Suetonius: Strengths and Weaknesses

Cassius is a talented general, and does not like the fact that Caesar has become `god-like' in the Roman people's minds (see above quote Act I, Scene ii). Cassius can be seen as a

Suetonius was born around 68-9 AD, possibly in Hippo Regius (Suetonius xviii). His mentor described him as ‘scholarly and honorable’ and many held him in high regard (xix). Suetonius completed The Twelve Caesars sometime during the 120s during the peak of his career (xxiii). Suetonius conveys his opinion of each emperor indirectly through how he portrays their vices and virtues. According to Suetonius, a Roman leaders good and bad qualities included their military successes, relations with the citizens of Rome, mental stability, and private relationships. Suetonius believed that Augustus embodied many of the characteristics of a good leader.

Tacitus, Suetonius and Plutarch, although major historians of their time, were not completely reliable and (now we realise) their works contained bias, mainly a result of upon the writers personal opinion and beliefs. Another cause of bias within primary text was the influence of the Roman elite hierarchy upon the contemporary writers of the time. Plutarch himself admitted this in many statements and claimed to not be a historian but a biographer. Plutarch regarded biography as a different class of writing, and his primary goal was to entertain the audience, as opposed to informing them. He did this by writing only what the reader wanted to read rather than the actual event that had taken place. This is the number one reason why much of ancient Roman sources are unreliable, and biased.

Suetonius offers a wider treatment of Tiberius than Tacitus, at first him presenting him in a much lesser hostile light and then increasing his disapproval as his account unfolds. Tacitus however seems to be disapproving throughout with short sports of approval filtering in when Tiberius has acted in a way beneficial to the Roman public. However, Suetonius is very similar in some ways especially his great disapproval of Tiberius displaying him as a sexual nymphomaniac (Suetonius, Lives of the Caesars 43.1). In Tacitus, the engaged nobility comes through with an outpouring of condemnation against Tiberius for his atrocities as Emperor and angrily depicts a man who can role-play depending on whom he is addressing and whom is so disliked by the public that they hurl insults at him near death.

During the the Gallic Wars, Julius Caesar started writing his own memoirs on what is going on in Gaul and the battles taking place,. Since he was away for a long time,he wrote and published his memoirs each year, from 58 to 51 BCE. They helped give the Romans a sense of what’s going on with Julius. Sometimes Caesar encrypted his messages that were sent by substituting Roman letters with Greek letters, for safety purposes if one of the enemies intercepted the writings.. Caesar might have been biased with some of his writings because these memoirs were important perception of his image, while he was away for 8 years. Even though there might have been bias towards him, it tells us a lot about his life and military perspective.

First, Cassius was one who was involved in the murder of Julius Caesar. In document A of my evidence found, Cassius said that Julius was paying too much attention to the lower class. Also, in document D, One of the Senate members saw Cassius at the meeting, the day of his death. Finally also from document D, it said that Julius disciplined Cassius and he was humiliated

Two of the more memorable emperors to the Romans were Augustus Caesar (27 BC to 14 AD), and Caligula (37 AD to 41 AD). Although only having ruled the empire by a separation of 23 years and belonging to the same family (through marriage and adoption), their empires couldn’t have been more different. It is possible to determine the impact of an emperor’s rule based on their many vices and virtues, as well as the choices that they make in relation to them. The author Suetonius expressed in his writings the many vices and virtues that put into perspective the kind of leaders that these emperors appeared as to their polis. As we explore the concept of vices and virtues, as well as what kind of ideals these two rulers represented, we will begin to be presented with a clearer picture of what an ideal emperor would have looked like. A vice can be described as an immoral or wicked behavior; while a virtue can be described as a behavior showing high moral standards. Suetonius and the Roman people had a high interpretation of the concept of virtue and vice, as well as their role in the ruler’s life.

