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JULIUS CAESAR THE RISE TO POWER • "In that man were combined genius, method, memory, literature, prudence, deliberation, and industry.“ Cicero(Phil II, XLV) • “What a tragedy lies over the life of the greatest genius produced by Rome” • Gelzer Family background MOTHER Wealthy plebeian family with strong Senatorial links. Aurelius Cotta Consul in 119. Mentioned in many sources as a strong Roman Matrona FATHER Poor Patrician, reached the level of Praetor, died when Caesar was 15 Spent the majority of his youth in Subura, the poor area of Rome EXTENDED FAMILY CONNECTIONS Patrician Status Populare Connections Marius and Cinna Sources of Power Senatorial Connections Cotta family Classical education in Greek, Latin and rhetoric Problem of Evidence • Almost nothing is known of Caesar’s childhood until the age of 15. Caesar’s mother was a formative influence, highlighted by the anecdotes of the election as Pontifex Maximus and the Bona Dea scandal. • The rest must be construed from descriptions of typical Roman Education Christian Meier • “Various circumstances determine when the characters of the young are decisively formed. Of Caesar one can say with some confidence that the Civil Wars of the eighties were crucial for shaping of his personality.” PERSONALITY THE NATURE OF JULIUS CAESAR REVEALED Formative events • Premature death of father • Sulla’s proscriptions • Funeral oration at aunt julia’s funeral • Captured by pirates • Education at Rhodes • Wins civic crown of oak leaves for bravery at Mytiline The education of young aristocrats was highly traditional and they were supposed to learn much by watching their elders conduct their daily affairs. Yet in these years public life was so disordered and often violent that they were inevitably absorbing a very different impression of the Republic than previous generations.” Adrian Goldsworthy Tacitus • “In the old days every child born to a respectable mother was brought up not in the room of a brought nurse but at his mothers knee. It was her particular honour to care for the home and serve her children...and no one dared do or say anything improper in front of her. She supervised not only the boys study but also their recreation and games with piety and modesty. Thus tradition has it, Cornelia, mother of the Gracchi, Aurelia, mother of Caesar and Atia, mother of Augustus, brought up their sons and produced princes. Traditional Education • • Towards the end of the republic, a two-tier educational system evolved, leading to higher education in oratory and philosophy. At about the age of 7, children of the privileged classes were sent to a primary school (often presided over by a single teacher), where from dawn to the middle of the afternoon, with a break for lunch at home, they learned reading, writing, and arithmetic but boys who showed academic promise were sent on, if their parents could afford the fees, to “grammar” schools, where they stayed until they assumed the toga virilis, pursuing a curriculum which emphasized Greek as well as Latin literature. Caesar was known to have had a tutor from Gaul, Antonius Gnipho an ex slave, educated at Alexandria and versed in Greek and Latin rhetoric CHILDHOOD EDUCATION • "The teacher must decide how to deal with his pupil. Some boys are lazy, unless forced to work; others do not like being controlled; some will respond to fear but others are paralysed by it. Give me a boy who is encouraged by praise, delighted by success and ready to weep over failure. Such a boy must be encouraged by appeals to his ambitions." Quintilian, in the 1st Century AD a teacher Marriage as amicitae Cossutia 84BC Cornelia 83BC • well Caesar , like many roman nobles, used marriage to forge important political connections. Caesar’s marriage to Cornelia , daughter of Cinna , who had been consul four times allowed him to forge important alliances with Senators It was therefore an extension of amicitas.His marriage to Calpurnia , daughter of Piso, and the marriage of his daughter Julia to Pompey were particularly advantageous to cementing influential senate alliances.Women were then , part of the political process Calpurnia Pompeia 68BC Suetonius on Julia’s Funeral Oration • During his quaestorship he made the customary funeral speeches from the Rostra in honour of his Aunt Julia and his wife Cornelia; and while eulogising 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 descendent 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. Popular Response • “When some who were present had begun to raise a cry against Caesar, the people answered with loud shouts and clapping in his favour, expressing their joyful surprise and satisfaction at his having, as it were, brought up again from the grave those honours of Marius, which for so long a time had been lost to the city.” Plutarch POPULARES AND OPTIMATES • Caesar belonged to the circle of Sullas victims. As Marius’ nephew and Cinnas son in law he was a man of some importance, athough probably no immediate threat to Sulla. • “ In time however he was bound to become a focus of loyalty for many old supporters of Cinna and Marius. Such relationships would carry weight.” Christian Meier Early career “The first proof he had of the people's goodwill to him was when he received by their suffrages a tribune ship in the army, and came out on the list with a higher place than Caius Popilius” Plutarch Pontifex Maximus 63BC aged 37 Curator of the Appian Way 66BC aged 34 Military Tribune under Thermus in Asia Minor approx 73 BC aged 27 Priest of Jupiter Approx 84BC aged 16 Priest of Jupiter-Flamen Dialis • “To a house that had been impoverished and politically insignificant, such an honour might seem highly desirable.” Christian Meier • The appointment seems to have come from Cinna at a similar time to the engagement of Caesar and Cornelia. Such connections would serve to increase his existamatio Military Tribune • When Sulla died, Caesar was in the E ast where he had served in the army, first in the province of Asia Minor and later in Bythinia. • At that time he had been with Nicomedes, King of Bythinia and distinguished himself as a soldier Lets talk about the elephant in the room? The Storming of Mytiline • In 79 BC Caesar as military tribune under Thermas was awarded the civic crown of oak leaves for saving the life of a fellow soldier. He was said to be in the front line of the attack. • This was a prestigious award which allowed him to wear the crown on public occasions. • The crown when worn required all Senators to stand in his presence. 69BC QUASTOR • Success did not come early to Caesar. His path up the Cursus Honorum was traditional and in the right year( Suo Anno). • However even in his Quastorship he began to earn a reputation for extravagance. He served his Quastorship in the province of Hispania Ulteria where he was responsible for conducting court hearings. • At the end of his Quastorship he gained the right to wear the purple toga and attend the Senate. The dress code was a measure of achievement and acceptance by the politically elite. However even in this regard Caesar placed himself apart. • He is said to have paid too much attention to his appearance, particularly by the removal of body hair. Meier’s thesis that Caesar was from the beginning“ “ An outsider” is reflected in his defiant language of dress. Increasing popularity • “When he was made surveyor of the Appian Way, he disbursed, besides the public money, a great sum out of his private purse; and when he was aedile, he provided such a number of gladiators, that he entertained the people with three hundred and twenty single combats, and by his great liberality and magnificence in theatrical shows, in processions, and public feastings, he threw into the shade all the attempts that had been made before him, and gained so much upon the people, that every one was eager to find out new offices and new honours for him in return for his munificence.” Legal career • • • • • • Many political battles were fought in the courts. Trials took place in the open Forum or in the Basilicas, always accompanied by an interested audience. Cicero stated that the Forum was his school. Any one who performed well gained a reputation quickly. In 77BC Caesar prosecuted Dolabella for extortion during his pro consulship in Macedonia.. He Had been a supporter of Sulla but it was more likely that Caesar chose the case to make a name for himself. Caesar was only 23 years old and the Defenders were Rome’s leading orators Hortensius and Cotta. When the case came to trial Caesar gave a speech which although no longer exists, many ancient commentators admired not only the rhetoric but the complete performance. Unsurprisingly Dolabella was acquitted. Caesar did little better in his next trial against Caius Antonius in 76BC for his behaviour in the war against Mithridates. Caesar made a good case against him but Antonius secured a tribune to veto the proceedings and a verdict was never forthcoming. Antonius escaped and was later expelled from the Senate by the censors. Pirates of the Mediterranean • On his way to Rhodes Plutarch and Suetonius tell of Caesar’s kidnapping and ransom by pirates. The significance of the anecdote lies in Caesar’s treatment of the pirates and his later revenge.. • “ ..there is the charm that can win over a band of cut throats as easily as Roman citizens or soldiers.” Adrian Goldsworthy. • “It was a display of his fearlessness, determination, speed of action and ruthless skill, while the final act provided an instance of the clemency he would later parade as one of his greatest attributes.” The power of rhetoric • • • • • At the end of this adventure Caesar reached Rhodes and studied rhetoric under Apollonius. Cicero considered him one of the best orators of the period and suggested he might have even achieved first place if he