Ancient Biography

Over the last 2,000 years, ambitious men have dreamed of forging vast empires and attaining eternal glory in battle, but of all the conquerors who took steps toward such dreams, none were ever as successful as antiquity’s first great conqueror. History for Kids: The Illustrated Life of Alexander the Great provides an entertaining look at the facts and myths surrounding one of history’s most famous men and conquerors, while exploring the lasting legacy he left.

Pericles was a statesmen, general, and speaker during the Golden Age of Athens. His impact on the city-state would be so great that Thucydides, an honored historian, would refer to him as the city's First Citizen. In what would be titled the "Age of Pericles", he would turn the Delian League from an alliance to an Athenian Empire and foster the arts and sciences within his country more than any leader had before him. He is responsible for starting the great projects of Athens, like the Acropolis and Parthenon, which can still be seen in their glory today.

The tumultuous time that followed Nero’s suicide is known as The Year of the Four Emperors. In rapid succession, the Roman empire was ruled briefly by Galba, Otho, and Vitellius. Vespasian was a military commander, and with the help of his loyal soldiers and military allies, he defeated Vitellius and lay claim to his rule. Vespasian’s assumption of the empire, chronicled in this short biography by Suetonius, marked the start of the Flavian dynasty.

Augustus adopted Tiberius as his heir after noting his success in military campaigns across Germany. Tiberius was reluctant to take rule, however, and gained a reputation as “the exile” after he sent himself on an eight-year, self-imposed exile to Rhodes. Eventually he did take control of the empire, but he gained a reputation for cruelty which led Rome to rejoice at his eventual death. In this excerpt from The Twelve Caesars, Roman biographer Suetonius digs deep into both the conquests and character of Tiberius.

“I came, I saw, I conquered,” Julius Caesar famously said. Yet his life of conquest ended with assassination at the hands of his former comrades. Roman biographer Suetonius details the rise and fall of Julius Caesar in this short biography, excerpted from The Twelve Caesars. This compelling account contains cinematic scenes from Caesar’s life, including his capture by pirates and the time he fell weeping before a statue of Alexander the Great.

Galba was the first emperor in the infamous Year of the Four Emperors. After Nero’s suicide, which marked the death of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Galba took control of the empire. A mere seven months later, he was assassinated. This short biography comes from Suetonius’ The Twelve Caesars and deals largely with Galba’s brief rule amid the first Roman civil war.

The Life of Aratus is one of the many biographies detailed in Plutarch’s integral work, Parallel Lives. In The Life of Aratus, Plutarch details the dynamic work done by the successor of Nicocles and talks about his advocacy to turn Greece into a united country. Working as a soldier first and then a diplomat, he fought for the betterment of his fellow countrymen. Disaster hit during his later reign, as it so often did, and though many wanted him dead, the great Oracle at Delphi had other plans.

One of the more hotly contested lives documented in Plutarch’s Parallel Lives, the Life of Dion investigates the intense politics of the tyrant of Syracuse. Starting out in politics, he initially was one of Dionysus’ most trusted advisors. But after Dionysus expressed that he no longer wanted to be a tyrant, which went against the advisement of Dion, his most trusted advisor was banished.

Although revered in history for their civilization and culture, the Greeks were always in a constant state of warfare amongst themselves. With the likes of Athens, Sparta, and Thebes asserting dominance over the Ionian Peninsula, none of the other city-states could amass an army strong enough to challenge their superiority in the area, much less take on all challengers and invade Persia. However, none of these other city-states had a ruler named Alexander.

Néron : l'excellence de ses conseillers (Sénèque et Tacite) n'a pas suffi à empêcher l'émergence d'un empereur fou, criminel et pervers. Il fit assassiner sa propre mère, et causa la mort de sa femme Poppée ; il ordonna qu'on torture et exécute ses rivaux ; après l'incendie de Rome, il sut aussi dévier la colère du peuple en lui offrant un autre objet de suspicion : les chrétiens. Leur persécution fut épouvantable : jetés aux lions, ou crucifiés et brûlés vifs en guise de flambeaux, ils furent le bouc émissaire de tout un peuple.