Julius Caesar’s mindset influenced the history of his people. He was born July 12, 100 b.c in Rome as Gaius Julius Caesar, known today as Julius Caesar. He was a Praetor, Aedile, Consul, Pontifex Maximus, and dictator for life, and his greatest achievement is changing the Roman republic to the Roman empire. His life ended tragically when he was stabbed twenty three times by his political enemies. Creating the Roman empire changed the history of his people.

Suetonius wrote The Twelve Caesars as a biography about twelve Roman Caesars. This essay will compare and contrast two of them, Divus Julius and Nero. Even though the two men both became Emperors who ruled Rome, they could not have been more different. Both had certain authority and public powers during each of their reigns. Their lives were also scattered with times of virtue and scandal. This was a different time from today. Human behavior and morals played a significant role in those ruling over others. Some had them and some not so much. In the end, their stories will ultimately give the reader an illustration of these two men and what their stories tell us about the lives of Roman emperors in the first century.

Procopius was the bishop of Caesaria in 500-565 and was married to the empress Theodora. He later became an official court historian and biographer. His writings have a picture of Justinian’s rule and accomplishments. Secret history tells us about Procopius’s justification for making this work and also shows the real Justinian and his wife. Procopius says in his writing it was not normal for certain people to write about the truth of what happened during their time. He hid his real explanation in his other books. It is now his place to tell the secrets of history.

Julius Caesar is the tragic hero because of his noble stature. The noble stature of Caesar is made evident through his position in society and his outstanding qualities. Caesars position in Rome was that of a dictator. At the start of the play Brutus enlightens the reader that “.... the people/ choose Caesar for their king” (1.ii.77-78). When Brutus says “king” he is actually informing the audience the Caesar has been made dictator of Rome for life. At this time in Rome, the Roman society took pride in being republic. Therefore, electing Caesar as a dictator was a monumental event. A dictator was the most powerful position in Roman society. Indeed as a stated in Encyclopedia Britannica a dictator was a “a temporary magistrate with extraordinary powers” (dictator). Furthermore, as opposed to the usual six month term Caesar was appointed a life long term (dictator). With this in mind one could say the Caesar was the most

Suetonius’s style is simple; as much as possible he tries to quote directly from sources that were used, and artistic organization and language does not seem to exist. He addresses points directly, without flowery or misleading language. However, he is often criticized that he was more interested in the rumours about the emperors and not about the actual occurrences of their reigns. The style, with which he writes, is to achieve his aim, to discuss the lives of the emperors. He was not writing an annalistic history, he was writing as thematic history. His goal was the evaluation of the emperors, portraying the events and actions of the person while they were in office. He focuses on the fulfillment of duties, criticizing those that did not

Julius Caesar, a man born in around 12 to 13, 100 BC, was considered the start of a new legacy in the history of Rome. Participating in several wars, becoming dictator after forming multiple military alliances, to being assassinated on the Ides of March, Julius Caesar was a politically-flexible, popular leader of the Roman Empire. (Julius Caesar Biography, April 23, 2014) Although Caesar’s birth was never confirmed on the exact date, he was born and raised by his mother, Aurelia, and by his father, Gaius Julius Caesar. (Julius Caesar: Historical Background, April 23, 2014)

Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus was born around AD 70, and by the early 90s he had moved to Rome and thus begun his scholarly studies that became one of his chief occupations (Rives xviii). Here in Rome he acquired his patron and benefactor, Gaius Plinius Secundus, who had a very successful public career and was known well for his collection of letters that Suetonius makes his first appearance in, as an advocate (xviii). Plinius remained his benefactor for fifteen years; from his letters we can see that Suetonius had an interest in pursuing a public career (xviii) and that he had a great interest in scholarly and literary pursuits (xix). The fullest account of his scholarly works are found in a work entitled, Suda, a Byzantine encyclopedia

     The Early Life of Julius Caesar was spent studying the history of power and wealth in early Rome. Julius Caesar was born in Rome on July 12 or 13, in the year 100 B.C. His father was a part of a prestigious Julian clan. He was an official in charge of judicial matters, but never made it to the post of chief executive. He died when Caesar was only sixteen years