What do you think?
Rate this book
Livy: The Early History of Rome, Books I-V (Penguin Classics) (Bks. 1-5) by Titus Livy
Livy (c. 59 BC-AD 17) dedicated most of his life to writing some 142 volumes of history, the first five of which comprise The early History of Rome. With stylistic brilliance, he chronicles nearly 400 years of history, from the founding of Rome (traditionally dated to 757 BC) to the Gallic invasion in 386 BC - an era that witnessed the reign of seven kings, the establishment of the Republic, civil strife and brutal conflict. Bringing compelling characters to life, and re-presenting familiar tales - including the tragedy of Coriolanus and the story of Romulus and Remus - The Early History is a truly epic work, and a passionate warning that Rome should learn from its history. This edition contains Robert Ogilvie's original introduction, a bibliographical appendix by Stephen Oakley examining the text in the light of recent Livy scholarship, a detailed index and maps.
Paperback
10 people are currently reading
122 people want to read
About the author
Livy
3,078 books273 followersTitus Livius (Patavinus) (64 or 59 BC – AD 17)—known as Livy in English, and Tite-Live in French—was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people – Ab Urbe Condita Libri (Books from the Foundation of the City) – covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional foundation in 753 BC through the reign of Augustus in Livy's own time. He was on familiar terms with the Julio-Claudian dynasty, advising Augustus's grandnephew, the future emperor Claudius, as a young man not long before 14 AD in a letter to take up the writing of history. Livy and Augustus's wife, Livia, were from the same clan in different locations, although not related by blood.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 6, 2023
Essential reading to start to understand Ancient Rome. Livy's passion for History is made clear.
October 29, 2025
Books 1-5 Of Titus Livy's History Of Rome Narrate The Rise Of The Seven Kings Of Rome & The Birth Of The Roman Republic.
Titus Livius was a scholar & historian during the late Republican era who lived well into the Augustan period of Rome's history. Originally from the Roman city of Patavium (Padua), Livy's family was relatively wealthy which under normal circumstances should have given him relative freedom in pursuing his higher education yet with the republic divided by the war of the Second Triumvirate the man in charge of Livy's province, Asinius Pollio, attempted blackmailing wealthy residents of Patavium into supporting Marc Antony by restricting their freedoms in various ways. We can reasonably assume that Titus Livius was unable to even receive a formal education due to the Roman republic's turbulent wartime environment during that period.
We believe that Livy began writing Ab Urbe Condita or From the Founding of the City probably in the middle of his career when he was at least thirty years old. It originally contained a staggering 142 books which almost defies my imagination to contemplate how much material must have been there. Of those 142, a mere 35 have withstood time's erosion. It's interesting because if you look at the Roman scholars & historians of antiquity you notice that the majority of them, weren't full-time historians. Suetonius was ab epistulis, kind of a personal scribe or secretary for the emperor's official letters of correspondence. He wrote De Vita Caesarum, or The Twelve Caesars in his spare time. Cornelius Tacitus was a Roman senator for his full-time occupation, history came either in his leisure time or when he was the Roman equivalent of being officially retired. Gaius Sallustius Crispus was another senator who actually was dismissed from service initially until Caesar asked him to resume his position. Sallust wrote Catiline's War & The Jugurthine War. Cassius Dio was a lifelong politician as well; in the early third century A.D. he wrote The Roman History Dio was an imperial governor before he became a historian at the end of his professional career. Later on, the often-sharp-tongued Roman soldier, Ammianus Marcellinus, would write his 31-book Roman history, the Rerum Gestarum Libri XXXI, which covered the period spanning from the reign of Nerva all the way up to the death of Valens, at Adrianople. None of these men were career historians like Livy was.
