Cover detail, "The Assassination of Julius Caesar" by Michael Parenti
People's History of Ancient Rome Story aired: Wednesday, August 27, 2003
History is an imprecise science. What happened to a few people who experienced the same thing just an hour ago will likely result in differing accounts of what exactly happened. So imagine recreating the reality of some 2300 years ago, when the 500-year old Roman Republic ended. Julius Caesar took over. He has been seen in history as a brilliant military campaigner, a charismatic leader, and a tyrant.
It is the more noble Romans like Cicero -- the great orator and supporter of the Republic -- who history tends to remember glowingly. We discussed Cicero on our program a couple of weeks ago, noting among other things, Cicero's hatred of Caesar. Today, we thought we'd get another perspective on Caesar. Was he really all that bad?
Michale Parenti doesn't think so. He's author of the new book "The Assassination of Julius Caesar: A People's History Of Ancient Rome."
Guests:
Michael Parenti, author of "The Assassination of Julius Caesar: A People's History of Ancient Rome."
