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5 Fascinating Stories That Make Julius Caesar a Real Badass
Even after 2000 years, everyone knows who Julius Caesar was
Julius Caesar (100-44 BC) captivated our imagination for millennia. William Shakespeare dedicated a play in his honor. We named the seventh month of the year (July) after him. Even words for a ruler in German (‘Kaiser’) and in Russian (‘tsar’) originate from his surname.
Here are five actual stories that made Caesar legendary.
1. Asking his kidnappers to demand a much higher ransom for his release
During his voyage to Rhodes in 75 BC, twenty-five years old Caesar was kidnapped by pirates. They demanded twenty talents of silver (approximately 620 kg of silver, or $600.000) as a ransom. Caesar laughed at them, saying he was worth at least fifty talents (1550 kg of silver). Consequently, the pirates requested a ransom of fifty talents.
It took thirty-eight days for the Romans to gather the money and during that time Caesar was writing poetry and reciting it to the pirates. He behaved like he was their boss, even demanding that they were quiet when he went to bed.
Caesar joked with the pirates that he would hunt them down and crucify them when he was a free man again.
As it happens, Caesar was not joking. After the ransom was paid, Caesar raised his private army and hunted down the pirates. He crucified each one of them.
2. Winning despite being outnumbered five to one
Caesar’s campaign against the Gauls in modern-day France made him rich and famous. However, his eventual victory didn’t come easily. After he had conquered Gaul, the Gauls, led by Vercingetorix, revolted. The war boiled down to the Siege of Alesia in 52 BC.
