Dio's Rome, Volume 4

Lucius Cassius Dio (Dio Cassius)Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.0

Word count: 669K words
Chapters: 67

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971, and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today. Dio's Rome, Volume 4 by Cassius Dio Cocceianus. Author: Cassius Dio Cocceianus. Language: English. Class: DG: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere: Italy, Vatican City, Malta. Release Date: Jan 1, 2004.

Editor's review

Dio's Rome, Volume 4 is one volume of Cassius Dio's Roman History, a public-domain ebook from Project Gutenberg. Dio's Roman History narrates Rome's course from its founding to the author's own time in annalistic fashion, and is one of the important classical sources for studying Roman politics, military affairs, and court life. This volume is the fourth in the complete set; readers should note that it is not a standalone work but a segment of a continuous narrative, and reading it alone may lack context. Its value lies in providing a first-hand narrative perspective from a Roman historian, and it can be cross-referenced with works by Tacitus, Suetonius, and others. The language is an English translation, in a style leaning toward historical writing, dense with events and numerous names. It is suitable as one part of a classical history reading plan rather than an introductory text. It is advisable to first understand the structure of the whole work and its division into volumes, then locate the period covered by this volume.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers with a basic grounding in Roman history who want to read classical historians in the original
Students who need English historical sources for coursework or paper references
Long-term readers accustomed to advancing through large history books volume by volume
Ebook readers who like free public-domain classical literature

Not a good fit for

Readers with no background in Roman history who want an introductory general history
General readers expecting easy storytelling or literary narrative
People who need modern annotated notes and maps to understand historical sources

Reading tips

First read the general preface or table of contents to confirm the historical period covered by this volume before entering the main text.
Prepare a timeline of Roman figures and events to consult as you read, reducing the burden of names.
Read in comparison with relevant passages from Tacitus or Suetonius to cross-verify historical events.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Can I read Volume 4 directly without having read the first three volumes?

You can read it, but it will feel disjointed. Dio's Roman History is a continuous annalistic narrative, and Volume 4 continues the threads of figures and events from the preceding text. If you start directly, it is advisable to first understand the historical background of the period covered by this volume and prepare a timeline; otherwise you may easily get lost among the dense names and events.

Does this edition have notes and maps?

According to the available information, this book is a public-domain electronic text from Project Gutenberg and usually does not include modern editorial notes, maps, or introductions. Readers need to supplement background material themselves or consult annotated scholarly editions in parallel to understand place names, official positions, and relationships among figures.

Is Dio's Roman History suitable as an introduction to Roman history?

Not very suitable. Original works by classical historians are dense with events and full of names, and lack modern scholarly organization. Introductory readers should first read a general survey of Roman history with introductions and maps, build a framework, and then return to Dio's original work, so as to better appreciate its value as a historical source and its narrative characteristics.

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About the author

Lucius Cassius Dio (Dio Cassius) Author · Roman

Cassius Dio Cocceianus, also known as Dio Cassius, was a Roman statesman and historian of Greek descent on his mother's side, born in Nicaea in Bithynia. He served as a senator, held the consulship twice, around 205 and in 229, and governed Africa and Pannonia. Writing in Greek, he composed the eighty-book Roman History, covering the period from Aeneas' arrival in Italy down to 229 CE; it is an important source for the late Republic and early Empire. Six of his works are held in the collection, mostly volume editions of the Roman History, showing its continued transmission. Public information on his life is limited, and readers may best appreciate this universal history as a systematic ancient account of political change and imperial rise and fall.