January 19th, 2012
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Please the Senate (i.e. High offices and commissions; deferential
treatment; consultation etc.; victories).
Extraordinary Powers under a Constitutional Façade; Pompey’s
Imperium Maius (Greater Imperium)
Please the People (Bread and Circuses; victories).
Please the Army (Land for veterans; good pay; good terms of
service; victories).
The position of the emperors prefigured in the careers of Pompey
and Caesar.
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Caesar, Gallic Wars and Civil Wars.
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Plutarch, Parallel Lives (Life of Julius Caesar).
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M. Tullius Cicero (Letters and Speeches).
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Suetonius, Life of Julius Caesar.
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Historiographical Sources: Tanusius Geminus,
Caesar’s memoirs, M. Varro, M. Actorius Naso.
Other Sources: Edicts of Marcus Bibulus,
Speeches of Gaius Curio, Speeches and letters
of Marcus Cicero, Caesar’s letters and edicts,
Acta Senatus, Popular verse.
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Born to old patrician family (Gens Julia) in 100
BCE.
Uncle, Gaius Marius, in his 6th consulship;
Optimates/Populares tensions very high.
90-89 BCE – The Social War.
88-82 BCE – Marius (i.e. Populares) vs. Sulla
(Optimates); Caesar’s absence from Rome.
81-79 BCE – Dictatorship of Sulla; Caesar’s
return.
78 BCE – Death of Sulla.
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Relatively normal progress through the ranks to the consulship.
81-78 BCE – First military service in Asia.
77 BCE – Prosecutes Dolabella, governor of Macedon, for extortion; Study at
Rhodes; Captured by Pirates.
70 BCE – Caesar’s operations against Mithridates.
68 BCE – Elected military tribune; campaigned against Sulla’s legislation.
67 BCE – Elected quaestor; service in Spain.
65 BCE – Aedile; Caesar’s games; defense of C. Cornelius on treason charges;
attempt to secure governorship in Egypt.
63 BCE – Caesar elected pontifex maximus; Conspiracy of Catiline (Caesar seeks
clemency for the conspirators).
62 BCE – Praetor; Caesar’s wife commits adultery with P. Clodius.
61 BCE – Governor of Spain.
60 BCE – Caesar stands for the consulship (of 59 BCE); the first triumvirate (Gn.
Pompeius Magnus, M. Licinius Crassus, C. Julius Caesar); marriage of Pompey and
Julia
Note: Rise to the consulship unremarkable; suspicion of Caesar’s ambitions;
discontent over Caesar’s tactics.
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The judgment of Sulla.
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Expressions of Ambition.
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Caesar and Conspiracy.
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Caesar’s Methods.
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“It is well known that, when the most devoted
and eminent members of the aristocratic party
pleaded Caesar’s cause and would not let the
matter drop, Sulla at last gave way. ‘Very well
then, you win! Take him! But never forget that
the man whom you want me to spare will one
day prove the ruin of the party which you and
I have so long defended. There are many
Marius’s in this fellow Caesar.’”
(Suetonius, Caesar 1. Trans. R. Graves, 1957).
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“During his quaestorship he made the customary
funeral speeches in honour of his aunt Julia and his
wife Cornelia; and while eulogizing Julia’s maternal
and paternal ancestry, did the same for the Caesar’s
too. ‘Her mother,’ he said, ‘was a descendant of kings,
namely the royal Marcians, a family founded by the
Roman king Ancus Marcius; and her father, of gods –
since the Julians (of which we Caesars are a branch)
reckon descent from the goddess Venus. Thus Julia’s
stock can claim both the sanctity of kings, who reign
supreme among mortals, and the reverence due to
gods, who hold even kings in their power.’”
(Suetonius, Caesar 6. Trans. R. Graves, 1957).
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“At Cadiz he saw a statue of Alexander the Great
in the temple of Hercules, and was overheard to
sigh impatiently: vexed, it seems, that at an age
when Alexander had already conquered the whole
world, he himself had done nothing in the least
epoch-making. Moreover, when on the following
night, much to his dismay, he had a dream of
raping his own mother, the soothsayers greatly
encouraged him by their interpretation of it:
namely, that he was destined to conquer the earth,
our Universal Mother.”
(Suetonius, Caesar 7. Trans. R. Graves, 1957).
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Suggestion that Caesar was involved in several
conspiracies.
