Character guide

Augustus

major

Also known as Octavia, The Deified Augustus, Ancharia, Atia, Quintus Hortensius, Caesar Augustus

The sickly heir who outmaneuvered Rome's deadliest men, Augustus turned a murdered dictator's name into the world's first imperial throne.

Tiberius

major

Also known as Tiberius Nero, Nero, Tiberius Claudius Drusus, Claudius, Drusus, Tiberius Claudius Nero, Caesar Tiberius

A soldier of grim discipline and deeper suspicion, Tiberius ruled Rome while trusting almost no one, least of all the family circling his throne.

Caligula

major

Also known as Gaius Caligula Germanicus, Germanicus, Gaius, Thereupon Caligula

Raised in army camps and nicknamed for his little boots, Caligula learned early to hide cruelty behind obedience — until the mask came off.

Claudius

major

Also known as Tiberius Claudius Drusus, Claudius, Drusus, Claudius Caesar

Dismissed as a harmless scholar and mocked as a muleteer, Claudius survived every purge by seeming too dull to fear.

Nero

major

Also known as Agrippina, Nero son of Agrippina

An emperor who fancied himself an artist, Nero craved applause more than power and punished anyone who failed to give it.

Galba

major

Also known as Servius Galba, Servius

An old aristocrat of iron discipline, Galba seized an empire already crumbling and ruled it as if austerity alone could save Rome.

Otho

major

Also known as Salvius Otho, Marcus Salvius Otho, Marcus, Accordingly Otho

Otho enters the narrative as one of the four emperors scrambling for power in the chaotic year after Nero, a man whose ambition outpaces his military position. His reign is defined by a desperate gamble: he stakes everything on a single battle against Vitellius's forces, and when it fails, he takes his own life rather than prolong civil bloodshed. His brief, fatal dignity stands in sharp contrast to the greed and excess of his rival, making his chapter a study in how quickly imperial fortune can turn.

Vitellius

major

Also known as Aulus Vitellius, Aulus

Vitellius rises to power through military luck rather than merit, and once installed he indulges every appetite, from lavish banquets to arbitrary appointments. His defining tension is between the immense authority he holds and his utter incapacity to wield it responsibly, alienating soldiers and senators alike. His downfall, driven by Vespasian's advancing armies, makes him the cautionary counterweight to the more disciplined Flavians who follow.

Vespasian

major

Vespasian comes to the throne not through noble lineage but through military competence and a string of uncanny omens that Suetonius delights in cataloguing. His earthy humor, stinginess, and no-nonsense temperament set him apart from the aristocratic emperors before him, and his relationship with his ambitious sons shapes the dynasty's future. He matters because his reign marks the empire's recovery from the chaos of three violent successions, grounding the narrative's turn toward order.

Titus

major

Also known as The Deified Titus

Titus is groomed from youth for power, serving beside his father in Judaea and earning a reputation for affability that contrasts with his brother Domitian's sour ambition. His reign is remembered for lavish public generosity and for the disasters, including Vesuvius and a fire in Rome, that tested his composure. His early death leaves the succession to Domitian, and his shadow hangs over the dynasty's darker final chapter.

Domitian

major

Also known as The Deified Domitian

Domitian lives in the shadow of his brother Titus, and his resentment curdles into a reign marked by secrecy, cruelty, and a paranoid grip on power. Suetonius paints him as a man who stabs flies in private and senators in public, his autocratic instincts alienating the very class that once supported his family. His reign closes the Flavian arc, showing how the dynasty's hard-won stability could curdle into tyranny.

Julius Caesar

major

Also known as Gaius Caesar, Caesar Strabo, Caesar, Gaius, the Deified Julius, Julius, Gaius Julius Caesar Strabo, Julius

Caesar opens Suetonius's gallery as a young man already defying Sulla's orders by refusing to divorce his wife, then surviving pirates and political exile with equal audacity. His charm, debts, and military genius make him beloved by soldiers and feared by the Senate, and his refusal to accept second place drives the civil war that ends the Republic. His chapter establishes the template for every emperor who follows: personal charisma and armed force trumping constitutional restraint.

