Ancient Roman Personalities: Like any culture, ancient Rome was shaped by charismatic, colorful, and sometimes cruel personalities. Julius Caesar is of course the most of famous of these, but Roman history is filled with personal visions and passions that become more and more remarkable, the more you learn about them. People like Sulla, Cato, Pompey, Cicero, Marius, the Gracii brothers: the list goes on and on. Perhaps the most powerful effect of learning about these people—and the relationships among them—is that you start to see current events in a new light. These days, it is easy to believe that everything used to be "better" and our modern habits have messed it all up. But the more you learn about ancient personalities and how they wheeled-and-dealed, championed or betrayed various causes, the more compassion you develop for those who appear in the headlines today. In some ways, it is true: the more things change, the more they stay the same. But learning how the ancient Romans survived and achieved amidst these circumstances can be endlessly inspiring. For the beginner, we recommend starting with Colleen McCullough's "Masters of Rome" series (The first of which is The First Man in Rome.) While they are historical fiction, she did a decade of research before beginning to write them, and they do a wonderful job of bringing the characters to life and providing a foundation upon which to build.

Our members recommend their favorite books on Roman personalities: Caesar: Life of a Colossus, by Adrian Goldsworthy This engaging and comprehensive biography illustrates the life of the man who became master of Rome. It is an excellent portrait of Caesar the man, the soldier, and the politician. ~Aurelia   Caesar, by Christian Meier I tried to read this book before I knew much about Rome, and didn't have much success. But a few years later, I picked it up again, and was amazed at how well-written and nuanced it was. It does an amazing job of capturing the culture of Republican Rome, as well as Caesar as the unique man he was. I even used it as the basis for this paper I wrote on his feelings in the moments before crossing the Rubicon. ~Marcus   Sulla the Fortunate, by G.P. Baker This is one of the few modern biographies that I have found of Lucius Cornelius Sulla, although ancient authors wrote of him often. Sulla rose from an impoverished childhood into a powerful political career. His story is fascinating! ~Aurelia   Caius Marius, by Plutarch   You may also browse our complete list of recommendations.