GRST 105 - Lives of the First Roman Emperors

Semester Offered: Fall
1/2 unit(s)

The course examines the reigns of the first, “Julio-Claudian” emperors of Rome (31 BCE-68 CE) through a reading of Suetonius’s The Lives of the Twelve Caesars. Beginning with Julius Caesar, whose dictatorship hastened the end of the Republic, and Augustus, the shrewd architect of the Principate, through Tiberius, Caligula, and Claudius to the tyrant Nero, whose suicide brought the Julio-Claudian dynasty to its close, the biographies of Suetonius present a colorful array of imperial virtues and vices. In addition to providing an introduction to the early Roman Empire, the course considers the purpose of Suetonius’s Lives: historical documentation, entertainment, or serious reflection on the nature of monarchic rule? Mr. Brown.

All readings are in English translation.

First 6-week course.

Two 75-minute periods.