Suetonius provides a lot of information about what these emperors were like along with interesting details of daily roman life along the way. The twelve caesars book ancient history encyclopedia. He chronicled the extraordinary careers of julius, augustus, tiberius, caligula, claudius, nero, vespasian, and domitian and the rest in technicolour terms. Beginning with caesar himself, in the mid first century bc, it ends in ad 96 with domitian and covers the reigns of. The twelve caesars chronicles the public careers and private lives of the men who wielded absolute power over rome, from the foundation of the. 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. 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. The twelve caesars chronicles the public careers and private lives of the men who wielded absolute power over rome, from the. The twelve caesars is a set of twelve biographies of julius caesar and the first 11. A masterpiece of observation, anecdote, and detailed physical description, the twelve caesars presents us with a gallery of vividly drawnand all too humanindividuals. The lives of the twelve caesars by suetonius audio book. Suetonius has a reputation for scandalous writing, the kind of writing seen in the more outlandish celebrity coverage.
The twelve caesars part 1 julius caesar by suetonius duration. The lives of the twelve 12 caesars modern library books series an unexpurgated english edited with notes and an introduction by joseph gavorse gaius suetonius tranquillus published by published by the modern library, new york first thus edition. The history of the twelve caesars by suetonius is one of the most important historical texts of the classical period, and is unique fun in a good translation. You may copy it, give it away or reuse it under the terms of the project gutenberg license included with this ebook or online at. This version of the twelve caesars is the translation by alexander thomson, m.
The twelve caesars the twelve caesars audiobook, by suetonius. The work was written in 121 during the reign of the emperor hadrian, while. In donna leons brunetti series, the commissario often reads the twelve caesars, and i thought it was about time i read the book. The twelve caesars chronicles the public careers and private lives of the men who. They presented some high and low times at the heart of the roman empire. Fox, ma to which is added the anglosaxon version of the metres of. An english translation, augmented with the biographies of contemporary statesmen, orators, poets, and other associates. The twelve caesars chronicles the public careers and private lives of the men who wielded absolute power over rome, from the foundation of the empire under julius caesar and augustus, to the decline into depravity and civil war under nero. The lives of the twelve caesars, complete to which are added, his lives of the grammarians, rhetoricians, and poets author.
It conveys a very accurate picture of court life in rome and contains some of the raciest and most salacious material to be found in all of ancient literature. This masterpiece of observation, immortalized in robert gravess classic. The family moved to rome, with a large throng of dependants, either shortly after the foundation of the city in 753bc, at the instigation of titus tatius, who ruled jointly with. In this book you can learn about the early empire, the laws and traditions if thats what you want. Like no other work before or since, the twelve caesars has continued to shock, titillate, and entertain audiences for 2,000 years. The lives of twelve caesars gaius suetonius tranquillus. Unfortunately, the translator has added long passages of historical context and analysis between the original entry. The twelve caesars by suetonius on free audio book download.
The work was considered highly significant in antiquity and remains a primary source on roman history. Audio download audio cd suetonius wrote his lives of the twelve caesars in the reign of vespasian around 70ad. They bore the perilous responsibility of governing an empire comparable in its gigantic magnitude and. 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 twelve caesars, unabridged audiobook on cd with ebook. Not only is this a most engaging translation by robert graves, author of i claudius, but there is a. Her pregnancy at the time of the marriage led to suspicions that drusus was the result of his stepfathers adultery with her.
I do not read latin, so i read the updated robert graves translation. 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. He chronicled the extraordinary careers of julius, augustus, tiberius, caligula, claudius, nero, vespasian and domitian and the rest in techicolor terms. This penguin classic of the twelve caesars by suetonius is the perfect place to start for anybody interested in ancient grecoroman history and culture. The work was written in 121 during the reign of the emperor hadrian, while suetonius was hadrians personal secretary. From the letters of suetonius close friend pliny the younger.
The twelve caesars chronicles the public careers and private lives of the men who wielded absolute power over rome, from the foundation of the empire under julius caesar and augustus to the decline into depravity under nero and the recovery that came with his successors. Suetonius, chronicler of the extraordinary personalities of the first dynasties to rule the roman empire, was the greatest latin biographer. The personalities of the twelve caesars of ancient romejulius caesar and the first eleven roman emperors who followed himhave profoundly impressed themselves upon the world. Suetonius twelve caesars is a key narrative source for the period it covers and, unlike tacitus, it has survived entire and is uninterrupted. His colourful work, lives of the twelve caesars, is, along with tacitus, the major source for the period from julius caesar to domitian. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. As private secretary to the emperor hadrian, suetonius gained access to the imperial archives and used them along with carefully gathered eyewitness accounts to produce one of the most colourful biographical works in history. The patrician branch of the claudians there being a plebeian branch too, no less influential and distinguished was originally from regillum, a sabine town.
Drusus the elder, claudius caesars father, who was first named decimus and later nero, was born in 38bc to livia, less than three months after she wedded augustus. With an english translation on opposite pages, notes, introduction, and glossary, by rev. He chronicled the extraordinary careers of julius, augustus, tiberius, caligula, claudius, nero, vespasian, and domitian and. The lives of the twelve caesars by gaius suetonius. Ancient history encyclopedia receives a small commission for each. Enjoyable, humorous at times, and engaging, for those interested in the early principate, read suetoniuss the twelve caesars. Suetonius the twelve cesars if a friend asked me to tell him if it is worth it to read suetonius book the twelve cesars, i would say it is.
On the life of the caesars concentrates on the acts and personalities of the julioclaudians and their immediate. By purchasing books through this website, you support our nonprofit organization. Buy lives of the twelve caesars abridged edition by suetonius, jacobi, derek isbn. Suetonius wrote his lives of the twelve caesars in the reign of vespasian around 70ad. The twelve caesars chronicles the public careers and private lives of the men who wielded absolute power over rome. The twelve caesars was written based on the information of eyewitnesses and public records. The twelve caesars is a set of twelve biographies of julius caesar and the first 11 emperors of the roman empire. Lives of the twelve caesars audiobook by suetonius. Lvii his physical skills and powers of endurance book one. The lives of the twelve caesars full audiobook youtube.
It is important to note however, that the writing style of suetonius day was much different from our own. About the author gaius suetonius tranquillus was probably born in ad69 the famous year of the four emperors. Vespasian by suetonius free ebook project gutenberg. This book, though old, is still very interesting and informative today. 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 colorful biographical works in history. Listen to lives of the twelve caesars by gaius suetonius. A masterpiece of observation, anecdote and detailed physical description, the twelve caesars presents us with a gallery of vividly drawn and all too human individuals.
1657 1114 308 619 1118 1094 46 1232 973 201 1074 971 1075 895 140 507 383 309 487 207 608 277 1419 1603 1144 418 530 443 350 358 871 932 1077 750 1408 1631 1420 548 371 1410 607 957 267 455 1223