Suetonius: Lives of the Twelve Caesars

In The Twelve Caesars, Suetonius examines the amazing and sometimes bizarre lives of the early rulers of the Roman Empire, beginning with Julius Caesar and ending with Domitian. Composed as biographies rather than histories, these Lives delve into their physical attributes and private behavior in addition to official public acts and careers, calling out qualities and actions worthy of praise or blame. Suetonius served as an imperial secretary under the later emperors Trajan and Hadrian, and he used his access to imperial correspondence and archives as sources for his portraits, along with things like graffiti and popular rumors and scandals. The resulting work gives us an exposé of the virtues and vices of the emperors, exploring the relationship between character and power.

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