History & Classics
Creating Caesar's Image
Document Type
Oral Presentation
Location
Indianapolis, IN
Subject Area
History & Classics
Start Date
11-4-2014 1:15 PM
End Date
11-4-2014 2:45 PM
Sponsor
Christopher Bungard (Butler University)
Description
He was born in 100 BCE and is probably most known by people today for expanding the Roman Empire or for being stabbed to death by friends and colleagues. Before Julius Caesar built his reputation as a general, he was known as a great orator, skilled in manipulating audience's impressions. Caesar's commentaries, Bellum Gallicum and Bellum Civile, can be considered propaganda; Caesar renders himself in the way he wants Romans to see him. The reader is left with an image of Caesar as an effective, logical, and rational leader. The goal of this project will be to compare and contrast this self-portrayal with depictions from ancient Roman artists. Using selections of Bellum Gallicum and Bellum Civile, bibliographies, and iconography from coins and statues, I will compare "Caesar's Caesar" with the Roman artists' Caesar. My intention is to highlight the impact that these juxtaposed versions of Caesar had on the Roman people.
Creating Caesar's Image
Indianapolis, IN
He was born in 100 BCE and is probably most known by people today for expanding the Roman Empire or for being stabbed to death by friends and colleagues. Before Julius Caesar built his reputation as a general, he was known as a great orator, skilled in manipulating audience's impressions. Caesar's commentaries, Bellum Gallicum and Bellum Civile, can be considered propaganda; Caesar renders himself in the way he wants Romans to see him. The reader is left with an image of Caesar as an effective, logical, and rational leader. The goal of this project will be to compare and contrast this self-portrayal with depictions from ancient Roman artists. Using selections of Bellum Gallicum and Bellum Civile, bibliographies, and iconography from coins and statues, I will compare "Caesar's Caesar" with the Roman artists' Caesar. My intention is to highlight the impact that these juxtaposed versions of Caesar had on the Roman people.