Julius Caesar documented his experience throughout the civil war and parts of the Alexandrian war. In his interpretation of his experience, Caesar only met with Cleopatra to discuss politics and warfare. It wasn't until later that Lucan, a Roman poet, made Cleopatra into a whore and Caesar as a victim to her foreign rule that barely escaped with his life. This fictional interpretation of Caesar's Civil War was produced under Augustus after the propaganda war that occurred during the Alexandrian War.
Thursday, October 29, 2015
Caesar's point of view
While studying about Cleopatra and how Romans viewed her is the most important aspect of my research, there are some other main characters that deserve mentioned such as the Caesar family. Julius Caesar restored Cleopatra to her throne while his nephew- son, Octavian, put Cleopatra's downfall and effected the views of Cleopatra throughout his reign as Augustus Caesar.
Julius Caesar documented his experience throughout the civil war and parts of the Alexandrian war. In his interpretation of his experience, Caesar only met with Cleopatra to discuss politics and warfare. It wasn't until later that Lucan, a Roman poet, made Cleopatra into a whore and Caesar as a victim to her foreign rule that barely escaped with his life. This fictional interpretation of Caesar's Civil War was produced under Augustus after the propaganda war that occurred during the Alexandrian War.
Julius Caesar documented his experience throughout the civil war and parts of the Alexandrian war. In his interpretation of his experience, Caesar only met with Cleopatra to discuss politics and warfare. It wasn't until later that Lucan, a Roman poet, made Cleopatra into a whore and Caesar as a victim to her foreign rule that barely escaped with his life. This fictional interpretation of Caesar's Civil War was produced under Augustus after the propaganda war that occurred during the Alexandrian War.
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Cindy,
ReplyDeleteThere seem to be contrasting elements between Julius and Augustus on the view of Cleopatra. Obviously the two are closely connected; Augustus being Julius' adopted son. So that leads me to question why the two had opposing views of her; it seems as though Julius was neutral or perhaps at a positive disposition towards her, while Augustus had more negative views. Was it that the perspectives changed over time or merely because of gender or political biases, that the viewpoints differ. I'd be curious to know if you've given this any thought.
Something I might be interested to know is why the propaganda war happened at all. This all occurred after the senate had been abolished and the emperor had all power, correct? I don't see why Augustus would care to shift the opinions of people about Cleopatra using propaganda.
ReplyDeleteIt is still during the triumvirate so Octavian still isn't a solo emperor. Also the birth Caesar's son, although he never claimed the child, caused speculation over who was really next in line for the thrown. The only reason Octavian would get it is if Julius didn't produce a male heir.
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