Notes

CHAPTER 1. RIDING WITH CAESAR

August 45 B.C. On the chronology of Caesar’s return from Hispania, see Lily Ross Taylor, “On the Chronology of Cicero’s Letters to Atticus, Book XIII,” Classical Philology 32.3 (1937): 238–40.

a procession entered the city of Mediolanum Plutarch, Antony 11.2. Plutarch refers only to the four men traveling “through Italy” and not any specific city but Mediolanum seems likely because it was one of the major cities of Italian Gaul.

The four men had met in southern Gaul and traveled together See Matthias Gelzer, Caesar, Politician and Statesman, trans. Peter Needham (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1968), 299; Bernard Camillus Bondurant, Decimus Brutus Albinus: A Historical Study (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1907), 36.

a close friend of Caesar Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 23.84; Velleius Paterculus, The Roman History 2.64.2; Plutarch, Brutus 13; Appian, Civil Wars 2.111; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.18.1.

a great historian suggested that Decimus was Caesar’s illegitimate son Ronald Syme, “Bastards in the Roman Aristocracy,” Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 104.3 (1960): 323–27, and “No Son for Caesar?,” Historia 29 (1980): 422–37, esp. 426–30. For a convincing reply, see Georges Michel Duval, “D. Junius Brutus: mari ou fils de Sempronia?,” Latomus 50.3 (1991): 608–15.

young Decimus found his way to Caesar’s staff Although we first hear of him in Gaul in 56 B.C. there is good reason to think that he had already served with Caesar in Hispania in 61 B.C. See the arguments in R. Schulz, “Caesar und das Meer,” Historische Zeitschrift 271.2 (2000): 288–90.

In 50 B.C. Decimus was back in Rome for his first elective office G. V. Sumner, “The Lex Annalis Under Caesar (Continued),” Phoenix 24.4 (1971): 358–59.

she divorced her previous husband, a prominent man His name is unknown. Cicero, Letters to Friends 8.7.2.

Sewer of Romulus faex Romuli, Cicero, Letters to Atticus 2.1.8.

Decimus issued coins The coins also commemorated Decimus’s adoptive family, the Postumii Albini. See M. H. Crawford, Roman Republican Coinage (London and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001), vol. 1: 92, 466, 547, 711; vol. 2: 736.

He gave Caesar’s cause a propaganda boost As a Roman poet later wrote, Decimus was the first man to add victory at sea to Caesar’s honors in the Civil War. Lucan (A.D. 39–65), Pharsalia 3.761–62.

Bellovaci Livy, Periochae 114.9; Caesar, Gallic War 2.4.5; Strabo, Geography 4.4.3. They lived in Picardy in northern France.

Italian Gaul That is, Cisalpine Gaul.

“Venus’s Girl” Plutarch, Antony 9; Cicero, Letters to Atticus 10.10.5; Cicero, Philippics 2.58.

She alone once wore a sword and recruited an army In the Perusine War in 41 B.C.

her enemy’s sling bullets From the siege of Perusia (modern Perugia) in 40 B.C. See Corey Brennan, “Perceptions of Women’s Power in the Late Republic: Terentia, Fulvia, and the Generation of 63 BCE,” in Sharon L. James and Sheila Dillon James, eds., A Companion to Women in the Ancient World (Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012), 358; Judith P. Hallett, “Perusinae Glandes and the Changing Image of Augustus,” American Journal of Ancient History 2 (1977): 151–71.

Octavian was a short-statured Apollo Suetonius, Augustus 79.

the honor of sharing his carriage. Velleius Paterculus, History of Rome 2.59.3.

wearing an officer’s insignia, even though Octavian Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar 18.17.

an assassination attempt on Caesar in 46 B.C. Cicero, Philippics 2.74.

According to Cicero Cicero, Philippics 2.34; Plutarch, Antony 13.

CHAPTER 2. THE BEST MEN

Caesar met in the city of Mediolanum with Marcus Junius Brutus The sources say only that they met in Italian Gaul, without citing the city (Cicero, Letters to Atticus 13.40.1; Plutarch, Brutus 6.12) but Mediolanum is likely enough since it was a regional center and the town that later put up a statue to Brutus (see below). Although Plutarch,Brutus6.12, seems to put the meeting in 46 B.C., he sometimes compresses chronology and 45 B.C. is a more likely date. See Taylor, “On the Chronology of Cicero’s Letters,” 239 n. 24.

his chosen governor of Italian Gaul Cicero, Letters to Friends 6.6.10.

possibly a symptom of the epilepsy Plutarch, Caesar 17.2, 53.5–6, 60.7; Suetonius, Julius Caesar 45.2; Appian, Civil Wars 2.110; Cassius Dio, Roman History 43.32.6. Since Caesar’s friends and enemies both used reports of his health to their advantage, the ancient evidence has to be treated with caution.

He personified talent, strategy, memory Cicero, Second Philippic 2.116.

Brutus had leading-man looks Sheldon Nodelman, “The Portrait of Brutus the Tyrannicide,” Occasional Papers on Antiquities 4: Ancient Portraits in the J. Paul Getty Museum 1 (1987): 41–86.

they put up a statue of him in Mediolanum Plutarch, Brutus 6.11, Comparison of Dion and Brutus 5.

Caesar and Brutus traveled together through Italian Gaul Plutarch, Brutus 6.12; cf. Taylor, “On the Chronology of Cicero’s Letters,” 238–39.

The alternative to the optimates or “Best Men” was the populares or “Populists” Such terms were imprecise and fluid. See W. K. Lacey, “Boni atque Improbi,” Greece & Rome, 2nd ser., 17.1 (1970): 3–16.

In private, he called him a king Cicero, Letters to Atticus 13.37.2.

“Where would he find them?” Cicero, Letters to Atticus 13.40.1.

“he knows on which side his bread is buttered” Cicero, Letters to Atticus 13.40.1. This translation of this difficult sentence is suggested as a possibility by D. R. Shackleton Bailey, ed. and trans., Cicero, Letters to Atticus (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996), vol. 5: 241, and note ad loc., 388 (with discussion of another relevant comment of Cicero on Brutus at 13.41.2).

“speaks Latin the most eloquently of nearly all the orators” The speaker is Cicero’s friend Atticus at Cicero, Brutus 252.

“almost the pioneer and inventor of eloquence” Cicero, Brutus 253, translated by G. L. Hendrickson in Brutus / Cicero; with an English translation by G. L.Hendrickson. Orator / Cicero, with an English translation by H. M. Hubbell, rev. ed. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1962), 219.

“it was a greater thing to have advanced” Pliny, Natural History 7.117, translated by Elizabeth Rawson, Cicero: A Portrait, rev. ed. (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1983), 254.

“Liberty,” wrote Cicero, “has been lost” Cicero, Letters to Friends 9.16.3.

“some sort of a constitutional system” “aliquam rem publicam,” Cicero, Letters to Friends 13.68.2, maybe October 46 B.C.; cf. 6.10b.2.

“What else can he do?” Cicero, Letters to Atticus 13.40.4.

“immortal fame” achieved by his “godlike courage” Cicero, For Marcellus 26, 28.

he caught a glimpse of a reviving republic Cicero, Letters to Friends 4.4.3.

how wise men bore regna (singular, regnum) Cicero, Letters to Friends 9.16.6.

In Roman eyes, monarchy had a suggestion Andrew Erskine, “Hellenistic Monarchy and Roman Political Invective,” Classical Quarterly n.s. 41.1 (1991): 106–20.

So Cicero complained Cicero, Letters to Atticus 13.40.1.

“But before all other women” Suetonius, Julius Caesar 50.2.

the equivalent of hundreds of millions of dollars in today’s terms Today the average active-duty service member in the U.S. Army receives an annual benefits and pay compensation package worth $99,000, http://www.goarmy.com/benefits/total-compensation.html. The Hope Diamond, one of the world’s most expensive diamonds, is valued perhaps at $250 million, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hope_Diamond, accessed June 25, 2014.

financiers and political operators Like Titus Pomponius Atticus (110–32 B.C.), a Roman knight who was wealthy, well connected, andpowerful.

“very knowing and careful lady” Cicero, Letters to Brutus 1.18.1.

sometimes found herself at home surrounded by eminent men Cicero, Letters to Atticus 15.11.1–3. On Servilia as Caesar’s confidante and agent, see Richard A. Bauman, Women and Politics in Ancient Rome (London and New York: Routledge, 1992), 73.

“every care begins and ends with you” Cicero, Letters to Brutus 1.18, in D. R. Shackleton Bailey, ed. and trans., Cicero: Letters to Quintus and Brutus (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2002), 283.

a serious, pensive, and faraway look See the bust of Cato the Younger from the Archaeological Museum of Rabat, Morocco. Found in the House of Venus, Volubilis. Frederick Poulsen, “Caton et le Jeune Prince,” Acta Archaeologica 18 (1947) 117–139.

“the only man to try to overturn the Republic while sober” Suetonius, Julius Caesar 53.1; Plutarch, Cato the Younger 24.1, Brutus 5.2, Caesar 17.9–10; Velleius Paterculus, The Roman History 41.2.

a passionate note from his half sister Servilia Plutarch, Cato the Younger 24.1–2, Brutus 5.2.

a favor to Servilia Plutarch, Brutus 5.1.

Caesar’s supposed fear that Brutus was his son Appian, Civil War 2.112.

“What this man wants, is a major problem” Cicero, Letters to Atticus 14.1.2, trans. A. W. Lintott, in Cicero as Evidence: A Historian’s Companion (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008), 341.

dropped everything and headed to Egypt Plutarch, Brutus 6.3–5.

Caesar tells a different story in the Commentaries Caesar, Civil War 3.105–6.

He considered Caesar a tyrant Plutarch, Cato the Younger 66.2.

He told his son that he had been raised in liberty Cassius Dio, Roman History 43.10.4–5.

Cato took a dagger Plutarch, Cato the Younger 70.1; Appian, Civil Wars 2.98; Cassius Dio, Roman History 43.11.4.

“O Cato, I begrudge you your death” Plutarch, Cato the Younger 72.2; cf. Appian, Civil Wars 2.99.

Brutus disapproved of his uncle Cato’s act Plutarch, Brutus 40.7.

“Romans, watch your wives, see the bald adulterer’s back home” Suetonius, Julius Caesar 51, trans. Mary Beard, in The Roman Triumph (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University, 2007), 247.

“tearing himself apart like a wild animal” Appian, Civil Wars 2.101

He considered Cato a great man Cicero, Letters to Atticus 12.4.2.

“first in manly courage among all peoples” Cicero, Philippics 13.30.

Elite opinion followed For example, Papirius Paetus in Cicero, Letters to Friends 9.18.2.

she had a new estate near Naples to enjoy Cicero, Letters to Atticus 14.21.3; Suetonius, Julius Caesar 50.2.

Porcia once stabbed herself deeply in the thigh Plutarch, Brutus 13.

Servilia and Porcia were not getting along Cicero, Letters to Atticus 13.22.4.

CHAPTER 3. DECISION IN A VILLA

He didn’t enter the city until October Velleius Paterculus, History of Rome 2.56.3.

Labici The remains of a Republican villa found at modern San Cesareo about eighteen miles southeast of Rome might possibly belong to Caesar’s villa. It is plausible but not certain that Caesar stayed there. See “San Cesareo (RM). Scavi in località Colle Noci (c.d. Villa di Massenzio),” http://www.archeologia.beniculturali.it/index.php?it/142/scavi_/scaviarcheologici_4e048966cfa3a/356, accessed July 28, 2014; Carlo Alberto Bucci, “Vandali e incuria salviamo la villa di Cesare,” La Repubblica Roma.it, June 10, 2011, http://roma.repubblica.it/cronaca/2011/06/10/news/vandali_e_incuria_salviamo_la_villa_di_cesare-17479575/, accessed July 28, 2014.

tranquility of Italy Caesar, Civil War 3.57.

nothing in the world was comparable to it Cicero, Republic 1.70.

