Lives of the Twelve Caesars (Classics of World Literature) - Softcover

Suetonius

Softcover

ISBN 10: 185326475X ISBN 13: 9781853264757

Publisher: Wordsworth Editions, 1997

Synopsis

Translated by H.M. Bird With an Introduction by Tamsyn Barton

Suetonius, chronicler of the extraordinary personalities of the first dynasties to rule the Roman Empire, was the greatest Latin biographer. His colourful work, Lives of the Twelve Caesars, is, along with Tacitus, the major source for the period from Julius Caesar to Domitian. He sets out in vivid detail a great range of aspects illuminating the emperor's characters, their habits, from table to bedchamber - their intrigues, their loves and their deaths.

Himself a court official, he quotes from a variety of sources, from the official and private documents as well as from old anecdotes, gossip, songs and jokes, giving an unparalleled oblique view of his subjects. Long familiar to students of classics, he found a new audience as the main source for Robert Graves' novels and the subsequent television series I, Claudius.

About this title

Synopsis:

This text by Suetonius, a Latin biographer, is a major source for the period from Julius Caesar to Domitian. He sets out a great range of aspects illuminating the emperors' characters, their habits - from table to bedchamber - their intrigues, their loves and their deaths. Himself, a court official, Suetonius quotes from a variety of sources, from official and private documents as well as from old anecdotes, gossip, songs and jokes.

About the Author:

Tom Griffith has also translated Plato's The Republic, Symposium, Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Phaedo, and Phaedrus.

About this edition

• Publisher: Wordsworth Editions
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 185326475X
• ISBN 13: 9781853264757
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 384