Julius Caesar was a powerful ruler of the Roman
Empire. Before he gained the title of emperor, he had political ambition and
great oratorical ability. He was the consul of Rome, and later he served as the
governor of Gaul. He eventually conquered the Celts and dominated over the
Germanic peoples. As Julius Caesar gained power, he also gained favor for his
bravery and skill in battle. However, Pompey his rival dominated Rome, which
Julius Caesar desired to control. As Julius Caesar’s fame grew, he also became
a threat to the Roman Senate, who did not favor rule by one man. The Senate
gave Caesar an ultimatum: he had to demobilize his army or risk being an enemy
of the Rome. Caesar made a monumental decision. He decided to cross the
Rubicon, in 49 BC, and entered Rome to dispel Pompey and his associates. Crossing
the Rubicon with a standing army was a huge act for Caesar because doing such was
treasonous. However, Caesar wanted to flex his muscles and prove that he would
be a strong leader. After he crossed the Rubicon from northern Italy, Caesar
entered Rome and drove his rival Pompey to Greece. He then made a declaration
that he was the dictator of Rome.
As the dictator of Rome, Julius Caesar was no friend of the Senate. In 44 BC,
he declared that he was the dictator for life over the Roman Empire. Many of
the senators were dismayed at this declaration and began to plot his demise.
A group of senators led by Brutus and Cassius organized a plan to murder Julius
Caesar. Brutus had an agreeable personality and was a nobleman who loved
justice, which he assumed Julius Cesar was averting by declaring himself the
emperor for life. Cassius was brooding and more severe. He had been a soldier,
and he grew wary of Cesar and his egotism. On March 15, 44 BC, known as the
Ides of March, the political leaders brutally stabbed Julius Caesar at the
Theatre of Pompey in the center of Rome. Cassius is assumed to have organized
the assassination by stirring up Brutus against his friend, Julius Caesar. Caesar had no idea what fate awaited him by
whom he thought were his trusted friends.
Theatre of Pompey
In William Shakespeare’s play Julius
Caesar, he immortalizes the poignancy of the scene where Brutus, whom
Caesar thought of as a son, betrays him. In the play, Caesar uttered these
famous words to Brutus: “et tu, Brute” (and you too, Brutus). Shakespeare used
these lines to demonstrate Cesar’s unawareness of the plot against him by those
he thought were his trusted friends.
Since his death, however, Julius Caesar has not faded into oblivion. He remains
popular through Shakespeare’s epic play about his assassination. Caesar remains
a hero in Rome. A monument, along with his grave in the Roman Forum,
commemorates his death; and people still place flowers on his grave in the
Roman Forum to honor his life. Despite Julius Caesar’s assassination, he remains
a popular historical figure.
Recommended Readings
“The Assassination of JULIUS CAESAR in the SENATE HOUSE at ROME.”
New London Magazine, 1785-1789 3:28
(August 1787): 414.
Kamm, Antony. Julius Cease: A Life. New York: Routledge, 2006.
Markels, Julian, and William Shakespeare. Shakespeare’s
Julius Caesar.
New York: Scribner,1961.
Dando-Collins, Stephen. The Ideas:
Caesar’s Murder and the War for Rome.
Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2010.
Roy Brown Ward’s “Women in Roman Baths” explores the
relationship and acceptance of women in this setting in ancient Rome. Studies
relating to the cultural patterns of the ancient world show an interesting
segment of historical subjects’ lives.
From studying documents and archeological evidence of Roman bath culture, Ward
ponders a question that this article addresses about women’s presence in the
bathhouses. He shows that at one time most women, even Christians, bathed in
the public baths nude and sometimes in the company of men. However, women’s status
in the bathhouses emerged over time.
Ward first explains how in the second century B.C. Roman baths expanded from their Greek
predecessors into rooms with many baths and hot water. These bathing rooms
began to be an important part of the Romans’ social lives, and it was a signal of
a social reorganization with women able to attend. Archeological evidence, such
as Stabian baths and Forum baths from Pompeii, shows that in the second century
B.C., women could attend the baths; however, the facilities were certainly not
as large or elaborate. Clearly, from the archeological and literary evidence,
during the second century B.C., men and women had “separate but not equal
facilities.”
However, as archeology shows, the situation changed for women around the time
of Augustus and Claudius with bathing houses having non-separated areas for men
and women. The Capito baths in Asia Minor are the best early examples of
non-segregated bathing facilities. These bathing houses were built around 47-52
A.D., and they are still intact making them wonderful artifacts explaining women’s
status in the baths. Another archeology discovery in Rome is the Herculaneum baths
with one room for all sexes to bathe.
During the first century, women definitely bathed alongside men as the literary
record indicates. Some evidence, during the time of Augustus even indicates
that women were romantically associated with men when they attended the bathing
houses. Women who went to the baths were from all socio-economic backgrounds
from prostitutes to wealthy married women. Women could even enjoy a message and
exercise when they went to the bathhouse. It is clear from literary sources
that into the second century, segregation among the sexes in the bathhouses
took a turn because women attended and bathed in the same facilities with men.
Some evidence seems to indicate that Hadrian saw unsegregated bathing between
the sexes as something a “bad emperor” would allow; therefore, he wanted to
segregate the baths again. However, segregated bathing facilities for the sexes
did not happen during his reign. There is no evidence to show that segregated
bathhouses were built; however, men and women started using the baths at different
times.
It is interesting to note that Christian sources, such as Clement do not chastise
Christians from attending the bathing houses; however, some Christian leaders
did not look favorably on unsegregated bathing. Jovinianus, a monk, did not see
anything wrong with men and women bathing together. Jerome, an early church
father, disapproved of not only women and men bathing together, but also he did
not like even married women and virgins to bathe in the same facility. Nevertheless,
public bathing was diminishing as private tubs became more in vogue.
Roy Bowen Ward’s examination of women and the Roman bathhouses suggests that women
were very much a part of this Roman cultural experience, and they enjoyed
attending bathhouses and bathing alongside the men.
Emperor Caracalla's Bathhouse
Bibliography
Ward, Roy Bowen. “Women in Roman Baths.” The Harvard Theological Review
85:2
(April 1992): 125-147.
