Miles Geoffrey
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198117711
- eISBN:
- 9780191671050
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198117711.003.0007
- Subject:
- Literature, Shakespeare Studies
Returning to Shakespeare, this chapter looks at the lines quoted at the beginning of the first chapter: ‘Let not our looks put on our purposes; But bear it as our Roman actors do, With untired ...
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Returning to Shakespeare, this chapter looks at the lines quoted at the beginning of the first chapter: ‘Let not our looks put on our purposes; But bear it as our Roman actors do, With untired spirits and formal constancy’. ‘Formal constancy’ means ‘consistent decorum’: playing one's part without slipping out of character. ‘Untired spirits’ suggests a more Stoic kind of constancy: souls which do not tire but steadfastly withstand adversity. The Ciceronian and Senecan forms of constancy are thus linked. At the same time, the perverse attribution of ‘constancy’ to actors, whose job is to play a number of roles, suggests a potential incongruity between the two halves of the line — between the inner spiritual strength of an ‘untired spirit’, and the public hypocrisy of assuming a merely ‘formal’ constancy.Less
Returning to Shakespeare, this chapter looks at the lines quoted at the beginning of the first chapter: ‘Let not our looks put on our purposes; But bear it as our Roman actors do, With untired spirits and formal constancy’. ‘Formal constancy’ means ‘consistent decorum’: playing one's part without slipping out of character. ‘Untired spirits’ suggests a more Stoic kind of constancy: souls which do not tire but steadfastly withstand adversity. The Ciceronian and Senecan forms of constancy are thus linked. At the same time, the perverse attribution of ‘constancy’ to actors, whose job is to play a number of roles, suggests a potential incongruity between the two halves of the line — between the inner spiritual strength of an ‘untired spirit’, and the public hypocrisy of assuming a merely ‘formal’ constancy.
Andrew Bell
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199242344
- eISBN:
- 9780191714092
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199242344.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
This book's analysis of the power of prestige in civic communities of the ancient world demonstrates the importance of crowds' aesthetic and emotional judgement upon leaders and their ambitious ...
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This book's analysis of the power of prestige in civic communities of the ancient world demonstrates the importance of crowds' aesthetic and emotional judgement upon leaders and their ambitious claims for immediate and lasting significance; and also finds consideration of this dynamic still to be valuable for modern citizens. An initial discussion of the fall of Ceauşescu in 1989 prompts theoretical considerations about the inseparability of authority and its manifestation; and scrutiny of Julius Caesar's gestures towards self-definition introduces the complexity of ancient political relations. The simultaneous presence of both popular affection for wondrous and kingly individuals, and also egalitarian suspicion of it, is detected in classical Athens, where an Alcibiades needed to manoeuvre craftily to achieve obvious and ritual pre-eminence in associating himself with age-old and Homeric models of distinction. Accordingly, the arrival of Hellenistic kingliness, such as that of Demetrios Poliorcetes, upon the political stage was neither wholly innovative nor unattractive. Yet such kings quite clearly articulated a new and grandiose majesty, as can be seen in parades in Egypt and Syria. With the growth of Roman imperialism, these stylings of personal power needed to be adapted to new realities and models, just as Romans of the later Republic increasingly found much to admire and emulate in others' spectacles. Thus, the book comes back to the end of the Republic and to Cicero's struggles to maintain traditional, republican dignities in civic ceremony while a new Roman kingliness, thoroughly attentive to spectacular politics, was dawning.Less
This book's analysis of the power of prestige in civic communities of the ancient world demonstrates the importance of crowds' aesthetic and emotional judgement upon leaders and their ambitious claims for immediate and lasting significance; and also finds consideration of this dynamic still to be valuable for modern citizens. An initial discussion of the fall of Ceauşescu in 1989 prompts theoretical considerations about the inseparability of authority and its manifestation; and scrutiny of Julius Caesar's gestures towards self-definition introduces the complexity of ancient political relations. The simultaneous presence of both popular affection for wondrous and kingly individuals, and also egalitarian suspicion of it, is detected in classical Athens, where an Alcibiades needed to manoeuvre craftily to achieve obvious and ritual pre-eminence in associating himself with age-old and Homeric models of distinction. Accordingly, the arrival of Hellenistic kingliness, such as that of Demetrios Poliorcetes, upon the political stage was neither wholly innovative nor unattractive. Yet such kings quite clearly articulated a new and grandiose majesty, as can be seen in parades in Egypt and Syria. With the growth of Roman imperialism, these stylings of personal power needed to be adapted to new realities and models, just as Romans of the later Republic increasingly found much to admire and emulate in others' spectacles. Thus, the book comes back to the end of the Republic and to Cicero's struggles to maintain traditional, republican dignities in civic ceremony while a new Roman kingliness, thoroughly attentive to spectacular politics, was dawning.
