Always I Am Caesar

by W. Jeffrey Tatum (Florida State University)

• ISBN13: 9780470695883
• ISBN10: 0470695889
• Format: eBook
• Copyright: 2008-04-01
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

There are few episodes in world history that can truly be labeled epoch-making - but Rome's shift from republic to empire was certainly one of them. It happened after ancient Rome was plunged into civil war and Gaius Julius Caesar emerged victorious. Military genius, tyrant, brilliant politician, first class orator, sophisticated man of letters - Caesar was all of these and more. But above all, he was the catalyst of a great upheaval that was considered Rome's ultimate destiny. Always I Am Caesar is a vivid portrait of Caesar's life and times. The text goes well beyond the biographical details of his life, however, and examines his career through a variety of perspectives - from military conquests and political victories to his relationships with women and elevation to godlike status. Looking at Caesar in the context of Roman society provides us with a richer portrait of the man whose name has become synonymous with the Roman Empire itself. Accessible to all, Always I Am Caesar is a lively and engaging window into the life and times of ancient Rome during its transition from republic to empire.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations

Maps

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Caesar the Politician: Power and the People in Republican Rome

Conquests and Glories, Triumphs and Spoils: Caesar and the Ideology of Roman Imperialism

Pontifex Maximus: Caesar and the Manipulation of Civic Religion

The Stones of Rome: Caesar and the Sociology of Roman Public Building

My True and Honourable Wife: Cornelia and Pompeia, Calpurnia and Cleopatra

Great Men and Impersonal Groundswells: The Civil War

Great Caesar Fell: Philosophy, Politics and Assassination

The Evil that Men Do: Caesar and Augustus

Important Dates

Bibliography

Index

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.