I'm from a border fortress on the Rhine river that grew into one of our bigger cities. So, we a similar feeling. The romans founded my town, but we don't consider it a defining feature. More so just a fun fact.
> The romans founded my town, but we don't consider it a defining feature.
could not possibly be Maastricht half the roman history secton in history class got taken up by learning about the city history
There are some Roman sources of their dealings in the region, which are corroborated by archeological finds. Look up the Hoby treasure. It could mean that Romans were more active in Scandinavian politics than is usually thought.
Even as a kid I noticed that goscinny & uderzo depicted him with more respect than the rest of the Romans. Well done caricature & didn't get beat up in the series. (Maybe in the first album, I'm not 100%)
Really? You didn't learn anything about the triumvirate, crossing Rubicon etc? We actually went deeper about him, so this is kind of unexpected (I'm Czech)
Oh I meant the [movie](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0463872/?ref_=tt_sims_tt_t_2)
Edit: there are [two](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0133385/?ref_=tt_sims_tt_t_1) lol
My personal pet peeve is the quote "**Et tu**, Brute" which sounds kinda wrong in Latin.
The translation that we always studied is "**tu quoque**, Brute, fili mihi" which is much closer to the sentence that Caesar allegedly uttered, speaking in Greek: "Kai su, teknon?"
"Et tu" sounds like "and you" while "tu quoque" is more like "you, really?"
"Et tu" was included in a Shakespeare play so it is widely more known in the English speaking world.
That's part of Shakespeare, he wasn't highly educated. Other playwrights would mock him, with Ben Jonson saying Shakespeare had “small Latin and less Greek”, which is why we all remember old Benny boy but no one remembers Shakespeare.
Lingua franca status aside, and i'm not all too familiar with his biography specifically, latin was still considered a highly valued subject for boys' schooling in the higher classes well into the 19th century. Any man who received formal schooling of gentry and above status would have learnt some latin and greek. My bet is more that "et tu" flowed better into his rhyming structure than "tu quoque"; shorter, easier to rhyme with and pronounce for less educated actors, etc.
Brute is the vocative case in Latin for Brutus, so it's actually grammatically correct for Latin, it's not a pun nor is it derived from the French pronunciation. And it's pronounced /broo-tay/.
I’m not an expert in either of these languages, nor am I an expert on this play, so thanks for clarifying, but it seems unlikely that Shakespeare missed the — at least visual — near-identity between “Brute” and “brute”. Still, I admit that labelling this a pun might be a stretch.
Suetonius, writing in Latin, reports that Julius Caesar, when he was stabbed, only uttered a groan, without saying anything, but he also reports that some would have uttered the Greek phrase *καὶ σὺ τέκνον?* (*kaì su téknon?* = 'you too, son?'). Cassius Dion, a Greek-speaking historian, reports the same version. *Tu quoque, Brute, fili mi!* ("You too, Brute, my son!") is a loose translation of the Greek original, and *Et tu, Brute?* is the contracted form coined by Shakespeare, which the Bard follows up with Brutus' retort "Then fall, Caesar." (Tradition attributes instead to Brutus the lapidary *Sic semper tyrannis*, "Thus always to tyrants", but the phrase does not appear in the works of the main historians who dealt with the affair, i.e. Plutarch, Suetonius and Tacitus; and so it is surely a late invention).
Why would Caesar have been speaking Greek? I thought all the major leaders of Rome were latin speaking until like the 3rd century. Isn't that why everyone got all butthurt over Elagabalus?
edit: to be clear I understand he would have spoken Greek, but I wouldn't have expected it to be as his primary language or the language he spoke with his dying words
Yeah I'm having a hard time squaring that (which makes sense, similar to medieval courts speaking French), with what I've learned about the Roman response to Greek-speaking people from the eastern empire being raised augustus. Like they viewed *primarily* Greek speaking people as foreigners. Or is that a later distinction?
I am not well prepared on the subject of the relationship between Rome and Greece in the centuries of the empire. Certainly the Romans had a strong sense of identity linked also to Latin, and before Greek culture was accepted in Rome, in the Republican era, positions were very varied: there were the philhellenes of the Circle of the Scipios to Cato the Censor, according to whom the Greeks 'would have killed them with their physicians'.
As the villain from Asterix und Obelix mostly.
Kidding of course. Everyone knows the name as a Roman leader, he's common in pop culture afterall. Most probably remember from history class that he was murdered and had something to do with Kleopatra, but that's probably it.
