The work was written in 121 during the reign of the emperor hadrian, while. Beginning with caesar himself, in the mid first century bc, it ends in ad 96 with domitian and covers the reigns of such emperors as tiberius, caligula, and nero. The lives of the twelve caesars online library of liberty. Of the sons, nero and drusus were accused by tiberius of being public enemies, and subsequently convicted of being so, by the senate. Jan 21, 2016 suetonius grandfather was possibly a member of caligulas court and the writers father, suetonius laetus, was a knight, that is, a member of the equestrian class, holding the position of tribune of the th legion during the 69 ce civil war, a legion he commanded at the battle of bedriacum in northern italy. Books by suetonius sorted by popularity project gutenberg. This was the age of the great caesars, beginning with julius, and includes caligula.
Suetonius brings the events in the emperors lives vividly to life with remarkable clarity. The twelve caesars by suetonius by suetonius nook book. Enriched by anecdotes, gossip, and details of character and personal appearance, lives of the caesars by suetonius born c. Sharp, bright, clean, solidly bound, antique book handsomely illustrated in with tippedin, fully color. Lives of the twelve caesars audiobook by suetonius. His years in the palaces and halls of imperial government served him. The twelve caesars the twelve caesars is a gripping account of the lives of men who shaped the early roman empire, and a catalog of the corrupting influence of power on rome and its leaders.
The book provides valuable information on the heritage, personal habits, physical appearance, lives, and political careers of the first roman emperors as it mentions details which other sources. Part of suetonius s lives of illustrious men of letters also survives. This work is licensed under a creative commons attributionsharealike 3. It covers the period between the end of the republic and the civil war, and the reign of the emperor vespasian. He served as quaestor in 7ad five years before the legal age and became consul in 12ad without holding the intermediate offices. For, said he, just as the temple erected in the forum to the twin brethren, bears only the name of castor, so the joint liberality of caesar and myself is credited to caesar. The first series premiered in 2003 was based on suetoniuss lives of the caesars later series covered later emperors. Caligulas father, germanicus, who was the son of drusus the elder and antonia the younger, was adopted in 4ad by germanicuss paternal uncle,tiberius.
The lives of the twelve caesars by suetonius books on. The twelve caesars is a set of twelve biographies of julius caesar and the first 11 emperors of the roman empire written by gaius suetonius tranquillus. On the life of the caesars commonly known as the twelve caesars, is a set of twelve biographies of julius caesar and the first 11 emperors of the roman empire written by gaius suetonius tranquillus. Suetonius also makes mention of neros persecution in 16. With a position close to the imperial court he was able to access otherwise private sources for his work, and he certainly did not hold back on revealing the sometimes sordid. Illustrated with busts and coins of the roman emperors. The result was that caesar alone took all the credit even for what they spent in common, and his colleague marcus bibulus openly said that his was the fate of pollux. Other articles where lives of the caesars is discussed.
Gaius suetonius tranquillus c75 c160 ad the twelve caesars is a set of twelve biographies of julius caesar and the first 11 emperors of the roman empire. Suetonius family was of the knightly class, or equites. This is a translation of the work by suetonius who lived within a couple of generations of the events he describes. Septicius clarus, prefect of the praetorian guard, his lives of the caesars. The work, written in 121 during the reign of the emperor hadrian, was the most popular work of suetonius, at. The twelve caesars translated, annotated, illustrated published january 20th 2015 by poetry in translation kindle edition, 631 pages. For many years robert graves penguin has reigned supreme, in cases where the latin is beyond reach, as the most accessible and almost the only way to sample suetonius biographies. Jan 01, 2007 suetoniuss biographies of twelve roman emperors from julius caesar to domitian stands today as one of the primary sources of our information on these roman emperors, along with other great roman historians and biographers tacitus, plutarch, and the like. An english translation, linked to the original latin text. Graves translation is easy to follow and the introduction provides necessary. A translation into english with indepth name index by a. Such were the roots of tiberius caesar, who was of claudian descent on both sides, on his fathers from claudius tiberius nero, and on his mothers from publius claudius pulcher, both being sons of appius claudius caecus. An english translation, augmented with the biographies of contemporary statesmen, orators, poets, and other associates. This edition contains a new chronology, further reading, glossaries, maps, notes and an introduction discussing suetonius life and works.
Part of suetoniuss lives of illustrious men of letters also survives. Titus livys only known surviving work is a monumental history of rome that was originally written in latin. The twelve caesars by suetonius translated by robert graves. Suetonius, in holding up a mirror to those caesars of diverting legend. Suetonius has 159 books on goodreads with 44086 ratings. That the family of the octavii was of the first distinction in velitrae 106, is rendered evident by many circumstances. Othos ancestors came from the old nobility of ferentium ferento, descended from princes of etruria. Punishment by nero was inflicted on the christians, a class of men given to a new and mischievous superstition. Suetoniuss biographies of twelve roman emperors from julius caesar to domitian stands today as one of the primary sources of our information on these roman emperors, along with other great roman historians and biographers tacitus, plutarch, and the like. All the lives of the caesars by suetonius are now online at the internet history sourcebooks project.
