Study Guide for Caesar's Bellum Civile

  1. 1.1-28 (Italian Affairs)
  2. 1.29-87 (the war in Spain)
  3. 2.23-44 (Curio in Africa)
  4. 3.1-8 and 41-74 (Dyrrachium)
  5. 3.75-112 (Pharsalus and the death of Pompey)

 

Know the following characters:

Caesarian Pompeian

Caesar Pompey

Antonius (Tribune) Lentulus (Consul)

Domitius Scipio

Curio Labienus

P. Sulla Afranius

Scaeva Petreius

Crastinus Cato

King Juba

General

  1. What political events precipitate the Civil War?
  2. Reading Caesar is an exercise in "reading between the lines." Do not blindly accept what he writes, but question his account. He is, after all, writing his side of the story.
  3. Write a one page biography of one of the followers of Caesar or Pompey (above), including birth (if known), offices held, role in the Civil War, death, and any other relevant information. Consult Broughton, Magistrates of the Roman Republic, the Oxford Classical Dictionary, and the glossaries at the end of your text and translation.

 

Book 1.1-11 (Prelude)

  1. Who comprises the Pompeian party? What are their objectives?
  2. Who comprises the Caesarian party? What are their objectives?
  3. Where does the Senate stand? Why? (Do you believe Caesar?)
  4. What do the Tribunes do? Why?
  5. What does Caesar want?
  6. What image does Caesar construct for the Pompeians? How?
  7. What image does Caesar construct for himself? How?

 

1.12-23 (Campaign in North Italy)

  1. Follow Caesar's progress through Italy on the map
  2. Characterize the Pompeian soldiers. Characterize the Caesarian soldiers.
  3. How does Caesar take North Italy?
  4. When does he "cross the Rubicon"?
  5. What happens at Corfinium? What does this tell you about each side?

 

      1. (Brundisium)
  1. Why does Pompey go to Brundisium (see map)? Does Caesar want him to stay in Italy?
  2. Why does Pompey go to Dyrrachium (see map)?
  3. Why does Caesar decide on war in Ch 26?

 

1.27-97 (Spain)

  1. How does this section portray civil war?
  2. Why does Caesar not follow Pompey to Dyrrachium?
  3. Why does he go to Spain? Is it the right choice?
  4. What is Cato's complaint?
  5. How does Caesar deal with the Senate in Rome? To what effect?
  6. How are the Massilians depicted?
  7. Describe the situation at Ilerda?
  8. How does Caesar's army get into difficulty? How does his situation compare with the Afranians?
  9. How is the situation reversed?
  10. What happens at Massilia?
  11. Why do Afranius and Petreius leave Ilerda?
  12. What image is created of the Afranians? Caesarians?
  13. What strategies compel each side on the march? What is Caesar's assessment of Afranius' strategy?
  14. Who reaches the passes first?
  15. Why does Caesar not attack the helpless Afanians as his troops wish?
  16. What does the episode where the two camps meet tell you about civil war? What does it tell you about Petreius? Caesar? How much is the death of his men Caesar's fault?
  17. Why does Afranius surrender? What is Caesar's answer?
  18. What does Caesar do with the enemy soldiers? Why?

 

2. 1-22

The siege and final surrender of Massilians is described.

      1. (Curio in Africa)
  1. Who is Curio? Varus? King Juba?
  2. How does Varus tamper with Curio's troops? How does Curio respond? How do his troops respond?
  3. What happens at Utica? Who saves Varus?
  4. Why does Curio decided to attack Juba's forces?
  5. What happens to Curio's cavalry before the battle?
  6. Why does Curio die fighting?
  7. What does Juba do with the survivors?
  8. Is this episode a tragedy? If so what kind? (there are 3 kinds)
      1. (Eastern muster)
  1. Notice the first line of the book.
  2. What is the difference between the catalog of Caesar's forces in section 2 and that of Pompey's forces in section 3-5? What image does Caesar create? How? (cf. 3.88-89)

3.9-40 (Summary)

Caesar combines his forces in the East. Pompey and Caesar march around the coast of Greece in an attempt to outmaneuver each other. Caesar holds the coastal cities but Pompey has control of the sea, leading to a strategic stalemate.

 

3.41-74 (Dyrrachium)

  1. Why does Dyrrachium become important (see map)?
  2. What is Caesar's plan at Dyrrachium? Why? Pompey? Why?
  3. How does Caesar assess the siege? Why is it so strange?
  4. What is the difference between the Caesarian and Pompeian soldiers?
  5. What does Sulla not do? Is Caesar reliant on "sour grapes"
  6. What does Scaeva show of the Caesarian troops?
  7. Why are Raucillus and Egus important?
  8. How is Caesar repulsed from Dyrrachium?
  9. Why is his whole army not routed?
  10. What is the effect of the victory of the Pompeians?
  11. What is the effect of the defeat on the Caesarians?
  12. Whom does Caesar blame for the defeat?
  13. N.B. the standard-bearers speech is this section.

 

3.75-112 (Pharsalus and the death of Pompey)

  1. What is Caesar's new plan? Pompey's?

2) How does Caesar use psychology to motivate his allies?

  1. What are the Pompeians concerned with before the battle?
  2. How does Caesar make up for his lack of cavalry? N.B. Pompey's confident speech before the battle; why is he so confident?
  3. Why is the battle fought at Pharsalus (see map)?
  4. Who is Crastinus? What does he do?
  5. What happens to Pompey's cavalry during the battle? Why?
  6. What does Pompey do?
  7. What is Pompey's camp like?
  8. What happens to the remaining Pompeians?
  9. To where does Pompey flee?
  10. What happen to him? Why?
  11. How does the book end?

 

General questions for reflection:

  1. How does Caesar make the Pompeians look un-Roman? What do they look like?
  2. What are the dramatic models underlying the major episodes in the narrative? How does this add to characterization?
  3. Caesar claimed to be writing a commentarius. What is the genre of this work? (i.e. commentary, history, epic, tragedy)
  4. Is Pompey a poor general or a worthy opponent?
  5. What are the themes of this narrative? (e.g., Kahn suggests "reconciliation")
  6. How does Caesar demonstrate his clementia? Why does he show mercy?
  7. Is Caesar a good general or is he just lucky? Would he beat Alexander, Augustus, George Washington, Napoleon, Erwin Rommel, George Patton, or Norman Schwartzkopft, given the same weaponry? Why or Why not?
  8. How does Caesar use speeches to construct character?
  9. How well does Caesar use literary devices (dramatic structure, foreshadowing, speeches, catalogs, images, and battle scenes) in the narrative?
  10. How often does Caesar take account of psychological assumptions into account in his strategy and assessments?
  11. Why does Caesar offer peace so many times and the Pomepians reject it? Should we believe Caesar?
  12. How would the narrative be different if Pompey had won and written it?
  13. Does Caesar amplify or diminish the horrors of civil war? Why? How does he manipulate his material to now amplify and now diminish the effect of Roman fighting Roman?
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