PREFACE
Mark Twain: The Mysterious Stranger, Chapter 8.
PROLOGUE: ON THE BANKS OF THE RUBICON
when the rains were scarce: Lucan 1.214.
“Let the dice fly high:” Plutarch, Caesar 32, Pompey 60. Caesar quoted the line in Greek from the fourth century B.C. writer Menander.
I: THE EARLY YEARS
Epigraph: Plutarch, Caesar 2.
caesarean section: Pliny, Natural History 7.7; Servius, Commentary on the Aeneid1.286.
Roman law considered women incompetent: See Lefkowitz and Fant, Women’s Life in Greece and Rome, esp. pp. 94–128.
the Belly and the Limbs: Livy 2.32; Dionysius of Halicarnassus 6.86.
the Subura neighborhood: Suetonius, Caesar 46.
Metellus Macedonius: The speech is from Aulus Gellius, Attic Nights 1.6.2.
the law required: Dionysius of Halicarnassus 2.15.1.
a skilled tutor named Marcus Antonius Gnipho: Suetonius, Rhetoric 7.
Caesar’s own youthful compositions: Suetonius, Caesar 56.7.
The one surviving fragment of Caesar’s poetry: From Suetonius, Life of Terence 7 in Morel, Büchner, and Blänsdorf, Fragmenta Poetarum Latinorum, 3rd ed., 189–91; Spaeth, “Caesar’s Poetic Interests,” 600–601.
holding his hands behind his back: Plutarch, Caesar 17.4.
“They tossed headless bodies into the streets:” Plutarch, Marius 44.6.
Cornelius Merula: Velleius Paterculus 2.22.
flamen dialis: The restrictions and responsibilities of the office are discussed in Aulus Gellius 10.15. See also Dumézil, Archaic Roman Religion, 151–53 and Puhvel, Comparative Mythology, 156–57.
Cossutia: Suetonius, Caesar 1.
Sulla landed unopposed: For the life of Sulla, see Plutarch, Sulla.
“I see many a Marius”: Suetonius, Caesar 1; Plutarch, Caesar 1.
the lover of Nicomedes: Suetonius, Caesar 2; Dio Cassius 43.20.
bawdy songs: Suetonius, Caesar 49.
corona civica: Suetonius, Caesar 2; Polybius 6.39; Pliny, Natural History 16.11–14; Aulus Gellius 5.6.13.
eaten from the inside by worms: Plutarch, Sulla 36; Acts of the Apostles 12.23.
the plot of Lepidus: Suetonius, Caesar 3–4.
Gnaeus Cornelius Dolabella: Cicero, Brutus 261–62; Suetonius, Caesar 4; Plutarch, Caesar 4.
Cilician pirates: Suetonius, Caesar 4; Plutarch, Caesar 2; Velleius Paterculus 42; see also de Souza, “Greek Piracy.”
Crucifixion: See Hengel, Crucifixion.
Caesar mercifully cut the throats: Suetonius, Caesar 74.
another campaign against the pirates: Gelzer, Caesar, 24–25.
passage at night: Velleius Paterculus 42.
II: THE PATH TO POWER
Epigraph: Plutarch, Caesar 4.
Spartacus: The best sources for the war against Spartacus are Plutarch, Crassus 8–11 and Appian, Civil War 1.14.116–21. See also Shaw, Spartacus and the Slave Wars.
an inscription from the first century A.D.: Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum 4.1189 (Shaw, Spartacus and the Slave Wars, 43).
the patrician Cincinnatus: Livy 3.26; Cicero, On Old Age 56 (16).
to restore power to the tribunes of the plebs: Suetonius, Caesar 5.
the death of the family matriarch, Julia: Suetonius, Caesar 6; Plutarch, Caesar 5.1–2.
Tragedy struck Caesar again: Suetonius, Caesar 6; Plutarch, Caesar 5.
epitaph later written by a Roman man in Egypt: Cagnat, Merlin, and Chatelain, Inscriptions Latines d’Afrique # 175L; Lefkowitz and Fant, Women’s Life in Greece and Rome, 206–7.
quaestor under the governor Antistius Vetus: Suetonius, Caesar 7; Plutarch, Caesar 5; Dio Cassius 37.52.1–2; Velleius Paterculus 2.43.4; Spanish War 42. Plutarch, Caesar 32.6, places Caesar’s dream of having sex with his mother just before his crossing of the Rubicon.
the disgruntled Italians north of the Po: Suetonius, Caesar 8.
a young woman named Pompeia: Suetonius, Caesar 6; Plutarch, Caesar 5. Plutarch calls Pompeia his third wife, including Cossutia to whom he had been engaged before his marriage to Cornelia.
curator of the Appian Way: Plutarch, Caesar 5.
to destroy the pirates once and for all: Plutarch, Pompey 25–29.
to settle affairs in the eastern Mediterranean: Plutarch, Pompey 30; Dio Cassius 36.43.
the feuding Maccabees of Judea: Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 14.1–5.
he was elected as an aedile: Suetonius, Caesar 10; Plutarch, Caesar 6.5; Dio Cassius 37.8; Velleius Paterculus 2.43.4; Pliny, Natural History 33.53 (33.16).
a taste for the finer things in life: Suetonius, Caesar 46–48.
the dazzling trophies of Marius’s victories: Plutarch, Caesar 6; Suetonius, Caesar 11; Velleius Paterculus 2.43.4.
“This Caesar is no longer trying to undermine the Republic secretly”: Plutarch, Caesar 6.4.
The biographer Suetonius mentions a plot: Suetonius, Caesar 9; Sallust, Catiline 18; See Gelzer, Caesar, 38–40. Gelzer details several of the reasons for rejecting Caesar’s involvement in any plot.
the plodding anti-Caesarian historian Tanusius Geminus: Seneca, Letters 93.11.
the ancient kingdom of Egypt: Suetonius, Caesar 11; Plutarch, Crassus 13.
Cato’s assignment was to manage the treasury in Rome: Plutarch, Cato the Younger 16–18.
among ex-aediles, including Caesar: Suetonius, Caesar 11.
III: CONSPIRACY
Epigraph: Plutarch, Caesar 7.
Caesar declared himself a candidate for the office of pontifex maximus: Plutarch, Caesar 7; Suetonius, Caesar 13; Dio Cassius 37.37; Velleius Paterculus 2.43; Sallust, Catiline 49.
“Mother, today you will see your son”: Plutarch, Caesar 7.2; Suetonius, Caesar 13.
Cicero’s stinging oratory: See Cicero, On the Agrarian Law.
Gaius Rabirius: Suetonius, Caesar 12; Cicero For Rabirius Postumus; Dio Cassius 37.26–28.
“Because of my friendship with King Nicomedes”: Aulus Gellius 5.13.6.
prosecutor of the optimate Gaius Calpurnius Piso: Sallust, Catiline 49.2; Cicero For Flaccus 98 (39).
his speech in favor of Masintha: Suetonius, Caesar 71.
a nobleman named Catiline: the primary sources for the Catilinian conspiracy are Cicero Catiline, and Sallust, Catiline. Key texts for Caesar’s relationship to Catiline also include Suetonius, Caesar 14, and Plutarch, Caesar 7–8.
