Guy Julius Caesar Strabo Vopisk

Origin

Gaius Julius Caesar belonged to an ancient patrician family, whose representatives built their genealogy with the goddess Venus through Aeneas ^[1] . In the period from 489 to 379 BC. e. Julia repeatedly became consuls and military stands with consular power , but over the next two centuries they were hardly mentioned in the sources. By the end of the II century BC. e. these were ordinary senators who did not rise above their praetors in their careers (like Uncle Gaya Sextus Julius Caesar , praetor 123 BC ^[2] ). The father of Gaius Julius bore the name Lucius ^[3] and, apparently, did not occupy any curule magistracy. All that is known about him is that at some point he was a monetarist ^[4] .

Guy had an older brother Lucius . The mother of the two Julia was Popillia, in the first marriage, the wife of Quintus Lutius Katula. Accordingly, the quaternary elder brother of Guy and Lucius was Quintus Lutacy Catulus , consul of 102 BC. e. and the winner of the Cimbri ^{[5] [6]} . Lutatsiev family until the 100s BC e. was in approximately the same position as Julia: having consuls in her pedigree, the Katuls did not rise to the magisterial magistrates ^[7] . Guy (father of dictator Guy Julius Caesar ) and Sextus Caesari, who were supposedly second cousins ​​of Guy Strabo Vopisk and Lucius, belonged to another branch of the Julius clan ^[2] .

Two nicknames became part of the name of Guy Julius: Strabo ( Strabo - "cross-eyed" ^[8] ) and Vopisk ( Vopiscus ). The last nickname, according to Pliny the Elder , was given to people born as part of a pair of twins if the second twin was born dead ^[9] . In addition, the sources mention the nickname Sesquiculus ^[10] .

Career start

The exact date of birth of Guy Julius is unknown. G. Sumner believes that this could be 131 or 127 BC. e. ^[11] ; F. Münzer writes about about 130 years ^[12] , E. Stärk considers 131 years to be the most probable date ^[10] . In the 100s BC e. the Yuliev family began to emerge from obscurity due to the fact that Catul became a consul on the fourth attempt; supposedly decisive role was played by the support of Guy Maria , who married about 110 BC. e. on the second cousin of two Julia ^{[13] [14]} . Mari, who was elected consul for five consecutive years (104-100 BC), became the most influential person in the republic, and Caesari, along with Anthony , Junius , Marcius , Valerius, and some other old clans, became part of his circle: thanks to him, made a career and joined the “faction” of Maria in the Senate ^{[15] [16]} .

Guy Julius began his career as an orator. In 103 BC e. he accused in court of the prophet Sardinia Titus Albucius . Then or in 100 BC. e. Together with cousin Guy, he worked in commissions implementing the projects of Guy Maria and the people's tribune of Lucius Appuleius Saturnin to provide veterans with land in the provinces ^{[17] [18]} . When Marius broke the alliance with Saturnin, Julia supported the first: in any case, Mark Tullius Cicero , listing the aristocrats who took part in the armed struggle against the popular tribune declared “the enemy of the Republic,” calls “all Julias” ^[19] . In subsequent years, the influence of Mary began to weaken, and the brothers Julia, following Catulus, broke their alliance with him ^[20] ; while their cousins ​​Guy and Sextus remained in the Marian “party” ^[21] .

Elogy Gaya Julia ( ILS48 ) reports that he twice served as a military tribune and was a member of the priestly collegium of pontiffs ^[12] . In the consular decree of 99 BC. e., which leads in his "Attic Nights" by Aulus Gellius , is mentioned the pontiff Guy Julius, son of Lucius ^[22] ; presumably a speech about Strabo Vopisk ^[12] , who, thus, took his place in the college no later than this date ^[23] . Presumably 96 BC e. researchers date his questura ^[24] . In these years, according to Cicero, Gaius Julius was one of the most sought after judicial lawyers in Rome ^[25] .

In 91 BC e., when the people's stands Mark Livy Druz came up with a reform program that envisaged the expansion of the senate at the expense of riders , transfer to the control of senators of the courts, large-scale division of land and the granting of civil rights to the Italians , Guy Julius was among his supporters. This political group also included Mark Emilius Skavr , Lucius Licinius Crassus , Marc Anthony Orator , both Quintus Mucius Stcevola - Pontiff and Augur , Guy Aurelius Cotta , Praetor Quintus Pompey Ruf , prominent speaker Publius Sulpicius (he was connected with Guy Julius by close friendship ^{[6 ]} ) ^{[26] [27]} . There is an opinion that Lucius Cornelius Sulla also belonged to the like-minded Druze, then only praetorium (the former praetor) ^[28] .

Reforms met strong resistance. All the laws of Druze were repealed in the same year, and the people's stands fell at the hands of the killer. Nevertheless, Guy Julius won his election as a Curyl aedile the next year - 90 BC. e. ^[29] ; it is known that during his edilitet he performed almost every day at folk gatherings ^[30] .

