Born Gaius Octavius Thurinus in 63 BC, the man who would become the Emperor Augustus came from a family of comfortable means but no particular political distinction. His path to prominence began with loss. His father died when he was four years old, and he was raised primarily by his mother and his grandmother, who…

Julius Caesar’s full name was Gaius Julius Caesar, and he was born in Rome around 100 BC. Though he would become one of the most recognized figures in all of history, Caesar came from a noble family that carried social standing without particularly deep pockets. The month of July takes its name from Caesar, born…

Pompey the Great was born into a family of wealth and political connections, but the reputation that made him legendary was built through what he accomplished on the battlefield rather than what he inherited. His full name was Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus. The addition of “Magnus,” meaning “the Great,” came from comparisons drawn between him and…

Cicero came into the world in 106 BC in Arpinum, a town outside Rome, and he did so without the advantage of an old aristocratic name to open doors for him. His path to prominence began in the courtroom. As a young lawyer he took on the defense of a man named Sextus Roscius, who…

The man history knows as Spartacus was most likely born in Thrace, in a rugged territory near the Strymon River with a long tradition of producing formidable warriors and stubborn resistance to outside authority. Even his name is uncertain. “Spartacus” may have been a Roman designation tied to his origins or identity rather than the…