“O Catiline”: Cicero, Against Catiline 1.33 (1.13).
the Celtic Allobroges tribe in Gaul: Sallust, Catiline 40–41.
the harshest possible penalty: Plutarch, Cicero 21.3; Cato the Younger 22.5. Although Plutarch wrote in Greek, the original Latin of the Senate proceedings must have been ultima poena.
it was at last Caesar’s turn: Sallust, Catiline 51; Cicero, Against Catiline 4.7–10 (4.4–5); Suetonius, Caesar 14; Plutarch, Cato the Younger 22.5, Caesar 7.4–5; Dio Cassius 37.36.1–2.
“As I see it, Senators…The problem is that people will remember”: Sallust, Catiline 51.15.
Cato rose to speak: Sallust, Catiline 52; Plutarch, Cato the Younger 23; Caesar 8.1–2; Suetonius, Caesar 14; Dio Cassius 37.36.
“The more harsh the punishment”: Sallust, Catiline 52.18.
a love letter to Caesar from Servilia: Plutarch, Brutus 5; Cato the Younger 24.1–2.
Cicero rescued Caesar from this debacle: Plutarch, Caesar 8.1–2, Cicero 21; Sallust, Catiline 49.4.
their place of execution in the Forum: Sallust, Catiline 55; Plutarch, Cicero 22.1–2.
“They have lived”: Plutarch, Cicero 22.2.
In the aftermath of the executions: Sallust, Catiline 56–61.
forbade Cicero to say another word: Dio Cassius 37.38.
Caesar called an assembly of the people: Suetonius, Caesar 15.
Cato marched to the Forum: Plutarch, Cato the Younger 26–28; Dio Cassius 43.
Caesar and Nepos had overplayed their hand: Dio Cassius 43.3–44; Suetonius, Caesar 16.
letters in Caesar’s own handwriting linking him to Catiline: Suetonius, Caesar 17.
The juicy scandal that hit Caesar next: Plutarch, Caesar 9–10, Cicero 28–29; Brouwer, Bona Dea, 363–370; Tatum, The Patrician Tribune, 62–86.
Caesar’s wife must be above suspicion: Plutarch, Caesar 10.6; Cicero 29.7.
Pompey finally returned triumphantly to Italy: Plutarch, Pompey 43.
Caesar had set off at breakneck speed for his province in Spain: Plutarch, Caesar 11.
“I would rather be first man here than second in Rome”: Plutarch, Caesar 11.2. In Milton, Paradise Lost 2.163, Satan declares, “Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven!”
Caesar’s exploits in Spain: Plutarch, Caesar 11–12; Suetonius, Caesar 18, 54; Dio Cassius 57.52–53; Catullus 29.19–20.
But Caesar faced a conundrum: Suetonius, Caesar 18; Plutarch, Caesar 13; Cato the Younger 31. 2–3; Dio Cassius 37.54.
One of the consular candidates for 59 B.C.: Suetonius, Caesar 19.1.
woods and pastures: Suetonius, Caesar 19.2.
Caesar’s only hope for a productive magistracy: Suetonius, Caesar 19.2; Dio Cassius 37.55–58.
IV: CONSUL
Epigraph: Dio Cassius 38.11.3.
Caesar was unusually tall: Suetonius, Caesar 45.
He was a notorious ladies’ man: Suetonius, Caesar 50; Plutarch, Brutus 5.
the falling sickness: Suetonius, Caesar 45; Plutarch, Caesar 17.2–3. See also Temkin, The Falling Sickness, 3–81.
Even in the gospels: Matthew 17.14–20; Mark 9.14–29.
But as Plutarch says: Plutarch, Caesar 17.2–3.
“Vatinius the tribune did nothing for free”: Cicero, Against Vatinius 38 (16).
Caesar borrowed a trick: Suetonius, Caesar 20.1.
Caesar, however, ordered his lictors to march behind him: Suetonius, Caesar 20.1.
Caesar’s first significant action as consul: Dio Cassius 38.1; Suetonius, Caesar 20; Plutarch, Caesar 14.
Caesar urged all the senators: Dio Cassius 38.2.
“I would rather be in jail with Cato”: Dio Cassius 38.2–3.
When Caesar presented his new land proposal to the popular assembly: Dio Cassius 38.4–6; Plutarch, Caesar 14; Pompey 47–48; Suetonius, Caesar 20.
“The law will pass,” Caesar cried: Dio Cassius 38.4.3.
Bibulus, meanwhile: Dio Cassius 38. 6.1–2; Suetonius, Caesar 20.1.
Caesar fixed a day for the assembly: Dio Cassius 38.6.2–6; Plutarch, Pompey 48.1–2; Suetonius, Caesar 20.1.
Bibulus withdrew to his own house: Suetonius, Caesar 20.2; Dio Cassius 38.6.4–6.
“Done in the consulship of Julius and Caesar”: Suetonius, Caesar 20.2.
“There was a deed just now done by Caesar, not by Bibulus”: Suetonius, Caesar 20.2.
As a result, he introduced a new bill to the people: Cicero, Letters to Atticus 36 (2.16.1–2), 37 (2.17.1), 38 (2.18.2); Velleius Paterculus 2.44.4.
Most of the Senate saw that there was little point in resisting: Dio Cassius 38.7.5; Suetonius, Caesar 20.4.
the gift of the Nile: Herodotus 2.5.
Caesar now pushed through legislation ratifying Ptolemy’s rule: Caesar, Civil War 3.107; Suetonius, Caesar 64.3.
Caesar completed his eastern legislation: Suetonius, Caesar 20.3; Dio Cassius 38.7.4; Cicero, Letters to Atticus 17 (1.17.9), 18 (1.18.7), 21 (2.1.8); Against Vatinus 29 (12).
We should all be very afraid: Cicero, Letters to Atticus 37 (2.17.1).
Caesar offered his daughter, Julia: Plutarch, Caesar 14.4–5; Pompey 47.6; Suetonius, Caesar 21.
Cato proclaimed that it was disgusting: Plutarch, Caesar 14.5.
the ex-consul Gaius Antonius: Dio Cassius 38.10.
Everyone acknowledged that Caesar had a mild and forgiving nature: Dio Cassius 38.11.2–3.
Publius Clodius: Suetonius, Caesar 20.4; Dio Cassius 38.12.1–2; Cicero, Letters to Atticus 18 (1.18.4); On his own Household 41 (16); Tatum, The Patrician Tribune, 87–113.
Caesar’s monumental lex Julia de repetundis: Cicero, For Rabirius Postumus 4.8; Letters to his Friends 8.8; Johnson, Coleman-Norton; and Bourne, Ancient Roman Statutes, 78.
Cicero called it justissima atque optima: Cicero, Against Piso 37 (16).
This infuriated Cato so much: Dio Cassius 38.7.6.
“He desperately wanted great power”: Sallust, Catiline 54.4.
