The Podcast of the Lotus Eaters - PREVIEW： Epochs #194 ｜ Pompey & Caesar： Part XIX

00:00:00.000 Hello and welcome to this episode of Epochs, where I shall be continuing and starting to finish,

00:00:04.940 perhaps not this episode, but starting to finish my narrative of the decline and fall of the Roman

00:00:09.740 Republic. Now, if you remember last time, we left off just where Pompey had lost the Battle of

00:00:16.900 Pharsalus. So let's pick up the narrative right there. Plutarch writes this in his Life of Pompey,

00:00:22.540 quote, with his infantry routed in this way, Pompey now could conjecture from the cloud of

00:00:27.840 dust, which he saw what had happened to his cavalry. If you remember, his massive advantage in

00:00:34.080 cavalry had been negated by a special little trick Caesar had pulled and it effectively lost him the

00:00:40.100 battle, lost Pompey the battle. What thoughts passed through his mind, it would be hard to say. He looked

00:00:46.120 beside himself and half crazed and seemed utterly to have forgotten that he was Pompey the Great.

00:00:52.280 Slowly and without saying a word to anyone, he walked off towards his camp, as in Homer's

00:00:57.400 description of Ajax. That is the giant warrior Ajax at the siege of Troy. Plutarch gives us a quote

00:01:04.180 about Ajax from Homer, saying, But Zeus the father, enthroned on higher, in Ajax, stirred up fear. He

00:01:11.560 slung behind his back the shield of seven ox-hide strong, and stood amazed and trembled as he peered

00:01:17.680 among the throng. So just basically a great warrior who has been beaten and brought low. Plutarch goes on,

00:01:23.080 so Pompey went to his tent and sat down there speechless. Finally, a number of victorious

00:01:28.520 troops, Caesar's troops, burst into the camp on the heels of the fugitives. And then Pompey said simply,

00:01:35.280 What? Into the camp too? And without another word, got up, put on clothes suitable to the state of his

00:01:41.860 fortunes, i.e. not the military dress of a senator or an imperator, just normal clothes, basically,

00:01:48.500 a disguise, and made his escape. The rest of his legions also fled, and in the camp itself there

00:01:54.060 was a great slaughter of the servants and the men who were guarding the tents. Only 6,000 soldiers fell,

00:02:00.280 according to Asinius Polio, who fought in the battle on Caesar's side. When Caesar's troops captured the

00:02:06.080 camp, they could see before their eyes evidence of the vanity and folly of the enemy. Remember, these are

00:02:11.320 the richest men in Rome, some of the richest men in the world. They were living in complete opulence.

00:02:16.140 It's like billionaires, essentially. So Caesar's men were surprised to see what opulence they were

00:02:23.580 travelling in. Every tent was wreathed with boughs of myrtle and contained carefully laid out dinner

00:02:30.600 couches, covered with flowers and tables with drinking vessels all set out. Remember, they'd already

00:02:37.060 arranged a great banquet for when they won the battle, obviously not expecting to lose. Bowls of wine

00:02:42.760 men there were to hand, and everything was beautifully arranged, as though for some great feasting

00:02:47.500 following a sacrifice. There was no impression at all of men arming themselves for battle. Such had

00:02:53.380 been the extent of their deluded hopes, and such the measure of their senseless confidence when they

00:02:58.940 had gone out to war. As for Pompey, when he got a little distance from the camp, he gave his horse

00:03:04.480 the rain, i.e. ran away at full speed. No one was pursuing him, and so, with only of every few

00:03:10.600 companions, he went quietly away. It was easy to imagine what was in his mind. A man who for 34 years

00:03:17.800 had grown accustomed to victory and to supremacy in everything, and who now, in his old age, was

00:03:24.400 learning for the first time what defeat and flight meant. He thought, no doubt, of how in one hour he had

00:03:31.320 lost the glory and the power which he had won in so many wars and battles. A little while ago,

00:03:36.960 legions of infantry and squadrons of cavalry had been there to protect him, and now, shrunk to so

00:03:42.560 small a state, so insignificantly attended, he was trying to escape the notice of his enemies who

00:03:48.860 were in pursuit of him. So, a giant fall from grace for Pompey Magnus. Plutarch goes on. He went past

