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.
According to the great historian Will Durant, Caesar made habitual use of every woman he could get his hands on, including wives of Senators. It was public knowledge at the time, and his soldiers had nicknames for him. I suppose beyond campaign politics in the luxurious tents in Gaul, or statesmenship in the palaces in Rome, he had enough slices of pie to keep a mischeiveous smirk on his face until the turmoil towards the end; when excessive partying rendered him more gaunt and sallow.
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.
@@sonwig5186 I hate this sort of cynical, reddity hot-take where people have to drag down everything that people think is important or respected, as if cynicism passes for actual academic knowledge. In your case you got it absolutely backward. Augustus used Caesar in his propaganda BECAUSE he was relevant, widely respected and seen as a man of the people. Octavius was an unknown, hence why we drew the connection between himself and someone who was already widely known as a mostly successful leader, general and statesmen.
@@JamesTaylor-on9nz That’s not necessarily true. Caesar was, as far as we know, liked. People saw him as a patriot, although that was far from the truth, overly ambitious is the word I would use. However, people also loved Pompey before the civil war. In fact, many great generals were loved by the people in Rome at the time. Yet, most people today know of Caesar but not Pompey. I think it’s down to the fact that Caesar immortalised himself as essentially dictator in all sense bar name, and also because Octavian and Mark Anthony made him out to be some kind of god after his assassination. The people of Rome were very impressionable (which is something Caesar knew and took advantage of during his life as well), and obviously Octavian is only going to praise his adopted father. By the time Octavian became august, Caesar was considered to be a god, which was basically Octavian’s doing.
@@ollie4022 it also does help that much more of literary works survived of Caesar than Pompey. this makes him much more reliable when it comes to recording history, especially when figuring things out in one of the most intense periods of ancient history
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.
They are clearly the same man. The main view of the Tusculum Caesar that everyone uses is this one shot with the camera shooting slightly up (with a strong shadow) while the other bust is from a higher angle looking down and much better lighting. Look at the Tusculum Caesar from the side view compared to the coins....as close to 100% as you can get for an identification of Caesar!
Yes, clearly the same fellow. What’s not taken into account is that different artists create slightly different interpretations of the model. Also, they’re taken at different ages, and as we all know, some people age well, and others don’t. I think Caesar aged pretty well. Incidentally, I don’t think he has a ‘comb over’…it’s the style for his times. I hardly think a man of his influence and power would care if his hair was thinning. I’ve never understood why men are bothered, as the majority of women really don’t judge a man by his hair…unless it’s a comb over or a toupee.
I heard that Julie spent a lot of time at the baths, hanging out, mingling, posing about, quite often in the nude. Sometimes with a large laurel leaf and few figs covering his private particles and bald patches. So, I think Julie was very cautious and wary when it came to cameras and photoshoots. Although these facts aren't set in stone....
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.
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.
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.
My guess is that the ones that look way different are idealised; he has more hair, he looks younger, his features are stronger. That was the Augustus model of statues.
Hellenistic ruler's portraits all look the same. They're like the Greek equivalent of Egyptian portraits, which are very naturalistic and proportionate, but very idealized. Roman portraits from the 3rd-1st century bc are generally very realistic and not idealized.
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
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.
Just wanted to add I just received your book in the post and cant wait to read it. Been a long wait but the book looks and feels beautiful. Bigger than I thought too!
Read Hardouin. One of the biggest frauds of the 17th and 18th centuries was making "ancient" and "medieval" coins, burying them, and then "finding" them, and making money out of them. Pretty much all "ancient" and "medieval" coins in museums, private collections etc. today were made in the last 400 years.
I’m so glad I found your channel, I’m hooked! The treasure videos are my favorite but now I can’t keep watching more... keep up the good work my friend, thank you. I think it’s incredibly admirable and just fantastic that you took your passion, specialized in it, and then gave back to the public with educational content.
The two shown at the beginning look to me to be the difference between a man that was in pretty good shape having come from a campaign and the other looks like the same guy only older and more fat and out of shape. It is more jowly and saggy looking. Just my thoughts. Look how Queen Elizabeth has changed on coins and I remember the shock when she suddenly had a double chin. My point is that I'm sure he changed a lot from a guy riding miles on a horse to a guy sitting on his ass and feasting.
