Ancient Rome

Pitcher with trefoil mouth and handles

Roman, 1st to 5th century A.D.

glass

Julius Caesar

Andrea di Pietro di Marco Ferrucci Italian

ca. 1512–14

HISTORY MEME — SOME OF MY FAVORITE MALE HISTORICAL FIGURES, 6/∞

GAIUS JULIUS CAESAR (100 BCE-44 BCE)

portrayed by Ciarán Hinds in HBO’s Rome (2005)

During his dictatorship Caesar held supreme power and had generally governed well, bringing in measures that were sensible and statesmanlike and for the good of Rome. Previously the Republic had been dominated by a narrow senatorial elite, whose members all too often abused their position to enrich themselves by exploiting poorer Romans and the inhabitants of the provinces alike. Caesar took action to deal with problems that had been acknowledged as real and serious for some time, but which had not been resolved because of a reluctance to let any individual senator gain the credit for the act. The Republican system was pretty rotten and had been troubled by violence from before Caesar's birth, and civil war from early in his life. He won supreme power by military force, and we know that he employed bribery and intimidation at other stages in his career. His opponents were no different in their methods and were as willing to fight a civil war to destroy Caesar's position as he was to defend it, but that is only to say that he was no better or worse than they were. After his victory he ruled in a very responsible manner and in marked contrast to the senatorial aristocracy-his measures were designed to benefit a much broader section of society. His regime was not repressive and he pardoned and promoted many former enemies. Rome, Italy and the provinces were all better off under Caesar than they had been for some time. Yet if he governed responsibly, his rule also effectively meant the end to free elections, and however just his rule was, in the end monarchy would lead to emperors like Caligula and Nero.

— 𝑮𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒖𝒎.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

Temple of Augustus, Pula, Croatia. One of the two most complete Roman monuments outside of Italy.