Livy Biography
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Livy Biography

Titus Livy (or Titus Livius), was born in 59 B.C ad died in 17 AD. , though some think he may have been born in 64 BC The name of Livy’s parents is not known, probably because they did not belong to the senatorial class. With this being the fact, it is probably the reason why he did not embark on a political career. He was born and died in the northern Italian city of Patavium ( now known as the city Padua, in Italy) He fist went to Rome, or is at least first mentioned in Rome, in 31 BC, after Augustus restored stability to the empire via his naval victory at Actium. In Rome he was invited by Augustus to supervise the Literary works of Claudius (the future Emperor) In one of the short statements written about Livy by Augusts, Augustus refers to him as a "Pompeian", referring to Livy’s outspoken and Independent ways.

Although he did write some philosophical dialogues in his youth, Livy is known for his books called ad urbe condita (from the beginning of Rome). This collection of 142 books were at start, written in groups of five. However, as Livy’s books got more complex, he abandoned his organized pattern and published the rest of his books ( books 46-142). While we have most or all of the books up to 10 today, the rest have been lost or destroyed. The only remainder we have of the lost books is summaries by Byzantine scholars.

Is first book was an account of the Regal period of Rome. More specifically, it dealt with the fall of troy, Aeneas’ wanderings, the founding of Lavinium, and Alba Longa, the founding of Rome, and the kings of Rome. Livy’s second book deals with the founding of the republic, the first treaty with Carthage, the defeat of the Latins by the Romans, and the conflict of the orders. Livy’s third book deals with the twelve tables ( Roman laws written by the committee of 10) Livy’s book five and beyond deals with history after the Gauls conquer Rome, the death of Livy.

Livy was an Entirely different person from the mold of his day. Livy was unique in the fact that he was not at all political. This is important to note because it meant that not only would this produce a more neutral point of view (than one that would have been produced by a senator), but it also meant that he would not seek history in political terms either. His history of Rome is more of a history told through personal and moral terms. In doing this he achieved the same importance of other Roman thinkers of his day. Horace and Vergil also did this in their poems, their main message was that moral qualities would and could keep Rome great.

In times before Livy, The Earliest roman historians wrote in tier native Greek. People after them felt their own history should be written in their native tongue. Latin didn’t, however, provide any ready-made way to convey this purpose, however. Livy evolved a varied and flexible style that conveyed his ideas perfectly. The ancient critic Quintilian characterized his recitations as a " Milky Richness". It is and was later noted that audiences that wen to his recitations were impressed by his nobility of character and his eloquence.

Livy’s’ writing were also unique in another interesting way. Instead of making his History boring, he also added culture in what he wrote. His history also mixed in major legends, myths, and beliefs of the Roman people, including the Story of Romulus and Remus. This not only conveyed history, but it also acted as a very interesting form of a time capsule, capturing the roman thinking, and many other things, not just in what he wrote, but the things he implied. So much knowledge can be gained from his books than if he had just wrote out plain facts about Rome.

Livy’s history also differs from the way modern writers write about history. Modern historians would write about how Rome came to be, a history of the process in which it was founded. These concepts never occurred to Livy. He writes more as using Rome as a main character in his narrative, and therefore changeless and eternal. From the beginning of his history , Rome is complete, and to the end Rome has undergone no spiritual change. This meaning that he wrote about how Rome was changed, not about how Rome changed itself. Rome does not change, just what goes on around it.

The best part of Livy’s first book is that he did not write it in any modern sense. While some write about the Regal period of Rome as the beginning, and therefore short and hardly consequential, Livy writes it as it probably truly was, a gradual process that took centuries, Rome did not evolve quickly, it was a gradual process, which was an important point in Livy’s first book.

History in this form not only has important immediate value, but the narrative as a whole conveys a very important message. Livy’s history does necessarily remain useful because it provides accurate representations of history so it can provide analogies in the present, but rather that it represents, perpetuates, and interprets the collective identity in which the character of the Roman people depend on. His kind of history is particularly suited for the Roman people because it is a society that regulates itself less by a body of written laws, but more on stories, examples, and wisdom transmitted through a rich array of oral traditions. Basically meaning that because it was a society based on stories and morals, this history accurately describes ancient Roman people. Had Livy written about the united states in current day, his way of writing would be largely inappropriate because of the fact that we are not a society built on stories and wisdom, but more of laws written down on paper and set in stone.