Mark Antony

supporting

Also known as Antony, Marcus Antonius

Caesar's rough-edged lieutenant and heir to his soldiers' loyalty, whose appetites and ambition would help decide whether Rome became a republic or an empire.

Agrippina the Younger

supporting

Also known as Agrippina

A great-granddaughter of Augustus who married her uncle, promoted her son Nero to the purple, and discovered too late how thin the line is between kingmaker and casualty.

Germanicus

supporting

Also known as Germanicus, Vitellius Germanicus

The Republic's darling general, adored by the legions and the crowd alike, whose charm and bloodline made him the brightest hope — and the easiest target — of his generation.

Drusus Nero

supporting

Also known as Drusus, Nero, Claudius Nero, The father of Claudius Caesar

Tiberius's younger brother, a soldier who died young in the German campaigns, leaving behind a son, Claudius, whom everyone underestimated.

Sejanus

supporting

Also known as Aelius Sejanus

The Praetorian prefect who turned a bodyguard into a secret police, ruling Rome from Tiberius's shadow until the emperor's suspicion caught up with him.

Livia Drusilla

supporting

Also known as Livia, Drusilla, Livia Drusilla, Livia Augusta, Augusta

Augustus's wife and Rome's first empress, a shrewd political operator whose devotion to dynasty shaped — and shadowed — every Julio-Claudian who followed.

Cicero

supporting

Also known as Marcus Tullius Cicero, Marcus Cicero

Rome's greatest orator, whose tongue and pen made him a kingmaker — and, under Mark Antony, a marked man.

Brutus

supporting

Also known as Decimus Brutus, Marcus Brutus, Brutus on Cato

The brooding aristocrat who joined the plot against Caesar and lent it the moral weight of a famous name.

Cassius

supporting

Also known as Gaius Cassius, Cassius Longinus, Lucius Cassius Longinus

Lean, sharp-tongued soldier whose old grudges against Caesar hardened into the dagger that struck him down.

Pompey the Great

supporting

Also known as Pompey, Sextus Pompey, Gnaeus Pompey, Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus

The conqueror of the East, Caesar's son-in-law turned rival, whose prestige could not survive Pharsalus.

Messalina

supporting

Also known as Valeria Messalina

Claudius's young empress, whose appetites and intrigues turned the imperial bedchamber into a death trap.

Nymphidius Sabinus

minor

Praetorian prefect who claimed to be Caligula's son.

Domitia Longina

minor

Also known as Domitia

Wife of Domitian, involved in his assassination.

Suetonius Laetus

minor

Also known as Suetonius

Father of the author Suetonius, a Roman knight.

Jupiter

minor

Also known as Jupiter Optimus Maximus, Jupiter Custos, Jupiter Capitolinus, Jupiter Cassius, Jupiter Olympius

Chief Roman god, often invoked by emperors.

Ptolemy

minor

Also known as King Ptolemy

King of Mauretania, son of Juba II, executed by Caligula.

Narcissus

minor

Freedman secretary of Claudius, powerful and wealthy.

Sporus

minor

Also known as This Sporus

Young boy castrated and married by Nero.

Icelus

minor

Freedman and favorite of Galba.

Caenis

minor

Freedwoman and mistress of Vespasian.

Cleopatra

minor

Queen of Egypt, ally of Caesar and Mark Antony.

Poppaea Sabina

minor

Second wife of Nero, reportedly kicked to death by him.

Seneca

supporting

Also known as Annaeus Seneca

Stoic philosopher and Nero's tutor, who preached restraint to a pupil who would one day demand his veins.

Thrasyllus

minor

Astrologer and confidant of Tiberius.