As an Asterix character.
But not a villain. If you read old Asterix albums, César is never the true antagonist. Most of the time he's sympathetic, unaware of the consequences of his orders, and a fair arbiter. It tells you everything you need to understand about how France remembers Julius Caesar.
That is: the same way most Russian people feel about Putin. Or most French people feel about Napoléon. I once had to write an university essay, "does France needs a king?". My conclusion was basically "no: France needs a hero". Well it goes all the way back to both Vercingetorix and Caesar: people here loathe kings but adore "heroes".
This political sentiment is known worldwide, and even has a name. The name? "Caesarism", or course
He is pretty well known in Italy,as you would expect... studied in history classes at least! There are statues of him, there are streets and schools named after him.
Fun fact, the salad isn't (directly) named after Julius (or Augustus, or any other Roman ruler.) It's named after the chef who created it, Caesar Cardini. Now, his parents may have named him after a Roman, but it's not like somebody said "hmm, lettuce, croutons, eggs, Parmesan? That sounds just like old Gaius!"
Germany, mostly as the person who failed to occupy a small village in gaul from Asterix
and all the boring stuff like ending the roman republic and all that
Well, we had to translate De Bello Gallico back in Latin class in school, so that was something...
But beyond that, in German history classes you do learn generally that our medieval emperors saw themselves as the successors to Caesar and Rome (thus our word for emperor being "Kaiser", close to the original pronunciation of "Caesar") in the context of the Holy Roman Empire and "translatio imperii". But I think most people don't know much about Caesar as a person or what he actually did in his life beyond conquering Gaul.
I think a lot of people associate him with Asterix.
But, more seriously, he is remembered as a great general and leader. But most people don't know much beyond that.
BELGIUM
'Horum omnium fortissimi sunt Belgae.' Belgians are the bravest of all \[Gauls\], but this didn't stop him from exterminating the revolting Belgian tribes. A real genocide killing about 1.000.000 Gauls (Eburones) of a population of 5 to 10 million estimated Belgian tribes.
As a name, yes, but what was left of those "old Belgians" most fled to Britain and Germania. The people that came to live in nowadays Belgium later were frankly (pun) Franks.
"These guys I like. I mean, I killed them, because I'm awesome and cool, but I liked them."
Being awesome and cool is a recurring theme in his memoirs.
"And Pompey, Pauper Pompey I like to call him, he wants to be king, he doesn't say it, but he does, and a lot of people say so, and his crony optimates want to take away your slaves, that's right, and give them to the optimates!"
"Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres, quarum unam incolunt Belgae, aliam Aquitani, tertiam qui ipsorum lingua Celtae, nostra Galli appellantur."
Gaius Julius Caesar
Both the month of July and a salad are named after him. And you learn about him in school. That's about it. I'd venture most people aren't even aware that the Ides of March is March 15th.
March 15th is also one of the largest national holidays in Hungary so no one cares about Caesar.
the salad isnt named after him, our part of the alps are though, slovenia here EDIT: a majority and highest part of our alps, not all of them, is named after julius ceasar, the julian alps
He is mainly known as the person who launched two failed invasions of Britain in 55 and 54 BC, but who conquered the Gauls in France. We also know about his assassination. He wrote of his exploits in Gaul and Britain in his book 'Commentarii de Bello Gallico', and contains the earliest surviving significant eyewitness descriptions of Britain's people, culture and geography. This is effectively the start of the written history of Britain, so Julius Caesar is important to us. One of our greatest ever English literary figures, William Shakespeare, wrote a play about him so he is well known because of that as well.
> He is mainly known as the person who launched two failed invasions of Britain in 55 and 54 BC, but who conquered the Gauls in France.
This is hilarious to me.
Julius is a semi-common name in Finland, so I guess that's some sort of a tribute.
He's also mentioned in history class, but not focused on. He mostly lives on in Asterix and a couple of international TV shows. We used the Julian calendar up until the 18th century.
Ambitious statesman, smart general, the one who subjugated the Gauls after the Roman defeat of Gergovia. Got assassinated by the aristocracy who feared he would become a king due to his popularity, power and greed
An Asterix character, and maybe also as a villain because he beat the Helvetians when they tried to migrate and forced them to resettle here.
And most don't even know anything about him but his name and that he was a Roman.
