The Role of Cato the Younger in Caesar's "Bellum Civile"

This paper demonstrates that Caesar treats Cato with much more restraint in his Bellum Civile than is commonly thought. Cato appears only three times and, although the overall portrayal is far from positive, Caesar consistently shields him from much worse. The reason for this relatively mild present...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Classical world 2011-12, Vol.104 (2), p.161-174
Main Author: YATES, DAVID C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Betrayal
Blame
Civil wars
Consuls
Criminal prosecution
Political debate
Rumors
Speeches
Upper houses
War
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Summary:This paper demonstrates that Caesar treats Cato with much more restraint in his Bellum Civile than is commonly thought. Cato appears only three times and, although the overall portrayal is far from positive, Caesar consistently shields him from much worse. The reason for this relatively mild presentation has less to do with Cato than Pompey. Caesar, despite his personal animosity toward Cato, decides to use his implacable foe to voice a devastating rebuke of Pompey from within his own faction. Treating Cato with greater restraint ultimately serves to add weight and credibility to his condemnation of Pompey.
ISSN:0009-8418
1558-9234
1558-9234
DOI:10.1353/clw.2011.0028