00:03:54.820 Larissa, a place called Larissa, and came to the Vale of Tempe. Here, since he was thirsty, he threw

00:04:02.340 himself down on his face and drank out of the river. Then he rose up again and went on through Tempe

00:04:07.900 until he came down to the sea. The rest of the night he spent in a fisherman's hut. At dawn, he went

00:04:13.840 aboard one of the riverboats. He took with him only those of his followers who were free men. His slaves

00:04:19.420 he dismissed, telling them to go back to Caesar and not to be afraid. He then went along the coast

00:04:24.560 until he saw a good-sized merchant ship, which was just about to put to sea. The captain of this ship

00:04:30.140 was a Roman citizen, Petichius by name, who knew Pompey by sight, though he was not well acquainted

00:04:35.700 with him. It just so happened that on the previous night, Petichius had had a dream in which Pompey was

00:04:41.800 speaking to him, looking downcast and wretched and not at all like Pompey, whom he had so often seen.

00:04:47.760 People are apt to make much of such dreams, especially if they have time on their hands.

00:04:53.380 And so Petichius was just telling his shipmates of his dream, when suddenly one of the sailors

00:04:58.540 told him that he could see a riverboat being rowed out from the shore and that there were men in it

00:05:03.700 who were waving their cloaks and holding out their hands towards them. Petichius looked in that

00:05:08.640 direction and immediately recognised Pompey, just as he had seen him in his dream. He smote himself on

00:05:14.800 his head, ordered the sailors to bring the little boat alongside and stretched out his hand, called to

00:05:19.860 Pompey by name. He could already tell from his altered appearance how his fortunes also had changed

00:05:25.700 and without waiting for any words of entreaty, he took him on board with all those whom he wished to

00:05:31.360 have with him and set sail. With Pompey were the two Lentuli and Favonius. Shortly afterwards, they saw

00:05:38.020 the king Deotarius trying to get out to them from the shore and they took him on board too. When it

00:05:43.480 was time for supper and the ship's captain had made what preparations he could for their entertainment,

00:05:48.500 Favonius, seeing that Pompey, having no servants to attend him, was beginning to take off his own

00:05:53.540 shoes, ran up to him, took off his shoes for him and helped him to anoint himself. And from that time

00:06:00.240 on, he continued to wait on him and to do for him all the things that servants do, even down to

00:06:05.460 washing his feet and preparing his meals. Indeed, anyone who saw this generous service, so simple

00:06:10.680 and unaffected, might well have quoted the line, how every action of a noble mind is fair. And so,

00:06:17.060 after going along the coast to Amphipolis, Pompey crossed over from there to Mytilene, wishing to

00:06:22.540 take Cornelia and his son on board. Cornelia, his new-ish wife. When he reached the shore of the island,

00:06:28.620 he sent a messenger to the city. Not at all the sort of messenger which Cornelia was expecting,

00:06:33.800 after all the glad tidings and letters which she had received. For she was hoping that the war had 0.84

00:06:39.300 ended at Dyrrhachium, and that now there was nothing left for Pompey to do except to pursue

00:06:44.320 Caesar. So it's going to come as a shock to poor old Cornelia, the fairly recent widow of Crassus's

00:06:49.980 son, who was killed in the east by the Parthians not too long ago. So she's got a fairly unlucky star,

00:06:55.140 hasn't she? The messenger found her still in this mood and could not bring himself to speak his words

00:07:01.080 of salutation. The messenger was so choked up by Pompey's defeat that he could barely get the

00:07:06.500 words out. It was by tears rather than by words that he made her see the extent of her calamity,

00:07:12.640 and he merely told her to make haste if she wanted to see Pompey, who had come with one ship, and that

00:07:18.140 ship not even his own. On hearing this, Cornelia flung herself down on the ground and lay there for a

00:07:23.860 long time, speechless and unconscious. She swooned, basically. Finally, and with much difficulty,

00:07:29.980 she recovered consciousness, and, realising that this was no occasion for tears and lamentations,

00:07:35.960 ran through the city to the sea. Here Pompey met her and caught her in his arms as she tottered

00:07:41.140 and was about to fall. Oh my husband, she said, it is because of my fortune, not yours, that I see you

