Originally from a wealthy family in Padua, Livy went to Rome to receive the teaching of rhetoricians (person who teaches eloquence, master of rhetoric) and to study philosophy. Emperor Augustus brings him into a circle of initiates and entrusts him with the education of his son, Claude, the future emperor. Auguste asks him to write the history of the nation in order to forge a national identity. Also he composed, from the year 27 BC, 142 books. This work will monopolize his entire life, which is why he makes few trips. This History of Rome since its foundation , Ab Urbe Condita Libri is a masterful work, of high quality, with an epic breath, which begins at the primitive origins of Rome until the Republic. It is indeed necessary to restore the image of politics in Rome which experienced a period of civil wars following the assassination of Julius Caesar in -44. The people need greatness, so Livy expresses the glory of Rome to serve the Empire. He died in -17, just after Augustus who, all his life, protected him. With this founding work, Livy embodies Roman historical nationalism.
59 BC AD - AD 17 AD
Status
Writer
Historian