GAIUS IULIUS CAESAR (3)
[A.] Curule Aedile, 65 B.C.
Aedilis praeter comitium ac forum basilicasque etiam Capitolium ornavit porticibus ad tempus exstructis, in quibus abundante rerum copia pars apparatus exponeretur. Venationes autem ludosque et cum collega et separatim edidit, quo factum est, 5 ut communium quoque impensarum solus gratiam caperet, nec dissimularet collega eius Marcus Bibulus evenisse sibi quod Polluci: ut enim geminis fratribus aedes in foro constituta tantum Castoris vocaretur, ita suam Caesarisque munificentiam unius Caesaris 10 dici.
Suetonius, Divus Iulius, 10.
1 Aedilis. As curule-aedile Caesar exceeded all previous expenditure. This was meant to secure the favour of the democracy, and gain the position of its leader, which was in fact vacant; for Crassus was never popular, and Pompeius was absent in the East.
basilicas (βασιλική sc. οἰκία and στοά: regia) = halls.
2 porticibus: these acted as booths, in a grand fair, as we should say.
4 Venationes, here of the combats with wild beasts.
7 M. Bibulus, also Caesar’s colleague in his first consulship, 59 B.C.