Suetonius

Julius Caesar remains the greatest, most often used example of the titular “mighty ruler”. This appearance of magnificence stems from the interesting, sometimes bizarre history of his life and accomplishments. For example, Caesar was quite adept in the art of waging war and fighting, being skilled in horseriding and swordsmanship. He always led his army personally, yet not on horseback, as was the norm; he usually ran with his troops barefoot, rain or shine. Whenever his troops were losing,…

Scholar Tamsyn Barton continues with a critical examination of Suetonius, declaring that the ancient historian was more of a rhetorician than a non-biased scholar. Throughout her essay “The inventio of Nero: Suetonius,” Barton points out Suetonius employed a known rhetorical mode of writing, which was used for criticizing politicians in ancient Rome. Therefore, the people of Rome would have understood Suetonius’ words were not meant to be taken as factual information on the emperors’ lives.…

to a certain extent, the epitome of evil. In Lives of the Twelve Caesar's Suetonius delves into the life of Caligula, describing both his brief reign as emperor (37-41 AD) and his personal life. It can be gathered from Suetonius' work that Caligula was self-absorbed, indulgent, cruel etc. There are little, if any, positive aspects associated with either his reign as emperor or his personal life. Some of the most…

paint a different picture of Nero than Tacitus and Suetonius. Tacitus begins the story of Nero’s reign with the murder of Junius Silanus by his mother Agrippina the younger, projecting how Nero’s reign mirrors its malicious beginnings. Suetonius gives a detailed account of Nero’s ancestors, writing anecdotes of their horrid deeds, and describing them as irresolute, arrogant, cruel, extravagant, detestable, and dishonest . The text book mentions Suetonius’ omens on Nero’s birth to “summarize the…

The Death of Caesar was a turning point in Roman history. It started a civil war that resulted in the eventual creation of the Roman Empire, and the end of the Roman Republic. Three accounts that portray the murder of Caesar: Suetonius’ Life of Caesar, Plutarch’s Life of Caesar, and Nicolaus’ Life of Augustus all tell separate stories, even though they were all derived from the same event. All of the stories are technically the same story; Caesar was warned by omen, dreams, and soothsayers…

was the start of a civil war. The sources Suetonius’ “The Deified Julius Caesar” in Lives of the Caesars, Plutarch’s “Caesar” in Roman Lives, and Julius Caesar’s The Civil War each tell of Julius Caesar’s Civil War describing his political manipulation and rise to power involving the famous crossing of the Rubicon. Being able to distinguish between…

Taking Over Rome: Someone Was Going to Do It "Greatness might have cost the Romans their freedom, but it gave them the world" - Tom Holland Julius Caesar completely changed Rome. He initiated transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. Without this morph in government, Ancient Roman culture as it is known to the modern world never would have existed. This is because the Pax Romana, during which Roman culture really developed, would not have been started by Augustus if…

When analyzing Roman society it becomes clear that there is a significant amount of resources available and that further analysis is required to determine whether or not an accurate representation has been achieved. It is clear that many of the primary sources available are often biased and therefore must be compared to other sources on similar events to gain an accurate idea of Roman culture. Through the addition of other sources such as ancient currency it is possible to gain an accurate idea…

The second being Londinium in which the governor Suetonius marched, however he received intelligence telling him that Boudicca’s forces outnumbered his and he retreated the city to find a more advantageous battleground leaving the city do be destroyed and ransacked like the city before it. The final city to be attacked was Verulamium; Suetonius offered the citizens safe passage with his army away from the city. Many followed. However those that…

studying at University of Michigan and Harvard university. Mackay views the first triumvirate as 'incorrect and misleading', giving the audience an insight into lack of unity, in which the title suggests. Unlike ancient historians, such as Plutarch and Suetonius who merely tell the story of the First Triumvirate,…