What did Julius Caesar really look like?

Julius Caesar is the most famous Roman. But when we look closely at his ancient portraits, it becomes clear that the familiar image of Caesar may be very different from his actual appearance.

Please consider supporting this channel on Patreon:

If you liked this video, you might also enjoy my book “Naked Statues, Fat Gladiators, and War Elephants: Frequently Asked Questions about the Ancient Greeks and Romans.”

If you're so inclined, you can follow me elsewhere on the web:

Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
0:55 Portraiture in the Late Republic
2:21 The evidence for Caesar's appearance
3:26 Squarespace!
4:11 The Tusculum Portrait
4:40 Images of the Deified Caesar
6:04 The Green Caesar
6:38 The Arles Bust

[bubbles]

Why did no one ever take a photo of him?

[varolussalsanclar]

I must be blind cause the busts in 0:46 looks almost identical, but differences that very well may only be caused by the carving technique of the artist. Just like how if you told van Gogh and Monet to draw the same tree, you would get two different paintings of the same tree.

[DanGoodShotHD]

Caesar's greatest achievement is the fact he's still relevant 2000+ years after his death. That's eternal life.

[hyperactivehyena]

Caesar must have been a smiley guy in life- the older the portraits get, the more of a cheeky smirk he gets on his face. It seems to disappear as his legacy grew into a more stoic and serious one.

[RandomlyGeneratedUsername]

At 0:41 while the heads and necks are different the main facial features resemble each other - the ridge above the eyes, the nasolabial folds, and for the most part the nose and the chin as well as the size and shape of the mouth and many of the larger wrinkles. This would indicate that the features are shared with the man himself.

[THISISLolesh]

0:30 they don’t look completely different at all haha, can clearly tell both are based on the same person.

[bombfog]

I think Ferrucci’s bust of Caesar is one of the finest works of art ever made. I’ve yet to come across another sculpted face imbued with such humanity.

[georgefreemon]

Kind of like Alexander’s statues. There are some that are very similar than others that look WAY different.

[echonomix_]

Just want to let you know that your content is top-tier. A little oasis from the chaos of our times. I've learned a lot of extremely interesting things through your uploads, and they definitely enrich my life. Keep up the great work.

[RubinGrolsch]

What's also interesting is that the earliest bust also shows a protrusion on his head, supposedly from childbirth. If the artist wanted to idealize caesar, this would obviously be one of the first things to scrap, so its precence indicates that the rest of the bust is also fairly realistic.

[max]

The right one just looks more detailed tbh, you've gotta remember that between 2 artists you're always going to have different art styles too, and the features are similar, even if he was one or another or something in-between he'd still look like the Caesar we know, since paintings and interpretations have always been different

[xaviotesharris]

More than 2, 000 years after his death, there are still fresh flowers left every day in the temple built over his funeral pyre.

[Nebulasecura]

Love history, and this channel is the first one I’m seeing ancient history coverage. Beauty of history is you always got something to learn about!

[i-never-look-at-replies-lol]

What if the guy on the pizza box is the most accurate of them all?

[lilylove]

"aggressively decrepit"
I would hate to have an argument with you!!
Love your bids
Sara Gibson

[outlaw]

So we add comb over to the list of stuff that Romans invented.

[limolnar]

Yes I see what you mean. Your speech is more measured and practiced. A great video with fantastic topics and well layed-out. Look forward to more! :)

[handsomegeorgianbankrobber]

I think Keeps would have been a more fitting sponsor for this video rather than Squarespace.

[PainCrashDaGPuff]

I just want to say I appreciate you and your channel very much. You remind me very much of my history teachers that held major passion in what they taught.

[joshuabessire]

We need a buff, naked Eisenhower in the Capitol Rotunda.