Julius Caesar- Fame and Fate Part Seven

Citizens had gone to the polls only weeks after Pompey had staged his games in September 55 BC. They voted with his theater complex rising like a small mountain in the background and delivered a blow to his prestige. In the previous year Pompey had been able to block the candidacies of Cato and Domitius Ahenobarbus. Now for the year 54 BC both men were elected to magistracies. Domitius as consul and Cato as praetor. One ally of Pompey, Appius Claudius, was elected to the consulship, but Appius could not be counted on as a reliable ally, he was more a "see which way the wind is blowing" type. Even though Pompey had conquered nations and built his grandiose theater, Appius had very aristocratic blood in his veins-and this in his opinion counted for much more. In the uncertain see-saw world of Roman politics Pompey was a man who at this point in his life should have been able to bask in the glow of power and glory. This election, however, showed him how tenuous and fleeting these desires could be in the late Republic-really for all of Roman history. Any reasonable standard would place him as the "first citizen" of the Republic. Pompey had just finished his second consulship. He was the governor of Spain and the commander of its army. And hadn't his generosity to Rome and her citizens been like the gift of a beneficient god?

But poor Pompey the Great-the more he tried to secure his power and position-the more they seemed to slip away from him. Every step he took to secure preeminence was accompanied by a step backwards. Even though Pompey's behavior was criminal in some of the methods he used to attain power (in the late Republic whose wasn't?), he had no desire to be another Sulla. The consulships of both Domitius and Appius, who were well known for their arrogance didn't hold much promise for a man of Pompey's somewhat insecure nature. As always, second to Crassus, the greatest thorn in his side was Cato, who would now be praetor for a year. But Cato's praetorship was nothing compared to his stature in the Senate. This infuriating, stubborn man didn't even have a rank officially as the equal of a consul. He didn't command any legions or have enough wealth to bribe the electorate or his fellow legislators. However, Cato's real power was about equal to Caesar or Pompey himself. Cato, with his staunch, unyielding principles and beliefs had become the exemplar of legitimacy through the years-almost to the point of becoming the embodiment of the Republic itself. Even if senators were taking bribes from Caesar in Gaul, Crassus or Pompey-they still identified themselves with Cato.

Julius Caesar perhaps could laugh about Cato's or any other senator's pretensions, but Pompey still very much wanted Cato's approval and did not. Pompey did indeed intimidate the establishment, but he still wanted to win its heart. This was perhaps another difference in the personalities of Julius Caesar and Pompey that led to an outcome that by rights should have gone in favor of Pompey. Pompey had been adored most of his life and still craved the love and respect of his fellow citizens. Julius Caesar wanted love also perhaps-but was more than willing when the last card was down-or more appropriately the last die were thrown-to settle for just being respected. In August 54 BC, Pompey's beloved wife Julia, Caesar's daughter, went into labor and miscarried. This time she did not survive the loss of her baby. Both Caesar and Pompey grieved equally over her loss. The death of Julia also threatened Caesar's political position, for he was still busy fighting in Gaul. There would be a short time the men would share in their grief. However, Pompey was now Rome's most eligible bachelor and when he remarried it could bring him into a new political alliance. With Crassus still in the alliance though, the men's power still balanced out pretty evenly, because one of the men couldn't take on the other two. But within a year of Julia's death news came in from Carrhae that Crassus was dead. This definitely shifted power in Pompey's favor and also excised a bitter prescence from his life. The image is a statue of Pompey-probably much romanticized in its physical form. I hope to have the next post here soon. I am caught up with information I have in written form so it might take two to three days, again I apologize for the backtracking. I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't think it was important to the story, "What If " questions and interesting in and of itself. Peace and be well to anyone stopping by!