The Twelve Caesars: Illustrated Edition (Paperback) - Softcover

Suetonius

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140054162 ISBN 13: 9780140054163

Publisher: Penguin Books, 1979

Synopsis

Covering the Roman rulers from Julius Caesar to Domitian, this remains one of the richest and most fascinating of all Latin histories. Suetonius gathered much of his information from eye-witnesses, checking his facts carefully and quoting conflicting evidence without bias. But his history is also the most vivid and the raciest account we have of scandalous and amusing incidents in the domestic lives of the first Caesars.

About this title

Review:

Born in 60 A.D., Suetonius served for several years as secretary to the Roman emperor Hadrian. His years in the palaces and halls of imperial government served him well when he set out to write this oftentimes eye-popping, tell-all account of the doings of the first 12 emperors, from Julius to Domitian, who make the good fellas of Mafia renown seem tame by comparison. From Suetonius we learn that Augustus was afraid of lightning and thunder and carried a piece of seal skin as protection against them; that Caligula slept with his mother and his sister; and that Nero outlawed mimes in Rome--which may mean that he wasn't such a bad man after all. Suetonius doesn't hesitate to say when he's reporting gossip that he has not personally verified, but what gossip it is! This translation, by the noted classicist Robert Graves, serves the ancient chronicler very well indeed.

From the Publisher:

9 1.5-hour cassettes

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Publication date: 1979
• ISBN 10: 0140054162
• ISBN 13: 9780140054163
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288
• Editor: Grant Michael