“strengthen the Republic for the future” Pseudo-Sallust, “Letter to Caesar,” translation modified from John C. Rolfe, Sallust (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1985), p. 447, 1.8.

because he paid too much attention to his hairstyle Plutarch, Life of Caesar, 4.9. On the date see Pelling, Plutarch Caesar 148–49. On the joke, see Anthony Corbeill, Nature Embodied: Gesture in Ancient Rome (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2004), 134–35.

“a nothing, a mere name without form or substance” Suetonius, Julius Caesar 77.

a pamphlet by an enemy of Caesar Suetonius, Julius Caesar 77.

VENI VIDI VICI, “I came, I saw, I conquered” Suetonius, Caesar 37.2; Plutarch, Caesar 50.3; Appian, Civil Wars 2.91.

what Aristotle called a great-souled man Nicomachean Ethics 4.3.

“the imperator Gaius Caesar deserved well of the republic” Caesar, Civil War 1.13.

his mother’s knee Aurelia Cotta, Caesar’s mother, was later held up as a model of good parenting. Tacitus, Dialogue on Oratory 28.

the first man in Rome Plutarch, Caesar 11.3–4.

a refuge for the poor Sallust, War with Catiline 54.3.

if it took thugs and murderers Suetonius, Julius Caesar 72.

a dangerous crossing of the Adriatic in a small boat Velleius Paterculus, History of Rome 2.43.2. This incident took place in 73 B.C.

a trap on the River Sabis Caesar, Gallic War 2.15–28; Plutarch, Caesar 20.4–10; Appian, Gallic Wars Epitome 4; Cassius Dio, Roman History 39.3.1–2. The Battle of the River Sabis took place in 57 B.C.

he said that his enemies were in charge of the Senate Caesar, Civil War 1.7.

surrender of Vercingetorix at Alesia Caesar, Gallic War 7.89.5; Florus Epitome of Roman History 1.45.26; Plutarch, Caesar 27.9–10; Cassius Dio, Roman History 40.41.

Cleopatra had great physical presence Duane Roller, Cleopatra: A Biography (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010), 3; Plutarch, Antony 27.2.

“certain Greek writers” Suetonius, Julius Caesar 52.2.

lamented the fact that Alexander Suetonius, Julius Caesar 7.1; Cassius Dio, Roman History 37.52.2; Plutarch, Caesar 11.5–6.

Power, he once said, depended on only two things Cassius Dio, Roman History 42.29.4.

he sent the officers’ horses away Caesar, Gallic War 1.25.

leaving his hair and beard unshaven Caesar, Gallic War 7.88.1.

“absolutely attached to him and absolutely steadfast” Suetonius, Julius Caesar 68.1.

“He was more pleasing to the masses than to the Senate” Livy, History of Rome 1.15.8; Zvi Yavetz, Plebs and Princeps (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1969), 58, n. 4.

“If you do right, you will be punished” Cassius Dio, Roman History 43.20.3.

“Make the soldiers rich” Cassius Dio, Roman History Epitome 77.15.2.

usually tight-lipped Cicero, Letters to Atticus 14.21.2.

Balbus was drawing up decrees Cicero, Letters to Friends 9.15.4.

helmsman on the Republic’s ship of state Cicero, Letters to Friends 9.15.4.

if a man like Cicero had to wait to see him Cicero, Letters to Atticus 14.1.2.

The real estate alone cost a fortune The land cost over 100 million sesterces (=25 million denarii). Suetonius, Julius Caesar 26.2. A legionary’s annual wage was 225 denarii.

“I have lived long enough for nature or glory” “satis diu vel naturae vixi vel gloriae,” Cicero, For Marcellus 25.

Some of his friends thought Suetonius, Julius Caesar 86.1.

fainting spells and night terrors Suetonius, Julius Caesar 45.1.

Caesar was an epileptic Plutarch, Caesar 17.2, 53.5–6, 60.7; Suetonius Julius Caesar 45.2, Appian Civil Wars 2.110; Cassius Dio, Roman History 43.32.6. Since Caesar’s friends and enemies both used reports of his health to their advantage, the ancient evidence has to be treated with caution.

the Ides of September—September 13, 45 B.C. Suetonius, Julius Caesar 83.1. According to the traditional Roman calendar, the Ides fell on the 13th of the month except for March, May, July, and October, when it fell on the 15th.

The key to the document was Suetonius, Julius Caesar 83.1; Nicolaus, Life of Caesar Augustus 17.48; Appian, Civil Wars 2.143; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.35.2–3.

rumor that Antony hoped to be adopted by Caesar Cicero, Philippics 2.71; Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 21.74.

Antony’s charge that Octavian sold his body to Caesar Suetonius, Augustus 68.

CHAPTER 4. CAESAR’S LAST TRIUMPH

lost his estate near Naples Cicero, Letters to Atticus 14.21.3.

“Ask me for the Republic back, Tribune Aquila!” Suetonius, Julius Caesar 78.2.

“That is, if Pontius Aquila will let me” Suetonius, Julius Caesar 78.2.

Herophilus Valerius Maximus, Memorable Deeds and Sayings 9.15.1, cf. Appian, Civil Wars 3.2.

Apollo Wolfgang Helbig, Fuehrer durch die oeffentlichen Sammlungen klassischer Altertuemer in Rom, 4th ed., vol. 2 (Tuebingen: E. Wasmuth, 1963), 614, no. 1846.

son of Niobe MC Inv 3027; Helbig, Fuehrer durch die oeffentlichen Sammlungen klassischer Altertuemer in Rom, 553, no. 1783. See Marina Bertoletti, Maddalena Cima, and Emilia Talamo, Centrale Montemartini. Musei Capitolini (Electa: Milano, 2007), 75, fig. 70 for a color illustration.

“They say he [Caesar] wouldn’t go against the Parthians” Cicero, Letters to Atticus 13.31.3.

as the historian Tacitus wrote many years later Tacitus, Histories 3.37.

Cicero also wrote that it was hard to hold back the tears Cicero, Letters to Atticus 7.30.2; Cassius Dio, Roman History 43.46.4.

the Senate named Caesar DICTATOR IN PERPETUO Plutarch, Caesar 57.1.

“We should actually call King the man whom we in fact had as king” Cicero, On Divination 2.110: “quem re vera regem habebamus appellandum quoque esse regem.”

Asinius Pollio Cicero, Letters to Friends 10.31.3; possible echo in Appian, Civil Wars 2.111.1.

“Sulla didn’t know his ABCs when he laid down his dictatorship” Suetonius, Julius Caesar 77—from T. Ampius Balbus, an enemy of Caesar.

Every senator promised to maintain Caesar’s safety Suetonius, Julius Caesar 84.2, 86.1; Livy, Periochae 116; Appian, Civil Wars 2.144; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.5.3.

Caesar named him as the Dictator’s formal second-in-command Cassius Dio, Roman History 43.51.7; Appian, Civil Wars 3.9.30.

“Father of the Fatherland” Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.4.4.

People joked that this was Caesar’s favorite honor Suetonius, Julius Caesar 45.2.

share a temple with the god Cicero, Letters to Atticus 12.45.2, cf. 12.48; Cassius Dio, Roman History 43.45.3.

tradition stated that the senators killed Livy, History of Rome 1.16; Cassius Dio, Roman History 43.45.2–4.

he erased the inscription calling him a “demigod” Cassius Dio, Roman History 43.14.6, 43.21.1–2; Suetonius, Julius Caesar 37.2.

the “odious” procession, as he called it Cicero, Letters to Atticus 13.44.1.

“I hate the Queen” Cicero, Letters to Atticus 15.15.2.

They also said he would take the wealth Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 20.68; Suetonius, Julius Caesar 79.3.

Caesar wanted to settle things in Rome first Cicero, Letters to Atticus 13.31.3.

He said he was concerned about his laws being disregarded Cicero, Letters to Atticus 13.7.

In fact, if the men he left behind fell short of his standards Martin Jehne, Der Staat des Dictators Caesar (The State of the Dictator Caesar) (Cologne, Germany: Böhlau, 1987), 457–61.

Caesar claimed that he already had enough glory “satis diu vel naturae vixi vel gloriae,” Cicero, For Marcellus 25.

He complained about his rich and apathetic neighbor, Lucius Marcius Philippus According to Macrobius [Satires 3.15.6], Philippus was one of the unnamed wealthy men of leisure who, complains Cicero, cared more about fishponds than the republic, Cicero, Letters to Atticus 1.19.6; 1.20.3.

Cicero describes the whole thing in a breathless letter Cicero, Letters to Atticus 13.52.

Caesar wrote from Hispania Cicero, Letters to Atticus 13.20.1.

A friend wrote archly Servius Sulpicius; see Cicero, Letters to Friends 4.5.6.

Cicero thought better of it and gave up the idea Cicero, Letters to Atticus 13.26.2, 12.51.2, 52.2.

“Once was enough” Cicero, Letters to Atticus 13.52.2.

three incidents Livy, Periochae 6.2–3. There is some doubt about the order of the incidents. What follows is what, on balance, appears to me to be the likeliest order.

he also made a joke about their news Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.8; Plutarch, Caesar 60.3–4; Appian, Civil Wars 2.107; Suetonius, Julius Caesar 78.1; Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 78; Livy, Periochae 116.

The sources are full of commentary Suetonius, Julius Caesar 78.1; Plutarch, Caesar 60.4–5; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.8.2; Appian, Civil Wars 2.107.

“I am Caesar, not Rex” Suetonius, Julius Caesar 6.1.

He wanted to grant his usual clemency but Velleius Paterculus, History of Rome 2.68.3.

Caesar demanded that the tribune Caesetius’s father disinherit his son Valerius Maximus, Memorable Deeds and Sayings 5.7.2.

some people accused Caesar of blaming the messengers Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 20.69, 22.76; Livy, Periochae 116.2; Suetonius, Julius Caesar 79.2, 80.3; Appian, Civil Wars 2.108–9; Plutarch, Caesar 61.10; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.10.1–4, 11.4.

In 49 B.C., he said that one of the main reasons Caesar, Civil War 1.7–8.

The result was to generate invidia—ill will Livy, Periochae 116.2.

But Caesar actually indulged in the finery of Rome’s ancient kings Cassius Dio, Roman History 43.43.2; Gelzer, Caesar: Politician and Statesman, 316, n.1.

“The People give this to you through me” Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.11.2.

a groan and gloomy look Cicero, Philippics 5.38.

“Jupiter alone of the Romans is King” Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.11.2–3.

“the Consul Mark Antony had offered the Kingship” Cicero, Philippics 2.85–87.

The sources buzz with speculation See, for example, Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 21.71–74; Cicero, Philippics 2.85; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.11.3.

Later on it was claimed that Antony Cassius Dio, Roman History 46.19.1–8.

two opponents of Caesar They were Cassius and Publius Casca, Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 21.72. Nicolaus is not credible. See Jane Bellemore, edited with introduction, translation and commentary, Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Augustus (Bristol: Bristol Classical Press, 1984) comm. ad loc., 106.

vir clarissimus—a man of extraordinary brilliance E.g., Cicero, Letters to Atticus 14.22.1.

called Caesar a great man “tanto viro,” Cicero, Letters to Atticus 14.11.1; Velleius Paterculus, History of Rome 2.56.3.

“with claims to power” . . . “unbearable” . . . “gloried in his many great victories” . . . “admired someone who they thought was more than just a man” Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 19.64.

trying to see if there was support Plutarch, Caesar 61.6; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.11.3; Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 21.73.

Hatred is one of a ruler’s greatest dangers Machiavelli, The Prince, ch. 19.

CHAPTER 5. THE BIRTH OF A PLOT

Or so the best-known source tells the story Plutarch, Caesar 62.8, Brutus 10.3–7.

Our earliest in-depth source for the conspiracy even names Decimus first See p. 82.

Although Decimus said later that he acted to save the Republic Cicero, Letters to Friends 11.10.4.

Cicero’s correspondence includes a few dozen precious letters There are letters between Cicero and the following conspirators: Brutus (Letters to Brutus, two books of twenty-six letters, most of them genuine), Cassius (e.g., Letters to Friends 12.12), Decimus (e.g., Letters to Friends 11.5), Galba (Letters to Friends 10.30), Trebonius (e.g., Letters to Friends 12.16), Minucius Basilus (Letters to Friends 6.5).

