Product Description

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 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 and the recovery that came with his successors. 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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18135 in Books
• Published on: 2007-10-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 464 pages

About the Author
Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus was probably born in AD69 - the famous ‘year of the four Emperors’. From the letters of Suetonius’ close friend Pliny the Younger we learn that he practiced briefly at the bar, avoided political life, and became chief secretary to the Emperor Hadrian (AD117-38). Suetonius seems to have lived to a good age and probably died around the year AD140. James Rives teaches in the area of Classical Studies at Stanford University. Professor Rives is currently serving as Review Editor for Phoenix, Journal of the Classical Association of Canada.

Customer Reviews

The Private Lives of Rome's Good and Bad Rulers
The Twelve Caesars was the first ancient book I ever read. Before then I had only known Classical history from the books written by modern day historians. In the intervening years I have read many other primary sources from this period, but Suetonius's work still stands as the richest and most readable look on Rome's Emperors.

Suetonius recounts the successes and failures as well as the private lives of the first twelve rulers of Rome after the fall of the Republic . He begins with Julius Caesar, then discusses Augustus at length before covering Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian, Titus and Domitian.

What makes the book a joy to read are the inclusion of many fascinating anecdotes - many of them are highly amusing, disgusting, bizarre or funny.
He tells us about Caesar's embarassment about his baldhead, Claudius's mocked fight with a giant whale at the port of Ostia, Augustus's love of having the hairs on his legs flattened by warm walnuts and Caligula's ban on the mention of goats in his presence. These descriptions help bring the old emperors to life - You'll never see them in the same light the next time you see a solemn bust of Galba or Domitian at a museum.

Suetonius has often been considered an unreliable witness by many historians, but Michael Grant discusses the veracity of his work at the beginning of the book, showing us that the old court historian was much more reliable and less biased than many would suppose.

Robert Graves's translation is wonderful. The text is lucid and very readable. Graves would go on to use the information gained from this work to write his seminal novels 'I, Claudius' and 'Claudius the God', which were made into a highly acclaimed series in 1976.

The book also contains genealogical tables, maps, a discussion on coin portraits, a glossary of unfamiliar Roman terms, a Chronological table of the reigns of the emperors, a Key to place names (ancient and modern), a further reading list, and an index.

This is a must have for anyone interested in the early history of the Roman Empire, or anyone who loves Classical civilisation.

Pili canis
This is great.
Sordid stories about 12 characters who all seem to have their good points, but for whom most are outweighed by the bad. Makes you wonder how the empire ever functioned.
Starts with Julius Caesar and works its way through Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Vespasian etc. This isn't a book for prudes.
A simpler read than Tacitus The Annals of Imperial Rome (Classics) and generally a lot more fun.