Transcript Julius Caesar movie presentation

2002 Production with Jeremy Sisto, Richard Harris,
Christopher Walken, and Chris Noth
 Movie begins in 82 BC with Sulla’s march on Rome
 Caesar would have been 18 or 19 years old
 Important Characters:
 Pompey
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Born in 106 BC, 24 at start of the movie
“The Great” – very successful general
Driven by desire for military glory
Disregard for laws
 Cato
 Great-grandson of Cato the Elder
 Born in 95 BC (probably would not have been in the Senate at this point
in the movie)
 Studied stoic philosophy
 Optimate
 Strict follower of the rules and laws
 Looked after the treasury, prosecuted former quaestors for dishonesty
 Prosecuted Sulla’s infomers
 Marius and Cinna
 Enemies of Sulla
 Marius died in 86 BC
 Cinna is killed in 83BC while leading his troops to Greece against Sulla
 Born on July 12th, 100 BC
 Julian Family – legendary decedents of Aeneas who
was the son of Venus
 Ancient family, but not very distinguished in recent
times
 Nephew of Marius by marriage
 Married Cornelia, daughter of Cinna, at 18 (83 BC)
 Same year Sulla marched into Italy
 Had Julia in 82 BC (Sulla invades Rome)
Clip 1
 Caesar leaves Rome to escape Sulla
 Heads to Asia Minor
 Victim of pirates
 pays off his ransom and crucifies his captors
 Returns in 78 BC after Sulla’s death
 Unlike the movie, Pompey is not in the Senate at this
time
 Cornelia dies in 69 BC (from childbirth) almost 10
years after his return
 Some of Sulla’s laws are slowly lifted including the ban
that prevented Tribunes from holding further office
Clip 2
 74 slaves led by Spartacus, a Thracian, escaped their training
camp at Capua
 Attracted slaves and free workers from across Italy – 70,000 men
 Success against Roman armies
 Senate puts Crassus in charge of suppressing the revolt
 Had won the battle at Colline Gate for Sulla in 82
 Very wealthy – could support his troops out of pocket
 Won the battle at Lucania, Spartacus was killed
 5000 Slaves escaped and fled
 Pompey, who was returning from campaigning in Spain, caught
and slaughtered these last rebels
 Pompey claimed that he was responsible for ending the war
 Crassus, who was already jealous of him, was furious
 Crassus’ candidacy was natural: he was old enough,
had been a praetor, and a successful military leader
 Pompey was too young (35), had not been praetor, and
was not even a senator
 Both men had armies that could persuade election to
high offices, but this wasn’t needed and they were both
easily elected to consul in 7o BC
 Bad terms but cooperated on some measures
 Restored all of the tribunes full powers
 Grain supplied in Rome were limited as trade routes
were unsafe because of pirates
 No longer strong powers in the east to keep the pirates
in check (such as Egypt)
 Pirates had at least 1000 ships
 An extremely large command was placed in the hands
of Pompey
 Opposition feared too much authority and power in the
hands of one man
 Pompey’s brilliant commanding tactics conquered the
pirates in three short months
 King of Pontus
 Sulla had campaigned against him (87-85) as well as
others (74-67)
 In 66, War was handed to Pompey
 Drove Mithridates to the far east of Pontus and defeated
him
 Mithridates did not die here
 Mutiny within his own troops in 65 led to his death
 He also annexed Syria and captured Jerusalem in 63
 Criticized for taking these other initiatives
 Cicero won the consulship in 63 BC
 Thwarted the Cataline Conspiracy who was disgruntled
having lost the election for consul
 Caesar elected to pontifex maximus (63)
 Bribery, sent him into debt
 Rites of Bona Dea (62) – divorced his wife Pompeia
 Caesar elected to praetor (62)
 Caesar served as governor in Further Spain (61)
 Gained back his wealth from corrupt governorship
 Caesar ran for the consulship of 59
 Opposed by Cato and Bibulous (rival candidate)
 Needed financial and political backing
 On good terms with Crassus and Pompey
 Arranged a reconciliation between the two
 Convinced them to join together to overcome the opposition and
achieve their goals
 Invited Cicero to join them
 he declined on principle
 Secrete at first and only informal, but powerful influence in Rome
 Marriage between Pompey and Julia strengthened this political
alliance
 Caesar won consulship and then command in Gaul the following
year
Clip 3
 Marriages primarily for political reasons, though did
deeply care for his first wife, Cornelia
 Borrowed other wives and lended his own
 Servilia, mother of Brutus, was very close with Caesar
 Had many other relationships with both women and
men
 "Every woman's husband and every man's wife.”
