ABSTRACT
Some of our information comes from later classical authors; of these, the most significant is Plutarch (c. AD 120), whose Roman biographies are collected in two volumes in Penguin ClassicsMakers of Rome and The Fall of the Roman Republic. Besides Plutarch, considerable use is made of the historical writings of Appian (c. AD 150), Dio Cassius (c. AD 220) and of Suetonius’ Life of Caesar (c. AD 120). These are, of course, in various ways dependent upon earlier authors, some of whom survive in fragmentary form. It is clear, however, that whilst the late republic could be an attractive subject for early imperial writers, it could also be one that tested the sensibilities of Augustus’ successors; Cremutius Cordus, writing during the reign of Tiberius, was prosecuted for praising Brutus and Cassius. Perhaps the greatest loss amongst authors of this kind is represented by the later books of Augustus’ friend, the historian Livy, to whom Augustus is said to have referred as ‘my Pompeian friend’.
