Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Historical Meme - Chris

Chemist tagged me with this one and I've been putting it off, but here goes. The rules -

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. List 7 random/weird things about your favorite historical figure.
3. Tag seven more people at the end of your blog and link to theirs.
4. Let the person know they have been tagged by leaving a note on their blog.

Forget all the tagging. Especially since Chemist already tagged pretty much everyone I know in blogland. If you read this and haven't done it, feel free. And leave a link.

I don't really have one favorite historical figure. For this exercise, I'll pick Julius Caesar.

1. As a young man, he was forced into hiding to avoid being killed in Sulla's proscriptions.
2. He's rumored to have had an affair with King Nicomedes of Bythynia.
3. He was kidnapped by pirates for ransom. He later raised a fleet, hunted the pirates down and crucified them.
4. He had a long-term affair with Cleopatra.
5. He had seizures which have been speculated to be eplieptic.
6. He was not born by cesarean section, although that was rumored even during his life.
7. According to Suetonius, his last words were 'και συ τεκνον?', not 'Et tu, Brute?'. This is Greek for "you, too, child?". Educated Romans often spoke Greek rather than Latin.

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13 comments:

The Disgruntled Chemist said...

He was kidnapped by pirates for ransom. He later raised a fleet, hunted the pirates down and crucified them.

Wow, that's some badass revenge right there.

Chris Howard said...

Wow, that's some badass revenge right there.

No shit. Apparently, he told the pirates he was going to do this while they were holding him, but they thought he was joking.

Anonymous said...

Joking about their crucifixion?

Chris Howard said...

Joking about their crucifixion?

I think joking about getting revenge in general.

Anonymous said...

Do you suppose the pirates thought that Caesar, being outnumbered and also so young, would be unable to get revenge? Also, how could young Caesar possibly have the authority to order the crucifixion of pirates? Or did he simply turn them over to the Roman military authorities?

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the full citation. From the description, it seems that young Caesar was planning his assault on the pirate camp during his captivity. After his release, Caesar immediately put this plan into operation (even obtaining ships at Miletus). It seems he wanted to act quickly, before the pirates would have an opportunity to escape from their camp. The outcome was exactly as he had planned, and you have to admire his tactical skill. Do you suppose this is an early example of the military genius that Caesar displayed several year later?

Chris Howard said...

Do you suppose this is an early example of the military genius that Caesar displayed several year later?

No question, not to mention the drive he had to succeed.

michelline said...

Caesar was truly considered to be "The First Man in Rome" of his time. Even at a young age, he was a mover and a shaker. He became the Pontifex Maximus at a VERY young age. The Julius family was practically Roman royalty and the Julii were highly respected. His downfall came because being the First Man amongst his equals was no longer enough for him and he began to believe he had no equals. So they took him down.

michelline said...

Re Cleopatra - tradition states they had a son together - Caesarion - that Octavian (Augustus) had killed. The Cleo/Caesar love affair began when Cleopatra was delivered to Caesar rolled up in a carpet. Naked.

Chris Howard said...

Cleopatra was delivered to Caesar rolled up in a carpet. Naked.

Thats sounds like fun. We have a carpet in the library...

michelline said...

Thats sounds like fun. We have a carpet in the library...

I think her carpet was a bit larger and that she was a bit smaller. That might have to wait until after the surgery :)

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