Gaius Julius Caesar Strabo Vopiscus
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- For other men called Gaius Julius Caesar (Strabo), see Gaius Julius Caesar (disambiguation)
Gaius Julius Caesar Strabo Vopiscus (ca. 130 BC – 87 BC) was the younger son to Lucius Julius Caesar II and his wife Poppilia
Poppilia
The Popilii Laenates was the name of an ancient Roman Plebs family, who lived during the era of the Roman Republic. The Popilii were known for their cruel and arrogant nature. The gens name Popilii is of Etruscan origin....
and younger brother to Lucius Julius Caesar III. His cognomina
Cognomen
The cognomen nōmen "name") was the third name of a citizen of Ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. The cognomen started as a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became hereditary. Hereditary cognomina were used to augment the second name in order to identify a particular branch within...
indicate he was possibly cross-eyed, and the surviving member of a set of twins.
In 103 BC, he was on a committee to supervise the implementation of the Lex frumentaria, an agrarian bill, proposed by tribune Lucius Appuleius Saturninus
Lucius Appuleius Saturninus
Lucius Appuleius Saturninus was a Roman popularist and tribune; he was a political ally of Gaius Marius, and his downfall caused a great deal of political embarrassment for Marius, who absented himself from public life until he returned to take up a command in the Social War of 91 to 88...
. Strabo became a pontifex in 99 BC; a quaestor
Quaestor
A Quaestor was a type of public official in the "Cursus honorum" system who supervised financial affairs. In the Roman Republic a quaestor was an elected official whereas, with the autocratic government of the Roman Empire, quaestors were simply appointed....
in 96 BC and an aedile
Aedile
Aedile was an office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings and regulation of public festivals. They also had powers to enforce public order. There were two pairs of aediles. Two aediles were from the ranks of plebeians and the other...
in 90 BC.
When the war between Sulla and Marius
Gaius Marius
Gaius Marius was a Roman general and statesman. He was elected consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his dramatic reforms of Roman armies, authorizing recruitment of landless citizens, eliminating the manipular military formations, and reorganizing the...
started, Strabo stood for the consulship, although he needed to be a praetor
Praetor
Praetor was a title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to men acting in one of two official capacities: the commander of an army, usually in the field, or the named commander before mustering the army; and an elected magistratus assigned varied duties...
before. Sulla supported him and this caused great civil unrest.
Along with his brother he was killed fighting in the streets at the beginning of the Civil War
Sulla's first civil war
Sulla's first civil war was one of a series of civil wars in ancient Rome, between Gaius Marius and Sulla, between 88 and 87 BC.- Prelude - Social War :...
by partisans of Marius in 87 BC. According to Livy
Livy
Titus Livius — known as Livy in English — was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people. Ab Urbe Condita Libri, "Chapters from the Foundation of the City," covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome well before the traditional foundation in 753 BC...
, their heads were exposed on the speaker’s platform.
Caesar Strabo Vopiscus wrote at least 3 tragedies with Greek themes. These plays were Adrastus, Tecmesa and Teutras. Only fragments of the plays survive. According to Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
, he was an orator known for his wit and humor. Cicero published a dialogue called De Oratore
De Oratore
De Oratore is a dialogue written by Cicero in 55 BCE. It is set in 91 BCE, when Lucius Licinius Crassus dies, just before the social war and the civil war between Marius and Sulla, during which Marcus Antonius Orator, the other great orator of this dialogue, dies...
, in which Strabo explains why humor is important in speech.
He was an uncle to Lucius Julius Caesar IV, Julia Antonia
Julia Antonia
Julia Caesaris or Julia Antonia was a daughter to consul Lucius Julius Caesar III and mother to the future triumvir and deputy of Caesar, Mark Antony. She was a sister to consul Lucius Julius Caesar IV. Her mother is unknown. She was born and raised in Rome...
and a great-uncle to Mark Antony
Mark Antony
Marcus Antonius , known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general. As a military commander and administrator, he was an important supporter and loyal friend of his mother's cousin Julius Caesar...
, Gaius Antonius
Gaius Antonius
Gaius Antonius was the second son of Marcus Antonius Creticus and Julia Antonia, and thus, younger brother of Mark Antony, triumvir and enemy of Caesar Augustus.-Early life:...
, Lucius Antonius
Lucius Antonius (brother of Mark Antony)
Lucius Antonius was the younger brother and supporter of Mark Antony, a Roman politician.Lucius was son of Marcus Antonius Creticus, son of the rhetorician Marcus Antonius Orator executed by Gaius Marius' supporters in 86 BC, and Julia Antonia, a cousin of Julius Caesar...
and Lucius Julius Caesar V.