Life of Caesar (Plutarch)
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| Life of Caesar | |
|---|---|
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| Author | Plutarch |
| Original Title | Καῖσαρ |
| Work | Lives |
| Subject | Gaius Julius Caesar |
| Paired Biography | Life of Alexander |
| Original Language | Ancient Greek |
| Languages | Ancient Greek and English |
| Original Source Projects | Original Source: Plutarch - Lives - Caesar Original Source: Plutarch - Lives - Alexander |
| Text | Polytonic Greek text with parallel English translation |
The Life of Caesar is an ancient Greek biography of Gaius Julius Caesar written by the Greek historian and biographer Plutarch of Chaeronea. It forms part of Plutarch's Parallel Lives, a collection of paired biographies comparing distinguished Greek and Roman historical figures. The Life of Caesar is paired with Plutarch's Life of Alexander, which examines the career of Alexander the Great.
The biography recounts Caesar's rise from a young Roman aristocrat to the dominant political and military figure of the Roman Republic, including his struggles under Lucius Cornelius Sulla, his capture by pirates, his political alliances, the conquest of Gaul, the civil war against Pompey, his dictatorship and his assassination on March 15, 44 BC.
The work is particularly important for its portrayal of Caesar's personality, ambitions, political relationships and leadership. Plutarch deliberately approaches his subject as a biographer rather than as a comprehensive historian, selecting anecdotes, personal characteristics and particular incidents which he considers revealing of Caesar's character.
Conservapedia's Original Source Project maintains the arguably best original source edtition available. Featuring both an illustrated English translation and a polytonic Greek with paralell English making for high quality references. It can be found here.
Place in the Parallel Lives
Plutarch's Parallel Lives was organised around comparisons between prominent Greek and Roman individuals. The pairing of Alexander and Caesar brings together two military commanders whose conquests profoundly altered the political order of their respective worlds.
The introductory statement to the pair appears at the beginning of the Life of Alexander. Plutarch explains that he is writing biographies rather than comprehensive histories, and consequently does not intend to recount every celebrated achievement or describe every military operation in detail. He observes that relatively minor incidents, casual remarks and personal anecdotes can sometimes reveal more about an individual's character than major battles and political events.
Plutarch compares his task to that of a portrait painter, who concentrates on the face and expression rather than attempting to reproduce every physical detail. His purpose is to illuminate the virtues and failings of his subjects and create a portrait of their character.[1]
The comparison between Alexander and Caesar is particularly interesting because both men achieved extraordinary military success and accumulated unprecedented personal power. Both also became objects of political opposition, and their careers ended in circumstances which profoundly affected the subsequent history of their respective states.
Although the two biographies form a pair, the formal comparative essay, or synkrisis, which accompanies most of Plutarch's other pairs does not survive for Alexander and Caesar.[2]
Contents and narrative
Caesar's early life and political beginnings
The surviving text begins with Caesar's marriage to Cornelia (wife of Caesar), daughter of Lucius Cornelius Cinna. Plutarch describes Caesar's refusal to divorce Cornelia when ordered to do so by Lucius Cornelius Sulla, which resulted in the confiscation of her dowry and placed Caesar in danger during Sulla's dictatorship.
The opening chapters recount Caesar's early political difficulties, his association with the supporters of Gaius Marius, and his growing reputation. One of the most famous episodes is his capture by pirates while travelling in the eastern Mediterranean. According to Plutarch, Caesar treated his captors with remarkable confidence and contempt, raised the ransom demanded for his release, and subsequently returned to punish them.[3]
The biography subsequently traces his advancement through Roman public life, his military service, political offices and growing influence.
The conquest of Gaul and the First Triumvirate
Plutarch describes Caesar's participation in Roman political affairs and his association with Pompey and Marcus Licinius Crassus. Their political alliance, conventionally known as the First Triumvirate, helped Caesar secure the consulship in 59 BC and subsequently command in Gaul.
The Gallic campaigns occupy an important position in the biography. Caesar's victories expanded Roman territorial control, increased his wealth and military reputation, and strengthened the loyalty of his legions.
Plutarch also discusses Caesar's political rivalry with his opponents in Rome and the growing conflict between Caesar and Pompey. The breakdown of their alliance contributed to the crisis which ultimately brought the Roman Republic into civil war.
The Civil War
The biography recounts Caesar's decision to cross the Rubicon in 49 BC, initiating open conflict with the forces loyal to Pompey and the Roman Senate.
Plutarch follows the progress of the Roman Civil War, including the campaigns in Italy, Greece and the eastern Mediterranean, and Caesar's decisive victory over Pompey at the Battle of Pharsalus in 48 BC.