In the late spring of 59 B.C.: Suetonius, Caesar 22; Plutarch, Caesar 14.6–7; Dio Cassius 38.8.5; Cicero, Letters to Atticus 153.3 (8.3).
The vast tribal lands of Gaul: Caesar, Gallic War 1.31.
a prince and trained druid named Diviciacus: Cicero, On Divination 1.90 (1.41).
But the agents of Ariovistus reached the senators first: Caesar, Gallic War 1.35.
“jump on their heads”: Suetonius, Caesar 22.2.
A murder plot against Pompey: Suetonius, Caesar 20.5.
Clodius finally began his long-awaited term as tribune: Dio Cassius 38.13, 17; Cicero, Letters to Atticus 46 (3.1).
Bibulus rose to deliver his own address: Dio Cassius 38.12.3.
news had reached Rome that the Helvetii were about to move: Caesar, Gallic War 1.6–7.
V: GAUL
Epigraph: Caesar, Gallic War 1.1.
a people known as the Celts: The best modern sources for the study of the ancient Celts are Mac Cana, Celtic Mythology, Rankin Celts and the Classical World, Megaw and Megaw, Celtic Art, Kruta, The Celts, Cunliffe The Ancient Celts, Green, The World of the Druids, and Haywood, Atlas of the Celtic World. I also discuss many aspects of the early Celts in my book The Philosopher and the Druids.
The Gauls were polytheists: Caesar discusses Gaulish gods, religion, and the Druids in his Gallic War (6.13–14, 16–19).
Orgetorix urged the Helvetian leaders: Caesar, Gallic War 1.2–4.
Dumnorix is, after all, Gaulish for “king of the world”: See Evans, Gaulish Personal Names, 196–97.
Caesar received word: Caesar’s struggles with the Helvetii are best told in the Gallic War (1.7–29), but also by Dio Cassius (38.31.1–34.2) and Plutarch, Caesar 18.
Caesar’s horse was a unique animal: Suetonius, Caesar 61.
tablets written in the Gaulish language: For the ancient Gaulish language, see Eska and Evans, “Continental Celtic.”
The Germans: Caesar describes the Germans in his Gallic War (4.1–4), as does Tacitus throughout his Germania.
Those who betrayed their people: Tacitus, Germania 12.
especially devoted to divination: Tacitus, Germania 10.
He invited Ariovistus to a meeting: For the discussion between Caesar and Ariovistus as well as the subsequent war, see the Gallic War (1.34–54), Dio Cassius (38.34–50), and Plutarch, Caesar 19.
VI: THE BELGAE
Epigraph: Caesar, Gallic War 2.27.
There were always cases to be heard: Caesar, Gallic War 1.54.
he would keep a scribe at hand: Plutarch, Caesar 17.3.
he used a code based on switching letters of the alphabet: Suetonius, Caesar 56.6.
a constant stream of high-level visitors from Rome: Plutarch, Caesar 20.2.
Clodius had already passed an unprecedented free-grain bill: Dio Cassius 38.13. For the actions of Clodius during his term as tribune, see Gelzer, Caesar (112–113) and especially Tatum, The Patrician Tribune (114–75).
He managed to have Cicero exiled: Cicero, Letters to Atticus 46 (3.1); Plutarch, Cicero 31–33; Dio Cassius 38.17.4–7.
Many years earlier, Clodius: Dio Cassius 38.30.5.
But Pompey rejected this ploy: Plutarch, Pompey 49.1–3.
the fearsome Belgic tribes in northern France: For Caesar’s campaigns against the Belgae in 57 B.C., see the second book of his Gallic War, along with Dio Cassius (39.1–5) and Plutarch, Caesar 20.3–5.
the nickname alauda (Gaulish for “lark”): Suetonius, Caesar 24.2; Pliny, Natural History 11.121 (11.44); Delamarre, Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise, 36.
Some slingers used smooth stones: See Goldsworthy, The Complete Roman Army, 180–81, 188–192.
No Roman general ever pressed his troops harder than Caesar: Suetonius, Caesar 45–48.
He rushed to the front lines: Caesar, Gallic War 2.25.
Later events show the Nervii: Caesar states (Gallic War 7.75) that they contributed five thousand men to the rebellion in 52 B.C.
the Great St. Bernard Pass into Italy: Caesar, Gallic War 3.1–6.
The consensus among the more moderate senators: Cicero, Against Vatinius 15 (6).
He began to mutter against Caesar: Dio Cassius 39.25–26.
to give Pompey extraordinary powers: Cicero, Letters to Atticus 73 (4.1); Dio Cassius 39.9.
Pompey took this rebuff with ill humor: Dio Cassius 39.12–16; Plutarch, Pompey 39.
Caesar was, of course, keeping a close watch: Suetonius, Caesar 24; Plutarch, Caesar 21; Cicero, On the Consular Provinces 29–35 (12–14); Letters to Atticus 80.1 (4.5.1). Gelzer, Caesar (116–25), has an excellent discussion of the politics at Rome during the winter of 57–56 B.C.
he traveled to nearby Illyricum: Caesar, Gallic War 3.7.
as Caesar says was typical among the Gauls: Caesar, Gallic War 3.8.
the Veneti and their allies had now started a war with Rome: Caesar discusses the campaign against the maritime tribes and Aquitania in the third book (7–28) of his Gallic War. See also Dio Cassius (39.40–45).
Caesar inserts an amazing statement in his Gallic War: Caesar, Gallic War 3.10.
The Gauls are by nature: Caesar, Gallic War 3.19.
VII: BRITAIN
Epigraph: Cicero, Letters to Quintus 2.16.4.
Cato brought charges against Caesar’s trusted counselor Balbus: See Cicero, In Defense of Balbus.
Marcellinus, one of the two consuls for the current year: Dio Cassius 39.27; Plutarch, Pompey 51.5–6.
As Domitius and Cato worked to secure last-minute votes: Plutarch, Pompey 52.1–2.
Pompey declared that he had heard thunder: Plutarch, Cato the Younger 42.3–4.
Pompey and Crassus spent the next few weeks: Dio Cassius 39.33–34; Plutarch, Pompey 52.3–4; Cato the Younger 43.
the Usipetes and Tencteri: Caesar, Gallic War 4.1–15; Dio Cassius 39.47–48.
Caesar writes that the Suebi: Caesar, Gallic War 4.1–3.
Caesar writes that some Belgic tribes: Caesar, Gallic War 4.6.
“soothe their spirits and encourage them”: Caesar, Gallic War 4.6.
Caesar decided to cross the Rhine: Caesar, Gallic War 4.16.
Caesar’s bridge across the Rhine: Caesar, Gallic War 4.17; Plutarch, Caesar 22.3–4. Caesar’s description of the bridge and its construction is not as clear as we might hope. Presumably his Roman audience was much more familiar with the technical aspects and terminology than we are. For a closer look into this remarkable structure, I recommend the notes and diagrams from the relevant section of the Loeb Classical Library volume of Caesar’s Gallic War and O’Connor, Roman Bridges (139–41).