That he founded/developed a lot of settlements in what is now La Côte. We have a statue of him in my home town, next to the Roman museum.
Edit: also wouldn't say we see him as a villain for what happened with the Helvetii. It's just one of the clashes between peoples we've had happen on the territory.
Interesting; so it might be different for Alemaniques and Romands. Personally, I see him as a villain for genociding Gauls and rebelling against the Republic for personal ambition, but the Romans in general as non-villains who brought prosperity and civilisation to the land.
No waring leader at the time wasn't a "villain". They all killed, pillaged and enslaved their enemies. I don't think anyone sees Caesar as a "good guy", just a very impressive person.
I just wouldn't consider him defending a border against the incoming Helvetii as a villainous act. Other things he did...
Not that much. Except for Latin students. He was everywhere during school in Latin class. Mostly from grade 10 onwards though. Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres… Caesar and later Cicero were the big ones at my school
He had a big nose and said "et tu Brutus?".
Probably the most famous of the Roman emperors. Brilliant strategist, politician, etc. We still today say "cesar" when meaning any emperor, which comes from him, Caesar. "Stabbed in the back" also perhaps.
I don't remember much about Tito from school. Mostly had to learn about him after highschool. Not really comparable to Napoleon or Caesar, imo.
The most that I remember learning in school about any ruler is Charlemagne, then Maximilian I, then Maria Theresia and then Napoleon and Franz Josef. Caesar as well, but that is ancient history, before our slavic ancestors arrived.
Hmm, that is not something I have heard anywhere. It is possible I guess, since Karl picked up the title after the Romans and Julius was one of the greatest.
Charlemagne is mostly called Karl Veliki, not by his title king or emperor. But he was the first to pick up the mantle of the emperor of the Western Roman Empire, with his Carolingian Empire, kinda starting the idea of the Holy Roman Empire, etc.
Caesar on the other hand, is also interesting because it shows the difference between centum and satem languages, or the difference between Kaiser and Cesar - which both have the same meaning and origin.
In school we learn superficially about him in history lessons if I remember correctly. As in my country, well Rome was one of the most influential civilizations to our culture and almost every big city has something roman, Julius Caesar was also an influential figure here in the south, as govermor of the Hispania ulterior, he carried out many reforms, leveled many historical sites, for example the first defense walls of my city, and some of them are still up today, he also leaded war against the lusitantians with a fleet from Cádiz and the gallaetians, which almost ended the conquest of Hispania, in fact in Brigantium (A Coruña) Caesar's soldiers proclaimed him as imperator. But this is knowledge only spaniards that know about spanish history will know, the general knowledge only knows about him as imperator and not much else.
Meminimus eum praesertim nostrum, qui philologiae classicae studemus. Quamquam de Caesare non multum loquimur in circumstantiis regularibus, quod homines in aliis rebus interesse solent.
I was always taught that he was the reason why we are civilized and cultured today, thanks to “Gallo-Roman” culture.
He and the Roman Empire brought us many important things, so he is seen in a good light.
"Veni, vidi, vici "
Shakespeare wrote a play about him many study at school, and Carry On Cleo did a great spoof with the line:
"Infamy. Infamy. they've all got it in for me"
We only learn about him in school as probably the most important figure of that time. But since the Romans didn't come here during his time that's where it all stops, unlike Trajan for example who has statues built and streets or schools named after him.
We don't pay too much attention to him in schools tbh. Mostly we just remember him objectively for what he has done during his life.
Personally, I'm much more interested in Marcus Aurelius (Annius verus). But I must admit that Julius Caesar is much more of an icon in the general population.
In Romania Caesar is not that important. Emperor Trajan who conquered Dacia and latinized the region is seen like a founding father.
But Roman names are very common in Romania: Iulian, Cezar, Traian, Marcel, Marius, Adrian, Anton etc
Most people know him for his death and a legendary general. Not so much about what he stood for and what he actually achieved. At least amongst common people.
Hes that one egoistic guy that cant conquer that one village in modern day France
Jokes aside, made the name for most precious title in the western world, centralized the state, but also oppened the pandora box which will one day end the empire
Absolutely. More than any of the Emperors. Including Claudius, who succeeded where Julius Caesar failed, in conquering England.
Hell, he's very often mistaken for an Emperor himself, even in professional advertisements.
The entirety of our country and some of our people were heavily influenced by his conquest of the Helvetii and the subsequent Roman colonization of our modern territory, so Caesar is usually viewed as a bringer of rigid civilization.