Sacha Stern
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199589449
- eISBN:
- 9780191746178
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199589449.003.0005
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Asian and Middle Eastern History: BCE to 500CE
This chapter examines how fixed calendars rose in importance in the ancient world during the second half of the first millennium bce, largely as a result of the spread and adoption of the Egyptian ...
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This chapter examines how fixed calendars rose in importance in the ancient world during the second half of the first millennium bce, largely as a result of the spread and adoption of the Egyptian calendar or derivatives of it, and in the context of extensive empires. The early Achaemenid rulers appropriated it as one of their official imperial calendars, in the form of a Persian, later known as Zoroastrian, calendar. The Egyptian calendar was later disseminated by the Ptolemies in parts of their eastern Mediterranean empire, possibly leading to the creation of the 364-day Judaean calendar. Finally, the Egyptian calendar was used as a model for the institution in Rome of the Julian calendar. In this context, attention is given to the Roman calendar that preceded it, and to the reasons why Julius Caesar instituted a new calendar. It is generally argued that calendar change was not driven by ‘progress’, but rather by political and imperialist motivations.Less
This chapter examines how fixed calendars rose in importance in the ancient world during the second half of the first millennium bce, largely as a result of the spread and adoption of the Egyptian calendar or derivatives of it, and in the context of extensive empires. The early Achaemenid rulers appropriated it as one of their official imperial calendars, in the form of a Persian, later known as Zoroastrian, calendar. The Egyptian calendar was later disseminated by the Ptolemies in parts of their eastern Mediterranean empire, possibly leading to the creation of the 364-day Judaean calendar. Finally, the Egyptian calendar was used as a model for the institution in Rome of the Julian calendar. In this context, attention is given to the Roman calendar that preceded it, and to the reasons why Julius Caesar instituted a new calendar. It is generally argued that calendar change was not driven by ‘progress’, but rather by political and imperialist motivations.
Luciano Canfora
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748619368
- eISBN:
- 9780748670734
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748619368.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Classical
This book is a profile of an extraordinary man, and a new interpretation of one of the most controversial figures in history. Julius Caesar played a leading role in the politics and culture of a ...
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This book is a profile of an extraordinary man, and a new interpretation of one of the most controversial figures in history. Julius Caesar played a leading role in the politics and culture of a world empire, dwarfing his contemporaries in ambition, achievement, and appetite. For that, he has occupied a central place in the political imagination of Europe ever since. Yet he remains something of an enigma, struck down by his own lieutenants because he could be neither comprehended nor contained. In surviving evidence, he emerges as incommensurate and nonpareil, just beyond the horizons of contemporary political thought and understanding. The result of the author's many years of research is a portrait of the Roman dictator that combines the evidence of political history and psychology. The product of a comprehensive study of the ancient sources, it paints a detailed portrait of a complex personality whose mission of ‘Romanisation’ lies at the root of modern Europe.Less
This book is a profile of an extraordinary man, and a new interpretation of one of the most controversial figures in history. Julius Caesar played a leading role in the politics and culture of a world empire, dwarfing his contemporaries in ambition, achievement, and appetite. For that, he has occupied a central place in the political imagination of Europe ever since. Yet he remains something of an enigma, struck down by his own lieutenants because he could be neither comprehended nor contained. In surviving evidence, he emerges as incommensurate and nonpareil, just beyond the horizons of contemporary political thought and understanding. The result of the author's many years of research is a portrait of the Roman dictator that combines the evidence of political history and psychology. The product of a comprehensive study of the ancient sources, it paints a detailed portrait of a complex personality whose mission of ‘Romanisation’ lies at the root of modern Europe.
Jeffrey Green
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195372649
- eISBN:
- 9780199871711
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195372649.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This chapter revisits the overly maligned concept of plebiscitary democracy, reviewing its historical development, and arguing for its relevance as a present-day ethical paradigm. The chapter is ...