Caesar’s intention in crossing the Rhine: Caesar, Gallic War 4.18–19.
the mythic island of Britain: Caesar discusses his first campaign in Britain in his Gallic War (4.20–38). See also Dio Cassius 39.50–53; Plutarch, Caesar 23.2.
Some Romans even claimed that the island didn’t exist: Plutarch, Caesar 23.2.
He could not discover the size of Britain: Caesar, Gallic War 4.20.
Pytheas of Massalia: See Cunliffe, The Extraordinary Voyage of Pytheas the Greek, and Roseman, Pytheas of Massalia.
used to call their island Albion: Avienus, Ora maritima 108–19; Pliny, Natural History 4.102. The early classical sources for Britain can be found in Ireland, Roman Britain: A Sourcebook (13–18) and my own War, Women, and Druids (61–63).
“Soldiers, follow me”: Caesar, Gallic War 4.25.
claimed it was only his lack of cavalry: Caesar, Gallic War 4.26.
As Caesar says, fighting in chariots: Caesar, Gallic War 4.33.
The Senate announced twenty days of public thanksgiving: Caesar, Gallic War 4.38.
Cato rose to denounce him on the Senate floor: Plutarch Cato the Younger 51; Caesar 22.1–3.
he set about designing an entirely new kind of vessel: Caesar, Gallic War 5.1.
an Alpine tribe called the Pirustae: Caesar, Gallic War 51.
Young Catullus: Suetonius, Caesar 73.
Catullus had also failed to reap any expected profit: Catullus 10.
Who can look at this: Catullus 29.1–4.
They’re a pretty pair of sodomites: Catullus 57.1–3. See also Catullus 93.
Cicero even sent samples of his poetry: Cicero, Letter to Quintus 18.2 (2.14.2), 20.5 (2.16.5).
Although Quintus was a literary man: Cicero, Letter to Quintus 20.3 (2.16.3), 25.7–8 (3.5.7–8).
a now-lost work entitled On Analogy: Suetonius, Caesar 56.5; Plutarch, Caesar 17.3.
“Avoid strange and unfamiliar words”: Aulus Gellius, Attic Nights 1.10.4.
Caesar dedicated the work: Cicero, Brutus 253 (72).
When Caesar arrived back at the Channel: Caesar, Gallic War 5.2.
The one tribe that had refused Caesar’s summons: Caesar, Gallic War 5.3–4.
At the top of the list of potential troublemakers was Dumnorix: Caesar, Gallic War 5.5–7.
I am a free man of a free people!: Caesar, Gallic War 5.7.
A gentle southwest breeze: Caesar, Gallic War 5.8–23.
The parts of Britain: Caesar, Gallic War 5.12–14.
The claim that the southern Britons: Among the many excellent discussions of Britain in the first century B.C. are De la Bédoyère, Roman Britain: A New History (10–22), Jones and Mattingly, An Atlas of Roman Britain (16–63), and Snyder, The Britons (11–28).
the ancient British language: Tacitus, Agricola 11. Tacitus also states that the same ritual and religious beliefs are found in both Gaul and Britain.
The Britons in turn exported: Strabo 4.5.2.
tales of sacred birds in Celtic mythology: See Anne Ross, Pagan Celtic Britain (302–77).
the rebellous British queen Boudicca released a hare: Dio Cassius 62.2.
he reports that there was “suddenly trouble in Gaul”: Caesar, Gallic War 5.22.
The news awaiting Caesar on his return to Gaul: Caesar, Gallic War 5.24–26.
his beloved daughter, Julia: Plutarch, Caesar 23.4; Pompey 53; Suetonius, Caesar 26.1; Dio Cassius 39.64; Cicero, Letters to Quintus 21.17, 25 (3.1.17, 25).
VIII: VERCINGETORIX
Epigraph: Caesar, Gallic War 7.76.
Their leader, Ambiorix: Caesar, Gallic War 5.26–38; Dio Cassius 40.5–6.
Quintus Cicero: Caesar, Gallic War 5.38–52; Dio Cassius 40.7–10; Plutarch, Caesar 24; Cicero, Letters to Atticus 93 (4.19).
leaving his hair and beard uncut: Suetonius, Caesar 67.2.
Caesar spent the few remaining weeks of 53 B.C.: Caesar, Gallic War 5.53–58.
Three new legions soon joined him in Gaul: Caesar, Gallic War 6.1; Plutarch, Caesar 25.1–2; Pompey 52.3.
Caesar trusted only the Aedui in the southeast and the Remi: Caesar, Gallic War 5.54.
He deposed his rival and Caesar’s friend Cingetorix: Caesar, Gallic War 5.56.
Caesar’s campaign of terror and revenge in Gaul: Caesar, Gallic War 6.1–10, 29–44.
Caesar had been working to endow Rome with magnificent buildings: Cicero, Letters to Atticus 89.8 (4.16.8); Appian, Civil War 2.102; Richardson, A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome, 52–53, 165–67.
Marcus Crassus: Plutarch, Life of Crassus 20–25.
two of Rome’s most infamous thugs: Caesar, Gallic War 7.1; Cicero, In Defense of Milo; Dio Cassius 40.48–49; Suetonius, Caesar 26; Tatum, The Patrician Tribune, 239–240.
consul without a colleague: Plutarch, Cato the Younger 47.1–3; Cicero, In Defense of Milo 61.
Caesar attempted to renew family ties with Pompey: Suetonius, Caesar 27; Plutarch, Pompey 55; Dio Cassius 40.51.
did not escape the notice of the Gauls: Caesar, Gallic War 7.1
the sacred center of Gaul: Caesar, Gallic War 6.13.
a tall young warrior named Vercingetorix: For the rebellion of Vercingetorix, see Caesar, Gallic War 7.4–90; Dio Cassius 40.33–41; Plutarch, Caesar 25–27.
considered a friend by the Roman general: Dio Cassius 40.41.1.
The Romans opened up a path through the mountains: Caesar, Gallic War 7.8.
If this plan seems drastic or cruel to you: Caesar, Gallic War 7.14.
two nobles of the tribe both claimed the title of chief magistrate: Caesar, Gallic War 7.32–33.
the fortifications of Gergovia: Caesar, Gallic War 7.34–53.
Caesar could not imagine how things could get much worse: Caesar, Gallic War 7.54–67.
the towering walls of nearby Alesia: Caesar, Gallic War 7.68–89; Plutarch, Caesar 27.
Caesar even lost his sword: Plutarch, Caesar 26.4.
only the most ardent Gaulish patriots still pressed for independence: the final year of the conflict in Gaul is described by Caesar’s lieutenant Aulus Hirtius in Book 8 of the Gallic War.
IX: RUBICON
Epigraph: Suetonius, Life of Julius Caesar 4.
the ancient historian Tacitus: Tacitus Agricola 30.
The number of Gaulish dead: Plutarch, Caesar 15.3; Pliny, Natural History 7.92.
the Gallic war had enormous benefits: Suetonius, Caesar 25.1.