00:07:47.220 are now reduced to one small ship, who you, before your marriage with Cornelia, had five hundred ships,

00:07:52.900 she's referring to herself in the third person there, had five hundred ships with you when you sailed

00:07:57.460 this sea. Why have you come to see me? Why did you not leave to her cruel fate the wife who has

00:08:02.600 brought on you too such terrible misfortune? She thinks that she's just got bad fortune, bad luck,

00:08:07.880 and it follows her around, and now some of it's rubbed off on Pompey. What a happy woman I should

00:08:11.840 have been if I had died before hearing that Publius, whom I married as a maiden, that was the

00:08:17.200 Publius crisis I mentioned, had been killed in Parthia, and how wise if, even after his death,

00:08:22.100 I had done what I meant to do, and put an end to my own life. But I was spared, it seems,

00:08:26.880 to do still more harm, and be the ruin of Pompey the Great." End quote. So, she's taking it quite

00:08:33.080 hard. She's blaming herself, somehow. I kind of feel sorry. It's difficult not to feel sorry

00:08:38.260 for this Cornelia. Plutarch continues. Pompey, we are told, replied to these words of Cornelia as

00:08:44.360 follows. It is true, Cornelia, that you have only known one side of my fortune, and that the better

00:08:49.940 side. It has remained with me longer than is usual, and perhaps this fact has deceived you

00:08:54.940 as well as me. But we are mortals. We must bear what has happened, and again put fortune to the

00:09:00.380 test. One may still hope that, just as I have fallen so low from such a height, so from these

00:09:05.260 depths I may rise again. I mean, it's not unheard of for someone to reverse their fortunes from

00:09:09.680 a defeat like this. If you remember, Marius was on the run for a long time, and was able to reverse

00:09:15.640 his fortunes. There are lots and lots of examples throughout history where someone is in far

00:09:19.600 worse straight than Pompey is at this moment, and he's able to turn things around and get back to

00:09:24.880 the tippy top of political power. So it's not completely inconceivable, but Plutarch continues

00:09:30.260 here saying, so his wife sent for her belongings and her servants from the city. The people of Mytilene

00:09:35.600 welcomed Pompey and invited him to enter the city walls, but Pompey refused to do so. He told them

00:09:41.460 that they too must submit to the conqueror and advise them not to be afraid, since Caesar was a good

00:09:46.900 man, and would act humanely towards them. He himself then turned to the philosopher Cratipus,

00:09:52.800 who had come down from the city to see him, and had a short discussion with him, in which he made

00:09:57.220 some criticisms of the idea of providence. Cratipus made no very strenuous objections to Pompey's

00:10:03.480 arguments, and tried to lead him to better hopes. He had no wish to cause pain by arguing against him

00:10:09.020 at such a time. Actually, to the questions raised by Pompey about providence, Cratipus might have answered

00:10:14.340 that it was because the state had been so badly administered that it now required to be governed

00:10:18.900 by one man, and he might well have asked Pompey, how can we be convinced Pompey, and what evidence

00:10:23.840 have you to offer that, if you had been the winner, you would have made a better use of your fortune

00:10:28.000 than Caesar? But I must not be, this is Plutarch actually allowing himself to speak here, but I must

00:10:34.660 not be led into a digression on this question of the divine ordering of events. Plutarch self-martialing

00:10:40.060 there, making sure he stays within his lane, but he goes on. After taking on board his wife and his

00:10:45.540 friends, Pompey set sail, not putting into any harbours, except when he was compelled to do so,

00:10:51.680 to take in food or water. The first city that he entered was Atalea in Pamphylia, and here some

00:10:57.500 triremes came to him from Sicilia. Some troops were got together, and he once again had senators around

00:11:04.200 him, about 60 of them. He heard too that his navy was still intact, and that Cato had taken many

00:11:09.520 soldiers on board, and was crossing over to Africa with them. So there's hope, it's not all over.

