IΔΡΥΜA ΜΕΙΖΟΝΟΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΥ Συγγραφή : Στεφανίδου Βέρα Μετάφραση : Καλογεροπούλου Γεωργία , Καριώρης Παναγιώτης Για παραπομπή : Στεφανίδου Βέρα , "Julius Caesar", Εγκυκλοπαίδεια Μείζονος Ελληνισμού, Μ. Ασία URL:

Περίληψη : The most famous Roman military and political leader (100-44 BC). His personality and his actions laid the foundations for political changes in Rome and the Roman realm, while they prompted the transformation of the Roman republic into the Roman Empire. Άλλα Ονόματα Gaius Iulius Caesar Τόπος και Χρόνος Γέννησης 100 BC Τόπος και Χρόνος Θανάτου 15 March 44 BC, Rome Κύρια Ιδιότητα Roman politician and military leader

1. Family

The life and the achievements of Julius Caesar can be perceived only within the frame of the changes in the structure of the Roman world, when the Roman Republic was struggling to survive, and was finally transformed into the Roman Empire. His military and political decisions affected the reactions of many contemporary men, such as Marius1, Sulla, Cicero, Pompey, Cato Uticensis2, Brutus, Marcus Antonius and Octavian Augustus.

Gaius Iulius Caesar was born in 100 BC. His parents Aurelia and Gaius Iulius Caesar were of a Roman patrician but not affluent family. They believed they were descendants of the kings of Alba Longa, Aeneas and therefore goddess Venus.3 Even though his father never became consul, Caesar found himself rather early in the epicentre of the political and military events of the time, defining the course of the Roman history.

2. Caesar in Asia Minor

Julius Caesar started his career in Asia Minor, participating in military campaigns and winning distinction (circa 83-78 BC), as well as the Civic Crown for saving a civilian’s life in a battle. His mission to convince Nicomedes IV, king of Bithynia, to assist the Romans with a fleet, was very successful.

After establishing Cleopatra VII4 on the throne of Egypt with the assistance of Domitio Clavino, who was the commander of the Roman army in Pontus and had sent the 35th and 38th legions, Caesar returned to Asia Minor (early 47 cent. BC). In order to confront the expansive tendencies of Pharnaces II, he created the legion of Pontus,5 which played a decisive role in the war against Pharnaces.6 It is in this battle that Caesar said his famous phrase ‘I came, I saw, I conquered’( Veni, vidi, vici).7 He returned to Italy in 47 BC.

3. Caesar in the rest of the Roman world

Julius Caesar was continuously active in the political life of Rome. He was elected pontifex (73 BC), tribunus militus (military tribune) (72 BC), quaestor (69, 67 BC), Pontifex Maximus (chief pontificate) (63 BC), praetor (62 BC), consul (59, 48, 46, 45, 44 BC) and dictator (49, 48, 46,8 45 BC, dictator perpetuo 44 BC). He was very popular as an aedile and curator of the Via Appia (65 BC), as well as when he supported Catiline who advocated a general cancellation of debts (65 BC).

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When he was elected praetor (62 BC) many senators considered him to be a dangerously ambitious man. As a governor of Hispania Ulterior he attacked local tribes (61- mid 60 BC) and the spoils enabled him to satisfy his creditors. Nevertheless, the Senate did not permit him to celebrate a triumph after his praetorship in Hispania (60 BC) and attempted to inhibit his claim for consulship, but without much success. The events between 60 and 58 BC, regarding the nomination and the election of the consuls led to the alliance of the First Triumvirate, formed by Julius Caesar, Pompey and Crassus. The alliance ended in 52 BC but until then Caesar had been appointed to govern the provinces of Illyricum, the Cisalpine Gaul and the Transalpine Gaul.

Caesar has primarily been associated with the Gallic Wars (58-47 BC), when he proved his military and strategic skills, and the Civil Wars (49-46 BC),9 which led to the gradual transformation of the Roman state from a republic to an empire.

Julius Caesar took advantage of his aunt Iulia’s marriage with Gaius Marius10 for the benefit of his own political and military career. Caesar himself married three times in order to ensure political alliances: Cornelia (82 BC), daughter of Cinna,11 Pompeia12 (65 BC), Sulla’s granddaughter, and Calpurnia, daughter of Calpurnius Piso (circa 59/58 BC). His affair with Cleopatra VII, queen of Egypt, has always been a source of inspiration for the artists.

