Caesar. Life of a Colossus (Adrian Goldsworthy) Yale University Press (92 page)

from Caesar and his heirs. Later, Napoleon III sponsored the first major archaeological programme examining the sites associated with Caesar’s conquest of Gaul. Admiration for Caesar combined with a romanticism for the Gauls – children in French schools are still taught to think of these Iron Age tribes as ‘their ancestors’. In the nineteenth century the association was strengthened because the great rival and potential enemy was Prussia, later Germany, mirroring Caesar’s depiction of Gaulish peoples separated by the Rhine from hostile Germans.

As a military leader Caesar has been widely admired, though sometimes with some critical reservations, but attitudes to him as a statesman have been far more mixed from the very beginning. Octavian rose to power as Caesar’s heir, rallying his veterans and supporters to avenge the dictator’s murder. After Caesar’s deification, he styled himself ‘son of the divine Julius’. He did not emulate his adopted father’s clemency and, whilst he could not also match the latter’s military skill, he was an extremely gifted political operator. When the civil wars were over and his rule unchallenged OctavianAugustus also shielded the reality of his supremacy from the public gaze in a way very different to Caesar. His divine father was now less useful and appears little in the propaganda of the new regime. Authors such as Livy seem to have been very uncertain about how to view Caesar and his deeds, and certainly did not eulogise him. Given that many of his contemporaries had struggled to make up their mind about Caesar this is perhaps unsurprising. It is likely that Asinius Pollio’s lost history was at the very least not entirely uncritical of Caesar. Under Augustus and his successors, Cato, and to some extent Brutus and Cassius, were more often the objects of praise, idealised as noble defenders of the Republic. During the reign of Nero the poet Lucan produced his epic
Pharsalia
about the struggle between Pompey and Caesar, and the latter is most definitely not the hero of the piece. Yet nor is he quite an undoubted villain and at times comes across more as some mysterious elemental force than anything entirely human. Later in the century Suetonius began his biographies of the first twelve rulers of Rome with Caesar. Of the twelve men Augustus was clearly held up as closest to the ideal ruler, but in some ways the biography of Caesar stands apart from the rest, since although dictator he was not an emperor or
princeps
in the style created by his adopted son. Suetonius does criticise Caesar, but also reports in detail his many achievements. In many ways the uncertainty about Caesar and how to judge him began with the Romans, who admired his great conquests, but deplored other aspects of his life and career and continued to revere some of his opponents.

517

This uncertainty continued and has allowed many different Caesars to be depicted over the centuries. The most famous is probably the Caesar of Shakespeare’s
Julius Caesar
. Despite its title, the focus is far more on Marcus Brutus, and Caesar appears relatively briefly before being murdered early on in the third act. Shakespeare’s Caesar has few obvious traces of greatness, being somewhat pompous, boastful and readily flattered, but is certainly no tyrant. A greater sense of his power and dominance comes from the attitudes of the other characters, both before and, in many respects, after his death. Shakespeare was not the first playwright to take Caesar as a subject, and he was certainly not the last, many, including Voltaire, writing plays or operas looking at some or all of his life. The assassination has probably attracted most attention due to its inherent drama, and after that the affair with Cleopatra with all the hints of the exotic East and eroticism. However, the latter aspect is wholly absent from Shaw’s
Caesar and Cleopatra
. This is a gentler, more obviously benevolent Caesar, and his relationship with the queen – made to be a ‘child’ of sixteen rather than the woman she actually was in 48 BC – is essentially avuncular. More recently there have been a number of cinematic portrayals of Caesar, of which probably the most memorable comes from Rex Harrison’s performance in
Cleopatra
(1963).1 His Caesar has more of the man of action about him, with the quiet but firm authority of a proven leader. He also has something of the quick intelligence and, in that actor’s practised and precise delivery, a strong hint of the powerful orator. The relationship with Cleopatra – Elizabeth Taylor looking very beautiful, even if, for all we know, little or nothing like the actual queen – perhaps has more of politics than passion about it. Television has also had a go, with the film
Julius Caesar
(2002) starring Jeremy Sisto in the title role. This presented another largely sympathetic Caesar, but faced the massive problem of compressing his life’s story into a little more than two and a half hours. Crassus is not mentioned at all, and matters of chronology are left extremely vague, with Cato already in the Senate at the time of Sulla’s dictatorship, but it did try to give a broader view than simply Egypt and the Ides of March.

