Page 44 - Digital Cornice Grade 9

FACTS

Interesting facts ab

By: Saman

Caesar’s full name is Gaius Julius Caesar. He was born to an aristocratic family. His father too
was named Gaius Julius Caesar and his mother was Aurelia.

In 75 BCE, a 25-year-old Julius Caesar was kidnapped by Cicilian pirates in the Aegean sea.
Instead of behaving in any way expected of a hostage, Caesar bossed around his captors and made
them listen to his speeches. He also made them raise his ransom, saying that he was worth far
more than what they had demanded. His captors regretted ignoring Caesar’s threats of having
them executed, since after being freed, he returned and had them all killed.

Caesar was married thrice - his two former wives were Cornelia, who died, and Pompeia, whom
he divorced. His wife at the time of his death was Calphurnia, the daughter of a powerful member
of the senate.

Caesar carried out an affair with Cleopatra in 45 - 46 BCE. He met her in 48 BCE when she was

in a fight for power with her brother. She gave birth to his son, Ptolemy Caesar, who was more
commonly known as Caesarion (Little Caesar). She stayed at his villa when she visited Rome.
This outraged the public as they were both married to different people.

The month July is named after Julius Caesar, because he added it to the calendar.

Caesar won the Corona Civica, or Civic crown, after his victory at the Siege of Mytilene. The
famous laurel crown he is often depicted with, is this very crown.

Julius Caesar was dissatisfied that he had fewer achievements to his name at 25 than Alexander
the Great. Alexander had conquered several kingdoms and crushed rebellions at 25; Caesar
admired and wished to live up to him.

Caesar once went to the kingdom of Bithynia to secure an alliance with King Nicomedes;
however, he ended up staying for a longer period of time. This led to rumors about an affair with
the king. Since Romans believed that in a relationship there were feminine (submissive) and
masculine (dominant) roles, his political opponents used this to smear his name. It was said that
“Caesar may have conquered Gaul, but Nicomedes conquered Caesar.”

The metaphor “Crossing the Rubicon” comes from Caesar’s actions in 49 BCE, when he crossed
the Rubicon river and entered Rome, signaling the end of the republic and the start of the Roman
civil war. The metaphor means to come to a decision from which there is turning back.

The Russian word ‘Czar’ meaning emperor, is derived from Caesar’s name.