Apparently Caesar had not planned radical economical, social or political reforms. However, his policy resulted in the rise of the number of senators and priests, whereas new families of Roman nobles emerged. He also founded several colonies, settled mainly by veteran soldiers and people of the lower social and economical classes.

4. Death

Julius Caesar was assassinated on the 15th of March 44 BC after a conspiracy, organised by several of his enemies, even his friends. It was delivered that his last words were in Greek: ‘Και εσύ, τέκνον Βρούτε;’meaning ‘You too, child Brutus?’. The honours, power and his personality had prompted intense hostility against him. A principal reason for the conspiracy might have been the Parthian campaign he had been preparing and he was soon to depart on the 18 of March. In the past, his absence had created many problems in Rome’s political life and it seemed inevitable that these would be even greater with all that power in his hands.

A comet that appeared in the sky of Rome shortly after his death was interpreted as a sign of his glorification by the gods. Thus, for the first time in Roman history a mortal man was deified,13 preparing the ground for the imperial cult. Octavian Augustus promoted the cult of his deified father. In Asia Minor, temples of Julius Caesar and Rome were in Ephesus, Alexandria Troas and Nicaea.14

5. Evaluation

Caesar was known for his rhetoric skills and he included ordinary words and phrases in his speeches.15 He wrote his memoirs of the Gallic Wars and the HispanicWars, commentaries on the Civil War and on the campaign in Alexandria and North Africa. Caesar’s deification and the various legends inhibited the profound understanding of the man, the politician and general. The extant statues, busts and coins provide contradictory information.

He is considered to be the most famous Roman in history. His name, Caesar, was used as an imperial title from Octavian Augustus to the 20th century, e.g. the German title Kaiser. Until the end of the 19th century he was regarded as the symbol of modern monarchies, while many contemporary historians attempted to interpret his personality and his era on the analogy of the 20th century.

1. Marius Gaius (157-86 BC): an important Roman military man and politician in the Roman Republic. He reorganized the army but did not plan administrative reforms. He participated in military campaigns in Hispania Ulterior, Africa and Germania.

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2. Cato Porcius Uticensis: Roman military man and politician, with a reputation for fairness. He served in Cyprus and Sicily. In the Civil Wars he supported Pompey. After the battle at Thapsus he committed suicide rather than accept pardon from Iulius Caesar.

3. Suet., Iul. 88.1.

4. Cleopatra VII (69-30 BC): the last queen of the Ptolemy dynasty. She reinforced her kingdom by manipulating the eminent men of the period (Iulius Caesar, Marcus Antonius), charming them with her allure and cleverness. She committed suicide having an adder bit her shortly after the seizure of Alexandria by Octavian. The legends about her character, her personality and her appearance seem to be more powerful than historical truth.

5. Although Pontus had already been part of the Roman realm, in 47 NC the Roman colonization was not established. The particular legion was not defined with a number, which was an unusual fact.This might imply that the soldiers were not Roman citizens but locals, natives with either Greek or Persian-Anatolian-identity. Parker, H.M.D., The Roman Legions (Oxford 1928), pp. 57, 63, 68-69. About the legion of Pontus cf.: Pliny, Ep. 10.21; IGR III 1396, 1411; Ritterling, E., ‘Military Forces in the Senatorial Provinces’, JRS 17 (1927), pp. 28-32.

6. Caes., Bell. Alex. 34.40, 40.77.

7. Suet., Iul. 37; Perrot, G., ‘Le campagne de Cesar contre Pharnace’, CRAI 7 (1871), p. 312-328.

8. D. C., 43.14.3.

9. Cf. Livingston, A. (ed.), Caesar. The Gallic War books I-VII (New York 1909); Handford, S.A. (ed.), Caesar. The Conquest of Gaul (London 1982); Gardner, J.F. (ed.), Caesar. The Civil Wars (London 1988); App., Bell. Civ. XII-XVII.

10. At the funerals of his aunt Iulia and of Cornelia (69 BC), Julius Caesar proved his gift as an orator, emphasizing his family descent and his political ideas.

11. Cornelia was the mother of his only legitimate child, Iulia. When Sulla became dictator he asked him to divorce her but Caesar denied and Sulla declared him an enemy.

12. In December 62 BC, Publius Clodius Pulcher was prosecuted for the sacrilege of the women’s festival in honour of Bona Dea, apparently for the purpose of meeting Pompeia, Caesar’s wife. Caesar asserted his innocence but divorced his wife proclaiming that ‘Caesar’s wife ought not even to be under suspicion’.

