Some of my favorite details that make Augustus more relatable:
He was superstitious and scared of storms (would hide in the cellar). It’s said that he refused to do business on the ninth day of each month because the word for it (nones) sounded evil
Apparently, he wore platform shoes to look taller
He was a bit terrible at learning Ancient Greek
His favorite foods were coarse/rock-hard bread paired with mashed vegetables. Also, dates were his favorite fruit.
Many modern historians argue over whether or not he might’ve had dyslexia because of his odd writing habits and frequent spelling of words EXACTLY as they were pronounced, but this might just be him being stubborn
Either he was a huge lightweight or he just never liked drinking because he rarely drank wine that wasn’t heavily watered down
Many people of his time describe him as having a high-pitched, almost musical voice
He was really fond of kids and liked to play games with them, especially in old age. As for people his own age, he struggled to make friends and stuck with his childhood friends
In the winter, Augustus would wear up to four layers (4 tunics, a thick toga, an undershirt, a wool vest, and cloth strips around his thighs and shins), and in the spring/summer, he’d wear a hat with a huge rim
He LOVED reading books he enjoyed in the senate, and would subject senators to his readings on moral reform (childbirth or marriage, usually) or infrastructure (like building heights)
He apparently really liked this kind of sour cheesecake, so he’d bring it everywhere and insist everyone try it
Many people insist he must’ve had psychosomatic illnesses because he’d frequently get sick around the same times every year (some say he was usually ill around his birthday). When he did get sick, he’d allegedly go to the house of his old friend, Maecenas, to recover
He loved and hated excess eye contact
Pettiness was SO ingrained in him that when Mark Antony died, immediately after, he’d read letters Antony sent to him in the senate to highlight how rude Antony was in comparison to how nice he was.
He adored food and agriculture puns. Like… a LOT. At times, he’d say he was “limp like a beet” instead of “I’m beat,” and he’d entreat others to do things “quicker than boiled asparagus”
Suetonius says he had a unibrow and bad teeth
There’s a story of him finding parrots (some sources translate it as ravens) so endearing that he collected talking ones for large sums of money
He’d mimic his poetic friends’ writing styles in letters to them to be playful
He napped often, and he’d sometimes nod off mid-day. Right before a battle in the Sicilian War, Octavian apparently fell so fast asleep that he almost missed giving the signal to his troops. He also fell asleep best when read to and really didn’t like being alone when falling asleep
On that same note, he wasn’t a morning person
He had just a grand time watching boxing. Frequently