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This chapter revisits the overly maligned concept of plebiscitary democracy, reviewing its historical development, and arguing for its relevance as a present-day ethical paradigm. The chapter is organized as follows. Section 4.2 reviews the standard, purely pejorative interpretation of plebiscitary democracy that has arisen among contemporary political scientists: the understanding of plebiscitarianism as a politics of diremption. Against this reductive and negative interpretation of the meaning of plebiscitarianism, Section 4.3 returns to the theoretical origins of plebiscitarianism and recovers a forgotten, highly innovative, ethical component of plebiscitary democracy: namely, an ocular model of popular power whose basic features were introduced in Chapter 1. Finally, Section 4.4 turns to two of Shakespeare's Roman plays, Coriolanus and Julius Caesar, as concrete examples that illustrate the ocular model in action and that demonstrate the moral logic for wishing to revive a plebiscitarian alternative within contemporary democratic thought.Less
This chapter revisits the overly maligned concept of plebiscitary democracy, reviewing its historical development, and arguing for its relevance as a present-day ethical paradigm. The chapter is organized as follows. Section 4.2 reviews the standard, purely pejorative interpretation of plebiscitary democracy that has arisen among contemporary political scientists: the understanding of plebiscitarianism as a politics of diremption. Against this reductive and negative interpretation of the meaning of plebiscitarianism, Section 4.3 returns to the theoretical origins of plebiscitarianism and recovers a forgotten, highly innovative, ethical component of plebiscitary democracy: namely, an ocular model of popular power whose basic features were introduced in Chapter 1. Finally, Section 4.4 turns to two of Shakespeare's Roman plays, Coriolanus and Julius Caesar, as concrete examples that illustrate the ocular model in action and that demonstrate the moral logic for wishing to revive a plebiscitarian alternative within contemporary democratic thought.
Luciano Canfora and Julian Stringer (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748619368
- eISBN:
- 9780748670734
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748619368.003.0017
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Classical
Suetonius rejected all other explanations, including the one ‘frequently repeated’ by Pompey, that Caesar took the path to revolution because he could not complete what he had undertaken; that is, ...
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Suetonius rejected all other explanations, including the one ‘frequently repeated’ by Pompey, that Caesar took the path to revolution because he could not complete what he had undertaken; that is, finish the monuments and public works he had begun and satisfy the expectations he had aroused in the people. If Pompey really did say this it is clear that he understood nothing about his adversary's character. In reality, Pompey's remark was far less an attempt at analysis than a contemptuous judgement that reduced the figure of his opponent to the level of a party leader without prospects who was tormented by a pressing need for money, or rather, who was crushed by enterprises that were too great for him. This could describe ‘Catilinarian’ characters, and probably Clodius as well, but not an able career-builder like Caesar, who had derived an uncommon economic strength from the Gallic campaign. There is another explanation for Caesar's decision to face the risk of a breach: the ‘teleological’ image of a Caesar who from the outset of his career had one aim — a Caesar striving tirelessly to achieve ‘tyranny’.Less
Suetonius rejected all other explanations, including the one ‘frequently repeated’ by Pompey, that Caesar took the path to revolution because he could not complete what he had undertaken; that is, finish the monuments and public works he had begun and satisfy the expectations he had aroused in the people. If Pompey really did say this it is clear that he understood nothing about his adversary's character. In reality, Pompey's remark was far less an attempt at analysis than a contemptuous judgement that reduced the figure of his opponent to the level of a party leader without prospects who was tormented by a pressing need for money, or rather, who was crushed by enterprises that were too great for him. This could describe ‘Catilinarian’ characters, and probably Clodius as well, but not an able career-builder like Caesar, who had derived an uncommon economic strength from the Gallic campaign. There is another explanation for Caesar's decision to face the risk of a breach: the ‘teleological’ image of a Caesar who from the outset of his career had one aim — a Caesar striving tirelessly to achieve ‘tyranny’.
Luciano Canfora and Julian Stringer (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748619368
- eISBN:
- 9780748670734
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748619368.003.0022
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Classical
While Caesar was occupied with the difficult campaign in the Balkans, two episodes of particularly dramatic social unrest occurred in Rome; each ended in repression. The main player in the first was ...