Cicero wrote one of those accounts in 44 B.C. Cicero, On Divination 2.23.

“old easygoing master” Cicero, Letters to Friends 15.19.4. Cicero, Letters to Friends, vol. 2, ed. and trans. by D. R. Shackleton Bailey (Cambridge, MA, and London, England: Harvard University Press, 2001): 287.

Brutus underwent a similar conversion, perhaps independently Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.14.2.

perhaps Cassius was the spark Plutarch, Brutus 7.4, 8.2, 10.1; Appian, Civil Wars 2.113; cf. Suetonius, Julius Caesar 80.3–4.

Yon Cassius has a lean and hungry look Shakespeare, Julius Caesar 1.2.194–195.

a Roman portrait bust that has plausibly been identified as Cassius The bust in question is the “pseudo-Corbulo” type. A good example, dated to the second half of the first century A.D., is found in the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. See also Sheldon Nodelman, “The Portrait of Brutus the Tyrannicide,” Occasional Papers on Antiquities 4: Ancient Portraits in the J. Paul Getty Museum 1 (1987): 57–59 and 59 n. 59.

“the bravest of men” Cicero, Letters to Friends 15.16.3.

“the date” Pseudo-Aurelus Victor, De Virus Illustribus 83.3.

Caesar describes the two campaigns Caesar, Civil War 3.5.3, 3.101.

“I will die of anxiety” Cicero, Letters to Friends 15.19.4.

even merely the concentration of power Cicero, Philippics 2.26.

against awarding a long list of special honors to Caesar Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.8.1.

Cassius had a stronger case Plutarch, Brutus 7.1–5, Caesar 62.4–5; Appian, Civil Wars 2.112; Velleius Paterculus, History of Rome 2.56.3; Cicero, Philippics 8.27. I have relied on the commentary by Pelling, Plutarch, Caesar, 460–61.

a story that Cicero made fun of Suetonius, Julius Caesar 50.2.

lions of Megara Plutarch, Brutus 8.6–7; Caesar 43.1–2, 62.8.

the single-mindedness of a gladiator Appian, Civil Wars 4.133.

all his life Cassius drank only water Seneca, Letters to Lucilius 83.12.

Brutus issued coins See “Libertas: The Coins of Brutus,” http://www.humanities.mq.edu.au/acans/caesar/CivilWars_Libertas.htm, accessed July 27, 2014; M. H. Crawford, Roman Republican Coinage, vol. 1, 455–56, no. 433.

spoke against a proposed dictatorship for Pompey Quintilian, Institutes 9.3.95.

a man who committed murder for the good of the Republic was innocent Quintilian, Institutes 3.6.93.

“Marcus Brutus . . . was respected” Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 26a.100, Bellemore translation modified.

Brutus learned to recognize tyranny, to despise it and to rise against it He was a member of the Academic, that is, Platonist school.

“What then? Don’t you think Brutus will wait for this bit of flesh?” Plutarch, Brutus 8.3, Caesar 62.6.

Plutarch added that Brutus could count on Plutarch, Brutus 8.4.

“If only now you were Brutus,” “If only Brutus were alive,” “Brutus, wake up!” “You aren’t really Brutus!” Plutarch, Brutus 9.5–9; Appian, Civil Wars 2.112; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.12.3.

“that Republic in which you could not only renew” Cicero, Brutus 331.

These men didn’t want Brutus to die, said Cassius Plutarch, Brutus 10.1–7.

Porcia was said to be the only woman Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.13.1.

Still, the sources ask what anyone might wonder Appian, Civil Wars 2.112.

Brutus, who wrote on the theme of duties within the family Seneca, Letters to Lucilius 95.45.

Brutus and Cassius now recruited Decimus to the conspiracy Plutarch, Brutus 12.5–6.

“a close friend of Caesar” Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 23.84; Velleius Paterculus, History of Rome 2.64.2; Plutarch, Brutus 13; Appian, Civil Wars 2.111; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.18.1.

Nicolaus actually names Decimus first Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 19.59.

Appian makes him next after Brutus and Cassius Appian, Civil Wars 2.111.

Velleius Paterculus, a Roman soldier-statesman Velleius Paterculus, History of Rome 2.58.1–2.

Other sources name Decimus Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.13.3–4; Eutropius, Abridgement of Roman History 6.7.497; Suetonius, Julius Caesar 80.4.

“neither active nor daring” Plutarch, Brutus 12.5.

one of Caesar’s confidants Appian, Civil Wars 2.111; Velleius Paterculus, History of Rome 64.2.

Caesar named him in his will as heir in the second degree Plutarch, Caesar 64.1; Suetonius, Julius Caesar 83.2.

Caesar unwittingly named other conspirators as guardians as well Suetonius, Julius Caesar 83.2; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.35.2; Plutarch, Caesar 64.1; Appian, Civil Wars 2.143.

Cicero portrayed him as part of a cause Cicero, Letters to Friends 11.7.3.

claimed descent from the founder of the Republic Cicero, Philippics 2.26.

Decimus’s father and his grandfather Orosius, History Against the Pagans 5.12; Cicero, Letters to Atticus 12.22.2.

his eleven surviving single-authored letters They are: Cicero, Letters to Friends 10.13, 11.1, 11.4, 11.7, 11.9, 11.10, 11.13, 11.13b, 11.20, 11.23, 11.26. Part of a joint letter by Decimus and Plancus to the Magistrates, Senate and People survives; it contains one reference to the Republic (11.13a.2).

“liberating the Republic” Cicero, Letters to Friends 11.10.5.

admirably brief as a writer Cicero, Letters to Friends 11.25.1–2.

thirteen letters by Cicero to Decimus survive Cicero, Letters to Friends 11.5, 11.6, 11.6a, 11.7, 11.8, 11.12, 11.14, 11.15, 11.16, 11.21, 11.22, 11.24, 11.25.

five of them refer to liberty, tyranny, the assassination of Caesar, or the Republic 11.5.2–3, 11.7.2, 11.6a.1, 11.8.1–2, 11.12.1–2.

Decimus was ambitious, competitive, proud, and violent Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 26a.98.

dignitas, a subject that comes up frequently in his correspondence Cicero, Letters to Friends 11.4.2, 11.6a.1–2, 11.8.1.

Decimus wanted fame and greatness Cicero, Letters to Friends 11.4.3.

Decimus was a very brave man Cicero, Letters to Atticus 11.22.1. Note also Decimus’s pride in being fearless: Cicero, Letters to Friends 11.20.1.

Decimus could sneer at Octavian Suetonius, Augustus 2.3.

Gaius Fuficius Fango Cassius Dio, Roman History 48.22.3; Cicero, Letters to Atticus 14.10.2.

Paula Valeria On her brother, Gaius Valerius Triarius, see Bondurant, Decimus 29 and n. 77; Franklin H. Potter, “Political Alliance by Marriage,” Classical World 29.9 (1934): 673–74; Karl-Ludwig Elvers (Bochum), “Valerius, [I 53–54],” Brill’s New Pauly, antiquity volumes edited by Hubert Cancik and Helmuth Schneider, Brill Online, accessed April 20, 2014.

CHAPTER 6. WANTED: ASSASSINS

more of Caesar’s friends than his enemies Seneca, On Anger 3.30.4.

The policy earned gratitude and stirred anger Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 19.61–63.

Nicolaus makes Caesar’s policy of clemency a central grievance Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 19.62–63.

it annoyed the former Pompey supporters Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 19.62.

Cato protested Caesar’s arrogance Plutarch, Cato the Younger 66.2.

“His very power of granting favors” Florus, Epitome of Roman History 2.13.92; cf. Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 19.63; Velleius Paterculus, History of Rome 2.57.1.

the conspiracy was more a matter of court intrigue Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 19.58–65, esp. 60.

petty jealousy Several ancient sources cite jealousy of Caesar as a factor in the conspirators’ motivation: Appian, Civil Wars 2.111.1; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.1.1; Vellerius Paterculus, History of Rome 2.60.01.

began to insist that Caesar treat him as an equal Caesar, Gallic War 8.52.2; Cicero, Letters to Atticus 7.7.6, 7.13.1; Cassius Dio, Roman History 41.4.3.

“an ardent patriot” Cicero, Letters to Friends 10.28.1.

“a little gift” Cicero, Letters to Friends 12.16.3.

Cicero said that the Republic owed Trebonius Cicero, Philippics 2.27.

Trebonius was the man who, said Cicero Cicero, Philippics 2.34; Plutarch, Antony 13.

he expressed pride in his role in the events of the Ides Cicero, Letters to Atticus 12.16.3–4.

We can’t be sure of either brother’s motives Appian, Civil Wars 2.113 (which confuses the two brothers), 115; Plutarch, Brutus 15; Cicero, Philippics 2.27, cf. Suetonius, Julius Caesar 82; Plutarch, Caesar 66; Plutarch, Brutus 17.45; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.52.2, 46.49.1

as Caesar claims in his Commentaries Caesar, Gallic Wars 3.1–6.

enough, according to one ancient theory, to drive Galba Suetonius, Galba 3.2.

Galba objected in public Suetonius, Galba 3.2; Valerius Maximus, Memorable Deeds and Sayings 6.2.11; Cicero, Letters to Atticus 6.18.3.

his one surviving letter Cicero, Letters to Friends 10.30.

his moment in the Ardennes Forest Caesar, Gallic Wars 6.29–30.

perhaps he was the same man Orosius, History Against the Pagans 6.15.8.

he made him settle for a sum of money Cassius Dio, Roman History 43.47.5.

It was this, we are told, that made him join Appian, Civil Wars 2.113; Cicero, Letters to Friends 6.15; Cassius Dio, Roman History 43.47.5.

calls Cimber one of Caesar’s “fellow soldiers” Cicero, Letters to Atticus 6.12.2; Seneca, On Anger 3.30.5; Appian, Civil Wars 3.2; Plutarch, Brutus 19.2.

Cicero said afterward that Cimber Cicero, Philippics 2.27.

“Would I, who cannot tolerate my wine” Seneca, Letters to Lucilius 83.12.

the sources report a total of more than sixty or even more than eighty Suetonius, Julius Caesar 80.4; Orosius, History Against the Pagans 6.17.2; Eutropius, Abridgement of Roman History 6.25, 80; Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 19.59.

“many people were angry at him because they had been saved by him” Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 19.62.

Cicero successfully pleaded his case Cicero, For Ligarius.

Although Caesar personally disliked Ligarius Plutarch, Cicero 39.6.

warnings to be careful who he pardoned Cicero, For Ligarius 16.

Ligarius was so eager for revenge Plutarch, Brutus 11.

potentially represented a huge transfer of wealth Cassius Dio, Roman History, 42.51.2. On Caesar’s property confiscations, see Gelzer, Caesar, 283–84, n. 1; Zvi Yavetz, Julius Caesar and His Public Image (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1983), 140–41; Elizabeth Rawson, “Caesar: Civil War and Dictatorship,” in J. A. Crook, Andrew Lintott, and Elizabeth Rawson, eds., The Cambridge Ancient History, 2nd ed., vol. 9, The Last Age of the Roman Republic, 146–43 B.C. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), 449–50.

Brutus later complained bitterly Appian, Civil Wars 2.139–41.

The other Pompey supporters among the conspirators Rubrius Ruga might possibly be the Lucius Rubrius who was People’s Tribune in 49 B.C., but also possibly the Marcus Rubrius who was with Cato at Utica. Two other senators were Caecilius Bucilianus and his brother (name unknown). Then there were two men who might be either senators or knights, Sextius Naso and Marcus Spurius.

They included Gaius Cassius of Parma Another conspirator who cannot be assigned to any group is one Petronius—a mere name to us.

Now he told Brutus that he thought civil war was even worse Plutarch, Brutus 12.3, trans. D. Sedley, “The Ethics of Brutus and Cassius,” Journal of Roman Studies 87 (1997): 44.

