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{{Useful Notes|wppage=Julius Caesar}}
[[File:
{{quote|''Alea iacta est (The die has been cast)'' |'''Caesar''', Crossing the Rubicon }}
The most famous Roman in history. Brilliant general, orator, politician and writer. Had nothing to do with [[Beam Me Up, Scotty|Caesar salad]] [[wikipedia:Caesarean section|or the Caesarean section]].
'''Gaius Julius Caesar''' (or just '''Julius Caesar''') was born in the month [[Emperor Augustus|his successor]] would rename after himself, July (then called ''Quintilis''), in the year 100 BC, to a minor aristocratic family that nonetheless traced its line back to the foundation of Rome, as well as the goddess Venus and the hero [[The Aeneid|Aeneas]]. Caesar's father died when he was 16 and Caesar thus became head of the household and, within a year. also the teenaged High Priest of Jupiter, for which he had to break off his engagement to a plebian girl and marry Cornelia, the daughter of four-time consul Lucius Cinna. His family connections made Caesar a target of the dictator Sulla, who forced him to spend much of his inheritance in elaborate ceremonies, as well as removing his priesthood at the pleas of his mother Aurelia and others, and had toyed with having Caesar killed when he refused to divorce his wife Cinilla after one of Sulla's proscriptions stripped her of her noble status.
Abandoning the post of Flamen Dialis caused him to lose his position in the Senate, but enabled him to join the Military, which he did. However one of Sulla's restrictions, possibly ordered as a joke, only allowed him to ride a donkey into battle. Despite these setbacks, he went on to win glory for himself by winning the Civic Crown in a siege, which entitled him to automatic entry into the Senate (ironically, one of Sulla's reforms- in fact, Caesar couldn't have joined the army either if Sulla hadn't stripped him of his priesthood)<ref>The Crown was a reward for saving the life of a fellow citizen, ''vis a vie'' killing an enemy on the spot</ref>. He also, during this time, was sent on a mission to Bithynia to secure the help of King Nicomedes, but his lengthy stay at court sprouted (probably false) rumours in Rome that the two were having a homosexual relationship, rumours that were to dog Caesar throughout his career.
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Recommended reading: ''Caesar: The Life of a Colossus'' by Adrian Goldsworthy.
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{{creatortropes}}
* [[Affably Evil]]: He was very cultured, (he was an aristocrat, after all), could be very merciful, and generally tried to make friends out of enemies.
* [[Ambition Is Evil]]: For his detractors, Caesar is one of the classic examples.
* [[Antagonist in Mourning]]:
* [[Aristocrats Are Evil]]: Inverted and played straight. The Roman aristocracy was corrupt, self-serving and totally amoral. Caesar was their enemy - he was also exactly like them, and of their number.
* [[Asskicking Equals Authority]]: He earned his despotic dictatorship the hard way.
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* [[Bald of Awesome]] / [[Bald of Evil]]: And he didn't like it, which is why most people don't know about it. He wasn't totally bald, but his crown was pretty bare. Towards the end of his life, he was awarded the privilege of wearing a laurel wreath whenever he felt like it, which he used to hide the baldness.
** [[Irony]]: Caesar probably comes fom ''caesariatus'', "hairy".
* [[Beam Me Up, Scotty]]: The famous "Et tu, Brute?" line was probably never uttered by Caesar. According to Suetonius and Plutarch, Caesar did not say anything in particular when he was killed. Though, Suetonius mentions the tradition of "Kai su, teknon" ("you too, my son?") said to Brutus, which is close to the well-known phrase, so perhaps there is some truth to it.
* [[Big Bad]]: To his enemies at least, though he ''did'' end up dictator for life, remember.
** [[Big Good]]: To a large part of the Roman Army and to the people of Rome, even ''while he was dictator''. Rome's Jewish population, in particular, considered him their protector.
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** When Cato commited suicide rather than surrender to him, Caesar remarked that he would have let him live. Given that Cato was [[The Stoic]] and made sure ''everyone'' was aware of it, ''especially'' Caesar, this probably counts as a mixture of this and [[Deadpan Snarker]]- letting him live is something Cato would have found humiliating, and though Caesar might have spared him anyway, the two ''really'' hated each other and he probably would have gotten a good nights sleep knowing that he'd got that over him.
