Julius Caesar Virtual Tour

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Julius Caesar predicted that he would be the most famous Roman of all, and indeed, his legacy can be found all over Rome, from street names to tin soldiers.

Background:
So who was this most famous of all Romans?

As a member of a noble Roman patrician family, Julius Caesar’s life was directed along the “cursus honorum,” the way of honor, which meant that at prescribed times in his life he would run for political office. His adult life began at 16 when he donned the toga of manhood. He then continued to hold political offices, each of greater importance than the previous.

The center of Roman political life was the Forum Romanum, he great Roman Forum which lay in the center of the city. It is here that Caesar would have spent many hours of his day.

As the Pontifex Maximus, Caesar lived in a public house along the Forum Romanum. Part of the complex was shared with the vestal virgins, women who had been dedicated to the goddess Vesta since they were children. Today, these ruins are what are left of the beautiful gardens the vestals once walked in.

This statue, located in the heart of Rome, appropriately shows him not in his role as a senator, or with his costume of Pontifex Maximus, a major priest of Rome, but as a soldier, one of Rome’s greatest generals.

Military:
Caesar commanded an army that conquered many tribes in a vast area of Europe, people who became incorporated into what became the Roman Empire. It was expected that a man who sought political influence would also serve in the army, and military conquests often brought greater personal wealth. Caesar recounted h is four-year campaign in his famous book, the Gallic Wars.

Politics:
Even though he was a noble from the Patrician class, Caesar was known as a champion of the people. With his own money he built this Forum as a place where people could conduct business.

Demise:
Caesar was unique in many ways. Physically he was tall for a Roman, standing 6’ tall. He was an attractive man, with a charismatic personality. He was highly intelligent and well versed in the law. He was a powerful speaker and was adept at political maneuvering. Naturally he had many rivals and some strong enemies, some of whom feared that he had become too popular and powerful. They felt threatened by Caesar’s hold on politics and feared that he wanted to become a king, eliminating the power of the senators.

It was in a small back room of Pompey’s Curia that Caesar met his end. On March 15th, 44 bce his enemies in the Senate stabbed him to death, just as was predicted, on “the ides of March.” Caesar was greatly mourned by the citizens of Rome who crushed into the Roman Forum to attend his cremation. Even today, Roman citizens remember him with flower bouquets placed on the altar where his body was burned in a huge public ceremony.

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