OJCL Torch Fall 2022 | Seite 8

conjecture that the weak and convalescent were utilized for the purpose”: (268). Caesar put everyone to work, whether they were injured or not. This gives him a stronger military, as no one is seen as a burden, dragging the military behind. His soldiers. There is no doubt that Caesar led a strong army and had a great following because of it. Cuff writes, “Yet even so his qualities as a tactician, as a strategist, and above all as a genius for capturing and holding the loyalty of his men must catch the imagination of anyone who watches the unfolding of the great events which took place in Gaul” (32). This plays into how Caesar was able to gain more political power, as his strong military leadership abilities, using the injured played into how he was able to rise into power by gaining supporters in his army. 

As stated previously, Caesar did not let his soldiers rest when they were injured during a battle. However, he grants rights and privileges to those practicing medicine in Rome. John Scarborough writes about how medicine from Greece was brought into Rome. He writes, “Caesar and Augustus encouraged Hellenistic medicine in Rome with the inducement Rome gave to the immigration of Greek teachers. Civic rights were granted to these foreign scholars.” (Pg 297). This shows that Caesar cares about the Roman citizen’s well-being and overall health. By demonstrating this care, he most likely gained a positive reputation with the people of Rome, which

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gave him even more political support, as the people of Rome liked him.

Caesar uses sickness to classify honorable soldiers in the military through his writing, as well as an excuse for his behaviors. He also uses medicine to gain a positive relationship with the people and soldiers of Rome, which resulted in the gain of support leading to his rise in power.  

Works Cited

Byrne, Eugene Hugh. “Medicine in the

Roman Army.” The Classical Journal, vol.

5, no. 6, 1910, pp. 267–72. JSTOR,

http://www.jstor.org/stable/3286964.

Accessed 2 Jun. 2022

Cuff, P. J. “Caesar the Soldier.” Greece &

Rome, vol. 4, no. 1, 1957, pp. 29–35.

JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/64

1010. Accessed 2 Jun. 2022.

Hamlyn, Tim. “The Nature of Caesar’s

Illness.” Latomus, vol. 73, no. 2, 2014, pp.

360–67. JSTOR,http://www.jstor.org/

stable/24858427. Accessed 2 Jun. 2022.

Horn, Theodore. “P. Sextius Baculus.”

Greece & Rome, vol. 8, no. 2, 1961, pp.

180–83. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/

stable/641651. Accessed 2 Jun. 2022.

McDermott, William C. “Q. Cicero.”

Historia: Zeitschrift Für Alte Geschichte,

vol. 20, no. 5/6, 1971, pp. 702–17. JSTOR,

http://www.jstor.org/stable/4435232.

Accessed 2 Jun. 2022.

Michael J. G. Gray-Fow. “The Mental

Breakdown of a Roman Senator: M.

Calpurnius Bibulus.” Greece & Rome, vol.

37, no. 2, 1990, pp. 179–90.JSTOR,

http://www.jstor.org/stable/643045.

Accessed 2 Jun. 2022.

Scarborough, John. “Romans and

Physicians.” The Classical Journal, vol.

65, no. 7, 1970, pp. 296–306. JSTOR,

http://www.jstor.org/stable/3295700.

Accessed 2 Jun. 2022.