69 Or 54 B.C.E.-Circa 17 C.E.
Historian

A Typical Paduan. Little is known about Livy's life. He was born in 59 or 64 B.C.E. in Patavium, now Padua, a wealthy city because of its wool trade. The Paduans were also renowned for their moral puritanism. Maybe this puritanism is what a contemporary of Livy's referred to when he called him a typical Paduan. There is no sign of his ever having held office in Rome, although he clearly knew his way around the city and around Italy. It seems most likely, therefore, that he came from a wealthy municipal family and moved to Rome only after Augustus had ended the civil war and established himself as the ruler. Livy wrote not just history but also philosophical dialogues and a treatise on rhetorical style, the titles of which are now lost. He died back in...