The Gallic Wars) and De Bello civil (45 B.C. He endured the dangers and fatigues of military campaigns without complaint or distress, and he composed his lucid, fast-moving De Bello Gallico (52-51 B.C. Caesar’s main characteristic was his amazing energy, both physical and mental. He was also exceedingly avaricious, but this may have been less a character flaw than a political necessity. In his private life, Caesar was noted for his incessant womanizing even amid the somewhat lax morality of the late republic, his escapades were cause for widespread comment. He was bald early and quite vain about it Suetonius says that of all the honors granted him, the one Caesar used most was the privilege of wearing a laurel wreath at all times. He enjoyed excellent health until the last years of his life when he was subject to fainting fits which may have been epileptic.
#Prove kinship to gaius julius caesar full
(Rex, 1961) According to ancient writers, Caesar was tall and fair-complexioned, with a full face and keen black eyes. The rest of his life would be spent in making good that challenge. It was in this speech that he traced his family ancestry to the goddess Venus more important, he launched a searing attack on the conservative party in Rome, announcing his intent to challenge their rule. In 70, Caesar fully entered public life with his funeral oration for his aunt Julia. He was good to his word, but according to his biographer Suetonius, Caesar mercifully cut the throats of the pirates before the crucifixion. Insulted by the small amount they demanded, Caesar had them increase it and promised that when he was freed he would return to crucify them. On the voyage, Caesar was captured by pirates and held for ransom. (Fuller, 1965) Unsuccessful in these attempts, Caesar journeyed to Rhodes to study oratory-an art essential to any successful Roman politician. Once back, he embarked upon a daring and ambitious course of bringing charges against the leading members of the optimates, in the hope of winning renown and establishing his support among the followers of Marius.
Caesar did not return to Rome until after Sulla’s death. This action so angered Sulla that Caesar found it prudent to secure a diplomatic post at the court of Nicomedes, the King of Bithynia in northeastern Asia Minor. In 84, Caesar married Cornelia, the daughter of a leading follower of Marius. The bloody civil war between the two sides ended with Sulla’s victory and the assumption of the dictatorship. Their opponents, the optimates, favored the upper classes and the traditional rule of the senate they found their leader in Lucius Cornelius Sulla.
The Populares were led by Gaius Marius, who was married to Caesar’s aunt Julia this group championed the cause of the middle and lower classes. By the time of Caesar’s birth, the political factions in Rome had coalesced into two major camps. (Rex, 1961)ĭuring the first century B.C., the city-state of Rome had become the dominant power in the Mediterranean world, and with this expansion had come enormous wealth, immense military strength, and a gradual but unmistakable decline in the old republic. The twin pressures of finance and popular politics were the dominant forces that shaped the life and career of Julius Caesar. In actual life, however, the Julian clan had more history than money and tended to favor the cause of the common people rather than the aristocrats. The family of Gaius Julius Caesar was of great antiquity and nobility in Roman history Caesar was to claim descent not only from the ancient kings of the city but also from Aeneas, its legendary founder, and his mother, the goddess Venus.
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