Caesar’s personal wealth: Suetonius, Caesar 28.1, 54.2.
Cato had, in fact, long been threatening: Suetonius, Caesar 30.3.
Those Gauls who had served him well: Caesar, Civil War 3.59.
The Romans could not countenance human sacrifice: Suetonius, Claudius 25; Pliny, Natural History 30.13; Lucan, Pharsalia 1.450–58.
Cato had tried and failed to gain the consulship: Dio Cassius 50.58.
while even Cicero praised the work: Caesar, Brutus 262.
Marcellus cleverly countered: Suetonius, Caesar 28.2.
Marcellus also attacked Caesar’s power base in Italian Gaul: Plutarch, Caesar 29.2; Suetonius, Caesar 28.3; Appian, Civil War 2.26.
Now that I am the greatest man in Rome: Suetonius, Caesar 29.1.
“What do you think I would do”: Cicero, Letters to His Friends 8.8.9.
a new campaign against the Parthian empire: Cicero, Letter to Atticus 111.1 (5.18.1), 115.14 (6.1.14).
In preparation for any military conflict: Caesar (Hirtius), Gallic War 8.24.
He dismissed no troops: Suetonius, Caesar 26.3.
he continued to stockpile weapons and recruit additional soldiers: Dio Cassius 40.60.1.
Lucius Aemilius Paullus: Suetonius, Caesar 29.1; Plutarch, Caesar 29.3.
Gaius Marcellus: Suetonius, Caesar 27.1.
Gaius Scribonius Curio: Suetonius, Caesar 29.1; Plutarch, Caesar 29.3; Velleius Paterculus 2.48.3; Pliny, Natural History 36.177; Dio Cassius 40.61–62; Cicero, Letters to Atticus 117.4 (6.3.4).
Pompey magnanimously offered: Caesar, Civil War 1.4; Dio Cassius 40.65–66; Plutarch, Caesar 29.3.
Cicero was not a military man: Cicero, Letters to Atticus 113 (5.20), 124.7 (7.1.7).
Curio rose from his bench: Caesar (Hirtius), Gallic War 8. 52; Plutarch, Caesar 30; Dio Cassius 40.62.
then maneuvered the election of Antony: Caesar (Hirtius), Gallic War 8.50; Plutarch, Antony 5; Caesar, Civil War 2.
Caesar also returned to northern Italy: Caesar (Hirtius), Gallic War 8.50–51.
Cicero, writing to his friend Atticus: Cicero, Letters to Atticus 123.5 (6.9.5).
Pompey’s supporters spread stories: Plutarch, Caesar 29.4–5, Pompey 57.
“All I have to do is stamp my foot”: Plutarch, Pompey 57.5.
Labienus: Caesar (Hirtius), Gallic War 8.52; Plutarch, Caesar 34.1–3; Dio Cassius 41.4.3–4.
The current state of affairs terrifies me: Cicero, Letters to Atticus 129.2 (7.6.2).
Curio finally succeeded in forcing the Senate to vote: Plutarch, Pompey 52.4–6.
Gaius Marcellus marched across the Forum to Pompey: Plutarch, Pompey 58. 5–6, 59.1; Appian, Civil War 2.31.
Caesar moved to Ravenna: Suetonius, Caesar 30.1; Caesar (Hirtius), Gallic War 8.54–55; Appian, Civil War 2.32.
Caesar laid out his ultimatum: Appian, Civil War 2.32–33.
Cicero labored over the next few days: Plutarch, Pompey 59.3, Caesar 31; Suetonius, Caesar 29.2–30.1.
but at last he plunged forward into civil war: Caesar does not mention crossing the Rubicon in his own account, but other ancient writers rightly portray it as a pivotal moment (Suetonius, Caesar 31–32; Plutarch, Caesar 32; Pompey 60; Lucan, Civil War 1. 213–222; Appian, Civil War 2.35).
X: CIVIL WAR
Epigraph: Caesar, Gallic War 6.30.
Caesar played up his arrival: Caesar, Civil War 1.7; Suetonius, Caesar 33.
Meanwhile in Rome: Plutarch, Caesar 33; Pompey 60–61; Appian, Civil War 2.36–37.
It wasn’t long until Caesar received two visitors: Caesar, Civil War 1.8–11; Dio Cassius 41.5–6.
Cicero, who was in Pompey’s camp at the time: Cicero, Letters to Atticus 138.1 (7.14.1).
“It was an unfair offer”: Caesar, Civil War 1.11.
“Caesar would be mad not to accept”: Cicero, Letters to Atticus 141.2 (7.17.2).
Caesar now sent Mark Antony: Caesar, Civil War 1.11–13.
Pompey was near Naples: Caesar, Civil War 1.14.
Meanwhile Caesar was having much better luck: Caesar, Civil War 1.15.
Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus: Caesar, Civil War 1.15–23; Plutarch, Caesar 34.3–4; Dio Cassius 41.11; Suetonius, Caesar 34; Cicero, Letters to Atticus 162B–D (8.12B–D).
According to Plutarch: Plutarch, Caesar 34.3–4.
Cicero wrote to Atticus: Cicero, Letters to Atticus 163 (8.13).
Pompey beat him to Brundisium: Caesar, Civil War 1.24–29.
Caesar sent a messenger to Pompey: Caesar, Civil War 1.26.
He therefore decided to strike his enemy first: Caesar, Civil War 1.29–31.
Caesar had written to Cicero: Cicero, Letters to Atticus 172A (9.6A).
When Caesar heard of this he wrote: Cicero, Letters to Atticus 185 (9.16).
the two men settled down to business: Cicero, Letters to Atticus 187, 189 (9.18–19).
He did call together the Senate: Caesar, Civil War 1.32–33; Dio Cassius 41.15–17.
Lucius Metellus: Caesar, Civil War 1.33; Dio Cassius 41.17; Cicero, Letters to Atticus 195.8 (10.4.8); Appian, Civil Wars 2.41; Lucan Civil War 3.141–68.
15,000 bars of gold: Pliny, Natural History 33.56.
Massalia: Caesar, Civil War 1.34–36.
Caesar optimistically claimed: Suetonius, Caesar 34.2.
Caesar crossed the Pyrenees: Caesar, Civil War 1.37–87; Appian, Roman History 2.42–43; Dio Cassius 41.20–24.
When news of Caesar’s difficulties reached Rome: Caesar, Civil War 1.53; Dio Cassius 41.21.
Quintus Sertorius: Plutarch, Sertorius.
“We have done our duty”: Caesar, Civil War 1.84.
The town of Gades: Dio Cassius 41.24; Caesar, Civil War 2.21.
Back in Massalia: Caesar, Civil War 1.56–58, 2.1–22; Dio Cassius 41.25.
“Human nature is such”: Caesar, Gallic War 2.4.
At the town of Placentia: Suetonius, Caesar 69; Dio Cassius 41.26–35; Appian, Civil War 2.47.
Dolabella: Dio Cassius 41.40.
the loss of his army in north Africa: Caesar, Civil War 2.23–44; Dio Cassius 41.41–42; Appian, Civil War 2.44–46.