@@ThouguohTI think most of them do, especially in the side by side comparison. The one on the right has its head turned and I think from the same straight on angle they would look near identical
That would be funny, because it's not even suppose to be Ceasar, but the son of Ceasar. And not his adopted son, Octavian, but his Egyptian-raised son by Cleopatra. His name was Caesarion, which is Latin for "Little Ceasar."
@@bentonrp It's always fascinated me that Caesarion, after surviving the purge of Octavian, went on to open a pizza parlor in America. Really interesting bit of historical trivia
The Romans did not invent drainage, sewers, concrete, the alphabet, the aqueduct, gladiators (Etruscans) or roads, but they did develop them. They did invent our calendar’s earlier version and underfloor heating.
The Romans really had amazing artists. It's a shame the skill was lost to Europe for about a thousand years. We'll never know what Kings looked like before the Renaissance.
Great video. I'm of the view that the most accurate is probably the one that depicts him least ideally - but it's fascinating to see people's interpretations of him. Ciaran Hinds will forever be caesar to me, anyway :D
🤩Described by Suetonius as “unbridled and extravagant in his intrigues,” Caesar was known to his soldiers as “every man's woman and every woman's man.”
The bust at 4:41 the reason the neck doesn't have any physical features is because the head is meant to be replaced. you can see where you can remove the head it's underneath the chin.
Honestly, to me the two statues you showed looked like they were from the same person. I was actually struggling to spot differences. The one on the left just looked like it was less detailed than the one on the right.
There is another ancient version found in Turkey that is damaged and is now in the British Museum . Many scholars nave stated that it is one commissioned by Cleopatra. It is markedly different than the ones depicted here., as it has the “broad “ face.
0:30 I'll choose these two. Toldinstone, I love your posts, but, how can you not see similarities? Broad face, large forehead, patrician nose, sunken jowls with pronounced cheeks, receding hairline, intense eyes that have a remarkable upper eyelid, firm and strong lips, structured skull at the eyebrows. All the physical features of a great leader. That's Caesar.
I think that if he admitted those two sculptures looked extremely similar he wouldn't have had a video to make on this topic. The whole video is based on the foundation that there are inconsistencies which plant the seed of doubt in the audience. It creates a good "mystery" to explore so that he can talk more about it.
Those two coins of Octavian show him with the pork chop type sideburns usually associated with one of his famous successors (Caligula? Nero? I forget). I'm so used to the full statue of Octavian in the fancy armour, with a clean shaven and youthful face, that if I only seen the picture off those coins I would not think it was him, but the one successor I spoke about above.
You’re such a good speaker and writer. I am a history major and I loved ancient histort. I want to read your book but is there an audible version and if so plz tell me you read it
Thank you! There is an audio version of my book, though unfortunately I'm not the narrator (my publisher sold the audio rights). You can find it on Audible and other platforms.
Most Roman Generals probably had a gut something a lot of sword dueling warriors and gladiators had (IDKY. Belly fat maybe protection against the stab or cut of the sword?) Example can be noted in Titus Flaminininus quote to health nut Philopoemen "And once Titus Flamininus, making fun of certain parts of his (p261) figure, said: "Philopoemen, what fine arms and legs thou hast; but belly thou hast not"; Life of Philopoemen, Parralel Lives.
Comparing Roman Generals to Gladiators IS ridiculous since the whole gut Thing was more for the Gladiators Show Business oh and Roman Generals Had Armor, were horseman and Not Frontline fighters
I've also heard speculation that he was seriously ill around the time he took over in Rome. So he probably didn't look very healthy even before he was stabbed 23 times.
I studied art history a lot. Pretty much all the Roman statues are idealized. Whether it be through idealizing the body (stolen from the Greeks like you mentioned) , or through a preference called verisim which was all about idealizing older men perceived to be wise and knowledgeable. When you talked about them wanting to be recognized warts wrinkles and all, that was also a form of idealism. It was about displaying characteristics perceived to be intellectual. Notice how they are still overtly masculine and appear old but strong. Art was their propoganda. If they could portray political figureheads as being better than you in every way (both mentally and physically) that was how they garnered respect for their leaders. It was a tool for both fear and control. Ancient civilizations used this as well.
