The Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Volume 12: DomitianSuetonius
History
The Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Volume 12: Domitian
Suetonius
Emperors -- Rome -- Biography -- Early works to 1800; Rome -- History -- Empire, 30 B.C.-284 A.D.
performance in elocution, both Greek and Latin and besides the musicians
who sung to the harp, there were others who played concerted pieces or
solos, without vocal accompaniment. Young girls also ran races in the
Stadium, at which he presided in his sandals, dressed in a purple robe,
made after the Grecian fashion, and wearing upon his head a golden crown
bearing the effigies of Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva; with the flamen of
Jupiter, and the college of priests sitting by his side in the same
dress; excepting only that their crowns had also his own image on them.
He celebrated also upon the Alban mount every year the festival of
Minerva, for whom he had appointed a college of priests, out of which
were chosen by lot persons to preside as governors over the college; who
were obliged to entertain the people with extraordinary chases of
wild-beasts, and stage-plays, besides contests for prizes in oratory and
poetry. He thrice bestowed upon the people a largess of three hundred
sesterces each man; and, at a public show of gladiators, a very plentiful
feast. At the festival of the Seven Hills [803], he distributed large
hampers of provisions (483) to the senatorian and equestrian orders, and
small baskets to the common people, and encouraged them to eat by setting
them the example. The day after, he scattered among the people a variety
of cakes and other delicacies to be scrambled for; and on the greater
part of them falling amidst the seats of the crowd, he ordered five
hundred tickets to be thrown into each range of benches belonging to the
senatorian and equestrian orders.
V. He rebuilt many noble edifices which had been destroyed by fire, and
amongst them the Capitol, which had been burnt down a second time [804];
but all the inscriptions were in his own name, without the least mention
of the original founders. He likewise erected a new temple in the
Capitol to Jupiter Custos, and a forum, which is now called Nerva's
[805], as also the temple of the Flavian family [806], a stadium [807],
an odeum [808], and a naumachia [809]; out of the stone dug from which,
the sides of the Circus Maximus, which had been burnt down, were rebuilt.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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