Beware the Ides of March!

Got Caesar?

Some despise Caesar for his ambition, while others praise him for his devotion to Rome. No matter what we think of Caesar, he looms large in our imaginations. Was he "the nobles man / That evr lived in the tide of times" as Marc Antony describes him in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar? Or was he an ambitious tyrant on the verge of destroying the Roman Republic as Brutus believed? Did he wear a white toga or a black toga?

One of the more interesting ways to understand the historical figure of Julius Caesar is to look at how he has been representing in the popular media - from Shakespeare to HBO.

Written probably in 1599, Shakespeare's play, Julius Caesar, is fundamental to many people's knowledge of Caesar. Shakespeare based his depiction on a biography written by the ancient historian Plutarch. In funeral speeches given by Brutus and Marc Antony, Shakespeare contrasts the image of Caesar as tyrant with the image of Caesar as the noble savior of his country.

Twelve films about the life of Caesar have been made since 1914. One of the most successful brings Shakespeare's play to the silver screen - it was directed by Joseph Mankiewicz in 1953 and it stays quite close to the Shakespearean text. It stars James Mason as Brutus, Louis Calhern as Caesar, and the young Marlon Brando as Antony. All provide powerful performances.

Since 1938, there have been eleven television productions that illustrate the life of Julius Caesar. Certainly the most ambitious and the most scenographic is HBO's ROME, which premiered in fall of 2005.

Filmed at Cinecitta Studios in Rome, where an enormous set of the Roman Forum was created, the series depicts the final year of Caesar's life. The show's makers take a cue from Shakespeare as they illustrate the duality of Caesar's character, presenting him as noble one moment and despicable the next.

Though these media accounts are "fictional," they are also powerful. They give shape to our images of ancient Rome and its most provocative ruler. And, importantly, such mulitmedia representations of Julius Caesar's life provoke us to marvel at the complexities of political power in ancient Rome and to compare it to our own complicated world.

44 BC Revisited

A Walk Through Julius Caesar's Rome

If you could time travel and make your way back to 44 BC, what would you see? What did Caesar see in his final days as he strolled through Rome, unaware that 60 senators were plotting to take his life?

We've just posted a new slideshow on our website that will help you make the journey back to Caesar's Rome. And, just in case it seems that you learned about Caesar's life and death long ago (perhaps shortly after he died!), our slideshow will give you an update on the basic facts and the gory details!

Revisit the Year 44 BC

Reading, Writing, and Rome

Pay a Visit to the City Library!

If you're looking for books that will help you learn more about Rome, we suggest you pay a visit to the iDC's City Library. You'll find loads of interesting books about the Eternal City.

This month, iDC City Scholars are raving about Jonathan Harr's account of a Caravaggio mystery, The Lost Painting. Written as an art-historical thriller,t he book follows scholars as they search Europe for a Caravaggio known to have existed, but long lost. The story is a true one. It's exciting and when you finish the book, you'll probably know a lot more about Caravaggio's life than when you began!

Random House 2005.

Visit the iDC City Library

Strike a Pose!

How to Look at a Roman Sculpture

Ever wonder just how you should look at ancient Roman sculptures? What can you learn when you look closely at Roman portraits? What do their faces tell us? What do their clothes and hairstyles convey? How can we decode the messages they meant for us to understand? How can we get insight into the days of their ancient lives?

We're here to answer those questions! We've called in our Roman sculpture expert, Dr. Julia Lenaghan, and she's provided us with ten basic questions that you can ask yourself the next time you're admiring the ancient Roman jetset in an archaeological museum.

Visit our Roman Sculpture website and you'll learn how to judge who's hot and who's not.

Ladies with an attitude
Fellows that were in the mood
Don't just stand there, let's get to it
Strike a pose, there's nothing to it
-Madonna

Roman Vogue: How to Look at a Roman Sculpture

Despite Rumors About the Salad

The Real Story of Caesar's Famous Salad

Despite rumors you may have heard, Julius Caesar did not invent Caesar's Salad. In fact, Caesar's Salad was the result of Prohibition. In 1924, the celebrities of Hollywood ventured south of the border for relief from the "dry" heat of L.A.

One night, when a group of the fab and famous descended on Caesar's Hotel and Restaurant in Tijuana, chef Caesar Cardini was forced to throw together an impromptu meal. In a moment of inspiration (his cupboards were almost bare) he simply threw everything in the kitchen into a bowl - eggs, romaine lettuce, garlic, Worscestershire sauce, lemon juice, and olive oil. Anchovies, already an ingrdient in Worcestershire sauce, were later added to the recipe, according to Ruth Reichl, editor of Gourmet magazine.

On a recnetly broadcast NPR interview, Reichl advises that when making the true Caesar's Salad, one must do two things: first, you must leave the Romaine lettuce leaves whole so that they may be eaten with your hands (this being the way the first Caesar's Salads were eaten). Second, the dressing should not be whisked together, rather the eggs should be broken on top of the lettuce and then Parmesan cheese should be grated over the top.

The original recipe follows. It has been authenticated by Rosa Cardini, daughter of the salad's inventor

CAESAR'S SALAD

1/2 cup day-old bread, cubed
3/4 cup garlic oil, divided use
2 small heads romaine lettuce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 eggs*, coddled (boiled in the shell for 1 minute)
Juice of 2 medium lemons
8-10 drops of Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. To prepare the garlic oil, place 4-5 cloves of garlic, peeled and quartered, in a good quality (e.g. Extra Virgin) olive oil and let it stand at room temperature several hours or even up to 5 days.

2. To prepare croutons, pre-heat oven to 225 degrees. Toss bread cubes with 1/4 cup garlic oil and spread on a pan or baking sheet. Toss frequently and bake until golden brown, about 2 hours.

3. Wash, dry and crisp (in the refrigerator) the leaves of the romaine lettuce. Originally, Caesar left the lettuce leaves whole, and the salad was eaten with the fingers, but later he tore the outer leaves into 2-inch lengths, leaving only the small inner leaves whole, and the salad was eaten with a fork.

4. Place lettuce in a large bowl and toss with remaining 1/2 cup of garlic oil. Add salt and pepper, again tossing gently. Break the coddled eggs* over the lettuce, add lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce and toss two or three times. Add croutons and cheese. Toss lightly once more.

Serves 4.

PLEASE NOTE
*Over the past few years, the threat of salmonella in barely cooked or coddled eggs has prompted many cooks to use pasteurized eggs or egg substitute or skip the egg entirely and use a heaping tablespoonful of mayonaise to simulate the consistency of the coddled egg.