Date of Graduation

6-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

History

Advisor/Mentor

Muntz, Charles

Committee Member

Levine, Daniel

Second Committee Member

Odabaei, Milad

Abstract

Abstract: This paper examines ancient biography and the late Roman Republic by analyzing the surviving writings of Cornelius Nepos. Cornelius Nepos was a late Republican intellectual and friend of several of the most prominent literary figures of his day. The literature on Nepos tended to be dismissive of the author until the 1980s, when it began to shift towards viewing Nepos through the lens of ancient biography. By examining the theme of fortuna [fortune] throughout Nepos’ work and contrasting it with usage of the theme in other Latin authors or Greek historians, this paper demonstrates that Nepos adapts a longstanding historical theme to his own project and time in a number of ways. These include treating fortuna as a phenomenon that takes place at the level of the individual and focusing on how the invidia (jealousy) of one’s peers in response to good fortune can prove dangerous. These findings indicate that Nepos was an author with unique insights into the events of his own lifetime.

Keywords

Roman Republic; Biography; Cornelius Nepos; Ancient History; Classical History

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