Caesar claimed that he was worth at least 50 talents. The pirates, understandably confused, must have thought that they got their hands on one of the most deluded and egotistical noblemen in all of Rome. When the pirates informed Caesar that they set his ransom to 20 talents of silver, Caesar was offended by such a small amount of money.Ĭaesar insisted that he was worth much more than what they were asking for and thought that asking for only 20 talents would have been nothing short of insulting.

An Insulting Ransom Caesar was offended that the pirates set his ransom to 20 talents of silver.Įven though Caesar seemed to be getting along well enough in captivity, the pirates were still hoping to get the ransom from his family in exchange for their son's safety. Caesar claimed to have even participated in games and exercises with the pirates from time to time. If one of them dared to say that his work was unremarkable, Caesar would scold them as an uneducated and uncultured dullard who was incapable of appreciating such fine art.Īccording to Caesar, he was almost friendly with the pirates. When he was awake, he would force the pirates to listen to the poems or speeches that he had written. When he wanted to sleep, he would shush them and make them go quiet. Caesar's confidence and ego never left him, and it did not take long for his sense of superiority to take hold.Ĭaesar would routinely boss his captors around and would never refer to himself in a way that made him seem as though he was their subordinate.

Not Your Typical Hostage Caesar, captured by pirates, turns around and gives them imperious commands.ĭespite being at the mercy of the pirates, Caesar did not behave as though his life was in the slightest bit of danger. However, this feeling of enthusiasm and giddiness would soon wear off. Caesar was on his way to the small Greek island of Rhodes to study oratory when his ship was attacked by a group of Cilician pirates in the Aegean Sea. It did not take the pirates long to find out about Caesar's noble origins, and they were excited at the prospect of selling him off for a small fortune. This is what happened to Julius Caesar when he was only 25 years old.

However, in certain cases, high-ranking nobles and people of importance were taken hostage and ransomed back to their families for large sums of money. Most of the time, the crews of these ships were either taken prisoner and sold into slavery or killed on the spot. It was common for both trade ships and private vessels to be boarded and ransacked for their valuables. A Short Trip to Rhodes A statue of Ceasar in Turin, Italy.ĭuring the late years of the Roman Republic, piracy was rampant throughout the Mediterranean Sea. 10 Important People From Ancient Rome One of the most important women in Roman history, Octavia was sister to Augustus, wife of Marc Antony, and ancestral grandmother to Emperors Claudius, Caligula, and Nero.

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