"The Caesariad"
- Thread starter EdT
- Start date
Derek Pullem
Donor
True - but note the reference to three sons each with a part of Caesar's godhood.
Octavian and Caesarion (his son by Cleopatra) are obvious candidates plus a third as yet unnamed. Mind you given Caesar's reputation as a rake it could be any woman in the empire!
So we get a Roman version of the Diadochi wars - Postpartor wars? (Sorry - had to use online traslator so apologies to latin scholars).
Yes, its very promising.
The thing is, its a poem, so it may not correspond very well to the actual details, but we can assume that there are three folks contending to succeed Caesar. I think we can also assume that none of them won a decisive victory and went on to have a massively successful and popular rule, or else the poem wouldn't be so neutral among them.
Glad everyone is so enthusiastic about this! And thanks, Ares- I'll try my best to live up to that...
In terms of the exact PoD and the story, I'll be posting the prologue tonight and things will move reasonably rapidly from there- but suffice to say that although Caesar isn't assassinated ITTL, that's not where things diverge. The actual narrative begins 16 years after the PoD, for what it's worth.
I've tried to make this pretty accessible, so hopefully you'll quickly get the swing of it- it's a bit more about the twistiness and personalities than the cold history anyhow, so that might help.
Well, like all good classical epics, the action on the ground is a proxy war between the Gods- in this case, it's a peripheral front in the pertpetual three-way tiff between Vulcan, Venus and Mars. Though there will doubtless be some interesting social and political consequences come AD79...
Yep, and it's repeated here for similar reasons.
In terms of the exact PoD and the story, I'll be posting the prologue tonight and things will move reasonably rapidly from there- but suffice to say that although Caesar isn't assassinated ITTL, that's not where things diverge. The actual narrative begins 16 years after the PoD, for what it's worth.
I've got to confess being embarrassingly ignorant of classical history, but your work is always edifying as well as fun. By the end I'll be stuck on it, I'm sure.
I've tried to make this pretty accessible, so hopefully you'll quickly get the swing of it- it's a bit more about the twistiness and personalities than the cold history anyhow, so that might help.
Well, like all good classical epics, the action on the ground is a proxy war between the Gods- in this case, it's a peripheral front in the pertpetual three-way tiff between Vulcan, Venus and Mars. Though there will doubtless be some interesting social and political consequences come AD79...
Yep, and it's repeated here for similar reasons.
First, some general notes...
The Caesariad is rather more limited in scope than “Fight and Be Right” or “A Greater Britain”; there will be twelve chapters plus a short prologue and epilogue, rather than a sprawling narrative. Hopefully it will be sufficiently epic though! In terms of style, I can reassure you that the whole thing will not be written in epic poetry. Most of the action takes place in normal prose, hopefully in a style similar to that of Colleen McCullough, whose books I adore and to whom this can be seen as something of a tribute.
However, excerpts from TTL’s ‘Caesariad’, which bears a certain resemblance to the Aeneid, will pop up throughout; the idea is to contrast the rather idealised poetic view of events, with clearly-defined heroes and villains, with the rather more nuanced real events. Hopefully it will also provide certain clues as to the overall outcome, although I’m deliberately being extremely vague until the very end as to the circumstances and time period in which it was written.
Sometimes the rhyming is a little on the hackneyed side; I’ve based the poetic section, FWIW, on Dryden’s translation of the Aeneid, so my excuse is that this is the style I’m aiming for!
To provide atmosphere, and also because Roman standards of propriety and language differ considerably from the modern usage, I’ve kept the majority of swearing in the original Latin, rather than to attempt to translate. This avoids certain scenes looking ridiculous; I’m not sure modern readers would be able to take seriously a scene where Marcus Antonius yells “Clitoris!” at the top of his voice, whereas hopefully “Landicosa!” sounds a bit swearier. Most words are either self-explanatory or translatable from the context, but Wikipedia has a decent overview here. Most of my swearing was mined from the works of Catallus, who is not only completely contemporary, but whose language makes Malcolm Tucker’s look like that of a mild-mannered curate.
On dating, the Roman calendar was deeply confusing and seldom matched the genuine month very successfully, so I’ve decided to express all dates in modern terms, for the sake of clarity. This may lead to some silly anachronisms such as Gaius Octavianus doing something in August, but it’s probably more comprehensible than him doing the same thing in Maius, which actually falls in the autumn thanks to the censors messing things up.
Finally, to avoid getting bogged down in detail, I’ve deliberately abandoned footnotes for this one. It’s all pretty heavily researched (I hope) for the sake of accuracy, but I’ve tried to make it as accessible as possible and have everything being reasonably self-explanatory. Obviously, please do feel free to query anything that is a bit obscure. In terms of characterisation, I’ve broadly gone with Colleen McCullough’s take on things, not only because I think it’s eminently plausible, but because it rings so true with me.
The Caesariad is rather more limited in scope than “Fight and Be Right” or “A Greater Britain”; there will be twelve chapters plus a short prologue and epilogue, rather than a sprawling narrative. Hopefully it will be sufficiently epic though! In terms of style, I can reassure you that the whole thing will not be written in epic poetry. Most of the action takes place in normal prose, hopefully in a style similar to that of Colleen McCullough, whose books I adore and to whom this can be seen as something of a tribute.
However, excerpts from TTL’s ‘Caesariad’, which bears a certain resemblance to the Aeneid, will pop up throughout; the idea is to contrast the rather idealised poetic view of events, with clearly-defined heroes and villains, with the rather more nuanced real events. Hopefully it will also provide certain clues as to the overall outcome, although I’m deliberately being extremely vague until the very end as to the circumstances and time period in which it was written.
Sometimes the rhyming is a little on the hackneyed side; I’ve based the poetic section, FWIW, on Dryden’s translation of the Aeneid, so my excuse is that this is the style I’m aiming for!
To provide atmosphere, and also because Roman standards of propriety and language differ considerably from the modern usage, I’ve kept the majority of swearing in the original Latin, rather than to attempt to translate. This avoids certain scenes looking ridiculous; I’m not sure modern readers would be able to take seriously a scene where Marcus Antonius yells “Clitoris!” at the top of his voice, whereas hopefully “Landicosa!” sounds a bit swearier. Most words are either self-explanatory or translatable from the context, but Wikipedia has a decent overview here. Most of my swearing was mined from the works of Catallus, who is not only completely contemporary, but whose language makes Malcolm Tucker’s look like that of a mild-mannered curate.
On dating, the Roman calendar was deeply confusing and seldom matched the genuine month very successfully, so I’ve decided to express all dates in modern terms, for the sake of clarity. This may lead to some silly anachronisms such as Gaius Octavianus doing something in August, but it’s probably more comprehensible than him doing the same thing in Maius, which actually falls in the autumn thanks to the censors messing things up.
Finally, to avoid getting bogged down in detail, I’ve deliberately abandoned footnotes for this one. It’s all pretty heavily researched (I hope) for the sake of accuracy, but I’ve tried to make it as accessible as possible and have everything being reasonably self-explanatory. Obviously, please do feel free to query anything that is a bit obscure. In terms of characterisation, I’ve broadly gone with Colleen McCullough’s take on things, not only because I think it’s eminently plausible, but because it rings so true with me.
Prologue
________________________________________________
Somewhere north of the River Thames
Britain, November 54BC
Gaius Julius Caesar sat in his command tent and yawned. The war against Cassivellaunus was progressing well, but passing beyond the Ocean and campaigning on the edge of the world held its own problems. Not morale- for wouldn’t his brave boys gladly follow him to Hades and back? – but distance. It was bad enough keeping abreast of events in Gaul this far north, but it was another matter entirely to keep a finger on the political pulse of Rome from a tent thousands of miles from the metropolis. He glanced at the pile of letters on the desk in front of him and selected the uppermost scroll, which had arrived that morning. He pursed his lips as he saw that it had been sent three months previously; news from Rome came through, but it invariably tended to be out of date.
Which was particularly frustrating when it was news from such an important source. Caesar cracked the seal holding the letter open, which bore the legend CN•POMPEIVS •N•MAGNVS; frowning, he noticed that many of the words appeared to be smeared and streaked, as if his correspondent had split something over his work. Typical Pompeius, Caesar thought. Always slightly slipshod. He scanned the letter, and froze.
“Caesar. Oh, how can I even bear to tell you? Our dear, sweet, beautiful Julia is dead. Dead, at just twenty-two! My life is over. How will I survive?
