Roman Era literature

[T.C.]

Any good suggestions for Roman era literature? I've read Rubicon by Tom Holland and The Fall of The Roman Empire by Peter Heather. I preferred Rubicon's narrative style but also enjoyed Heather's book. Can anyone suggest anything similar to these that's worth the read?

[Bethencourt]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colleen_McCullough Masters of Rome series

[Slydessertfox]

Adrian Goldsworthy's "Caesar: Life of A Colossus" is amazing.

[hellcatfighter]

Livy's "History of Rome (Ab urbe condita)"Book 21-30

Amazing Roman era history book about the Second Punic War. Though I'm not sure if it qualifies as literature.

[tungri_centurio]

robert harris-imperium, its a book over cicero roman politics
nigel pollard&loanne berry-the complete roman legions
fik meijer-macht zonder grenzen( if you can read dutch)great book
theodore ayrault dodge books about rome,carthage,alexander

[Slydessertfox]

I'm reading Dodge's book about Hannibal right now actually. It is very good, I'd definitely recommend it. Also, Goldsworthy's book on the Punic Wars is good too.

[Legio]

Would you prefer primary or secondary sources?

[Mamertine]

Would you prefer primary or secondary sources?

Not to speak for the OP, but I personally would really love both if it is not too much trouble. A list would suffice, no need to break them all down or anything. I plan on reading a lot more about this era, and others, but everywhere I go the list of books are completely different. I checked out EB's list of sources, but there are so many I do not know where to begin. I mean, do people know how many books have been written on the Roman Empire? It is vast. Last thing is about first hand accounts in regards to whom translates them. I have found some books I want to read, but there are different translations and it isn't easy finding an article that break's down the different translations of Xenophon's 10,000 or Meditations due to the esoteric nature. I personally find it harder to locate primary books than anything due to the narrow marketability of them. Any incite at all would be appreciated from anyone. VV has not been the most help for books for several reasons.

But I will certainly take TWC's opinion over some stranger on amazon any day.

[Legio]

I'd be more than happy to recommend some juicy primary sources, dears. :3

Keep in mind that translations vary, and that I can only speak for the quality of the ones I directly link to. I will be linking to Amazon's US store because it's easier for me.


A few primary sources:
This edition of Ammianus Marcellinus is superb. Some of his more famous passages lament the decay of Roman society. There are also quite a few military engagements for our army buffs out there. Julian pops up quite a bit.
If you're looking for something earlier, Silius Italicus' Punica, about--you guessed it--war with CARTHAGE. The Loeb Classical Library is probably the most prestigious when it comes to translating, and is a boon for all students of Classical languages (you have the original text on the left page and a translation on the right), but you MUST be careful, especially with older editions. Older editions of the Loeb bowdlerize the text, use excessively flower translations, and gloss over or neglect to translate the racier bits of the text. This edition of Punica is rather good, but be aware of publication dates with Loebs. If you have any questions, message me: I'm a Classics major and I breathe this.
I would be remiss in neglecting to include Augustine of Hippo. Many students find this work less dull than Confessions.


A few secondary sources:
One of Michael Grant's more readable books.
Excellent book by Averil Cameron, but might be a bit much for the interested layman. The pages are rough and scratchy, too.
This is a good book to read after Cameron's. Again, it might be a bit much for the interested layman, but I recommend it.
A short and well-written book on everyday life in Ancient Rome. Great beach reading!
I will never run out of good things to say about Peter Brown's books. This happens to be one of the most accessible books about Late Antiquity out there.

Biographies:
Caligula. VERY good.
Cleopatra. A bit too Hollywood-y for my taste, but it's good enough. Got a Pulitzer Prize. The inside front cover is pretty as well.
Symmachus. I know that the book is rather expensive, but it is worth every penny.


This is a rather general and Rome-centric list, but I'd be more than happy to recommend more specialized lists where I can.


Edit: A note on translations. There is a great difference between reading a text and translating it. The best possible way to read an ancient text would be to read it in its original language. I know that it's a lot to ask for, and I know from experience that it can be a royal pain in the bum-bum, but it's worth the grief. You will understand far more, and you will be able to appreciate things like Plato's paronomastic use of language.

