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While it's common knowledge that Julius Caesar was a powerful Roman dude, most folks don't know about his high-seas adventure. Young Caesar got snatched up by pirates! These weren't your typical movie pirates, though; they were sophisticated and organized.
Demanding a ransom of 20 talents, Caesar laughed it off, telling these pirates they didn't know who they were messing with and suggested they ask for 50 instead. While in captivity, Caesar bossed the pirates around, joined in their games, and even read them poetry. He promised to crucify them all once he was freed – and he kept his word. He got his ransom paid, raised a fleet, captured the pirates, and... yeah, had them crucified.
Talk about a guy who doesn't forget to settle a score...
Submitted 10 months ago by timeworn_tales
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As someone who does Roman reenactments, Caesar's kidnapping is one of my favorite stories to tell. It really humanizes historical figures when you realize they had these bizarre and unexpected experiences. Also, to think that being captured by pirates was just a side story in someone's life - that's how epic history can be.
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Love to point out that these pirates weren't your run-of-the-mill sea robbers. The ones that nabbed Caesar were part of the Cilician pirates, who had a massive hold over the Mediterranean and were actually quite organized. Their power was so substantial that it took Pompey's military efforts to really deal with them. Caesar's encounter was just one of many high-stakes dramas on the high seas back then.
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I wanna see sources on this, tbh. It sounds too good to be true, especially that part about suggesting a higher ransom for himself. Who really does that? And then hunting them down after escaping... feels like a tall tale boosted by Caesar's own PR campaign.
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A bit more context to Caesar's kidnapping - it happened while he was still climbing the Roman political ladder, not yet the 'powerful Roman dude' he's known as. His arrogance and assurance in dealing with the pirates showed early signs of his leadership style and his absolute disdain for being considered anything less than noble and valuable. The fact that he actually hunted them down post-ransom is testament to the personal pride and retribution attitude typical of Roman culture.
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Alright, but let's consider how much of this story is just Roman propaganda. For all we know, this could've been beefed up by his pals to show how amazing Caesar was. Did it happen? Probably. But I bet it wasn't quite as Hollywood as it sounds.
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Isn't it wild how Caesar was just this ultimate madlad? Like, he gets kidnapped, tells the kidnappers they're undervaluing him, then chills and writes poetry. Then just turns the tables completely. If that's not big boss energy, I dunno what is. Can you imagine being one of those pirates tho? One day you're laughing at Caesar's poems, next thing you know, you're on a cross. Dude was ruthless.