Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Ancient Psychologist- with Tiberius












Psychologist: Hello, Emperor Tiberius. How are you today?

Tiberius: I am fine thank you.

Psychologist: And why are you here today?

Tiberius: I wanted to talk about the fact that I think my childhood has affected me today, and a few other things. But don’t get me wrong, I am an amazing ruler, obviously.

Psychologist: Yes. What happened in your childhood?

Tiberius: When I was two, my father had to flee from Rome.

Psychologist: Yes, that sounds like a very traumatic experience. Anything else happen that made you concerned?

Tiberius: Well, when I was four, my parents divorced and my mother remarried.

Psychologist: Another tragic experience and both events were so close to each other. How did they make you feel?

Tiberius: I felt so sad and scared! I loved my father, and he left me.

Psychologist: Is that all?

Tiberius: No, my father also died when I was nine.

Psychologist: I am so sorry.

Tiberius: Thats okay.

Psychologist: And what are some reasons that you think this has affected you and the way you rule your country?

Tiberius: Well, a number of things. When Julius Caesar died, I became loyal to Mark Antony. Then he was defeated, and my family fled.

Psychologist: And what does this make you feel ?

Tiberius: All of these problems in my youth have caused me to have trouble leading well today.

Psychologist: I think that you are doing an excellent job.

Tiberius: I know, but I do have faults.

Psychologist: Like what?

Tiberius: I have great fears, like of thunder. It is not right for an emperor to fear anything.

Psychologist: Everyone fears something; this is not such a big deal.

Tiberius: I also suffered from skin eruptions.

Psychologist: Excuse me?

Tiberius: People say now that I had a lot of rashes, whatever that means. I just know that I had a lot of skin eruptions.

Psychologist: This is normal for any person. Do not fear of this.

Tiberius: Sometimes I had trouble socializing. Everyone likes gladiatorial games, but they were neither pleasing nor enjoyable to me.

Psychologist: Again, this is fine, nothing to worry about. Every person is different, so each person has their different likes and dislikes.

Tiberius: Okay… If you say so…. Well, anyway, later in my life I became a Roman general, and then emperor, as I am today.

Psychologist: Okay go on.

Tiberius: Well I kept to myself a lot, and I wasn’t a big fan of being emperor. Sure it was an honor, and I did a great job, if I say so myself, but I never really wanted to be the emperor.

Psychologist: Were you scared?

Tiberius: No. Well, maybe a little bit, but I just really didn’t want to be emperor or have quite so much responsibility. But even though I did not want to be emperor, I still worked hard. Until later.

Psychologist: Until when?

Tiberius: After my son died, I was just completely miserable all the time, and I am sure the people felt that too.

Psychologist: do you still feel like this?

Tiberius: Not quite as bad, but I still miss my son a lot. And finally, I exiled myself, ending my rule.

Psychologist: Oh my! Before you had done something so extreme you could have come to me to get help and stress relief ideas.

Tiberius: I could not think straight at the time. And actually, now that I have said all this, I feel better about myself. I think I am done for today.

Psychologist: Are you sure? Then thank you for coming! Good bye Tiberius!


Sources:

"Tiberius (Roman Emperor)." Encyclopedia - Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Web. 10 Mar. 2010. .

"Tiberius." The Roman Empire. Web. 10 Mar. 2010. .

"Tiberius." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 10 Mar. 2010. .

Photographs from:
Photograph. Wikimedia Commons. Wikipedia, 2005. Web. 10 Mar. 2010. .
Photograph. Wikimedia Commons. Wikipedia, 28 Oct. 2005. Web. 10 Mar. 2010. .

No comments:

Post a Comment

Search This Blog