When Caesar arrived in Rome on the way to Brindusium: Caesar, Civil War 3.1–2; Dio Cassius 2.48; Plutarch, Caesar 37.1; Lucan, Civil War 381–402.
XI: POMPEY
Epigraph: Caesar, Civil War 3.73.
an enormous international force in Greece: Caesar, Civil War 3.3–4; Appian, Civil War 2.49, 71.
Caesar, on the other hand: Caesar, Civil War 3.2, 6–7; Appian, Civil War 2.52–54; Plutarch, Caesar 37; Dio Cassius 41.44.
By some miracle of fate or fortune: Caesar, Civil War 3.8; Appian, Civil War 2.54–56.
Bibulus: Caesar, Civil War 3.14.
Caesar decided to try diplomacy once again: Caesar, Civil War 3.10–18; Plutarch, Pompey 65.
“What is the point”: Caesar, Civil War 3.18.
“Don’t bring us any more of your proposals”: Caesar, Civil War 3.19.
There was also news of dissension: Caesar, Civil War 3.20–22.
“Come now, my friend”: Plutarch, Caesar 38. Caesar omits this episode from his own narrative, but the story is found in Dio Cassius (41.46) and Appian (Civil War 2.57–58).
sails on the western horizon: Caesar, Civil War 3.25–28; Appian, Civil War 2.59; Dio Cassius 41.48.
why not build a wall around Pompey?: Caesar, Civil War 3.43–45.
“It was a totally new type of warfare”: Caesar, Civil War 3.50.
Caesar’s men suffered most: Caesar, Civil War 3.47–48.
he exclaimed that if Caesar’s army could eat such food: Appian, Civil War 2.61; Plutarch, Caesar 39.
a letter to Cicero: Cicero, Letters to his Friends 9.9. The letter was written by Cicero’s son-in-law Dolabella.
Two brothers of the Gaulish nobility named Raucillus and Egus: Caesar, Civil War 59–61.
Pompey used this information to attack Caesar: Caesar, Civil War 3.52–53.
About a week later, Pompey struck again: Caesar, Civil War 3.62–73.
“Today the enemy would have won the war”: Plutarch, Caesar 39.39; Suetonius, Caesar 36.
Gomphi: Caesar, Civil War 3.80; Dio Cassius 41.51; Appian, Civil War 2.64.
Pharsalus: Caesar, Civil War 3.81–99; Plutarch, Pompey 67–72, Caesar, 40–46; Dio Cassius 41.53–63; Appian, Civil War 2.65–82.
Pompey was already fighting his own battle: Plutarch, Pompey 67; Caesar, 61; Caesar, Civil War 3.82.
“He was a man who craved glory”: Plutarch, Pompey 67.4.
“They fought over honors”: Caesar, Civil War 3.83.
This was their doing, not mine: Suetonius, Caesar 30.4.
Marcus Brutus: Plutarch, Brutus 6.
the outrageous abuses of Caesar’s appointed governor: Alexandrian War 51–64.
the capture of Pompey himself: Caesar, Civil War 3.102–6.
Caesar quickly hurried after him in a small passenger boat: Suetonius, Caesar 63; Dio Cassius 42.6.
the ancient city of Troy: Strabo 13.1.26–27.
Most uncharacteristically at this point: Caesar, Civil War 3.105.
The cities, people, and tribes of Asia: Dittenberger, Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum #760.
Pompey arrived at the grand city of Alexandria: Plutarch, Pompey 77–79; Caesar, Civil War 3.104.
XII: CLEOPATRA
Epigraph: Plutarch, Antony 27.
Soon many of his soldiers went native: Caesar, Civil War 110.
She was the first Ptolemy to actually learn the Egyptian language: Plutarch, Antony 27.
a sacred bull ceremony near Thebes: See Jones 2006, 34–38.
Bibulus: Valerius Maximus 4.1.
Caesar arrived in Alexandria: Caesar, Civil War 3.106; Plutarch, Caesar 48, Pompey 80; Dio Cassius 42.7–8. Appian (2.90) says that Caesar buried Pompey’s head near Alexandria in a small plot of ground dedicated to the goddess Nemesis.
ten million denarii: Plutarch, Caesar 48.3–5.
claiming the winds were unfavorable: Caesar, Civil War 3.107.
When he landed on shore, they erupted in violent protests: Caesar, Civil War 3.106.
He also plotted to murder Caesar: Plutarch, Caesar 48.3.
Caesar, as guarantor of their father’s will: Caesar, Civil War 107.
As Plutarch tells the story: Plutarch, Caesar 49.1–2. Dio Cassius (42.34–35) says only that she arrived at night and appeared before Caesar without her brother’s knowledge.
he immediately sent for her brother [Ptolemy]…that same night: Dio Cassius 42.35.
Achillas had suddenly arrived on the edge of the city: Caesar, Civil War 3.110.
an adopted son of Mithridates: Alexandrian War 26.
Achillas now threw his army against Caesar’s stronghold: Caesar, Civil War 3.111; Alexandrian War 1–3; Dio Cassius 42.38.
The Romans have been nibbling away: Caesar, Alexandrian War 3.
Achillas ordered his forces to attack the Roman ships: Caesar, Civil War 3.111.
the great library: Plutarch, Caesar 49; Dio Cassius 42.38. See Fraser, Ptolemaic Alexandria, vol. 1, 334–35.
the island of Pharos: Caesar, Civil War 3.111–12.
Arsinoe: Caesar, Civil War 3.112; Alexandrian War 4; Dio Cassius 42.39–40.
Alexandria had a sophisticated conduit system: Alexandrian War 5–7; Dio Cassius (42.38.4) says Achillas cut off the water supply.
Caesar did not respond in anger: Alexandrian War 8–9.
He set off from the docks of the royal quarter: Alexandrian War 10–11.
The Alexandrians were deeply distressed: Alexandrian War 12–16.
“Leave it to us, Caesar”: Alexandrian War 15.
seizing all of Pharos: Alexandrian War 17–22; Dio Cassius 42.40; Plutarch, Caesar 49.4; Suetonius, Caesar 64; Appian, Civil War 2.90.
Caesar’s troops were energized to fight: Alexandrian War 22–23.
to ask Caesar if he might release their young king: Alexandrian War 23–24; Dio Cassius 42.42.
Tiberius Nero: Alexandrian War 25; Dio Cassius 42.40.6.
Mithridates of Pergamum: Alexandrian War 26–32; Josephus, Jewish War 1.187–92, Jewish Antiquities 14.127–36; Dio Cassius 42.41.
The next day Caesar began to reorganize the government of Egypt: Alexandrian War 33; Suetonius, Caesar 35; Dio Cassius 42.44.
Rufio, son of a former slave: Suetonius, Caesar 76.3.
a monthlong luxury cruise up the Nile: Appian, Civil War 2.90; Suetonius, Caesar 52.
Caesarion: Plutarch, Caesar 49, Antony 54; Suetonius, Caesar 52.