[tungri_centurio]

nice list there chloe,gonna buy at least 3 of them
do you know if the books seutonius:the twelve caesers/ mickel grants the severans:the roman empire transformed are good books?

[Legio]

Which translation of Suetonius are you looking at? DO NOT GET THE ROBERT GRAVES TRANSLATION. Great author (I, Claudius), but his refusal to accurately translate anything that contradicts the view of Rome as a heteronormative society makes him a poor option for translations.

Michael Grant is a famous author, but keep in mind that some of his ideas about gender and sexuality are a bit...antiquated at times. He's fine for names, places, and dates, but don't take everything he says about religious, social, or sexual practice at face value. This is a great resource, by the way.

[Slydessertfox]

I just ordered that book on Caligula, Chloe, so it's good to hear it's very good. Would you happen to be able to point to a good translation of Arrian?

[Legio]

I just ordered that book on Caligula, Chloe, so it's good to hear it's very good. Would you happen to be able to point to a good translation of Arrian?

I'm so happy to hear that you've ordered the Caligula book!

Newer translations printed by Oxford University Press are usually quite good. I haven't read this edition, but I can vouch for the publishers.

[tungri_centurio]

what version of seutonius do you recommend?can find only the graves translation?
maybe beter to buy birleys lives of the later caesers then?
gonna buy caligula,wallece-hadrills the later roman empire&every day life in ancient rome also
have you read robert harris imperium?i like that book about roman law and politics

[Legio]

what version of seutonius do you recommend?can find only the graves translation?
maybe beter to buy birleys lives of the later caesers then?
gonna buy caligula,wallece-hadrills the later roman empire&every day life in ancient rome also
have you read robert harris imperium?i like that book about roman law and politics

This is a generally reliable translation of Suetonius, and it gets bonus points for being free and online. It's run in partnership with the University of Chicago. Again, as with almost every translation, be wary of passages on sexuality and gender. There are over about two thousand years of fig leaves to remove from most of these texts!

I haven't read the Harris book, but people whose opinion I value highly spoke well of it.

[tungri_centurio]

There are over about two thousand years of fig leaves to remove from most of these texts!
.

LOL that are alot of leaves then

i know,most books about history shoud be readed with that in mind i think,only latin text a bit less,but cant read latin

about sexuality and gender, they are not as openminded as we are these days,and in the time most books where copied from the original
even less than 2000 years ago

[Slydessertfox]

Thanks for the link Chloe. I would give you rep but I have given out too much in the last 24 hours =P The Robert Harris books on Cicero are good, and he does a good job of accurately portraying Cicero's career.

[Legio]

Heh, no rep is needed. I'm just glad to be given a platform where I can jabber at people about the Classics. :3

Anyone should feel free to message me about book recommendations or other stuff!

[Mamertine]

Heh, no rep is needed.

Too bad, lol. Repped. Thank you for the recommendations, been away on business and will be making a few purchases when I get back. Any others by anyone else, please feel free to add any others books or specific translations to a book. Thanks.

[Legio]

Actually, people in Classical and Late Antiquity (and even the early Medieval period) were quite a bit less judgmental--for lack of a better word--about sexual practices that fell outside of what many modern societies designate as heteronormative. The fig leaves I mentioned in my earlier post were added in by later translators and transcribers. Take Plato's Lysis: while most people will tell you that it is about 'friendship', it has very strong homoerotic undertones; in fact, Lysis is a male who is assumed to play the submissive role in a pederastic relationship. Plays on words like διατριβομεν do nothing to dispel this notion. You also have poetry like Fragment 1255-56 by Theognis, saying that 'He who does not love boys, horses of uncloven hoof, and dogs, never has good cheer in his heart.' I won't go into that much detail because of our Obscene Content rule, but the Classical word was certainly not as austere or sober as some would like to think! We have Victorian 'scholars' to blame for many of the incorrect assumptions held about Classical mores.

An interesting study of homosexuality and early Christianity is John Boswell's book. Did you know, for instance, that Saint Paulinus, Bishop of Nola, wrote love poetry to another man, Ausonius by name, who was known for having a library full of Greek homoerotic texts?

I just started reading this book about the Etruscans. It's a bit dry, but not bad at all. Try to get it used or on sale.