Synopses & Reviews
In both the ancient and modern world, few historical figures are more recognizable – or more controversial – than Julius Caesar. After ancient Rome was plunged into civil war, Caesar emerged to become the undisputed master of the Roman world. Indeed, his subsequent assassination in 44 BC marked one of the great turning points in world history as Rome made its epochal transition from republic to empire.
A Companion to Julius Caesar examines the great man – and great polarizing figure – from a variety of illuminating perspectives: military genius, ruthless tyrant, brilliant politician, first class orator, sophisticated man of letters, and more. Essays by leading scholars in classics, ancient history and art, modern history, and European literature approach Caesar from many viewpoints, including that of his contemporaries, and explore how Caesar has been portrayed by artists, writers, and poets from antiquity to the present day. Lively, engaging, and comprehensive in scope, this Companion is one of the richest and most vivid portraits of Julius Caesar available today – a triumphant addition to classical scholarship.
Synopsis
A Companion to Julius Caesar comprises 30 essays from leading scholars examining the life and after life of this great polarizing figure.
- Explores Caesar from a variety of perspectives: military genius, ruthless tyrant, brilliant politician, first class orator, sophisticated man of letters, and more
- Utilizes Caesar’s own extant writings
- Examines the viewpoints of Caesar’s contemporaries and explores Caesar’s portrayals by artists and writers through the ages
About the Author
Miriam Griffin is Emeritus Fellow of Classics at Oxford University. She is the author of numerous books and articles on Roman history and philosophy, including Nero (1987), Seneca: A Philosopher in Politics (1992), and Philosophia togata I & II (with Jonathan Barnes, 1991 & 1997). She was until recently editor of the Classical Quarterly.
Table of Contents
List of Figures viiiNotes on Contributors x
Preface xvi
Reference Works: Abbreviated Titles xviii
1 Introduction 1
Part I Biography: Narrative 9
2 From the Iulii to Caesar 11
Ernst Badian
3 Caesar as a Politician 23
Erich S. Gruen
4 The Proconsular Years: Politics at a Distance 37
John T. Ramsey
5 The Dictator 57
Jane F. Gardner
6 The Assassination 72
Andrew Lintott
Part II Biography: Themes 83
7 General and Imperialist 85
Nathan Rosenstein
8 Caesar and Religion 100
David Wardle
9 Friends, Associates, and Wives 112
Catherine Steel
10 Caesar the Man 126
Jeremy Paterson
11 Caesar as an Intellectual 141
Elaine Fantham
Part III Caesar’s Extant Writings 157
12 Bellum Gallicum 159
Christina S. Kraus
13 Bellum Civile 175
Kurt Raaflaub
14 The Continuators: Soldiering On 192
Ronald Cluett
Part IV Caesar’s Reputation at Rome 207
15 Caesar’s Political and Military Legacy to the Roman Emperors 209
Barbara Levick
16 Augustan and Tiberian Literature 224
Mark Toher
17 Neronian Literature: Seneca and Lucan 239
Matthew Leigh
18 The First Biographers: Plutarch and Suetonius 252
Christopher Pelling
19 The Roman Historians after Livy 267
Luke Pitcher
20 The First Emperor: The View of Late Antiquity 277
Timothy Barnes
21 The Irritating Statues and Contradictory Portraits of Julius Caesar 288
Paul Zanker
Part V Caesar’s Place in History 315
22 The Middle Ages 317
Almut Suerbaum
23 Empire, Eloquence, and Military Genius: Renaissance Italy 335
Martin McLaughlin
24 Some Renaissance Caesars 356
Carol Clark
25 Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar and the Dramatic Tradition 371
Julia Griffin
26 The Enlightenment 399
Thomas Biskup
27 Caesar and the Two Napoleons 410
Claude Nicolet
28 Republicanism, Caesarism, and Political Change 418
Nicholas Cole
29 Caesar for Communists and Fascists 431
Luciano Canfora
30 A Twenty-First-Century Caesar 441
Maria Wyke
Bibliography 456
Index 492