How does Suetonius describe Caesar?

How does Suetonius describe Caesar?

Upon viewing this statue, Suetonius reports that Caesar fell to his knees, weeping. When asked what was wrong, Caesar sighed, and said that by the time Alexander was his (Caesar’s) age, he had conquered the whole world. Suetonius describes Caesar’s gift at winning the loyalty and admiration of his soldiers.

What is Suetonius known for?

Suetonius, in full Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, (born 69 CE, probably Rome [Italy]—died after 122), Roman biographer and antiquarian whose writings include De viris illustribus (“Concerning Illustrious Men”), a collection of short biographies of celebrated Roman literary figures, and De vita Caesarum (Lives of the …

Why did Suetonius write The Twelve Caesars?

Suetonius wanted to portray the lives of the Roman Emperors up to Domitian, and was rather free in his characterizations of them.

Who translated The Twelve Caesars?

Robert Graves himself
Suetonius’s work describes the lives of Rome’s first 12 leaders from Julius Caesar to Domitian – hence it is best known today as The Twelve Caesars. This is the title it bears in the paperback Penguin Classics edition, translated by Robert Graves himself in 1957, and still in print today.

Where did Suetonius get his information from?

Suetonius’ sources are authors like Cluvius Rufus, Pliny the Elder, and a collection of letters by the emperor Augustus. As far as we can see, he treats his subject matter more or less objectively. His biographies contain much gossip, but Suetonius does not ignore or misrepresent information from his sources.

Is Suetonius a primary source?

Suetonius’s work would be considered a primary source because as second-century Roman, he is using his work to express his views and opinions on how previous emperors had exercised their power. Suetonius’s work would be considered a secondary source because he wasn’t alive during Julius Caesar’s reign.

What does Suetonius say about Claudius?

I have already explained how much his freedmen and wives controlled Claudius; he behaved towards them more like a slave than an emperor. He gave them honours, army comands, and freedom from penalties and punishments, depending on what each wanted or was interested in at the time.

Who was the last Cesar?

Momyllus Romulus Augustulus
Romulus Augustulus, in full Flavius Momyllus Romulus Augustulus, (flourished 5th century ad), known to history as the last of the Western Roman emperors (475–476). In fact, he was a usurper and puppet not recognized as a legitimate ruler by the Eastern emperor.

Who was the last Roman Caesar?

Romulus Augustus
Romulus Augustus, the last emperor of the Western Roman Empire, is deposed by Odoacer, a German barbarian who proclaims himself king of Italy.

When did Suetonius write his account of Caesar’s death?

On 15 March 44 BCE, the Roman dictator Julius Caesar was murdered. There are several accounts of this incident, but the most famous and probably most accurate is the one written by Caesar’s biographer Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (c. 70-c.

Is Suetonius a secondary source?

What Suetonius thinks of Nero?

Suetonius described Nero as overly preoccupied with singing, once summoning more than 5,000 young men to applaud him while he performed, according to a University of Chicago translation of Suetonius’ “The Lives of the Twelve Caesars.”

How reliable is Suetonius’ the Twelve Caesars?

Historians still debate how reliable The Twelve Caesars is. This is partly because Suetonius clearly has a bias as a member of the Roman aristocracy. As someone working for Trajan and Hadrian, he likely had a political motive in making the emperor Domitian (reigned 81-96 CE) look bad.

How many emperors did Suetonius write about?

Finally, it should be noted that Suetonius only lived through the lives of the last five emperors he described; the first subject of The Twelve Caesars, Julius Caesar, died just under a century before he was born.

What kind of sources did Suetonius use?

Nonetheless, as someone who worked in the imperial archives, Suetonius would have had complete access to a wealth of first-hand materials, like letters, memoirs, wills, political decrees, and so on, dating back to the time of Julius Caesar, and he often cites such sources.

What is the structure of the Twelve Caesars?

Rather than being a straightforward historical narrative like the works of Tacitus or Cassius Dio, The Twelve Caesars is organized as a group of separate biographies.