Intro to Caesar: Thoughts to Ponder

Intro to Caesar: Thoughts to Ponder:

Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar has a lot to do with the struggle between being loyal to your country or being loyal to your friends. In order to get an idea of the man this play was built on, read the short biographical notes below, then answer the questions which follow.

Gaius Julius Caesar (13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general (an officer of high military rank, usually in the army),and statesman (a politician or other notable public figure who has had a long and respected career in politics or government at the national and international level). He played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire.

In 85 BC Caesar's father died suddenly, so at sixteen Caesar was the head of the family. The following year, he was nominated to be the new high priest of Jupiter (the area where he lived; named after the Roman gods).

From 82 BC to 80 BC, the dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla was purging Rome of his political enemies, but when he returned to Rome, he had himself appointed to the revived office of dictator and hadmany of his political enemies killed or exiled. Caesar was also targeted. He was stripped of his inheritance, his wife's dowry and his priesthood, but he refused to divorce his wife and was forced to go into hiding. The threat against him was lifted by the intervention of his mother's family.

Caesar left Rome and joined the army, where he won the Civic Crown for his part in an important siege. Hearing of Sulla's death in 78 BC, Caesar felt safe enough to return to Rome. Lacking means since his inheritance was confiscated, he acquired a modest house in a lower- class neighbourhood of Rome and turned to legal advocacy. He became known for his exceptional oratory, accompanied by impassioned gestures and a high-pitched voice, and ruthless prosecution of former governors notorious for extortion and corruption.

On the way across the Aegean Sea, Caesar was kidnapped by pirates and held prisoner. He maintained an attitude of superiority throughout his captivity. When the pirates thought to demand a ransom of twenty talents of silver, he insisted they ask for fifty. After the ransom was paid, Caesar raised a fleet, pursued and captured the pirates, and imprisoned them. He had them crucified on his own authority, as he had promised while in captivity[—a promise the pirates had taken as a joke. As a sign of leniency, he first had their throats cut.

He was soon called back into military action in Asia, raising a band of auxiliaries to repel an incursion from the east. On his return to Rome he was elected military tribune, a first step in a political career. He was elected quaestor ( a public official overseeing financial affairs) for 69 BC

In 60 BC, Caesar entered into a political alliance (or Triumvirate) with two other leaders (Crassus and Pompey) that was to dominate Roman politics for several years. Their attempts to amass power for themselves through tactics involving the public (thorugh public gatherings or tribunals) were opposed within the Roman Senate by the conservative elite who wanted to keep power among the elite.

Caesar's conquests extended Rome's territory to the North Sea, and in 55 BC he conducted the first Roman invasion of Britain. These achievements granted him unmatched military power and threatened to eclipse Pompey's standing. The balance of power was further upset by the death of Crassus in 53 BC. Political realignments in Rome finally led to a stand-off between Caesar and Pompey, especially after Pompey began to side with the Senate and the elite.

Eventaully, Caesar was ordered by the senate to stand trial in Rome for various charges, so he marched from Gaul to Italy with his people, crossing the Rubicon river in Italy in 49 BC. This sparked a civil war from which he emerged as the unrivaled leader of the Roman world.

After assuming control of government, he began extensive reforms of Roman society and government. He centralised the bureaucracy of the Republic and was eventually proclaimed "dictator in perpetuity". A group of senators, led by Marcus Junius Brutus, assassinated their dictator on the Ides of March (15 March) 44 BC, hoping to restore the constitutional government of the Republic. However, the result was a series of civil wars, which ultimately led to the establishment of the permanent Roman Empire by Caesar's adopted heir Octavius (later known as Augustus).

Much of Caesar's life is known from his own accounts of his military campaigns, and other contemporary sources, mainly the letters and speeches of Cicero and the historical writings of Sallust.

Interesting fact:

The nickname or third name (which was tradition for Roman citizens to have at the time)"Caesar" originated with an ancestor who was born by caesarean section (from the Latin verb to cut, caedere, caes-). OR, that the first Caesar had a thick head of hair (Latin caesaries); that he had bright grey eyes (Latin oculis caesiis); or that he killed an elephant (caesai in Moorish) in battle. Caesar issued coins featuring images of elephants, suggesting that he favoured this interpretation of his name.

Wikipedia contributors. "Julius Caesar." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 16 Oct. 2010. Web. 18 Oct. 2010.

QUESTIONS: 1 In your own words, define the word ‘tyrant’

2 In your own opinion, what makes a person honorable?

3 In your own words, explain what constitutes gtood leadership

4 In your own opinion, what qualities should a good leader have?

5 In your own opinion, what is the best way to attain leadership?

6 In your own opinion, what is the best way to maintain leadership?

7 At what age did Caesar become the leader of his fmaily?

8 How did Caesar lose his first job of priesthood?

9 Why was he forced into hiding?

10 What two jobs did he have after the priesthood? 11 How did he get into politics?

12 With whom di he create the First Triumvirate?

13 Why was the Triumvirate opposed by the elite?

14 How did the Triumvirate fall apart?

15 What eventaully happened to Caesar?

16 How did Caesar come to be known as “Caesar”?