The obsolete A.U.C. year format is predicated on the concept of Rome's official conception in the year 753 B.C. under Romulus as, initially a sovereign city over whom a monarch, in this instance a king, reigned. 753 B.C. is the year of the founding of the city of Rome, so 753 B.C. = 1, or I, A.U.C. In the event you desired to go further back than even that, 1200 B.C. is when the Trojan, Aeneas, landed at Laurentum & formed an alliance with the king Latinus & the Latin people over whom he ruled.
Livy wasn't born into a family possessing tremendous power or influence; he was just a historian with an unquenchable passion for the work he did. The emperor Augustus considered him a friend & from the little information we have it's a fair assumption to say the two men were amicable with one another. When he wrote the History of Rome he was nervous about publishing it while Augustus was alive, due to the books composed on the Augustan period possibly offending him in some way. Many of Livy's contemporaries did not possess high opinions of his work; the emperor Gaius Caligula disparagingly referred to him as 'verbosum in historia neglectenemque', meaning 'a wordy & inaccurate historian'.
This edition consists of the first five books in Livy's Roman epic. Book I commences with Rome's founding with Aeneas' landing in 1200 B.C. before proceeding into the 244 years of Roman monarchial rule which ends in 509 B.C. with the founding of the Roman Republic. Books II - V chronicle the period of intense warfare that plagued Rome's early life with its neighboring city-states before the account ends with Rome's capture by the Gauls in 390 B.C. The translation work was done by Aubrey De Sèlincourt with the lengthy & well-written introduction composed by Robert Ogilvie. The appendix is a substantial delineation of Livy's political views, significance as a writer & historian, followed by various arguments & the evidence in support of them. The appendix smartly analyzes the text in an effort to ascertain Livius' viability as a credible historian & if you take the time to read through it, it's extremely interesting.
Early on in book I, the third Roman king Tullus Hostilius goes to war with neighboring Etruscan city-states Fidenae & Veii, & his ally Alban commander Mettius Fufetius gives orders to abandon Hostilius & betray him to the enemy. Hostilius hurriedly assures the confused Albans that Mettius is acting under his orders which creates sufficient distraction to halt the betrayal & win the battle. Afterwards Hostilius admits to his entire army that he was required to deceive them in an effort to save lives that would have been lost with their ally's successful defection.
Livy's work is often criticized as being historically unreliable, as many modern scholars believe that he was more interested in composing an epic tale that people would want to read as opposed to a historically accurate chronicle of Rome's history. Speaking for myself, I just wanted to have some fun reading the work of a man who lived over 2,000 years ago that actually could hold my interest. And Titus Livius most assuredly manages to accomplish that for me. For me, Livy's narrative excels when the grand betrayals & epic military confrontations are spelled out for the reader in the florid, elaborate language only he seems to be skilled enough to pull off in the spectacular fashion as is done here. When Sextus Tarquinius, son of the Roman king, is sent to the town of Gabii to sow discord & ingratiate himself with the treacherous nobles, he deceives them into believing he desires revolt against his father's rule. Subsequently, the younger Sextus dispatches a messenger to Rome for further instruction from his sire after entrenching himself in a powerful position with Gabii's governing council. As the two walk through the king's private garden the envoy repeatedly petitions the elder Tarquin for a course of action, yet the monarch utters not a single word. The king's only reply is in the soft sound of his stick, as it quietly lops the heads off of the poppy plants growing in his garden. When at last the envoy gets word of this to Sextus, the younger Tarquin understands his father completely : every conspiring nobleman in Gabii is rounded up, murdered, or chased out of the city. The way Livy relays this incident is nothing short of masterful, in every sense of the word. He tells it with an understated, deliberate tone that make these men suddenly more than merely words on a page in a dusty old history book.
