Translating Rome

Featuring translations of three classical Roman worksApuleius'sThe Golden Ass, Lucan'sPharsalia, and Suetonius'sThe Twelve Ceasarsthis collection is vital to the understanding of Roman culture and history.The Golden Asstells the story of a young man who, through his own stupidity, is turned into a donkey, thus beginning his rollicking quest to regain his human form through worship of the gods Isis and Osiris.Pharsaliais an epic poem that chronicles the conflict between Julius Caesar and the senator Pompey in northern Greece around 48 BC.The Twelve Ceasarsis a biography of the Roman rulers from Julius Caesar to Domitian, a vivid and racy account of the sex, politics, and violence that constituted their experiences as Rome's most powerful men. Rife with the delights and excesses of Roman culture, these three works are a portal into the world of one of history's largest empires.

Robert Cummings is an editor.