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While Caesar was occupied with the difficult campaign in the Balkans, two episodes of particularly dramatic social unrest occurred in Rome; each ended in repression. The main player in the first was Marcus Caelius Rufus, one of the tribunes who in January 49 bc had found refuge with Caesar. Caelius Rufus had, on his return from the Spanish campaign against Afranius and Petreius, received the praetorship from Caesar for 48 bc, but not the urban praetorship, which Caesar entrusted to Trebonius. This humiliated Caelius and increased his sense of disillusionment. The second ‘sedition’ was that of Dolabella, on the eve of Pharsalus. Dolabella, a tribune of the plebs, took up the matter of the remission of debts, but the proposal was defeated by Antony, Caesar's magister equitum. Dolabella occupied the Forum with his followers to force the approval of his proposed law. The Senate did not hesitate to take extreme measures that had already been used on other occasions: they declared the senatus consultum ultimum, proclaimed the country in danger, and charged Antony (who held the highest authority in the absence of the dictator) with the task of suppressing the rebellion.Less
While Caesar was occupied with the difficult campaign in the Balkans, two episodes of particularly dramatic social unrest occurred in Rome; each ended in repression. The main player in the first was Marcus Caelius Rufus, one of the tribunes who in January 49 bc had found refuge with Caesar. Caelius Rufus had, on his return from the Spanish campaign against Afranius and Petreius, received the praetorship from Caesar for 48 bc, but not the urban praetorship, which Caesar entrusted to Trebonius. This humiliated Caelius and increased his sense of disillusionment. The second ‘sedition’ was that of Dolabella, on the eve of Pharsalus. Dolabella, a tribune of the plebs, took up the matter of the remission of debts, but the proposal was defeated by Antony, Caesar's magister equitum. Dolabella occupied the Forum with his followers to force the approval of his proposed law. The Senate did not hesitate to take extreme measures that had already been used on other occasions: they declared the senatus consultum ultimum, proclaimed the country in danger, and charged Antony (who held the highest authority in the absence of the dictator) with the task of suppressing the rebellion.
Damien Nelis
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199558681
- eISBN:
- 9780191720888
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199558681.003.0011
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
This chapter offers a study of some aspects of the structure of the first book of Vergil's Georgics. It attempts to explain the book's thematic coherence by looking at the ways in which the poet ...
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This chapter offers a study of some aspects of the structure of the first book of Vergil's Georgics. It attempts to explain the book's thematic coherence by looking at the ways in which the poet relates his description of the life and work of the Italian farmer to the movement of the solar year, to Roman history, and to contemporary politics. Particular attention is paid to the ways in which Vergil reacts to his predecessors in the didactic genre and to the ways in which he handles the themes of religion and knowledge and the role of the new divinity he refers to by the name ‘Caesar’. Study of the poem's intertextuality helps to illustrate his engagement with contemporary politics, civil strife and the Roman revolution.Less
This chapter offers a study of some aspects of the structure of the first book of Vergil's Georgics. It attempts to explain the book's thematic coherence by looking at the ways in which the poet relates his description of the life and work of the Italian farmer to the movement of the solar year, to Roman history, and to contemporary politics. Particular attention is paid to the ways in which Vergil reacts to his predecessors in the didactic genre and to the ways in which he handles the themes of religion and knowledge and the role of the new divinity he refers to by the name ‘Caesar’. Study of the poem's intertextuality helps to illustrate his engagement with contemporary politics, civil strife and the Roman revolution.
Nicholas Royle
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748632954
- eISBN:
- 9780748671625
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748632954.003.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, Criticism/Theory
This chapter presents a discussion on Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar provides the idea that the time of today is the time of murder. Shakespeare's Hamlet has a decisive role in Jacques Derrida's ...
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This chapter presents a discussion on Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar provides the idea that the time of today is the time of murder. Shakespeare's Hamlet has a decisive role in Jacques Derrida's thinking in the exposition of the democracy to come. Julius Caesar is a sort of sister-play to Hamlet in its out of jointedness by the clock. Shakespearean anachronism recruits its own ghostly ‘to come’, submitting to the incalculable and ‘unknown’. Julius Caesar appears to recruit a thinking of ‘theatrical derangement’ in terms of what might be called the iteraphonic. It is an inexhaustibly rich text for any attempt to think about the nature and politics of friendship. The Latin phrase in Julius Caesar looks to circle around and back on itself, a sort of palindrome in the ear (et tu . . . rb . . . ut te), petering out, interrupted.Less
This chapter presents a discussion on Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar provides the idea that the time of today is the time of murder. Shakespeare's Hamlet has a decisive role in Jacques Derrida's thinking in the exposition of the democracy to come. Julius Caesar is a sort of sister-play to Hamlet in its out of jointedness by the clock. Shakespearean anachronism recruits its own ghostly ‘to come’, submitting to the incalculable and ‘unknown’. Julius Caesar appears to recruit a thinking of ‘theatrical derangement’ in terms of what might be called the iteraphonic. It is an inexhaustibly rich text for any attempt to think about the nature and politics of friendship. The Latin phrase in Julius Caesar looks to circle around and back on itself, a sort of palindrome in the ear (et tu . . . rb . . . ut te), petering out, interrupted.