** Standard Roman policy towards rebellious towns was basically omnicidal. Caesar once got so sick of the death with one town that he settled for chopping the right hands off every single adult man in the town so they would never rise up again. Everybody was amazed at the man's leniency! ''He chopped the right hand off every single adult male in the town.''
* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Caesar was no stranger to the occassional laconic phrase.
* [[Despotism Justifies the Means]]
** Note that nothing in his recorded life prior to the Civil War indicates that he was planning to take over the empire, and why he chose to start the war was because it was that or complete political demise. Also once he was dictator he wasn't a particularly tyrannous one, certainly not even close to what Sulla was. His laws are famous for favoring the lower classes at the expense of the higher ones, the ''popularis'' that he was.
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** And popularly from Shakespeare, we get ''Et tu, Brute?'' ("You too, Brutus?") -- the Bard depicting Caesar's lapse into Greek (the language of educated Romans) by having him lapse into Latin ([[Limited Reference Pools|the language of educated Elizabethans]]). Oh and Shakespeare at most barely knew Greek.
** The "You too" line is now thought not to be a question the way Shakespeare spun it, but more along the lines of "May the same thing happen to you."
*** Suetonius says Caesar exclaimed [[Captain Obvious|"Why, this is violence!"]] after an assassin manhandled him, but before the others started stabbing him. (Violence was absolutely forbidden, to the point of being unthinkable, on the floor of the Senate.)
*** Plutarch says Caesar [[Dying Moment of Awesome|seized the arm of the first assassin to stab him and shouted "Damn you, Casca, what are you doing?"]]
* [[Father to His Men]]: Most accounts of the man have his soldiers willing to go ''beyond the already impressive bounds of Roman loyalty for him'', so much a man of the people was he.
* [[Friendly Enemy]]: Towards Pompey, [[Downplayed Trope|at least to an extent]]. When Pompey was killed by assassins, Caesar was outraged when Pompey's decapitated head was presented to him "as a gift" of his fallen enemy. Despite their intense rivalry, Caesar saw Pompey as something of a friend, perhaps even as a family member. After all, Pompey was at one point married to Caesar's daughter.
* [[Gambit Pileup]]: Rome was a vipers nest of rival ambitions. He was far from the only character plotting to overthrow the Republic, or increase personal power or glory, to say nothing of the men trying to stop people like him. Schemers include Crassus, Cicero, Pompey, Catilina, Clodius, Cato and many others, and Caesar allied with, fought against, and allied with again pretty much very one of these characters.
* [[Glory Seeker]]
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* [[Warrior Poet]]: Caesar was a vigorous writer, especially during his campaigns. Ironically enough, it from is the ''Commentarii de Bello Gallico''--an eight-book account of the Gallic Wars written during Caesar's nine-year campaign to conquer the Gauls--that we derive much of our knowledge of ancient European tribes, customs, and religions. Had Caesar not warred against them, such things would likely be lost to history.
** During the civil war Caesar wrote a treatise on Latin, called ''De Analogia'', in addition to poetry.
* [[Worthy Opponent]]: His rivalry with Pompey.
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== [[Comic Books]] ==
* [[William Shakespeare]]'s play ''[[Julius Caesar (theatre)|Julius Caesar]]'' is about Caesar's assassination and its aftermath. Caesar is the title character, but not the protagonist; he appears in only three scenes.▼
* In ''[[Asterix]]'', Caesar is the main antagonist (always portrayed as an [[Anti-Villain]]).▼
** In the 1953 film adaptation in the play, he's played by Louis Calhern.▼
** In the film ''Asterix & Obelix Take on Caesar'', he's played by German actor Gottfried John.
* Karl Urban played Caesar in a recurring role on ''[[Xena: Warrior Princess]]'' and a one-off episode of ''[[Hercules: The Legendary Journeys]]''. Having been Xena's one time ally, and lover, his betrayal (and crucifixion) of her led to Xena's warlord days, the time of her life which she spent the series atoning for. ▼
* [[George Bernard Shaw]]'s play, ''Caesar and Cleopatra'' decipts Caesar's time in Egypt and his relationship with Cleopatra.▼
== [[Film]] ==
** In the 1945 film adaptation, he's played by [[Claude Rains]].▼
* He's played by John Gavin in [[Stanley Kubrick]]'s ''[[Spartacus]]''.