78 BCE – The conspiracy of Lepidus.
65 BCE – The conspiracy of M. Crassus, P.
Sulla, L. Autronius.
63 BCE – Conspiracy of Catiline.
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Populares politician.
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Bread and Circuses.
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Secure the loyalty of his troops.
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Bribery, corruption, and violence.
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“On Caesar’s return to Rome, the commons
voted him the rank of colonel, and he
vigorously helped their leaders to undo Sulla’s
legislation by restoring the tribunes of the
people to their ancient powers.”
(Suetonius, Caesar 5. Trans. R. Graves, 1957).
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“During his aedileship, Caesar filled the Comitium, the
Forum, the adjacent basilicas, and the Capitol itself
with a display of the material which he meant to use in
his public shows, building temporary colonnades for
the purpose. He exhibited wild-beast hunts and stageplays; some at his own expense, some in co-operation
with his colleague, Marcus Bibulus – but took all the
credit in either case….Caesar also put on a gladiatorial
show, but collected so immense a troop of combatants
that his terrified political opponents rushed a bill
through the house, limiting the number of gladiators
that anyone might keep in Rome; consequently far
fewer pairs fought than had been advertised.”
(Suetonius, Caesar 10. Trans. R. Graves, 1957).
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“He also bribed a man to bring charges of hight treason against Gaius Rubrius
who, some years previously, had earned the senate’s gratitude by checking the
seditious activities of Lucius Saturninus, a tribune.” (Suetonius, Caesar 12. Trans. R.
Graves, 1957).
“Obliged to abandon his ambitionof governing Egypt, Caesar stood for the office of
Chief Pontiff, and used the most flagrant bribery to secure it….he defeated his two
prominent rivals, both of whom were much older and more distinguished than
himself, and the votes he won from their own tribes exceeded those cast for them
in the entire poll.” (Suetonius, Caesar 13. Trans. R. Graves, 1957).
“The province of Western Spain was now allotted to Caesar. He relieved himself of
the creditors who tried to keep him in Rome until he had paid his debts, by
providing sureties for their eventual settlement. Then he took the illegal and
unprecedented step of hurrying off before the Senate had either formally
confirmed his appointment or voted him the necessary funds. (Suetonius, Caesar
18. Trans. R. Graves, 1957).
“There were two other candidates: Lucius Lucceius and Marcus Bibulus. Caesar
now approached Lucceius and suggested that they should join forces: but since
Lucceius had more money and Caesar greater influence, it was agreed that
Lucceius should finance their joint candidacy by bribing voters. (Suetonius, Caesar
19. Trans. R. Graves, 1957).
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“Caesar and Bibulus were elected Consuls, but
the aristocrats continued to restrict Caesar’s
influence by insuring that when he and Bibulus
had completed their term, neither would
govern a province garrisoned by large forces;
they would be sent off somewhere ‘to guard
mountain pastures and keep forests clear of
brigands.’” (Suetonius, Caesar 19. Trans. R. Graves, 1957).
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60 BCE – Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus form an
alliance “jointly swearing to oppose all legislation
of which any one of them might disapprove.”
(Suetonius, Caesar 1. Trans. R. Graves, 1957).
Bribery, violence, and corruption.
Secured the addition of Transalpine Gaul to
Cisalpine Gaul as his province.
Caesar faces corruption and bribery inquiry; leaves
for Gaul before inquiry takes place.
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“Next, he introduced an agrarian law, and when Bibulus
delayed its passage…[Caesar] drove him from the Forum by
force of arms. On the following day Bibulus launched a
complaint in the House, and when no one dared move a
vote of censure, or make any observations on this
scandalous event – though decrees condemning minor
breaches of the peace had often been passed – he felt so
frustrated that he stayed at home for the rest of the
term…Caesar was thus able to govern alone and do very
much as he pleased. It became a joke to sign and seal bogus
documents: ‘Executed during the Consulship of Julius and
Caesar,’ rather than ‘…during the Consulship of Bibulus
and Caesar.’”
(Suetonius, Caesar 20. Trans. R. Graves, 1957).
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Manufactured Gallic threat.
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Avoid prosecution.
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Protected by his troops.
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Plunder used for: 1. Increase popularity in
Rome. 2. Secure wealth to spend on bribes and
shows at home.