Consul Claims

In 89 BC e. Rome began a war with King Pontus Mithridates , who had just occupied the province of Asia . One of the consuls of 88 was supposed to take command of the theater of operations, and this made the struggle for magistracy especially dramatic: the outbreak of the war did not seem particularly difficult, but promised the commander fame, spoils and sympathy from the Roman business community ^[31] . The main candidates were Lucius Cornelius Sulla, who distinguished himself during the last military campaign and secured the support of the influential Metell family, and his political ally Quintus Pompey Ruf; some sources also name Gaius Maria and Gnei Pompey Strabo . Guy Julius also put forward his candidacy, although he had not yet held the position of praetor, mandatory for the candidate in accordance with the law of Willius . In his claims, he could receive support from his older brothers, Lucius Julius Caesar and Quintus Lutius Catulus, as well as from Marc Anthony ^[32] .

Against Guy Julius, two popular tribunes made - Publius Antistius and Publius Sulpicius. The latter broke his friendship with Caesar in order to prevent him from becoming consul, and many scholars believe that the stands acted in this situation in the interests of Sulla ^[33] . An alternative point of view suggests that there was no union of Sulla and Sulpicius and that the latter acted only in the interests of the law ^[34] . The tribunes insisted that it is impossible to obtain a consulate without going through the intermediate stage of praetorship; at the same time, Cicero reports that "the arguments of Antistia turned out to be more numerous and subtle" ^[35] . Both Guy Julius and the stands had numerous supporters, between whom street clashes began. The sources mention a certain Pomponius, who boasted of a wound in the face he had received in one of these skirmishes, and to which Gaius Julius gave sarcastic advice: “When you run away, in no case look around” ^[36] . Asconius Pedian called these clashes “the cause of the civil war” ^[37] . In the end, Caesar lost the election, and Sulla and Pompey became consuls ^[38] .

Doom

Gaius Marius, with the support of Publius Sulpicius, tried in 88 BC. e. take command, and as a result, the first civil war began. Sulla occupied Rome, but soon departed for the Balkans. Then Mari returned from African exile, in turn occupied Rome with the army and began an unprecedented terror against persons of the senatorial rank. Among the victims were three brothers - Quintus Lutacy Catulus, Lucius Julius Caesar and Gaius Julius Caesar Strabo Vopisk ^[39] .

According to Diodorus , even before entering the city, the Marians decided to “put to death their most famous opponents, all those who were able to challenge their power” ^[40] . If Catul was brought to trial and committed suicide, realizing that his fate was resolved, then the Caesar brothers were killed without any legal procedures ^[39] ; they “were killed, being captured in the way” ^[41] . Valery Maxim writes that Gaius Julius took refuge in a Tarquinian estate in Etruria with a certain Sextil, whom he had previously defended from some serious judicial charge. But Sextilius, forgetting the gratitude and duty of hospitality, gave it to the Marians ^[42] . The same author tells how the corpse of Lucius Julius was dragged through the city to the grave of Quintus Varius , whom he had once accused in court ^[43] , but researchers agree that in fact it is about Gaius Julia ^[44] . Guy's head was put on a roster next to the heads of Lucius and Mark Anthony Orator ^{[45] [46]} .

Public speaking

Mark Tullius Cicero praised the oratory talent of Guy Julius ^[47] . According to him, Caesar Strabo "surpassed all his predecessors and contemporaries with cheerfulness and subtle wit." True, Cicero writes further that with all the smoothness of the style, the eloquence of Guy Julius “was clearly lacking strength,” but “no one has ever possessed more humor, charm and charm” ^[48] . Caesar liked to make fun of his opponents, paying attention to the shortcomings of their appearance or absurdity in behavior. In Cicero's treatise "On the Orator," he himself cites examples:

So I once said to Helvius Mantius: “Here I will show you what you are!” - and on his “Come on, show me!” - I pointed my finger at the gall painted on the kimbra shield Maria at the New benches, twisted, with his tongue hanging out, with drooping cheeks. Laughter rose; the resemblance to Manzius was directly unprecedented. Or here’s a word about Titus Pinaria, who, when he says, twists his chin: “If you thought to speak, first crack your nut”.

- Mark Tullius Cicero. About the Speaker, II, 266 ^[49]

Caesar joked about Guy Scribonius Kourion , who had the habit of swaying from side to side during his speeches, asking publicly: “What kind of rower is he talking about there?” ^[50]

The earliest of the speeches mentioned in the sources of Guy Julius is Pro Sardis (“In Defense of the Sardis ”), uttered in 103 BC. e. at the trial of the former governor of Sardinia, Titus Albucius, accused of abuse of power ^[12] . It is known that the inhabitants of the island asked Caesar to lead this process. Gnei Pompey Strabo also claimed the status of a prosecutor (before that, a questor under Albucius), but Guy Julius won this dispute ^[51] and got a conviction, so Albucius had to go into exile ^[52] . Suetonius reports that dictator Gaius Julius Caesar made verbatim borrowings from this speech of a relative in his speech against Gnei Cornelius Dolabella ^[53] .

