Suetonius' Life of Augustus

by Suetonius

ISBN: 9780199392384

Published: 2023

The lifetime of Augustus (63 BCE -14 CE) was a key moment of transition for the Roman world. Following decades of civil war, the traditional government of the Roman Republic evolved to include a leading role for Augustus. Peace at home was balanced with wars of expansion and consolidation on the frontiers. Literature and the arts flourished. A building boom transformed the city of Rome. Augustus was at the center of it all, and thus the lifetime of Augustus and the life of Augustus himself have attracted keen interest from antiquity up to the present day. In his biography of Augustus, the early second century CE author C. Suetonius Tranquillus offers not only a survey of the major political, military and civic accomplishments of his subject, but also includes such diverse topics as Augustus's family lineage, spouses, personal appearance, leisure activities, intellectual pursuits and style of living. We find in the Life of Augustus a detailed biography of a leading figure at a...