Galba, Otho, Vitellius

by Suetonius, Charles L. Murison

Suetonius has often been used as if he were an historian, and at the same time criticised for not being one. This is a new translation of and commentary on Suetonius' biographies of three emperors, Galba, Otho, and Vitellius, who held power for short periods in the tumultuous and confused events that encompassed and followed the end of the Julio-Claudian period in AD 69-69. The introductory essays discuss Suetonius' purposes and qualities as a writer, and seek to elucidate the personalities and careers of the three emperors as well as the events of which they were a part. The importance of this study lies in the fact that it applies fresh understanding of these events to Suetonius' accounts, comparing them to the chief 'alternative' to be found in the works of Tacitus, Plutarch and Dio Cassius. The careers and reigns of the three emperors are discussed in the introduction, whilst the 'minor characters' involved in the events are treated, as relevant, in the commentary; this is constructed with the non-Latinist in mind, and the notes are appended to the translation rather than to the Latin text.

192 pages, Paperback

First published March 14, 1992

About the author

Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, commonly known as Suetonius (ca. 69/75 - after 130), was a Roman historian belonging to the equestrian order in the early Imperial era. His most important surviving work is a set of biographies of twelve successive Roman rulers, from Julius Caesar until Domitian, entitled De Vita Caesarum. Other works by Suetonius concern the daily life of Rome, politics, oratory, and the lives of famous writers, including poets, historians, and grammarians. A few of these books have partially survived, but many are entirely lost.

Reviews

[John Isles · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book contains the Latin text of Suetonius's lives of the three briefly reigning Roman emperors who followed Nero. It's not a translation, as stated in the Goodreads description of the book. The introduction is authoritative, the texts are accurate, and the commentary is informative. We just finished reading and translating these lives in the Suetonius group on the LatinStudy email list (https://www.quasillum.com/study/latin...) and the book was very helpful.