had concentrated on oratory to the exclusion of other pursuits While studying in Rhodes an offshoot of the Mithridatic war came with plunderers into Asia Minor. Caesar took a detachment of troops from the local communities and swiftly defeated them, pushing them back into Mithridates territory. “ His intervention remains a major act of presumption. There was a model, however in Pompey’s initiative during Sulla’s war. And Caesar was not lacking in self confidence and audacity.” Christian Meier The Power of Rhetoric • “Caesar is said to have been admirably fitted by nature to make a great statesman and orator, and to have taken such pains to improve his genius this way that without dispute he might challenge the second place” • Plutarch 65 BC Aedileship; Breads and Circuses • Aediles were concerned almost exclusively with the running of R ome, upkeep of temples, care of roads, aquaducts, sewers and overseeing the grain supply. In addition they were responsible for entertainment and festivals, often from their own pocket. • Caesar as always did this in style, staging large scale gladiatorial games in honour of his father. It is reported that as many as 320 pairs of gladiators appeared in Caesar’s games. • This excess was not approved of by the conservative circles. Election as Pontifex Maximus • • • • The Pontifex Maximus was a position of enormous prestige, in many ways the most important of all Roman priesthoods. As a result it was eagerly sought by many of the leading men. Both Catulus and Isauricas, two leading statesmen were also vying for the position.The position had previously been an appointment by the Senate, in which case Caesar would have most certainly lost. . However a tribunes law had reverted it to an election by the Assemblies. Despite Catulus’ offer of a considerable amount of money to withdraw from the race, Caesar( in debt) saw this as a sign of weakness and borrowed more money to secure votes. Although no financial gain from the position, the prestige and a new house, the domus publica, at the eastern end of the Forum added to Caesar’s personal auctoritas. As well the position gave opportunity to exercise poplitical influence by tendering opinions on rulings or infringements of proper procedures. The College also decided on extension of magistracies. See Plutarchs passage on Caesar’s farewell to Aurelia. What does this suggest about the position? 62BC PRAETORSHIP • The position of Praetor was an important one since it held the possibility of a provincial command in the year following the magistracy. • Very little is known about Caesar’s year as Praetor except that he spoke in favour of the Lex Manilia granting Pompey supreme command against Mithridates. • As well that year Caesar’s wife was implicated in a scandal with a young man Clodius Pulcher. Following this Caesar divorces Pompeia and marries Calpurnia, daughter of a leading Senatorial family, the Piso’s Praetorship • THE CATILINE CONSPIRACY • SEE SEPARATE POWER POINT 61BC Propraetorship • The significance of Caesar’s time in H ispania Ulteria was the chance to develop his skills as a General and acquire a triumph on his return • As well he appears to have displayed administrative flair in reorganizing the province and settling debt , keeping both the provincials and publicanii happy. • Most significantly he accrued sufficient wealth to pay back his outstanding debt to Crassus. Quaestor 69BC Curator of the Appian Way 67BC Responsible for court proceedings Comparison of life with Alexander Funeral Speech Visits Latin Colonists about citizenship Praetor 62 BC Very little is known about his Praetorship But during this time divorces Pompeia because of her role in The Clodius scandal Caesar’s reward after was his goverorship of Spain Responsible for repairs and maintanence, of the main road in and out of Rome. Much was spent at own expense and milestones bore inscriptions of the services rendered by the curator Speaks in favour of Gabinius Bill Caesar building “existimatio “ Pontifex Maximus 63BC Aedileship 65BC Opposing two ex consuls Caesar spent vast sums of money to obtain position.Suetonius says that he used” the most flagrant bribery to secure it “. Moves from Subara to Via Sacra Caesar speaks against the death penalty in Catiline conspiracy Incurs great debt, putting on extravagant gladiatorial displays. Senate shows concern, particularly at the display of monuments of Marius in the streets of Rome Cicero later writes that it was during Caesar’s aedileship that his plans for a monarchy became evident Propraetorship • Read passage from Cassius Dio and highlight the tactics Caesar uses. • What does Caesar gain from this period. CAESAR’S DILEMNA • After Caesar’s Propraetorship in Spain he was faced with the dilemna of choosing between his right of a triumph, or his ability to return to Rome without his army and stand for the Consulship. • WHICH WOULD YOU CHOOSE AND WHY? • Caesar is now 40 years old.