Luciano Canfora and Julian Stringer (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748619368
- eISBN:
- 9780748670734
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748619368.003.0038
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Classical
Suetonius, who is well informed about reports of warnings reaching Caesar before the conspiracy, wonders whether Caesar actually wanted to die, given that exhaustion had led to physical decline — a ...
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Suetonius, who is well informed about reports of warnings reaching Caesar before the conspiracy, wonders whether Caesar actually wanted to die, given that exhaustion had led to physical decline — a question which, he says, has already been explored by others. Suetonius also records the view that Caesar felt safer after the senators had sworn to protect him, and therefore made the mistake — which made possible his murder — of dismissing his bodyguard. A third opinion, which Suetonius duly records, is actually very close to the theory of those who said ‘he wanted to die’: this view held that he preferred to confront those perils, once and for all, rather than live constantly in fear of them. It is probable that each one of these suggestions captures part of the truth and helps to understand Caesar's baffling decision to dismiss his armed escort.Less
Suetonius, who is well informed about reports of warnings reaching Caesar before the conspiracy, wonders whether Caesar actually wanted to die, given that exhaustion had led to physical decline — a question which, he says, has already been explored by others. Suetonius also records the view that Caesar felt safer after the senators had sworn to protect him, and therefore made the mistake — which made possible his murder — of dismissing his bodyguard. A third opinion, which Suetonius duly records, is actually very close to the theory of those who said ‘he wanted to die’: this view held that he preferred to confront those perils, once and for all, rather than live constantly in fear of them. It is probable that each one of these suggestions captures part of the truth and helps to understand Caesar's baffling decision to dismiss his armed escort.
Andrew Bell
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199242344
- eISBN:
- 9780191714092
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199242344.003.0002
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
This chapter shows that Julius Caesar, in gesturing to impress, reveals the fluidity of assumptions governing political life in Rome. His complex styles of self-definition correlate with the mixed ...
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This chapter shows that Julius Caesar, in gesturing to impress, reveals the fluidity of assumptions governing political life in Rome. His complex styles of self-definition correlate with the mixed nature of the Roman polity, in which elements of both demotic populism and kingliness are to be found in his more spectacular behaviour.Less
This chapter shows that Julius Caesar, in gesturing to impress, reveals the fluidity of assumptions governing political life in Rome. His complex styles of self-definition correlate with the mixed nature of the Roman polity, in which elements of both demotic populism and kingliness are to be found in his more spectacular behaviour.
Luciano Canfora and Julian Stringer (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748619368
- eISBN:
- 9780748670734
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748619368.003.0040
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Classical
Antony had been detained by Trebonius outside Pompey's Curia while Caesar's assassination was taking place inside. According to Cicero, some months earlier, while Caesar was in difficulty in Spain, ...
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Antony had been detained by Trebonius outside Pompey's Curia while Caesar's assassination was taking place inside. According to Cicero, some months earlier, while Caesar was in difficulty in Spain, Trebonius had been in contact with Antony — a fact that was potentially embarrassing to both parties, and for this reason Trebonius now had the task of keeping Antony away from the scene. To enter upon the minefield of conjecture would be futile, but it is very difficult to imagine a politician and man of action as experienced and circumspect as Antony suspecting nothing at all: it was far from normal for him to be stopped on some pretext on his way into the Senate, least of all on a day of great tension when Caesar himself, usually so contemptuous of superstition, had seemed reluctant to enter the Senate.Less
Antony had been detained by Trebonius outside Pompey's Curia while Caesar's assassination was taking place inside. According to Cicero, some months earlier, while Caesar was in difficulty in Spain, Trebonius had been in contact with Antony — a fact that was potentially embarrassing to both parties, and for this reason Trebonius now had the task of keeping Antony away from the scene. To enter upon the minefield of conjecture would be futile, but it is very difficult to imagine a politician and man of action as experienced and circumspect as Antony suspecting nothing at all: it was far from normal for him to be stopped on some pretext on his way into the Senate, least of all on a day of great tension when Caesar himself, usually so contemptuous of superstition, had seemed reluctant to enter the Senate.
