Tiberius on Capri

      Unlike Augustus, Tiberius made the island of Capri his stable home for the whole decade between 27 AD and 37 AD - the year of his death at Misenus. The story of Tiberius' cruelty and turpitude on Capri - a story which has had much success in stimulating the imagination of tourists ever since from the 19th century - was considerably influenced by his opponents (particularly the Senatorial aristocracy) who showed their disapproval of his choice to retire to Capri by inventing episodes of cruelty and licentiousness and exaggerating and altering news from Capri to provide a real and proper 'noir'. Tiberius' choice to retire to the island obviously coincided with a new policy according to which he was granted absolute power, cooperation with the Senate was terminated and Capri was raised to the position of capital of the empire. The historian Tacitus - one of Tiberius' many opponents - considered the Emperor's retirement to Capri as an opportunity to pursue vices cunningly hidden in Rome. In clear disagreement with the Roman political scene, Tiberius focused his attention on the island of Greek philosophers and Babylonian astrologers (one of the most famous astrologers of ancient times, Trasillus of Alexandria, lived on the island at the time), continuing the building policy begun by Augustus (Tacitus attributes the construction of twelve important villas to Tiberius) and establishing nymphaea in various grottos on the island (maliciously considered by Suetonius as places for the outlet of Tiberian lust).