Gaius Julius Caesar (100 – 44 BC) was a writer, an orator, a reformer, and a builder, as well as a general, a conqueror, an explorer, and a dictator. After his death, he was even worshipped as a god with a temple in the very heart of Rome. According to his critics, both ancient and modern, he was also a megalomaniac, an enemy of the state, a war criminal, and a tyrant. Only a very few individuals have left such an extensive and controversial mark on the history of the ancient world. We shall consider as many aspects of his life and his legacy as we can, from his conquest of Gaul to his decision to plunge Rome into a horrific civil war, from his love-affair with Queen Cleopatra of Egypt to his brutal assassination on the Ides of March.
Gaius Julius Caesar (100 – 44 BC) was a writer, an orator, a reformer, and a builder, as well as a general, a conqueror, an explorer, and a dictator. After his death, he was even worshipped as a god with a temple in the very heart of Rome. According to his critics, both ancient and modern, he was also a megalomaniac, an enemy of the state, a war criminal, and a tyrant. Only a very few individuals have left such an extensive and controversial mark on the history of the ancient world. We shall consider as many aspects of his life and his legacy as we can, from his conquest of Gaul to his decision to plunge Rome into a horrific civil war, from his love-affair with Queen Cleopatra of Egypt to his brutal assassination on the Ides of March.