In book IV, Livy speaks of the treachery of Rome's rival, Etruria. The king of Veii, Lars Toluminus allies himself with fellow Etruscan city-state Fidenei, after Fidenei grows truculent & takes up arms against the prospect of Roman rule. The devious Veiian king then proceeds to order the murder of four Roman ambassadors, later derisively blaming his Fidenate guards for misreading his words, after Toluminus utters a boastful remark during a game of dice. The calculated deception not only fouls Fidenei's reputation with Rome, it affords Toluminus a degree of leverage over his Etruscan ally, minimizing the chance of their betraying him further into the war, which is now unavoidable. It also removes both Veii as well as her king from all culpability for inciting an armed conflict. Livy relays this drama in brilliant fashion, it's like the plotline in a season of the HBO series 'Rome'.
Other portions of his narrative are no less impressive such as the massive triple-pronged war that Rome fights late in book IV against the Volscians & Etruscans which leads into the ten-year siege of the most powerful of Rome's rivals, the Etruscan city of Veii. The Veillian siege was amazing to read about, Livy's sense of scope keeps the reader hanging on his every word. Rome's rise to power was anything but a peaceful one. I can't say enough about not only Titus Livius' prose & the amazing work done by the team responsible for translating it to the English language. I suppose this is the price you pay if you want to read a history that's immersive & engaging. I'm quite sure Livy had to 'invent' sections to make give his narrative that smooth level of appeal it definitely has, but to be honest I could care less if it's 100% accurate, I just want something that holds my interest & is fun to read. And The Early History of Rome definitely accomplishes both of those things albeit the grim & at-times oppressive atmosphere in which the author presents it to us.
Yet despite the extremely grim atmosphere Livy establishes early on, I couldn't help but be touched by the positive notes he also includes for us in his Ab Urbe Condita. Like when the imperial treasury runs low in the middle of a major military offensive, endangering the Roman war effort. The Roman patrician women show their fierce love & devotion to their husbands & to their country by voluntarily donating their fine jewelry & items of luxury to be sold off for war supplies, so that Rome's men can continue expanding the empire. After they perform this generous action the Senate sees to it that the Roman ladies are given a celebration, to show the republic's appreciation for their selfless virtue. Even thousands of years ago Rome tried to do homage to women in its own rough way.
Overall, I'd recommend Titus Livy to a reader who has a decent amount of history under his or her belt already prior to attempting an undertaking of this magnitude, it's not the easiest read for a novice mainly due to the prose style. Trying to remember all of the consuls, decemviri, tribunals & quaestors is practically impossible as the names are repeated through the years as the narrative progresses. Were I to provide a few titles for the reader to get his or her feet wet, I'd suggest Suetonius' The Twelve Caesars, Cassius Dio's The Roman History: The Reign of Augustus, Lives of the Later Caesars, & maybe Machiavelli's The Prince due to it having subject matter relevant with what's discussed in Livy. It's difficult to get through at times, but for the experienced history fan, Livy's The Early History of Rome is most assuredly worth your time!
Titus Livius was a scholar & historian during the late Republican era who lived well into the Augustan period of Rome's history. Originally from the Roman city of Patavium (Padua), Livy's family was relatively wealthy which under normal circumstances should have given him relative freedom in pursuing his higher education yet with the republic divided by the war of the Second Triumvirate the man in charge of Livy's province, Asinius Pollio, attempted blackmailing wealthy residents of Patavium into supporting Marc Antony by restricting their freedoms in various ways. We can reasonably assume that Titus Livius was unable to even receive a formal education due to the Roman republic's turbulent wartime environment during that period.