In the same conversation, Brutus engaged one Statilius Plutarch, Brutus 12.3–4; trans. Sedley, “Ethics of Brutus and Cassius,” 44, modified.

He denied the charge Cicero, Philippics 2.25.

Caesar had no fear of him Cicero, Letters to Atticus 13.37.2.

for trust and goodwill by both Brutus and Cassius Plutarch, Brutus 12.1.

In their judgment, Cicero lacked daring Plutarch, Brutus 12.2.

Antony, they said, was a supporter of monarchy Plutarch, Antony 13.1, Brutus 18.3; Appian, Civil Wars 2.114.

never swore an oath Plutarch, Brutus 12.8; Appian, Civil Wars 2.114, 139; Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 23.81.

every conspirator revealed his own grudge Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 19.65–66.

Brutus hoped for a change of heart on Antony’s part Plutarch, Antony 13.2, Brutus 18.4–5; Appian, Civil Wars 2.113.

So he alone of the conspirators opposed killing Antony Plutarch, Brutus 18.3–6.

Lucius Junius Brutus, did more than drive out the king Livy, History of Rome 1.59–60.

“No friend ever served me and no enemy ever wronged me” Plutarch, Sulla 38.4.

They considered other venues for the assassination Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 80.4; Suetonius, Julius Caesar 80.4.

Caesar formally dismissed his Spanish bodyguard Suetonius, Julius Caesar 86.1; Appian, Civil Wars 2.107 and 114; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.7.4.

senators and the knights Appian, Civil Wars 2.107, 109; Suetonius, Julius Caesar 86.1; Plutarch, Caesar 57.3; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.7.4, 44.15.2; Velleius Paterculus, History of Rome 2.57.1.

Cicero worried publicly about assassination plots against Caesar Cicero, For Marcellus 21.

Caesar showed mercy by sparing Philemon from torture Suetonius, Julius Caesar 74.1.

Cicero, who defended Deiotarus The speech still exists: Cicero, On Behalf of King Deiotarus.

Aulus Caecina published a pamphlet Suetonius, Julius Caesar 75.4–5.

Caesar’s sources in Rome denounced conspiracies Plutarch, Caesar 62.6; Suetonius, Julius Caesar 75.5.

Caesar refused to hear information about the conspiracy Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.15.1.

he sometimes acted in the absence of reliable intelligence For example, when Caesar invaded Britain, Caesar, Gallic War 6.20–21.

“I am not much in fear of these fat, long-haired fellows” Plutarch, Caesar 62.9; cf. Plutarch, Brutus 8.2; Antony 11.3; Sayings of Kings and Generals 206e.

He had too much faith in Brutus’s character Plutarch, Brutus 8.1.

Caesar complained to his friends about Cassius Plutarch, Caesar 62.69.

He brushed off Brutus’s accusers Plutarch, Caesar 62.6; Plutarch, Brutus 8.3.

He put too much trust in the oath, some said Suetonius, Julius Caesar 86.1.

wasn’t so much in his interest as in the Republic’s Suetonius, Julius Caesar 86.2.

“the pleasure of deception” Roberta Wohlstetter, “Slow Pearl Harbours and the Pleasures of Deception,” in Robert L. Pfaltzgraff Jr., Uri Ra’anan, and Warren Milberg, eds., Intelligence Policy and National Security. (Hamden, CT: Archon Books, 1981), 23–34.

Caesar was so depressed Suetonius, Julius Caesar 86.1.

a Roman senator was supposed to be easy to approach Cicero, On the Command of Cnaeus Pompey 41; Tacitus, Annals 2.2.4.

he was attacked in Rome by men with hidden daggers Appian, Civil Wars 1.55–56; Plutarch, Sulla 8–9, Marius 35.

give up his bodyguard even while he was still dictator Appian, Civil Wars 1.3, 103–4.

“straightforward by nature” Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 67; my translation, with help from Toher.

But when they in turn asked him to reestablish his bodyguard Appian, Civil Wars 2.107, 109; Suetonius, Julius Caesar 86.1; Plutarch, Caesar 57.3; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.7.4, 44.15.2; Velleius Paterculus, The History of Rome 2.57.1.

“even though he had no bodyguard” Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.15.2.

dinner with his Master of the Horse Suetonius, Julius Caesar 87; Plutarch, Caesar 63.4; Appian, Civil Wars 2.115. On dining customs in Rome see M. B. Roller, Dining Posture in Ancient Rome: Bodies, Values and Status (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2006).

While reclining, Caesar added personal greetings Plutarch, Caesar 63.4; Suetonius, Augustus 45.12.

Caesar’s answer, according to Plutarch, was an unexpected death Plutarch, Caesar 63.7.

a sudden one, says Appian Appian, Civil Wars 2.115.

sudden and unexpected, says Suetonius Suetonius, Julius Caesar, 87.

Suetonius adds that Caesar had discussed the subject Suetonius, Julius Caesar 87.

CHAPTER 7. CAESAR LEAVES HOME

Not long after five in the morning Based on calculations for March 15, 2014, http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/astronomy.html?n=215&month=3&year=2014&obj=sun&afl=-13&day=1, accessed on April 18, 2014.

all the doors and windows Or perhaps it was just the doors or only Calpurnia who was awakened—the sources disagree. Plutarch, Caesar 63.8; Suetonius, Julius Caesar 81.3; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.17.2; Julius Obsequens, Book of Prodigies (based on Livy) 67.

she dreamt she was holding a murdered Caesar in her arms Plutarch, Caesar 63.9.

the front pediment of their house collapsed Plutarch, Caesar 63.9.

In one version, his body was streaming Appian, Civil Wars 2.115.

The Senate had given Caesar the right to put up this pediment Plutarch, Caesar 63.8–9; Valerius Maximus, Memorable Deeds and Sayings 1.7.2; Suetonius, Julius Caesar 81.3; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.17.1.

Even the horses that Caesar had used to cross the Rubicon Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.17.2; Plutarch, Caesar 63.1–3; Suetonius, Julius Caesar 81.1–2.

Spurinna was trying to warn Caesar not to go too far Cicero, On Divination 1.119.

Spurinna warned Caesar that his life would be in danger Valerius Maximus, Memorable Deeds and Sayings 8.11.2; Suetonius, Julius Caesar 81.2; Plutarch, Caesar 63.5.

“beware the Ides of March” Shakespeare, Julius Caesar 1.2.18.

she begged Caesar not to go to the Senate meeting Plutarch, Caesar 63.10.

As for Caesar, one source says that he too had a bad dream Suetonius, Julius Caesar 81.3.

the meal did not sit well with him and his body felt sluggish Appian, Civil Wars 2.115.

The next morning, he felt poorly Suetonius, Julius Caesar 8.4.

In particular, he is said to have suffered from vertigo Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 23.83.

symptoms of an undetected epileptic seizure This and the following medical speculations come from a personal communication with Dr. Carl Bazil, M.D., Ph.D., director, Division of Epilepsy and Sleep, Columbia University.

One source says that Caesar experienced fainting and night terrors Suetonius, Julius Caesar 45.1.

Some in the ancient world said that Caesar was merely pretending Plutarch, Brutus 16.1.

about three hundred yards away Andrea Carandini and Paolo Carafa, eds. Atlante di Roma antica: biografia e ritratti della città (Milano: Electa, 2012), I:290.

famous exchange Valerius Maximus, Memorable Deeds and Sayings 8.11.2; Appian, Civil Wars 2.149; Plutarch, Caesar 63.5–6; Suetonius, Julius Caesar 81.4; J. T. Ramsey, “At What Hour Did the Murderers of Julius Caesar Gather on the Ides of March 44 B.C.?” in Stephan Heilen et al., In Pursuit of Wissenschaft: Festschrift für William M. Calder III zum 75. Geburtstag (Zurich: Olms, 2008), 353.

“The Ides of March have come” Shakespeare, Julius Caesar 3.1–2; Plutarch, Caesar 63.6; Suetonius, Julius Caesar 81.4; Appian, Civil Wars 2.149; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.18.4; Florus, Epitome of Roman History 2.13.94; Valerius Maximus, Memorable Deeds and Sayings 8.11.2.

According to some sources he ordered new sacrifices Plutarch, Caesar 63.7, Brutus 16.1; Appian, Civil Wars 2.115; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.17.3.

Caesar decided to send the consul, Antony, to dismiss the Senate Plutarch, Caesar 63.12; Appian, Civil Wars 2.115.

Caesar would have missed the scheduled Senate meeting Suetonius, Julius Caesar 81.4; Florus, Epitome of Roman History 2.13.94.

“Mother of Aeneas” Lucretius, On the Nature of Things, I.1–2, 10–16.

still dark out Cicero, For Murena 69.

average mid-March temperatures http://weatherspark.com/averages/32307/3/Rome-Lazio-Italy, accessed August 1, 2014.

they could carry weapons under their togas Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 23.81; cf. Suetonius, Julius Caesar; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.16.1.

It was here, at the site of the Senate meeting Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.16.2.

Sybilline Books Cicero, On Divination 2.110; Suetonius, Julius Caesar 79.4–80.1; Plutarch, Caesar 60.2, Brutus 10.2; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.15.3; Appian, Civil Wars 2.110.

Shakespeare writes that Caesar was murdered Julius Caesar 3.1.12.

There were gladiatorial games in the Theater of Pompey that day Appian, Civil Wars 2.115.

“It seemed as if some god was leading the man to the justice of Pompey” Plutarch, Brutus, 14.3.

“They thought that the act,” Appian, Civil Wars 2.114.

It was believed that the senators assassinated the legendary Romulus Plutarch Pompey 25.4; Appian, Civil Wars 2.114; cf. Cassius Dio, Roman History 43.45.3.

Plutarch cites a story that Romulus was killed in a Senate meeting Plutarch, Romulus 5.

According to Appian, the conspirators of 44 B.C. Appian, Civil Wars 2.114.

The assembly supposedly took place, like the Senate meeting Plutarch, Romulus 27.6–8.

was a godsend Plutarch, Brutus 14.2.

not one of those posers “Dedit gladiatores sestertiarios iam decrepitos, quos si sufflasses, cecidissent,” Petronius, Satyricon 45.

the story told only by Nicolaus of Damascus Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 26a.98.

Others say that the gladiators were there to take part in the games Appian, Civil Wars 2.118; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.16.

Many elite Romans, their names a roll call of republican glory On these cases see A. W. Lintott, Violence in Republican Rome, 2nd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), 83–85. Another example is the Pompeian general Gaius Considius Longus: Caesar, Civil War 2.23; PseudoCaesar, African War 76, 9.

Birria Asconius, Commentary on Cicero’s “For Milo” 32c.

rhomphaia Asconius, Commentary on Cicero’s “For Milo” 32C. See Chris Christoff, “Gladiators Outside of the Arena: The Use of Gladiators as Bodyguards and Soldiers ca. 100 BCE–100 CE,” Senior Honors Thesis, Department of History, Cornell University, April 14, 2014, 12–14.

We don’t know how many gladiators Decimus had Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 25.94, 26a.98; Plutarch, Brutus 12. 5.

Caesar himself might have given these gladiators to Decimus Pseudo-Cicero, Letter to Octavian 9; Appian, Civil Wars 2.122; cited in Lintott, Violence, 84 and n. 4.

“popular shallowness” Cicero, Philippics 5.49.

he devoted several hours to watching gladiators training Plutarch, Caesar 32.4.

a very large number of gladiators in Capua Cicero, Letters to Atticus 7.14.2, with discussion in K.-W. Welwei, Unfreie im antiken Kriegsdienst, vol. 3, Rom (Wiesbaden, Germany: Steiner, 1988), 137. I follow the translation of D. R. Shackleton Bailey, Cicero, Letters to Atticus, vol. 4 49 B.C. 133–210 (Books 7.10–10), (Cambridge: University Press, 1968) 19, 308–9.

out on maneuvers in the suburbs of Rome that morning Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.19.2; Zonaras, Epitome of Histories 10.12.

no bigger than an average city block 886 feet (270 meters) long by 220 feet (67 meters) wide.

up to fifteen thousand were settled on land in Italy L. J. F. Keppie, Colonisation and Veteran Settlement in Italy, 47–14 B.C. (London: British School at Rome, 1983), 50.

