Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 1.djvu/554

Rh 536 CAESAR. are, that Cicero was intimate with her during the latter period of his life, and that letters of his ad- dressed to her were extant in the days of Quinti- lian. (vi. 3. § 112.) The charge of Calenus would acquire some additional weight, if it were certain that in the 1 3th Idyll of Ausonius the name Cicero has dropped out before the words in praeceptis omnibus eocstare severiiatem, in epistolis ad Caerelliam subesse petulantiam. [L. S.] CAESAR, the name of a patrician family of the Julia gens, which was one of the most ancient in the Roman state, and traced its origin to lulus, the son of Aeneas. [Julia Gens.] It is un- certain which member of this gens first obtained the surname of Caesar, but the first who occurs in history is Sex. Julius Caesar, praetor in b. c. 208. The origin of the name is equally uncertain. Spartianus, in his life of Aelius Verus (c. 2), men- tions four different opinions respecting its origin : 1 .That the word signified an ehjphant in the language of the Moors, and was given as a surname to one of the Julii because he had killed an elephant. 2. That it was given to one of the Julii because he had been cut (caesus) out of his mother's womb after her death ; or 3. Because he had been bom with a great quantity of hair (caesarics) on his head ; or 4. Because he had azure- coloured [caesii) eyes of an almost supernatural kind. Of these opi- nions the third, which is also given by Festus (s. v. Caesar), seems to come nearest the truth. Caesar and caesaries are both probably connected with the Sanskrit Atsa, " hair," and it is quite in accordance with the Roman custom for a surname to be given to an individual from some J)eculiarity in his personal appearance. The second opinion, which seems to have been the most popular one with the ancient writers (Serv. ad Virg. Aen, I 290 ; Plin. H. N, CAESAR. viL 7. 8. 9; Solin. 1. § 62; Zonar. x. 11), arose without doubt from a false etymology. With respect to the first, which was the one adopted, says Spartianus (/. c), by the most learned men, it is impossible to disprove it absolutely, as we know next to nothing of the ancient Moorish language : but it has no inherent probability in it ; and. the statement of Servius (/. c.) is undoubtedly false, that the grandfather of the dictator obtained the surname on account of killing an elephant with his own hand in Africa, as there were several of the Julii with this name before his time. An inquiry into the etymology of this name is of some interest, as no other name has ever ob- tained such celebrity — *'clarum et duraturum cum aeternitate mundi nomen." (Spart. Ael. Ver. 1.) It was assumed by Augustus as the adopted son of the dictator, and was by Augustus handed down to his adopted son Tiberius. It continued to be used by Caligula, Claudius, and Nero, as members either by adoption or female descent of Caesar's family ; but though the family became extinct with Nero, succeeding emperors still re- tained it as part of their titles, and it was the practice to prefix it to their own name, as for in- stance, Imperator Caesar Domitianiis Augustus. When Hadrian adopted Aelius Verus, he allowed the latter to take the title of Caesar ; and from this time, though the title of Augustus continued to be confined to the reigning prince, that of Caesar was also granted to the second person in the state and the heir presumptive to the throne. In the following stemma the connexion of the earlier members of the family is to a considerable extent conjectural. A full account of the lives of all the Caesars mentioned below is given in Dru- s Gtschichte lioms^ vol. ill. p. 113, &c. Stemma Caesarum. 1. Sex. Julius Caesar, Pr. b. c. 208. 2. L. Julius Caesar. 3. L. Julius Caesar, Pr. b. c. 183. 5. L. Julius Caesar, Pr. b. c. 166. 4. Sex. Julius Caesar, Trib. Mil. b. c. 181. 6. Sex. Julius Caesar, Cos. B. c. 157. 7. Sex. Julius Caesar, Pr. b. c. 123. 8. L. Julius Caesar, married Popillia. 9. L. Julius Caesar, Cos. b. c. 90, Cens. B. c. 89, married Fulvia. i .1 11. L. Julius Caesar, Cos. b. c. 64. 13. L. Julius Caesar, died B. c. 46. I 12. Julia, married 1. M. Antonius, 2. P. Lentukis. 10. C. Julius Caesar StraboVopiscus, Aed. cur. b. c 90. 14. C. Julius Caesar, the grandfather of the dictator, married Marcia. I 15. C. Julius Caesar, Pr., married Aurelia. 1 6. Julia, married C. Marius. 17. Sex. Julius Caesar Cos. b. c. 91.