Luciano Canfora and Julian Stringer (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748619368
- eISBN:
- 9780748670734
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748619368.003.0004
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Classical
The démarche that led to the surprise capture of the office of pontifex maximus (high priest) in 63 bc was one of Caesar's most successful. Thanks to his efforts, the pontificate had again become an ...
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The démarche that led to the surprise capture of the office of pontifex maximus (high priest) in 63 bc was one of Caesar's most successful. Thanks to his efforts, the pontificate had again become an elected office — another blow against Sulla's constitutional reforms. This sacred office carried with it immense importance in Roman politics. Caesar, a sceptic ever close to the Epicureans in his beliefs, clearly did not hesitate for an instant to compete for the role of supreme guardian of the religion of the state, a post that by its nature stood above everyday political squabbles.Less
The démarche that led to the surprise capture of the office of pontifex maximus (high priest) in 63 bc was one of Caesar's most successful. Thanks to his efforts, the pontificate had again become an elected office — another blow against Sulla's constitutional reforms. This sacred office carried with it immense importance in Roman politics. Caesar, a sceptic ever close to the Epicureans in his beliefs, clearly did not hesitate for an instant to compete for the role of supreme guardian of the religion of the state, a post that by its nature stood above everyday political squabbles.
Kurt A. Raaflaub
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195389579
- eISBN:
- 9780199866496
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195389579.003.0010
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter looks at Caesar's strategy, in the aftermath of civil war, to restore the res publica, to recreate community, a strategy most clearly visible in his Bellum Civile. Raaflaub connects ...
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This chapter looks at Caesar's strategy, in the aftermath of civil war, to restore the res publica, to recreate community, a strategy most clearly visible in his Bellum Civile. Raaflaub connects Caesar's apologia for civil war—that his aims were beneficial to all and his intention was to offer the “grand coalition of good citizens and true Romans” a recourse against the selfish inaction of the faction that opposed him and blocked changes to the status quo—with Caesar's earlier attempts at coalition‐building, but then shows that Caesar's policy failed to win adherents, so that even he despaired of it.Less
This chapter looks at Caesar's strategy, in the aftermath of civil war, to restore the res publica, to recreate community, a strategy most clearly visible in his Bellum Civile. Raaflaub connects Caesar's apologia for civil war—that his aims were beneficial to all and his intention was to offer the “grand coalition of good citizens and true Romans” a recourse against the selfish inaction of the faction that opposed him and blocked changes to the status quo—with Caesar's earlier attempts at coalition‐building, but then shows that Caesar's policy failed to win adherents, so that even he despaired of it.
Luciano Canfora and Julian Stringer (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748619368
- eISBN:
- 9780748670734
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748619368.003.0014
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Classical
When he departed for Gaul in the spring of 58 bc, Caesar had a clear idea of the movements of the peoples and their tensions; in particular, the German pressure on Gaul. He conceived a long-term ...
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When he departed for Gaul in the spring of 58 bc, Caesar had a clear idea of the movements of the peoples and their tensions; in particular, the German pressure on Gaul. He conceived a long-term strategic plan using up-to-date ethnographic knowledge to which he himself contributed with his Commentaries. This is but one example of the way he combined scientific study with imperialism. The Gallic campaign was conducted on two levels: Caesar's own favourable assessment of sometimes dubious victories; and the reality of an extremely difficult war with an outcome that was uncertain, given the threat constantly posed by the fiercely independent Celtic tribes. The dichotomy (especially in the first two years, 58–57 bc) shows clearly in the disparity between the political and military position and the reactions in Rome to Caesar's skilled reporting of them.Less
When he departed for Gaul in the spring of 58 bc, Caesar had a clear idea of the movements of the peoples and their tensions; in particular, the German pressure on Gaul. He conceived a long-term strategic plan using up-to-date ethnographic knowledge to which he himself contributed with his Commentaries. This is but one example of the way he combined scientific study with imperialism. The Gallic campaign was conducted on two levels: Caesar's own favourable assessment of sometimes dubious victories; and the reality of an extremely difficult war with an outcome that was uncertain, given the threat constantly posed by the fiercely independent Celtic tribes. The dichotomy (especially in the first two years, 58–57 bc) shows clearly in the disparity between the political and military position and the reactions in Rome to Caesar's skilled reporting of them.