Of the many speeches delivered by Caesar during the edilitet in 90 BC. e., sources mention only one ^[12] - against Guy Scribonius Kourion ^[50] . Two more speeches that Guy Julius made in the following years - at the time when he applied for the consulate - are quoted by Marc Terence Varron and Priscian ^[54] . Cicero in the treatise " Brutus, or On the famous speakers ", written in 46 BC. e., writes about the existence of the texts of several speeches ^[48] ; all of them, with the exception of a few citations ^[55] , have been lost ^[54] .

Drama classes

Guy Julius wrote a series of tragedies in which, according to Cicero, he demonstrated “a smooth, but powerless syllable” - the same as in speeches ^[48] . It was this ^[56] Julius Caesar, “a brilliant and powerful husband” that appears in the story told by Valery Maxim: Lucius Shares , when Caesar came to the “College of Poets”, each time refused to stand up to greet him ^[57] . The sources featured the names of the three tragedies of Guy Julius: “ Teutrant ” ^[58] , “ Adrast ”, “ Tekmessa ”. Judging by them, Caesar Strabo used in his work unpopular mythological subjects ^[59] . From these plays only three short passages have been preserved - two from Adrast, one from Teutrant ^{[60] [56]} .

Guy Julius became the first representative of the Roman nobility, who tried his hand in drama ^[10] .

According to one hypothesis, the daughter of Caesar Strabo Vopisk was Julia, mentioned in sources in connection with the events of 43 BC. e. ^[61] She was the wife of one of the Sulpicius - perhaps Servius Sulpicius Galba or Publius Sulpicius Rufus - and the mother-in-law of Lucius Cornelius Lentulus Cruzcellion ^[62] .

Mark Tullius Cicero, who heard the performances of Guy Julius during his youth, calls him “a model of courtesy, wit, pleasantness, grace” ^[63] . Caesar became one of the main characters of the treatise " On the Orator ", which takes place in the fall of 91 BC. e. ^{[64] A} distant relative of Caesar Strabo, another Guy Julius Caesar , chose him “for a model of eloquence” ^[53] ; Guy Velley Patculus ranks him among the best Roman orators ^[65] .

Sources

1. Appian of Alexandria . Roman history. - M .: Ladomir, 2002 .-- 880 p. - ISBN 5-86218-174-1 .
2. Asconius Pedian . Comments on the speeches of Cicero (neopr.) . Attalus Date of treatment June 13, 2017.
3. Valery Maxim . Memorable deeds and sayings. - SPb. : Publishing house of St. Petersburg State University, 2007. - ISBN 978-5-288-04267-6 .
4. Valery Maxim. Memorable deeds and sayings. - SPb. , 1772. - T. 2. - 520 s.
5. Guy Valley Patculus . Roman History // Small Roman Historians. - M .: Ladomir, 1996 .-- S. 11-98. - ISBN 5-86218-125-3 .
6. Aulus Gellius . Attic nights. Books 1-10. - SPb. : Publishing Center "Humanitarian Academy", 2007. - 480 p. - ISBN 978-5-93762-027-9 .
7. Diodorus of Sicily . Historical Library (Neopr.) . Site "Symposium". Date of appeal May 16, 2017.
8. Capitoline fasts (neopr.) . Site "History of Ancient Rome". Date of treatment July 8, 2017.
9. Titus Livy . The history of Rome from the foundation of the city. - M .: Nauka, 1994 .-- T. 3 .-- 768 p. - ISBN 5-02-008995-8 .
10. Ambrose Theodosius Macrobius . Saturnalia. - M .: Krug, 2013 .-- 810 p. - ISBN 978-5-7396-0257-2 .
11. Pliny the Elder . Natural history (neopr.) . Date of treatment July 9, 2017.
12. Guy Suetonius Tranquill . Life of the Twelve Caesars // Suetonius. The lords of Rome. - M .: Ladomir, 1999 .-- S. 12-281. - ISBN 5-86218-365-5 .
13. Mark Tullius Cicero . Brutus // Three treatises on oratory. - M .: Ladomir, 1994 .-- S. 253-328. - ISBN 5-86218-097-4 .
14. Mark Tullius Cicero. About duties // About old age. About friendship. About duties. - M .: Nauka, 1974. - S. 58-158.
15. Mark Tullius Cicero. About the speaker // Three treatises on oratory. - M .: Ladomir, 1994. - S. 75—272. - ISBN 5-86218-097-4 .
16. Mark Tullius Cicero. Speech. - M .: Nauka, 1993 .-- ISBN 5-02-011169-4 .
17. Mark Tullius Cicero . Speech (neopr.) . Date of treatment February 19, 2017.
18. Mark Tullius Cicero. Tusculan Conversations // Selected Works. - M .: Fiction, 1975. - S. 207–357.
19. Mark Fabius Quintilian . Instructions to the speaker (unspecified) . Date of treatment June 12, 2017.

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• Guy Julius Caesar Strabo Vopisk (Russian) . - biography on the site ancientrome.ru .
• The surviving fragments of the works of Guy Julius Caesar Strabo Vopiska