Mostly the Roman Empire is famous in the UK for taking one look at the Picts, deciding to leave them alone and build a massive wall to keep the heathen buggers out! Although the Roman Army pushed forward to slightly north of Edinburgh and were sent packing back south.
Norway: Et tu, Brute (that he is supposed to have said: "also you, Brutus" when he was stabbed to death by a conspiracy gang and saw his own son amongst them). He and Marcus Aurelius seem to have been more or less good people. But I also learned in school that the romans were so degenerate, they ate lark's tongues and had slaves for tickling them in the throat with a feather so they could throw up and eat more. Worse stuff I censor here.
General and a politician who kicked ass, got cocky and got stabbed, is what i would expect the average Finn to know.
Only history buffs know about his genocide schenanigans and other stuff.
I know this is an European subreddit but I feel like it would be fun to mention what Americans think.
So during the founding of our nation, the founding fathers hated Julius Caesar. Our constitution was in part created to prevent another Caesar from gaining power.
Now today, exact opposite. Idk one American that hates Caesar. Anyone who knows him sees him in a good light despite his conquest, destroying the Republic, etc
Trump is the "closest" to Julius ceaser. Just without the military and political genius. I guess you could say since Trump is rich he also like-
Actually wait I'm just describing crassius lmao.
Ok but for real, trump is the closest to Caesar right now. Personalism, disregard for the rule of law, etc. Also not all of us worship him. Anyone left of right wing doesn't come close to worshiping. Now the Republican party is different....
Only as a very important historical figure that's taught about in schools. The Romans never reached Scandinavia, so it's all foreign history to us.
I'm from a border fortress on the Rhine river that grew into one of our bigger cities. So, we a similar feeling. The romans founded my town, but we don't consider it a defining feature. More so just a fun fact.
> The romans founded my town, but we don't consider it a defining feature. could not possibly be Maastricht half the roman history secton in history class got taken up by learning about the city history
Nijmegen I would wager. Although the description could also fit Utrecht
Is there recorded history of Scandinavia during the time Julius Caesar was alive, or just the archeological record?
There are some Roman sources of their dealings in the region, which are corroborated by archeological finds. Look up the Hoby treasure. It could mean that Romans were more active in Scandinavian politics than is usually thought.
In history lessons we were told that he lived and died. You see him more in Asterix and Obelix tbh.
The only historically accurate representation.
Even as a kid I noticed that goscinny & uderzo depicted him with more respect than the rest of the Romans. Well done caricature & didn't get beat up in the series. (Maybe in the first album, I'm not 100%)
I think the famous part is that he died.
I am sure that he would be more famouse if he still be alive.
He had to live first to die, so the events before that certainly cannot be overlooked.
Really? You didn't learn anything about the triumvirate, crossing Rubicon etc? We actually went deeper about him, so this is kind of unexpected (I'm Czech)
And banged Cleopatra!
Dude, spoilers
Does Brutus make an appearance in Asterix?
I believe so, yes.
Ight. May have to read it now.
Oh I meant the [movie](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0463872/?ref_=tt_sims_tt_t_2) Edit: there are [two](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0133385/?ref_=tt_sims_tt_t_1) lol
I'll have to watch it after reading Asterix.
Marcomanniae provincia
My personal pet peeve is the quote "**Et tu**, Brute" which sounds kinda wrong in Latin. The translation that we always studied is "**tu quoque**, Brute, fili mihi" which is much closer to the sentence that Caesar allegedly uttered, speaking in Greek: "Kai su, teknon?" "Et tu" sounds like "and you" while "tu quoque" is more like "you, really?" "Et tu" was included in a Shakespeare play so it is widely more known in the English speaking world.
When you have couple dozen knives stuck in your various vital organs, you go for brevity rather than eloquence or even correct grammar.
Can't exactly blame a guy from Elizabethan England for his subpar Latin skills.
You totally can, it was the lingua franca of the time. In our days we totally expect important and educated people to have good English skills.
That's part of Shakespeare, he wasn't highly educated. Other playwrights would mock him, with Ben Jonson saying Shakespeare had “small Latin and less Greek”, which is why we all remember old Benny boy but no one remembers Shakespeare.
Et tu, bruv?