Luciano Canfora and Julian Stringer (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748619368
- eISBN:
- 9780748670734
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748619368.003.0023
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Classical
When Caesar reached Alexandria on 2 October 48 bc, he certainly did not expect to be greeted by the embalmed head of Pompey, but even less did he expect to be bogged down for all of nine months in a ...
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When Caesar reached Alexandria on 2 October 48 bc, he certainly did not expect to be greeted by the embalmed head of Pompey, but even less did he expect to be bogged down for all of nine months in a local conflict that almost cost him his life, until 28 June 47 bc, when he finally sailed from Alexandria for Syria. Suetonius writes that in that lengthy period Caesar found himself fighting a war in truth of great difficulty, convenient neither in time or place, but carried on during the winter season, within the walls of a well-provisioned and crafty foeman, while Caesar himself was without supplies of any kind and ill-prepared. The background to the Egyptian dynastic crisis in which Caesar became entangled in the middle of the civil war was the operation managed by Pompey, but also supported by Caesar, which, thanks to the ‘protection’ of Aulus Gabinius, had restored Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos, popularly known as Auletes, on the throne in 55 bc.Less
When Caesar reached Alexandria on 2 October 48 bc, he certainly did not expect to be greeted by the embalmed head of Pompey, but even less did he expect to be bogged down for all of nine months in a local conflict that almost cost him his life, until 28 June 47 bc, when he finally sailed from Alexandria for Syria. Suetonius writes that in that lengthy period Caesar found himself fighting a war in truth of great difficulty, convenient neither in time or place, but carried on during the winter season, within the walls of a well-provisioned and crafty foeman, while Caesar himself was without supplies of any kind and ill-prepared. The background to the Egyptian dynastic crisis in which Caesar became entangled in the middle of the civil war was the operation managed by Pompey, but also supported by Caesar, which, thanks to the ‘protection’ of Aulus Gabinius, had restored Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos, popularly known as Auletes, on the throne in 55 bc.
Luciano Canfora and Julian Stringer (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748619368
- eISBN:
- 9780748670734
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748619368.003.0025
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Classical
The Alexandrian war enabled Caesar to add an important element to his clientele: Egypt, which for a long time had been feudally subject to Pompey and his associates. Now, however, all his efforts ...
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The Alexandrian war enabled Caesar to add an important element to his clientele: Egypt, which for a long time had been feudally subject to Pompey and his associates. Now, however, all his efforts were directed towards the rearrangement of the eastern clientele, disrupted by the death of Pompey. From Syria to Pontus this was Caesar's priority, despite urgent calls for him to return to Rome, and although he knew that Cato was reassembling the remaining Pompeian forces in Africa. The confirmation of this is in the fact that, once Alexandria was dominated, Caesar did not march against Juba but towards Syria. Caesar consolidated the old and new Syrian and Palestinian clienteles and put the entire region in order for a campaign against the Parthians.Less
The Alexandrian war enabled Caesar to add an important element to his clientele: Egypt, which for a long time had been feudally subject to Pompey and his associates. Now, however, all his efforts were directed towards the rearrangement of the eastern clientele, disrupted by the death of Pompey. From Syria to Pontus this was Caesar's priority, despite urgent calls for him to return to Rome, and although he knew that Cato was reassembling the remaining Pompeian forces in Africa. The confirmation of this is in the fact that, once Alexandria was dominated, Caesar did not march against Juba but towards Syria. Caesar consolidated the old and new Syrian and Palestinian clienteles and put the entire region in order for a campaign against the Parthians.
Christopher Tilmouth
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199212378
- eISBN:
- 9780191707254
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199212378.003.0005
- Subject:
- Literature, 17th-century and Restoration Literature
This chapter examines three factors which resist the rationalism of Elizabethan moral philosophy. The first is the human penchant for self-delusion, a theme which is explored in Montaigne's Essays, ...