Like the men on the Tiber Island, they were armed Appian, Civil Wars 2.133.

“country folk but very brave men and excellent citizens” Cicero, Letters to Friends 11.7.2.

could not be taken before sunrise That is, 6:23 a.m. Actually, that was apparent sunrise, a few minutes earlier than actual sunrise: http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/grad/solcalc/, accessed July 14, 2014. J. T. Ramsey, “Beware the Ides of March!: An Astrological Prediction?” Classical Quarterly, new ser. 50.2 (2000): 444, cites sunrise on March 15, 44 B.C. as 6:17 a.m. LMT.

that Caesar neither did nor would prevent Brutus Plutarch, Brutus 14.7.

Brutus too endured sleepless nights Plutarch, Brutus 13.2.

Casca was unnecessarily frightened Plutarch, Brutus 15.2–3; Appian, Civil Wars 2.115.

Popilius Laenas, Plutarch, Brutus 15.4; Appian, Civil Wars 2.115.

he soldiered on Plutarch, Brutus 15.5–9.

that seemed like a bad omen Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.17.3.

they decided to send Decimus to Caesar’s house Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.18.1.

he was such a close friend Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 23.84; Velleius Paterculus, History of Rome 2.64.2; Plutarch, Brutus 13; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.18.1.

“Like mother, like son” Eccentricity evidently ran in this family. Sempronia’s brother was a quirky character who used to mount the Speaker’s Platform in the Roman Forum in an actor’s robe and boots, tossing money to the people as he went. Cicero, Philippics 3.16.

“masculine audacity” Sallust, Catiline 25.1.

she opened their home to Catiline’s Gallic allies—Allobroges Sallust, Catiline 40.5.

seeming to insult Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 23.84.

or mock it Plutarch, Caesar 64.2.

Caesar himself had called the meeting Suetonius, Julius Caesar 81.4; Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 23.84; Plutarch, Caesar 64.3.

the senators would consider him a tyrant Plutarch, Caesar 64.4.

Decimus ridiculed the soothsayers Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 23.84.

declare Caesar king outside of Italy Plutarch, Caesar 64.3; Suetonius, Julius Caesar 79.4; Appian, Civil Wars 2.110. Cicero, who should have known, declares this a mere rumor, On Divination 2.110.

“What do you say, Caesar?” Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 23.84.

He would postpone the meeting Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 24.87; Plutarch, Brutus 16.1.

Decimus led Caesar out by the hand Plutarch, Caesar 64.6; Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 24.87.

a Caesar who is gullible Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 23.84, 24.87.

a Caesar who is passive Plutarch, Caesar 64.6.

a Caesar who cares about appearances Appian, Civil Wars 2.116.

a Caesar who is arrogant Suetonius, Julius Caesar 81.4, or Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.18.4.

another Caesar, a man who was a risk taker Appian, Civil Wars 2.115.

It was almost at the end of the fifth hour Suetonius, Julius Caesar 81.4.

A litter carried by slaves Plutarch, Brutus 16.1–2; Appian, Civil Wars 2.116.

Caesar was thronged along the way Appian, Civil Wars 2.118.

Artemidorus of Cnidus Plutarch, Caesar 65; Appian, Civil Wars 2.116; Suetonius, Julius Caesar 81.4; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.18.3.

“a friend of the deified Caesar, a man of great influence with him” Strabo 14.2.15, Loeb, http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/14B*.html.

Plutarch calls him a teacher of Greek philosophy Plutarch, Brutus 65.1. See Christopher Pelling, Plutarch Caesar, translated with an introduction and commentary (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011) commentary ad loc., 476, and on 48.1, 377.

Popilius Laenas hurried up to speak to him Plutarch, Brutus 16.2–4; Appian, Civil Wars 2.116.

Nicolaus paints a dark picture Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 24.86.

“make your own manly excellence an auspicious omen.” Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 24.87.

The other sources leave out Decimus and emphasize Caesar’s hubris instead Appian, Civil Wars 2.116; Suetonius 81.4, Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.18.4.

Appian says that Caesar reminded the soothsayers Appian, Civil Wars 2.116.

the capsae, containers holding scrolls Based on Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.16.1, where he uses the word Κιβώτια, which I translate as capsae.

around noon see Christopher Pelling, Plutarch Caesar, translated with an Introduction and Commentary (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011), 477.

CHAPTER 8. MURDER

he laughed Suetonius, Julius Caesar 81. 4; Appian, Civil Wars 2.116.

When it comes to the details of Pompey’s Senate House Carandini and Carafa, eds. Atlante di Roma antica offer a hypothetical reconstruction, vol. 2: table 220, section c–c¹.

That, said the Roman scholar Pliny the Elder, was open to question Pliny, Natural History 35.59. Carandini and Carafa, eds. Atlante di Roma antica, vol. 1:505, say the painting was originally inside the Senate House but was moved by Augustus.

It was somewhat smaller than Caesar’s Senate House M. Bonnefond-Coudry, Le Senat de la République Romaine (Rome: École Française de Rome, 1989), 183, estimates that the interior of Pompey’s Senate House at about 4000 square feet (374 sq. m), about 72 feet (22 m) long by 56 feet (17 m) wide, measured on internal lines. On another, more recent set of estimates, Caesar’s Senate House had an interior surface of 494 sq. m (5317 sq. ft.) and Pompey’s only 303 sq. m (3247 sq. ft.), making it only 61 percent as big as Caesar’s Senate House. On this estimate, the interior of Pompey’s Senate House covered only about 3200 sq. ft., with internal lines of 58 feet (17.8 m) long by 56 feet (17 m) wide; the building stood only 57 feet (17.4 m) tall. Roman archaeologist James E. Packer, personal communication, based on plans to appear in his forthcoming book on the Theater of Pompey.

roof rose to a height http://dlib.etc.ucla.edu/projects/Forum/reconstructions/CuriaIulia_1, accessed August 1, 2014.

low, raised platform The tribunal in Caesar’s Senate House, for example, stood about 16 inches (40 cm) high.

the latest fashion for Roman generals See the statues from Casinum (modern Cassino) and Foruli (modern Scoppito), both in Italy. See Eugenio La Rocca, Claudio Parisi Presicce, and Annalisia Lo Monaco, eds. I giorni di Roma: l’età della conquista (Milan: Skira, 2010), 291–92, ills. II.23 and II.24. The colossal statue in Rome’s Palazzo Spada sometimes identified as Pompey is most likely one of the Roman emperors. See Wolfgang Helbig, Führer durch die Öffentlichen Sammlungen klassicher Altertümer in Rom, vol. 2: (Tübingen: Ernst Wasmuth, 1966) 768–69, no. 2008.

Hence, a quorum was needed Francis X. Ryan, Rank and Participation in the Republican Senate (Stuttgart, Germany: Franz Steiner, 1998), 14, 26.

By the time they met under the Portico Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.19.1–3; Cicero, Philippics 2.34. For different versions see Plutarch, Antony 13.2 (where he says “some” detained Antony) and Caesar 66.4 (where he wrongly names Decimus instead of Trebonius).

As Caesar entered the room, the senators rose Plutarch, Caesar 66.5, Brutus 17.1–2; Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 24.88.

The great orator planned to attack Antony Cicero, Philippics 2.88.

used daggers, not swords. Suetonius refers only to pugio (dagger). The Greek sources refer both to egkheiridia (daggers) and ksiphea (a word that can mean either sword or dagger). Daggers: Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus, 23.81, 24.88; Suetonius, Julius Caesar 82.2; Plutarch, Caesar 69.3; Brutus 14.4; Appian, Civil Wars 2.117. Swords: Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus, 24.89; Plutarch, Caesar 66. 10, 67.3; Brutus 17.4–7; Appian, Civil Wars 2.117; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.16.1. Same weapon called both dagger and sword: Plutarch, Caesar 66.7.

A martial artist who works with replicas of Roman weapons Personal communication, Dwight McElmore.

A coin issued by Brutus Cassius Dio, Roman History 25.3; M. H. Crawford, Roman Republican Coinage (London and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001) 1: 518, no. 508/3; cf. 100; 2:741.

supposedly glanced at the statue of Pompey Plutarch, Caesar 66.2.

The five main ancient sources are in general agreement I pick and choose details from the ancient sources. Although this technique is not without problems, it is justified in this case because the five accounts are so similar. The differences are minor, and I note them.

advance planning stated explicitly at Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 26a.99.

Centurions Cicero, On Divination 2.23.

clasping Caesar’s hands and kissing his breast and his head Plutarch, Brutus 17.3.

assassination attempt in 47 B.C. Pseudo-Caesar, Alexandrian War 48–55, esp. 52.2; Valerius Maximus, Memorable Deeds and Sayings 9.4.2.

Cimber disrespected Caesar Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 24.88, cf. T. P. Wiseman, Remembering the Roman People: Essays on Late Republican Politics and Literature (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009), 211 and n.1.

Caesar was angry Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 24.88.

“Why, this is violence!” Suetonius, Julius Caesar 82.1.

pulling down Caesar’s toga was the signal to start the attack Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.19.4.

Nicolaus, Plutarch, and Appian say that Casca had a sword Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 24.89; Appian, Civil Wars 2.117; Plutarch, Brutus 17.4. Plutarch, Caesar 66.7, calls it both a ksiphos and an egkheiridion.

Nicolaus says that Casca was nervous Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 24.89.

Dio says that there were too many attackers for Caesar Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.19.5.

Nicolaus simply says that Caesar stood up to defend himself Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 24.89.

Plutarch says Caesar turned around and grabbed Casca’s dagger Plutarch, Caesar 66.7; handle: Plutarch, Brutus 17.5.

Appian adds that he hurled Casca away with great violence Appian, Civil Wars 2.117.

Suetonius says that Caesar caught Casca’s arm and stabbed him with his stylus Suetonius, Julius Caesar 82.2.

“anger and shouting” Appian, Civil Wars 2.117.

“Impious Casca!”—or, in another version, “Accursed Casca! What are you doing?” Plutarch, Caesar 66.8; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.19.5.

Suetonius claims that Caesar merely groaned Suetonius, Julius Caesar 82.2.

Dio says that Caesar was unable to say anything Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.19.5.

Plutarch and Nicolaus say that Casca shouted in Greek Plutarch, Caesar 66.8, Brutus 17.5; Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 24.89.

According to Nicolaus, Gaius Casca Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 24.89.

in a circle Plutarch, Caesar 66.10.

Plutarch’s description of Caesar being driven Plutarch, Caesar 66.10.

Two ancient sources use the language of a sacrifice Plutarch, Caesar 66.11, cf. Brutus 10.1; Florus, Epitome of Roman History 2.13.92.

Nicolaus mentions three besides Casca Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 24.89.

Nicolaus also says that Cassius tried for a second blow Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 24.89.

Appian agrees that Cassius struck Caesar in the face Appian, Civil Wars 2.117.

Plutarch says that Brutus struck Caesar in the groin Plutarch, Caesar 66.11.

“Et tu, Brute?” or “You too, Brutus?” Shakespeare, Julius Caesar 3.1.77.

“kai su, teknon” which means, “you too, child” Suetonius, Julius Caesar 82.2; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.19.5

he might have been quoting Caesar Pelling, Plutarch Caesar 482–83.

of modesty Valerius Maximus, Memorable Deeds and Sayings 4.5.6.

Suetonius states, and Dio implies Suetonius, Julius Caesar 82.2; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.19.5.

According to Plutarch, it was only when he saw Brutus approach him Plutarch, Caesar 66.12, Brutus 17.6.

Less probable, Appian has Caesar do so after Brutus strikes him Appian, Civil Wars 2.117.

Suetonius adds that Caesar also drew his toga over his legs Suetonius, Julius Caesar 82.2; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.19.5.

Valerius Maximus, a Roman writer of the first century A.D. Valerius Maximus, Memorable Deeds and Sayings 4.5.6.

Brutus, for example, had a wound in his hand Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 24.89.

