Gaius Julius Caesar (100 BC – 44 BC), one of the most influential men in world history, has frequently appeared in literary and artistic works since ancient times.
Ancient works
The ancient Roman busts of Julius Caesar and Cleopatra in the Altes Museum, Berlin
Caesar is referred to in some of the poems of Catullus (ca. 84 – 54 BC)
The Tusculum portrait is possibly the only surviving portrait from Caesar's lifetime (ca. 50 – 40 BC)
The Chiaramonti Caesar is the other surviving and accepted bust of Caesar produced before the Roman Empire
He is depicted in Virgil's Aeneid (ca. 29 – 19 BC), an epic poem about the foundation of Rome
The original Pantheon built by Marcus Agrippa (ca. 29 – 19 BC) contained a statue of Caesar alongside statues of Augustus Caesar and Agrippa.[1] The statue was potentially destroyed when the Pantheon burned down in 80 AD.
He appears as a character in Lucan's Pharsalia (AD 61), an epic poem based on Caesar's Civil War
Caesar and Joshua as part of the Nine Worthies (16th century)Shakespeare's First FolioMolière in the role of Julius Caesar, painting by Nicolas Mignard, 1656Fountain in Olomouc
Caesar appears in Canto IV of Dante Alighieri's epic poem, the Divine Comedy (c. 1308–1321). He is in the section of Limbo reserved for virtuous non-Christians, along with Aeneas, Homer, Ovid, Horace and Lucan. His assassins, Brutus and Cassius, and his lover, Cleopatra, are seen among the souls of the wicked in the lower regions of hell.
Caesar was included as one of the Nine Worthies by Jacques de Longuyon in Voeux du Paon (1312). These were nine historical, scriptural, mythological or semi-legendary figures who, in the Middle Ages, were believed to personify the ideals of chivalry.
In Historia de omnibus gothorum sueonumque regibus (History of all Kings of Goths and Swedes) by Johannes Magnus, published in 1554. Caesar appears as a contemporary of the Swedish King Lindormus.
Caesar (adapted from Shakespeare's play, 1937), Orson Welles's modern-dress bare-stage adaptation that evoked comparison to contemporary Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany.
Fiction
In Jonathan Swift's 1726 satireGulliver's Travels, Gulliver has a conversation with evocations of Caesar and Brutus and Caesar confesses that all his glory does not equal the glory Brutus gained by murdering him.
Cleopatra (1889) by Rider Haggard, a historical novel, depicts Julius Caesar's relationship with Cleopatra.[2]
A Friend of Caesar: A Tale of the Fall of the Roman Republic (1900) by William Stearns Davis, follows a young nobleman who accompanies Caesar on his rise to power.[3]
The City of Libertines (1957), The Scarlet Mantle: A Novel of Julius Caesar (1978), and The Bloodied Toga: A Novel of Julius Caesar (1979) by the Canadian novelist W. G. Hardy, are a trilogy of novels covering Caesar's life.[7]
Young Caesar (1958) and its sequel Imperial Caesar (1960), novels focusing on Caesar's life by Rex Warner. [8]
First Citizen (1987), by Thomas Thurston Thomas, a science fiction book based on the life and times of Julius Caesar but set in the 21st century.[9]
Sword of Caesar (1987), in the Time Machine series, asks the reader to travel back to ancient Rome and find the fate of Caesar's battle sword.
Masters of Rome, a series of seven novels by the Australian writer, Colleen McCullough: The First Man in Rome (1991), The Grass Crown (1991), Fortune's Favorites (1993), Caesar's Women (1995), Caesar (1997), The October Horse (2002), and Antony and Cleopatra (2007).
Emperor, a series of five novels by the British writer, Conn Iggulden: The Gates of Rome (2003), The Death of Kings (2004), The Field of Swords (2005), The Gods of War (2006), and The Blood of Gods (2013).
The Cicero Trilogy by Robert Harris: Imperium (2006), Lustrum (2009), and Dictator (2015).
Bewitched: "Samantha's Caesar Salad", Aunt Esmerelda tries to conjure up a Caesar salad, but conjures up Caesar, played by Jay Robinson
Beyblade: Metal Masters: In Metal Fight Beyblade: Explosion, the Japanese dub of Metal Masters, Julian Konzern is known as Julius Caesar. This is possibly a homage to the fact Julian represents Italy and is part of Team Excalibur, the European representative team.
Rome, Gaius Julius Caesar (Rome character) played by Ciarán Hinds
Spartacus, a 2004 television film adaption of the Howard Fast novel- Caesar, played by Richard Dillane is a minor role
Spartacus: War of the Damned, stars a younger Caesar played by Todd Lasance
Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire, a BBC documentary; played by Sean Pertwee
Roman Empire, a Netflix documentary series, devotes its 2nd season to discussing his life. He is portrayed by Ditch Davey in the dramatic reconstructions.
Wayne and Shuster's "Rinse the Blood off My Toga" spoofs Shakespeare's Julius Caesar as a Dragnet episode
Xena: Warrior Princess and once on Hercules: The Legendary Journeys: Caesar was a major antagonist, played by Karl Urban
SCTV: in a 1980 episode in which Bobby Bitman (Eugene Levy) portrays Caesar in a live television broadcast of the Shakespeare play telling bad jokes, which is then interrupted by a Russian satellite cutting into the broadcast feed of SCTV and showing Russian TV.
DC's Legends of Tomorrow, Caesar is portrayed by Simon Merrells in the season three episode "Aruba-Con", where Caesar is displaced in time and ends up in Aruba in 2018, as well as in the season's finale, "The Good, the Bad, and the Cuddly", where he is possessed by the demon Mallus.
The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants, an allergy-ridden Caesar is portrayed as "Creulius Sneezer" in an episode titled, "Captain Underpants and the Crazy Caustic Spray of the Contagious Cruelius Sneezer."
In the BBC Radio 4 series Caesar! (2003–2007) written by Mike Walker, David Troughton played Julius Caesar in "Meeting at Formiae", the first episode of Series One.
In the "Life of Caesar" Podcast, by Cameron Reilly and Ray Harris Jr., which ran from 2013 to 2015 and continued onto Octavian in August 2015.[11]
Comics
A depiction of the Gallic War Commentaries of Caesar's, entitled "Caesar's Conquests", appeared in the now defunct Classics Illustrated comic series from the 1940s to the 1970s.
Fallout: New Vegas depicts a dictator who patterns himself after the various Caesares, Julius in particular.
Julius Caesar appears as the leader of the Roman Empire in several instalments of the Civilization series of strategy games.
Caesar is mentioned in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood as being a Templar, and that his assassination by Brutus and other members of the Assassins is to prevent the Templars from gaining power in Rome.
Caesar is also an important character in Assassin's Creed Origins, which depicts the Siege of Alexandria and the Battle of the Nile. Caesar is initially allied with the main protagonists, Bayek and Aya, but is shown to be working with the Order of the Ancients, an early incarnation of the Templars. Near the end of the game, Aya travels to Rome and is the first person to stab Caesar at his assassination.
In Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome, a player can act as Julius Caesar.
Gaius Julius Caesar appears as a servant in the mobile game Fate/Grand Order, summoned as the class of Saber.
In the Total War: Rome 2 expansion Caesar in Gaul as a playable General.
Julius Caesar is able to be summoned in Scribblenauts and its sequels.
Caesar is depicted as the primary villain in A Courtesan of Rome, an interactive visual novel released in 2019 by Pixelberry Studios via their Choices: Stories You Play mobile app.
Music
Mentioned in the song "Weather with You" by Crowded House, "Strange affliction wash over me/Julius Caesar and the Roman Empire couldn't conquer the blue sky."
^Fishwick, Duncan (1992). "The Statue of Julius Caesar in the Pantheon". Latomus. 51 (2): 329–336. ISSN 0023-8856.
^Eastlake, Laura, Ancient Rome and Victorian Masculinity. Oxford, United Kingdom : Oxford University Press, 2019. ISBN 9780192569387 (pgs. 162-163)
^McGarry, Daniel D., White, Sarah Harriman, Historical Fiction Guide: Annotated Chronological, Geographical, and Topical List of Five Thousand Selected Historical Novels. Scarecrow Press, New York, 1963 (pg. 147) (p. 33)
^Talbot Mundy: Philosopher of Adventure: A Critical Biography by Brian Taves. McFarland, 2006 (pp. 137–143)
^Clarke, Martin Lowther ,The Noblest Roman: Marcus Brutus and His Reputation. Cornell University Press, 1981. ISBN 9780801413933 (p.132)
^Fuller, Edmund. “Thornton Wilder: The Notation of the Heart.” pp. 39–43. In Critical Essays on Thornton Wilder. Edited by Martin Blank. New York: G.K. Hall, 1996. (p. 42) ISBN 9780783800202
^ Lynda G. Adamson, World Historical Fiction: An Annotated Guide to Novels for Adults and Young Adults. Phoenix, AZ; Oryx Press ISBN 9781573560665 (p.27)
Media related to Julius Caesar in art at Wikimedia Commons
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