by Andrew Mccauley

Created on: January 10, 2011   Last Updated: January 11, 2011

 Gaius Julius Caesar was born on July 13, 100 B.C. into the patrician or elite group of people in Roman Society. His family held very little power in government with only three consuls. His father was the governor of the province of Asia (probably through the influence of his prominent brother-in-law Gaius Marius). Marius took control of Rome in 88 BC. All was fine for Caesar for about the next six years, but then Sulla, Marius’s (died in 86 BC) political rival in his quest for Rome, came to power, and had Caesar stripped of his family fortune, and was going to kill him, but Caesar fled Rome. These charges were dropped, but Sulla said that he saw many a Marius in Caesar. Caesar did not return to Rome after the charges were dropped, rather, he joined the army serving under

Servilius Isauricus. After Sulla’s death in 78 BC, Caesar finally felt safe enough to return to Rome. He obtained a small house in a lower class neighborhood called Subura.

During an anti-Sulla rebellion shortly after his death, Caesar became a legal advocate. He gave ruthless speeches about how poorly the past governors of Rome had been doing. Caesar went to Rhodes in 75 BC to study under Apollonius Molon (Apollonius taught Cicero, greatly famed as having the most versatile mind of that time). He wished to achieve rhetorical perfection. On his way across the Aegean Sea, he was captured by Cilician pirates. During his captivity, he swore that he would have every pirate crucified, and he also raised his own ransom to fifty talents of silver (it was originally twenty). When the pirates were later captured, the governor of Asia, Marcus Junctus, thought that they would be more useful as slaves; Caesar returned to the coast and had them crucified on his own authority. In 69BC, he was granted a discharge from the military following the deaths of his aunt and wife; he returned to Roman politics.

In 63 BC, Caesar had a very eventful year. It started by convicting a senator of a murder that had taken place thirty-seven years earlier. He also ran for and won the Pontifex Maximus or Chief Priest election. A conspiracy was uncovered that year by Cicero to take control of the Republic. Caesar took part in the debate that would sentence these men. He strongly opposed killing them, and rather he wanted life imprisonment. He delivered a brilliant speech that was unfortunately topped by the speech of Cato. In 62 BC, Caesar filed for divorce with his second wife Pompia (Granddaughter of Sulla),

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