Virtuous Romans–One Paragraph Will Suffice
Posted in General, On This Day on January 13th, 2007 by Eugene Finerman – 3 CommentsOn this day in 86 B.C., the Roman leader Gaius Marius died. Being an excellent general, enlightened reformer, and unimaginatively heterosexual, he would never merit a series on PBS or HBO. Marius never even got a supporting role in a Hollywood epic. Because of his poor sense of timing, he lived too late for Hannibal and too soon for Spartacus. (It is Marius’ unique misfortune that Hollywood insists on historical accuracy only where he is concerned.)
Nevertheless Marius has a vicarious glamour. He married into a family of aristocratic underachievers named Caesar. With Uncle Marius’ help, young Gaius Julius would amount to something.