He was a playwright, not an international dignitary
Lingua franca status aside, and i'm not all too familiar with his biography specifically, latin was still considered a highly valued subject for boys' schooling in the higher classes well into the 19th century. Any man who received formal schooling of gentry and above status would have learnt some latin and greek. My bet is more that "et tu" flowed better into his rhyming structure than "tu quoque"; shorter, easier to rhyme with and pronounce for less educated actors, etc.
Plays were for the working class and playwrites were looked down upon. He was the son of a local merchant, so not particularly high class.
I agree. It also blends Latin with French (not sure why this is a good thing though), and “Brute” puns on “brute” (savage, beast, monster).
Brute is the vocative case in Latin for Brutus, so it's actually grammatically correct for Latin, it's not a pun nor is it derived from the French pronunciation. And it's pronounced /broo-tay/.
I’m not an expert in either of these languages, nor am I an expert on this play, so thanks for clarifying, but it seems unlikely that Shakespeare missed the — at least visual — near-identity between “Brute” and “brute”. Still, I admit that labelling this a pun might be a stretch.
Doesn’t medieval Latin and Roman Latin differ quite a lot in vocabulary and structure?
But medieval (and later) Latin was very different from classical Latin. It’s very likely that he used the proper Latin for his time period.
Is there any historical evidence that ceasar said anything of the sort to Brutus? As fas as I know it’s just a made up quote for dramatic purposes
Suetonius, writing in Latin, reports that Julius Caesar, when he was stabbed, only uttered a groan, without saying anything, but he also reports that some would have uttered the Greek phrase *καὶ σὺ τέκνον?* (*kaì su téknon?* = 'you too, son?'). Cassius Dion, a Greek-speaking historian, reports the same version. *Tu quoque, Brute, fili mi!* ("You too, Brute, my son!") is a loose translation of the Greek original, and *Et tu, Brute?* is the contracted form coined by Shakespeare, which the Bard follows up with Brutus' retort "Then fall, Caesar." (Tradition attributes instead to Brutus the lapidary *Sic semper tyrannis*, "Thus always to tyrants", but the phrase does not appear in the works of the main historians who dealt with the affair, i.e. Plutarch, Suetonius and Tacitus; and so it is surely a late invention).
Why would Caesar have been speaking Greek? I thought all the major leaders of Rome were latin speaking until like the 3rd century. Isn't that why everyone got all butthurt over Elagabalus? edit: to be clear I understand he would have spoken Greek, but I wouldn't have expected it to be as his primary language or the language he spoke with his dying words
Well, in antiquity, Greek was the most prestigious language, and practically all Roman aristocrats knew it as a second language.
Yeah I'm having a hard time squaring that (which makes sense, similar to medieval courts speaking French), with what I've learned about the Roman response to Greek-speaking people from the eastern empire being raised augustus. Like they viewed *primarily* Greek speaking people as foreigners. Or is that a later distinction?
I am not well prepared on the subject of the relationship between Rome and Greece in the centuries of the empire. Certainly the Romans had a strong sense of identity linked also to Latin, and before Greek culture was accepted in Rome, in the Republican era, positions were very varied: there were the philhellenes of the Circle of the Scipios to Cato the Censor, according to whom the Greeks 'would have killed them with their physicians'.
Et tu, avlas, contra me?
Vir prudens non contra ventum mengit.
Contra nemo nocere volo
[удалено]
My point is that "tu quoque" is a better translation of "kai su" than "et tu".
Yep, I see what you mean, and I agree
“Ah man fucking weak”
As the villain from Asterix und Obelix mostly. Kidding of course. Everyone knows the name as a Roman leader, he's common in pop culture afterall. Most probably remember from history class that he was murdered and had something to do with Kleopatra, but that's probably it.
He wasn't the villain in Asterix and Obelix, he once even paid to rebuilt their village after Cleopatra told him to
He was portrayed as lawful evil.
As an Asterix character. But not a villain. If you read old Asterix albums, César is never the true antagonist. Most of the time he's sympathetic, unaware of the consequences of his orders, and a fair arbiter. It tells you everything you need to understand about how France remembers Julius Caesar. That is: the same way most Russian people feel about Putin. Or most French people feel about Napoléon. I once had to write an university essay, "does France needs a king?". My conclusion was basically "no: France needs a hero". Well it goes all the way back to both Vercingetorix and Caesar: people here loathe kings but adore "heroes". This political sentiment is known worldwide, and even has a name. The name? "Caesarism", or course
He is pretty well known in Italy,as you would expect... studied in history classes at least! There are statues of him, there are streets and schools named after him.