We believe that Livy began writing Ab Urbe Condita or From the Founding of the City probably in the middle of his career when he was at least thirty years old. It originally contained a staggering 142 books which almost defies my imagination to contemplate how much material must have been there. Of those 142, a mere 35 have withstood time's erosion. It's interesting because if you look at the Roman scholars & historians of antiquity you notice that the majority of them, weren't full-time historians. Suetonius was ab epistulis, kind of a personal scribe or secretary for the emperor's official letters of correspondence. He wrote De Vita Caesarum, or The Twelve Caesars in his spare time. Cornelius Tacitus was a Roman senator for his full-time occupation, history came either in his leisure time or when he was the Roman equivalent of being officially retired. Gaius Sallustius Crispus was another senator who actually was dismissed from service initially until Caesar asked him to resume his position. Sallust wrote Catiline's War & The Jugurthine War. Cassius Dio was a lifelong politician as well; in the early third century A.D. he wrote The Roman History Dio was an imperial governor before he became a historian at the end of his professional career. Later on, the often-sharp-tongued Roman soldier, Ammianus Marcellinus, would write his 31-book Roman history, the Rerum Gestarum Libri XXXI, which covered the period spanning from the reign of Nerva all the way up to the death of Valens, at Adrianople. None of these men were career historians like Livy was.
The obsolete A.U.C. year format is predicated on the concept of Rome's official conception in the year 753 B.C. under Romulus as, initially a sovereign city over whom a monarch, in this instance a king, reigned. 753 B.C. is the year of the founding of the city of Rome, so 753 B.C. = 1, or I, A.U.C. In the event you desired to go further back than even that, 1200 B.C. is when the Trojan, Aeneas, landed at Laurentum & formed an alliance with the king Latinus & the Latin people over whom he ruled.
Livy wasn't born into a family possessing tremendous power or influence; he was just a historian with an unquenchable passion for the work he did. The emperor Augustus considered him a friend & from the little information we have it's a fair assumption to say the two men were amicable with one another. When he wrote the History of Rome he was nervous about publishing it while Augustus was alive, due to the books composed on the Augustan period possibly offending him in some way. Many of Livy's contemporaries did not possess high opinions of his work; the emperor Gaius Caligula disparagingly referred to him as 'verbosum in historia neglectenemque', meaning 'a wordy & inaccurate historian'.
This edition consists of the first five books in Livy's Roman epic. Book I commences with Rome's founding with Aeneas' landing in 1200 B.C. before proceeding into the 244 years of Roman monarchial rule which ends in 509 B.C. with the founding of the Roman Republic. Books II - V chronicle the period of intense warfare that plagued Rome's early life with its neighboring city-states before the account ends with Rome's capture by the Gauls in 390 B.C. The translation work was done by Aubrey De Sèlincourt with the lengthy & well-written introduction composed by Robert Ogilvie. The appendix is a substantial delineation of Livy's political views, significance as a writer & historian, followed by various arguments & the evidence in support of them. The appendix smartly analyzes the text in an effort to ascertain Livius' viability as a credible historian & if you take the time to read through it, it's extremely interesting.
Early on in book I, the third Roman king Tullus Hostilius goes to war with neighboring Etruscan city-states Fidenae & Veii, & his ally Alban commander Mettius Fufetius gives orders to abandon Hostilius & betray him to the enemy. Hostilius hurriedly assures the confused Albans that Mettius is acting under his orders which creates sufficient distraction to halt the betrayal & win the battle. Afterwards Hostilius admits to his entire army that he was required to deceive them in an effort to save lives that would have been lost with their ally's successful defection.
Livy's work is often criticized as being historically unreliable, as many modern scholars believe that he was more interested in composing an epic tale that people would want to read as opposed to a historically accurate chronicle of Rome's history. Speaking for myself, I just wanted to have some fun reading the work of a man who lived over 2,000 years ago that actually could hold my interest. And Titus Livius most assuredly manages to accomplish that for me. For me, Livy's narrative excels when the grand betrayals & epic military confrontations are spelled out for the reader in the florid, elaborate language only he seems to be skilled enough to pull off in the spectacular fashion as is done here. When Sextus Tarquinius, son of the Roman king, is sent to the town of Gabii to sow discord & ingratiate himself with the treacherous nobles, he deceives them into believing he desires revolt against his father's rule. Subsequently, the younger Sextus dispatches a messenger to Rome for further instruction from his sire after entrenching himself in a powerful position with Gabii's governing council. As the two walk through the king's private garden the envoy repeatedly petitions the elder Tarquin for a course of action, yet the monarch utters not a single word. The king's only reply is in the soft sound of his stick, as it quietly lops the heads off of the poppy plants growing in his garden. When at last the envoy gets word of this to Sextus, the younger Tarquin understands his father completely : every conspiring nobleman in Gabii is rounded up, murdered, or chased out of the city. The way Livy relays this incident is nothing short of masterful, in every sense of the word. He tells it with an understated, deliberate tone that make these men suddenly more than merely words on a page in a dusty old history book.