 Nimomedes of Bithynia was his most famous male lover
 "Whatever Bithynia and her lord possesed / Her lord who
Caesar in his lust caressed"
Clip 4
 Chieftain of the Arveni tribe in Gaul
 Unites the Gauls against the Romans
 Had some success against the Roman legions
 Culminated in 52 BC at the Battle of Alesia
Clip 5
 With Caesar in Gaul, distrust reemerged between Pompey
and Crassus
 Caesar called a meeting at Luca to renew the triumvirate in
56
 Decided that both Pompey and Crassus would be consul in 55
 Extend Caesar’s term in Gaul
 Pompey given commission in Spain and Crassus in Syria
against the powerful Parthian empire (a chance at glory)
 In 54 BC, Julia dies in childbirth breaking the bond
between Caesar and Pompey
 Crassus dies in battle against the Parthians in 53 BC
 Political life in Rome remained in turmoil
 Pompey elected to sole consul in 52
 Caesar begins to become anxious about his return
 Normal procedure for governor’s return would require him to disband
his troops and become a private citizen
 Caesar feared that his enemies would use this time to bring charges
against him
 He wanted to transition from governor to another office without a
break as to avoid prosecution
 Needed Pompey’s support for this exemption, Pompey was indecisive
about how to respond
 Caesar had gained prestige and wealth which would rival Pompey
 Eventually Pompey declined to help
 Caesar proposed on numerous occasions that he would give up his
command if Pompey would relinquish his in Spain
 Pompey refused
 In early 49, it was declared that Caesar must either give up his army or
become an enemy of the state
Clip 6
 Made dictator in 49 which he held for a few days to preside over
elections
 He was elected consul in 48
 Dictator again in late 48 for a year
 Elected consul in 46
 Dictator for 10 years
 Sole consul in 45
 Consul again in 44 (5th time)
 February 44, made dictator for life
 Was not a Sulla
 Forgave enemies, did not execute anyone, refused to take public funds
that came into his hands
 Cicero wrote: “But do you see what sort of man hi sis into whose hands
the state has fallen, how clever, alert, well prepared? I truly believe that
if he takes no lives and touches no man’s property, those who dreaded
him most will become his warmest admirers.”
Clip 7
 Principle city of the province of Africa
 After defeating Pompey in Greece, Cato and Pompey’s
sons went there
 In 46, Caesar came and they surrendered without a
fight
 Cato felt his cause was lost and committed suicide
 Increased Senate’s size to 900
 Casear was responsive to the social problems that plagued Rome
 Debt: did not eliminate it, but was responsive and creative,
alleviated the problem some
 Reformed the calendar
 Founded new colonies to settle his veterans
 Carthage and Corinth
 Public building program to reduce unemployment
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Forum of Julius Casear
New senate house
Had other building plans that did not get carried out
Wanted Rome to by a center for culture and education
 Wanted to bring stability and prosperity to the Roman world
 The poor loved him
 Image of his head appeared on Roman coins in the
beginning of 44
 Temple created in the Roman Forum
 Worshiped as a god
 Had absolute power and the upper classes hated him
for the way he used it and they feared him
 He believed that the republic was dead and that only he
could regulate state affairs
Clip 8