0:35 both statues do look similar and consistent. I don't agree that they look so different that they could be different men. If there were 20 head busts on a table with these two mixed in, most people select these two as the same person.
the only Caesar still referred to by and unanimously recognized as "Caesar" even though it was more of a title than a name. Makes me think of how prominent any more modern leader would have to be to carry the name of "president", "king", or "prime minister" as an exclusive identifier while they would not be the last person to hold that position or title. It makes me wonder what made that name stick for 2000+ years.
Because Caesar was his family name and only a title for the rest of them... The Caesar as a title started because Octavian aka Caesar Augustus took the name as a title
He is just trying to create a "mystery" about Ceasar's appearance so that he can have a 7 minute video. If he said that the two busts were similar and that the depictions were consistent, there would be nothing to talk about anymore. I appreciate toldinstone's other content, but videos like this make me a little distrusting.
The two busts at @00:48 could very well be taken as the same person. The heads have very similar odd-shapes, lip & mouth shape/size are close, eye spacing, size, and inset are very similar, the nose bridge is similar, the brow ridges match closely, foreheads are similar, chins are close in shape and size and the cheek structure is very much alike. There are differences, like the ears, the one on the right side has different angles from the head, but at a close look, they have the same general shape. The nose tip is also different. Not knowing the time of the creation of the busts, we can assume a few things. Different artists, and source references, and different times of the subject's life. The sources used could have been one in common use at the time of creation and the artist interpretation accounts for the differences. If there were different sources used, they could have come from earlier common sources and the same interpretation issues would apply to them. Is this Julius Ceasar? Since they did not have smartphones, we can't say for sure ;)
The incomparable Prof Mary Beard did a documentary on this some years ago. With a nearly full "survey" of all the heads identified with Caesar. IIRC, including one that was likely Caligula. 🤣
Great video, this motivates me to seek out the versions of his busts. I find it interesting that the coins would have what appears to be a realistic and somewhat unflattering portrayal of his likeness given that coins would be widely distributed throughout the empire and in the possession of virtually every Roman.
A man can be in his 40's- 50's and have an old looking face but a relatively muscular body that looks much younger than his face because the face is exposed to the Sun all the time but the body usually isn't so it stays younger looking, assuming physical fitness.
0:35 I'm comparing them...and they both look like exactly the same guy. Literally all the features are the same, the right one just has better detailing and appears more realistic.
Even with wrinkles and thinning hair, Caesar constantly remains on the list of people who are asked to name 3 historical figures they would like to meet. His life was the perfect mixture of intellectual cunning, glory, sex, violence and Cleopatra magic, ingredients promissing a blockbuster movie nowadays. He is fascination, he is immortal.
I truly believe that the statues are like 70% realistic of what he truly look like but they took artistic Liberty to change his face when making the statue
The bust at 4:25 seems to show a scar extending from the left corner of Caersar's mouth out into the left cheek. Although your commentary does not touch on this feature, would you care to now? Are there any mentions of Caesar being wounded in this way? If so, it would be an argument for the authenticity and accuracy of this bust.
The only substantial difference between the two busts of Cesar is the mouth, and even then they aren't very different. All other aspects of the figures are more or less identical with any small variation easily attributable to the stylistic differences between the sculptors. I really don't understand how you can say they're different.
You're content is platinum, always something new and very interesting. I swear half of these "UA-cam historian" suffer from A.T.M. looking forward to more!
Not about Caesar, just want to share my excitement that Amazon UK has finally dispatched your book. Woohoo, tomorrow is Naked statues and fat gladiators Thursday.
When looking at Roman facial sculpture you need to know if it was going on a plinth because they would manipulate The shape to make it look right from below the 2 sculptures you showed at 50sec were actually alot closer when you imagine that with the left one being elevated and the right one being set at eye level
That last one doesn't invoke the same recognition as the others. Even the Green Ceasar, which is different than the others, has something about the attributes and proportions that leads one, when informed, to say "Oh, you're right! I recognize him now." But the final bust just comes across reminding one of a middle-aged Roman statesman in general and could be of any number of men. It has nothing which rings of Caesar himself in it.
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.
