This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Suetonius, Ancient History Encyclopedia - Biography of Suetonius, British Broadcasting Corporation - Biography of Suetonius, Suetonius - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). We use cookies for essential site functions and for social media integration. 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 Caesars). The work is dramatic, and packed with incident. A friend and protégé of the government official and letter writer Pliny the Younger, he seems to have studied and then abandoned the law as a career. These gossip details, no doubt, were a major factor in Suetonius’ popularity in his own lifetime. Suetonius (Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus) was born c. 69AD, probably in Hippo Regius in North Africa, (modern Annaba, in north-eastern Algeria), and died sometime after 122AD. - Chapters 9-19.2 deal with the good start to, and various positive aspects of, his principate. Retrieved from https://www.ancient.eu/Suetonius/. Also uncertain are his place of birth (perhaps either Umbria or Hippo Regius in Numidia) and the year of his death. Above all he was unrhetorical, unpretentious, and capable of molding complex events into lucid expression. His sketches of the habits and appearance of the emperors are invaluable, but, like Plutarch, he used “characteristic anecdote” without exhaustive inquiry into its authenticity. Then various aspects of the person’s public life are described such as wars waged, rivalries, public events they sponsored, and political reforms made with a few anecdotes of private habits thrown in. soon became proverbial. [On Tiberius] Even as a young officer he was such a hard drinker that his name, Tiberius Claudius Nero, was displaced by the nickname 'Biberius Caldius Mero' – meaning 'Drinker of hot wine with no water added'. 1 The port of Rome.. 2 The Romans, in their passionate devotion to the amusements of the circus and the theatre, were divided into factions, who had their favourites among the racers and actors, the former being distinguished by the colours of the party to which they belonged. 1: The Lives of the Caesars--Julius. De situatie: Caligula is naar het noorden getrokken en heeft gevochten aan de Rijn. Because all of them murdered their mothers'. He also refrains from inserting his own moralising judgments, something both earlier and contemporary writers could not resist doing. He produced another collection of biographies titled On Illustrious Men (De viris illustribus) which described the lives and works of various scholars, poets and rhetoricians, including Virgil, Horace, and Lucan. The Twelve Caesars is probably the most in depth book ever written about the personal lives of the twelve caesars. Suetonius even suggested that Caligula's name itself was a predictor of his assassination, noting that every caesar named Gaius, such as the dictator Gaius Julius Caesar, had been assassinated (a statement which is not entirely accurate; Julius Caesar's father died from natural causes, as did Augustus). In addition to fragments of Illustrious Writers, which include short biographies of Virgil, Horace, and Lucan, his main work extant is The Twelve Caesars. Suetonius wrote with firmness and brevity. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Concorde flights between England and the United States took a full day. Get exclusive access to content from our 1768 First Edition with your subscription. The Roman Empire and its predecessor the Roman Republic produced... Four busts of Roman emperors: Domitian (top left), Titus (top right... Suetonius, Vol. Augustus. Ancient History Encyclopedia Foundation is a non-profit organization. De vita Caesarum is still exciting reading. Volgens Suetonius een grote schertsvertoning maar de grafstenen in Mainz vertellen een ander verhaal, serieuzer. Suetonius, Nero. Nevertheless, Suetonius was not intending to write a comprehensive history of these great men but rather provide an insight into their strengths and frailties. The Ancient History Encyclopedia logo is a registered EU trademark. "Suetonius." License. His special interests include pottery, architecture, world mythology and discovering the ideas that all civilizations share in common. Our latest articles delivered to your inbox, once a week: Numerous educational institutions recommend us, including Oxford University and Michigan State University and University of Missouri. We have also been recommended for educational use by the following publications: Ancient History Encyclopedia Foundation is a non-profit organization registered in Canada. [On Domitian] He also claimed that the lot of all Emperors is necessarily wretched, since only their assassination can convince the public that the conspiracies against their lives are real. This work may be freely reproduced, stored, and transmitted, electronically or otherwise, for any non-commercial purpose. Suetonius, you will remember, treats his subjects thematically, not annalistically. Suetonius is a major source of information on the life of Caligula, his uncle Claudius, and the heritage of Vespasian (the relevant sections of the Annals by Tacitus his contemporary being lost). The biographies are not wholly flattering nor are events told in chronological sequence but they reveal some candid details of Rome’s first citizens. Some Rights Reserved (2009-2020) under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license unless otherwise noted. Suetonius’ family was of the knightly class, or equites. Suetonius goes to great lengths to reveal the way these men really were, as human beings.
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