Vol.V, No.7
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The Influence Of Julius Caesar By Pat Farrell
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The question of whether Julius Caesar was a good or a bad man can only lead to subjective answers that would depend upon how one views his life and times and upon what lingers today to remind us of the Caesar name. When reading historical accounts of the Roman leader it becomes apparent that he could be “good” for the plebeian population of Rome while at the same time “bad” for the aristocrats. And during the Gallic wars, specifically in the Battle of Bibracte when the Helvetii were soundly defeated, 6,000 of the tribal members escaped but under Caesar’s orders were captured and returned only to be put to death (the “bad” side), whereas those that had remained were sent back to their homes to rebuild the lands (the “good” side). Gaius Julius Caesar was born on July 12th or 13th (not sure), 100 BC in Rome to a Patrician family which at that time held little political influence. By the time he came of age in 85 BC leadership of the city depended upon
which of the warring political factions between his uncle Gaius Marius and an opponent Lucius Cornelius Sulla was in the ascendency. While his uncle was in control Julius had been nominated to the priesthood and married Cornelia, the daughter of his uncle’s cohort Lucius Cornelius Cinna. However, when leadership changed and Sulla was in control, he was stripped of his priesthood, his inheritance, his wife's dowry and was ordered to divorce her, which he refused to do, and was forced to go into hiding to avoid being executed. The family of Julius’ mother, many of whom were Sulla supporters, prevailed upon him and he reluctantly lifted his threat of death to Caesar for disobeying his directions. Relieved of his appointment to the priesthood Julius was then free to begin his military career which extended from that time until his death in 44 BC. There is one thing certain: whether he was considered good or bad he was definitely charismatic, as he easily spurred those under his leadership to continued action, carrying out the many campaigns waged during years of the Gallic Wars. Today, through hindsight, it is questionable as to the real necessity for these preemptive actions that resulted in the killings of more than one million tribal occupants while grabbing their territories, beyond boosting Caesar’s political career. At the conclusion of these wars the Roman Empire extended over what is now most of Europe to include Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, and parts of Britain, Northern Africa and Western Asia. During one of his trips Caesar was captured by the pirates who held sway on the Aegean Sea and was kept captive on an island there. Fully aware of his own importance, when the pirates asked for 20 talents ransom he told them they should be asking 50 talents, and it was so ordered. He sent his entourage to collect the monies and settled in for 32 days in captivity, ordering the pirates around as if he was the
one in charge. When the ransom was paid and he was released he managed to subsequently raise a naval force and then return to the island on which he had been held and, in retaliation, had all the pirates there crucified. While Caesar was involved in a civil war with Pompey he chased him to Alexandria but learned his prey had already been killed by Roman soldiers there. At the same time, while escaping a power struggle in Egypt, Cleopatra was smuggled out to Alexandria. There they established a mutually beneficial relationship as Cleopatra required the might of Caesar’s armies to install her as ruler of Egypt, while Caesar was in need of Cleopatra’s vast wealth to return him to power in Rome. During this time Caesar is thought to have fathered Cleopatra’s son, Ptolemy XV Caesarion who later went on to rule as Egypt’s last king of the Ptolemy dynasty. Gone, but not forgotten, Julius Caesar is remembered, not only for words associated with his military feats but also for the time of his death, as well as for those comments that have been attributed to him but that he did not actually say. For example, in 47 BC, after a victory in the Battle of Zela, when he defeated the King of Pontus he sent back to the Senate in Rome the famous message “veni, vidi, vici” (I came, I saw, I conquered) which to this day remains in its original form and has come to signify a swift and conclusive victory. And when forbidden to enter Italy from the north, Caesar is reported to have said, as he as he crossed the Rubicon river into Italy, “Alea iacta est” (The die is cast) as this was considered to be a declaration of war against the Roman leaders of the time. This led to him being victorious as those in power fled in fear allowing Caesar to establish his dictatorship. Today, the expression, “crossing the Rubicon” refers to “passing the point of no return.” William Shakespeare is considered responsible for a couple of quotes supposedly uttered by Caesar, one being “Cowards die
July 2019 many times before their deaths; The valiant never taste of death but once,” While that fit nicely into the dialog for the Bard’s play, “Julius Caesar,” it was not said by the Roman. However, Caesar did say “Men willingly believe what they wish,” which is his direct (and cynical) quote from his own account of the Gallic Wars. Another phrase from Shakespeare’s play is “Et tu, Brute? Then fall, Caesar” supposedly uttered when he was stabbed 23 times by a mob consisting of as many as 60 of his enemies. However, Suetonius, one of the men present at the killing, reported his last words to Brutus to be, “And you, son?” It is also interesting that most of the words for which he is supposedly responsible are in Latin when he was known to speak mostly Greek. What remains now of the Patrician, General, Emperor, and Dictator, Caesar, is a name that is loosely applied to a variety of things. Supposedly the Caesarean section is so named because that was how his mother gave birth to him. It is not! It is, however, possible that that is how his father, also named Gaius Julius Caesar was delivered. Then we have the Caesar salad, but that was named for Italian chef, Caesar Cardini, a post-World War I immigrant who created the dish in his restaurant in Tijuana, Mexico. The “Caesar comet” was so named because it lit the sky in Rome for seven consecutive days in July, 44 BC, four months after Caesar’s death on the Ides of March and was thought to be Caesar’s soul passing over. And, Julius Caesar was responsible for the Julian calendar which laid out the “normal” years (365 days) and the “leap” years (366 days) and remained in effect until 1582 AD when it was replaced by the Gregorian calendar which remains in effect today. But, it is true that the current month was named for Julius and is the only month named for a living person. Hail Caesar!!