* He's played by Rex Harrison in the 1963 film ''[[Cleopatra]]''.
* He's played by Klaus Maria Brandauer in ''[[Druids]]''.
* The first season of the [[HBO]] miniseries ''[[Rome]]'' is about Caesar's rise and fall. He's portrayed by Ciarán Hinds.▼
== [[Literature]] ==
▲* In ''[[Asterix]]'', Caesar is the main antagonist (always portrayed as an [[Anti-Villain]]).
* He's a central character in Colleen McCullough's ''[[Masters of Rome]]'' series.
* [[Conn Iggulden]]'s ''Emperor'' series details a [[Very Loosely Based on a True Story]] version of Julius' life and conquests, from childhood all the way to death. Despite the obvious implications of [[Adaptation Decay]], he actually [[Shown Their Work|averts this]] with some very detailed research notes in the appendices of each book and explaining his decisions to eliminate, change, or [[Composite Character|combine]] certain figures for the sake of a good story.
* He appears in Steven Saylor's ''[[Roma Sub Rosa]]'' series.
* He appears in [[John Maddox Roberts]]' ''[[SPQR]]'' series.
* He appears in ''[[Imperium]]'' and ''[[Lustrum]]'', Robert Harris' novel series about Cicero.▼
* In the Susan Howatch novel ''The Rich Are Different'', the story of Julius Caesar is retold in a 1920's Wall Street setting.▼
== [[Live-Action TV]] ==
▲* Karl Urban played Caesar in a recurring role on ''[[Xena: Warrior Princess]]'' and a one-off episode of ''[[Hercules: The Legendary Journeys]]''. Having been Xena's one time ally, and lover, his betrayal (and crucifixion) of her led to Xena's warlord days, the time of her life which she spent the series atoning for.
▲* The first season of the [[HBO]] miniseries ''[[Rome]]'' is about Caesar's rise and fall. He's portrayed by Ciarán Hinds.
* He's mentioned in ''[[I, Claudius]]''
* Played by [[Timothy Dalton]] in the 1999 [[Cleopatra (miniseries)|''Cleopatra'' mini-series]].
== [[Theatre]] ==
▲* [[William Shakespeare]]'s play ''[[Julius Caesar (theatre)|Julius Caesar]]'' is about Caesar's assassination and its aftermath. Caesar is the title character, but not the protagonist; he appears in only three scenes.
▲** In the 1953 film adaptation in the play, he's played by Louis Calhern.
** In the 1970 film adaptation, he's played by Sir John Gielgud.
▲* [[George Bernard Shaw]]'s play, ''Caesar and Cleopatra'' decipts Caesar's time in Egypt and his relationship with Cleopatra.
▲** In the 1945 film adaptation, he's played by [[Claude Rains]].
== [[Video Games]] ==
* The last missions of the Roman campaign in ''[[Empire Earth]]: Art of Conquest'' were about his rise to power.
* He plays a major role in ''[[The Salvation War]]'', as the leader of "New Rome" in human-liberated Hell.▼
▲* He appears in ''[[Imperium]]'' and ''[[Lustrum]]'', Robert Harris' novel about Cicero.
▲* In the Susan Howatch novel ''The Rich Are Different'', the story of Julius Caesar is retold in a 1920's Wall Street setting.
* Edward "Caesar" Sallow from ''[[Fallout: New Vegas]]'' modeled his band of tribes after the Roman Legions after reading the Commentarii and fancied himself as great a man as Gaius Julius Caesar was.
* In ''[[Assassin's Creed:
== [[Web Original]] ==
▲* He plays a major role in ''[[The Salvation War]]'', as the leader of "New Rome" in human-liberated Hell.
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