50 pages • 1 hour read
SuetoniusThe Twelve Caesars
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 121A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
DomitianChapter Summaries & Analyses
Sections 1-23 Summary
The last emperor of the Flavian dynasty, Domitian came to power after the sudden illness and death of his older brother Titus. Suetonius portrays Domitian as a fearful sadist who spent hours “catching flies and impaling them with a very sharp writing implement” (Section 3). However, he embarked on some successful military campaigns and rebuilt several prominent buildings that were destroyed in the Great Fire of Rome, and he was conscientious when it came to judicial cases.
However, Domitian executed many members of the Senate and spent enormous funds on public entertainment and the military. He demanded the Senate refer to him as “master and lord” in correspondence. After a dream and several other signs, Domitian realized that he was doomed to die. He was assassinated by his wife Domitila’s steward, Stephanus. Suetonius concludes by recounting a dream Domitian had, in which a golden hump grew out of his back. He interpreted this as a sign that the empire would be more prosperous and peaceful after his death, “as indeed happened […] through the self-control and integrity of the subsequent emperors” (Section 23).
“Domitian” Analysis
Much as he did with Tiberius and Caligula, Suetonius claims that Domitian’s violence and tyranny were largely directed toward members of the Senate. Also, while Domitian (51 CE-96 CE) did not go as far as Caligula in allegedly claiming that he was a god, he did demand deference from the Senate. Again, like Caligula, the gestures Domitian made suggest that he also strived to make the imperial office a more open monarchy without republican trappings. Although Suetonius acknowledges Domitian’s accomplishments, his overall portrayal of the emperor is that of a paranoid tyrant with such a sadistic streak that he tortured flies as a hobby.
Although dreams and omens play a major role throughout The Twelve Caesars, they are especially important in “Domitian.” First, Domitian himself dreamed that his patron goddess Minerva told him she could no longer protect him, presaging his own assassination. Much like how Domitian’s qualities as a tyrant were determined at birth, fate also determined his demise. The next dream is mentioned at the end of the book and was likely intended to compliment Suetonius’s own employers, the emperors Trajan and Hadrian. The depiction of the last Flavian emperor as a tyrant who was justly assassinated was another way for Suetonius to flatter the most recent emperors. After all, there is no better way to legitimize the reigns of the emperors who followed than suggesting that the previous dynasty ended with a cruel tyrant.
