Gaius Julius Caesar Strabo Vopiscus

Who is Gaius Julius Caesar Strabo Vopiscus?

Gaius Julius Caesar Strabo Vopiscus was the younger son to Lucius Julius Caesar II and his wife Poppilia and younger brother to Lucius Julius Caesar III. His cognomina indicate he was possibly cross-eyed, and the surviving member of a set of twins.

In 103 BC, he was on a committee to supervise the implementation of the Lex frumentaria, an agrarian bill, proposed by tribune Lucius Appuleius Saturninus. Strabo became a pontifex in 99 BC; a quaestor in 96 BC and an aedile in 90 BC.

When the war between Sulla and Marius started, Strabo stood for the consulship, although he needed to be a praetor before. Sulla supported him and this caused great civil unrest.

Along with his brother he was killed fighting in the streets at the beginning of the Civil War by partisans of Marius in 87 BC. According to Livy, their heads were exposed on the speaker’s platform.

Caesar Strabo Vopiscus wrote at least 3 tragedies with Greek themes. These plays were Adrastus, Tecmesa and Teutras. Only fragments of the plays survive. According to Cicero, he was an orator known for his wit and humor. Cicero published a dialogue called De Oratore, in which Strabo explains why humor is important in speech.