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Summary: Ancient Enquirer
Comment: Suetonius' The Twelve Caesars, writing in the early second century, provides the modern reader with
details of all the depraved decadence and ruthless violence of the ancient Roman Empire, an
association that has become so very much engrained into our present collective memory. This Roman
historian, unlike most ancient sources, concentrates not on the large events, such as battles (for
instance, he barely mentions anything of Caesar's epic campaigns in Gaul), but rather he chooses to
place his emphasis on the personal lives and characters of the Caesars. If Suetonius were alive
today, we would be reading him in the National Enquirer, or some other paparazzi infested tabloid
riddled with cheating movie stars or pop musicians with love handles. He enjoys telling the gossip,
but most of all, he seems to revel in the stories of perversion and crime, of torture and bloodshed
- the more scandal, the better.

He presents each life at first as a short political
biography, beginning with a genealogical background and then a brief summary of the accomplishments
they made as both politicians and emperors. He assesses their most honorable, or at least
satisfactory, traits and actions. However, this rarely lasts more than ten pages, out of a
thirty-or-so page biography, and usually consists of mundane government actions, or the different
places they moved to when they were young. He then frankly informs the reader that he will proceed
to list their crimes, which are always much longer and more descriptive than any of their virtuous
elements, with the clear intent to prove what pathetic monstrosities they truly were (according to
him, that is). His method certainly leaves the desired effect with the reader, for by the time one
is done reading the revolting acts and descriptions that Suetonius provides, one is apt to forget
all the acceptable and praise-worthy points that they had read a few dozen pages before.
/>The one exception to this trend appears to be the only emperor whom Suetonius admired - Augustus.
Although he goes fairly easy on Julius Caesar (compared with the later Caesars, that is), the figure
nevertheless fails to make his approval. Augustus' crimes, which are relatively few, seem to occur
mostly in his youth, before he was emperor, such as killing prisoners where others would have
allowed them to live. The virtue of Augustus that to Suetonius seems most admirable is his
unyielding prudence. For instance, Augustus, throughout his reign, refrains from the title of
"Emperor," shows the utmost humbleness in the Senate, and never seems to overindulge in decadence.
He disallows even his image to be placed among the gods in the temples, insisting that he is a
servant of the people, and rules only with their consent. Likewise, his reasoning is consistently
sound and his justice fair, usually preferring not to punish critics or rebels, but rather redirect
their efforts or cripple their attempts through clever ruses. He seems to appreciate Augustus'
seemingly indirect approach to ruling. Although he, of course, recognizes that it is often a
masquerade, he nevertheless condones it.

All of the emperors after Augustus, however,
fail to find redemption in Suetonius' critical, scandal-seeking eye. Tiberius, who at first seems
to find approval in his early career, ultimately falls into depravity and vicious homicide.
Claudius is an insane, scatter-brained tyrant. And Nero proves himself to be a neglectful,
atrociously doomed creature that nearly destroys the Empire. Even with all these abhorrent figures,
the Emperor who seems to most find the author's loathing is Caligula. Even in the early part of the
biography, where Suetonius is normally tame, the young man is shown to "not control his natural
brutality and viciousness" (Suetonius 155). The rest of his governmental account, perhaps the
shortest of all the Julio-Claudian emperors, ends with: "So much for the Emperor; the rest of this
history must deal with the Monster" (Suetonius 161). Caligula is presented as almost the exact
antithesis of Augustus. Whereas Augustus presented praiseworthy prudence, Caligula showed
outrageous decadence, humiliated the Senate, believed him to be a god, and took part in nearly every
sexual and violent depravity imaginable. Also, Augustus cared little for his appearance where
Caligula scalped the back of a man's head for having a thicker head of hair than he. The
counterpoints are endless, and Suetonius gives no mercy in his telling.

In all of
these condemnable Caesars, the lust of power seems the most objectionable trait in them. Of course,
Suetonius was of the senatorial class, traditionally hostile to the imperial rule, and it is
therefore understandable that he would prefer the emperor that was most humble and consenting to the
Senate than the one who openly grabbed the most control. This should make one question the
reliability of him as a source. Another reason is his admitted insertion of hearsay and rumors into
the telling, often painting a very unsavory picture to prove his point. This is not to say that all
that he writes should be subject to such suspicion and assumed false, however, the casual reader
should keep in mind that Suetonius is writing with a purpose - to prove the evil and depravity of
the imperial institution. Nevertheless, Suetonius provides modern readers with a fascinating,
shameless account of debauchery and political intrigue that is as guilty a pleasure to read now as
it undoubtedly was nearly two millennia ago.

