Suetonius, lives of the caesars, volume i loeb classical. For in the most frequented part of the town, there was, not long since, a street named the octavian. His place of birth is disputed, but most scholars place it in hippo regius, a small north african town in numidia, in modernday algeria. This integrated electronic edition will contain latin texts, english translations, and commentaries, together with links to the extensive lexical and geographical reference material available at perseus.
It stands on the verge of the pontine marshes, on the road to naples. 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. The lives of the twelve caesars online library of liberty. Roman scholar and official, bestknown as the author of the lives of the twelve caesars. Life roman official, first quarter of the second century. We would like to show you a description here but the site wont allow us. Gaius suetonius tranquillus was probably born about 69 ad, a date deduced from his remarks describing himself as a young man twenty years after neros death. Suetonius was interested mainly in presenting facts rather than in analyzing the historical causes or the psychological motives of the events he recorded. The twelve caesars annotated kindle edition by suetonius.
Suetonius s account of neros death is justly famous. Augustus left his res gestae, which have become a fundamental historical source to outline the positive aspects of his life and rule. Life of augustus lxiii meant the elder pliny who filled up thei r annals with the dimensions of beams ann. All the lives of the caesars by suetonius are now online at the internet history sourcebooks project. View notes suetonius life of augustus from hist 481d at binghamton 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 other ancient. Wishing to preserve cleopatras life, so she might adorn his triumph, he had psylli snakecharmers brought, believing her to be dying from the bite of an asp, to suck the poison from her selfinflicted wound. The value of the lives of the caesars lies not only in what the work reveals about the age in which it was written but also in the material provided for reconstructing the history of the reigns of the emperors whose biographies it contains. Having given as it were a summary of augustus life, i shall now take up its various phases one by one, not in chronological order, but by classes, to make the account clearer. An octavian street runs through the busiest part of the city, and an altar is shown there consecrated by one octavius, a local commander.
Pdf a comparative analysis between suetonius life of. The practice of giving precise references to source material did not come into common use until the nineteenth century. Suetonius takes great pains to stress that augustus was right in promoting tiberius 21. Suetonius synonyms, suetonius pronunciation, suetonius translation, english dictionary definition of suetonius.
The woman to whom augustus was married most of his life was. Suetonius life of augustus mail billthayer latine franais. In the end, mark antony sued for peace, but augustus drove him to commit suicide, and personally viewed the body. Scholarly focus on this pair has led to the widespread belief that suetonius had read tacitus annals, which.
Nothing is more unpredictable than the mob, nothing more obscure than public opinion, nothing more deceptive than the whole political system. Classics how useful is suetonius life of augustus as. Septicius clarus, prefect of the praetorian guard, his lives of the caesars. Another, that the whole period his life covered, from birth to death, should be called the augustan age, and so entered in the calendar. Lives of the caesars oxford worlds classics suetonius. His major work, the lives of the twelve caesars, was published, presumably in different chunks, in the course of hadrians reign between ad 1178. However, writers in the ancient world were often at pains to stress that they had undertaken research and that their portrait of the past was supported by evidence. The scandal of this banquet was the greater because of dearth and famine in the land at the time, and on the following day there was an outcry that the gods had eaten all the grain and that caesar was in truth apollo, but apollo the tormentor, a surname under which the god was worshipped in one part of the city. Excerpts from suetonius, the lives of the caesars, book ii, augustus. The loeb classical library edition of suetonius is in two volumes.
Unlike plutarchs slightly earlier chronological lives, suetonius was thematic. Little is known about his life except that he was briefly the private secretary of emperor hadrian. Also uncertain are his place of birth perhaps either umbria or hippo regius in numidia and the year of his death. That the family of the octavii was of the first distinction in velitrae, 1 is rendered evident by many circumstances. Rolfe, suetonius, the lives of the twelve caesars, london, 1914. Life of augustus lxv we have here a complex relationship, perhaps summed up in suetonius personal gift to hadrian of a statuette of augustus bearing the obscure name thurinus, now kept in the imperial shrine aug.
Part of a series which includes a volume on each of the julioclaudian emperor. Whether youve loved the book or not, if you give your honest and detailed thoughts then people will find new books that are right for them. But attempts against augustus s life were made by men from even the lowest walks of life. As hirtius lost his life in battle during this war, and pansa shortly afterwards from a. Other works by suetonius concern the daily life of rome, politics, oratory, and the lives of famous writers, including poets, historians, and grammarians. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. Little is known of gaius suetonius paulinuss early life. A few of these books have partially survived, but many have been lost.
Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books youve read. These two documents both are listed under the heading the historians of. Life of augustus, 63 bce14 ce life of claudius, source. There are many indications that the octavian family was in days of old a distinguished one at velitrae. One senator proposed that since augustus began his life in september, and it ended in august, the name of the latter month should be transferred to the former. The lives of the twelve caesars, to which are added his lives of the grammarians, rhetoricians, and poets. An english translation, augmented with the biographies of contemporary statesmen, orators, poets. Names have been expanded in places to assist identification. The earliest record of his career dates from 42 ad, during the reign of the emperor claudius, when he suppressed a revolt in mauretania. Electronic texts and resources the stoa and the perseus project will be collaborating on a new electronic edition of suetoniuss lives of the caesars.
When studying the oral biographies of antiquity, the primary question that writers sought to answer was who is this man. How to be a bad emperor an ancient guide to truly terrible leaders ancient wisdom for modern readers. His book lives of the caesars covers the emperors from julius caesar through domitian. Accompanied by an introduction which investigates the career of suetonius, the date of the lives of the caesars, the structure of the life of augustus, the various sources utilized by suetonius, and the way in which the reader should approach this complex text, the commentary also looks to examine suetonius work not just as a repository of. This article discusses the relationship of tacitus to his younger contemporary suetonius, challenging the view that suetonius wrote a supplement to the historian. Terms in this set 29 suetonius says augustus refused this honour even in the provinces, unless it was in the name of rome as well as himself. Dec, 2004 free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. We have a brilliant team of more than 60 support team members looking after discussions on the student room, helping to make it a fun, safe and useful place to hang out. 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.
Livia having married augustus when she was pregnant was, within three months afterwards, delivered. Ive been set an essay, and ive no idea how to go about this. Sins in the life of tiberius according to suetonius by john. Books by suetonius sorted by popularity project gutenberg. How useful is suetonius life of augustus as a source for evaluating augustus reign. 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 work, written in ad 121 during the reign of the emperor hadrian, was the most popular work of suetonius, at that time hadrians personal secretary, and is. Suetonius tranquillus, the lives of the twelve caesars, to which are added his lives of the grammarians, rhetoricians, and poets. After augustus death, tiberius was very much concerned with the status roman affairs.
Suetonius definition of suetonius by the free dictionary. After the dismissal of both men for some breach of court etiquette, suetonius apparently retired. Suetonius life of augustus 52 emphasises augustus restraint with regard to divine honours and may have been written with the intention of contradicting. We find many anecdotes, much gossip of the imperial court, and various details of character and personal appearance. May 10, 2016 his major work, the lives of the twelve caesars, was published, presumably in different chunks, in the course of hadrians reign between ad 1178. Billthayer latine franais italiano help up home thiswebpagereproducesoneof thelivesofthetwelvecaesars by c.
Sins in the life of tiberius according to suetonius by. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the twelve caesars annotated. After reading augustus res gestae divi augusti the achievements of the divine augustus, it seems that augustus actually is a god. 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. Billthayer latine franais italiano help up home thiswebpagereproducesoneof thelivesofthetwelvecaesars by. A strong emphasis was placed on the individuals words and deeds, which were deemed vital to the literary narrative, but it. 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. Afterwards deified from the twelve caesars by gaius suetonius tranquillus translated by robert graves 1965 the octavians, by all accounts, were famous in ancient velitrae. Although a biographer of others, suetonius tells his readers very few details of his own life.
The introductory paragraphs to the life of julius caesar are lost in all manuscripts. Topics generalities publisher modern library new york collection universallibrary contributor. Suetonius served as secretary to the emperor hadrian and became one of the most important historians of the roman empire. Includes readings in augustan authors such as vergil, ovid, and horace as well as the study of augustan art and architecture. The dates and notes in brackets throughout are my insertions, to allow the reader to follow the chronology without using footnotes. Detailed study of the history and culture of the reign of augustus, the first roman emperor 31 bcad 14. Apparently news of an attack by a neighbouring city reached him while he was. The format and style of suetonius lives of the caesars was to set the tone for biography throughout western literaturehis work remains thoroughly readable and full of interest. Then, upon reading suetonius aptlytitled life of gaius caligula, we encounter the exact opposite. The internet history sourcebooks project is located at the history department of fordham university, new york. The following verse, however, was immediately in every ones mouth.
Suetonius article about suetonius by the free dictionary. His entertaining style accounts for the popularity of his works among his contemporaries and later readers. The exact date of birth of suetonius is not known for certain but the most agreed upon range is between 69 and 75 ce. Suetonius depicts augustus and titus as ideal rulers. The life of caligula presents a vivid picture of the emperors grotesque appearance, his waywardness, and his insane cruelties.
835 784 755 767 304 811 594 1296 1096 792 1403 231 222 520 566 1225 887 1085 21 667 582 1379 68 1260 766 560 1227 156 202 1502 349 341 1148 1449 881 36 1375 66 610 836 1424 1156 103 152 1366