Julius Caesar - Captured by Pirates

In 75 BCE, a young Julius Caesar, who was then only in his early twenties was traveling to the island of Rhodes, an island known for its renowned teachers of rhetoric. At the time, Caesar was on his way to study oratory, rhetoric, and philosophy. However while in transit he was captured by Cilician pirates.

The pirates, recognizing the importance of their captive, demanded a ransom of twenty talents of silver for his release. However, Caesar, displaying his characteristic confidence and authority even in captivity, insisted that he was worth much more and demanded they ask for fifty talents instead.

During his time in captivity, Caesar formed a somewhat friendly relationship with his captors, often jokingly threatening to have them all crucified once he was freed. He maintained an air of superiority, and even participated in their games and exercises.

Caesar's associates eventually managed to raise the ransom, and he was released after approximately 38 days in captivity. Once free, he quickly gathered a fleet, returned to the pirate stronghold, and captured the pirates. He then had them executed as he had previously promised, although he showed some leniency by first cutting their throats to spare them the pain of crucifixion, which was a common form of execution for pirates at the time.

This incident is often cited as an early example of Caesar's resourcefulness, determination, and ability to command respect even in difficult situations. It also highlights his ruthlessness when necessary, as demonstrated by his swift and decisive action against the pirates after his release. These traits served him well in his pursuit of power, though perhaps ultimately they may have led to his downfall in the ides of March.

In one of his more colourful interviews, episode 5 sees Kennardley speaking with Roman emperor Julius Caesar. No doubt Julius would have made a great social media influencer as he suggests to Kennardley he would have liked …

“I sometimes think I was just born in the wrong era, Kennardley. Can you imagine if I had a smartphone? Shot of me having dinner looking over the Adriatic, shot of me trying tunics on in Gaul, shot of me getting kidnapped by pirates, that really happened you know.”

Julius also let slip his love of fashion …  “when I first went into the senate, all the boring old farts would wear their white Togas with purple trim and they’d carry on like it was the height of fashion. Did they understand how to trim it to their body shape? Did they know how to accessorize? Did they know how to angle the leg just so for a portrait sitting? “

… and there is evidence this was in fact the case. The Roman scholar Suetonius (c 70-130+) deduced from various sources (letters, memoirs, poems etc) that Caesar was particular about always keeping any stubble on his face cleanly shaved and he took any chance he got to wear a laurel wreath, so as to cover up his balding head. And when he began wearing senatorial robes he made an interesting alteration to the accepted wardrobe—having wrist-length sleeves with fringes tailored onto his clothing.

But it was the previous tidbit we thought we’d investigate in our article today. The fact that a young Julius was captured by pirates!

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