Death of Caesar : The Story of History's Most Famous Assassination (9781451668827)
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Not long after five in the morning Based on calculations for March 15, 2014, http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/astronomy.html?n=215&month=3&year=2014&obj=sun&afl=-13&day=1, accessed on April 18, 2014.
all the doors and windows Or perhaps it was just the doors or only Calpurnia who was awakened—the sources disagree. Plutarch, Caesar 63.8; Suetonius, Julius Caesar 81.3; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.17.2; Julius Obsequens, Book of Prodigies (based on Livy) 67.
she dreamt she was holding a murdered Caesar in her arms Plutarch, Caesar 63.9.
the front pediment of their house collapsed Plutarch, Caesar 63.9.
In one version, his body was streaming Appian, Civil Wars 2.115.
The Senate had given Caesar the right to put up this pediment Plutarch, Caesar 63.8–9; Valerius Maximus, Memorable Deeds and Sayings 1.7.2; Suetonius, Julius Caesar 81.3; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.17.1.
Even the horses that Caesar had used to cross the Rubicon Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.17.2; Plutarch, Caesar 63.1–3; Suetonius, Julius Caesar 81.1–2.
Spurinna was trying to warn Caesar not to go too far Cicero, On Divination 1.119.
Spurinna warned Caesar that his life would be in danger Valerius Maximus, Memorable Deeds and Sayings 8.11.2; Suetonius, Julius Caesar 81.2; Plutarch, Caesar 63.5.
“beware the Ides of March” Shakespeare, Julius Caesar 1.2.18.
she begged Caesar not to go to the Senate meeting Plutarch, Caesar 63.10.
As for Caesar, one source says that he too had a bad dream Suetonius, Julius Caesar 81.3.
the meal did not sit well with him and his body felt sluggish Appian, Civil Wars 2.115.
The next morning, he felt poorly Suetonius, Julius Caesar 8.4.
In particular, he is said to have suffered from vertigo Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 23.83.
symptoms of an undetected epileptic seizure This and the following medical speculations come from a personal communication with Dr. Carl Bazil, M.D., Ph.D., director, Division of Epilepsy and Sleep, Columbia University.
One source says that Caesar experienced fainting and night terrors Suetonius, Julius Caesar 45.1.
Some in the ancient world said that Caesar was merely pretending Plutarch, Brutus 16.1.
about three hundred yards away Andrea Carandini and Paolo Carafa, eds. Atlante di Roma antica: biografia e ritratti della città (Milano: Electa, 2012), I:290.
famous exchange Valerius Maximus, Memorable Deeds and Sayings 8.11.2; Appian, Civil Wars 2.149; Plutarch, Caesar 63.5–6; Suetonius, Julius Caesar 81.4; J. T. Ramsey, “At What Hour Did the Murderers of Julius Caesar Gather on the Ides of March 44 B.C.?” in Stephan Heilen et al., In Pursuit of Wissenschaft: Festschrift für William M. Calder III zum 75. Geburtstag (Zurich: Olms, 2008), 353.
“The Ides of March have come” Shakespeare, Julius Caesar 3.1–2; Plutarch, Caesar 63.6; Suetonius, Julius Caesar 81.4; Appian, Civil Wars 2.149; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.18.4; Florus, Epitome of Roman History 2.13.94; Valerius Maximus, Memorable Deeds and Sayings 8.11.2.
According to some sources he ordered new sacrifices Plutarch, Caesar 63.7, Brutus 16.1; Appian, Civil Wars 2.115; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.17.3.
Caesar decided to send the consul, Antony, to dismiss the Senate Plutarch, Caesar 63.12; Appian, Civil Wars 2.115.
Caesar would have missed the scheduled Senate meeting Suetonius, Julius Caesar 81.4; Florus, Epitome of Roman History 2.13.94.
“Mother of Aeneas” Lucretius, On the Nature of Things, I.1–2, 10–16.
still dark out Cicero, For Murena 69.
average mid-March temperatures http://weatherspark.com/averages/32307/3/Rome-Lazio-Italy, accessed August 1, 2014.
they could carry weapons under their togas Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 23.81; cf. Suetonius, Julius Caesar; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.16.1.
It was here, at the site of the Senate meeting Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.16.2.
Sybilline Books Cicero, On Divination 2.110; Suetonius, Julius Caesar 79.4–80.1; Plutarch, Caesar 60.2, Brutus 10.2; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.15.3; Appian, Civil Wars 2.110.
Shakespeare writes that Caesar was murdered Julius Caesar 3.1.12.