In book IV, Livy speaks of the treachery of Rome's rival, Etruria. The king of Veii, Lars Toluminus allies himself with fellow Etruscan city-state Fidenei, after Fidenei grows truculent & takes up arms against the prospect of Roman rule. The devious Veiian king then proceeds to order the murder of four Roman ambassadors, later derisively blaming his Fidenate guards for misreading his words, after Toluminus utters a boastful remark during a game of dice. The calculated deception not only fouls Fidenei's reputation with Rome, it affords Toluminus a degree of leverage over his Etruscan ally, minimizing the chance of their betraying him further into the war, which is now unavoidable. It also removes both Veii as well as her king from all culpability for inciting an armed conflict. Livy relays this drama in brilliant fashion, it's like the plotline in a season of the HBO series 'Rome'.
Other portions of his narrative are no less impressive such as the massive triple-pronged war that Rome fights late in book IV against the Volscians & Etruscans which leads into the ten-year siege of the most powerful of Rome's rivals, the Etruscan city of Veii. The Veillian siege was amazing to read about, Livy's sense of scope keeps the reader hanging on his every word. Rome's rise to power was anything but a peaceful one. I can't say enough about not only Titus Livius' prose & the amazing work done by the team responsible for translating it to the English language. I suppose this is the price you pay if you want to read a history that's immersive & engaging. I'm quite sure Livy had to 'invent' sections to make give his narrative that smooth level of appeal it definitely has, but to be honest I could care less if it's 100% accurate, I just want something that holds my interest & is fun to read. And The Early History of Rome definitely accomplishes both of those things albeit the grim & at-times oppressive atmosphere in which the author presents it to us.
Yet despite the extremely grim atmosphere Livy establishes early on, I couldn't help but be touched by the positive notes he also includes for us in his Ab Urbe Condita. Like when the imperial treasury runs low in the middle of a major military offensive, endangering the Roman war effort. The Roman patrician women show their fierce love & devotion to their husbands & to their country by voluntarily donating their fine jewelry & items of luxury to be sold off for war supplies, so that Rome's men can continue expanding the empire. After they perform this generous action the Senate sees to it that the Roman ladies are given a celebration, to show the republic's appreciation for their selfless virtue. Even thousands of years ago Rome tried to do homage to women in its own rough way.
Overall, I'd recommend Titus Livy to a reader who has a decent amount of history under his or her belt already prior to attempting an undertaking of this magnitude, it's not the easiest read for a novice mainly due to the prose style. Trying to remember all of the consuls, decemviri, tribunals & quaestors is practically impossible as the names are repeated through the years as the narrative progresses. Were I to provide a few titles for the reader to get his or her feet wet, I'd suggest Suetonius' The Twelve Caesars, Cassius Dio's The Roman History: The Reign of Augustus, Lives of the Later Caesars, & maybe Machiavelli's The Prince due to it having subject matter relevant with what's discussed in Livy. It's difficult to get through at times, but for the experienced history fan, Livy's The Early History of Rome is most assuredly worth your time!
November 16, 2023
There were boring parts, and interesting parts. I would not feel the need to read this again. It was well written in that Livy would go into more detail during the interesting, exciting, and quite odd sections. Read this if you are very interested in history. I am not but it wasn't torture to read.
August 20, 2024
Livy has been the most enjoyable of the ancient historians to read. Herodotus would be runner up.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews