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The early career of Julius Caesar was characterized by military adventurism and political persecution. Julius Caesar was born on July 12, 100 BC,〔http://www.notablebiographies.com/Br-Ca/Caesar-Julius.html#b〕 into a patrician family, the gens Julia, which claimed descent from Iulus, son of the legendary Trojan prince Aeneas, supposedly the son of the goddess Venus. His father died early, and his family status put him at odds with the Dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla, who almost had him executed. At about that time, Caesar found himself captured by pirates, only to crucify his former captors after he was ransomed. Before long he began his military career. He served in Hispania, married Sulla's granddaughter and was elected chief priest, all within rapid succession. Shortly after this, he was suspected, though not convicted, of involvement in the Catiline Conspiracy. Before long he was leaving for a governorship in Hispania and positioning himself to be one of the most important figures in history. ==Early life and family== Caesar was born into an aristocratic family, the ''gens Julia'', which claimed descent from Iulus, son of the legendary Trojan prince Aeneas, supposedly the son of the goddess Venus.〔 See also: Suetonius, ''Lives of the Twelve Caesars'': ''Julius'' (6 ); Velleius Paterculus, ''Roman History'' (2.41 ); Virgil, ''Aeneid''〕 The ''cognomen'' "Caesar" originated, according to Pliny the Elder, with an ancestor who was born by caesarean section (from the Latin verb to cut, ''caedere'', ''caes-'').〔Pliny the Elder, ''Natural History'' (7.7 ). The misconception that Julius Caesar himself was born by Caesarian section dates back at least to the 10th century (''Suda'' (kappa 1199 )). Julius wasn't the first to bear the name, and in his time the procedure was only performed on dead women, while Caesar's mother, Aurelia, lived long after he was born.〕 The ''Historia Augusta'' suggests three alternative explanations: that the first Caesar had a thick head of hair (Latin ''caesaries''); that he had bright grey eyes (Latin ''oculis caesiis''); or that he killed an elephant (''caesai'' in Moorish) in battle.〔''Historia Augusta'': ''Aelius'' (2 ).〕 Caesar issued coins featuring images of elephants, suggesting that he favoured this interpretation of his name. Despite their ancient pedigree, the Julii Caesares were not especially politically influential, having produced only three consuls. Caesar's father, also called Gaius Julius Caesar, reached the rank of praetor, the second highest of the Republic's elected magistracies, and governed the province of Asia, perhaps through the influence of his prominent brother-in-law Gaius Marius.〔Suetonius, ''Julius'' (1 ); Plutarch, ''Caesar'' (1 ), ''Marius'' (6 ); Pliny the Elder, ''Natural History'' (7.54 ); ''Inscriptiones Italiae'', 13.3.51–52〕 His mother, Aurelia Cotta, came from an influential family which had produced several consuls. Marcus Antonius Gnipho, an orator and grammarian of Gaulish origin, was employed as Caesar's tutor.〔Suetonius, ''Lives of Eminent Grammarians'' 7〕 Caesar had two sisters, both called Julia. Little else is recorded of Caesar's childhood. Suetonius and Plutarch's biographies of him both begin abruptly in Caesar's teens; the opening paragraphs of both appear to be lost.〔Plutarch, ''Caesar'' (1 ); Suetonius, ''Julius'' (1 )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Early life and career of Julius Caesar」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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