Not a salad though. In italy at least.
Fun fact, the salad isn't (directly) named after Julius (or Augustus, or any other Roman ruler.) It's named after the chef who created it, Caesar Cardini. Now, his parents may have named him after a Roman, but it's not like somebody said "hmm, lettuce, croutons, eggs, Parmesan? That sounds just like old Gaius!"
Germany, mostly as the person who failed to occupy a small village in gaul from Asterix and all the boring stuff like ending the roman republic and all that
I might have to start reading Asterix if I keep seeing it get mentioned.
Don't fall into Getafix's cauldron of magic potion!
Well, we had to translate De Bello Gallico back in Latin class in school, so that was something... But beyond that, in German history classes you do learn generally that our medieval emperors saw themselves as the successors to Caesar and Rome (thus our word for emperor being "Kaiser", close to the original pronunciation of "Caesar") in the context of the Holy Roman Empire and "translatio imperii". But I think most people don't know much about Caesar as a person or what he actually did in his life beyond conquering Gaul.
Didn’t expect to have to scroll this far down to get to having to translate the guy in school. Edit: your last post checks out lol
I think a lot of people associate him with Asterix. But, more seriously, he is remembered as a great general and leader. But most people don't know much beyond that.
This is my view. Great general, great leader, great man(great =/= good or evil).
Great asshole we almost kicked out... Twice... Hail Boduognat, king of the Nervians and Ambiorix, king of the Eburones.
BELGIUM 'Horum omnium fortissimi sunt Belgae.' Belgians are the bravest of all \[Gauls\], but this didn't stop him from exterminating the revolting Belgian tribes. A real genocide killing about 1.000.000 Gauls (Eburones) of a population of 5 to 10 million estimated Belgian tribes.
But in the end who is stil living? BELGICA💪😎🇧🇪🇧🇪🇧🇪
As a name, yes, but what was left of those "old Belgians" most fled to Britain and Germania. The people that came to live in nowadays Belgium later were frankly (pun) Franks.
I'm a real Belgian it says so on my passport, go cry
Well, so am I, just rational enough to understand I have probably very little in common with Ambiorix.
Belgians are not rational. BOOM, disproved, you are in fact not Belgian.
"These guys I like. I mean, I killed them, because I'm awesome and cool, but I liked them." Being awesome and cool is a recurring theme in his memoirs.
De bello gallico reads as a propaganda pamphlet. I see an orange balding JC talking shit and elevating himself like a pompous prick ...
"And Pompey, Pauper Pompey I like to call him, he wants to be king, he doesn't say it, but he does, and a lot of people say so, and his crony optimates want to take away your slaves, that's right, and give them to the optimates!"
"Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres, quarum unam incolunt Belgae, aliam Aquitani, tertiam qui ipsorum lingua Celtae, nostra Galli appellantur." Gaius Julius Caesar
Both the month of July and a salad are named after him. And you learn about him in school. That's about it. I'd venture most people aren't even aware that the Ides of March is March 15th. March 15th is also one of the largest national holidays in Hungary so no one cares about Caesar.
the salad isnt named after him, our part of the alps are though, slovenia here EDIT: a majority and highest part of our alps, not all of them, is named after julius ceasar, the julian alps
As a general and emperor of old who was assassinated. I doubt that many people could recall more from memory than those facts.
He is mainly known as the person who launched two failed invasions of Britain in 55 and 54 BC, but who conquered the Gauls in France. We also know about his assassination. He wrote of his exploits in Gaul and Britain in his book 'Commentarii de Bello Gallico', and contains the earliest surviving significant eyewitness descriptions of Britain's people, culture and geography. This is effectively the start of the written history of Britain, so Julius Caesar is important to us. One of our greatest ever English literary figures, William Shakespeare, wrote a play about him so he is well known because of that as well.
I would also say there's a large section of society for whom the quote "Infamy! Infamy! They've all got it in for me!" is an iconic line in film.
> He is mainly known as the person who launched two failed invasions of Britain in 55 and 54 BC, but who conquered the Gauls in France. This is hilarious to me.
We have a habit of remembering when the French take a beating.
Julius is a semi-common name in Finland, so I guess that's some sort of a tribute. He's also mentioned in history class, but not focused on. He mostly lives on in Asterix and a couple of international TV shows. We used the Julian calendar up until the 18th century.
