The Lives of the Twelve Caesars by Suteonius (born 69 A.D.), covering the Roman rulers from Julius Caesar to Domitian, remains one of the most enlightening of all Roman histories. As a personal secretary to the Emperor Hadrian, Suetonius had access to the Imperial and Senatorial archives and also gathered much information from eyewitnesses, checking his facts carefully and quoting conflicting evidence with bias.
Each biography describes first the family history and early life of the subject, then his public career and physical appearance. But is on the racy and vivid details of the Caesar's private lives – and in particular on their often colorful vices – that Suetonius's interest is concentrated. His book became a model for biography and its influence would eventually extend to the Christian writers, to Petrarch and even the Renaissance.
Numerous integrated black-and-white illustrations that explore Roman life, religion and nature, combined with Robert Graves's classic translation, bring back to life the world of 1st-century Rome and its Empire.