Asterix and Obelix Comics and Caesar

My fascination with caesar started as a child I when loved reading the "Asterix and Obelix" series of cartoons by Goscinny and Uderzo.  I couldn't get enough of them and used to go to the public library after school just to read them.  Goscinny and Uderzo painted a picture of the Romans as clumsy and corrupt but demonstrated respect for the figure of Caesar.  In one comic ("Asterix and Son") Caeser's child with Cleopatra (Ptolemy Caesar or Caesarion) is babysat by Asterix and Obelix.  The comic culminates in a feast (as usual) only this time Caesar joins in.

The Asterix comics fed my interest and I always loved any movies about ancient Rome and even took Latin as a subject in high school.  Last year I reinvigorated my fascination with Roman history and Caesar in particular when I was doing some reading about the Roman Republic to try to help my child at school with ancient history.  Since then I have been avidly reading and watching everything I can find about Caesar and the Republic.  I am lucky as there are so many websites, movies, and publications about the Republic.  I have even been re-reading the old Asterix comics that I found in my bookcase!

I am fascinated with ancient Rome full stop.  But for some reason, I have always wanted to learn more about Caesar.  And the more I learn about him the more fascinated I become.  One of his chief characteristics was his pragmatism.  Coupled with this was his undeniable flair and style.  His sheer brilliance and his calculated showmanship demonstrate that his charisma was not just alive in the past but has carried forward for thousands of years.  He was someone who captured the hearts and minds of the people and of his soldiers and still captures the hearts and minds of people today.  There is so much of drama, intrigue and majesty to his story.  Even as a man of his times he was cast from a different mould than other Roman magistrates.  His upbringing was atypical and his behaviour was unique.  In short, his attraction is timeless and I am certainly caught in his web.