Nico Medina - Who Was Julius Caesar?

Julius Caesar was born in Rome in the year 100 BC. As a boy, he was tall and slender, with a full, round face, dark hair, and intense black eyes.

Julius Caesar was named after his father. His mothers name was Aurelia, and his two older sisters were both named Julia. That was probably very confusing!

His family lived in Subura, a poor neighborhood of crowded apartment buildings. Many former slaves and foreigners lived there. Caesars family was not rich or powerful, but they were patricians. This meant they were Romans of noble blood. They traced their roots back hundreds of years. Caesars family said they were descended directly from Venus, Roman goddess of love and beauty!

No one in Caesars family had done anything very important in many years. As his parents only son, much was expected of young Caesar.

His father taught him to fight with the Roman warriors weapons of choice: a long spear, a short sword, and a shield. Caesar learned to swim in the Tiber River and to ride horses on the Field of Mars. He wasnt the biggest or strongest boy, but Caesar worked hard. He was such a good horseman, he could ride with his arms behind his backwithout a saddle!

At home, Caesar learned basic reading, writing, and math skills from his mother and a private tutora slave from Greece.

RELIGION IN ANCIENT ROME

THE ROMANS BORROWED A LOT FROM THE CULTURE OF ANCIENT GREECE. THEY COPIED GREEK ARCHITECTURE; GREEK WAS ONE OF THE REPUBLICS TWO OFFICIAL LANGUAGES; AND THEY WORSHIPPED GREEK GODSAFTER GIVING THEM ROMAN NAMES. THE MOST POWERFUL GREEK GOD, ZEUS, BECAME THE ROMAN GOD JUPITER. THE GREEK GOD OF WAR, ARES, WAS RENAMED MARS. POSEIDON, THE GREEK RULER OF THE SEAS, WAS NEPTUNE TO THE ROMANS. A GOD OR GODDESS EXISTED FOR ALMOST EVERYTHINGTHERE WAS EVEN A GOD FOR MILDEW!

RELIGION WAS PART OF EVERYDAY LIFE IN ROME. ALMOST EVERYONE HAD A HOUSEHOLD SHRINE: A SMALL CUPBOARD WITH PICTURES AND TRINKETS WHERE THEY COULD PRAY AND MAKE OFFERINGSOFTEN FOOD OR DRINKTO THE GODS. IN TEMPLES, ANIMALS WERE SOMETIMES SACRIFICED TO PLEASE THE GODS. THE ROMANS BELIEVED IF THEY WERE GOOD AND GENEROUS TO THEIR GODS, THE GODS WOULD RETURN THE FAVOR.

When Caesar grew older, he learned Greek. He also read and wrote poetry, and perfected his skill at oratory speaking before crowds. Being a good orator was extremely important for anyone who wanted to be a leader. If you could speak powerfully, people could be persuaded to vote for the causes you believed in.