The Twelve Caesars

The Twelve CaesarsAuthor: Robert Graves Ancient Rome Published on 25 October 2007 by Penguin Books Ltd (Penguin Classics) in the United Kingdom. Paperback 464 pages 196 x 132 x 21 330g 'Suetonius, in holding up a mirror to those Caesars of diverting legend, reflects not only them but ourselves: half tempted creatures, whose great moral task is to hold in balance the angel and the monster within' GORE VIDALAs private secretary to the Emperor Hadrian, the scholar

Author: Robert Graves

Ancient Rome

Published on 25 October 2007 by Penguin Books Ltd (Penguin Classics) in the United Kingdom.

Paperback | 464 pages
196 x 132 x 21 | 330g

'Suetonius, in holding up a mirror to those Caesars of diverting legend, reflects not only them but ourselves: half-tempted creatures, whose great moral task is to hold in balance the angel and the monster within' GORE VIDALAs private secretary to the Emperor Hadrian, the scholar Suetonius had access to the imperial archives and used them (along with eyewitness accounts) to produce one of the most colourful biographical works in history. The Twelve Caesars chronicles the public careers and private lives of the men who wielded absolute power over Rome, from the foundation of the empire under Julius Caesar and Augustus to the decline into depravity under Nero and the recovery that came with his successors. This masterpiece of observation, immortalized in Robert Graves's classic translation, presents us with a gallery of vividly drawn - and all too human - individuals.

Translated by ROBERT GRAVESRevised with an Introduction and notes by JAMES B. RIVES