I just found out that this is an actual death mask of Julius Caesar; I do not know how reliable this is, but I`m glad to be able to peer on his authentic likeness (rather than mythic likeness), perhaps. When you study, say John Kennedy, you have the benefit of gazing at photographs and film footage, and are able to comprehend who this man really was. You are not afforded this same opportunity with Julius Caesar, since he flourished in the first century BCE, before the camera obscura. I have finally finished "Caesar" by Adrian Goldsworthy, and have been reading on it for well over a year. I like to digest little pieces of it at time, and contemplate the state-of-affairs in say, Caesar`s campaigns in Gaul, the Civil Wars, his consolidation of power, then finally his demise. The issues at stake are great, and my understanding of these issues are tantamount to my command of Roman history. For Caesar thrived in a time that was on the virtual fulcrum of history, when the Republic of Rome was compromised and the dictatorships of the Julio-Claudian line began. Also, Caesar predates by about 100 years the establishment of a little cult known as Christianity, that started to grow in the Holy land and Asia Minor, primarily as a result of the mission of Saint Paul. Caesar was stabbed to death `neath the statue of Pompeii-indeed an irony-and after, unknowingly, a new era was initiated. I see this as the very center of history; yes Dante was correct in his ripe-medieval assessment of the Western cosmology presented in the Inferno. It is very significant that Adrian Goldsworthy has published this biography in 2006; I never had access to a work like this when I was studying (1970s) Roman history zealously. Please read this review of his book here. Yes, I know that there is not enough time to dwell on Caesar now, since it is the holdays, but I`ve come to believe that Caesar is the most important figure in history, save John F. Kennedy and Jesus Christ himself (just funning a little)! Caesar himself took Alexander the Great that seriously, and visited his tomb when he floundered with Cleopatra in Alexander. I saw this on the movie "Cleopatra" with Liz Taylor as the queen, so I will have to check the facts on this. I have been dwelling on this movie because I desire visual images that will put a face on these apocraphal events and people. Goldsworthy argues for the many possible takes on her visage; hey, she may have been somewhat ugly, but I will think of her likeness as the ravishing Elizabeth Taylor. That`s one of those mirages that you just have to live with. I found this great web page that summarizes Julius Caesar`s life very simply; you then can read Goldsworthy with better control over the facts. He dissects all the battles with a surgeon`s tool, and the maps of the battles are wonderful (to the left the Battle against Ariovistus in the First Campaign in Gaul-58 BC).
I always like to look at maps of the ancient world while I am studying, and could stand to pick up a good atlas of the ancient world. A moment ago I was reviewing the career of Sulla, because I come to believe that Caesar had him mind when he made many strategic decisions of warfare, so I read about Sulla on this web page, then I went to Goldsworthy and reviewed a bit of Caesar`s early career. Sulla colored Caesar`s thinking during the Civil War, and I suspect that Caesar used restraint and mercy on the various civil populations during the Civil Wars for the very reason that Sulla had been so cruel in the Social Wars. Caesar was able to harness more political power by being merciful, and he was able to conquer Gaul in a similar way by alliegences with the various tribes. Napoleon meditated on the Commentaries while exiled on Alba, and saw the precision in Caesar`s campaigns and writings. Shakespeare was wrong when he wrote the lines for Marc Anthony 'ambition should be made of sterner stuff'. After Caesar`s death no one knew what to think of him, as to whether he had left a good or bad impression on Rome, and this befuddlement continued throughout history, as some saw him as good but some as bad. I see myself as a groupie of sorts, a zealous gatherer of Caesar ephemera, maybe just as frothy fans collect everything on Elvis, The Beatles, or the Kennedys. I have stood on the very spot where Caesar was allegedly stabbed by an array of conspirators. I have already collected many movies, books, images, & web sites on Caesar, and only for one purpose: if I can understand his place in history, then much of everything else will fall in place. He is that important.
No comments:
Post a Comment