No fewer than eight ancient sources say that Livy, Periochae 116; Plutarch, Caesar 66.7; Suetonius, Julius Caesar 82.3; Appian, Civil Wars 2.117 and 147; Valerius Maximus, Memorable Deeds and Sayings 4.5.6; Florus, Epitome of Roman History 2.13.95; Eutropius, Abridgement of Roman History 6.25; Zonaras, Epitome of Histories 10.11.

Nicolaus explicitly says otherwise Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 24.90.

He also says, alone of the sources, that Caesar received thirty-fve wounds Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 24.90.

there were more than eighty conspirators in total Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 19.59.

but it sounds like a poetic touch, echoing the mistreatment of Hector’s corpse Homer, Iliad 22.371, Toher, commentary ad loc.

great joy from seeing with his own eyes the just death of a tyrant Cicero, Letters to Atticus 14.14.4.

why Censorinus took on the undesirable role of a seller of public property J. T. Ramsey, “Did Julius Caesar Temporarily Banish Mark Antony from His Inner Circle?,” Classical Quarterly 54. 1 (2004): 168–69.

too shocked and horrified Plutarch, Caesar 66.9.

Nicolaus tells us only that the conspirators bore down on them Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 26.96.

Antistius Suetonius, Julius Caesar 82.2.

Assuming that this was Gaius Casca’s wound Wolfgang Klemm, Caesar, Biografie, vol. 2 (Vienna and Munich: Neckenmarkt, 2009), 185, 209.

“Thus he who had filled the whole world with the blood” Florus, Epitome of Roman History 2.13.95.

Caesar fell at the foot of the statue Professor Antonio Monterroso, University of Córdoba and Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), an archaeologist who resurveyed the ruins of Pompey’s Senate House, announced in 2012 that he had found evidence of a monument to mark the precise spot where Caesar fell, at the eastern end of the building where the tribunal would have stood. But other scholars responded with skepticism and the debate continues. See “Spanish researchers find the exact spot where Julius Caesar was stabbed,” ScienceDaily www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121010102158.htm (accessed February 2, 2014).

blood flowed from his woolen garments to the statue base Plutarch, Caesar 66.13.

“in that Senate, the greater part of which he had chosen” Cicero, On Divination 2.23. Cicero exaggerates. On a more sober estimate Caesar had handpicked more than a third of the members of the Roman Senate. Martin Jehne, Der Staat des Dictators Caesar (Cologne, Germany: Böhlau, 1987), 393, 404; Ronald Syme, Roman Papers, vol. 1, ed. E. Badian (Oxford: Clarendon Press, New York: Oxford University Press, 1979), 98–99.

CHAPTER 9. A REPUBLIC IN THE BALANCE

They folded their togas around their left arms like shields Appian, Civil Wars 2.119; Plutarch, Tiberius Gracchus 19.4.

Cretan archers Plutarch, Gaius Gracchus 16.3.

vengeance of Caesar’s soldiers Appian, Civil Wars 2.119; Florus, Epitome of Roman History 2.17.2.

“with manly spirit but childish judgment” Cicero, Letters to Atticus 14.21.3.

The story that he exchanged his consul’s toga for slave’s clothes Plutarch, Antony 14.1.

Still, some Romans hid themselves in their homes Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 26.95; Plutarch, Caesar 67.1–2, Brutus 18.3, Antony 19.1. Appian, Civil Wars 2.118; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.22.2; Cicero, Philippics 2.88.

Some say that earlier he tried to address the senators Plutarch, Caesar 67.1, Brutus 18.1; Appian, Civil Wars 2.119.

Appian says the conspirators expected the other senators Appian, Civil Wars 2.115.

This was not murder, said Brutus Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 25.92.

They had planned this move in advance Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 25.94.

Cassius, Brutus, and Decimus led them, along with Decimus’s gladiators Velleius Paterculus, Roman History 2.58.1–2.

daggers drawn—“naked,” as the ancient expression says Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 25.94, cf. 25.91; Plutarch, Brutus 18.3.

Nicolaus says they ran in flight; Plutarch says Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 25.94; Plutarch, Caesar 67.3, cf. Brutus 18.7.

They agree that the men cried out Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 25.94; Plutarch, Caesar 67.3, cf. Brutus 18.7.

Appian claims that one assassin carried a freedman’s felt cap Appian, Civil Wars 2.119.

Cicero claims that some of them called out his name Cicero, Philippics 2.28 and 30; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.20.4.

Between them, Appian and Plutarch name some half-dozen men Plutarch, Caesar 67.4; Appian, Civil Wars 2.119.

Lentulus Spinther Cicero, Letters to Friends 12.14.

Gaius Octavius T. P. Wiseman, “Some Republican Senators and their Tribes,” Classical Quarterly 14 (1964): 124.

Marcus Aquinus On Marcus Aquinus, Patiscus, L. Staius Murcus, and Dolabella, see Pelling commentary on Plutarch Caesar 67.4, 487–88.

Still the sources report looting and frightened people Appian, Civil Wars 2.118; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.20.2–3.

it was not much bigger than today’s St. Peter’s Square The square is about 20 acres or 8 hectares. The highest point of the Capitoline Hill stands about 160 feet (49 m) above sea level.

the conspirators divided the terrain into sectors Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 25.94.

“occupied the Capitol” Velleius Paterculus, History of Rome 2.58.2, cf. Livy, Periochae 116.

Some thought the killing of Caesar was the fairest of deeds Tacitus, Annals 1.8; Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 26a.99.

“justly slain”—iure caesus Suetonius, Julius Caesar 76.1; Cicero, Philippics 13.2.

“the wickedest man ever killed” Cicero, Letters to Atticus 12.2, trans D. R. Shackleton Bailey, Cicero: Epistulae ad Familiares: vol. 2, 47–43 BC (Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1977), 481.

To Cicero, the conspirators were liberators Cicero, Letters to Friends 11.27.8.

To Caesar’s dear friend Gaius Matius, Caesar was a very great man Cicero, Letters to Atticus 11.28.

As Caesar’s friends saw things Velleius Paterculus, History of Rome 2.57.1; cf. Cicero, Letters to Atticus 14.22.2.

“jealousy of his fortune and power” Appian, Civil Wars 2.111.1; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.1.1; Florus, Epitome of Roman History 2.13.92.

“Congratulations!” Cicero, Letters to Friends 6.15.

To Decimus he called it the greatest deed in history Cicero, Letters to Friends 11.5.1.

“Has anything greater ever been done, by holy Jupiter” Cicero, Philippics 2.32.

When Brutus addressed his visitors Plutarch, Brutus 18.9–11.

Nicolaus of Damascus says that gladiators and slaves protected them Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 26a.99.

Nicolaus scoffed at Brutus’s “supposed reasonableness” Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 26a.99.

Plutarch, who saw Brutus as a hero Plutarch, Brutus 18.11.

Just a month earlier, Caesar had sat on the same platform Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 26a.99; Plutarch, Brutus 18.11, Caesar 61.4.

his hand was still injured Appian, Civil Wars 2.122.

As he came forward Plutarch, Brutus 18.12; Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 26a.100; Appian, Civil Wars 2.122.

he had what the Romans called gravitas Tacitus, Dialogue on Oratory 25.5.

tedious and lax Tacitus, Dialogue on Oratory 18.5.

dull and cold Tacitus, Dialogue on Oratory 21.5, referring to Brutus’s speech for King Deiotarus.

accuses them of boastfulness and self-congratulation Appian, Civil Wars 2.122, cf. Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.21.

Nicolaus is probably referring to Cassius Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 26a.99.

“burning with enthusiasm” for Brutus and Cassius Cicero, Letters to Atticus 15.11.2.

Nicolaus says that many people came to join the men on the Capitoline Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 17.49.

Appian maintains just the opposite—the people hated the assassins Appian, Civil Wars 2.122.

Plutarch says that the crowd was silent Plutarch, Caesar 67.7, Brutus 13.

Nicolaus says that the people were confused and anxious Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 27.100.

that his goal was liberty and peace Cicero, Letters to Friends 11.2.2.

Plutarch says this showed how much the people objected Plutarch, Brutus 18.12–13, cf. Appian, Civil Wars 2.121, 126.

a kinship relationship by marriage For an example, see Eutropius, Abridgement of Roman History 10.5—Constantine’s attack on his sister’s husband Licinius as an example of misuse of this kinship relationship.

Some sources say that Dolabella As reported by Appian, Civil Wars 2.122.

Public opinion was still up for grabs. Robert Morstein-Marx, Mass Oratory and Political Power in the Late Roman Republic (Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004), 150–58, esp. 157, is groundbreaking on this subject.

Cicero, who reports the news Cicero, Philippics 2.89.

“first day on the Capitoline” Cicero, Letters to Atticus 14.10.1.

“By the immortal gods” Cicero, Letters to Atticus 14.10.1.

“the two Brutuses [that is, Brutus and Decimus] and Cassius” Cornelius Nepos, Life of Atticus 8.1. See also Tacitus, Annals 1.10. On Nepos and his politics, see Cynthia Damon, Nepos, Life of Atticus (Bryn Mawr, PA: Thomas Library, Bryn Mawr College, 1993), 1–2.

“the whole state moved towards them” Cornelius Nepos, Life of Atticus 8.1.

If Appian is right, most of the senators sympathized Appian, Civil Wars 2.127.

“Enough service to a tyrant” Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 26.95.

These three ordinary slaves carried Caesar’s litter home Suetonius, Julius Caesar 82.3, 47.

Since it took four slaves to carry a litter Suetonius, Julius Caesar 82.3; Appian, Civil Wars 2.118.

The curtains of the litter were raised and people could see Suetonius, Julius Caesar 82.3; Appian, Civil Wars 2.118.

According to Nicolaus, they cried at the sight Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 26.97.

Remembering her warning that morning, she called Caesar’s name Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 26.97.

Suetonius says that the conspirators planned to drag Caesar’s body Suetonius, Julius Caesar 82.4.

Sometime before the day ended, a storm hit Rome Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.52.1. Pseudo-Aurelius Victor, De viris illustribus 78.10, says that on the day of Caesar’s funeral the sun hid its orb.

As the sun set Actually, apparent sunset (slightly later than actual sunset). See http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/grad/solcalc/; Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 27.101–2.

a paradox Elizabeth Rawson, “The Aftermath of the Ides,” in J. A. Crook, Andrew Lintott, and Elizabeth Rawson, eds., The Cambridge Ancient History, 2nd ed., vol. 9, The Last Age of the Roman Republic (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), 468.

The men who seized and defended the Capitoline Hill Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 25.94; Florus, Epitome of Roman History 2.17.2.

Lepidus moved his soldiers Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 27.106; Zonaras, Epitome of Histories 10.12 (492C).

Lepidus called a Public Meeting and delivered a speech Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.22.2.

Lepidus was ready Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 27.103, 106.

a gathering of Caesar’s close supporters in Mark Antony’s house Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 26.106.

Carinae, or the Keels Located northeast of the Forum on the saddle of land between the Oppian and Velian Hills, the Carinae lay roughly between the modern Colosseo metro station and the church of San Pietro in Vincoli.

because certain buildings Or possibly because the lay of the land looked like a row of upturned boats. See Lawrence Richardson, A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992), 71.

The meeting lasted until evening Appian, Civil Wars 2.124. On the details of the meeting see also Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 27.106.

Matius feared an uprising in Belgian Gaul Cicero, Letters to Atticus 14.1.1, 14.9.3.

Sextus Pompey Cicero, Letters to Atticus 16.4.2.

Antony had no troops of his own Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.34.5–6.

The conferees at Antony’s house decided to negotiate Appian, Civil Wars 2.124.

What followed was a long night in Rome Appian, Civil Wars 2.125, 134.

Antony got control both of Caesar’s private fortune and his state papers Appian, Civil Wars 2.125.

According to Plutarch, Caesar’s fortune amounted to 4,000 talents Plutarch, Antony 15; probably equivalent to 25 million denarii or 100 million sesterces. See Plutarch, Cicero 43.8; Appian, Civil Wars 3.17; Christopher Pelling, Life of Antony/Plutarch (Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988), commentary ad loc., 155.