According to the great historian Will Durant, Caesar made habitual use of every woman he could get his hands on, including wives of Senators. It was public knowledge at the time, and his soldiers had nicknames for him. I suppose beyond campaign politics in the luxurious tents in Gaul, or statesmenship in the palaces in Rome, he had enough slices of pie to keep a mischeiveous smirk on his face until the turmoil towards the end; when excessive partying rendered him more gaunt and sallow.
@@OneEyedKeys caesar when he sees a woman: 🤪🤪🤪🤪
Caesar strikes me as the funny uncle type, like making inapropriate jokes on delicate subjects type of humour
@@cristhianramirez6939 the funny uncle who conquered Europe
@@ousarlxsfjsbvbg8588 I love it when my funny uncle kills 1/3 of gaul
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.
Yeah, not sure what this video is about?
Mostly lighting, both are clearly Caesar. When the Tusculum Caesar is viewed from profile, it is a perfect match for the coins.
The video is very interesting nevertheless. It give us lots of insights into portraiture of ancient Roman leaders
the newer one is more masculine and square and more idealized
Glad I'm not the only one
Caesar's greatest achievement is the fact he's still relevant 2000+ years after his death. That's eternal life.
Even better almost all important people those 2000 years after tried to be you
He's mainly relevant because of Augustus's propoganda.
@@sonwig5186 I hate this sort of cynical, reddity hot-take where people have to drag down everything that people think is important or respected, as if cynicism passes for actual academic knowledge.
In your case you got it absolutely backward. Augustus used Caesar in his propaganda BECAUSE he was relevant, widely respected and seen as a man of the people. Octavius was an unknown, hence why we drew the connection between himself and someone who was already widely known as a mostly successful leader, general and statesmen.
@@JamesTaylor-on9nz That’s not necessarily true. Caesar was, as far as we know, liked. People saw him as a patriot, although that was far from the truth, overly ambitious is the word I would use. However, people also loved Pompey before the civil war. In fact, many great generals were loved by the people in Rome at the time. Yet, most people today know of Caesar but not Pompey. I think it’s down to the fact that Caesar immortalised himself as essentially dictator in all sense bar name, and also because Octavian and Mark Anthony made him out to be some kind of god after his assassination. The people of Rome were very impressionable (which is something Caesar knew and took advantage of during his life as well), and obviously Octavian is only going to praise his adopted father. By the time Octavian became august, Caesar was considered to be a god, which was basically Octavian’s doing.
@@ollie4022 it also does help that much more of literary works survived of Caesar than Pompey. this makes him much more reliable when it comes to recording history, especially when figuring things out in one of the most intense periods of ancient history
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.
I also find it likely one was based on his older self
They are clearly the same man. The main view of the Tusculum Caesar that everyone uses is this one shot with the camera shooting slightly up (with a strong shadow) while the other bust is from a higher angle looking down and much better lighting. Look at the Tusculum Caesar from the side view compared to the coins....as close to 100% as you can get for an identification of Caesar!
Right? I feel like they actually look very similar and share the same key features.
Yes, clearly the same fellow. What’s not taken into account is that different artists create slightly different interpretations of the model. Also, they’re taken at different ages, and as we all know, some people age well, and others don’t. I think Caesar aged pretty well. Incidentally, I don’t think he has a ‘comb over’…it’s the style for his times. I hardly think a man of his influence and power would care if his hair was thinning. I’ve never understood why men are bothered, as the majority of women really don’t judge a man by his hair…unless it’s a comb over or a toupee.
Why did no one ever take a photo of him?
Cameras were very expensive back then
There were no drug stores around to get the film developed.
@@mickeyray3793 That explains it! 😆
I heard that Julie spent a lot of time at the baths, hanging out, mingling, posing about, quite often in the nude. Sometimes with a large laurel leaf and few figs covering his private particles and bald patches. So, I think Julie was very cautious and wary when it came to cameras and photoshoots. Although these facts aren't set in stone....
@@tobiastave5455 That sounds like anonymous ancient slander by political enemies.
0:30 they don’t look completely different at all haha, can clearly tell both are based on the same person.
The angle changes things a bit too.
Thought the same thing xD
@@lucas9269 Not enough changes to say its a completely different person tho
Lol I was gonna say. I thought he was going to cite that as two similar examples.
@@jbvap Exactly, I thought they are almost identical. This my first time watching the channel, makes me suspicious of quality lol
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.
