The Political Biographies of Cornelius Nepos


Book Description

The Roman writer Cornelius Nepos was a friend of Cicero and Catullus and other first-century BCE authors, and portions of his encyclopedic work On Famous Men are the earliest surviving biographies written in Latin. In The Political Biographies of Cornelius Nepos, Rex Stem presents Nepos as a valuable witness to the late Republican era, whose biographies share the exemplary republican political perspective of his contemporaries Cicero and Livy. Stem argues that Nepos created the genre of grouped political biographies in order to characterize renowned Mediterranean figures as role models for Roman leaders, and he shows how Nepos invested his biographies with moral and political arguments against tyranny. This book, the first to regard Nepos as a serious thinker in his own right, also functions as a general introduction to Nepos, placing him in his cultural context. Stem examines Nepos' contributions to the growth of biography, and he defends Nepos from his critics at the same time that he lays out the political significance and literary innovation of Nepos' writings. Accessible to advanced undergraduates, this volume is addressed to a general audience of classicists and ancient historians, as well as those broadly interested in biography, historiography, and political thought.




Cornelius Nepos, Life of Hannibal


Book Description

Trebia. Trasimene. Cannae. With three stunning victories, Hannibal humbled Rome and nearly shattered its empire. Even today Hannibal's brilliant, if ultimately unsuccessful, campaign against Rome during the Second Punic War (218-202 BC) make him one of history's most celebrated military leaders. This biography by Cornelius Nepos (c. 100-27 BC) sketches Hannibal's life from the time he began traveling with his father's army as a young boy, through his sixteen-year invasion of Italy and his tumultuous political career in Carthage, to his perilous exile and eventual suicide in the East. As Rome completed its bloody transition from dysfunctional republic to stable monarchy, Nepos labored to complete an innovative and influential collection of concise biographies. Putting aside the detailed, chronological accounts of military campaigns and political machinations that characterized most writing about history, Nepos surveyed Roman and Greek history for distinguished men who excelled in a range of prestigious occupations. In the exploits and achievements of these illustrious men, Nepos hoped that his readers would find models for the honorable conduct of their own lives. Although most of Nepos' works have been lost, we are fortunate to have his biography of Hannibal. Nepos offers a surprisingly balanced portrayal of a man that most Roman authors vilified as the most monstrous foe that Rome had ever faced. Nepos' straightforward style and his preference for common vocabulary make Life of Hannibal accessible for those who are just beginning to read continuous Latin prose, while the historical interest of the subject make it compelling for readers of every ability.




Cornelius Nepos


Book Description

Seeks to fully rehabilitate Nepos as a writer emblematic of the Italian intelligentsia




Cornelius Nepos


Book Description




Lives of the Great Commanders


Book Description

This new, original translation of Cornelius Nepos's "Lives of the Great Commanders" is the first to appear in many generations. It is also the first completely illustrated and annotated translation of this ageless classic. It contains the following special features that are specifically designed for the general reader or student: 1. Over forty illustrations, including original portrait art and historical illustrations. 2. Over four hundred and forty descriptive footnotes that explain every name, location, and literary point of interest in the text. 3. A fresh, modern English translation that is faithful to the original Latin text. 4. A detailed foreword, descriptive introduction, map, and index for ease of reference. The Roman writer Cornelius Nepos (c. 110 B.C.--c. 25 B.C.) was one of the first biographers in the Western tradition. His "Lives of the Great Commanders" presents memorable and entertaining sketches of some of the most famous military and political leaders of antiquity. Written with a strong moral purpose, his book was taught and studied in schools for many centuries. Through him we learn what character traits made his subjects great, and what shortcomings produced their downfalls. Nepos's instructional biographies have never been more needed or relevant today. His themes--character, moral development, political freedom, and the consequences of corruption--are timeless and universal in their interest. A self-contained unit, this new translation is ideal both for those with no prior background in the subject matter, and also for the serious student.




The Roman Historians


Book Description

The Romans' devotion to their past pervades almost every aspect of their culture. But the clearest image of how the Romans wished to interpret their past is found in their historical writings. This book examines in detail the major Roman historians: * Sallust * Livy * Tacitus * Ammianus as well as the biographies written by: * Nepos * Tacitus * Suetonius * the Augustan History * the autobiographies of Julius Caesar and the Emperor Augustus. Ronald Mellor demonstrates that Roman historical writing was regarded by its authors as a literary not a scholarly exercise, and how it must be evaluated in that context. He shows that history writing reflected the political structures of ancient Rome under the different regimes.




The Historiography of Late Republican Civil War


Book Description

The Historiography of Late Republican Civil War is part of a burgeoning new trend that focuses on the great impact of stasis and civil war on Roman society. This volume specifically concentrates on the Late Republic, a transformative period marked by social and political violence, stasis, factional strife, and civil war. Its constitutive chapters closely study developments and discussions concerning the concept of civil war in the late republican and early imperial historiography of the late Republic, from L. Cornelius Sulla Felix to the Severan dynasty.




The Development of Greek Biography


Book Description

Arnaldo Momigliano traces the growth of ancient biography from the fifth century to the first century B.C. He asks new questions about the origins and development of Greek biography, and makes full use of new evidence uncovered in recent decades from papyri and other sources. By clarifying the social and intellectual implication of the fact that the Greeks kept biography and autobiography distinct from historiography, he contributes to an understanding of a basic dichotomy in the Western tradition of historical writing. The Development of Greek Biography is fully annotated, and includes a bibliography designed to serve as an introduction to the study of biography in general.




Lives of Eminent Commanders


Book Description

Cornelius Nepos' Lives of Eminent Commanders is a collection of short biographies on the most famous generals of antiquity, including Hannibal, Hamilcar, Miltiades, and more.




Greek Literature in the Roman Empire


Book Description

In this book Jason Konig offers for the first time an accessible yet comprehensive account of the multi-faceted Greek literature of the Roman Empire, focusing especially on the first three centuries AD. He covers in turn the Greek novels of this period, the satirical writing of Lucian, rhetoric, philosophy, scientific and miscellanistic writing, geography and history, biography and poetry, providing a vivid introduction to key texts, with extensive quotation in translation. The challenges and pleasures these texts offer to their readers have come to be newly appreciated in the classical scholarship of the last two or three decades. In addition there has been renewed interest in the role played by novelistic and rhetorical writing in the Greek culture of the Roman Empire more broadly, and in the many different ways in which these texts respond to the world around them. This volume offers a broad introduction to those exciting developments.