Upon the accession of emperor hadrian 117, he entered the. Forester, esqde vita caesarum latin, direct translation. His grandfather, marcus salvius otho, the son of a roman knight, and a woman of humble birth who may not even have been freeborn, owed his appointment as. Suetonius in english, translation, latinenglish dictionary. The work was written in 121 during the reign of the emperor hadrian, while suetonius was hadrians personal secretary. Suetonius wrote his lives of the twelve caesars in the reign of vespasian around 70ad. Friend of pliny the younger, suetonius was a studious and careful collector of facts, so that the extant lives of the emperors including julius caesar the dictator to domitian are invaluable.
Suetonius chapter numbers are in brackets after mine book seven. For in the most frequented part of the town, there was, not long since, a street named the octavian. The lives of the twelve caesars by gaius suetonius. He chronicled the extraordinary careers of julius, augustus, tiberius, caligula, claudius, nero, vespasian, and domitian and the rest in technicolour terms. This book, detailing the lives of the twelve roman emperors who were known as caesarsome by a family connection to julius caesar, some just as a titleis. The twelve caesars is a set of twelve biographies of julius caesar and the first eleven emperors of the roman empire. Caesar also bribed a man titus labienus to bring a charge of high treason against gaius rabirius 63bc who had rendered a notable service to the senate by repressing the seditious activities of the tribune lucius appuleius saturninus in 100bc. About the life of the caesars, commonly known as the twelve caesars, is a set of twelve biographies of julius caesar and the first 11 emperors of the.
The national endowment for the humanities provided support for entering this text. It is estimated that livys the history of rome was written between 27 and 9 bc and covers the legends of aeneas, the fall of troy, the citys founding in 753 bc, and livys account ends with the reign of emperor augustus. The lives of the twelve caesars suetonius the translation by philemon holland revised for the present edition, with an introduction, by moses hadas and illustrated with paintings by salvatore fiume fine condition protected in a clean, sturdy, book box. We would like to show you a description here but the site wont allow us. In this book you can learn about the early empire, the laws and traditions if thats what you want.
Book i julius caesar a new freely downloadable translation. After the dismissal of both men for some breach of court etiquette, suetonius. Book iv gaius caligula a new freely downloadable translation. Some foxing to the closed page edges, otherwise near fine. Suetonius life of augustus is the most commonly read ancient account of the life of romes first emperor, presenting a mass of historical and biographical detail about both his public and personal lives. His translation, however, was very diffuse, and retained most of the. The internet history sourcebooks project is located at the history department of fordham university. This volume provides the first largescale commentary on suetonius work in english, drawing out what is unique about suetonius information, discussing how it relates to. Nov 18, 2014 buy the twelve caesars by suetonius isbn. Life of augustus, 63 bce14 ce life of claudius, source. Notably, unlike tacitus, suetonius does not associate this punishment with the fire that swept rome. The work, written in ad 121 during the reign of the emperor hadrian, was the most popular work of suetonius. About the life of the caesars, commonly known as the twelve caesars, is a set of twelve biographies of julius caesar and the first 11 emperors of the roman empire written by gaius suetonius tranquillus.
The twelve caesars annotated and over 8 million other books are available for amazon. The work, written in 121 during the reign of the emperor hadrian. Rives has sensitively updated robert gravess now classic translation, reinstating latin terms and updating vocabulary while retaining the liveliness of the original. Suetonius twelve caesars is a key narrative source for the period it covers and, unlike tacitus, it has survived entire and is uninterrupted. A dictionary of greek and roman antiquities 1890, vesta. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.
A dictionary of greek and roman antiquities 1890, gens. Book club edition of translation first published in 1957. The twelve caesars, often titled lives of the caesars in english, is a collection of 12 biographies covering julius caesar and the first 11 emperors of the roman empire in historical order. An essential primary source on roman history and a fascinating achievement of scholarship covering a critical period in the empire as private secretary to the emperor hadrian, the scholar suetonius had access to the imperial archives and used them along with eyewitness accounts to produce one of the most colourful biographical works in history. The lives of the twelve caesars by suetonius audio book. Suetonius tranquillus, the lives of the twelve caesars, to which are added his lives of the grammarians, rhetoricians, and poets.
1078 1267 1615 1060 1034 1204 1570 155 1286 452 187 1239 584 612 715 1476 1421 1595 1045 549 86 1560 221 1405 313 371 355 444 456 710 315 1121 312 258 1078 261 763