthfully assessed. There is no doubt that Augustus intended to hand over the government of the Empire to a successor; a return to the Republican system would have negated most of his life's achievement. The only unknown factor is his choice of personnel. Even his own statement on the matter is characteristically ambiguous: This I do for reasons of state' he said when he adopted Tiberius and Agrippa Postumus, leaving uncertain and unpronounced his inner thoughts. It is not recorded that he made such a statement when he adopted Gaius and Lucius, so he may have considered that there was a need to excuse himself for adopting someone aged over 30, or he may have wished to explain why he included Agrippa Postumus in his plans, or indeed Germanicus as Tiberius' adopted son. Enemies of Tiberius naturally sei2ed upon the alternative possibilities, that Augustus would not have made the choice from personal reasons but was compelled to do so because there was no one else, and he was not a young man any longer so could not afford to wait.1
