Caesarian Conflict: Portrayals of Julius Caesar in narratives of civil war

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the poignancy of civil war for Rome in the late Republican through early Imperial period, as focalized through depictions of Julius Caesar and, to a more limited degree, the Caesar-like Catiline. My comparative examination of Sallust's Bellum Catilinae, Velleius Paterculus' Historiae, and Lucan's Pharsalia centers on how each author treats qualities and catchwords found in Caesar's self-portrait in the Bellum Civile. By reading each portrayal of Caesar against the general's own account of civil war, I contend that one finds shifts in issues and traits according to their relevance to an author's own times, aims, and view of the relationship between Republic and Principate. Moreover, I suggest that whether an author portrays Julius Caesar in a positive or negative light is likely a consequence of his view of the current "Caesar" (i.e., Octavian, Tiberius, or Nero).