Ancient Greek & Roman
Livy
Titus Livius (59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy, was born at Patavium (modern Padua) in northern Italy and spent much of his adult life in Rome, where he enjoyed the favour of the emperor Augustus without holding public office. He devoted his career to history rather than politics.
His great work, Ab Urbe Condita (‘From the Founding of the City’), narrated the story of Rome from its legendary origins down to 9 BC in 142 books, of which only thirty-five survive, among them the first ten, which reach 293 BC. Livy shaped his sources into a moral and literary narrative of the rise of the Roman people, and his history became the standard account of early Rome.
He is said to have died at Patavium in AD 17. The present English version of Books I–VIII is by D. Spillan (1849).
Major Works (4)
- The History of Rome, Books XXVII–XXXVI — translated by Cyrus R. Edmonds (1850)
- The History of Rome, Books XXXVII–XLV, with the Epitomes — translated by W. A. McDevitte (1850)
- The History of Rome, Books I–VIII — translated by D. Spillan (1849)
- The History of Rome, Books IX–XXVI — translated by D. Spillan and Cyrus R. Edmonds (1849-50)