00:11:13.940 Caesar hasn't annihilated the entire Pompeian faction. I mean, not even close. So there is

00:11:18.940 reason to hope, nothing is over at this point. At this news, he showed his distress to his friends,

00:11:23.440 and blamed himself for having allowed himself to be forced to fight with his land forces,

00:11:27.580 without making any use of his fleet, an arm in which he had an unquestioned superiority,

00:11:32.200 and had not even kept his fleet close enough to him, so that if defeated by land,

00:11:36.560 he could have reinforced himself by sea, and so would again have been almost at once

00:11:41.100 at the head of forces, powerful enough to meet the enemy on even terms. I mean, hindsight's a

00:11:46.520 beautiful thing, isn't it? He realised he missed a trick there. And indeed, it is perfectly true

00:11:51.360 that Pompey's greatest mistake, and Caesar's cleverest move, was in having this battle fought

00:11:56.340 so far away from naval reinforcements. However, Pompey had now to plan and act on the basis

00:12:02.300 of existing circumstances. He sent messengers to the various cities, and sailed to some of them

00:12:07.740 himself, asking for money and for men to serve in his ships. But he knew the speed and energy

00:12:13.180 with which his enemy was likely to act, and he was afraid that Caesar might come upon him

00:12:18.280 and surprise him before his preparations had been made. And so he looked about for some safe place

00:12:23.660 to which he could retire temporarily. He discussed this question with his followers,

00:12:28.040 and it was agreed that no Roman province could afford them a safe refuge. As for foreign kingdoms,

00:12:33.520 Pompey himself said that he considered that Parthia was the one most capable of both receiving and

00:12:38.860 protecting them in their present weakness, and later of helping them to build up their strength,

00:12:43.360 and sending them out to fight again with a large force. Others who took part in the discussion

00:12:47.900 suggested going to Africa and to King Juba. But Theophanes, the lesbian, i.e. he was from the 0.92

00:12:53.620 Isle of Lesbos, not that he was a woman and homosexual. Theophanes, the lesbian, pointed out 0.89

00:12:59.160 that Egypt was only three days' sail away, and there was Ptolemy, who was a mere boy and very much

00:13:04.660 indebted to Pompey for the friendship and kindness done by him to his father. In Theophanes' view,

00:13:10.480 it would be sheer madness for Pompey to decide against Egypt, and to put himself into the power

00:13:15.280 of the Parthians, who were the most treacherous people alive, to refuse to take the second place 1.00

00:13:20.000 under a Roman, who had been a relation of his by marriage, and second after Caesar, who would still

00:13:24.620 be first among all the rest, to refuse even to see whether Caesar would behave moderately or not,

00:13:29.720 and yet to be willing to place himself at the mercy of Arsakes, which even Crassus would not do

00:13:35.280 while he lived. Finally, to bring a young wife of the family of the Scipios among a nation of 0.96

00:13:40.260 barbarians who measure power by the ability to commit outrage and to forget decency, even if she

00:13:46.160 suffered no indignity there, but was only thought to have suffered it, her fate would still be cruel

00:13:50.680 enough, since she would certainly be in the power of those who could harm her if they wished. This

00:13:55.440 argument, they say, and this alone persuaded Pompey not to make the journey to the Euphrates,

00:14:00.420 if indeed, i.e. deep into Parthian territory, if indeed one may say that it was any calculation of

00:14:05.860 Pompey's own, rather than some supernatural power which was guiding him on the journey on which he now

00:14:11.520 went, end quote. I mean, it's a fairly sound argument, isn't it? It's hard to disagree with

00:14:17.140 it. If the two main options, of course Pompey, because he's got control of the sea, could have

00:14:21.540 gone sort of almost anywhere, but if the two main options, in his mind at least, if he's going to

00:14:26.460 head east, it's either Egypt or Parthia. It's kind of a no-brainer, don't pick Parthia. The Romans 1.00

00:14:31.960 and the Parthians are fairly bitter enemies. The Parthians have shown themselves in recent times, 0.99

00:14:36.580 within just a few years ago, to be completely treacherous. The way they dealt with Crassus,

00:14:41.740 if you remember, just saying or doing anything they need to, lying to him in order to get him 0.95

00:14:47.200 into their power, so that they can then just, in the end, kill him. So yeah, don't trust the

00:14:51.840 Parthians. Why would you run to Parthia? Don't do that. Whereas Egypt, well, Egypt's got a friendly 0.99

00:14:56.440 king, the boy king Ptolemy. Surely there you would have thought he could find safe haven, and at this