There were gladiatorial games in the Theater of Pompey that day Appian, Civil Wars 2.115.
“It seemed as if some god was leading the man to the justice of Pompey” Plutarch, Brutus, 14.3.
“They thought that the act,” Appian, Civil Wars 2.114.
It was believed that the senators assassinated the legendary Romulus Plutarch Pompey 25.4; Appian, Civil Wars 2.114; cf. Cassius Dio, Roman History 43.45.3.
Plutarch cites a story that Romulus was killed in a Senate meeting Plutarch, Romulus 5.
According to Appian, the conspirators of 44 B.C. Appian, Civil Wars 2.114.
The assembly supposedly took place, like the Senate meeting Plutarch, Romulus 27.6–8.
was a godsend Plutarch, Brutus 14.2.
not one of those posers “Dedit gladiatores sestertiarios iam decrepitos, quos si sufflasses, cecidissent,” Petronius, Satyricon 45.
the story told only by Nicolaus of Damascus Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 26a.98.
Others say that the gladiators were there to take part in the games Appian, Civil Wars 2.118; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.16.
Many elite Romans, their names a roll call of republican glory On these cases see A. W. Lintott, Violence in Republican Rome, 2nd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), 83–85. Another example is the Pompeian general Gaius Considius Longus: Caesar, Civil War 2.23; PseudoCaesar, African War 76, 9.
Birria Asconius, Commentary on Cicero’s “For Milo” 32c.
rhomphaia Asconius, Commentary on Cicero’s “For Milo” 32C. See Chris Christoff, “Gladiators Outside of the Arena: The Use of Gladiators as Bodyguards and Soldiers ca. 100 BCE–100 CE,” Senior Honors Thesis, Department of History, Cornell University, April 14, 2014, 12–14.
We don’t know how many gladiators Decimus had Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 25.94, 26a.98; Plutarch, Brutus 12. 5.
Caesar himself might have given these gladiators to Decimus Pseudo-Cicero, Letter to Octavian 9; Appian, Civil Wars 2.122; cited in Lintott, Violence, 84 and n. 4.
“popular shallowness” Cicero, Philippics 5.49.
he devoted several hours to watching gladiators training Plutarch, Caesar 32.4.
a very large number of gladiators in Capua Cicero, Letters to Atticus 7.14.2, with discussion in K.-W. Welwei, Unfreie im antiken Kriegsdienst, vol. 3, Rom (Wiesbaden, Germany: Steiner, 1988), 137. I follow the translation of D. R. Shackleton Bailey, Cicero, Letters to Atticus, vol. 4 49 B.C. 133–210 (Books 7.10–10), (Cambridge: University Press, 1968) 19, 308–9.
out on maneuvers in the suburbs of Rome that morning Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.19.2; Zonaras, Epitome of Histories 10.12.
no bigger than an average city block 886 feet (270 meters) long by 220 feet (67 meters) wide.
up to fifteen thousand were settled on land in Italy L. J. F. Keppie, Colonisation and Veteran Settlement in Italy, 47–14 B.C. (London: British School at Rome, 1983), 50.
Like the men on the Tiber Island, they were armed Appian, Civil Wars 2.133.
“country folk but very brave men and excellent citizens” Cicero, Letters to Friends 11.7.2.
could not be taken before sunrise That is, 6:23 a.m. Actually, that was apparent sunrise, a few minutes earlier than actual sunrise: http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/grad/solcalc/, accessed July 14, 2014. J. T. Ramsey, “Beware the Ides of March!: An Astrological Prediction?” Classical Quarterly, new ser. 50.2 (2000): 444, cites sunrise on March 15, 44 B.C. as 6:17 a.m. LMT.
that Caesar neither did nor would prevent Brutus Plutarch, Brutus 14.7.
Brutus too endured sleepless nights Plutarch, Brutus 13.2.
Casca was unnecessarily frightened Plutarch, Brutus 15.2–3; Ap
pian, Civil Wars 2.115.
Popilius Laenas, Plutarch, Brutus 15.4; Appian, Civil Wars 2.115.
he soldiered on Plutarch, Brutus 15.5–9.
that seemed like a bad omen Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.17.3.
they decided to send Decimus to Caesar’s house Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.18.1.
he was such a close friend Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 23.84; Velleius Paterculus, History of Rome 2.64.2; Plutarch, Brutus 13; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.18.1.
“Like mother, like son” Eccentricity evidently ran in this family. Sempronia’s brother was a quirky character who used to mount the Speaker’s Platform in the Roman Forum in an actor’s robe and boots, tossing money to the people as he went. Cicero, Philippics 3.16.