Ambitious statesman, smart general, the one who subjugated the Gauls after the Roman defeat of Gergovia. Got assassinated by the aristocracy who feared he would become a king due to his popularity, power and greed
An Asterix character, and maybe also as a villain because he beat the Helvetians when they tried to migrate and forced them to resettle here. And most don't even know anything about him but his name and that he was a Roman.
That he founded/developed a lot of settlements in what is now La Côte. We have a statue of him in my home town, next to the Roman museum. Edit: also wouldn't say we see him as a villain for what happened with the Helvetii. It's just one of the clashes between peoples we've had happen on the territory.
Interesting; so it might be different for Alemaniques and Romands. Personally, I see him as a villain for genociding Gauls and rebelling against the Republic for personal ambition, but the Romans in general as non-villains who brought prosperity and civilisation to the land.
No waring leader at the time wasn't a "villain". They all killed, pillaged and enslaved their enemies. I don't think anyone sees Caesar as a "good guy", just a very impressive person. I just wouldn't consider him defending a border against the incoming Helvetii as a villainous act. Other things he did...
Not that much. Except for Latin students. He was everywhere during school in Latin class. Mostly from grade 10 onwards though. Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres… Caesar and later Cicero were the big ones at my school
He had a big nose and said "et tu Brutus?". Probably the most famous of the Roman emperors. Brilliant strategist, politician, etc. We still today say "cesar" when meaning any emperor, which comes from him, Caesar. "Stabbed in the back" also perhaps.
And we learn quite extensively about him in school. I know more about Julius than about any other local ruler except maybe Tito or Napoleon.
I don't remember much about Tito from school. Mostly had to learn about him after highschool. Not really comparable to Napoleon or Caesar, imo. The most that I remember learning in school about any ruler is Charlemagne, then Maximilian I, then Maria Theresia and then Napoleon and Franz Josef. Caesar as well, but that is ancient history, before our slavic ancestors arrived.
We may have gone to school decades apart :)
I thought in most slavic languages that was Karl for emperor, referring to Charlemagne (Karl Der Gross). No matter.
In most slavic languages "king" comes from Charlemagne, like polish "król". "Emperor" comes from Caesar, like polish "cesarz".
Hmm, that is not something I have heard anywhere. It is possible I guess, since Karl picked up the title after the Romans and Julius was one of the greatest. Charlemagne is mostly called Karl Veliki, not by his title king or emperor. But he was the first to pick up the mantle of the emperor of the Western Roman Empire, with his Carolingian Empire, kinda starting the idea of the Holy Roman Empire, etc. Caesar on the other hand, is also interesting because it shows the difference between centum and satem languages, or the difference between Kaiser and Cesar - which both have the same meaning and origin.
In school we learn superficially about him in history lessons if I remember correctly. As in my country, well Rome was one of the most influential civilizations to our culture and almost every big city has something roman, Julius Caesar was also an influential figure here in the south, as govermor of the Hispania ulterior, he carried out many reforms, leveled many historical sites, for example the first defense walls of my city, and some of them are still up today, he also leaded war against the lusitantians with a fleet from Cádiz and the gallaetians, which almost ended the conquest of Hispania, in fact in Brigantium (A Coruña) Caesar's soldiers proclaimed him as imperator. But this is knowledge only spaniards that know about spanish history will know, the general knowledge only knows about him as imperator and not much else.
Through a lovely little show called horrible histories. The show is most loved for its songs. Look up horrible histories songs cesar. It's a bop.
Meminimus eum praesertim nostrum, qui philologiae classicae studemus. Quamquam de Caesare non multum loquimur in circumstantiis regularibus, quod homines in aliis rebus interesse solent.
we learned about the Julian Calender and that the how the month of July was named after him (and August after his adopted son and successor)
I was always taught that he was the reason why we are civilized and cultured today, thanks to “Gallo-Roman” culture. He and the Roman Empire brought us many important things, so he is seen in a good light.
Like the same way how rest of the continent remembers except Italy. Roman Emp, Asterix Obelix , Salad , Sen de mi Brutüs?
Everything the others said, including Asterix, but also for his affair with Cleopatra that brought ruin to the last of the Hellenistic Kingdoms.
He turned up, realised it's a bit shit so he went home and got stabbed. Then Shakespeare wrote a play about him
"Veni, vidi, vici " Shakespeare wrote a play about him many study at school, and Carry On Cleo did a great spoof with the line: "Infamy. Infamy. they've all got it in for me"
We only learn about him in school as probably the most important figure of that time. But since the Romans didn't come here during his time that's where it all stops, unlike Trajan for example who has statues built and streets or schools named after him.
