--- title: Suetonius author: Mark Cartwright source: https://www.worldhistory.org/Suetonius/ format: machine-readable-alternate license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) updated: 2023-06-15 --- # Suetonius _Authored by [Mark Cartwright](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/markzcartwright/)_ Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (c. 69 – c. 130/140 CE), better known simply as Suetonius, was a [Roman](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Roman/) writer whose most famous work is his biographies of the first 12 Caesars. With a position close to the imperial court he was able to access otherwise private sources for his work, and he certainly did not hold back on revealing the sometimes sordid details of [Rome](https://www.worldhistory.org/Rome/)'s most famously debauched emperors. ### Suetonius' Life Although a biographer of others, Suetonius tells his readers very few details of his own life. The exact date of birth of Suetonius is not known for certain but the most agreed upon range is between 69 and 75 CE. Also uncertain are his place of birth (perhaps either Umbria or Hippo Regius in Numidia) and the year of his [death](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Death/). Suetonius' grandfather was possibly a member of [Caligula](https://www.worldhistory.org/Caligula/)'s court and the writer's father, Suetonius Laetus, was a knight, that is, a member of the equestrian class, holding the position of [tribune](https://www.worldhistory.org/Tribune/) of the 13th legion during the 69 CE civil [war](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/War/), a legion he commanded at the [Battle](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/battle/) of Bedriacum in northern [Italy](https://www.worldhistory.org/italy/). Some biographical details can be found in the letters of that other famous Roman writer [Pliny the Younger](https://www.worldhistory.org/Pliny_the_Younger/), the two being good friends. Suetonius, we are told, was a quiet man who first studied and practised [law](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/law/) before becoming a professional scholar. Pliny compliments Suetonius on his [writing](https://www.worldhistory.org/writing/) and poetry - even recommending him to Emperor [Trajan](https://www.worldhistory.org/trajan/) - although he chastises him for being slow to finish his work. In c. 110 CE he was offered the position of military tribune in [Britain](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Britain/) but declined for unknown reasons. Of his later life we know that Suetonius was director of the imperial libraries and then a private secretary to Hadrian, although he was dismissed from this position, again for unknown reasons, perhaps after a lack of protocol and good manners to Empress Sabina. Significantly, this role allowed Suetonius not only to travel with Hadrian to [Gaul](https://www.worldhistory.org/gaul/), Germania, and Britain in 121-122 CE but also to access the state archives and the private letters of previous emperors such as [Augustus](https://www.worldhistory.org/augustus/). ### The Twelve Caesars Suetonius' most famous work is his collection of biographies of [Julius Caesar](https://www.worldhistory.org/Julius_Caesar/) and the first 11 Roman emperors, known simply as *The Twelve Caesars* (*Caesares* or *De vita Caesarum*). The biographies are not wholly flattering nor are events told in chronological sequence but they reveal some candid details of Rome's first citizens. The subjects are: - [Julius](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Julius/) [Caesar](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/caesar/) (first few chapters now lost) - Augustus - [Tiberius](https://www.worldhistory.org/Tiberius/) - Caligula - [Claudius](https://www.worldhistory.org/claudius/) - [Nero](https://www.worldhistory.org/Nero/) - [Galba](https://www.worldhistory.org/Galba/) - [Otho](https://www.worldhistory.org/Otho/) - [Vitellius](https://www.worldhistory.org/Vitellius/) - [Vespasian](https://www.worldhistory.org/Vespasian/) - [Titus](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Titus/) - [Domitian](https://www.worldhistory.org/domitian/) The general format for each subject is to discuss the person's ancestry and then early life with a view to describing episodes which reveal the character of the future emperor. Then various aspects of the person's public life are described such as wars waged, rivalries, public events they sponsored, and political reforms made with a few anecdotes of private habits thrown in. In this latter category, Suetonius is not averse to revealing the juicy and sometimes shocking details of what the emperors got up to when they were not busy ruling the [empire](https://www.worldhistory.org/empire/). These gossip details, no doubt, were a major factor in Suetonius' popularity in his own lifetime. A physical description of the subject is usually left until the end. Although Suetonius takes care to try and use direct quotes and sayings the emperors were known to have used, and he does use written sources whenever possible; he does, at times, present a rather haphazard series of observations, even compared to ancient historians such as [Plutarch](https://www.worldhistory.org/plutarch/) and [Tacitus](https://www.worldhistory.org/tacitus/). Nevertheless, Suetonius was not intending to write a comprehensive history of these great men but rather provide an insight into their strengths and frailties. He also refrains from inserting his own moralising judgments, something both earlier and contemporary writers could not resist doing. In addition, in many instances Suetonius is our only source of information, and so his writings have become as valuable as they are entertaining. ### Other Works Besides this important work Suetonius also wrote many other books which now are either lost or survive only in fragments. He produced another collection of biographies titled *On Illustrious Men* (*De viris illustribus*) which described the lives and works of various scholars, poets and rhetoricians, including [Virgil](https://www.worldhistory.org/virgil/), [Horace](https://www.worldhistory.org/Horace/), and Lucan. Two other surviving biographical collections are his *On Famous Courtesans* and *On the Kings*, and he also wrote *De re publica* about the great statesman [Cicero](https://www.worldhistory.org/Cicero/). Suetonius provides valuable historical data in a book titled *[Roma](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Roma/)* which covered the various customs, festivals, and even clothing worn in the Roman capital. A similar book of his dealt with [Greek](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/greek/) games. He also wrote several works on natural history and languages: *On Mankind*, *On Nature*, *On Keeping Time*, *On Greek* *Terms of Abuse*, *Grammatical Questions*, and *On Critical Marks in Books*. Below is a selection of extracts from Suetonius' *Twelve Caesars*: > \[On Julius Caesar\] …on the day before his murder he had dined at Marcus Lepidus' house, where the topic discussed happened to be 'the best sort of death' – and "Let it come swiftly and unexpectedly", cried Caesar. > \[On Augustus\] [Antony](https://www.worldhistory.org/Mark_Antony/)'s brother Lucius added that, after sacrificing his virtue to Caesar, Augustus had sold his favours to Aulus Hirtius in Spain, for 3,000 [gold](https://www.worldhistory.org/gold/) pieces, and that he used to soften the hair on his legs by singeing them with red-hot walnut shells. > \[On Tiberius\] Even as a young officer he was such a hard drinker that his name, Tiberius Claudius Nero, was displaced by the nickname 'Biberius Caldius Mero' – meaning 'Drinker of hot wine with no water added'. > \[On Caligula\] The method of execution he preferred was to inflict numerous small wounds; and his familiar order: 'Make him feel that he is dying!' soon became proverbial. Once, when the wrong man had been killed, owing to a confusion of names, he announced that the victim had equally deserved death; and often quoted Accius' line: 'Let them hate me so long as they fear me'. > \[On Nero\] It was strange how amazingly tolerant Nero seemed to be of the insults that everyone cast at him, in the form of jokes and lampoons…in Greek or Latin, posted on [city](https://www.worldhistory.org/city/) walls or current orally: 'Alcmaeon, Orestes, and Nero are brothers. Why? Because all of them murdered their mothers'. > Vespasian was square-bodied, with strong, well-proportioned limbs, but always wore a strained expression on his face, so that once, when he asked a well-known wit: 'Why not make a joke about me?' the answer came: 'I will, when you have finished relieving yourself'. > \[On Domitian\] He also claimed that the lot of all Emperors is necessarily wretched, since only their assassination can convince the public that the conspiracies against their lives are real. #### Editorial Review This human-authored definition has been reviewed by our editorial team before publication to ensure accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards in accordance with our [editorial policy](https://www.worldhistory.org/static/editorial-policy/). ## Bibliography - Anonymous. *The Encyclopedia of Ancient History.* Wiley-Blackwell, 2012 - [Hornblower, S. *The Oxford Classical Dictionary.* Oxford University Press, 2012.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/0199545561/) - [Suetonius. *The Twelve Caesars.* Penguin Classics, 2007.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/0140455167/) ## About the Author Mark is WHE’s Publishing Director and has an MA in Political Philosophy (University of York). He is a full-time researcher, writer, historian and editor. Special interests include art, architecture and discovering the ideas that all civilizations share. ## Timeline - **c. 69 CE - c. 130 CE**: Life of [Roman](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Roman/) biographer [Suetonius](https://www.worldhistory.org/Suetonius/) who wrote 'The Twelve Caesars'. ## Cite This Work ### APA Cartwright, M. (2016, January 21). Suetonius. *World History Encyclopedia*. ### Chicago Cartwright, Mark. "Suetonius." *World History Encyclopedia*, January 21, 2016. . ### MLA Cartwright, Mark. "Suetonius." *World History Encyclopedia*, 21 Jan 2016, . ## License & Copyright Submitted by [Mark Cartwright](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/markzcartwright/ "User Page: Mark Cartwright"), published on 21 January 2016. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.en). This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.