Gaius Julius Caesar

Want to read the rest of this paper? Join Essayworld today to view this entire essay and over 50,000 other term papers

to Venus Genetrix at Rome, signifying his link to the goddess. His father and namesake, Gaius Julius Caesar, achieved the rank of praetor (see cursus honorum). His mother was an Aurelia from the Cottae branch, a rich and influential family of plebeian stock. As a young boy, he lived in a modest house in the Subura quarter, where he learned to speak several languages, including Hebrew and Gallic dialects.

Caesar's parents were not rich like Roman nobility, and no member of his family had achieved any outstanding prominence in recent times. However, in his father's generation there was a renaissance of their fortunes. His aunt, Julia, married Gaius Marius, a talented general and reformer of the Roman army. Marius was also the leader of the Senate, so Caesar's family did have some influence. Caesar's father served as praetor, and as a governor in Asia Minor. So there was some influence in his family.

Towards the end of Marius' life in 86 BC, internal politics reached a breaking ...

Get instant access to over 50,000 essays. Write better papers. Get better grades. Already a member? Login

famous teacher Apollonius Molo.

On the way, Caesar was kidnapped by pirates. When they demanded a ransom of twenty talents, he laughed at them, saying they did not know who they had captured. Instead, he ordered them to ask for fifty. They accepted, and Caesar sent his followers to various cities to collect the ransom money. Thirty-eight days later, they returned with the ransom and Caesar was set free. As soon as he was ransomed, he organized a naval force, captured the pirates and their stronghold and put them to death by crucifixion.

In 69 BC, Caesar became a widower after Cornelia's death trying to deliver a stillborn son. In the same year, he lost his aunt Julia, to whom he ...

Succeed in your coursework without stepping into a library. Get access to a growing library of notes, book reports, and research papers in 2 minutes or less.

CITE THIS PAGE: