Julius Caesar : References
From History of the Hellenistic and Roman World
Bibliography
Plutarch, "Life of Caesar", translated by John Dryden.
Plutarch, who had access to sources now lost, wrote his biography of Caesar as a counterpoint to the one about Alexander the Great. All quotes in this document are taken from John Dryden's translation of the text found at the Internet Classic Archive Other biographies also stored there are the biographies of Marcus Tullius Cicero, Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, Marcus Licinius Crassus, Marcus Porcius Cato Uticensis, Marcus Junius Brutus and Marcus Antonius.
Suetonious, "The Twelve Caesars"
In charge of the imperial archives, Suetonius probably had access to more information than any other biographer of Caesar. Suetonius is highly critical of his sources (among other things, casting serious doubt on the rumored "You too, my son" supposedly said to Brutus). As a roman, (even after 150 years of Empire), Suetonius is also highly critical of the concept of absolute power and the ambitions leading to such.
Gaius Julius Caesar, "War Commentaries of Caesar", translated by Rex Warner.
Most fascinating of all the works about Caesar, are his own writings about the Gallic and Civil Wars. Opinions vary on the historical accuracy of these texts; personally I tend to think that Caesar, as far as possible, attempts to be accurate - his enemies would surely have seized upon and condemned any attempts at exaggeration that they could. There is however no doubt that it is inaccurate on some points; Pollio is reported as saying that Caesar wished to revise them in order to correct these inaccuracies. Parts of these texts are also available at the Internet Classic Archive.
Marcus Tullius Cicero's speeches and correspondence.
Cicero's speeches and correspondence provide fascinating insight into the political life of Rome in the late Republic. Of 106 speeches known to be written and held by Cicero, 58 are preserved today, together with over 1000 letters of his private correspondence both to and from Cicero; a few of them from Caesar. Unfortunately a few letters known to reflect less well on Caesar were censored when these were discovered during the reign of the emperor Nero.
Sallust, "Jugurthine War / Conspiracy of Cataline", translated by S. A. Handford. Penguin Books, 1980 edition.
Sallust was a supporter of Caesar, left in charge of Africa Proconsularis after Thapsus. Though he prefers the dramatic to the purely historical, he is one of the chief sources about events during the Catiline conspiracy. He is also thought to be the author of some letters to Caesar, suggesting a number of reforms.
Peter Ørsted, "Gajus Julius Caesar - Politik og Moral i det Romerske Imperium", Gyldendal, 1994.
A look on the life, character and career of Julius Caesar, together with an analysis of roman political life of the late republic. Much of my opinion of Caesar is derived from reading this work.
Peter Ørsted, "Romerne", Gyldendal, 1989.
Another of Peter Ørsted's books, giving a general look at the romans in general.
Carl Grimberg, "Grimbergs verdenshistorie", Politikens Forlag, 1974.
Grimberg's History of the World (fifth volume) dedicates a large part of his work to an examination of the relationship between Crassus, Pompeius and Caesar.
Rudolph H. Storch, "Relative Deprivation and the Ides of March: motive for murder", Ancient Historical Bulletin, Volume 9.1, 1995.
An alternative and interesting look at the motives for Caesar's murder. Available from The Ancient History Bulletin, vol. 9.
J. A. Crook et al., "The Cambridge Ancient History, Volume IX: The Last Age of the Roman Republic, 146-43 B.C., (First and Second Editions)", Cambridge University Press.
The Cambridge Ancient History naturally discusses the events of the civil wars in detail. Invaluable reading.
Erich S. Gruen, "The Last Generation of the Roman Republic".
The conventional view of the late Republic has long been one of decline, decay, and corruption. Gruen challenges this view very effectively. A vital book for understanding the end of the Republic.
Web Links on Julius Caesar
Caius Julius Caesar by Jona Lendering
This illustrated article about Gaius Julius Caesar contains a biography and compares the views of the historians Mommsen and Syme. Also check out the rest of this excellent site.
Julius Caesar : The Last Dictator by Suzanne Cross
Another excellent and well-illustrated site about Julius Caesar, including many great pictures, detailed descriptions of battles, mini-bios of many of the other great men of his era, etc. Well worth a visit.
Gaius Julius Caesar (100 - 44 v. Christus) by Christian Ilaender
A german page with a biography of Caesar. Also contains biographies of Hannibal, Alexander the Great and others by the same author.
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
In his much renowned play, Shakespeare builds on the biographies of Plutarch to dramatize the assasination of Caesar and its aftermath and recast them in a moral format suitable for the England of his times. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare are available on the Internet.
Author's Note
I got the idea of writing up this biography in June of 1997, after having searched the WWW for information of Julius Caesar, and finding nothing but references to Shakespeare, some ridiculous "essays" about Caesar, and the german page given in the list of links. Considering this to be an unsatisfactory state of affairs, and having just read Peter Ørsted's excellent book about Caesar, I decided to do something about it. The text of the original article was written in two weeks, and is essentially the same as the one published on these pages today. Later on I discovered Jone Lendering's biography of Caesar, but by then I had already published these pages.
Due to the nature of our sources, Caesar and his character can - and are - judged in many different ways by different authors. I am well aware of the varying opinions and controversies about his character and motivations. These pages reflect the personal beliefs and opinions I had on this subject back in 1997, as shaped by the literature I've read. They have changed since then, albeit not by much. I do not claim that the opinions stated here are the truth - bear this in mind before sending me emails disagreeing with my opinions. The historical facts cited are, to the best of my knowledge correct, and in agreement with current historical data - if any are in error, I'd like to know - but do not send me e-mails stating that such and such is incorrect if you can not corrobrate it with factual references.
Feedback, suggestions, errata etc can be sent via the feedback page
The following are the appropriate citation details of this article:
Michael O. Akinde, Gaius Julius Caesar (100-44), June, 1997. Available [Online]: < http://www.fenrir.dk/history/index.php?title=Gaius_Julius_Caesar >. Retrieved [Retrieval Data].