She had been slightly ill for some weeks, but it was nothing serious. Just a symptom of the pregnancy, the midwives said. And then one morning, quite suddenly, she went into labour. No warning at all! It caused her so much pain, I could tell- but she never complained, not even once. She produced the child, and then bled to death. Such an awful way to go! She was conscious to the last, and by the end she was peaceful. She told me she loved me, and you as well. I sob to even think of it. I put the coins over her eyes myself. I have decided that she will have a State Funeral. Cato says that to give a woman such a funeral would desecrate the state, but Cato can go fuck himself. I don’t care if it is unconstitutional, she will have one if I have to hold a sword to the throat of every senator!
I am in no condition to write. I cannot see the words I am writing for the tears. I shall write at greater length when I can bear to. You should know though that there is only one, tiny mitigation for this awful news, the hope lurking at the very bottom of Anesidora’s terrible jar, if you know Hesiod’s tale. It is that the boy, a scrawny, screaming thing, lived. After only eight months in the womb, he has clearly inherited our determination. Yet at present, I can hardly bear to look at him. He- and through him, I – killed my beloved Julia! And yet, he is all that I have left of her. He has her eyes, Caesar- her great, huge beautiful blue eyes. Surely with his blood and mine, he will conquer the world. We have named him Quintus. Quintus Pompeius Caesar. I hope you approve of the cognomen.
But a son is no compensation for the loss of my Julia. She was everything to me Caesar, and I know to you as well. Our girl is gone forever. How shall we cope?”
The scroll fell to the floor. Caesar stared into space, his eyes misted with tears. Pompeius was right. How will we bear it? But even as he mourned, his mind moved to familiar political calculations. A son – my grandson- cements my alliance with Pompeius. But I need to be closer to Rome to make sure my enemies in the Senate aren’t able to prize us apart. Which means… “Hirtius!” he bellowed, “Get in here. We need to end this war. Now!”
________________________________________________
Somewhere north of the River Thames
Britain, November 54BC
Gaius Julius Caesar sat in his command tent and yawned. The war against Cassivellaunus was progressing well, but passing beyond the Ocean and campaigning on the edge of the world held its own problems. Not morale- for wouldn’t his brave boys gladly follow him to Hades and back? – but distance. It was bad enough keeping abreast of events in Gaul this far north, but it was another matter entirely to keep a finger on the political pulse of Rome from a tent thousands of miles from the metropolis. He glanced at the pile of letters on the desk in front of him and selected the uppermost scroll, which had arrived that morning. He pursed his lips as he saw that it had been sent three months previously; news from Rome came through, but it invariably tended to be out of date.
Which was particularly frustrating when it was news from such an important source. Caesar cracked the seal holding the letter open, which bore the legend CN•POMPEIVS •N•MAGNVS; frowning, he noticed that many of the words appeared to be smeared and streaked, as if his correspondent had split something over his work. Typical Pompeius, Caesar thought. Always slightly slipshod. He scanned the letter, and froze.
“Caesar. Oh, how can I even bear to tell you? Our dear, sweet, beautiful Julia is dead. Dead, at just twenty-two! My life is over. How will I survive?
She had been slightly ill for some weeks, but it was nothing serious. Just a symptom of the pregnancy, the midwives said. And then one morning, quite suddenly, she went into labour. No warning at all! It caused her so much pain, I could tell- but she never complained, not even once. She produced the child, and then bled to death. Such an awful way to go! She was conscious to the last, and by the end she was peaceful. She told me she loved me, and you as well. I sob to even think of it. I put the coins over her eyes myself. I have decided that she will have a State Funeral. Cato says that to give a woman such a funeral would desecrate the state, but Cato can go fuck himself. I don’t care if it is unconstitutional, she will have one if I have to hold a sword to the throat of every senator!
I am in no condition to write. I cannot see the words I am writing for the tears. I shall write at greater length when I can bear to. You should know though that there is only one, tiny mitigation for this awful news, the hope lurking at the very bottom of Anesidora’s terrible jar, if you know Hesiod’s tale. It is that the boy, a scrawny, screaming thing, lived. After only eight months in the womb, he has clearly inherited our determination. Yet at present, I can hardly bear to look at him. He- and through him, I – killed my beloved Julia! And yet, he is all that I have left of her. He has her eyes, Caesar- her great, huge beautiful blue eyes. Surely with his blood and mine, he will conquer the world. We have named him Quintus. Quintus Pompeius Caesar. I hope you approve of the cognomen.