That one Caracalla bust is probably the best I’ve seen
@@kanyekubrick5391 Agreed - a remarkable and unnerving portrait
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.
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.
Kind of like Alexander’s statues. There are some that are very similar than others that look WAY different.
My guess is that the ones that look way different are idealised; he has more hair, he looks younger, his features are stronger. That was the Augustus model of statues.
@@Hugh_Morris To be fair they all kind of share the same facial type features it’s mainly just the nose and hair.
Caesar looked like Rex Harrison obviously
Hellenistic ruler's portraits all look the same. They're like the Greek equivalent of Egyptian portraits, which are very naturalistic and proportionate, but very idealized.
Roman portraits from the 3rd-1st century bc are generally very realistic and not idealized.
@Fun Fact Good call. I also thought Ciaren Hines was a great portrayal, and portrayed him well, in HBOs Rome.
More than 2,000 years after his death, there are still fresh flowers left every day in the temple built over his funeral pyre.
Like a old Italian
an :)
@@Foster_B like a old an
@@bouncycastle955 😁😁😂
Dude if you’re telling me that Caesar looked like my grandfather that’s hilarious
pretty much
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!
Have a look at Historia Civilis, it looks like a slideshow at first glance but honestly his videos are wonderful
check out Invicta to
History Time! And Fall of Civilizations are two good ones as well
Did they have square jawlines back then? Why did most, if not all ancient artwork and sculptures only seem to show round faced men and women?
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
True, when shown side by side you can see that they're definitelly the same person.
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.
I'm very glad to hear that!
Hey mate I just got your book as a birthday present and am enjoying it. Really enjoy your videos as well.
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! :)
I absolutely LOVE your incorporation of numismatics into your work.
Just wanted to add I just received your book in the post and cant wait to read it. Been a long wait but the book looks and feels beautiful. Bigger than I thought too!
Closer than trying to work out what King Canute looked like from old coins.
Read Hardouin.
One of the biggest frauds of the 17th and 18th centuries was making "ancient" and "medieval" coins, burying them, and then "finding" them, and making money out of them.
Pretty much all "ancient" and "medieval" coins in museums, private collections etc. today were made in the last 400 years.
Did you mean Cnut ? Thats how its spelled if so, Cheers .
@@danielburger1775 There are tests that can be done Daniel to determine the true date
@@fetus2280 you can also spell it as Canute, cheers
@@user-bo3mp8un6c Such as?
Edit: you don't mean c14 analysis, do you? Because that is not reliable.
Another great video. Also enjoyed your book.
I think Keeps would have been a more fitting sponsor for this video rather than Squarespace.
"Now if *you* don't want your hairline roasted for thousands of years, consider the following message from the sponsor of this video."
I’m so glad I found your channel, I’m hooked! The treasure videos are my favorite but now I can’t keep watching more... keep up the good work my friend, thank you. I think it’s incredibly admirable and just fantastic that you took your passion, specialized in it, and then gave back to the public with educational content.
The two shown at the beginning look to me to be the difference between a man that was in pretty good shape having come from a campaign and the other looks like the same guy only older and more fat and out of shape. It is more jowly and saggy looking. Just my thoughts. Look how Queen Elizabeth has changed on coins and I remember the shock when she suddenly had a double chin. My point is that I'm sure he changed a lot from a guy riding miles on a horse to a guy sitting on his ass and feasting.
It reminds me of how some political leaders come out looking like they've aged 20 years during their time in office.
@@evanp1225 they look the same don't they? Just looks like a different artist.
@@ThouguohTI think most of them do, especially in the side by side comparison. The one on the right has its head turned and I think from the same straight on angle they would look near identical
@Graf von Losinj 🙄
@Graf von Losinj Quick! Grab the tinfoil hats!
Another interesting video, thanks! I really enjoy the way you communicate this stuff. Every sentence has me thinking, "Tell me more..."
What if the guy on the pizza box is the most accurate of them all?
That would be funny, because it's not even suppose to be Ceasar, but the son of Ceasar.
And not his adopted son, Octavian, but his Egyptian-raised son by Cleopatra.
His name was Caesarion, which is Latin for "Little Ceasar."
