The Cambridge Companion to the Writings of Julius Caesar

Well-known as a brilliant general and politician, Julius Caesar also played a fundamental role in the formation of the Latin literary language and remains a central figure in the history of Latin literature. With twenty-three chapters written by renowned scholars, this Companion provides an accessible introduction to Caesar as an intellectual along with a scholarly assessment of his multiple literary accomplishments and new insights into their literary value. The Commentarii and Caesar's lost works are presented in their historical and literary context. The various chapters explore their main features, the connection between literature, state religion and politics, Caesar's debt to previous Greek and Latin authors, and his legacy within and outside of Latin literature. The innovative volume will be of great value to all students and scholars of Latin literature and to those seeking a more rounded portrait of the achievements of Julius Caesar.

Introduction: Caesarian questions: then, now, hence Luca Grillo and Christopher B. Krebs; Part I. Literature and Politics: 1. Caesar, literature and politics at the end of the Republic Kurt Raaflaub; 2. The Commentarii in their propagandistic context Christopher B. Krebs; 3. Caesar constructing Caesar William Batstone; 4. Priesthoods, gods and stars Jörg Rüpke; 5. The politics of geography Andrew M. Riggsby; 6. Nostri and 'the other(s)' Andrew C. Johnston; Part II. Genre, Rhetoric, Language and Style: 7. Genres and generic contaminations in the Commentarii Debra L. Nousek; 8. Caesar's style Christopher B. Krebs; 9. Speeches in the Commentarii Luca Grillo; 10. Wit and irony Anthony Corbeill; 11. Literary approaches to Caesar Luca Grillo; Part III. Fragmentary Works: 12. Caesar the linguist: the debate about the Latin language Giuseppe Pezzini; 13. Caesar's orations Henriette van der Blom; 14. Caesar's poetry in its context Sergio Casali; 15. Anticato Anthony Corbeill; 16. The letters of Caesar Ruth Morello; Part IV. Sources and Nachleben: 17. Caesar and Greek historians Luke Pitcher; 18. Caesar and Roman historiography prior to the Commentarii Martine Chassignet; 19. The Corpus Caesarianum Jan Felix Gaertner; 20. Caesar in Livy and Tacitus Christine S. Kraus; 21. Caesar, Virgil and Lucan Timothy A. Joseph; 22. Narrating the Gallic and Civil Wars with and beyond Caesar James Thorne; 23. Writing war with Caesar: the Commentarii's afterlife in military memoirs Hester Schadee.

Luca Grillo is an Associate Professor of Classics at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He is the author of The Art of Caesar's Bellum Civile (Cambridge, 2012), a commentary on Cicero's De Provinciis Consularibus (2015), and various journal articles on the Gallic and Civil wars and on other authors, especially Virgil and Cicero.
Christopher B. Krebs is an Associate Professor of Classics and (by courtesy) German Studies at Stanford University, California. The recipient of the 2012 Christian Gauss Award, his publications include Negotiatio Germaniae (2005), A Most Dangerous Book (2012), and Time and Narrative in Ancient Historiography (edited with Jonas Grethlein, Cambridge, 2013). Future projects include an intellectual biography of Julius Caesar and a commentary on Caesar, Bellum Gallicum 7.