The Forum of Julius Caesar - Caesar Himself

Julius Caesar is, arguably, the most well known ruler of Rome despite his relatively short reign as dictator- only 5 years. This is likely, at least in part, thanks to William Shakespeare's play where phrases like "Et tu, Brute?" have become synonymous with total betrayal. The quote "Veni, vidi, vici," also is attributed to Caesar from a letter he wrote to the Senate- since then, "I came, I saw, I conquered," has continued to be a popular phrase and can be found all over the souvenir shops of Rome. Similarly, the Ides of March helps to keep the cultural awareness of a figure like Caesar prominant.

Caesar was well known for his military and political successes long before he became dictator, however, even hailed as a popular prose writer of the time. He also served as Consul 4 times, serving in 44BC, 46-45BC, 48-47BC, and 59-58BC. Together with Crassus and his rival Pompey, the three became a political alliance that essentially ruled Rome stating in 60BC. Through his victories in the Gallic Wars in 51BC and becoming the first general to invade Britain, Caesar became utterly unmatched in military power- specifically, he became a threat to Pompey, who defected to alligning himself with the Senate after Crassus died in 53BC. The Senate demanded Caesar step down from power but he refused the request, choosing instead to begin a civil war by re-entering Rome and taking it by force.

After becoming dictator, Caesar had a clear vision for reforms as a "man of the people." Not only did he create the Julian calender, he centralized the bureaucracy of the Republic and attempted to expand the Senate by creating his own forum as a place for business meetings and dealings. However, the Ides of March put a stop to many of Caesar's ambitious goals- the Senate, fed up with the reforms, were led by Marcus Junius and Caesar's own protégée Brutus to assassinate him. This launched another round of civil wars until Marc Antony and Octavius (later called Augustus) rose into power, avenging the death of Caesar as his friends and heirs. Octavius was, in many ways, Julius Caesar's true heir- learning from his predecessor and managing to hold onto his power long enough to see the reforms he envisioned through.

In his personal life, Caesar was married 3 times and had 2 daughters. He also had one son by way of Cleopatra, who was killed by Caesar's adopted son and heir, Augustus. Plutarch also believed that Caesar thought Brutus was his illigetimate son, making his later assassination and betrayal likely all the more painful. Interestingly, historians today are sharply divided on whether Caesar had a form of epliepsy based on some remarks from Plutarch- some historians believe he had malaria, migraine headaches, or a tapeworm in his brain to cause the seizures. Shakespeare's line of "Come on my right hand, for this ear is deaf," has also contributed to the belief that Caesar may have been deaf in one ear- though there is no classical source to back that belief.

Today, Julius Caesar is a figure many can remember from his affair with Cleopatra and the lines I mentioned earlier, Shakespeare's own interpretations clouding the reality with the myths created around him.

[For more information on the Forum of Julius Caesar, please click here. For more infomation on the art in the forum, please click here. For the sources used, please click here.]