Caesar did a lot in his life, and the period in which he lived was very eventful and well documented, so that such attempts to cover all of his career have been almost as rare in novels as on celluloid. In recent years the largest and most detailed version has come from Colleen McCullough’s
Masters
of Rome
series, the six novels of which tend to weigh in around the 700–800

page mark. These are detailed, racy accounts that begin with Marius and Sulla and go through to the aftermath of Caesar’s assassination. The author 518

did her research well on these and sticks closely to the real events. Inevitably, given the scale of the books and the interest in the personal lives of the protagonists, the vacuums left by the many gaps in our evidence have been filled by invention. The novelist does not possess the historian’s luxury of being able to state that we simply do not know something. Rather lighter –

in sheer physical size if nothing else – is Conn Iggulden’s
Emperor
series, adventure stories in which Caesar is the hero. These are fast paced with the emphasis on action, and with these priorities the author plays rather fast and loose with the facts. Both McCullough and especially Iggulden present Caesar in a favourable light, although still showing his ruthless streak. Alan Massie’s
Caesar
is a much more critical and more serious novel. Its main character and narrator is Decimus Brutus and to a great extent it is a subversion of Shakespeare, with Marcus Brutus as a pompous fool rather than noble hero. Caesar is a great man, but his cynicism and ambition are far more to the fore. Caesar also appears in a number of Steven Saylor’s
Roma sub rosa
mystery novels, and these also present him as a less admirable figure, more selfish destroyer of the Republic than hero. That the Republic in these stories is flawed and tottering does not reduce his responsibility for speeding its end.

Historical facts are only one concern to dramatists, scriptwriters and novelists alike, and have to be balanced against the demands of storytelling. Some have been far more faithful than others, but it would be unreasonable for an historian to criticise too much any deviations from the recorded fact (which itself is problematic at times) in works of fiction. Between them they have presented many different views of Caesar, but then it should also be noted that over the last two centuries serious historians have depicted his character, aims and importance in very different ways. In this book I have attempted to look at the evidence we have and to try and reconstruct his life. There are some things we do not know and are unlikely ever to know. The aim has been to treat each episode in his life without assuming the inevitability of subsequent events. Some aspects of his character, for instance his emotions in public and private life, his beliefs and particularly his ambitions in his final years, remain mysterious. They can be guessed at, but not known, and each person will inevitably shape their own Caesar, in admiration or condemnation – often perhaps a mixture of both. Over two thousand years later his story still fascinates. One thing is certain – these will most certainly not be the last words written about Caius Julius Caesar. 519

Chr onology

753 BC

Traditional date for foundation of Rome by Romulus.

509

Expulsion of Rome’s last king, Tarquinius Superbus.

201

Rome wins the Second Punic War with Carthage.

146

Third Punic War ends with destruction of Carthage.

133

Tribunate and death of Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus.

123–122 Tribunates and death of Caius Sempronius Gracchus.
c
.112

Birth of Crassus.

106

Birth of Pompey.

105

Cimbri and Teutones destroy a large Roman army at Arausio. 102–101 Marius defeats the Cimbri and Teutones.

c
.100

Birth of Julius Caesar.

91–88

The Social War, the last great rebellion by Rome’s Italian allies. The
socii
are defeated only after a hard struggle. 88

Sulla marches on Rome when Marius takes the command

against Mithridates from him.

86

Death of Marius.

c
.85

Death of Caesar’s father.

84

Caesar marries Cornelia.

82–79

Dictatorship of Sulla.

81

Caesar refuses Sulla’s order to divorce Cornelia and goes on the run. He is subsequently pardoned following appeals from his mother’s relatives.

