A Perfect Send-off : Suetonius and the Dying Art of Augustus (Suetonius, Aug. 99)

This paper offers a study of the way in which Suetonius presents the final hours of the emperor Augustus. Against the view that Suetonius presents Augustus as the arch-hypocrite, carrying through to his last minutes the pretence of goodness, through a philological and historiographical analysis, I suggest that every detail contributes to a picture of the paradeigmatic death of the good emperor. Augustus' words and actions demonstrate his clear conscience and concern for empire and family.