XIII: AFRICA
Epigraph: Plutarch, Cato 66.
Cato: Plutarch Cato the Younger 55–57; Appian, Civil War 2.96.
Cassius Longinus: Dio Cassius 42.15–16; Alexandrian War 48–65.
Pharnaces: Alexandrian War 34–41, 70; Dio Cassius 42.45–46.
Cicero says: Cicero, Letters to Atticus 229 (11.17a).
Mark Antony: Dio Cassius 42.21–33; Alexandrian War 65.
Caesar was deeply troubled: Alexandrian War 65.
allowing the Jews: Josephus, Jewish War 1.194–200, Jewish Antiquities 14.137–44, 190–95.
according to the New Testament: Matthew 2.16–18.
There are two things: Dio Cassius 42.49.
the city of Tarsus: Alexandrian War 66.
Gaius Cassius: Cicero, Philippic 2.11 (2.26).
Deiotarus: Alexandrian War 67; Cicero, Deiotarus 13–14.
Pharnaces: Alexandrian War 69–77; Dio Cassius 42.47–48; Plutarch, Caesar 50; Suetonius, Caesar 35.
Veni. Vidi. Vici: Suetonius, Caesar 37. Plutarch, Caesar 50.2 records the same phrase but admits it doesn’t work as well in Greek.
From Pontus, Caesar traveled to the coast of Asia Minor: Alexandrian War 78; Dio Cassius 42.48–49.
Deiotarus lost part of his kingdom: Alexandrian War 78; Dio Cassius 42.48; Cicero, Letters to Atticus 14.1, On Divination 1.27.
a very nervous Cicero: Plutarch, Cicero 39; Cicero, Letters to Atticus 234 (11.24), 235 (11.20).
to punish Mark Antony: Plutarch, Antony 10, Caesar 51; Cicero, Philippic 2.29 (2.71).
Cicero later accused Antony: Cicero, Philippic 2.28 (2.69).
He appeared to be the model of justice: Dio Cassius 42.50–51; Suetonius, Caesar 38; Cicero, Philippic 2.29 (2.71).
Cicero wittily remarked: Suetonius, Caesar 50; Macrobius, Saturnalia 2.2.5.
Finally, Caesar reorganized the government: Plutarch, Caesar 51; Dio Cassius 42.51, 43.1.
Trouble had been brewing in the legionary camps: Appian, Civil War 2.92–94; Dio Cassius 42.52–55; Plutarch, Caesar 51; Suetonius, Caesar 38.
“I discharge you”: Appian, Civil War 2.93.
Caesar was finally ready to sail for Africa: African War 1–2; Plutarch, Caesar 52.
he planned a public sacrifice to the gods: Suetonius, Caesar 59.
Scipio Salvito: Suetonius, Caesar 59; Dio Cassius 52.58; Plutarch, Caesar 52; Pliny, Natural History 7.10, 35.2.
which harbor they should steer for…in Africa: African War 4.
“I hold you now, Africa!”: Suetonius, Caesar 59; Dio Cassius 42.58.3.
“Caesar,…the commander-in-chief”: African War 4.
the Numidian cavalry of King Juba: Plutarch, Caesar 52.
He set off with his men: African War 11–18.
“The enemy is that way”: Plutarch, Caesar 52.
“How’s it going, recruit?” African War 16.
Labienus was greatly encouraged: African War 19.
Caecilius Bassus: Josephus, Jewish War 1.10.10 (1.216), Jewish Antiquities 14. 11.1 (14.268).
Cicero gleefully shared the latest rumors: Cicero, Letters to Atticus 238 (12.2); Deiotarus 25.
St. Elmo’s fire: African War 47.
Caesar skillfully played on this discontent: African War 8, 57; Dio Cassius 43.5.
Gaetulian natives: Dio Cassius 43.4.
The Mauritanians also joined Caesar’s war effort: Dio Cassius 41.42, 43.3; African War 25.
Caesar himself knew: African War 31.
We thank you for your benevolence, Scipio: African War 45.
Thapsus: African War 80–86; Dio Cassius 43.7–9; Plutarch, Caesar 53.
Scipio fled by sea: African War 96.
King Juba: African War 94.
Caesar spared the lives: Dio Cassius 43.12; African War 89; Suetonius, Caesar 75.
Cato: Dio Cassius 43.10–11; Plutarch, Cato the Younger 59–72, Caesar 54; African War 87–88.
“Cato, I begrudge you your death”: Plutarch, Caesar 54.
He made the rounds to the important cities: African War 97–98.
“the only one of his properties he had not yet visited”: African War 98; Cicero, Letters to His Friends 9.7.2.
XIV: TRIUMPH
Epigraph: Cicero On Behalf of Marcellus 3.
Caesar staged no fewer than four triumphs: Dio Cassius 43.19–24; Appian, Civil War 2.101; Plutarch, Caesar 65; Suetonius, Caesar 37.
“Men of Rome, lock up your wives”: Suetonius, Caesar 51.
Caesar at long last distributed the war booty: Suetonius, Caesar 38–39; Dio Cassius 43.21–22; Appian, Civil War 2.102; Plutarch, Caesar 55.
camelopardalis: Dio Cassius 43.23; Pliny, Natural History 8.69.
Decimus Laberius: Macrobius, Saturnalia 2.7.2–5; Suetonius, Caesar 39; Cicero, Letters to His Friends 12.18.
“Come, citizens, for we have lost our freedom”: Macrobius Saturnalia 2.7.4.
Some among Caesar’s opponents began to grumble: Dio Cassius 43.24.
a horse had been sacrificed to the god Mars: Polybius 12.4b; Plutarch, Roman Questions 97; Dumézil 1996, 154–55, 215–18.
honors and privileges: Dio Cassius 43.14; Suetonius, Caesar 76.
praefectus morum: Cicero, Letters to His Friends 196.5 (9.15.5).
“Let none of you suppose”: Dio Cassius 43.15–18.
Even cynical politicians such as Cicero: Cicero, Letters to His Friends 190 (9.16), 191 (18.1); Cicero, Marcellus.
The Republic is nothing: Suetonius, Caesar 77.
Cleopatra and her royal court arrived in Rome: Suetonius, Caesar 52; Appian, Civil War 2.102. Dio Cassius 43.27. See also Grant 1972, 83–94.
“I detest Cleopatra”: Cicero, Letters to Atticus 15.15.
a proper census of the city: Suetonius, Caesar 41; Plutarch, Caesar 55; Dio Cassius 42.21, 25.
Caesar forbade all Roman men: Suetonius, Caesar 42.
he took steps to increase the numbers in the Senate: Dio Cassius 43.47.
“If thieves and murderers”: Suetonius, Caesar 72.
Caesar accordingly banned all clubs and guilds: Suetonius, Caesar 42; Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 14.8 (14.215).
granting citizenship to physicians: Suetonius, Caesar 42.
Auctioneers, grave diggers, fencing teachers: Cicero, Letters to His Friends 218 (6.18); Tabulae Heracleenses 94, 104, 113, 123; See Gelzer, 291, and Hardy, Six Roman Laws, 149ff.
