Start Date
4-30-2026 10:35 AM
End Date
4-30-2026 11:45 AM
Disciplines
History
Subjects
Rome -- Antiquities, Suetonius Suetonius approximately 69-approximately 122, Julius Caesar
Abstract
History has presented a group of leaders who have been frequently studied and written about; Julius Caesar is among these leaders. The common historical narrative which examines his life has brought particular attention to not only Julius Caesar's leadership, but also Caesar as an individual. During the 2nd century CE, in Ancient Rome, the writer Suetonius published his 12 Caesars, a collection of biographies that included Suetonius's biography of Julius Caesar. Throughout the 12 Caesars, Suetonius would depict his subjects in a manner that was less factual than other biographies which preceded his, yet the 12 Caesars became more influential than these other biographies as well. These depictions would change the manner in which the book’s subjects, including Caesar were depicted throughout history. This paper focuses particularly on Suetonius’s first book in The 12 Caesars, "The Life of Julius Caesar" and its influence upon the image of powerful and influential leaders comparable to Julius Caesar. This paper will explore Suetonius’s life, education, and style of writing, all of which formed the Suetonius's rhetorical style that would influence modern interpretations of his biography of Julius Caesar, before moving onto his influence upon William Shakespeare’s play, titled "Julius Caesar", and finally landing upon the influence of The Life of Julius Caesar upon modern fictional and non-fictional media, particularly the HBO drama series "The Sopranos".
Rights
Copyright 2026 Eben N. Cole
Creative Commons License or Rights Statement
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Included in
Rhetoric, Shakespeare, and Tony Soprano: The Influence of Suetonius's The Life of Julius Caesar in Personalizing the Leader
History has presented a group of leaders who have been frequently studied and written about; Julius Caesar is among these leaders. The common historical narrative which examines his life has brought particular attention to not only Julius Caesar's leadership, but also Caesar as an individual. During the 2nd century CE, in Ancient Rome, the writer Suetonius published his 12 Caesars, a collection of biographies that included Suetonius's biography of Julius Caesar. Throughout the 12 Caesars, Suetonius would depict his subjects in a manner that was less factual than other biographies which preceded his, yet the 12 Caesars became more influential than these other biographies as well. These depictions would change the manner in which the book’s subjects, including Caesar were depicted throughout history. This paper focuses particularly on Suetonius’s first book in The 12 Caesars, "The Life of Julius Caesar" and its influence upon the image of powerful and influential leaders comparable to Julius Caesar. This paper will explore Suetonius’s life, education, and style of writing, all of which formed the Suetonius's rhetorical style that would influence modern interpretations of his biography of Julius Caesar, before moving onto his influence upon William Shakespeare’s play, titled "Julius Caesar", and finally landing upon the influence of The Life of Julius Caesar upon modern fictional and non-fictional media, particularly the HBO drama series "The Sopranos".