"Mother, to day thou shalt see thy son either Pontifex Maximus or an exile"
Plutarch Life of Caesar Chapter 7
When discussing the Cursus Honorum, there was one important factor that we missed out (that Julius Caesar as per usual understood). Sometimes, you've got to spend money to make money. In Caesar's case, borrowing large amounts of money to promote himself in the election for Pontifex Maximus.
Plutarch in his Life of Caesar, Chapter 7 writes of the death of the former Ponitfex Maximus, Metellus, and how Ceasar presented himself to the people for the prestigious role as the head priest of Roman religion. Catulus, who was also running for the position was worried by Ceasar's appearance in the election and tried to stop him, by offering him "large sums of money". Caesar declined and in response borrowed even more money to continue in the election.
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| Roman Coins found in Wales 2008 |
In this one passage from Plutarch's Life of Caesar, we see illustrated two very different examples of how you might use money to sway an election in your favour.
Firstly Catulus' tactic of simply buying off the opposition. You're a rich man of Rome, but your opponent is an up and comer popular with the people. By simply making a "donation" to the young man to hold off on their political plans for awhile, you win an election and the honour that goes with it and you gain a potential ally for the future in the young man, all with a smooth election and no fuss.
No doubt what Catulus was hoping for when he offered Caesar "large sums of money". Were it for a position less august than that of Rome's chief priest, the always cash strapped Caesar might of accepted. But, becoming Pontifex Maximus is a once in a life time opportunity, literally as the position was held for life, so sometimes you have to take the gamble and go deeper into debt.
The name Caesar is possibly one of the famous in history. German Kaisers and Russian Tsars both took their name for kings from this one family, not to mention the later Roman empire using it as a title for a junior emperor. Even directly after his death, Ceasar's heir Octavian was highlighting the links between himself and his now adopted father, as seen on the coin from the British Museum below. But at the time of his election Caesar house was in the subura of the Esquiline Hills and Caesar was heavily in debt.
"We are told, accordingly,that before he entered upon any public office he was thirteen hundred talents in debt"
Plutarch Life of Caesar Chapter 5
However, Caesar understood the risk and the gamble he was taking in his policy of borrowing money against his own future greatness. The reason that Caesar told his mother that she would see him as either Pontifex Maximus or an exile, is that this was the make or break moment of his gamble. We know that through his earlier political career he spent vast sums on the Appian Way, during his aedileship he threw a games with wild beasts and stage plays, decorated the forum and held a gladiatorial show that resulted in a law being passed limiting their number being kept in the city, Suetonius Life Of Julius Caesar Chapter 9.
If Caesar had lost the election for Pontifex Maximus it would be time for him to met his creditors, be unable to pay and live a shameful life in exile, probably on what is now the modern day French Riviera. But Caesar's money and gamble paid off. Whether through bribing the electorate, either out right or through inadvertent means, it was money that started Caesar off on his career.
"By these means he put the people in such a humour that every man of them was seeking out new offices and new honours with which to requite him"
Thanks for Reading
James
Pecunia non olet
ReplyDeleteIt certainly does not Antonio. It helps grease the wheels though
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