Cornelius Nepos facts for kids
Cornelius Nepos (born around 110 BC – died around 25 BC) was an important Roman writer. He was known for writing biographies, which are stories about the lives of famous people. He was born in a small village called Hostilia, near Verona, in a part of ancient Italy known as Cisalpine Gaul.
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Who Was Cornelius Nepos?
Cornelius Nepos grew up near the Po River in ancient Italy. He was good friends with several famous people of his time. These included the poet Catullus, who even dedicated some of his poems to Nepos. He was also friends with Cicero, a very famous Roman speaker and politician, and Titus Pomponius Atticus, a wealthy Roman publisher.
Nepos became well-known for his writing during the time of the Roman Emperor Augustus. He lived a long life and passed away during Augustus's reign.
What Did Cornelius Nepos Write?
Cornelius Nepos wrote many books, but sadly, most of them are lost today. However, one of his most important works, called De viris illustribus, has partly survived.
About De viris illustribus
De viris illustribus means "On Famous Men" or "Lives of Famous Men." This large work was a collection of biographies. It told the stories of important Romans and people from other countries. Nepos planned to write about kings, generals, lawyers, speakers, poets, historians, and thinkers.
The only complete part of this work that we still have today is called Excellentium imperatorum vitae. This means "Lives of the Eminent Commanders." It tells the stories of many famous generals and military leaders.
Here are some of the famous people whose lives Nepos wrote about in this book:
- Miltiades
- Themistocles
- Aristides
- Pausanias
- Cimon
- Lysander
- Alcibiades
- Thrasybulus
- Conon
- Dion
- Iphicrates
- Chabrias
- Timotheus
- Datames
- Epaminondas
- Pelopidas
- Agesilaus
- Eumenes
- Phocion
- Timoleon
- Hamilcar (father of Hannibal)
- Hannibal (the famous general who fought against Rome)
Two other biographies from De viris illustribus also survived:
For a long time, people weren't sure if Cornelius Nepos wrote all of these biographies himself. Later, experts studied the writing style and confirmed that most of them were indeed written by Nepos. The biography of his friend Atticus is definitely his work.
Other Writings by Nepos
Most of Nepos's other writings have been lost over time. However, we know about some of them because other ancient writers mentioned them.
Some of his other works included:
- Chronica: This was a summary of world history.
- Exempla: This was a collection of interesting stories and examples, perhaps showing how people should behave.
- Letters to Cicero: Nepos wrote letters to his friend Cicero, and some parts of these letters were saved by other writers.
- A longer biography of Cato: Besides the short one in De viris illustribus, Nepos also wrote a more detailed life story of Cato.
See also
In Spanish: Cornelio Nepote para niños
