The Twelve Caesars (Paperback)

Suetonius was for a time a secretary to the emperor Hadrian, which gave him access to files, letters, etc. He was also a teacher, lawyer, and librarian, as well as a knight and a member of the court. He wrote biographical sketches of historians, poets (Terence, Horace, Vergil), and orators. Most Greek and Roman biographical material before him is lost. His most famous work is THE LIVES OF THE TWELVE CAESARS. He was a contemporary of Tacitus. Suetonius was objective, balancing good and bad aspects of his subjects; nonjudgmental; suited to goings on in the time of Nero and Caligula. He included anecdotes and scandal, and his work was organized around categories that illuminated the subject, such as Nero's interest in music. Suetonius is said to have influenced Einhardt's LIFE OF CHARLEMAGNE and Petrarch's DE VIRIS ILLUSTRIBUS. He was the popular biographer in Europe until Plutarch's work became known. In his day he influenced beginnings of the novel, Petronius, and can be said to have influenced both Hollywood and also Robert Graves, who depended on Suetonius for much of I, CLAUDIUS.