CCI 502: Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus
Life (70 CE -- after 122 CE)
Birthplace uncertain. After practicing as a lawyer devoted himself to
writing, he declined a military tribunate; obtained (though childless)
the ius trium liberorum from Trajan. Appointed secretary under Trajan
and Hadrian, but dismissed 121/122. Date of death unknown.
Works
- De Vita Caesarum: twelve biographies, from Julius Caesar to
Domitian, in eight books, complete except for the opening chapters of the
first life.
- De Viris Illustribus: numerous short biographies of persons
eminent in literature and education, arranged in classes perhaps (i) poets,
(ii) orators, (iii) historians, (iv) philosophers, (v) grammarians and
rhetoricians. We have part of the section De grammaticis et rhetoribus;
many of the lives of the poets have been transmitted in the MSS of the
poets themselves (e.g. Horace, Terence, and Lucan).
- Numerous treatises, some in Greek, on many subjects: signs, the Roman
year, Roman customs, famous courtesans, and terms of abuse.
Bibliography
Stuart, D. E. Epochs of Greek and Roman Biography (Berkeley 1928).
Index: Howard, A. A., and C. N. Jackson (Cambridge, Mass.
1922)