@@bentonrp His name was Ptolomy, but his nickname was Caesarion, since like half of Egypt was named Ptolomy at that time lol
@@bentonrp It's always fascinated me that Caesarion, after surviving the purge of Octavian, went on to open a pizza parlor in America. Really interesting bit of historical trivia
@@nathancollins1715 lol. Yeah, he's the Aeneas of America.
To my eye, the two busts at the beginning of your video look like the same person. Great channel btw.
Thank you for another interesting video.
So we add comb over to the list of stuff that Romans invented.
lol😂
The Romans did not invent drainage, sewers, concrete, the alphabet, the aqueduct, gladiators (Etruscans) or roads, but they did develop them. They did invent our calendar’s earlier version and underfloor heating.
I love this channel!
I learn something new about ancient Rome each video. I had no clue that Death Masks were a thing, super cool to learn about them
Excellent, and well evidenced and reasoned.. Thank you for your astuteness, Doc
We need a buff, naked Eisenhower in the Capitol Rotunda.
Aww.. bad mental image.
Could you imagine if we still did that kind of stuff today, and Biden had a statue made?
As the old chestnut goes, you can't unsee that.
@@edwhatshisname3562 Ew, gross!!! 🤢🤮 I'm so glad i wasn't eating when I read that. 😆
@@edwhatshisname3562 he'd be too skinny
@@edwhatshisname3562 Fvck Joe Biden? Not after seeing his statue! 😘
From the contemporary sculptures I’ve seen of Julius Caesar one could easily pick him out of a crowd of a thousand.
Be interesting to see what ridiculous rendering the police identikit system would produce.
Very interesting and your narration is excellent
So interesting. The topic just a small niche and yet something we can all wonder about now that you brought it up.
"aggressively decrepit"
I would hate to have an argument with you!!
Love your bids
Sara Gibson
Cleopatra knew a few things
I think Julius Ceaser looked like the Told in Stone dude
It seems Albert Uderzo's caricature of Julius Ceasar in the Asterix comics is closer than the later idealized Roman statues.
😊😊😊😊
Great information on a confusing topic! Thank you!
I’ve listened to your book twice now great stuff
According to Black American afrocentrist, he was black along with nearly every notable european, Asian, Arab, and native American civilization.
@Prince Ali
I 103% agree
Awesome video, thank you!!!!
@@Endgame707 I did that bastard was everywhere!!!!
It is amazing we kind still know with some accuracy how a 2000 years old looked like. Maybe the most important man in history.
The Romans really had amazing artists. It's a shame the skill was lost to Europe for about a thousand years. We'll never know what Kings looked like before the Renaissance.
There's a "render" Caesar joke in here somewhere..
And an Et tu Brutē one, too!
Great video. I'm of the view that the most accurate is probably the one that depicts him least ideally - but it's fascinating to see people's interpretations of him.
Ciaran Hinds will forever be caesar to me, anyway :D
this is the kinda content im here for
🤩Described by Suetonius as “unbridled and extravagant in his intrigues,” Caesar was known to his soldiers as “every man's woman and every woman's man.”
hot :D
The bust at 4:41 the reason the neck doesn't have any physical features is because the head is meant to be replaced. you can see where you can remove the head it's underneath the chin.
Could you do a video about the decline in Roman art during the 4th, 5th, and 6th centuries, which is one of my favourite periods.
Honestly, to me the two statues you showed looked like they were from the same person. I was actually struggling to spot differences. The one on the left just looked like it was less detailed than the one on the right.
There is another ancient version found in Turkey that is damaged and is now in the British Museum . Many scholars nave stated that it is one commissioned by Cleopatra. It is markedly different than the ones depicted here., as it has the “broad “ face.
I love this channel
The Green Caesar is the creepiest sculpture I ever saw. I bet it was painted to look life-like before, when it was a new statue
Fascinating stuff.
You have destroyed my fantasy that all Roman's important enough to have statues made really had great abs
Those second set of statue busts side by side he said looked different. But they looked practically the same
0:30
I'll choose these two.
Toldinstone, I love your posts, but, how can you not see similarities?
Broad face, large forehead, patrician nose, sunken jowls with pronounced cheeks, receding hairline, intense eyes that have a remarkable upper eyelid, firm and strong lips, structured skull at the eyebrows. All the physical features of a great leader.
That's Caesar.
