The Twelve Caesars

‘Suetonius, in holding up a mirror to these Caesars of diverting legend, displays not solely them however ourselves: half-tempted creatures, whose nice ethical process is to carry in steadiness the angel and the monster inside’ GORE VIDAL

As personal secretary to the Emperor Hadrian, the scholar Suetonius had entry to the imperial archives and used them (together with eyewitness accounts) to supply one of the vibrant biographical works in historical past. The Twelve Caesars chronicles the general public careers and personal lives of the lads who wielded absolute energy over Rome, from the inspiration of the empire underneath Julius Caesar and Augustus to the decline into depravity underneath Nero and the restoration that got here together with his successors. This masterpiece of commentary, immortalized in Robert Graves’s traditional translation, presents us with a gallery of vividly drawn – and all too human – people.

Translated by ROBERT GRAVES
Revised with an Introduction and notes by JAMES B. RIVES