Caesar: more than just a salad

I tried to schedule this to come out on Saturday- I may have got it wrong and if this has screwed up Friday's poster I'm sorry! If this does turn up on Saturday- then woo! Again, if I have messed it up I apologise!

I watched the film Alexander this week (and nearly wrote a post on Alexander the Great- until I realised Emily had beaten me to it! Oh well- I have a good idea for a follow up on that but may have to have some discussion with Emily about it first) and despite it not being bad per say, maybe genuinely heart-wrenching at points, I could not take it seriously. My classicist friends and I just burst out laughing at every sentence- mostly due to the Irish accents. This is how I learnt the hard way studying Ancient History had ruined any chance of enjoying a historical film.

I digress, however. This week’s theme is determination, drive, and ambition. To make my life a little easier, these are three qualities held very dear in the hearts of the roman emperors.

To be a roman emperor was a bloody, and unrewarding job. Very often you had the life expectancy of a slug in a saltshaker- around half of the roman emperors were deposed by means of assassination, usurpation or execution. Only 20 between 14AD and 395AD died of natural causes, and as one was supposedly hit by a bolt of lightning, I think this can be examined with reasonable doubt.

And if we are to examine the ambitious men who sought this coveted position, there is surely no better place to start than with Julius Caesar.

The Asterix Caesar is the most accurate version... obviously

Caesar is awesome. He is a captivating mix of political genius and arrogance that has fascinated historians for millennia. When he was kidnapped by pirates- he actually complained his ransom wasn’t high enough, so his family had to pay even more to get him back. A young Caesar apparently cried at a temple to Alexander the Great, distraught that by the time he was Caesars age, the deified hero had conquered most of the known world- while he was little more than a glorified civil servant. His rise to power is thrilling- yet complex. He was pretty much hated by most of Rome’s aristocracy and ruling class- mainly for his tendency to go on long and expensive military campaigns without asking anyone- but also because he had the support of the plebeians, and there has never been a bourgeoisie in history who likes the figurehead of the proletariat. When his governorship of Gaul came to an end, and he was recalled to Rome, he feared he would be prosecuted by the civic leaders in the city- so brought a legion with him. But by bringing an army into Italy he automatically incited civil war with his previous ally Pompey. Caesar won- and his ambition was achieved when he was subsequently granted the role of dictator. It has often been questioned whether he wanted war, and whether he truly sought to be emperor (which he achieved in all but name). Regardless of his intentions however, the ambition and drive of a man heartbroken by his inadequacy to Alexander, led to the downfall of the roman republic, thereby changing the face of European, if not world history, forever.

Plus, Caesar is fantastically quotable. Between 'Veni, Vidi, Vici', 'The die is cast 'and Shakespeare's wonderful addition of 'Et tu, Brute?' it's pretty hard to avoid anything Caesar said, or supposedly said. 

I think I will end this post with Caesar. I had written another paragraph about Constantine- but I reckon I talk about him a little too much anyway, and perhaps I should stick to earlier history this week. Unfortunately not everyone is as into Byzantium as me! Also- I am meant to be doing work as I am taking tomorrow off to go visit Emily. However- as the reading I am meant to be doing is on the Roman republic- I insist writing this counts as revision!

I shall be back again next week!

-Rachael

xxx