13. It is possible that Iulius Caesar had been deified during his lifetime, just before his assassination (Cic., Phil. 2.110).

14. I. Ephesos VI 2.4324; Syll. 760; D.C. 51.20.6; Weinstock, S., Divus Julius (Oxford 1971), pp. 402-405; Price, S.R.F., Rituals and Power. The Roman Imperial Cult in Asia Minor (Cambridge-New York-London 1984), pp., 254, 266.

15. Gell., NA 1.10.4; Cic., Brut. 262.

Βιβλιογραφία : Price S., Rituals and Power. The Roman Imperial Cult in Asia Minor, 2, Cambridge 1998

Syme R., The Roman Revolution, Oxford 1939

Adcock F.E., Caesar as Man of Letters, 1956 Cambridge

Balsdon J.P.V.D., Julius Caesar and Rome, London 1967

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Canfora L., Giulio Cesare: il dittatore democratico, 2, Roma – Bari 1999

Christ K., Caesar. Annäherungen an einen Diktator, München 1994

Fuller J.F.C., Julius Caesar. Man, Soldier and Tyrant, London 1965

Gelzer M., Caesar: Politician and Statesman, Harvard 1968

Horst E., Julius Caesar. Eine Biographie, Düsseldorf 1980

Jiménez R.L., Caesar Against Rome. The Great Roman Civil War, Westport – London 2000

Meier K., Julius Caesar, The Folio Society 1998

Ruebel J.R., Caesar and the Crisis of the Roman Aristocracy, Norman – London 1994

Caesar and Roman Politics 60-50 BC: Source Material in Translation, Oxford 1971

Scullard H.H., From the Gracchi to Nero. A History of Rome from 133 BC to AD 682, London 1996

Will W., Julius Caesar. Eine Bilanz, Stuttgart 1992, Urban-Taschenbücher 448

Thaddeus V., Julius Caesar and the Grandeur that Was Rome, New York 1928

Yavetz Z., Julius Caesar and his Public Image, London 1983

Weinstock S., Divus Julius, Oxford 1971

Erschowitz N.I., "The Question as to How Julius Ceasar Crossed the Rhine", VDI, 2, 1968, 120-130

Ezov A., "The Missing Dimension of C. Julius Caesar", Historia, 45, 1996, 64-94

Hannestad N., "The Deified Julius, or Caesar Renovated", ActaHyp, 4, 1992, 197-206

Konik E., "Gaius Julius Caesar in the Balkans", Novae i kultura starozytna, 1984, 177-183

Madden J., Keaveney A., "Lucius Pinarius, Quintus Pedius. Their Degrees of Kingship with Julius Caesar", Latomus, 47, 1988, 354-357

McDermott W.C., "Asinius Pollio, Catullus, and C. Julius Caesar", AncWorld, 2, 1979, 55-60

Morawiecki L., "The Power Conception of Alexander the Great and of Gaius Julius Caesar in the Light of Numismatic Sources", Eos, 63, 1975, 99-127

Perrot G., "Le campagne de César contre Pharnace", CRAI, 7, 1871, 312-328

Ross Taylor L., "The Rise of Julius Caesar", GaR, 4, 1957, 10-18

Ramage E.S., "Augustus’Treatment of Julius Caesar", Historia, 34, 1985, 223-245

Rubincam C., "The Nomenclature of Julius Caesar and the Later Augustus in the Triumviral Period", Historia, 41, 1992, 88-103

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Sutherland C.H.V., "Monetae Peculiares Servos Praeposuit. Julius Caesar and the Mint of Rome", NumChron, 145, 1985, 243-245

Sumner G.V., "A Note on Julius Caesar's Great-Grandfather", ClPhil, 71, 1976, 341-344

Toynbee J.M.C., "Portraits of Julius Caesar", GaR, 4, 1957, 2-9

Voscinina A.I., "A Bust of Julius Caesar in the Hermitage Collection of Antique Marbles", TrudyErmit, 1971, 72-75

Ward A.M., "Caesar and the Pirates", CPh, 70, 1975, 267

Ward A.M., "Caesar and the Pirates. II: The Elusive M. Iuncus and the Year 75/4", AJAH, 2, 1977, 26-36

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White P., "Julius Caesar and the Publication of Acta in Late Republican Rome", Chiron, 27, 1997, 73-84