Heraclitus

minor

Philosopher mentioned in passing.

Cato the Younger

minor

Also known as Marcus Cato, Cato

Stoic senator and opponent of Caesar, committed suicide at Utica.

Sulla

minor

Also known as Lucius Sulla, The soothsayer Sulla

Roman dictator and earlier historical figure.

Marius

minor

Also known as Gaius Marius

Roman general and earlier historical figure.

Catiline

minor

Conspirator against the Roman Republic, opposed by Cicero.

Vindex

minor

Gallic governor who rebelled against Nero.

Flavius Sabinus

minor

Also known as Sabinus

Brother of Vespasian, prefect of Rome.

Helvidius Priscus

minor

Stoic senator executed under Vespasian.

Licinius Mucianus

minor

Also known as Mucianus

General and supporter of Vespasian.

Berenice

minor

Jewish princess, mistress of Titus.

Stephanus

minor

Steward of Domitian's niece, involved in his assassination.

Parthians

minor

Also known as the Parthians, king of the Parthians

Eastern empire frequently at war with Rome.

Germans

minor

Also known as the Germans, the victorious Germans

Tribes beyond the Rhine, often fought by Roman armies.

Gauls

minor

Also known as the Gauls

Inhabitants of Gaul, conquered by Caesar.

Alexander the Great

minor

Also known as Alexander

Macedonian king, historical figure admired by Roman emperors.

Homer

minor

Ancient Greek poet, author of the Iliad and Odyssey.

Virgil

minor

Roman poet, author of the Aeneid.

Horace

minor

Roman poet, friend of Augustus.

Plutarch

minor

Greek biographer, source for Suetonius.

Tacitus

minor

Also known as Tacitus Annals

Roman historian, source for Suetonius.

Cassius Dio

minor

Also known as Dio

Roman historian, source for Suetonius.

Josephus

minor

Jewish historian, source for Suetonius.

Pliny the Elder

minor

Also known as Pliny

Roman naturalist and author, source for Suetonius.

Mars

minor

Also known as Mars the Avenger

Roman god of war, patron of the Roman state.

Venus

minor

Also known as Venus Genetrix

Roman goddess of love, claimed as ancestor by the Julian family.

Minerva

minor

Roman goddess of wisdom, patron of Domitian.

Apollo

minor

Also known as Apollo Sandalarius

Greek and Roman god of music and prophecy.

Hercules

minor

Mythological hero, often compared to emperors.

Romulus

minor

Also known as Titus Tatius, Atta Claudius

Mythical founder of Rome.

Fortune

minor

Also known as Good Fortune

Roman goddess of luck, often personified.

Castor

minor

Mythological twin, associated with the Dioscuri.

Pollux

minor

Mythological twin, associated with the Dioscuri.

Minos

minor

Mythological king of Crete, judge of the dead.

Achilles

minor

Greek hero of the Trojan War, mentioned in comparisons.

Nicomedes

minor

Also known as King Nicomedes

King of Bithynia, rumored lover of Caesar.

Juba II

minor

Also known as Juba

King of Mauretania, scholar and ally of Rome.

Mithridates

minor

Also known as king Mithridates

King of Pontus, enemy of Rome.

Vologaesus

minor

Parthian king, contemporary of Nero and Vespasian.

Artabanus

minor

Parthian king, contemporary of Tiberius.

Vonones

minor

Parthian king, deposed and lived in Syria.

Bato

minor

Illyrian leader, defeated by Tiberius.

Locusta

minor

Poisoner employed by Agrippina and Nero.

Tigellinus

minor

Praetorian prefect under Nero, notorious for cruelty.

Pallas

minor

Freedman treasurer of Claudius, immensely rich.

Callistus

minor

Freedman secretary of Caligula and Claudius.

Halotus

minor

Eunuch and taster for Claudius, possibly involved in his death.

Epaphroditus

minor

Freedman secretary of Nero, helped him commit suicide.