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“He now lost no opportunity of picking quarrels –
however flimsy the pretext – with allies as well as
hostile and barbarous tribes, and marching against
them; the danger of this policy never occurred to
him. At first the Senate set up a commission of
inquiry into the state of the Gallic provinces, and
some speakers went so far as to recommend that
Caesar should be handed over to the enemy. But
the more successful his campaigns, the more
frequent the public thanksgivings voted; and the
holidays that went with them were longer than
any general before him had ever earned.”
(Suetonius, Caesar 24. Trans. R. Graves, 1957).
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“Among the Helvetii, Orgetorix was by far the most distinguished and wealthy. He,
when Marcus Messala and Marcus Piso were consuls, incited by lust of sovereignty,
formed a conspiracy among the nobility, and persuaded the people to go forth from their
territories with all their possessions, [saying] that it would be very easy, since they
excelled all in valor, to acquire the supremacy of the whole of Gaul. To this he the more
easily persuaded them, because the Helvetii, are confined on every side by the nature of
their situation; on one side by the Rhine, a very broad and deep river, which separates
the Helvetian territory from the Germans; on a second side by the Jura, a very high
mountain, which is [situated] between the Sequani and the Helvetii; on a third by the
Lake of Geneva, and by the river Rhone, which separates our Province from the Helvetii.
From these circumstances it resulted, that they could range less widely, and could less
easily make war upon their neighbors; for which reason men fond of war [as they were]
were affected with great regret. They thought, that considering the extent of their
population, and their renown for warfare and bravery, they had but narrow limits,
although they extended in length 240, and in breadth 180 [Roman] miles.” (Julius Caesar,
Bellum Gallicum 1.2, Trans. W. A. McDevitte and W. S. Bohn http://classics.mit.edu/Caesar/gallic.1.1.html)
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“It is again told Caesar, that the Helvetii intended to march through the country of the
Sequani and the Aedui into the territories of the Santones, which are not far distant from
those boundaries of the Tolosates, which [viz. Tolosa, Toulouse] is a state in the
Province. If this took place, he saw that it would be attended with great danger to the
Province to have warlike men, enemies of the Roman people, bordering upon an open
and very fertile tract of country.” (Julius Caesar, Bellum Gallicum 1.10)
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56 BCE: Caesar’s command in Gaul extended for 5 years through agents in Rome;
trying to avoid indictment.
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58-54 BCE: Pompey working behind the scenes in Rome to protect Caesar.
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54 BCE - Julia dies; Crassus killed in Parthia.
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52 BCE: Relations between Pompey and Caesar increasingly strained.
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51 BCE: Attempts to deprive Caesar of his command are blocked by Caesar’s
tribune, Curio
50 BCE: Pompey won over by Caesar’s enemies; Factional struggle erupts in senate
between Pompeians and Caesarians
49 BCE: Caesar’s agents in Rome (i.e. the Tribune M. Antonius) flee to Caesar;
Pompey empowered to bring Caesar in; Caesar strikes preemptively and chases
Pompey out of Italy; Destroys Pompeians in Spain; Returns to Rome and is
declared dictator
48 BCE; Caesar defeats Pompey at Pharsalus; Chases him to Egypt; Dictatorship
renewed
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49 BCE – Caesar seizes power; declared dictator
(renewed in 48 BCE).
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Reforms constitution (creates new senators;
oversees/manipulates elections etc.).
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Dispenses largesse among the people.
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Extends citizenship to Cisalpine Gauls.
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Abusive toward to nobles.
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Ended in Caesar’s assassination – March 15th, 44
BCE
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“He brought the Senate up to strength by
creating new patricians, and increased the
yearly quota of praetors, aediles, and
quaestors, as well as of minor officials….Also,
he arranged with the commons that, apart from
the Consul, half the candidates should be
popularly elected and half nominated by
himself.”
