Gaius Julius Caesar

1
Gaius Julius Caesar

• Caesar had more than a mere name and military
  reputation his energy could never rest and his
  one disgrace was to conquer without war. He was
  alert and headstrong his arms answered every
  summons of ambition or resentment he never
  shrank from using the sword lightly he followed
  up each success and snatched at the favor of
  Fortune, overthrowing every obstacle on his path
  to supreme power, and rejoicing to clear the way
  before him by destruction. --Lucan, Bellum Civile
  I, 143-150

2
The Early Years

• Born to a not-so-well-off patrician family in 100
  BC in the Subura neighborhood of Rome.
• After the civil war between Sulla and Marius,
  Caesar was left penniless and almost lost his
  life while still a teenager.
• He joins the army at age 18 and serves for four
  years.

3
The (Legal) Rungs of Power

• Was elected a quaestor at age 30. This
  automatically made him a Senator as well.
• Was elected aedil at age 34. This put him in
  charge of public entertainments. He spent
  lavishly, and won great popularity.
• Was elected Pontifex Maximus at age 36. This
  post was for life, and brought power, wealth, and
  prestige (plus a big house in the Forum!)
• Was elected praetor at age 39, then became
  military governor in Spain, where he earned his
  reputation as a general.
• Was elected Consul, the highest office in Rome,
  at age 41.

4
The First Triumvirate

• Wealth, popularity, military commands are all
  creating new and great opportunities for personal
  power.
• Marcus Licinius Crassus the Richest man in Rome
• Cnaeus Pompeius Magnus the most successful
  General of the time
• Caesar up-and-coming, popular, and Consul

5
Gaul

• After his Consulship, Caesar makes sure hes
  appointed governor of Illyricum, Italian Gaul,
  and then Gaul-across-the-Alps.
• This gives him the opportunity to command troops
  again, and to conquer territory.
• This also gives him the opportunity for great
  wealth.

• Through his Commentaries of the war, published
  back in Rome, he gains even greater celebrity.

6
Risking All

• Crassus dies in battle in Parthia.
• The Senate convinces Pompey to oppose Caesar
  rather than work with him.
• Caesar, after eight years in Gaul, is ordered to
  surrender his armies and return to Rome (to stand
  trial!).
• Caesar invades Italy with his Legions.

Alea iacta est! The die is cast.--Caesar,
crossing the Rubicon into Italy with his army.
(Suetonius, Life of Caesar)
7
Civil War--Again!

• Pompey and the leading Senators flee to Greece to
  ready their army.
• Caesar easily takes Italy, Rome, and Spain.
• Outnumbered two to one, he faces Pompey at
  Pharsalus in Greece, and crushes him.
• Pompey flees to Egypt, where he is murdered to
  gain Caesars favor.

8
Caesars Coins

• Caesar was the first Roman to have his face put
  on a coin while he was still alive
• The Romans believed only ancestors (now
  semi-divine spirits) and gods could be pictured
• Caesar was equating himself with gods and Eastern
  kings

9
The Message (maybe!)

• This coin was issued during the war with Pompey.
• The snake probably represents Caesar (snakes were
  a symbol of health, luck, and rebirth)
• The elephant represents Pompey, and identifies
  him with Hannibal, a would-be destroyer of Rome
  whose power had been based in Spain too.

10
Ego sum Caesar

• He has himself appointed Dictator-for-Life.
  Caesar now rules alone, using friends, freedmen,
  and slaves to govern--ignoring the Senate. Was
  Caesar a KING?
• Starts wearing an all-purple toga the garment of
  a triumphal general representing the god Jupiter.
  Was Caesar a GOD?

11
The Temple of Venus Genetrix

• In 54 BC Caesar began construction of a second
  forum, since the old one had become too crowded
  (and there was no room for proper monuments to
  him!).
• The centerpiece of the new forum (named after
  Caesar, of course) was the temple of Venus
  Genetrix--Mother Venus.
• This temple helped promote the notion that the
  Julian family was descended from the goddess
  Venus through Aeneas and his son Iulus.
• This association had a double benefit it gave
  Caesar divine ancestry and it tied Caesar to the
  legendary founders of Rome.
• Both notions were useful to Caesar, assuming he
  was aiming at absolute power along the lines of
  Alexander the Great and other Eastern kings.

12
The Julian Forum
13
The Ides of March

• A group of over fifty Senators decide that enough
  is enough--they are not ready to relinquish power
  and control of Rome to one man.
• They conspire to murder Caesar on March 15, 44
  BC.
• Ironically, the Senate house is closed, and the
  Senate has been meeting at the Theater of Pompey.
  Caesar dies stabbed to death at the base of his
  old rivals statue.

This coin, issued by Brutus, commemorates
Caesars assassination. Brutus had hoped he and
the other conspirators would be seen as heroes
liberating the Republic from a tyrant.
14
The Aftermath

• Caesars body is cremated in a massive public
  demonstration in the Forum. A temple is built to
  Divine Julius in that spot.
• The conspirators are forced to flee.
• Civil war again breaks out, with Caesars
  right-hand-man, Marc Antony, and his heir,
  Octavian, conquering the armies of Brutus,
  Cassius, and the Senators.

15
Caesars Lasting Impact

• Caesar provided a blueprint for rising to
  absolute power in Rome--a blueprint both Octavian
  and Antony followed.
• His name became one of the titles for the Roman
  emperors. The more modern Czar and Kaiser
  derive from his name too.
• Caesar began the practice of granting Roman
  citizenship to conquered peoples. This helped to
  prolong the expansion and maintenance of the
  Roman Empire.

16
Caesars Lasting Impact

• His Commentaries are one of the great pieces of
  Latin literature.
• He inspired one of Shakespeares most celebrated
  plays.
• His reform of the calendar has been changed very
  little over the past two millenia.
• The month July is named for him.

17
Bibliography

• Grabsky, Phil. I, Caesar. London BBC Books,
  1997. This is an excellent book for a quick (50
  page) overview of Caesars life, as well as the
  lives of other emperors. Ties in with AEs Hail
  Caesar Biography series. Good illustrations,
  many in color.
• Lucan. The Civil War. J.D. Duff, trans.
  Cambridge Harvard University Press, 1928. This
  is an epic poem written during the time of Nero,
  around one hundred years after Caesars death.
  Surprisingly, it paints a more favorable picture
  of Pompey.
• Crane, Gregory R. (ed.) The Perseus Project,
  http//www.perseus.tufts.edu, November, 2000.
  Excellent source for coins, archaeological sites,
  sculpture.
• Gabucci, Ada. Guide to Ancient Rome. Richard
  Sadleir trans. Rome Electa, 2000. Brief
  descriptions of most of the ancient remains in
  Rome, along with many excellent maps, photos, and
  reconstructions.
• Suetonius. Lives of the Twelve Caesars. Robert
  Graves trans.
• Brittanica.com.
• Caesar, Julius. Encyclopedia Brittanica.
  Brittanica.com 2000. November, 2000
  lthttp//www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/7/0,571
  6,1145073,00gt.
• ROMAN CIVILIZATIONfrom Troy to the End of the
  Republic. Furman College. 2000. November 2000.
  lthttp//classics.furman.edu/rprior/courses/RC/RCu
  nit1.htmgt