I think that if he admitted those two sculptures looked extremely similar he wouldn't have had a video to make on this topic. The whole video is based on the foundation that there are inconsistencies which plant the seed of doubt in the audience. It creates a good "mystery" to explore so that he can talk more about it.
Those two coins of Octavian show him with the pork chop type sideburns usually associated with one of his famous successors (Caligula? Nero? I forget). I'm so used to the full statue of Octavian in the fancy armour, with a clean shaven and youthful face, that if I only seen the picture off those coins I would not think it was him, but the one successor I spoke about above.
Yes, it's strange seeing Octavian with facial hair, isn't it? On the coin, he has a "beard of mourning" for Caesar.
You’re such a good speaker and writer. I am a history major and I loved ancient histort. I want to read your book but is there an audible version and if so plz tell me you read it
Thank you! There is an audio version of my book, though unfortunately I'm not the narrator (my publisher sold the audio rights). You can find it on Audible and other platforms.
@@toldinstone I’ll get asap thank you sm sir
The two heads at 0:50 look pretty much exactly the same to me, just at slightly different angles.
Most Roman Generals probably had a gut something a lot of sword dueling warriors and gladiators had (IDKY. Belly fat maybe protection against the stab or cut of the sword?)
Example can be noted in Titus Flaminininus quote to health nut Philopoemen
"And once Titus Flamininus, making fun of certain parts of his (p261) figure, said: "Philopoemen, what fine arms and legs thou hast; but belly thou hast not";
Life of Philopoemen, Parralel Lives.
Comparing Roman Generals to Gladiators IS ridiculous since the whole gut Thing was more for the Gladiators Show Business oh and Roman Generals Had Armor, were horseman and Not Frontline fighters
This is very much a modern perspective with photos, we do the same but the expectations are different
Super interesting!
The older statues show how worn down he is from trying to conquer the village of indominable Gauls.
I've also heard speculation that he was seriously ill around the time he took over in Rome. So he probably didn't look very healthy even before he was stabbed 23 times.
0:28 I think the two statues look quite similar, shape eyes, chin square face etc
The most accurate depiction of Caesar is probably the way he's depicted in Asterix comics.
Hey , got your book on audible. It's great. I hope you write more 👌
Thank you for yet another enjoyable and informative video.
I studied art history a lot. Pretty much all the Roman statues are idealized. Whether it be through idealizing the body (stolen from the Greeks like you mentioned) , or through a preference called verisim which was all about idealizing older men perceived to be wise and knowledgeable. When you talked about them wanting to be recognized warts wrinkles and all, that was also a form of idealism. It was about displaying characteristics perceived to be intellectual. Notice how they are still overtly masculine and appear old but strong. Art was their propoganda. If they could portray political figureheads as being better than you in every way (both mentally and physically) that was how they garnered respect for their leaders. It was a tool for both fear and control. Ancient civilizations used this as well.
0:35 both statues do look similar and consistent. I don't agree that they look so different that they could be different men. If there were 20 head busts on a table with these two mixed in, most people select these two as the same person.
the only Caesar still referred to by and unanimously recognized as "Caesar" even though it was more of a title than a name.
Makes me think of how prominent any more modern leader would have to be to carry the name of "president", "king", or "prime minister" as an exclusive identifier while they would not be the last person to hold that position or title. It makes me wonder what made that name stick for 2000+ years.
Because Caesar was his family name and only a title for the rest of them... The Caesar as a title started because Octavian aka Caesar Augustus took the name as a title
I saw a sculpture of his head at the British Museum. It was so skilfully made I assumed it must have been a realistic portrait.
Damn, who knew you could learn a lot about Roman politics by looking at a few statues
Subscriber numbers still on the rise 👌
0:45 I personally see almost no difference between these two. What are the major differences you allude to?
He is just trying to create a "mystery" about Ceasar's appearance so that he can have a 7 minute video. If he said that the two busts were similar and that the depictions were consistent, there would be nothing to talk about anymore. I appreciate toldinstone's other content, but videos like this make me a little distrusting.
The two busts at @00:48 could very well be taken as the same person. The heads have very similar odd-shapes, lip & mouth shape/size are close, eye spacing, size, and inset are very similar, the nose bridge is similar, the brow ridges match closely, foreheads are similar, chins are close in shape and size and the cheek structure is very much alike.