00:15:02.240 stage in history still. Egypt is extremely rich and prosperous, and you would have thought Pompey

00:15:07.000 could raise a fortune and or an army there, if Pompey is going to head east from Greece. It seems

00:15:13.700 like the obvious choice really is to go to Egypt. Let's let Appian tell us his account of what

00:15:19.980 happened after the Battle of Pharsalus. So Appian says this, quote,

00:15:23.400 When Pompey saw the rout, he became deranged. He withdrew on foot to his camp, and when he reached

00:15:28.860 his tent, sat there without uttering a word, as they say happened to Telamonian Ajax at the siege

00:15:35.040 of Troy. It's interesting to note, isn't it, how historians always copy each other. You can see the

00:15:41.240 parallels between Appian and Plutarch's accounts. Historians still do it to this day. You'll find

00:15:48.040 one particularly famous history of, say, World War II, like Hugh Trevor Roper or something, or something

00:15:54.720 by AJP Taylor about World War I, or whatever it is. And then many historians later, they're sort of

00:16:01.080 copying, they're sort of paraphrasing another historian. Of course, the problem with that,

00:16:06.100 they're not really doing completely original research. And well, it's interesting to note,

00:16:10.560 isn't it, that this was done even in the ancient world. So both Plutarch and Appian decide to reference

00:16:17.360 Ajax at that moment. Ajax at the siege of Troy, the victim of heaven-sent madness in the midst of his

00:16:23.640 enemies. As for the rest of his men, Pompey's men, very few entered the camp because Caesar's

00:16:28.740 proclamation caused them to halt without fear. If you remember, Caesar had told Pompey's men on the

00:16:34.340 battlefield, stand still, stay where you are, we won't kill you if you just stop. Stay where you are,

00:16:40.580 we're going to butcher all the allies, all the foreign people you've got with you, your auxiliaries and 1.00

00:16:45.340 things. But if you're a Roman, full Roman legionary, just stop where you are, freeze, and we'll let you 0.99

00:16:50.500 live. So they've done that. And when their enemies had run past, they scattered group by group. As the

00:16:56.660 day was nearing its end, Caesar ran frantically among his troops, begging them to make a further

00:17:01.980 effort and take Pompey's fortifications too, and pointing out to them that in the event of an enemy

00:17:07.660 recovery, they would be the victors of a single day. But if they took the enemy's camp, they would

00:17:12.480 have settled the campaign by this one exploit. Accordingly, he stretched his hands out in

00:17:17.540 entreaty to them, and was the first to lead the charge. For their part, their limbs were tired,

00:17:22.480 but their spirits were lifted by rational calculation, and by their general's example.

00:17:27.140 Again, Caesar in the forefront. Great stuff. Like Alexander. Prepared to risk his own life. Quite a

00:17:33.140 lot. Remarkable stuff. They were also buoyed up by their success so far, and by the hope that they

00:17:38.020 would take the defences of the camp, and capture its considerable contents. And when men are hopeful,

00:17:43.760 or favoured by good fortune, they pay little heed to weariness. So they attacked the camp too,

00:17:48.920 and set about the task with great contempt for the defenders. When Pompey was informed,

00:17:53.580 he only broke his strange silence to exclaim, So they're at our camp as well? And with these words,

00:17:59.160 he changed his clothing, took horse with four companions, and rode without stopping until he

00:18:03.620 reached Larissa at first light. Caesar, as he had threatened when exhorting his army,

00:18:09.140 spent the whole night within Pompey's fortifications. He himself dined on Pompey's food,

00:18:14.400 and his whole army on that of Pompey's men. So the great feast that Pompey's side had arranged for

00:18:20.560 their victory that evening. Caesar and his men got to dine on that, and they got to spend the night in

00:18:25.840 those really sumptuous tents. Those billionaires' tents. Probably a real treat for them, or certainly was a

00:18:32.160 real treat for them. Both because they'd spent 10 years in more or less hardship, fighting in Gaul.

00:18:38.240 But also, in the last few days and weeks, particularly had been difficult, hard on Caesar's men.

00:18:45.800 After Dyrrachium, they were beginning to get starved out. So a real, well-deserved treat for them. 0.98

00:18:52.100 Appian goes on.