Caligula : tyran épouvantable et énigme irrésolue. Après un début de règne prospère et paisible, cet Empereur fut pris d'un revirement soudain, pour se montrer d'une cruauté allant jusqu'au sadisme. Il commit l'inceste avec ses sœurs, menaça de nommer son cheval consul pour humilier ses opposants politiques, accumula assassinats et exils avec un plaisir non dissimulé, tout en menant des projets d'une extravagance incroyable.

Alongside Plato, Aristotle is, without question, one of the most influential ancient Greek philosophers and arguably the greatest icon of ancient thought. His life and work expanded rapidly and extensively across the ancient world, helped in part by the fact he tutored Alexander the Great. He was a recognized and celebrated intellectual force during all of antiquity and the Middle Ages. Furthermore, after Aristotle, Greek thought and political influence began a rapid decline.

Mit Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix wird in der Römischen Geschichte Grausamkeit und Terror verbunden. Als er 83 v. Chr. nach dem erfolgreichen Krieg gegen Mithridates aus Asien nach Rom zurückkehrte, begann seine Schreckensherrschaft, während der er seine Gegner ermordete und sich selbst zum Diktator erhob. In verständlicher und unterhaltender Form vermittelt der 1933 verstorbene Altphilologe und Historiker Theodor Birt Römische Geschichte und Sullas komplexe Persönlichkeit.

Le fonti antiche hanno tramandato la sua stravaganza, eccentricità e depravazione, facendo giungere fino ai nostri giorni l’immagine di un despota completamente folle. Caligola incarna l’emblema del sovrano assoluto al quale è concesso tutto: beveva perle sciolte nel vino e mangiava pietanze ricoperte d’oro, elesse console il suo cavallo, si faceva adorare come una divinità in terra, aveva potere di vita e di morte su chiunque non gli andasse a genio.

Tanti furono i barbari ed i condottieri che calarono furiosamente dalle sterminate lande orientali per sfidare l'Impero Romano, ma soltanto uno e' entrato nella leggenda prima ancora che nella storia: Attila, il re degli Unni.Barbaro e distruttore, Attila incarno' per anni lo stereotipo del condottiero crudele e selvaggio.

The Life of Cimon is just one of many notable biographies in Plutarch’s informative Parallel Lives series. Cimon, an Athenian Statesman, was the son of the general who won Greece’s battle of Marathon. Battling and defeating the Persian Empire on water, Cimon was crucial in the construction of the Athenian Maritime Empire. However, like so many others in the series, Cimon was eventually ostracized from the empire when his political views took a radical turn.

Walk in the steps of King Aegesilus, leader of Sparta and conquerer of Corinth. Cornelius Nepos recounts the life of a man who was loyal when it suited him and merciful when the mood struck him. He was one of the greatest kings Sparta ever had, yet he almost lost the title to another.

Quella di Alessandro Magno fu una vita avventurosa. Divenuto re a soli vent'anni, il sovrano macedone rese le città-stato della Grecia prive di potere e sconfisse definitivamente la Persia. Ancora giovanissimo, regnò sull'impero più vasto che la terra abbia mai visto. Ma i suoi sogni erano ancora più grandi: egli voleva raggiungere i confini del mondo. Solo la morte poteva fermare il suo desiderio di espansione, e così avvenne.

Pelopidas and Epaminondas' lives are inseperable in history. One's actions would not have been possible without the other by their side. Listen as Pelopidas reclaims his homeland and challenges one of the great Alexanders of history as he seeks his own kleos, or eternal glory.

Though Nepos largely focused on the Greco-Romans in his writings, some men accomplished so much he was willing to break this rule. Datames was a commander of armies, man of the kings of Persia and Egypt, and outwitter of plots. Follow his intricate and exciting life as he attempts to outpace the powerful men around him.