The Julian Paradox Movie

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Essay written by Kurt Otto Peterson.

Essay

Gaius Julius Caesar Imperator

Pontifex Maximus Dictator

Born...100BCE
Died....43BCE

Following the marriage of Gaius Marius to a Julia of the Caesars the Julian's fortunes of the branch Caesar began to improve and they again found themselves at the centre of Roman politics.

Caesar's father (also Gaius Julius, as was his grandfather) died when Gaius Julius was a teenager making him the head of a once again powerful family. He had two sisters and his mother was an Aurelia of the gens Aurelius of the branch Cotta, an influential and Noble family but not as lofty as the Julians.

The young Caesar would have yearned for a military career but was denied it by Gaius Marius when he lumbered the lad with a Flaminate or Special Priesthood, which would not allow him to come into contact with iron or witness death as well as a host of other taboos.

Why Marius did this to Caesar is best known only to him, but it may have been out of jealousy for the younger man's talent, or possibly out of fear of being eclipsed by him. Whatever the reason, the taboos surrounding the Flamen Dialis meant that a military career was, for the time being, out of the question.

Caesar's situation changed somewhat after the civil war between Marius and Sulla (which the latter won) and as a result he found his name on his Uncle Sulla's proscription list probably because of his relationship to Marius who was also his uncle.

He was forced to flee Rome but thanks to the lobbying by the Caesars, the Aurelians of the branch Cotta and several other powerful and influential relatives the order demanding Caesar's death was rescinded and he was able to return home. Earlier he fell out with Sulla for refusing to divorce his first wife, something he still refused to do now, but never the less Sulla freed him from his hated flaminate and sent him to the East as Junior Military Tribune under Lucullus.

Sulla must have been a very astute assessor of character because he is supposed to have said to Caesar something like " I pity Rome , for in you I see many Gaius Marius's" meaning that if Marius was a threat to the Ancient Ways then Caesar would be a far greater one.

In the east Caesar won the Civic Crown, the 2nd highest award a soldier could win and under Sulla's own laws the young man was now a Senator of Rome and when ever he entered the Senate every man there was obliged to stand and applaud, even his enemies. The minimum age for entry to the Senate was 30, the exception being priests and military heroes.

Later he fought in Spain and was elected Quaestor, the first rung on the political ladder.
He spent money on a grand scale and was soon deeply in debt and his career might have ended there, but he gambled everything on throw of one dice and was elected Pontifex Maximus of the Roman State religion, chief priest. This gave him tremendous prestige and enhanced his Dignitas. It also gave him more political clout as well as an address in the heart of the Forum and at state expense It also helped keep the creditors at bay. Caesar was a good bet and now they knew it.

He gave splendid games as Aedile,, the second rung on the ladder and apparently carried out his responsibilities with great zeal. Then as Praetor he was beginning to be noticed as a talented orator and lawyer and by the time he was elected Consul he was considered a formidable presence, a 'heavy weight' rather than the young 'Dandy' they mistook him for. As Arnie would say "BIG MISTAKE".

After his year as Consul he went to govern the Gauls, (at this time small but crucial provinces) but he needed eyes and ears in Rome as well as his own powerbase.

The First Triumvirate was born.

Marcus Licinnius Crassus was the wealthiest man in Rome (with the possible exception of Pompeius) and had enormous clout in the Senate. Anyone who didn't owe Crassus money still owed him favours.

Gnaeus Pompeius was the First Man In Rome at the time and had most of the military clout and was Caesar's son in law to boot.

It is generally believed that the two men loathed each other but saw too that they needed each other and with Caesar as a go between , the triumvirate was a success. Both were elected Consul, Pompeius the Senior,(which I suspect would have infuriated Crassus) and Crassus the Junior.

Caesar was in Gaul secure in the knowledge that he had his eyes and ears in Rome as well as his powerbase.
He could now focus on the conquest of the whole of Gaul.
Ten years later the whole of Gaul was conquered.

(The conquest of the Gauls is too involved to go into here but for those of you who are curious, read about it in Caesar's own words. Get a copy of his book "Commentaries On The Gallic Wars" by Julius Caesar, it's a damned good read.)

Caesar's daughter died in childbirth while he was in Gaul and as a result the connection between Pompeius and Caesar was considerably weakened and when Pompeius married into an opposition family it was severed altogether.

Ultimately this break led to civil war between the two, (Crassus was already dead, killed fighting the Parthians.)

Caesar was of course the Victor as was Rome herself as it turned out.

Again, for the curious, you can also read "The Civil War" by Julius Caesar, but bear in mind that it will be his version of events. Not exactly unbiased I shouldn't think.

