Book 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.
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.