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This chapter examines three factors which resist the rationalism of Elizabethan moral philosophy. The first is the human penchant for self-delusion, a theme which is explored in Montaigne's Essays, and via Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. In the latter, Brutus represents Caesar's assassination to himself as a rational imperative, the logical demand of Roman republicanism; yet Brutus is overcome by guilt and doubt about his own motives after the fact. The chapter also considers the ungovernable nature of sexual passion, reason's aspirations to hegemony within the soul notwithstanding. Here, the focal text is Chapman's Bussy D'Ambois, in which the lead characters quickly become slaves to the erotic demands of body and blood. Finally, this chapter also charts the relentless power of self-interest in distorting reason's otherwise moral and upright thought processes. This is the dominant concern in Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida, a work which in various respects anticipates Hobbes's philosophy.Less
This chapter examines three factors which resist the rationalism of Elizabethan moral philosophy. The first is the human penchant for self-delusion, a theme which is explored in Montaigne's Essays, and via Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. In the latter, Brutus represents Caesar's assassination to himself as a rational imperative, the logical demand of Roman republicanism; yet Brutus is overcome by guilt and doubt about his own motives after the fact. The chapter also considers the ungovernable nature of sexual passion, reason's aspirations to hegemony within the soul notwithstanding. Here, the focal text is Chapman's Bussy D'Ambois, in which the lead characters quickly become slaves to the erotic demands of body and blood. Finally, this chapter also charts the relentless power of self-interest in distorting reason's otherwise moral and upright thought processes. This is the dominant concern in Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida, a work which in various respects anticipates Hobbes's philosophy.
Luciano Canfora and Julian Stringer (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748619368
- eISBN:
- 9780748670734
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748619368.003.0021
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Classical
In the light of the total defeat and flight of the enemy commanders, Caesar quickly resolved that his first priority must be to pursue Pompey. There has been much discussion of this decision, which ...
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In the light of the total defeat and flight of the enemy commanders, Caesar quickly resolved that his first priority must be to pursue Pompey. There has been much discussion of this decision, which led Caesar into the near death-trap of Alexandria. Napoleon castigates Caesar, his main charge being that, ‘immediately after Pharsalus Caesar proceeded at once to the African coast to forestall Cato and Scipio’. Caesar's hot pursuit of Pompey as he fled to Egypt, as impetuous as it was rash, once again had a political reason. Caesar could certainly not have foreseen that Pompey would be murdered by his own client, Ptolemy. His intention was to seize the defeated Pompey before the latter could reform his scattered troops and his entourage. Caesar was attempting, from a position of strength following a victorious battle, to bring about a favourable new political order and to put an end to the ongoing conflict and Cato's determined opposition.Less
In the light of the total defeat and flight of the enemy commanders, Caesar quickly resolved that his first priority must be to pursue Pompey. There has been much discussion of this decision, which led Caesar into the near death-trap of Alexandria. Napoleon castigates Caesar, his main charge being that, ‘immediately after Pharsalus Caesar proceeded at once to the African coast to forestall Cato and Scipio’. Caesar's hot pursuit of Pompey as he fled to Egypt, as impetuous as it was rash, once again had a political reason. Caesar could certainly not have foreseen that Pompey would be murdered by his own client, Ptolemy. His intention was to seize the defeated Pompey before the latter could reform his scattered troops and his entourage. Caesar was attempting, from a position of strength following a victorious battle, to bring about a favourable new political order and to put an end to the ongoing conflict and Cato's determined opposition.
Luciano Canfora and Julian Stringer (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748619368
- eISBN:
- 9780748670734
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748619368.003.0035
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Classical
Plutarch presents the reconciliation of Brutus and Cassius in his Life of Brutus. Cassius is driven to make peace by one politically decisive consideration: everyone he approaches with the proposal ...
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Plutarch presents the reconciliation of Brutus and Cassius in his Life of Brutus. Cassius is driven to make peace by one politically decisive consideration: everyone he approaches with the proposal of a violent attempt to eliminate Caesar replies that he would be party to it only if Brutus were to take the lead. Should Brutus refuse, then any such enterprise must be considered a failure, precisely because Brutus had rejected it. This is why Cassius decided to restore the contact with Brutus that had been broken off when he found himself competing with him for the praetorship.Less
Plutarch presents the reconciliation of Brutus and Cassius in his Life of Brutus. Cassius is driven to make peace by one politically decisive consideration: everyone he approaches with the proposal of a violent attempt to eliminate Caesar replies that he would be party to it only if Brutus were to take the lead. Should Brutus refuse, then any such enterprise must be considered a failure, precisely because Brutus had rejected it. This is why Cassius decided to restore the contact with Brutus that had been broken off when he found himself competing with him for the praetorship.