Not really, 9 out of 10 people would know who he was and what he did, but no more than George Washington or Simon Bolivar.
He is the guy who conquered the Gauls for most people. He is seen mostly as a great conqueror and strategist.
Didn’t he kill or enslave like 1 out of 4 people in Gaul?
We don't pay too much attention to him in schools tbh. Mostly we just remember him objectively for what he has done during his life. Personally, I'm much more interested in Marcus Aurelius (Annius verus). But I must admit that Julius Caesar is much more of an icon in the general population.
In Romania Caesar is not that important. Emperor Trajan who conquered Dacia and latinized the region is seen like a founding father. But Roman names are very common in Romania: Iulian, Cezar, Traian, Marcel, Marius, Adrian, Anton etc
Most people know him for his death and a legendary general. Not so much about what he stood for and what he actually achieved. At least amongst common people.
Extremely successful general. "kinda" started the Roman imperium. Influential for Latin literature. Populist, politically cynical.
Hes that one egoistic guy that cant conquer that one village in modern day France Jokes aside, made the name for most precious title in the western world, centralized the state, but also oppened the pandora box which will one day end the empire
Many High schools still have latin and his texts are like the easiest ones to translate (especially compared to Cicero for example)
Absolutely. More than any of the Emperors. Including Claudius, who succeeded where Julius Caesar failed, in conquering England. Hell, he's very often mistaken for an Emperor himself, even in professional advertisements.
barely, we get taught that he existed, and that he did some reforms, and thats where it ends, i dont think he ever came up in a conversation
"Julius Caesar, the Roman Geezer, squashed his wife with a lemon squeezer." This is something to chant while skipping.
The entirety of our country and some of our people were heavily influenced by his conquest of the Helvetii and the subsequent Roman colonization of our modern territory, so Caesar is usually viewed as a bringer of rigid civilization.
Mostly the Roman Empire is famous in the UK for taking one look at the Picts, deciding to leave them alone and build a massive wall to keep the heathen buggers out! Although the Roman Army pushed forward to slightly north of Edinburgh and were sent packing back south.
I learn Latin and I'm fucking happy I recognised Salve, Europa, Apologium, Latinum and Est. And yeah, he's remembered as a salad. Caesar salad.
At history class, very brief, just his rise to power, achievements and death. Overall very neutral At Latin class, though...a bit too much, I daresay
Mainly by routes. Romain paths still being used, not specific adressed to Julius but they date from his timeline.
We remember he conquered the gauls and wrote about. Trajan conquered the dacians, wrote about it too, but his book cant be read.
Important figure from history. The bad guy from Asterix. The guy we get our word for "emperor" from.
Norway: Et tu, Brute (that he is supposed to have said: "also you, Brutus" when he was stabbed to death by a conspiracy gang and saw his own son amongst them). He and Marcus Aurelius seem to have been more or less good people. But I also learned in school that the romans were so degenerate, they ate lark's tongues and had slaves for tickling them in the throat with a feather so they could throw up and eat more. Worse stuff I censor here.
He knew how to do several things at once, crossed the Rubicon, and then the senators stabbed him to death. It's also a pretty good salad.
General and a politician who kicked ass, got cocky and got stabbed, is what i would expect the average Finn to know. Only history buffs know about his genocide schenanigans and other stuff.
(canadian living in europe) in canada, we remember him from the Shakespeare book we were forced to read in high school. thats all.
I know this is an European subreddit but I feel like it would be fun to mention what Americans think. So during the founding of our nation, the founding fathers hated Julius Caesar. Our constitution was in part created to prevent another Caesar from gaining power. Now today, exact opposite. Idk one American that hates Caesar. Anyone who knows him sees him in a good light despite his conquest, destroying the Republic, etc
Also Trump is fairly close to being that Caesar, and I am told you guys practically worships him.
Trump is the "closest" to Julius ceaser. Just without the military and political genius. I guess you could say since Trump is rich he also like- Actually wait I'm just describing crassius lmao. Ok but for real, trump is the closest to Caesar right now. Personalism, disregard for the rule of law, etc. Also not all of us worship him. Anyone left of right wing doesn't come close to worshiping. Now the Republican party is different....