“masculine audacity” Sallust, Catiline 25.1.
she opened their home to Catiline’s Gallic allies—Allobroges Sallust, Catiline 40.5.
seeming to insult Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 23.84.
or mock it Plutarch, Caesar 64.2.
Caesar himself had called the meeting Suetonius, Julius Caesar 81.4; Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 23.84; Plutarch, Caesar 64.3.
the senators would consider him a tyrant Plutarch, Caesar 64.4.
Decimus ridiculed the soothsayers Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 23.84.
declare Caesar king outside of Italy Plutarch, Caesar 64.3; Suetonius, Julius Caesar 79.4; Appian, Civil Wars 2.110. Cicero, who should have known, declares this a mere rumor, On Divination 2.110.
“What do you say, Caesar?” Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 23.84.
He would postpone the meeting Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 24.87; Plutarch, Brutus 16.1.
Decimus led Caesar out by the hand Plutarch, Caesar 64.6; Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 24.87.
a Caesar who is gullible Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 23.84, 24.87.
a Caesar who is passive Plutarch, Caesar 64.6.
a Caesar who cares about appearances Appian, Civil Wars 2.116.
a Caesar who is arrogant Suetonius, Julius Caesar 81.4, or Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.18.4.
another Caesar, a man who was a risk taker Appian, Civil Wars 2.115.
It was almost at the end of the fifth hour Suetonius, Julius Caesar 81.4.
A litter carried by slaves Plutarch, Brutus 16.1–2; Appian, Civil Wars 2.116.
Caesar was thronged along the way Appian, Civil Wars 2.118.
Artemidorus of Cnidus Plutarch, Caesar 65; Appian, Civil Wars 2.116; Suetonius, Julius Caesar 81.4; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.18.3.
“a friend of the deified Caesar, a man of great influence with him” Strabo 14.2.15, Loeb, http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/14B*.html.
Plutarch calls him a teacher of Greek philosophy Plutarch, Brutus 65.1. See Christopher Pelling, Plutarch Caesar, translated with an introduction and commentary (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011) commentary ad loc., 476, and on 48.1, 377.
Popilius Laenas hurried up to speak to him Plutarch, Brutus 16.2–4; Appian, Civil Wars 2.116.
Nicolaus paints a dark picture Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 24.86.
“make your own manly excellence an auspicious omen.” Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 24.87.
The other sources leave out Decimus and emphasize Caesar’s hubris instead Appian, Civil Wars 2.116; Suetonius 81.4, Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.18.4.
Appian says that Caesar reminded the soothsayers Appian, Civil Wars 2.116.
the capsae, containers holding scrolls Based on Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.16.1, where he uses the word Κιβώτια, which I translate as capsae.
around noon see Christopher Pelling, Plutarch Caesar, translated with an Introduction and Commentary (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011), 477.
CHAPTER 8. MURDER
he laughed Suetonius, Julius Caesar 81. 4; Appian, Civil Wars 2.116.
When it comes to the details of Pompey’s Senate House Carandini and Carafa, eds. Atlante di Roma antica offer a hypothetical reconstruction, vol. 2: table 220, section c–c1.
That, said the Roman scholar Pliny the Elder, was open to question Pliny, Natural History 35.59. Carandini and Carafa, eds. Atlante di Roma antica, vol. 1:505, say the painting was originally inside the Senate House but was moved by Augustus.
It was somewhat smaller than Caesar’s Senate House M. Bonnefond-Coudry, Le Senat de la République Romaine (Rome: École Française de Rome, 1989), 183, estimates that the interior of Pompey’s Senate House at about 4000 square feet (374 sq. m), about 72 feet (22 m) long by 56 feet (17 m) wide, measured on internal lines. On another, more recent set of estimates, Caesar’s Senate House had an interior surface of 494 sq. m (5317 sq. ft.) and Pompey’s only 303 sq. m (3247 sq. ft.), making it only 61 percent as big as Caesar’s Senate House. On this estimate, the interior of Pompey’s Senate House covered only about 3200 sq. ft., with internal lines of 58 feet (17.8 m) long by 56 feet (17 m) wide; the building stood only 57 feet (17.4 m) tall. Roman archaeologist James E. Packer, personal communication, based on plans to appear in his forthcoming book on the Theater of Pompey.
roof rose to a height http://dlib.etc.ucla.edu/projects/Forum/reconstructions/CuriaIulia_1, accessed August 1, 2014.
low, raised platform The tribunal in Caesar’s Senate House, for example, stood about 16 inches (40 cm) high.
the latest fashion for Roman generals See the statues from Casinum (modern Cassino) and Foruli (modern Scoppito), both in Italy. See Eugenio La Rocca, Claudio Parisi Presicce, and Annalisia Lo Monaco, eds. I giorni di Roma: l’età della conquista (Milan: Skira, 2010), 291–92, ills. II.23 and II.24. The colossal statue in Rome’s Palazzo Spada sometimes identified as Pompey is most likely one of the Roman emperors. See Wolfgang Helbig, Führer durch die Öffentlichen Sammlungen klassicher Altertümer in Rom, vol. 2: (Tübingen: Ernst Wasmuth, 1966) 768–69, no. 2008.
