Julius Caesar Chapter Summary

Julius Caesar, by Phillip Freeman, is a very detailed and concise biography of the great statesman and general. The book begins by giving a brief description of Caesars early life. It notes how we do not know much about the early life of Caesar, because the beginning of Suetonius’s “Live of the Twelve Caesars” was destroyed. It begin to explain the origins of his name, and what his life may have been like as child. He comes from a patrician family, which claims decadence from Aeneas, and through him Venus. It then tells tales from Caesar being captured by pirates, to his survival during the time of Sulla. His path of power is mainly focused on his early offices, and his political opponents, like Cato and Bibulous. It puts a great emphasis …show more content…
Caesar “solved” the migration problem of the Helvetii, defeated the German warlord Ariovistus, and bridged the Rhine to attack Germania itself. It explains his victories against the Belgae and the Nervii, as well as how he was the first Roman general ever to journey over to Britannia. He final chapter of Gaul covers Caesars endeavor and conquest of a final united Gaul, under Vercingetorix, and the siege of Alesia. Next it reviews Rome and the political situation, describing the events within. The senate gave Caesar his famous ultimatum. Caesar famously crosses the Rubicon, and Pompey flees to Greece. Then the civil war is told, and you learn of his great victories, like Pharsalus, Thapsus, and in Egypt. You also learn of his defeat in Dyrrhachium. Caesar was able to conquer all the roman control world at the time, and was made dictator for life. On the other side of Caesar you learn his immense clemency, how he pardoned almost all of those who fought against him, and how even though he was in desperate need of coin at times, he would not create prescription lists, like Sulla. Caesar is ultimately assassinated, and the story jumps to how Washington, during his retreat to Valley Forge, put on the play Cato, and how that relates to the life of Caesar and his events within this