Julius Caesar 's Life

Julius Caesar 's Family

The Caesars were members of the aristocracy but they held no real power in Rome. One of Julius Caesar 's uncles, Marius Caesar had made a name for himself as a champion of the people, a fierce warrior, and an ambitious politician who rose high in the Roman ranks. The Caesars, although members of the nobility, were known for their sympathy with the middle working class.

Julius Caesar 's Life & first step towards politics

Shortly after the kidnapping episode of Julius Caesar by the pirates, Julius Caesar entered the College of Priests, Julius Caesar was also elected to a military tribunal. It offered him few duties or influence, but Julius Caesar began to make contacts and was in a position to grant certain favors. Julius Caesar was liberal with those favors; Julius Caesar used them to increase his popularity and keep himself in the public eye.

Julius Caesar also began to seek opportunities for making public speeches - including the deaths of both his aunt and his young wife Cornelia. Both times his speeches were less about the deceased and more about his uncle Marius, who had been a defender of the rights of the people. Those people showed their gratitude by electing Julius Caesar as one of the treasury masters for a province in Spain. Julius Caesar still didn't seem to have any definite goal or plan of action, but that changed one day when he was about 26, and made a journey to his province in Spain, where he came upon a statue of Alexander the Great.

Julius Caesar and the influence of the statue of Alexander the Great

It's said that when Julius Caesar came upon Alexander's statue, Julius Caesar began to groan, so sickened was he by his own lack of action and success. Julius Caesar commented on how he had done nothing worthy in life whereas Alexander, at the same age, had already conquered the world. Julius Caesar left the statue, anxious to return to Rome and determined to use every opportunity to distinguish himself.

Julius Caesar 's life in Rome

In Rome at that time, there were two men who controlled the city. One was Gnaeus Pompey, a former soldier with Caesar's old enemy Sulla, and the other was Marcus Crassus, the wealthiest man in the city. Pompey and Crassus hated each other and Julius Caesar cleverly saw how he could be of help to each one. Crassus could benefit from Julius Caesar 's popularity with the people. Pompey could benefit from Julius Caesar 's contacts. For himself, Julius Caesar could use Crassius' money. If he was going to run for office, it would be very expensive, since most votes in Roman elections were purchased. Later, just to wrap everything up in a neat bundle, Julius Caesar married a relative of Pompey, named, Pompeia, and offered his only child, Julia, as Pompey's wife. Once the women and favors had been traded, the groundwork had been laid for a strong three-way partnership.

Julius Caesar then set out to increase his own popularity with the public. Julius Caesar spent a fortune, most of it borrowed, on organizing public games, decorating public squares, and offering gifts to the people. The Roman senate, which was made up only of aristocrats, began to mistrust Julius Caesar. They saw, and rightly so, a man who could always appeal to the public on his behalf, and who might try and limit their own privileges. These feelings would increase over the years until they finally culminated in the bloody confrontation on the Ides of March.