More than two thousand years after his death, Julius Caesar
remains one of the great figures of history. He shaped Rome for
generations, and his name became a synonym for "emperor" -- not
only in Rome but as far away as Germany and Russia. He is best
known as the general who defeated the Gauls and doubled the size of
Rome's territories. But, as Philip Freeman describes in this
fascinating new biography, Caesar was also a brilliant orator, an
accomplished writer, a skilled politician, and much more.
Julius Caesar was a complex man, both hero and villain. He
possessed great courage, ambition, honor, and vanity. Born into a
noble family that had long been in decline, he advanced his career
cunningly, beginning as a priest and eventually becoming Rome's
leading general. He made alliances with his rivals and then
discarded them when it suited him. He was a spokesman for the
ordinary people of Rome, who rallied around him time and again, but
he profited enormously from his conquests and lived opulently.
Eventually he was murdered in one of the most famous assassinations
in history.
Caesar's contemporaries included some of Rome's most famous
figures, from the generals Marius, Sulla, and Pompey to the orator
and legislator Cicero as well as the young politicians Mark Antony
and Octavius (later Caesar Augustus). Caesar's legendary romance
with the Egyptian queen Cleopatra still fascinates us today.
In this splendid biography, Freeman presents Caesar in all his
dimensions and contradictions. With remarkable clarity and brevity,
Freeman shows how Caesar dominated a newly powerful Rome and shaped
its destiny. This book will captivate readers discovering Caesar
and ancient Rome for the first time as well as those who have a
deep interest in the classical world.
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