The narrative continues through the subsequent events in Egypt, where Caesar became involved in the conflict surrounding Cleopatra VII, and his further military campaigns against the remaining forces opposed to him.
Dictatorship and assassination
The latter portion of the biography examines Caesar's accumulation of political authority, his dictatorship and the increasing hostility of sections of the Roman aristocracy.
Plutarch describes Caesar's honours, public position, political behaviour and the growing conspiracy against him. He recounts the involvement of Marcus Junius Brutus, Gaius Cassius Longinus and other conspirators in the plot which culminated in Caesar's assassination in the Senate on March 15, 44 BC, the Ides of March.
The concluding chapter considers Caesar's death and the subsequent fate of those involved in his assassination. Plutarch also records the appearance of a remarkable comet following the murder, interpreting the events as evidence of divine retribution against Caesar's killers.[4]
Historical importance
The Life of Caesar is one of the principal surviving ancient biographies of Gaius Julius Caesar. It provides important evidence concerning Roman political institutions, aristocratic relationships, military leadership, the collapse of republican government and the personalities involved in the final decades of the Roman Republic.
Plutarch wrote considerably later than the events he describes. His account therefore represents a later ancient interpretation of Caesar's life rather than a contemporary eyewitness narrative. Nevertheless, Plutarch drew upon earlier historical traditions and presents numerous details which are valuable for understanding how Caesar was remembered in antiquity.
His emphasis on personal character also makes the work particularly useful. Rather than simply listing Caesar's military victories and political offices, Plutarch considers the qualities which contributed to his success, including ambition, confidence, courage, generosity, political calculation and the pursuit of personal power.
The biography should be considered alongside Caesar's own Commentaries on the Gallic War and Commentaries on the Civil War, as well as the surviving accounts of Suetonius, Appian and Cassius Dio.
Textual transmission and modern editions
The Greek text of the Life of Caesar has been transmitted through the manuscript tradition of Plutarch's Parallel Lives and has been published in numerous scholarly editions and translations.
The surviving text is conventionally divided into 69 chapters. An important textual qualification concerns its beginning. The first surviving chapter opens with an account of Caesar's marriage to Cornelia and his conflict with Sulla. The editorial notes accompanying the Loeb Classical Library edition observe that the opening paragraphs, which presumably described Caesar's birth and boyhood, are thought by many scholars to have been lost.[5]
Loeb Classical Library edition
A particularly important modern edition is the seventh volume of the Loeb Classical Library, published by Harvard University Press in 1919, with an English translation by Bernadotte Perrin.
The volume contains four biographies:
- Demosthenes
- Cicero
- Alexander
- Caesar
The original edition presents the ancient Greek text alongside Perrin's English translation on facing pages. The Life of Caesar occupies pages 441–609 of the volume.[6]
The Original Source Project has reproduced the work in a bilingual presentation, preserving the original Greek and providing Perrin's English translation for comparison. This arrangement enables readers to examine the ancient text directly while consulting a recognised scholarly English translation.
The original source is available at:
Influence on later literature
Plutarch's biographies exerted considerable influence on European literature and historical writing, particularly during the Renaissance.
The English translation of the Parallel Lives by Thomas North, first published in 1579, became a principal source for William Shakespeare's historical tragedy Julius Caesar.
Shakespeare drew upon Plutarch's accounts of Caesar, Brutus and Mark Antony. The events surrounding Caesar's assassination, the political conflicts following his death and the characters of the principal participants provided much of the historical material for the play.[7]
The continuing influence of Plutarch's account demonstrates the importance of the Life of Caesar not only as a historical source but also as a major work of classical biography.
See also
- Plutarch
- Parallel Lives
- Life of Alexander
- Gaius Julius Caesar
- Cornelia (wife of Caesar)
- Lucius Cornelius Cinna
- Pompey
- Marcus Licinius Crassus
- Marcus Junius Brutus
- Roman Republic
- Original Source: Plutarch - Lives - Caesar
References
- ↑ Plutarch, Life of Alexander, 1, the introductory statement to the paired biographies.
- ↑ Plutarch, Parallel Lives; see also the surviving catalogue of the biographies and their comparisons.
- ↑ Plutarch, Life of Caesar, 2.
- ↑ Plutarch, Life of Caesar, 69.
- ↑ Plutarch, Life of Caesar, translated by Bernadotte Perrin, in Plutarch's Lives, Volume VII, Loeb Classical Library (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, 1919), pp. 441–609, editorial note to chapter 1.
- ↑ Perseus Digital Library, catalog record for Plutarch, Caesar, Plutarch's Lives, Volume VII, Harvard University Press and William Heinemann, 1919. Catalog record.
- ↑ Folger Shakespeare Library, Julius Caesar: Further Reading.