Julius Caesar was a Roman statesman and general who served as dictator in the waning years of the Roman Republic. He founded the Twelfth Legion Fulminata and was a member of the First Triumvirate.
History[]
Gaius Julius Caesar was born on July 12, 100 BCE during the era of the late Roman Republic. While campaigning in Gaul (France), western Germania (Germany) and Britannia (Britain), he formed the first triumvirate with his former rivals, Marcus Licinius Crassus and Pompey the Great.
Caesar was able to gain money to finance his public work campaigns from Crassus and military power from Pompey's loyal legions. Crassus, who was much envied and hated for his money and how he attained it, was also able to gain popularity from Pompey as well as Caesar. Pompey was grateful to Caesar for his support against slander in the senate. Caesar's speeches in the senate were in favor of giving the newly conquered land to Pompey's returned legions. To cement the Triumvirate, Crassus told Caesar's numerous debt holders that he would pay Caesar's loans if Caesar defaulted. Pompey even married Caesar's only child, Julia.
Octavian, his adopted nephew
Julius Caesar established the Twelfth Legion Fulminata in 58 BCE, and would accompany the Roman general during his campaigns in Gaul from 58 to 50 BCE. The Roman politician and general's military accomplishments extended Rome's territory. However, Rome was facing a series of civil wars, Caesar was declared an enemy of the Republic due to jealousy and hatred by fellow senators. The cause of the civil war was when Caesar refused to disband his army along the Rubicon river (the traditional border dividing Italy with the northern provinces) and return to Rome for trial (where he would most certainly face execution). After Crassus was killed in battle with the Parthians at the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BCE, Caesar campaigned against Pompey and emerged victorious in the war. Yet Caesar was shocked to find that Pompey was killed at Pelusium by Lucius Septimius, cried when he was given his seal-ring. He would also meet Cleopatra in Egypt, with whom he had an affair and an illegitimate (in the eyes of the Roman people and the Senate of Rome) son, Caesarion. He was declared "dictator for life" and went on to institute social reforms that angered some powerful Romans. As dictator of Rome, he was of a political rank that denoted a person with full power to override the Senate in times of emergency. On March 15, 44 BCE, in the Theatre of Pompey, Caesar was stabbed to death by a group of conspiring senators hoping to restore the Republic on the infamous Ides of March.
To punish the assassins, Caesar's grandnephew, Octavian (who would later be named Augustus), formed a second triumvirate with fellow Caesar supporters/allies Lepidus and Marc Antony. This led to the end of the Roman Republic and soon the beginning of the Roman Empire.
The Heroes of Olympus[]
The Son of Neptune[]
Julius Caesar was mentioned by Vitellius when he says that the Twelfth Legion Fulminata much better back then thanks to him. Later, when Percy Jackson questioned about the Twelfth Legion's Eagle, Frank Zhang explained that Julius Caesar supposedly nicknamed the legion 'Fulminata', armed with lightning, because of what the eagle could do. After Frank explains that no weapons are allowed beyond the Pomerian Line, Percy correctly guesses that one reason for that was Caesar's assassination.
The Trials of Apollo[]
The Dark Prophecy[]
Apollo mentions that he hadn't dealt with Blemmyae since the time of Julius Caesar.
The Burning Maze[]
Caligula is constantly called Caesar throughout the book. Apollo admitted that he didn't fear Caesar, he could've just said "Bye!" and vanish in a cloud of glitter. He was also said to have been immortalized after his death.
At Edgarton Day and Boarding School, the male students, including Jason Grace, were reading Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. Apollo, Shakespeare's father, said he would've been horrified at the number of hours mortals spent drilling his plays into the heads of bored teenagers, and the sheer number of pipes, tweed jackets, marble busts, and bad dissertations even his least favorite plays had inspired.
The Kane Chronicles[]
Brooklyn House Magician's Manual[]
Carter Kane sees his encounter with Cleopatra in the Hall of Ages.
Trivia[]
- The title of Caesar, as used by Roman and Byzantine emperors, is derived from his name (i.e., cognomen), as was the German Kaiser and the Russian Tsar.
- Julius Caesar shares his birthday (July 12) with Annabeth Chase.