Caesar planned a huge public library: Suetonius, Caesar 44.
Caesar took seriously his role as director of public morals: Suetonius, Caesar 43.
Caesar was harsh on senators: Suetonius, Caesar 41, 43; Dio Cassius 43.25.
Caesar was equally active in affairs beyond the gates of Rome: Pliny, Natural History 4.10; Suetonius, Caesar 44; Plutarch, Caesar 58.
He encouraged owners of large farms: Suetonius, Caesar 42.
Cicero complained: Cicero, Letters to His Friends 196 (9.15).
Caesar’s establishment of citizen colonies: Suetonius, Caesar 42; Dio Cassius 43.50. See also Gelzer 1968, 297–99.
his creation of a new calendar: Suetonius, Caesar 40; Plutarch, Caesar 59; Dio Cassius 43.26; Censorinus, Birthday Book 20.8–11; Macrobius, Saturnalia 1.14.6–12; Pliny, Natural History 18.211.
Cicero could only grumble: Plutarch, Caesar 59.
it survives largely unchanged to this day: Pope Gregory XIII made adjustments to Caesar’s system in 1582 that were adopted as the Gregorian calendar, but the Julian calendar of Caesar is still used by Orthodox churches.
the surviving Pompeian rebels in Spain: Dio Cassius 43.28–40; Spanish War.
a now-lost poem called The Journey: Suetonius, Caesar 56.
“Let me know how things are going in Spain”: Cicero, Letters to His Friends 216 (15.19).
he even considered falling on his own sword: Suetonius, Caesar 36; Plutarch, Caesar 56.
Antony rode in Caesar’s private carriage: Plutarch, Antony 11; Cicero, Philippics 2.14; Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Augustus (Fragmente der griechischen Historiker F127.11–12).
XV: THE IDES OF MARCH
Epigraph: Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Augustus (Fragmente der griechischen Historiker F130.19).
Look at what fortune has done to us: Cicero, Letters to His Friends 248 (4.5).
Cicero published a eulogy entitled Cato: Suetonius, Caesar 56; Cicero, Orator 35, Philippic 13.30; Letters to Atticus 12.40, 41, 44, 45, 48, 13.46; Plutarch, Cicero 39; Caesar 54; Cato the Younger 36, 52; Dio Cassius 43.13.
“Why did Cato give up a wife he loved”: Plutarch, Cato the Younger 52.
Brutus: Plutarch, Brutus 6–7, 13; Cicero, Letter to Atticus 13.46.
Caesar decided to celebrate his victory over the Pompeians in Spain: Plutarch, Caesar 56; Dio Cassius 43.42; Suetonius, Caesar 38, 78.
“Tribune Aquila”: Suetonius, Caesar 78.
ever greater honors: Dio Cassius 43.43–45, 44.6–7; Appian, Civil War 2.106.
“I’d prefer Caesar share a temple with Quirinus”: Cicero, Letters to Atticus 12.45.
Caesar had long planned a war against the Parthians: Appian, Civil War 2.110–11; Dio Cassius 43.51; Plutarch, Caesar 58; Suetonius, Caesar 44; Cicero, Letters to Atticus 13.27, 31, 14.9.
as Plutarch puts it: Plutarch, Caesar 58.
Rumors flew through Rome: Suetonius, Caesar 79.
he chose his great-nephew Octavius as his chief heir: Suetonius, Caesar 83; Dio Cassius 43.51.
While attending races at the Circus Maximus: Suetonius, Augustus 45.
Cicero gives us a remarkable glimpse of Caesar: Cicero, Letters to Atticus 13.52.
One day when he was sitting: Plutarch, Caesar 60; Dio Cassius 44.8; Appian, Civil War 2.107; Suetonius, Caesar 78.
A rumor arose: Suetonius, Caesar 79; Plutarch, Caesar 60; Appian, Civil War 2.110; Dio Cassius 44.15; Cicero, On Divination 2.110.
one of Caesar’s statues in the Forum: Appian, Civil War 2.108; Dio Cassius 44.9–10; Suetonius, Caesar 79.
“My name is Caesar, not Rex”: Suetonius, Caesar 79. Caesar is making a pun on the Roman family name Rex (a cognomen as Caesar was among the Julii), found among the Marcii clan.
the festival of the Lupercalia: Plutarch, Caesar 61; Suetonius, Caesar 79; Dio Cassius 44.11; Appian, Civil War 2.109; Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Augustus (Fragmente der griechischen Historiker F130.21); Censorinus, Birthday Book 22; Cicero Philippics2.85, 13.41.
“The people ask me to give you this crown”: Dio Cassius 44.11.
They hated him precisely because he had forgiven them: Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Augustus, (Fragmente der griechischen Historiker F130.19).
Caesar said to friends that Cassius looked much too pale: Plutarch, Caesar 42; Brutus, 7–9.
“Brutus will wait for this shriveled skin”: Plutarch, Caesar 42.
new graffiti would appear on the statues: Suetonius, Caesar 80; Appian, Civil War 2.112; Dio Cassius 44.12.
signs and wonders: Plutarch, Caesar 53; Suetonius, Caesar 81; Dio Cassius 44.18.
Caesar’s ancestor Julus…(and the New Testament episode of Pentecost): Virgil, Aeneid 2.679–91; Acts of the Apostles 2.1–4.
He had already dismissed his bodyguard: Dio Cassius 44.7.
conversation turned to the best kind of death: Suetonius, Caesar 87; Plutarch, Caesar 63; Appian, Civil War 115.
Calpurnia: Plutarch, Caesar 63; Appian, Civil War 2.115; Dio Cassius 44.17; Suetonius, Caesar 81.
Artemidorus: Plutarch, Caesar 65; Appian, Civil War 116.
“Yes, the Ides have come, but not yet passed”: Plutarch, Caesar 63; Dio Cassius 44.18.
Antony: Appian, Civil War 2.114; Dio Cassius 44.19.
When Caesar entered the meeting: Suetonius, Caesar 82; Plutarch, Caesar 66; Appian, Civil War 2.117; Dio Cassius 44.19; Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Augustus (Fragmente der griechischen Historiker F130.24).
Kai su, teknon?: Suetonius, Caesar 82; Dio Cassius 64.19.
EPILOGUE: CAESAR AND CATO AT VALLEY FORGE
Epigraph: Joseph Addison, Cato 2.3.
George Washington: For the legacy of Caesar, I highly recommend Julius Caesar in Western Culture, edited by Maria Wyke, especially the essay by Margaret Malamud on “Manifest Destiny and the Eclipse of Julius Caesar” (Chapter 6) for Caesar’s reputation in early America. For Joseph Addison’s play Cato, I recommend Cato: A Tragedy and Selected Essays, edited by Christine Dunn Henderson and Mark E. Yellin.
“The greatest man who ever lived was Julius Caesar”: Letter of Thomas Jeffseron to Dr. Benjamin Rush, Monticello (January 16, 1811). See Chernow 2004, 398.