Caesar’s Comet, the Julian Star, and the Invention of Augustus
Octavian is credited with turning a comet seen in 44 b.c.e.  into a symbol of Julius Caesar’s divinity and using it to advance his own political aims. Yet historical evidence argues against this account. Moreover, representations of the sidus Iulium (Julian star) on coins and in poetry adopt diverse and autonomous perspectives on the princeps. The idea that Augustus circulated the sidus as part of an image campaign seems instead to originate with Ovid, whose deification narrative at Metamorphoses 15.745–851 retrojected the princeps ’s mature power onto his early career and fueled the belief that Augustus gained and maintained power through propaganda.
Famous Last Words: Caesar’s Prophecy on the Ides of March*
Abstract Shakespeare’s Et tu, Brute has been influential in shaping a tradition that interprets Caesar’s last words as an expression of shock at Brutus’ betrayal. Yet this interpretation is not suggested in the ancient sources that attest the tag καὶ σύ, τέκνον (‘you too, son’). This article argues that Caesar’s dictum evokes a formula of funerary epigrams, which refers to death as the common lot of all mortals. The epitaphic connotations of καὶ σύ or tu quoque feature in epic poetry, a connection that lends a Homeric dimension to Caesar’s last words. The dictator’s oral epitaph predicts the death of Brutus as a consequence of his involvement in the assassination. It means ‘You too, son, will die’. The Greco-Roman belief that a dying man can foresee the future invests Caesar’s last words with prophetic authority.
Exemplarity in Roman Culture: The Cases of Horatius Cocles and Cloelia
n discussing exempla , it seems fitting to begin with an example of one. In a celebrated passage, Polybius describes for Greek readership some of the ejqismoÇ —habits or customs—that enabled the Romans to overcome the Carthaginians. First he points to the aristocratic funeral (6.53–54), in which wax masks representing ancestors of the deceased are conveyed in the cortège, and a eulogizer, himself a scion of the family, recounts these ancestors’ deeds on the community’s behalf. All this pomp, says Polybius, is socially efficacious. Young men who observe this spectacle are fired with the desire to endure and risk everything for the community, in order to win such immortality and renown for themselves (§53.9–54.3). Indeed, he adds, many Romans have done noteworthy deeds with just this end in view (§54.4– 5). He continues (§54.6–55.4):