Caesar - His Life and Legacy

Even the cliches from the life of Julius Caesar reveal the extent to which his life has become an enduring part of the fabric of western culture. In this book Maria Wyke's account of his life is interwoven with a fascinating exploration of the ways in which that life has provided inexhaustible inspiration for two thousand years. The Middle Ages held him to be a 'pagan saint' whose life exemplified Christian virtues, and popes and emperors clamoured to establish a founding place for him in their family trees. Artists such as Shakespeare and Handel found in 'great Caesar's' life the stuff of dramatic plots which focus on power, revolution and rebellion, while Mussolini (to his enemies a 'sawdust Caesar') and Cesare Borgia looked to him for more practical lessons in how to seize and hold on to power. The love triangle of Caesar, Mark Antony and Cleopatra provides the archetypal story of the interplay of sex, wealth and power. But the appetites of the 'bald whoremonger' (as his soldiers called him) also inspires Carry On films, and his love of luxury saw a latterday manifestation in Caesar's palace in Las Vegas.

Maria Wyke studied Classics at Oxford and Cambridge Universities. She has taught at the University of Reading and currently holds the chair in Latin at University College London.