80–78

Caesar undergoes military service in Asia and wins the
corona
civica
at Mytilene.

77

Caesar appears in the courts at Rome, unsuccessfully

prosecuting Cnaeus Cornelius Dolabella.

76

Caesar unsuccessfully prosecutes Caius Antonius.

75

Caesar travels to Rhodes to study and is captured and ransomed by pirates.

74

On his own initiative Caesar goes to Asia, raises local troops and defeats an invasion or raid led by one of King Mithridates’

commanders.

520

chr onology

73

Caesar returns to Rome and is admitted to the college of

pontiffs.

73–70

Rebellion of slaves led by Spartacus.

72 or 71 Caesar elected as military tribune and probably serves against Spartacus.

69

Caesar elected to the quaestorship and serves in Further Spain. Death of his aunt Julia and wife Cornelia, both of whom are given public funerals.

67

Lex Gabinia:
Pompey given extraordinary command to clear the Mediterranean of pirates, and succeeds in a brief, but highly organised campaign. Caesar spoke in favour of the law. Around this time he married Pompeia.

66

Lex Manilia:
Pompey given extraordinary command to complete the war with Mithridates. Caesar also supported this bill. 65

Caesar is curule aedile with Bibulus, who complains about

being outshone. He also gives gladiatorial games in honour of his father.

64

Caesar placed in charge of one of the extraordinary courts required to deal with Cato’s investigations into debts to the Republic left unpaid by Sulla’s supporters.

63

Caesar appointed judge in prosecution of Rabirius. Conspiracy of Catiline. Caesar elected
Pontifex Maximus
.

62

Caesar is praetor. He supports the tribune Metellus Nepos and temporarily resigns after the latter has fled. Bona Dea scandal leads him to divorce Pompeia.

61–60

Caesar sent to govern Further Spain. He reforms administration and leads a highly aggressive punitive campaign. On his return to Rome he gives up the prospect of a triumph to stand for election for the consulship.

59

Caesar’s consulship and the formation of the First Triumvirate between Caesar, Pompey and Crassus. Determined obstruction by his colleague Bibulus and supporters including Cato

produces repeated disorders. Caesar forces through his

legislation, but leaves himself vulnerable to future prosecution. Pompey marries Caesar’s daughter Julia. Caesar marries

Calpurnia.

58

Caesar takes command of his province and defeats the

migrating Helvetii at Bibracte. Then he defeats the Germanic King Ariovistus.

521

chr onology

57

Caesar defeats the Belgic tribes, winning the battle of the Sambre.

55

Caesar bridges the Rhine for the first time and leads an

expedition to Britain.

54

Second and larger invasion of Britain. Death of Julia and her infant child. Death of Caesar’s mother Aurelia.

54–3

First major Gallic rebellion against Caesar, leads to defeat and death of Cotta and Sabinus. Caesar bridges the Rhine a second time.

53

Crassus defeated and killed by Parthians under Surenas at

Carrhae.

52

Second major Gallic rebellion led by Vercingetorix. Caesar storms Avaricum, is defeated at Gergovia, but besieges Alesia and forces the Gaulish rebels to surrender. Clodius murdered outside Rome. Pompey appointed sole consul and allowed to

bring troops into the city to restore order.

51

Caesar fights a number of campaigns in Gaul, culminating in the siege of Uxellodunum.

51–50

Growing pressure to terminate Caesar’s command.

49–45

The Civil War starts when Caesar crosses the Rubicon. He

overruns Italy quickly. Afterwards he defeats the Pompeians in Spain.

48

Caesar is briefly dictator and consul for the second time. He crosses to Greece and is checked at Dyrrachium, but defeats Pompey at Pharsalus. Pompey flees to Egypt and is murdered. Caesar pursues to Egypt and intervenes in the power struggle to place Cleopatra on the throne.

48–47

The Alexandrian War. Caesar has an affair with Cleopatra.

47

Caesar leads a swift campaign to defeat Pharnaces, King of the Bosporus, at Zela.