Dio's Rome, Volume 6

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

4.2

Word count: 405K words
Chapters: 41

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 6 by Cassius Dio CocceianusAuthor: Cassius Dio Cocceianus,Language: English, Class: DG: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere: Italy, Vatican City, Malta, Release Date: Apr 1, 2004

Editor's review

This is the public-domain English electronic text of Volume 6 of Cassius Dio's Roman History, released by Project Gutenberg. Writing as both eyewitness and senator, Dio chronicles Roman history; this volume continues his annalistic narrative and offers source material for studying the political and military changes from the late Republic to the early Empire. As a public-domain e-book, its greatest value lies in being free and easy to access, making it suitable as supplementary reading for classical historical sources rather than as an introductory text. The original is an English translation, and its style carries the solemnity of classical historiography, with long sentences and dense names of people and places that require some patience. In terms of reading context, it is better used alongside a general history of Rome for comparison, or as a primary source for consultation during specialized research. If you are systematically reading the complete works of Dio, this volume is part of a continuous puzzle; if you are only browsing casually, it may be hard to get into because of the lack of surrounding context.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers with a basic understanding of Roman history who wish to encounter primary sources
Readers who are systematically reading the complete Roman History of Dio
Classics or history students using it as supplementary English source material
Readers accustomed to public-domain English e-books who can accept a classical style

Not a good fit for

Readers with no background in Roman history who are looking for an introductory general reader
Readers who prefer light narrative or modern colloquial retellings of history
Readers who need a Chinese translation and are not used to the English original

Reading tips

First read a general history of Rome to establish a timeline, then use this volume to locate events by comparison.
While reading, make a quick reference table of names and offices to reduce the burden of understanding.
There is no need to read word by word; start with the table of contents and chapter introductions, then choose passages of interest for close reading.
Consult maps for the places and provinces mentioned to help reconstruct the geographical context.

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

Is this book in Chinese or English?

This is a public-domain English e-book released by Project Gutenberg; the main text is an English translation and contains no Chinese translation. Before reading, you need some English reading ability, especially for the long sentences and proper names in classical historiography.

Can I read Volume 6 directly without having read the first five volumes?

You can read it, but you will lack the groundwork of the earlier text. Dio's work proceeds annalistically, and people and events are closely connected across volumes. It is advisable at least to understand the historical background of the period covered in this volume first, or to begin with introductory material for the complete works before entering this volume.

Is this e-book suitable for academic citation?

It can be used for reading historical sources and preliminary reference, but academic citation should be checked against authoritative critical editions or scholarly translations, with specific volume and chapter noted. The public-domain electronic text is convenient for searching and reading through, but it does not replace rigorous textual scholarship.

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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.