Caesar+and+the+Pirates

Suetonius, Life of Julius Caesar, Sections 4-7 4 Then, after the civil disturbance had been quieted, he brought a charge of extortion against Cornelius Dolabella, an ex-consul who had been honored with a triumph. On the acquittal of Dolabella Caesar determined to withdraw to Rhodes, to escape from the ill-will which he had incurred, and at the same time to rest and have leisure to study under @Apollonius Molo, the most eminent teacher of oratory of that time. While crossing to Rhodes, after the winter season had already begun, he was taken by pirates near the island of Pharmacussa and remained in their custody for nearly forty days in a state of intense vexation, attended only by a single physician and two body-servants; 2 for he had sent off his travelling companions and the rest of his attendants at the outset, to raise money for his ransom. Once he was set on shore on payment of @fifty talents, he did not delay then and there to launch a fleet and pursue the departing pirates, and the moment they were in his power to inflict on them the punishment which he had often threatened when joking with them.[|4] He then proceeded to [|Rhodes], but as Mithridates was devastating the neighbouring regions, he crossed over into Asia, to avoid the appearance of inaction when the allies of the Roman people were in danger. There he levied a band of auxiliaries and drove the king's prefect from the province, thus holding the wavering and irresolute states to their allegiance.

5 While serving as military tribune, the first office which was conferred on him by vote of the people after his return to Rome, he ardently supported the leaders in the attempt to re-establish the authority of the tribunes of the commons, the extent of which Sulla had curtailed. Furthermore, through a bill proposed by one Plotius, he effected the recall of his wife's brother Lucius Cinna, as well as of the others who had taken part with Lepidus in his revolution and after the consul's death had fled to Sertorius; and he personally spoke in favour of the measure.

6 When quaestor, he pronounced the customary orations from the rostra in praise of his aunt Julia and his wife Cornelia, who had both died. And in the eulogy of his aunt he spoke in the following terms of her paternal and maternal ancestry and that of his own father: "The family of my aunt Julia is descended by her mother from the kings, and on her father's side is akin to the immortal Gods; for the Marcii Reges (her mother's family name) go back to Ancus Marcius, and the Julii, the family of which ours is a branch, to Venus. Our stock therefore has at once the sanctity of kings, whose power is supreme among mortal men, and the claim to reverence which attaches to the Gods, who hold sway over kings themselves."

 In place of Cornelia he took to wife Pompeia, daughter of Quintus Pompeius and granddaughter of Lucius Sulla. But he afterward divorced her, suspecting her of adultery with Publius Clodius; and in fact the report that Clodius had gained access to her in woman's garb during a public religious ceremony[|5] was so persistent, that the senate decreed that the pollution of the sacred rites be judicially investigated.

QUESTIONS
 * 1) == **How much is 50 talents worth?** ==
 * 2) == **Where is the island of Pharmacussa** ==
 * 3) ==**Who is the famous Apollonius Molo?**==
 * 4) == **Where pirates common in the Mediterranean ?** ==
 * 5) == **Who were the pirates who took Caesar hostage?** ==

ANSWERS 1) In his Natural History Pliny the Elder wrote that Marcus Crassus, whom he called the riches Roman after Sulla, maintained that no-one was wealthy who could not keep a legion on his yearly income. The cost of this is easily determinable. Pompey in 52 BC received 1,000 talents out of which he was to feed and maintain his solders. At that time Pompey’s provinces were Spain and Africa in which there were six legions. One talent was worth 6,000 drachmae and the drachma can be equated with the denarius. Thus six legions cost 6 million denarii to maintain, and at 4 sesterces to the denarius, the cost for one would be 4 million sesterces.

2) Before Caesar reached Rhodes his ship was intercepted by pirates near the island of Pharmacussa off the coast of Asia Minor.

3) See hyperlink Apollonius Molo

4) Piracy was a major problem throughout the mediterranean in the early decades of the first century B.C. IN part this was a legacy of the Roman's own success, which had destroyed the Kingdom of Macedonia, crippled the Seleuid Empire and helped the decline of Ptolemaic Egypt. All of these great Hellenistic powers had one maintained powerful navies, but with their decay piracy flourished in the Aegean and eventually become endemic throughout the Mediterranean. Further encouragement and direct support came from Mithridates of Pontus, who saw these freebooters as useful allies against Rome. The rugged coast line of cilicia in Asia Minor was home to many pirate strongholds, and the campaigns of Servilius Isauricus, under whom Caesar himself had served, and others had made little headway in controlling the problem. The pirates were extremely numerous, at times operating in large squadrons and even launching plundering raids on the coastal communities of Italy itself.

5) Ceasar was taken by Sicilian Pirates. Ancient Roman Pirates

=WORKS CITED= 1) Rich and Poor: The Great Divide in Ancient Rome and Victorian England S. J. Bastomsky //Greece & Rome//, Second Series, Vol. 37, No. 1 (Apr., 1990), pp. 37-43 Published by: [|Cambridge University Press] on behalf of [|The Classical Association] Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org.libproxy.library.wmich.edu/stable/643240

2) and 4)

Goldsworthy, Adrian. //Caesar: Life of a Colossus//. Great Britian: Yale University Press, 2006. Print.

[|3) Apollonius Molo Reference]

5)[|Sicilian Pirates]

The real pirates of the caribbean might not count as a valid source for a Mediterranean kidnapping. Work cited needs to be revised, it doesn't appear to be in Chicago style. You might want to consider changing the Apollonius Molo link to go straight to wikipedia, mainly because wikisources is just copying an older encyclopedia source which isn't peer reviewed.

Joseph Cooper

Your pictures and maps included in your hyperlinks are interesting but some more wording might also be beneficial to people viewing your page. You could also include some more hyperlinks throughout your document so that we can learn more about the topic. Your answers nicely ordered but could also include a bit more information. ~Jacob Porath

I really liked your summary of the document, I found your findings interesting. The only things I saw were some spelling errors. Also when your typing dates, make sure your staying consistent when using "BC" or "B.C." Lastly, for the answer to question 5, maybe you can find something specifically about Sicilian Pirates, instead of something about Caribbean pirates. Other than those few things the document is good. -Troy R.

Good picture and map to get the attention of the reader, but they did not seem to be cited. Your work cited part needs to be looked at it not clear what you're stating(maybe wrong format). There are small grammartical errors. Liked the story and the way you went at it very creative- Noah King