According to many, no one can rival Gaius Julius Caesar’s accomplishments in conquest and politics; however, his means of achieving these lofty accomplishments is often debated. Chiefly, the use of his account of the Gallic Wars (namely the first, which I will cite as evidence) as well as his thought out use of propaganda in order to further his already imposing accolades and the honor that accompanies them. Evidence of Caesar’s intent for his account of the Gallic Wars to be used as propaganda largely lies in half-truths that I deem directly affect the perception of Caesar and his conquests in a positive manner. These half-truths consist of the embellishment of certain characteristics and features of the Gallic Wars and are most certainly …show more content…
1, Lines 9-12). This depiction of the Helvetians as brave and surpassing other Gauls in valor was an attempt at heightening the prestige of his victory. Caesar goes on to change his attitude and perception of the Gauls in a negative manner in an attempt to justify his first battle with the Helvetians. Here he nearly completely eliminated the people of the Helvetian district of Tigurini, which was responsible for the defeat of Lucius Cassius and went as far to say, “Qua in re Caesar non solum publicas, sed etiam privatas iniurias ultus es, quod eius soceri L. Pisonis avum, L. Pisonem legatum, Tigurini eodem proelio, quo Cassium, interfecerant” (p. 15, Lines 13-16). Although this in itself is not an exaggeration of the characteristics of the Helvetians, Caesar’s use of both a positive and negative perceptions of the group is an excellent example of Caesar’s conscious effort to use card stacking to positively influence the notion of his victory in the minds of the Roman Senate and the Roman people as a …show more content…
28, Lines 1-3). This being a chief example of Caesar exaggerating his own participation in battle when it was seemingly unnecessary for him actively fight given the circumstances of the battle as he described it. The lengths Caesar goes to improve his own image do not stop at merely portraying himself as willing and skilled in the field of battle, but extend to his ability to boost the fractured morale of his troops through action and rejuvenating speech in response to the rumors previously cited. Although the uplifting speech he gave to his troops may have been only slightly exaggerated and glamorized, the mere inclusion of this tangent to his military action against the Germans indicates his yearning aspiration to be viewed as a superior leader to his adversaries as well as his allies. Caesar’s Latin language in itself is a representation of his desire to glamorize his own image. His continual use of third person verbs to describe himself and his actions may be the most convincing aspect of his commentary, which is an indication of his striving desire to appear God-like and larger than life in the eyes of the Roman
Caesar’s piety is not only shown when he fights to revenge a memory of his reconstructed city, but also through his men when they are required to jump into deep water in order to fight the Britons in Book 4, Chapter 25. “And while our men were hesitating [whether they should advance to the shore], chiefly on account of the depth of the sea, he who carried the eagle of the ten...
The primary source used to understand Caesar’s motives is a direct translation from Caesar’s personal
A tribe known as the Catuvellauni, based out of Hertfordshire, appears to be the most powerful state in the southeastern Britain at the time of Caesar’s conquest. This is likely because their king Cassivellaunus killed the Trinovantian king, Imanuentius, in battle. If the Trinovantes were a strong power in southeastern Britain, as described by Caesar, it would likely take an even more powerful state to defeat them in battle. Additionally, the Catuvellauni were known to be the neighbors and “traditional enemies” of the Trinovantes (Dunnett 8, The Trinovantes). Again, if the Trinovantes were almost the most powerful tribe in southeastern Britain, it is unlikely that the Catuvellauni were not the most powerful state, since they had defeated the Trinovantes in battle. Lastly, Caesar describes the Catuvellauni as his “principal opponent” (Caesar 5.20). This description is important because during Roman conquest, Rome often sought to first eliminate the most powerful tribe in a region, regardless of whether this was through brute force or di...
“Caesar was forced by sudden enemy sortie to jump into a rowing boat. So many of his men followed him that he dived into the sea, and swam 200 yards until he reached his nearest ship – holding his left hand above the water the whole way to keep certain documents dry, and towing his generals clock behind him with his teeth, to save this trophy from his opponents.” In this passage, Suetonius portrays Julius Caesar to be a very strong and courageous leader, and how he effortlessly, created followers based off of his personal courage. Suetonius valued the military. He goes into great depth to explain the good military work Caesar did. During his nine years of governorship, he was the first Roman to build a military bridge across the Rhine as well as fix, and doubled the pay of the Roman Soldiers. Suetonius saw this as a good use of power by Caesar, because it was a solid way to uphold the society. Throughout the civil war, Caesar was never defeated, and celebrated four triumphs within one month. This passage clearly shows that Caesar’s tactics were successful and it benefited the greater
First of all, Caesar always felt entitled to himself and always had the audacity to see everyone as beneath him. A great example of Caesar’s bravery and fearlessness is when he was eighteen and was escape the punishment from the dictator Sulla, so in the process he was captured by pirates, who decided to be help for ransom. “When they demanded twenty talents for his ransom, he laughed at them for not knowing who he was, and spontaneously promised to give them fifty talents instead, Next after he had dispatched friends to various cites to gather the money…he felt so superior to them that whenever he wanted to sleep, he would order them to be quiet” . Even being surrounded by murderous pirates clearly out numbered, he refused to let them think that they were in charge while he was in their captivity for thirty-eight days.
“Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.” (3.2.24) This quote reflects the motive of Brutus for the assassination of his friend, Caesar. I believe Brutus killed him not out of disrespect, but in a selfless act to protect Rome from the decree of Caesar yet to come. I also believe that he did this out of force from the manipulation from his “friend” Cassius. In Shakespeare's “Julius Caesar”, Brutus’ two most significant characteristics are virtue and unconscious hypocrisy. In order to fully understand these characteristics, it is necessary to analyze all other contributing characteristics, the manipulation of friendship that Cassius uses against him, and the motivations for
Livy’s The Rise of Rome serves as the ultimate catalogue of Roman history, elaborating on the accomplishments of each king and set of consuls through the ages of its vast empire. In the first five books, Livy lays the groundwork for the history of Rome and sets forth a model for all of Rome to follow. For him, the “special and salutary benefit of the study of history is to behold evidence of every sort of behaviour set forth as on a splendid memorial; from it you may select for yourself and for your country what to emulate, from it what to avoid, whether basely begun or basely concluded.” (Livy 4). Livy, however, denies the general populace the right to make the same sort of conclusions that he made in constructing his histories. His biased representation of Romulus and Tarquin Superbus, two icons of Roman history, give the readers a definite model of what a Roman should be, instead of allowing them to come to their own conclusion.
Caesar’s words reflect the decision that he has made in essentially becoming the Senate’s public enemy and that if does not emerge victorious, he well be killed. Despite this, the act of war won over more of the Roman citizens (Mark, 2011). Meeting little to no resistance, Caesar dominated the Italian peninsula and caused Pompey to flee to Capua with two legions as Caesar progressed southwards. Pompey retreated further and ordered the troops to stop Caesar’s movements. These soldiers were then told to retreat, but ignored their orders, and were isolated, trapped, and forced to surrender (Warner, 2001), before many joined Caesar’s troops.
Caesar, C. Julius. The Gallic Wars. Trans. H. J. Edwards, C.B. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Tacitus tells us in the introduction to his Annales that his intent is to “relate a little about Augustus, Tiberius, et cetera” and to in fact do so “sine ira et studio” -- without bitterness or bias.1 Experience, however, tells us that this aim is rarely executed, and that we must be all the more suspicious when it is stated outright. Throughout the Annales, Tacitus rather gives the impression that his lack of bias is evidenced by his evenhanded application of bitterness to all his subjects. But is this really the case? While Tacitus tends to apply his sarcastic wit universally – to barbarian and Roman alike – this is not necessarily evidence of lack of bias. Taking the destruction of Mona and Boudicca's revolt (roughly 14.28-37) as a case study, it is evident that through epic allusion, deliberate diction, and careful choice of episodes related, Tacitus reveals his opinion that the Roman war machine first makes rebels by unjust governance, and then punishes them.
Julius Caesar is the leader of Rome and is seeking to become king in a matter of time. Though he is a good military strategist, he lacks knowledge in running government and is too greedy to have any concern for the peasants when he is alive. Caesar is all about conquering and power and he is afraid of nothing. Before he is murdered, he says “The things that threatened me ne’er looked but on my back. When they shall see the face of Caesar, they are vanished” (II, ii, 575). Th...
William Shakespeare’s play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is a story full of manipulation and jealousy that changes the way people think. Ancient Rome had umpteen different ways of handling situations that, in today’s world, would be considered unethical; such as battles that were very much horrifying and vivid. However, these battles were not important with the development of the plot. Shakespeare uses various ways of the idea of manipulation and betrayal to lead readers into the rest of the narrative.
Julius Caesar was a strong leader of the Romans who changed the course of the history for the Roman world decisively and irreversibly. With his courage and strength, he created a strong empire and guided the empire for almost 20 years. His life was short, but had many adventures. I will tell of some of this man’s remarkable life. He did many things, therefore, I will only discuss a few. His name, part of his reign, one of his greatest battles, and his death will be told.
Debates of the cause of the Roman Civil War are numerous. Historian and author Erich S. Gruen, in his book The Last Generation of the Roman Republic, implicates the desire “to maintain dignitas” on the part of both Caesar’s opponents and Caesar himself as one of the primary catalysts to the strife. However, Aulus Hirtius, Caesar’s biographer and comrade, tells a different story. In chapter 8 of Caesar’s biography De Bello Gallico, Hirtius uses biased language to suggest that the events leading up to the Roman Civil War were primarily due to the puerile pride and emotions of Caesar's opponents, and to suggest that Caesar’s side was the more justified one, but neglects to recognize the similar pride of Caesar.
“[T]here was a crown offered [to Caesar] … he put it by with the back of his hand/ … and then the people fell a-shouting” (I.ii.231-233). The scene at the chariot race further establishes Caesar’s place in Roman society and his unrealized ability as the Romans over joyously cheer as they see him with a crown, proving that Caesar had potential to become emperor with the people’s support. These scenes ultimately prove Brutus and Caesar are high ranking Romans, meaning they satisfy the first characteristic of a tragic hero. However, now that they have reached the top, the only other way is down, and now we will see what led to the fall of these great