Telling tales on Caesar

"This book presents a dozen entertaining short stories, in easy-going classical Latin, together with new translations and discussion by John Henderson. Their author, Phaedrus, was a freedman of Augustus who turned Aesop's Fables into verse in the reign of Tiberius; along with them, he included a string of tales and anecdotes set in Rome, the Greek past, or everyday ancient life. These stories take their reader straight to the heart of Rome under its first emperors, and they poke into odd and unexpected corners of classical culture. Cameos showcase Tiberius in private and Augustus in court, with Pompey the Great on campaign and Phaedrus himself struggling against prejudice and persecution, and tales feature all sorts - a toadying slave, wicked servant, vain musician, effeminate soldier, sexy poet, and rogue quack. These forgotten tales tell short and clear Roman parables of power and powerlessness. Humorous and acute, they explain, and protest at, the Caesars, and they sit perfectly among Aesop's sadistic lions, murderous wolves, and apes in purple."--Jacket.