00:18:52.940 The number of dead on either side, at least of Italians, for no enumeration at all,

00:18:57.720 was made of the Allies, on account of their number and the low regard in which they were held,

00:19:02.660 was 30 centurions and 200, or according to others, 1,200, legionaries from Caesar's army,

00:19:10.120 and 10 senators, including Lucius Domitius, who had been appointed Caesar's successor in Gaul,

00:19:15.700 and about 40 distinguished members of the equestrian order from Pompey's. As for the rest of his army,

00:19:20.920 some inflate the casualties and put them at 25,000. But Asinius Polio, who was one of Caesar's

00:19:27.020 subordinate officers in the battle, records about 6,000 Pompeian dead were found. So they're saying

00:19:33.120 between Caesar lost between 200 and 1,200, and Pompey lost something between 6,000 and 25,000.

00:19:42.640 We shall never know the actual numbers. Appian goes on.

00:19:46.220 This was the result of the famous Battle of Pharsalus. Caesar himself carried off from all

00:19:51.400 the palm for bravery, in both 1st and 2nd place, as everyone agrees, and alongside him, the 10th

00:19:57.600 legion. In 3rd place came Cressinius, a centurion. As Caesar was leaving camp for the battle, he asked

00:20:03.540 Cressinius what he thought would happen, and in a loud voice, Cressinius made the memorable reply,

00:20:09.160 We shall win, Caesar, and whether I live or die, I shall earn your approval today. The army testified

00:20:14.100 that he had switched from rank to rank like a man possessed, and that his exploits were many

00:20:18.740 and distinguished. When a search was made for him, and he was found among the dead, Caesar

00:20:23.000 adorned his body with the decorations of valour, buried him with them, and made a special tomb

00:20:28.240 for him near the mass grave. If you remember last time I mentioned that one particular centurion,

00:20:33.900 who was hell-bent on distinguishing himself in battle, and got killed. So Caesar, now, after the

00:20:38.480 battle, is honouring him. Appian goes on.

00:20:40.560 Never slackening his pace, Pompey made haste from Larissa to the sea, where, after getting

00:20:45.240 into a small boat, he chanced to meet a ship that was sailing past, which took him to Mytilene.

00:20:50.420 Here he picked up his wife Cornelia, and embarked on four triremes, which had been sent him by

00:20:55.460 the people of Tyre and Rhodes. He ignored Corsaira once again, and Africa, where he had an intact

00:21:01.120 fleet and another large army, and set off eastwards to the Parthian king, in the belief that through

00:21:06.400 him, he would win everything back. Although he kept his intentions secret, until he reluctantly

00:21:11.220 admitted, until he reluctantly admitted them to his companions, when they were in Sicilian

00:21:16.560 waters, when they were in Cilician waters. They told him to beware of the Parthian, who had 1.00

00:21:21.660 recently been the target of Crassus' designs, and was still furious after this business, and warned

00:21:27.080 him against taking his beautiful wife Cornelia among foreigners, who lacked self-control, especially 1.00

00:21:32.680 as she had been married to Crassus. That is, Crassus' son, not THE Crassus.

00:21:37.500 When he proposed, as second choices, Egypt or Juba, Juba being shorthand for North Africa,

00:21:43.060 they rejected Juba as unworthy, and agreed with him on Egypt, because it was close, and a great

00:21:48.440 kingdom, and was still prosperous, and strong in ships, and food, and money, and its rulers,

00:21:53.540 even if they were still children, were friends of Pompey through their father.

00:21:56.860 So, mentioned there, that Egypt had rulers, plural. So there is the boy King Ptolemy, but

00:22:03.340 he has a co-regent, his sister, Cleopatra, the great famous Cleopatra. Dan Carlin describes

00:22:09.900 her as possibly the most famous woman of the ancient world. So, she makes her debut in our

00:22:14.840 story now.

00:22:15.560 If you would like to see the full version of this premium video, please head over to

00:22:19.020 lotuseaters.com and subscribe to gain full access to all of our premium content.

00:22:26.860 Thank you.

The Podcast of the Lotus Eaters - January 17, 2025

PREVIEW： Epochs #194 ｜ Pompey & Caesar： Part XIX

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