But a son is no compensation for the loss of my Julia. She was everything to me Caesar, and I know to you as well. Our girl is gone forever. How shall we cope?”
The scroll fell to the floor. Caesar stared into space, his eyes misted with tears. Pompeius was right. How will we bear it? But even as he mourned, his mind moved to familiar political calculations. A son – my grandson- cements my alliance with Pompeius. But I need to be closer to Rome to make sure my enemies in the Senate aren’t able to prize us apart. Which means… “Hirtius!” he bellowed, “Get in here. We need to end this war. Now!”
Hahahah simply brilliant EdT, I am pretty sure many assumed that the heir of Caesar would be his son not a grandson from Pompey
EdT
Very interesting. Since OTL Julia's death enabled the break between Caesar and Pompey I would have thought that would have weakened Caesar's position rather than strengthened it. Although since the surviving son may maintain the links between the two longer.
If so that makes for a radically different world, especially if say it's Pompey rather than Ceasar heading east and intervening in Egypt. [He OTL only got involved largely because he was chasing the defeated Pompey but it's wealth and granary is likely to prompt Roman intervention before too long, especially coupled with it's political and military weakness]. Although since Caesar realises the need to get back to Rome more quickly that will change matters. [Although he might have less say in the matter if a planned withdrawal prompts an earlier Gallic revolt, although no doubt that will be crushed].
If there are going to be three successors and one is the grandson via Julia and Pompey I'm not sure what Octavian's position would be as he may be frozen out totally. Although he could sneak in as a family member in a junior role who manages to accumulate power. Not sure who the 3rd would be unless Caesar does met up with Cleo, despite the butterflies.
The other question, if the period of the final republican civil wars is delayed a bit is what happens with the Parthians? You have already had Rome, under the proconsul of Syria Gabinius intervene unsuccessfully in a civil war in Parthia and barring quick and major butterflies we are likely to see Crassus's intervention and given the terrain quick possibly a similar result to OTL Carrhae. If so there will be a big demand for revenge in Rome and could see either Caesar or Pompey in charge of the army sent to avenge their colleague and regain the standards. If there is no civil war to stop this then thing could get very messy in the east.
Steve
Very interesting. Since OTL Julia's death enabled the break between Caesar and Pompey I would have thought that would have weakened Caesar's position rather than strengthened it. Although since the surviving son may maintain the links between the two longer.
If so that makes for a radically different world, especially if say it's Pompey rather than Ceasar heading east and intervening in Egypt. [He OTL only got involved largely because he was chasing the defeated Pompey but it's wealth and granary is likely to prompt Roman intervention before too long, especially coupled with it's political and military weakness]. Although since Caesar realises the need to get back to Rome more quickly that will change matters. [Although he might have less say in the matter if a planned withdrawal prompts an earlier Gallic revolt, although no doubt that will be crushed].
If there are going to be three successors and one is the grandson via Julia and Pompey I'm not sure what Octavian's position would be as he may be frozen out totally. Although he could sneak in as a family member in a junior role who manages to accumulate power. Not sure who the 3rd would be unless Caesar does met up with Cleo, despite the butterflies.
The other question, if the period of the final republican civil wars is delayed a bit is what happens with the Parthians? You have already had Rome, under the proconsul of Syria Gabinius intervene unsuccessfully in a civil war in Parthia and barring quick and major butterflies we are likely to see Crassus's intervention and given the terrain quick possibly a similar result to OTL Carrhae. If so there will be a big demand for revenge in Rome and could see either Caesar or Pompey in charge of the army sent to avenge their colleague and regain the standards. If there is no civil war to stop this then thing could get very messy in the east.
Steve
Wow, this is awesome! I am glad to starting reading one of the illustrious EdT's timelines at the beginning instead of reading it years after being written. I can't wait for more! This POD comes at such a crucial point in Rome's and thus the world's history, and if the map from deviantart is any indication, this will be really, really cool.
Scipio
Scipio
These were all of my thoughts about this upon finding it out, and many of my thoughts about this right now.