Cinna appeared for the meeting Appian, Civil Wars 2.126; Cicero, Letters to Atticus 14.14.2, Philippics 2.89.

By now, March 17, more of Caesar’s veterans were starting to arrive Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 17.49, 27.103.

Nicolaus claims that most of the conspirators’ supporters melted away Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 17.49.

leader of the Early Republic Spurius Cassius Vicellinus, executed 485 B.C.

map of Italy Or possibly an allegorical representation. Varro, On Agriculture 1.2.1; Lawrence Richardson, A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992), 379.

The details of the debate come largely from Appian and Cassius Dio For the points in the following paragraphs see Appian, Civil Wars 2.126–35; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.22–34.

Transalpine Gaul Unlike the previous situation, the province now comprised central and northern France as well as Belgium but not Provence or Marseille, which were now separate.

would later father a son who became Emperor Tiberius Suetonius, Tiberius 4.1.

“Peace!” called some and “vengeance!” cried others Appian, Civil Wars 2.131.

Cicero gave a long speech Cicero, Philippics 1.1; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.22–34; Plutarch, Cicero 42.3; Livy, Periochae 116.4.

Cicero called Caesar a king in private Cicero, Letters to Atticus 13.37.2.

“since it is advantageous to the state” Appian, Civil Wars 2.135.

Antony moved to abolish the dictatorship Cicero, Philippics 1.3, 2.91.

considered this merely a tactical retreat Cicero, Philippics 2.90–92.

Cicero later said in private Cicero, Letters to Atticus 14.10.1, 14.14.2; Philippics 1.1.

Temple of Jupiter Appian, Civil Wars 2.141.

Appian reports what Brutus is supposed to have said Appian, Civil Wars 2.137–42.

Cicero wanted thunderbolts Cicero, Letters to Atticus 15.1a.2.

He understood their anxiety Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.34.5.

In addition to Antony and Dolabella, Cicero spoke Appian, Civil Wars 2.142.

Dio says that the conspirators sent a letter down the hill Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.34.3.

and even, says Dio, swore the strongest oaths Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.34.3.

hostages Appian, Civil Wars 2.142; Joel Allen, Hostages and Hostage-Taking in the Roman Empire (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006), 47–48.

Perhaps, as Appian says, Antony and Dolabella fretted Appian, Civil Wars 2.142.

To some, it looked like the majority of Romans were glad Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.35.1; Livy, Periochae 116.4.

He asked Cassius if he had a dagger under his armpit Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.34.7.

CHAPTER 10. A FUNERAL TO REMEMBER

The Senate was meeting again Plutarch, Brutus 20.1; Appian, Civil Wars 2.135–36; Suetonius, Julius Caesar 83.1.

So, in private, did Cicero’s friend Atticus Cicero, Letters to Atticus 14.10.1, 14.14.3.

as Appian has Antony say, Caesar’s soldiers would never tolerate it Appian, Civil Wars 2.134.

Caesar’s will Suetonius, Julius Caesar 83.2; Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 17.48; Appian, Civil Wars 2.143; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.35.2.

“in vast numbers” Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 17.49.

Antony was now the natural leader of a large force Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 17.50.

Gallic chieftain’s Caesar, Gallic War 6.19.4.

Caesar had left instructions for his funeral with his niece, Atia Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 17.48.

public funeral for Sulla the Dictator Appian, Civil Wars 1.105–6; Plutarch, Sulla 36–38. On Sulla’s funeral, see Arthur Keaveney, Sulla: the Last Republican, 2nd ed. (London and New York: Routledge, 2005), 174–76; on Sulla as a “Perfumed Corpse,” see Adrienne Mayor, The Poison King: The Life and Legend of Mithradates, Rome’s Deadliest Enemy (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2010), 256.

funeral for his aunt Julia Suetonius, Julius Caesar 6.

Clodius’s funeral in 52 B.C. Cicero, For Milo 33, 90; Asconius, Commentary on Cicero’s “For Milo” 33, 42C; Cassius Dio, Roman History 40.49.3; Geoffrey S. Sumi, “Power and Ritual: The Crowd at Clodius’ Funeral,” Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte 46.1 (1997): 80–102; W. Jeffrey Tatum, The Patrician Tribune: Publius Clodius Pulcher (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1999), 241.

Modern experiments with beeswax funeral masks http://www.archaeology.org/news/1694–140106-roman-wax-masks-funeral, http://news.yahoo.com/uncannily-lifelike-roman-masks-recreated-wax-180427165.html.

ran to escort it as a kind of bodyguard Appian, Civil Wars 2.143.

If Appian is right, the armed men began to regret Appian, Civil Wars 2.143.

Cicero, Appian, Plutarch, and Dio Cicero, Philippics 2.91; Appian, Civil Wars 2.143–46; Plutarch, Antony 13.3; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.35.4–50.

Suetonius says that Antony did not give a proper funeral oration at all Suetonius, Julius Caesar 84.2.

Appian gives a generally plausible, if overly dramatic, account Appian, Civil Wars 2.143–46.

The audience chanted to the sound of a flute Appian, Civil Wars 2.146; H. I. Flower, Ancestor Masks and Aristocratic Power in Roman Culture (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), 125–26.

“Did I save them just so that they could destroy me?” Suetonius, Julius Caesar 84.2.

“honorable men” Shakespeare, Julius Caesar 3.28.83, 124, 151, 153.

Dio says that Lepidus’s soldiers prevented them Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.50.2–3; Appian, Civil Wars 2.148, says it was the priests of Jupiter who stopped them.

two “beings” bearing swords Suetonius, Julius Caesar 84.3.

Cicero says that rioters consisted of slaves and poor people Cicero, Letters to Atticus 14.10.2.

“ruffians, mostly slaves” Cicero, Philippics 2.91.5.

The crowd surged to the homes of Brutus and Cassius Plutarch, Caesar 68.2–3, Brutus 20.5–6; Suetonius, Julius Caesar 85; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.50.4; Appian, Civil Wars 2.147; Valerius Maximus, Memorable Deeds and Sayings 9.9.1.

Publius Servilius Casca—was strongly guarded Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.52.3.

Cicero claims that the same torches Cicero, Philippics 2.91.4.

“The pretty funeral oration was yours” Cicero, Philippics 2.91.2.

cui bono? Cicero, For Sextus Roscius Amerinus 84; For Milo 32.

“especially the Jews” Suetonius, Julius Caesar 84.5, following the translation into Italian and commentary by Carlotta Scantamburlo, Suetonio, Vita di Cesare, Introduzione, traduzione e commento (Pisa: Edizioni Plus, Pisa University Press, 2011).

Afterward, the consuls ruled Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.51.1.

he called Decimus a poisoner Cicero, Philippics 13.11.25.

“Et tu, Decime?” Appian, Civil Wars 2.143, 146.

letter survives from Decimus to Brutus and Cassius Cicero, Letters to Friends 11.1.

“moderate boost in dignitas”? Cicero, Letters to Friends 11.1.1.

“we must give in to fortune” Cicero, Letters to Friends 11.1.3.

He now told Hirtius that he wanted to stay in Rome Cicero, Letters to Friends 11.1.6.

In several letters written over the next year Cicero, Letters to Friends 11.10.1, 11.11.2, 11.14.2 (where Cicero cites a reference in one of Decimus’s letters to his detractors); cf. 11.4.1.

“a most wicked conspiracy” Cicero, Letters to Friends 11.13a.2.

Revolution, as Mao said, is not a dinner party Mao Zedong, “Report on an Investigation of the Peasant Movement in Hunan” (March 1927), in Selected Readings from the Works of Mao Tse-tung (Peking: Foreign Languages Press, 1967), 22.

Emerson said that when you strike at a king, you must kill him  See Liva Baker, The Justice from Beacon Hill: The Life and Times of Oliver Wendell Holmes (New York: HarperCollins, 1991), 90–91.

CHAPTER 11. THE STRUGGLE FOR ITALY

By the time the messenger got to Apollonia On Octavian’s movements from Apollonia to Brundisium, see Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 16.38–18.57.

With the future uncertain, Atia recommended Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 16.38–39.

There were six legions Appian, Civil Wars 3.24.

Meanwhile, some officers went to Octavian Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 16.41, 17.46; Velleius Paterculus, History of Rome 2.59.5.

About the soldiers, though, he had no doubts Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 16.42.

Octavian cried Nicolaus of Damscus, Life of Caesar Augustus 18.51.

Cicero always believed the assassins made a mistake Cicero, Letters to Atticus 15.11.2; Philippics 2.34.

Antony had his daughter engaged to Lepidus’s son It seems unlikely that the marriage ever took place. See Richard D. Weigel, Lepidus: The Tarnished Triumvir (London: Routledge, 1992), 47–48.

men wanted to consecrate the spot On the column and altar, I follow the arguments of Geoffrey S. Sumi, “Topography and Ideology: Caesar’s Monument and the Aedes Divi Iulii in Augustan Rome,” Classical Quarterly 61.1 (2011): 205–19. The main ancient sources are: Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.55.1; Suetonius, Julius Caesar 84.5, 85; Cicero, Philippics 1.5.

Cicero had mixed feelings Cicero, Letters to Atticus 16.8.1, 16.14.1, 16.15.3.

Octavian later claimed that the urban plebs Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Augustus 28.108, cf. Appian, Civil Wars 3.28; Cassius Dio, Roman History 45.6.5.

where Brutus and Cassius withdrew after leaving the capital Plutarch, Brutus 21.1.

“a delightful place, right by the sea” Cicero, Letters to Atticus 12.19.

Rather than take a chance, Atticus had declined Nepos, Atticus 8.1–3.

said they had dismissed their friends from the cities of Italy Cicero, Letters to Atticus 11.2.1, end of May.

a scene later described by Cicero in a letter to Atticus Cicero, Letters to Atticus 15.11; see also 15.12.

They heaped the most blame on Decimus Cicero, Letters to Atticus 15.16.

“I’ve really never heard anyone say that!” Cicero, Letters to Atticus 15.11.2.

Cicero calls Brutus depressed For example, Cicero, Letters to Atticus 15.10–12.

Brutus and Cicero met a very important envoy Cicero, Letters to Atticus 16.4.1–2.

On August 4, Brutus and Cassius wrote a letter Cicero, Letters to Friends 11.3.1.

They cattily added that they were amazed Cicero, Letters to Friends 11.3.2.

“Bear in mind not only how long Caesar lived” Cicero, Letters to Friends 11.3.4.

he and Cassius issued edicts Velleius Paterculus, History of Rome 2.62.3.

He and Porcia had a tearful farewell Plutarch, Brutus 23.

Decimus had two legions Appian, Civil Wars 3.49; Cicero, Letters to Friends 10.24.3, which describes the second legion as having two years’ experience in 43 B.C.

He claimed to have fought Cicero, Letters to Friends 11.4.

Decimus wrote to Cicero Cicero, Letters to Friends 11.4, 6.

Cicero promised to take care of Decimus’s dignitas Cicero, Letters to Friends 11.6.

He refers in other letters as well to Decimus’s dignitas Cicero, Letters to Friends 11.6a.1–2, 11.8.1.

how much the Roman people love him Cicero, Letters to Friends 11.8.1.

the greatest and most famous man of all Cicero, Letters to Friends 11.4.3.

Myrtilus Cicero, Letters to Atticus 15.13.2, 16.11.5.

He hailed Decimus as a defender of the Republic Cicero, Philippics 4.8–9.

“At the age of nineteen” Res gestae divi Augusti (The Exploits of the Deified Augustus) 1.1.

He promptly paid each man 500 denarii and promised Appian, Civil Wars 3.48.

Both Antony and Octavian knew it Cassius Dio, Roman History, 45.14–15.

he feared Octavian Cicero, Letters to Brutus 1.4a.2–3.

Cicero’s requests to come to Decimus’s aid Cicero, Letters to Brutus 1.10.1,5; 1.12.2; 1.14.2.

he didn’t want “to offend” Caesar’s veterans Cicero, Philippics 13.13.

