Trajan Posted July 15, 2013 Report Share Posted July 15, 2013 Who do you think Suetonius thought was the best of the Emperors he wrote about? Please disregard Julius Caesar (due to his never being Emperor), Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Titus (due to the brevity of their reigns) in your answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guy Posted July 15, 2013 Report Share Posted July 15, 2013 (edited) Although Suetonius wrote during the time of Hadrian (one of the adoptive emperors from the Nerva-Antonine dynasty), he is thought to be a Flavian apologist, with especially good things to be said about the Flavian emperor Vespasian. There is no doubt where Suetonius stands on Vespasian, setting the tone from the very first sentence about his reign: 1 The empire, which for a long time had been unsettled and, as it were, drifting, through the usurpation and violent death of three emperors, was at last taken in hand and given stability by the Flavian family. This house was, it is true, obscure and without family portraits, yet it was one of which our country had no reason whatever to be ashamed, even though it is the general opinion that the penalty which Domitian paid for his avarice and cruelty was fully merited. http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Vespasian*.html He is somewhat unfair to Nero, who will forever live in infamy. guy also known as gaius Edited July 15, 2013 by guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DecimusCaesar Posted July 16, 2013 Report Share Posted July 16, 2013 I agree with Guy, with perhaps Claudius coming in second (if you ignore Julius Caesar, Titus etc) although to be honest, even then he makes Claudius appear as a ridiculous old fool especially in relating some of his strangest exploits such as 'battling' a whale at the port of Ostia. Suetonius wasn't known for being a balanced or objective commentator when it comes to his history, although it is entertaining. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldrail Posted July 19, 2013 Report Share Posted July 19, 2013 Caesar never being emperor? There's a good reason why Suetonius included him in the list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guy Posted August 2, 2013 Report Share Posted August 2, 2013 (edited) Here is someone's paper on Suetonius' possibly biased assessment of Nero in comparison to Vespasian. (To see the link, refresh the page.) http://www.academia.edu/1526168/Comparisons_and_contrasts_the_reigns_of_the_emperors_Nero_and_Vespasian_as_presented_in_the_imperial_biographies_of_Suetonius guy also known as gaius ? Edited August 2, 2013 by guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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