There are differences, like the ears, the one on the right side has different angles from the head, but at a close look, they have the same general shape. The nose tip is also different.
Not knowing the time of the creation of the busts, we can assume a few things. Different artists, and source references, and different times of the subject's life. The sources used could have been one in common use at the time of creation and the artist interpretation accounts for the differences. If there were different sources used, they could have come from earlier common sources and the same interpretation issues would apply to them.
Is this Julius Ceasar? Since they did not have smartphones, we can't say for sure ;)
whoa i didn't notice how many subscribers you have gained now!!! wtf ? did it have to do with the release of your book? congrats!
Much appreciated! The book was a modest boost, but it's mostly been a slow and steady climb driven by people finding my videos.
maybe u can put the ad right at the start of every video so as no interruption after? thx
The Arles bust IS, the face of Guy Jules. It actually matches Suetonius' description, n even fits his psychological profile.
The incomparable Prof Mary Beard did a documentary on this some years ago. With a nearly full "survey" of all the heads identified with Caesar. IIRC, including one that was likely Caligula. 🤣
Me and my cousin use his cipher alot and its pretty fun
Great video, this motivates me to seek out the versions of his busts. I find it interesting that the coins would have what appears to be a realistic and somewhat unflattering portrayal of his likeness given that coins would be widely distributed throughout the empire and in the possession of virtually every Roman.
Is your book sold here in Australia? I don't usually read books but yours seems very interesting to me
You should be able to find it on both booktopia and Dymocks (and of course Amazon). Please let me know if you encounter any problems.
@@toldinstone thank you i appreciate it I'm going to order it now
A man can be in his 40's- 50's and have an old looking face but a relatively muscular body that looks much younger than his face because the face is exposed to the Sun all the time but the body usually isn't so it stays younger looking, assuming physical fitness.
They say you die twice, firsty when your body fails and secondly when the last person that remembers your name dies. Ceasar is immortal.
0:35 I'm comparing them...and they both look like exactly the same guy. Literally all the features are the same, the right one just has better detailing and appears more realistic.
Even with wrinkles and thinning hair, Caesar constantly remains on the list of people who are asked to name 3 historical figures they would like to meet. His life was the perfect mixture of intellectual cunning, glory, sex, violence and Cleopatra magic, ingredients promissing a blockbuster movie nowadays. He is fascination, he is immortal.
I don't know..
The two original statues in the beginning don't look thaaat different.
Looks clearly to be the same person to me.
I truly believe that the statues are like 70% realistic of what he truly look like but they took artistic Liberty to change his face when making the statue
The bust at 4:25 seems to show a scar extending from the left corner of Caersar's mouth out into the left cheek. Although your commentary does not touch on this feature, would you care to now? Are there any mentions of Caesar being wounded in this way? If so, it would be an argument for the authenticity and accuracy of this bust.
The only substantial difference between the two busts of Cesar is the mouth, and even then they aren't very different. All other aspects of the figures are more or less identical with any small variation easily attributable to the stylistic differences between the sculptors. I really don't understand how you can say they're different.
You're content is platinum, always something new and very interesting. I swear half of these "UA-cam historian" suffer from A.T.M. looking forward to more!
That final bust is definitely Steve McQueen.
4.12 - 4.17. That guy taught Latin and History in the high school I attended in the 1970's. He died a few years ago aged 90.
4:12
Strangely the Tusculum Portait is featured on most of the Cicero-Covers... as Cicero. Probably because of him living in Tusculum.
Not about Caesar, just want to share my excitement that Amazon UK has finally dispatched your book. Woohoo, tomorrow is Naked statues and fat gladiators Thursday.
The last head was found near Arles in France.
When looking at Roman facial sculpture you need to know if it was going on a plinth because they would manipulate
The shape to make it look right from below the 2 sculptures you showed at 50sec were actually alot closer when you imagine that with the left one being elevated and the right one being set at eye level
Some of the statues depict him young whereas some depict him when he was old?
That last one doesn't invoke the same recognition as the others. Even the Green Ceasar, which is different than the others, has something about the attributes and proportions that leads one, when informed, to say "Oh, you're right! I recognize him now." But the final bust just comes across reminding one of a middle-aged Roman statesman in general and could be of any number of men. It has nothing which rings of Caesar himself in it.