Biography
Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus was a Roman biographer and imperial administrator writing in the early second century AD. His access to archives and court traditions gave him valuable material, although his interest in personality, scandal and private conduct shapes the surviving biographies.
Major Works
Read the Original
The complete Lives of the Twelve Caesars is available in a public-domain English translation with the Latin text at LacusCurtius. The individual Life of Julius Caesar is also linked directly.
Reliability and Caution
Suetonius preserves documents, sayings and traditions unavailable elsewhere, but he organises biography by subject rather than strict chronology and often records rumours without establishing their truth. His anecdotes are evidence for Roman memory as well as for events.
How Livarva Uses This Source
Livarva uses Suetonius chiefly for Caesar’s public image, honours, reforms, private conduct and the later tradition surrounding the Ides of March.