(Suetonius, Caesar 41. Trans. R. Graves, 1957)
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“To each and every foot-soldier of his veteran legions he gave twenty-four thousand
sesterces by way of booty, over and above the two thousand apiece which he had paid
them at the beginning of the civil strife. He also assigned them lands, but not side by
side, to avoid dispossessing any of the former owners. To every man of the people,
besides ten pecks of grain and the same number of pounds of oil,he distributed the three
hundred sesterces which he had promised at first, and one hundred apiece to boot
because of the delay. 2 He also remitted a year's rent in Rome to tenants who paid two
thousand sesterces or less, and in Italy up to five hundred sesterces. He added a banquet
and a dole of meat, and after his Spanish victory two dinners; for deeming that the
former of these had not been served with a liberality creditable to his generosity, he gave
another five days later on a most lavish scale…. He gave entertainments of divers kinds:
a combat of gladiators and also stage-plays in every ward all over the city, performed
too by actors of all languages, as well as races in the circus, athletic contests, and a sham
sea-fight…. For the races the circus was lengthened at either end and a broad canal was
dug all about it; then young men of the highest rank drove four-horse and two-horse
chariots and rode pairs of horses, vaulting from one to the other. The game called Troy
was performed by two troops, of p55younger and of older boys. 3 Combats with wild
beasts were presented on five successive days, and last of all there was a battle between
two opposing armies, in which five hundred foot-soldiers, twenty elephants, and thirty
horsemen engaged on each side. To make room for this, the goals were taken down and
in their place two camps were pitched over against each other. The athletic competitions
lasted for three days in a temporary stadium built for the purpose in the region of the
Campus Martius. 4 For the naval battle a pool was dug in the lesser Codeta and there
was a contest of ships of two, three, and four banks of oars, belonging to the Tyrian and
Egyptian fleets, manned by a large force of fighting men. Such a throng flocked to all
these shows from every quarter, that many strangers had to lodge in tents pitched in
streets or along the roads, and the press was often such that many were crushed to
death, including two senators.”
(Trans. J.C. Rolfe 1913 - http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Julius*.html)
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Dictator for Life.
Censor for Life.
“Imperator” added to his name.
Received cult worship.
Magistrates chosen several years in advance.
Granted citizenship to Gauls.
Admitted Gauls to the Senate.
Showed no deference toward senators.
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“More than sixty conspirators banded together against
him, led by Gaius Cassius and his lieutenants Marcus
and Decimus Brutus. A suggested plan was to wait
until the Consular elections, when Caesar would take
his stand on the wooden bridge along which voters
walked to the poll; one group of conspirators would
then topple him over, while another waited
underneath with daggers drawn. An alternative was to
attack him in the Sacred Way or at the entrance to the
theatre. The conspirators wavered between these plans
until Caesar called a meeting of the Senate in the
Pompeian Assembly room for the Ides of March, which
fall on the fifteenth day; they then decided at once that
this would be by far the most convenient time and
place.” (Suetonius, Caesar 80. Trans. R. Graves, 1957)
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“As soon as Caesar took his seat the conspirators crowded around
him as if to pay their respects. Tillius Cimber, who had taken the
lead, came up close, pretending to ask a question. Caesar made a
gesture of postponement, but Cimber caught hold of his
shoulders. ‘This is violence!’ Caesar cried, and at that moment one
of the Casca brothers slipped behind and with a sweep of his
dagger stabbed him just below the throat. Caesar grasped Casca’s
arm and ran it through with his stylus; he was leaping away when
another dagger caught him in the breast. Confronted by a ring of
drawn daggers, he drew the top of his gown over his face, and at
the same time ungirded the lower part, letting it fall to his feet so
that he would die with both legs decently covered. Twenty three
dagger thrusts went home as he stood there. Caesar did not utter a
sound after Casca’s blow had drawn a groan from him; though
some say that when he saw that Marcus Brutus about to deliver
the second blow, he reproached him in Greek with: ‘You too my
son?’” (Suetonius, Caesar 82. Trans. R. Graves. 1957).
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“…he …left three-quarters, after certain legacies had
been deducted to Gaius Octavius, afterwards
Augustus, and one-eighth each to Lucius Pinarius and
Quintus Pedius. These were his three sororal grandnephews. At the close of the will he also adopted Gaius
Octavius into the Caesar family, but provided for the
possibility of a son being subsequently born to himself
and appointed several of the assassins as guardians to
the boy. Decimus Brutus even figured among his heirs
in the second degree….Caesar left the commons his
gardens on the banks of the Tiber for use as a
recreation ground, and three gold pieces a man.”
(Suetonius, Caesar 83. Trans. R. Graves, 1957)
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Is Suetonius pro- or anti- Caesar?
Does Suetonius mythologize his narrative of
Caesar’s life in any way? Explain.
Is Suetonius’ account, on balance, believable?
Explain.
What does Suetonius see as the personal qualities
that led to Caesar’s success and his demise?