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Summary: Answers about the Roman Emperors
Comment: This is an engaging book, full of intersting facts which sometimes are hard to find. The book is
written with an easy flow, that keeps your interest till the end.
For avid followers of
history, in particular the good and bad of Roman emperors, this is a book for you.

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Summary: THE TWELVE CAESARS - SUETONIUS
Comment: I FOUND THIS TITLE BY THE ROMAN AUTHOR SUETONIUS TO BE A FASCINATING AND IN-DEPTH [ IF ACCORDING TO
SOME HISTORIANS A BIT BIASED ] OVER-VIEW OF THE FIRST TWELVE RULERS OF ROME WHO HELD OR ADOPTED THE
NOMEN OF CAESAR. MY REASON FOR PURCHASING WAS THAT MY OLD PAPERBACK VERSION HAD SUFFERED FROM BEING
OVER-READ AND REFERRED TO AND WAS DELAPIDATED.

GAIUS JULIUS WAS OF THE FAMILY - HIS
GREAT NEPHEW OCTAVIANUS TOOK HIS NAMES AFTER ADOPTION INTO THE FAMILY AND THEREAFTER THE CAESAR
TITLE CAME LESS TO BE A FAMILY TITLE THAN AN INDICATOR THAT THE EMPERORS LOOKED BACK TO THE
ASSASSINATED ORIGINAL AS THEIR FOREBEAR IF NOT IN BLOODLINE THEN IN SIMPLE FACT.

IT IS
A TITLE THAT SURVIVED DOWN TO THE RUSSIAN CZARS AND THE GERMAN KAISERS. KAI-SER, IN FACT, IS HOW
THE NAME CAESAR WAS ORIGINALLY PRO-NOUNCED IN LATIN USEAGE.

WITH NERO THE IMMEDIATE
LINE OF THE CAESARS EXTINGUISHED BUT THERE WERE MANY MORE INTERESTING, IF NOT AS DEEPLY INTERESTING,
RULERS TO FOLLOW HIM. THE BOOK COVERS THE JULIO-CLAUDIANS, THE THREE INTERIM EMERORS IN 68 AND 69 [
GALBA, OTHO AND VITELLIUS ] AND THE FLAVIANS, VESPASIAN, TITUS AND DOMITIAN.

ALONGSIDE
GRAVES' 'I CLAUDIUS', 'THE TWELVE CAESARS' IS A VERY GOOD INTRODUCTION FOR ANYONE SEEKING TO
EXAMINE, FROM MANY CENTURIES DIVORCED , THE INTRIGUING AND LITERAL BACK STABBING THAT WENT ON IN
IMPERIAL ROME'S EARLY YEARS.

ROGER DESHON - 22 QUEENSCOURT ROAD ALEXANDRA HILLS QLD
4161 AUSTRALIA

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Summary: The Basis of Much Of What We know About These Guys
Comment: This is really a fascinating book on so many levels. First so much historical fiction, and drama
that has been based on the lives of the Ceasars is indebted to Suetonius as the author who wrote
these incredible character sketches. There's much to learn about the personal lives of the famous
Roman emperors in this fine translation. This has served as source material for centuries of
scholars and writers who found universal truths about human nature and political power in these
lives.
Very accessible to the general reader and highly entertaining.

Customer Rating:

Summary: The Gold Standard of Ancient History
Comment: This translation of Suetonius's Twelve Ceasars translated by Robert Graves with a great introduction
by Michael Grant is a history-lover's dream. This is definitely my favorite historial work in
translation; it is expertly and lovingly brought to life. To me, anybody should be able to be
transported in moments back to ancient Rome in the time of Augustus or Nero and have one hell of a
read. Suetonius was a minor government functionary who was given the spectacular opportunity to see
the early imperial archives, kind of like a blogger or National Enquirer reporter given the
opportunity to look at Clinton-era video surveilance or Nixon's Watergate tapes. This work is one
of the most accessible views of ancient history ever. It's filled with lurid sex, gossip, murder,
palace coups, degeneracy, monumental building, war, poisonings, etc. If you're going to be a
liberal arts major, it pays to know a few dirty stories about the Caesars; this is the book to read.

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