Dio's Rome, Volume 5, Books 61-76 (A.D. 54-211) An Historical Narrative Originally Composed in Greek During The Reigns of Septimius Severus, Geta and ... Presented in English Form By Herbert Baldw

by Cassius Dio

This book (hardcover) is part of the TREDITION CLASSICS. It contains classical literature works from over two thousand years. Most of these titles have been out of print and off the bookstore shelves for decades. The book series is intended to preserve the cultural legacy and to promote the timeless works of classical literature. Readers of a TREDITION CLASSICS book support the mission to save many of the amazing works of world literature from oblivion. With this series, tredition intends to make thousands of international literature classics available in printed format again - worldwide.

Genres: Roman History, History

304 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 230

About the author

Cassius Dio or Dio Cassius (c. 155 – c. 235) was a Roman statesman and historian of Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy.

Reviews

[Jenn Phizacklea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grammar isn’t great. Why include text that has more lacunae than text?
Content is worth wading through these issues, especially when Dio starts writing in the first person, events that he witnessed personally.

[Shane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume was a good read to me, but probably not to anyone who isn't an ardent fan of Roman history.
There are many interesting facts here, and Dio packs a lot of information about a lot of people and events in a fairly short span. Dio covers all the major events, focusing most on the personal character of the Emperors. He clearly shows his reverence for his favorites--Vespasian, Trajan, Marcus Aurelius--and his disgust for those he loathes--Nero, Domitian, Commodus. He is also a solid action writer, and gives more life to battle scenes that other ancient writers I've read.
However, this isn't an easy read. A lot of this probably stems from the fact that this is a translation, and also that sections of these books are missing, but its true nevertheless. The prose didn't have much flow, and the chronology makes odd leaps. Dio also doesn't seem to import much style, either, just bland straightforwardness. While this works for a non-fiction book, it just doesn't have the same flavor as Suetonius's gossipy tone or Eusebius's Godly reverence.