Hence, a quorum was needed Francis X. Ryan, Rank and Participation in the Republican Senate (Stuttgart, Germany: Franz Steiner, 1998), 14, 26.
By the time they met under the Portico Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.19.1–3; Cicero, Philippics 2.34. For different versions see Plutarch, Antony 13.2 (where he says “some” detained Antony) and Caesar 66.4 (where he wrongly names Decimus instead of Trebonius).
As Caesar entered the room, the senators rose Plutarch, Caesar 66.5, Brutus 17.1–2; Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 24.88.
The great orator planned to attack Antony Cicero, Philippics 2.88.
used daggers, not swords. Suetonius refers only to pugio (dagger). The Greek sources refer both to egkheiridia (daggers) and ksiphea (a word that can mean either sword or dagger). Daggers: Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus, 23.81, 24.88; Suetonius, Julius Caesar 82.2; Plutarch, Caesar 69.3; Brutus 14.4; Appian, Civil Wars 2.117. Swords: Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus, 24.89; Plutarch, Caesar 66. 10, 67.3; Brutus 17.4–7; Appian, Civil Wars 2.117; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.16.1. Same weapon called both dagger and sword: Plutarch, Caesar 66.7.
A martial artist who works with replicas of Roman weapons Personal communication, Dwight McElmore.
A coin issued by Brutus Cassius Dio, Roman History 25.3; M. H. Crawford, Roman Republican Coinage (London and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001) 1: 518, no. 508/3; cf. 100; 2:741.
supposedly glanced at the statue of Pompey Plutarch, Caesar 66.2.
The five main ancient sources are in general agreement I pick and choose details from the ancient sources. Although this technique is not without problems, it is justified in this case because the five accounts are so similar. The differences are minor, and I note them.
advance planning stated explicitly at Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 26a.99.
Centurions Cicero, On Divination 2.23.
clasping Caesar’s hands and kissing his breast and his head Plutarch, Brutus 17.3.
assassination attempt in 47 B.C. Pseudo-Caesar, Alexandrian War 48–55, esp. 52.2; Valerius Maximus, Memorable Deeds and Sayings 9.4.2.
Cimber disrespected Caesar Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 24.88, cf. T. P. Wiseman, Remembering the Roman People: Essays on Late Republican Politics and Literature (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009), 211 and n.1.
Caesar was angry Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 24.88.
“Why, this is violence!” Suetonius, Julius Caesar 82.1.
pulling down Caesar’s toga was the signal to start the attack Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.19.4.
Nicolaus, Plutarch, and Appian say that Casca had a sword Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 24.89; Appian, Civil Wars 2.117; Plutarch, Brutus 17.4. Plutarch, Caesar 66.7, calls it both a ksiphos and an egkheiridion.
Nicolaus says that Casca was nervous Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 24.89.
Dio says that there were too many attackers for Caesar Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.19.5.
Nicolaus simply says that Caesar stood up to defend himself Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 24.89.
Plutarch says Caesar turned around and grabbed Casca’s dagger Plutarch, Caesar 66.7; handle: Plutarch, Brutus 17.5.
Appian adds that he hurled Casca away with great violence Appian, Civil Wars 2.117.
Suetonius says that Caesar caught Casca’s arm and stabbed him with his stylus Suetonius, Julius Caesar 82.2.
“anger and shouting” Appian, Civil Wars 2.117.
“Impious Casca!”—or, in another version, “Accursed Casca! What are you doing?” Plutarch, Caesar 66.8; Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.19.5.
Suetonius claims that Caesar merely groaned Suetonius, Julius Caesar 82.2.
Dio says that Caesar was unable to say anything Cassius Dio, Roman History 44.19.5.
Plutarch and Nicolaus say that Casca shouted in Greek Plutarch, Caesar 66.8, Brutus 17.5; Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 24.89.
According to Nicolaus, Gaius Casca Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Caesar Augustus 24.89.