National Geographic History - July 2019

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC HISTORY 55

sister Arsinoë was bound in chains. Her de-
meanor aroused the crowd’s sympathy. Sensi-
tive to the feelings of the people, Caesar had her
exiled to Ephesus rather than killed.

Bread and Circuses
In addition to the processions, Caesar spared no
expense for grand entertainments for the Roman
people. Appian described the action:

[Caesar] put on various shows. There was

horse-racing, and musical contests, and

combats—one with a thousand foot soldiers

opposing another thousand, another with

200 cavalry on each side, and another that

was a mixed infantry and cavalry combat, as

well as an elephant fight with twenty beasts a

side and a naval battle with 4,000 oarsmen

plus a thousand marines on each side to fight.

Caesar generously rewarded his troops with
20,000 sesterces—far beyond what they would
have earned in a lifetime. He also gave a mag-
nanimous sum of 400 sesterces to every citizen,

distributed food, and staged gladiatorial com-

bats and athletic events.

The triumphs were long remembered for their

pomp and splendor, but some historians believe

they stirred up opposition to the conquering

hero. To some, the grandstanding was at odds

with Rome’s republican values of simplicity, dis-

cipline, dignity, and virtue. Caesar had spent

extravagant sums on self-promotion, causing

several Roman senators—such as Cassius, and

Brutus—to grow wary of him, wondering what

his true motivations might be.

Grumbling about Caesar’s ambitions was only

fueled by this ostentation. Opposition to his

power increased among this faction of sena-

tors, who hatched a successful assassination plot

in the 18 months following the four triumphs

of Caesar.

GRAND

TRADITIONS

Carle Vernet’s 18th-

century painting

(above) of the triumph

of second-century B.C.

general Lucius Aemilius

Paullus shows him with

a laurel crown and an

ivory scepter, elements

that also appeared

in Casear’s triumph

200 years later.

Metropolitan Museum

of Art, New York

ITALIAN HISTORIAN AND HISTORICAL NOVELIST ANDREA FREDIANI HAS WRITTEN

EXTENSIVELY ON ROME’S LATE REPUBLIC AND EARLY EMPIRE.

SCALA, FLORENCE

BOOKS

The Twelve Caesars

Suetonius (ed. James Rives), Penguin Classics, 2007.

Learn more