Veni, Vidi, Vici

Sometime after the "Ides of March" in 44 BC, a marble bust splashed heavily into the River Rhône near Arles, a Roman veterans colony for the storied Sixth Legion in southern Gaul (France).

Under someone's watchful eyes, the bust careened rapidly to the muddy river bottom in a rush of bubbles. Did the eyes belong to fearful allies of the man whose likeness the bust bore? Were they the rapt eyes of vengeful enemies exacting retribution? Or did they belong to marauding Visigoths amidst an orgy of destruction? The answer, alas, is forever lost to history.

But the bust of Gaius Julius Caesar, born this day in 100 BC, would lie silent in the Rhône for over two millennia.

Wikipedia describes him as a "Roman general and statesman." Indeed. One might also add that the Roman Empire he made conquered the world. Caesar is easily one of history's most influential men. Some 2,053 years after his death in 44 BC, the world still knows his name, and remains in awe of it. And yet, we have no idea what Caesar looked like, at least not with certainty. The Roman historian Suetonius describes Caesar as "tall of stature with a fair complexion, shapely limbs, a somewhat full face, and keen black eyes." He also became semi-bald as he approached middle age, according to Suetonius. Embarrassed over the fact, Caesar combed his hair forward to hide it.

Archaeologists recovered the bust of Caesar (shown above) just upstream of modern Arles in 2007. Dated at 46 BC (two years before the assassination), it is the oldest known bust of the Roman leader. Given its realistic features (and the fact all known busts of Caesar in Rome were posthumous), some believe the bust shows what Caesar actually looked like. Perhaps. But what we do know with certainty is his legacy: "Veni, Vidi, Vici." I came, I saw, I conquered. And he did.