Δικτυογραφία : Julius Caesar http://classics.mit.edu/Plutarch/caesar.html

Γλωσσάριo : consul, -lis An official of the Roman state. In the period of the Republic, it was the highest military and political office: two consuls were elected each year. The consular office survived into the Imperial period (and further into the early Byzantine period), becoming a honorary post. praetor Political and juridical magistrate of the Roman Republic and the late Roman Empire. The title was originally borne by two magistrates who were chosen annually to serve as eponymous heads of the state, but the number of praetors increased within the years. The title was retained with intervals in the Early Byzantine Period. The office appeared again in the mid-9th cent. and denoted the governor of an administration unit of the empire. Hierarchically, the praetor was inferior to the strategos of the theme. questor (lat. quaestor, -oris) or quaesitor Antiquity. Elected officials who supervised the treasury and financial affairs of the state, its armies and its officers. Byzantium. Q. derived from the Latin quaestor; orginally high-ranking legal officials, drafter of laws, later a judicial official of lesser rank. In the Early Byzantine period q. was a powerful official. 1.) q. of the sacred palace (Lat. quaestor sacri palatii), high-ranking official of the late Roman Empire, an office created by Constantine I. The quaestor was originally responsible for drafting imperial laws. His judicial rights were relatively insignificant, but as the emperor's closest adviser in legal questions he acquired enormous influence. 2.) In 539 Justinian I introduced another office called quaesitor (called also simply quaestor), involving police and judicial power in Constantinople, esp. control over newcomers settling in the capital. During the Middle Byzantine period quaestor had lost his earlier prestige, some of his functions having been transferred to the Logothethetes tou dromou, the Epi ton Deeseion. He was considered one of the judes (kritai). The quaestor survived at least until the 14th C., when he occupied 45th place in the hierarchy, but this was only an honorary position. senate, the The top political body of the Roman state. During the early Republic, it was represented by the council of the consuls, the top archons of the roman state. Later on, its power and responisibilities increased. As a result, it became the main governmental body of Rome. However, during the Imperial period, the responsibilities of the senate were restricted. triumph The organising of festivities in Constantinople in order to celebrate the return of the emperor (or a military commander) from a victorious expedition. It included a military parade, lead by the emperor and his generals, followed by prisoners and plunder brought back from occupied territories, as well as games at the Hippodrome. The people of the capital (mainly the demes) usually participated in overwhelming numbers and with great enthusiasm.

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Πηγές Butler, H.E., Cary, M., Suetonius: Divus Julius (Bristol 1982).

Χρονολόγιο 100 BC: Julius Caesar was born.

83-78 BC: He participated in the military expeditions in Asia Minor and gained distinctions. He convinced Nicomedes IV, king of Bithynia, to give his fleet to the Romans.

75 BC: During his travel to Greece his was kidnapped by pirates and was held prisoner for ransom.

67 BC: He was elected quaestor and ensured a seat in the senate. He married Pompeia, granddaughter of Sulla. He supported Pompey in the preparations for the war against the Cilician pirates and Mithridates VI.

63 BC: He was elected Pontifex Maximus

62 BC: He was elected praetor. He supported Catiline in his proposal for a general cancellation of debts, but not in his conspiracy. He joined Q. Caecilius Metellus Nepos and asked for Pompey’s return.

61-mid-60 BC: He went to the province of Hispania Ulterior. The spoils he accumulated after attacking the local tribes enable him to pay his creditors, although Crassus had already covered part of his debts.

58-47 BC: Caesar leads the Gallic Wars.

56 BC: His political enemy L. Domitius Ahenobarbus attempted to recall him from Gaul and prosecute him, while Cicero hoped to detach Pompey from the First Triumvirate, which was nevertheless renewed at Luca.

49 BC: Caesar invaded Italy and started the Civil War, nominally to defend the rights of tribunes, but in fact to escape exile. He became dictator during the elections.

48 BC: Julius Caesar was elected consul. He crossed to Greece and besieged Pompey at Dyrrhachium. Pompey withdrew to Thessaly where he was defeated by Caesar in the battle at Pharsalus. Pompey himself escaped to Egypt and was killed. After the battle, he became dictator for the second time.

2nd October 48 BC: Caesar arrived in Egypt. He intervened in the domestic conflicts and established Cleopatra VII on the throne.

1st August 47 BC: He defeated Pharnaces II at Zela.

45 BC: He was re-elected consul and dictator. He adopted his nephew Octavian.

February 44 BC: Consul for the fifth time and dictator perpetuo.

15 March 44 BC: He was assassinated.

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