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A review of "The Twelve Caesars" by Suetonius
I only
endured two or three episodes of the TV series "Rome", supposedly the
most expensive television series ever made. Oh, really? Presumably, they spent
so much cash on the uniforms, that they forgot to pay the scriptwriter. I have
seldom seen such ridiculous trash on TV.
Do you want real gossip about Julius Caesar and the Roman emperors? Then, buy this book. It's a modern translation of an ancient Roman book, written by the historian Suetonius. It's most famous for two passing references to Christians, but if that's all you know about it, you are missing out...
Not being a historian, I can't judge how reliable the information given by Suetonius really is. But as a collection of funny gossip about Caesar and the emperors, it must be unmatched!
Did you know that Julius Caesar had a reputation for being gay? I always thought of Caesar as the essence of manliness, but apparently he dressed in an effeminate manner, and was rumored to be the gay lover of a certain king in Asia Minor. As Caesar was also a notorious womanizer, he was called "the man of all women, and the woman of all men".
OK, maybe I'm a bit unserious, but I had great fun reading these rumours, about one of world history's most accomplished conquerors! And you thought the Lewinsky affair was shocking?
From Suetonius, we also learn that Nero regarded himself as an accomplished singer with a really sweet singing voice (apparently, everyone else had a different idea about it), that Caligula wanted to appoint his horse to the Roman Senate, that Domitian had an advisor who turned out to be a handicapped child, that Julius Caesar was pro-Jewish, and countless other strange claims.
Ironically, the emperor most favored by Suetonius seem to be Titus, generally regarded as a villain today, since he smashed the Jewish rebellion and destroyed the Jewish temple. Are we to believe Suetonius, Titus was like a father to his people, very generous, so moral that he stopped seeing his sexy mistresses when becoming emperor, so righteous that he had all finks and snitches banished to wild islands, while he was looking for medecine to cure a plague in Rome...
Oh my, sounds almost to good to be true!
Regardless of whether the stories of Suetonius are tall-tales or true, they at least tell us a lot about how Romans wanted, and didn't want, their rulers to behave. And a lot about how Romans slandered each other.
I have seldom read such an entertaining ancient work. Buy it! Yes, punk, I was talking to you...
Do you want real gossip about Julius Caesar and the Roman emperors? Then, buy this book. It's a modern translation of an ancient Roman book, written by the historian Suetonius. It's most famous for two passing references to Christians, but if that's all you know about it, you are missing out...
Not being a historian, I can't judge how reliable the information given by Suetonius really is. But as a collection of funny gossip about Caesar and the emperors, it must be unmatched!
Did you know that Julius Caesar had a reputation for being gay? I always thought of Caesar as the essence of manliness, but apparently he dressed in an effeminate manner, and was rumored to be the gay lover of a certain king in Asia Minor. As Caesar was also a notorious womanizer, he was called "the man of all women, and the woman of all men".
OK, maybe I'm a bit unserious, but I had great fun reading these rumours, about one of world history's most accomplished conquerors! And you thought the Lewinsky affair was shocking?
From Suetonius, we also learn that Nero regarded himself as an accomplished singer with a really sweet singing voice (apparently, everyone else had a different idea about it), that Caligula wanted to appoint his horse to the Roman Senate, that Domitian had an advisor who turned out to be a handicapped child, that Julius Caesar was pro-Jewish, and countless other strange claims.
Ironically, the emperor most favored by Suetonius seem to be Titus, generally regarded as a villain today, since he smashed the Jewish rebellion and destroyed the Jewish temple. Are we to believe Suetonius, Titus was like a father to his people, very generous, so moral that he stopped seeing his sexy mistresses when becoming emperor, so righteous that he had all finks and snitches banished to wild islands, while he was looking for medecine to cure a plague in Rome...
Oh my, sounds almost to good to be true!
Regardless of whether the stories of Suetonius are tall-tales or true, they at least tell us a lot about how Romans wanted, and didn't want, their rulers to behave. And a lot about how Romans slandered each other.
I have seldom read such an entertaining ancient work. Buy it! Yes, punk, I was talking to you...
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