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Lives of the Caesars
Lives of the Caesars | Suetonius, Catharine Edwards
The Lives of the Caesars include the biographies of Julius Caesar and the eleven subsequent emperors: Augustus, Tiberius, Gaius Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitelius, Vespasian, Titus, Domitian. Suetonius composed his material from a variety of sources, without much concern for their reliability. His biographies consist of the ancestry and career of each emperor in turn; however, his interest is not so much analytical or historical, but anecdotal and salacious which gives rise to a lively and provocative succession of portraits. For example, the account of Julius Caesar does not simply mention his crossing of the Rubicon and his assassination, but draws attention to his dark piercing eyes and attempts to conceal his baldness. The life of Caligula presents a vivid picture of the emperor's grotesque appearance, his waywardness, and his insane cruelties. The format and style of Suetonius' Lives of the Caesars was to set the tone for biography throughout western literature--his work remains thoroughly readable and full of interest. Indeed, it was Robert Graves's primary reference source when he was writing I, Claudius, and those who have read his book will enjoy the original accounts as set down here. About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
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rwmg
The Twelve Caesars | Suetonius
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rwmg @Yoricke_SouthAfrica The photo on the left is one I took of a bust of Vespasian at Fishbourne Roman Palace (edited) 3y
Yoricke_SouthAfrica @rwmg Oh wow. Thank you so much for the tag in this book series. I am enjoying the Vespasian series so much. What an amazing photo. The history of Rome is fascinating. 3y
13 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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The_Penniless_Author
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Bought this at Half Price Books for a couple bucks during my obsession with Ancient Rome. Contains what might be the oldest secular/historical mention of Jesus in any text.

"(The Emperor Claudius) banished from Rome all the Jews, who were continually making disturbances at the instigation of one Chrestus."

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bernadette
The Twelve Caesars | Suetonius
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Enjoying this translation by Robert Graves. I was amused to come across the quotation that came up in Westworld last week although Graves‘ translation is different from the show: “...he saw a statue of Alexander the Great in the Temple of Hercules, and was overheard to sigh impatiently: vexed, it seems, that at an age when Alexander had already conquered the whole world, he himself had done nothing in the least epoch-making.”

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Eyelit
The Twelve Caesars | Suetonius
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Mehso-so

I feel like I am in the minority on this one. I didn‘t love it as others seem to do. I found this to be 1/2 fascinating and 1/2 tedious. So. 🤷🏻‍♀️
I guess I could call this the original ‘men behaving badly‘ and leave it at that. 😄
A #freakyfriday read carried over into May

Graywacke 1/2 fascinating, 1/2 tedious sounds about right to me. Cool that you‘ve now read it, anyway. 7y
83 likes1 comment
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Eyelit
The Twelve Caesars | Suetonius
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Some light #busreading on the way to PT this fine Friday morning 😄

This is a #freakyfriday pick that sounds interesting but outside my wheelhouse - I rarely read biographies, but when I do they are usually about women 😃

I‘ve only heard good things about this, so I‘m looking forward to it!

CoffeeCatsBooks Get ready for people behaving badly! I‘m reading The Housekeeper and the Professor. 7y
EmeraldSorceress 😅 I thought the image on the cover was a real person... and then I saw his eyes... I could‘ve screamed! 😅 Anyways, hope the books good! 7y
75 likes2 comments
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writerlibrarian
Twelve Caesars | Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus
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Scary monsters are real. Meet the 12 Casears. Suetonius tells the stories of these super creeps. Entertaining and scary. #septemBOWIE

Marchpane Ooh, interesting choice! 👏👏 7y
Cinfhen Cover is creepy! 7y
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utterKATEness
Twelve Caesars | Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus
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"Professor, my friend's cat ate my homework." #NotMyCat #CatsOfLitsy

JoeStalksBeck Lmao! 7y
14 likes1 comment
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Seshat
The Twelve Caesars | Suetonius
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24 likes1 stack add
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beckygracelea
The Twelve Caesars | Suetonius
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#Riotgrams Day 6 - #numbertitles Two of my favourite Folio editions for today's addition.

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FairyHighRoad
The Twelve Caesars | Suetonius
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In honor of the Ides of March, this week's #recommendsday is The Twelve Caesars by Suetonius. I read it back in college and still find myself enjoying it over 10 years later.

9 likes1 stack add
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writerlibrarian
Twelve Caesars | Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus
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Pickpick

Even if it's over a 1000 years old, it's fun, dramatic, has all the elements of an awesome soap opera. Lust, murder, incest, poison, assassination, madness, heroic heroes and heroines, star-crossed lovers. You name it, it's there. The most difficult part for me was the Nero era. A bit too much murder and madness and very little goodness. My favourite is Vespasian with a close Julius, the one that started it all.

MrBook Sounds awesome 😎👌🏻 8y
LeahBergen This is referenced in a lot of books that I've read. 👍🏼 8y
writerlibrarian @MrBook @LeahBergen Despite being an ancient text it's an easy read. Even the version you can get at Gutenberg is a fun read. The modern historians do say about it that it was like the tabloids of the time. So it's like our own Paris Match for Roman emperors. (edited) 8y
MrBook 😎👍🏻 8y
22 likes1 stack add4 comments
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TomAllman
Lives of the Caesars | Suetonius, Catharine Edwards
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Not sure why I skipped ahead to Caligula...

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CateKeesling
Twelve Caesars | Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus
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Juicy dish about the private lives of the Caesars. Oh how power corrupts...

26 likes4 stack adds
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MadameMargaret
Twelve Caesars | Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus
Pickpick

This is Roman history as if written by People magazine. If you liked "I, Claudius" this is the book for you.