
Caesar and the Pirates - naftaliharris
http://www.livius.org/caa-can/caesar/caesar_t01.htm
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nl
I think people are missing the incredible achievement this story is.

At this point, Caesar was pretty much an unknown, and had to leave Rome to
escape Sulla.

 _However, the ransom arrived from Miletus and, as soon as he had paid it and
been set free, he immediately manned some ships and set sail from the harbor
of Miletus against the pirates_

Think about this. Somehow, this unknown person, on the wrong side of the
Mediterranean Sea, known to be in debt, and known to have lost to pirates once
before managed to persuade those in Miletus to let him command their ships to
go up against the pirates (who presumably they knew well, and probably had
some kind of informal agreement with).

Once he had the ships, he defeated the pirates (which is a huge feat in
itself). Then he delivered them to the governor, and once he had decided the
supreme ruler in the region wasn't going to do what he wanted he executed them
himself.

That's not really that different to someone hijacked by Somali pirates raising
a ransom, going to Kenya, raising a navy and going back to wipe them out. Even
Rambo wasn't as impressive.

The scary thing is that Caesar was just getting started. Genghis Khan and
Alexander may have been more impressive commanders, but I think perhaps only
Napoleon rivals Caesar in terms of sheer self-drive.

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gordonguthrie
Pretty much unknown?

Sulla and Marius had a civil war and Marius's nephew was Caesar

Post-civil war US - replace Sulla and Marius with Lincoln and Jefferson...

~~~
nl
Yeah, but he hadn't really had any impact on public life. From memory he'd
just taken a senate seat but hadn't really done anything.

~~~
wavefunction
He was from one of the oldest Patrician families in Rome. I think you're
under-estimating his family name and connections.

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staunch
_"...deputies ought to be sent to Pompey, to propose a reconciliation; as he
[Caesar] did not regard what Pompey had lately asserted in the senate, that
authority was acknowledged to be vested in those persons to whom ambassadors
were sent, and fear implied in those that sent them. That these were the
sentiments of low, weak minds: that for his part, as he had made it his study
to surpass others in glory, so he was desirous of excelling them in justice
and equity."_ [http://sacred-texts.com/cla/jcsr/civ1.htm](http://sacred-
texts.com/cla/jcsr/civ1.htm)

Supreme self confidence and magnanimity were some of his good traits.

~~~
mercurial
Yes, indeed:

 _Caesar paid no further attention to him. He went to Pergamon, took the
pirates out of prison and crucified the lot of them, just as he had often told
them he would do when he was on the island and they imagined that he was
joking._

And that's nothing compared to the way he behaved in Gaul. What you call
magnanimity is pragmatism: he had learned from Sulla, and wanted to avoid
massive purges, so he treated his Roman opponents much better than they would
have if the situation had been reverted.

His successor, in turn, learned the lessons of Caesar's assassination and went
back to the time-proven method of slaughtering the political opposition on a
large scale.

~~~
staunch
That's a bad interpretation IMHO. He wanted to be loved and respected by his
fellow Romans. He knew what people thought of Sulla for what he did. He knew
_personally_ what it was like to live in fear of a purging regime. It was not
merely pragmatism, it was his personal nature based on his life experience.

He may have very well have preferred to die like he did rather than to kill
his enemies like Augustus did. He knew the people he spared were the most
likely to kill him. He just arrogantly believed no one would dare or succeed.

~~~
mercurial
Clearly, we have a different view of the man. I see him as a ruthlessly
ambitious politician, who managed through a combination of intelligence, skill
and luck to ascend to the position of most powerful man in the Republic. In my
opinion, his reluctance to kill fellow Romans has more to do with long-term
political aims in terms of political stability, cultivation of his public
image and sheer arrogance than any sort of reluctance to shed blood.

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keiimik
The story of Ceasar and the pirates is one of my favorites' stories in
Ceasar's life. It represents well the his character: he was somewhat nuts.

~~~
winfred
I'm not sure you get all the nuances of the story. Caesar is just as nuts as
Vladimir Putin, who goes bear hunting bare chested.

It's just a piece of political propaganda that has survived through the ages,
all the way until today. There are more examples in this day and age, for
example the myths surrounding Alexander the Great.

~~~
wavefunction
Who cares about going bear-hunting bare-chested? It's not like he's strangling
the bears or engaging in close-combat.

There's not much you could wear that would protect you from a bear, which is
why hunters (including Putin) shoot them from a distance with a rifle.

~~~
aaron695
I think the point is, it's made up. A photo shoot.

But none the less the bare chested bit is he's out in the wilderness (Perhaps
even cold being Russia) not even needing a shirt for many hours at a time
tracking a bear. I see that as being a pretty tough image for a 61 year old.

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lazyant
Reminds me of the Bounty

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gjmulhol
Lesson: do what you say you are going to do.

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glibgil
And this is my favorite part about being a cofounder.

~~~
TheOtherHobbes
When the RIAA tries to crucify pirates it rebounds off the Streisand Effect.

I'm not sure what Caesar would do today. Maybe start a band?