Caesar returned to Rome and then went to Egypt in pursuit of Pompeius who as it happened was already dead by the time he arrived. While there he settled the dispute between Cleopatra and her younger brother and, it would seem, fell in love with Cleopatra whom he put on the throne of Egypt and then put into bed. She bore him a son Caesarion who would ( had he not been murdered by Caesar's great nephew and heir Octavian) have become King of Alexandria.

On his return to Rome Caesar was made Dictator for life.
This appointment angered many in the Senate who thought that he wanted to make himself King of Rome and it must be remembered that in Rome the word King was a dirty four letter word.
A plot was hatched by his opponents, many of whom owed their lives to him, and Caesar was murdered, ultimately bringing about yet another civil war.........but that's another story.

A few years ago the Italian police re-opened the case and re- examined all the available evidence. (which is considerable since the Romans loved writing). They came to the conclusion that Caesar knew he was going to be murdered and deliberately did nothing to prevent it , which he could easily have done.

It seems he was even warned by his wife Calpurnia as well as Cleopatra both telling him of their dream concerning his murder, most likely pleading with him not to go to the Senate House. A highly respected seer is said to have warned him as well. Warnings it seems, he chose to ignore.

During the autopsy in which each and every wound inflicted on him was carefully catalogued, a note was found in Caesar's hand. This too was a warning.

He would have had an elaborate network of agents at work on his behalf at both ends of the Roman social ladder so it's hard to believe that he was ignorant of the plot. As well, there were a goodly number of conspirators, and the more people involved in a venture of this nature, the greater the chance of discovery. What ever the case I cant help thinking that he MUST have known, and for whatever reason did not care, or, perhaps he didn't believe them to have the courage to do it.

Perhaps he preferred to die while he could still be remembered as a relatively energetic and healthy looking man, he was certainly possessed of enough vanity to think that way.

Caesar has been likened to a Mafia thug by many modern day historians but I think it is very unfair to be judgemental on a man living so long ago and by such different moral and ethical standards. When one played in Roman politics one played for keeps. The prize was great but the price of failure was equally great. I doubt Caesar did anything that his opponents didn't, he simply did it better that's all..

At the time, there was no one who could outgeneral him nor rival his luck, which was to become proverbial.
He was a great Statesman and Politician, a hero in the law courts, he was extremely well loved by the common people.

As Praetor, Consul and Dictator he made good sensible laws that benefited every one from highest to lowest.
Although, like Sulla, he too marched on Rome, his victory on the Italian Peninsular was almost bloodless, with most cities throwing flowers at him and his troops rather than spears. He did not embark on a campaign of vengeance against his former enemies, nor did he put up proscription lists or instigate a reign of terror. Quite the contrary. The economy would have improved markedly once Caesar made laws that helped business confidence and once he introduced sensible measures to deal with the debt crisis.

Caesar died having adopted the young Octavian as his son and his heir. A shrewd move as it happened and I think he must have seen the potential the lad had. (He was about 18 at the time he made his bid for power.)

It was Caesar who tore down the ancient Republic becoming the hinge as it were that swung Rome from Republic to Monarchy. Octavian became Princeps or First Citizen (King in all but name). After another civil war he would usher in a period of piece and prosperity that would last more or less for two hundred years, a feat unequalled in European history even now and known as the Golden Age of Rome.The Pax Romanus was to become a reality.

He was later given the name Augustus, or the Revered One.

Even in death Caesar was able to serve Rome and at the same time make his name a byword for power and dignity. Every subsequent Emperor for the next five hundred years called himself Caesar, perhaps in the hope that some of Caesar's lustre would shine on them.

In Rome he was Caesar.

In the north the Germans called him Kaiser.

In Russia he was called Czar and possibly in the east, Shar.

The legacy of Caesar's Rome still reverberates around our modern world. In our laws, in our language ( you'd be surprised how much) in many of our customs. Our calendar and even some of our holidays. Christmas is celebrated on the same day as the Saturnalia, a Pagan Roman festival.The month of July was named after the Great Man, it was known as the month of Julius. August was so called in honour of Augustus who was born in that month.

The Planets are named after the Roman Gods still.

In politics many countries have an upper house called The Senate and a lower house called an assembly.Here in Victoria Australia our state government has a Legislative Assembly, in Rome it was called The Popular Assembly.

There are still Consuls in the world but today they play a vastly different role.
I could go on for hours but I think you get the picture.

Yes Rome was a violent and brutal place but so was the world at that time (as it is now). The Romans were just better at it than anyone else.