Historia Augusta, Volume I

David Magie, David Rohrbacher

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English

Loeb Classical Library
05 September 2022

Biography: historical, political & military; Literary studies: classical, early & medieval; History; European history

Series: Loeb Classical Library

The Historia Augusta is a biographical work roughly following the model of the imperial biographer Suetonius (LCL 31, 38) and covering the lives of the Roman emperors from Hadrian (r. 117–138) to Carinus (r. 283–285), with a lacuna between the lives of the Gordians and the Valerians. Although the work comes down to us as a collection of thirty books written by six different authors, it is now generally considered to be the creation of a single individual writing under several pseudonyms no earlier than the late fourth century. It is a thoroughly enigmatic work whose origins, nature, and purpose remain obscure; the very beginning of the life of Hadrian is lost, and with it any general introduction that may have existed.

While the Historia Augusta is our most detailed surviving source for the second and third centuries, often providing details beyond the Greek accounts, it is not a trustworthy source for historical information: too many of the details are anachronistic, unsupported, or preposterous, or contradicted internally or by better sources, and many documents, speeches, acclamations, and inscriptions that it quotes or cites are entirely fictional.

The Historia Augusta nevertheless has its attractions: for the connoisseur of biography the author provides plenty of wordplay, puns, allusions, literary games, and mock-scholarly digressions, and for the casual reader he offers vivid characterizations of emperors both good and bad.

This revision of the original Loeb edition by David Magie offers text, translation, and annotation that are fully current with modern scholarship.

Revised by: David Rohrbacher
Translated by: David Magie
Imprint: Loeb Classical Library
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 162mm, Width: 108mm,
ISBN: 9780674997448
ISBN 10: 0674997441
Series: Loeb Classical Library
Pages: 400
Publication Date: 05 September 2022
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

David Magie (1877-1960) was Professor of Classics at Princeton University. David Rohrbacher is Professor of Classics, New College of Florida.

Reviews for Historia Augusta, Volume I

The task of editing and revising the work of another scholar cannot be an easy task. Yet Rohrbacher has handled his endeavour with admirable skill and respect. The result is a welcome and, one might add, needed addition to the Loeb Classical Library, and will surely serve anglophone readers of this most beguiling of texts for years to come. -- Christopher Mallan * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *