Something I think we should be able to agree on without too much controversy is that a pro-Caesarian bias exists through much of the community, and is certainly manifest here.
The question I pose is - why?
For all intents and purposes, we shouldn't necessarily see Caesar as "the good guy." There aren't many supporters of the Republic during the civil war here, but there are a bunch of Celt fans. Furthermore, he did (1) take the action of beginning civil war and (2) rule as a tyrant (benevolent as he might seem).
Is it because of the writings? Is it because fans of military history want to like a guy who was so successful? Is it a need for people to assign "good guys" and "bad guys" to historical narratives and deny that someone can be both good and bad? Is there some conservative-leaning tendency here to support Caesar and later Augustus? Is there some liberal-leaning tendency to support Caesar as populist? Is it because of the amateur fan community that has appeared around Adrian Goldsworthy?
This is something that has been puzzling me for some time. As I've been working on my dissertation on Sallust and reading Lucan, I find myself siding with Caesar in the comparison with Cato, and I roll my eyes when Lucan portrays Caesar as bloodlust personified - but I have no good reason for this.
Thoughts?
The question I pose is - why?
For all intents and purposes, we shouldn't necessarily see Caesar as "the good guy." There aren't many supporters of the Republic during the civil war here, but there are a bunch of Celt fans. Furthermore, he did (1) take the action of beginning civil war and (2) rule as a tyrant (benevolent as he might seem).
Is it because of the writings? Is it because fans of military history want to like a guy who was so successful? Is it a need for people to assign "good guys" and "bad guys" to historical narratives and deny that someone can be both good and bad? Is there some conservative-leaning tendency here to support Caesar and later Augustus? Is there some liberal-leaning tendency to support Caesar as populist? Is it because of the amateur fan community that has appeared around Adrian Goldsworthy?
This is something that has been puzzling me for some time. As I've been working on my dissertation on Sallust and reading Lucan, I find myself siding with Caesar in the comparison with Cato, and I roll my eyes when Lucan portrays Caesar as bloodlust personified - but I have no good reason for this.
Thoughts?