“a large number of gladiators” Appian, Civil Wars 3.49; Jürgen Malitz, Nikolaos von Damaskus, Leben des Kaisers Augustus, edited, translated, with a commentary (Darmstadt, Germany: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 2003) 172, n. 327.

Valeria Paula Cicero, Letters to Friends 11.8.

He knew that the Senate was using him Appian, Civil Wars 3.64.

Trebonius had told Cicero that he was proud Cicero, Letters to Friends 12.16.4.

He and his allies carried out several grand gestures Cassius Dio, Roman History 46.36.1–5, 37.3–5; cf. Cicero, Philippics 8.7.20; Frontinus, Strategems 3. 13.7–8; Pliny, Natural History 10.110.

managed to float salt and sheep Frontinus, Strategems 3.14.3–4.

Conditions in Mutina were, in general, dreadful Cicero, Letters to Brutus 2.1; Letters to Friends 12.6.2.

the battle of Forum Gallorum The sources for the battle are Cicero, Letters to Friends 10.30; Appian, Civil Wars 3.66–70; Cassius Dio, Roman History 46.37.1–7.

If Appian is right about the battle, the veterans Appian, Civil Wars 3.68.

Galba sent Cicero a memorable account Cicero, Letters to Friends 10.30.

chronicle Galba’s military missteps in Gaul Caesar, Gallic War 3.1–6.

a second battle took place outside Mutina The sources for the battle are Appian, Civil Wars 3.71–72; Cassius Dio, Roman History 46.38; Suetonius, Augustus 10.4; Plutarch, Antony 17.1.

Antony claimed that Octavian Suetonius, Augustus 10.4.

Octavian Caesar was a hero at Mutina: Suetonius, Augutus 10.4.

a statue be erected in Pontius’s honor Cicero, Letters to Brutus 1.15.8.

according to Appian, Decimus tried to smooth the way Appian, Civil Wars 3.73.

In a letter to Cicero on May 9, 43 B.C. Cicero, Letters to Friends 11.13.1.

Decimus told Octavian Cicero, Letters to Friends 11.10.4.

it served Octavian’s purpose to wound Antony Cassius Dio, Roman History, 45.14–15.

“If Caesar [Octavian] had listened to me” Cicero, Letters to Friends 11.10.4.

“the young man should be complimented” “laudandum adulescentem, ornandum, tollendum,” Cicero, Letters to Friends 11.20.1.

to feed his troops he spent not only his own fortune Cicero, Letters to Friends 11.10.5. See Crawford, Roman Republican Coinage, vol. 2: 697.

He criticized Decimus for failing Cicero, Letters to Brutus 1.10.2.

Lepidus was unreliable Cicero, Letters to Friends 11.9.1.

Decimus was in contact with the Allobroges Cicero, Letters to Friends 11.11.2.

Cicero asked Brutus and Cassius to send help Cicero, Letters to Brutus 1.14.2; Cassius, Letters to Friends 12.9.2.

CHAPTER 12. VENGEANCE

“villainy and madness” Cicero, Letters to Atticus 15.13.4.

“I only wish you could see how much I fear him!” Cicero, Letters to Brutus 1.4a.3.

Porcia died after an illness The version in Plutarch, Brutus 53.5–7 is preferable to the lurid suicide account in Valerius Maximus, Memorable Deeds and Sayings 4.6.5 and Appian, Civil Wars 4.136.

“Not only your army but all citizens” Cicero, Letters to Brutus 1.9.2.

Servilia asked if they should send for Brutus now Cicero, Letters to Brutus 1.18.1–2.

Now that Lepidus had defected to Antony, Brutus worried Cicero, Letters to Brutus 1.13.1.

“This will make him consul, if you won’t” Suetonius, Augustus 26.1, cf. Cassius Dio, Roman History 46.43.4.

the judge who had voted to acquit Brutus He was Silicius Corona: Cassius Dio, Roman History 46.49.5; Appian, Civil Wars 3.95.

She found asylum with Atticus Cicero, Letters to Atticus 15.11.2; Nepos, Atticus 11.

One source claims that Antony’s wife, Fulvia Cassius Dio, Roman History 47.8.4.

Censorinus Velleius Paterculus, History of Rome 2.14.3.

They disagree as to how Decimus died Appian, Civil Wars 3.98; Livy, Periochae 120; Velleius Paterculus, History of Rome 2.64.1; Valerius Maximus, Memorable Deeds and Sayings 4.7.6, 9.13.3; Cassius Dio, Roman History 46.53.3, cf. Seneca, Letters to Lucilius 82.12.

“the sinews of war” Cicero, Philippics 5.5; Appian claims that Cassius echoed this comment, Appian, Civil Wars 4.99.

They committed themselves to fighting for the freedom Cassius Dio, Roman History 47.32.2.

the latter his kinsman, said Brutus Plutarch, Brutus 28.1.

he said that he felt more shame Plutarch, Brutus 28.2.

For his part, Brutus assaulted the cities of Lycia The account of Appian, Civil Wars 4.76–82 is more persuasive than the pro-Brutus public relations version in Plutarch, Brutus 30–32.

a massive number of legionaries Appian, Civil Wars 4.88, 108; see the discussion by Adrian Goldsworthy, Antony and Cleopatra (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2010), 252.

According to Appian, Cassius addressed Appian, Civil Wars 4.98.

Every legionary got 1,500 Appian, Civil Wars 4.100.

They didn’t match the amount that Antony and Octavian Cassius Dio, Roman History 47.42.5.

they didn’t have it yet Appian, Civil Wars 4.99.

according to Appian, Cassius emphasized Appian, Civil Wars 4.99.

The gorgeous array of money See M. H. Crawford, Roman Republican Coinage (London and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001), vol. 1: 513–18, nos. 498–508; cf. 100; vol. 2: 741.

One coin, issued by Brutus and Casca Crawford, Roman Republican Coinage, vol. 1: 518, no. 507/2; cf. 100; vol. 2: 741.

One coin, however, stands out from the rest Crawford, Roman Republican Coinage, vol. 1: 518, no. 508/3; cf.100; vol. 2: 741.

“In addition to these activities” Cassius Dio, Roman History 47.25.3, Loeb translation.

Caesar’s friends claimed Cicero, Philippics 13.23; 2.31; on sicarii see also Suetonius, Julius Caesar 72.

“you will see me at Philippi” Plutarch, Brutus 36 and, on the vision’s second appearance, 48.1. Shakespeare, Julius Caesar 4.2.325–36, has Brutus see Caesar’s ghost on the night before the battle but the sources tell a different story.

Cassius supposedly saw Caesar’s ghost Valerius Maximus, Memorable Deeds and Sayings 1.8.8.

Brutus wrote with courage and acceptance to Atticus Plutarch, Brutus 29.9.

The odds were good for Brutus and Cassius at Philippi The sources on the battle are Appian, Civil Wars 4.109–31; Cassius Dio, Roman History 47.42.1–49.4; Plutarch, Brutus 40–52.

a veritable roll call of Roman nobles Velleius Paterculus, History of Rome 2.71.1–2.

Afterward, reports credited him with paying careful attention Cassius Dio, Roman History 47.41.3.

Some ancient writers said On Cassius’s death see Plutarch, Brutus 43; Appian, Civil Wars 4.113–14; Cassius Dio, Roman History 47.46.2–5.

Cassius’s birthday Although the date of the first battle of Philippi is debatable, the sources state that it was his birthday. Plutarch, Brutus 40.4; Appian, Civil Wars 4.113.

“the last of the Romans” Appian, Civil Wars 4.114.

Brutus was no general Plutarch, Comparison of Dion and Brutus 3.1–2; Velleius Paterculus, History of Rome 2.72.2.

For once, Plutarch is more credible Plutarch, Brutus 50–52; Appian, Civil Wars 4.131; Cassius Dio, Roman History, 47.49.1–2; see Clarke, The Noblest Roman, 70–72.

Other nobles joined the ranks of the fallen Velleius Paterculus, History of Rome, 2.71.1–2.

“when virtue broke” Horace, Odes 7.2.11. On Horace and Brutus’s virtue more generally, see John Moles, “Politics, Philosophy, and Friendship in Horace: Odes 2,7,” in William S. Anderson, ed., Why Horace? A Collection of Interpretations (Wauconda, IL: Bolchazy-Carducci, 1999), 130–42.

As Plutarch says, even those who hated him for killing Caesar Plutarch, Brutus 1.2–3.

the story goes that when Antony found Brutus’s dead body Plutarch, Brutus 53.4.

all, that is, except his head Appian, Civil Wars 4.135; Suetonius, Augustus 13.1; Cassius Dio, Roman History 47.49.2.

“This was the noblest Roman of them all” Shakespeare, Julius Caesar 5.5.69.

sentiments about Brutus that Plutarch ascribes to him Plutarch, Brutus 29.7.

Brutus said that Antony would pay Plutarch, Brutus 29.10–11.

Military gravestones . . . contemporary poetry See Josiah Osgood, Caesar’s Legacy: Civil War and the Emergence of the Roman Empire (Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press), 108–51.

massacred a large number of enemy senators Suetonius, Augustus 15.

Suetonius writes that within three years Suetonius, Julius Caesar 89.

Decimus Turullius Cassius Dio, Roman History 51.8.2–3; Valerius Maximus, Memorable Deeds and Sayings 1.1.19.

Turullius’s colleague Cassius of Parma Velleius Paterculus, History of Rome 2.87.3; Valerius Maximus, Memorable Deeds and Sayings 1.7.7.

“little works” Horace, Epistles 1.4.3.

Cassius of Parma wrote satire Suetonius, Augustus 4.2; Kenneth Scott, “The Political Propaganda of 44–30 B.C.,” Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome 11 (1933): 13–16.

Cassius of Parma was the last of Caesar’s assassins to die Velleius Paterculus, History of Rome 2.87.3.

CHAPTER 13. AUGUSTUS

Octavian held a triple triumph Cassius Dio, Roman History 51.21.

two of her children by Antony Cleopatra Selene and Alexander Helios. The third child, Ptolemy Philadelphus, is not mentioned, and presumably he was already dead. Cassius Dio, Roman History 51.21.8.

“too many Caesars is not a good thing” Arius in Plutarch, Antony 81.2.

On the eighteenth of the month Sextilis Cassius Dio, Roman History 51.22; Augustus, Res Gestae 19.

Caesar’s birthday Cassius Dio, Roman History 47.18.6. Caesar was actually born on July 13 but that day conflicted with an annual Apollo festival.

After Antony’s death: Cassius Dio, Roman History 51.19.3. See Jerzy Linderski, “The Augural Law,” in Hildegarde Temporini, ed., Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt 2.16 (1986): 2187–88.

Parricide Day Suetonius, Julius Caesar 88; Cassius Dio, Roman History 47.19.1.

Pompey’s Senate House Suetonius, Julius Caesar 88, Augustus 31; Cassius Dio, Roman History 47.19; Eva Margareta Steinby, ed., Lexicon Topographicum Urbis Romae (Rome: Edizioni Quasar, 1993), vol. 1: 334–35.

“The evil that men do” Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, 3.2.75–76.

“If we want everything to stay the same” “Se vogliamo che tutto rimanga come è, bisogna che tutto cambi,” Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, Il Gattopardo, 1. ed. in “Le comete.”

Augustus portrayed Decimus as an archvillain So we can judge by Decimus’s prominence in Nicolaus of Damascus, who was influenced by Augustus’s memoirs.

“I’ll do it but only if I live” Seneca, Letters to Lucilius 10.82.12.

At least three or four friends of Brutus Publius Volumnius, Empylus, Asinius Pollio, Lucius Sestius, and Bibulus. See Ramsay MacMullen, Enemies of the Roman Order, 18 and, on Bibulus, Plutarch, Brutus 13.

The story goes that when Augustus saw a statue Plutarch, Comparison of Dion and Brutus 5.

magnificent funeral Tacitus, Annals 3.76.

lived into her eighties On her age, see L. Hayne, “M. Lepidus and His Wife,” Latomus 33 (1974): 76 and n. 4.