Bru´tus, Mar´cus Ju´nius, father of Cæsar’s murderer, followed the party of Marius, and was conquered by Pompey, by whose orders he was put to death.
Bru´tus, Mar´cus Ju´nius, the destroyer of Cæsar, conspired with many of the most illustrious citizens of Rome, against Cæsar, and stabbed him in Pompey’s Basilica. The tumult following the murder was great, but the conspirators fled to the Capitol, and by proclaiming freedom and liberty to the populace, for the time established tranquillity. Antony, however, soon obtained the popular ear, and the murderers were obliged to leave Rome. Brutus retired into Greece, where he gained many friends. He was soon pursued by Antony, who was accompanied by the young Octavius. The famous battle of Philippi followed, in which Brutus and his friend Cassius, who commanded the left wing of the army, were totally defeated. Brutus fell on his own sword, B.C. 42, and was honored with a magnificent funeral by Antony. Plutarch relates that Cæsar’s ghost appeared to Brutus in his tent before the battle of Philippi, warning him of his approaching fall.
Buceph´alus. A horse of Alexander’s, so frequently named by writers that the term has become proverbial. Alexander was the only person that could mount him, and he always knelt down for his master to bestride him.
Ca´cus. A famous robber, son of Vulcan and Medusa, represented as a three-headed monster vomiting flames. He resided in Italy, and the avenues of his cave were covered with human bones. When Hercules returned from the conquest of Geryon, Cacus stole some of his cows, which Hercules discovering, he strangled Cacus.
Cad´mus, son of Agenor, king of Phœnicia, and Telephassa, or Agriope, was ordered by his father to go in quest of his sister Europa, whom Jupiter had carried away. His search proving fruitless, he consulted the oracle of Apollo, and was told to build a city where he saw a heifer stop in the grass, and call the country around Bœotia. He found the heifer, as indicated by the oracle. Requiring water, he sent his companions to fetch some from a neighboring grove. The water was guarded by a dragon, who devoured those who were sent for it, and Cadmus, tired of waiting, went himself to the place. He attacked the dragon and killed it, sowing its teeth in the ground, on which a number of armed men rose out of the earth. Cadmus threw a stone amongst them, and they at once began fighting, and all were killed except five, who assisted him in building the city. Cadmus introduced the use of letters in Greece—the alphabet, as introduced by him, consisting of sixteen letters.
Cadu´ceus. A rod entwined at one end with two serpents. It was the attribute of Mercury, and was given to him by Apollo in exchange for the lyre.
Cæ´sar. A surname given to the Julian family in Rome. This name, after it had been dignified in the person of Julius Cæsar and his successors, was given to the apparent heir of the empire in the age of the Roman emperors. The first twelve emperors were distinguished by the name of Cæsar. They reigned in this order—Julius Cæsar, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian. Suetonius has written an exhaustive history of the Cæsars. C. Julius Cæsar, the first emperor of Rome, was son of L. Cæsar and Aurelia, the daughter of Cotta. He was descended, according to some accounts, from Julus, the son of Æneas. His eloquence procured him friends at Rome, and the generous manner in which he lived equally served to promote his interest. He was appointed for five years over the Gauls. Here he enlarged the boundaries of the Roman empire by conquest, and invaded Britain, which till then was unknown to the Romans. The corrupt state of the Roman senate, and the ambition of Cæsar and Pompey, caused a civil war. Neither of these celebrated Romans would endure a superior, and the smallest matters were grounds enough for unsheathing the sword. By the influence of Pompey a decree was passed to strip Cæsar of his power. Antony, as tribune, opposed this, and went to Cæsar’s camp with the news. On this Cæsar crossed the Rubicon, which was the boundary of his province. The passage of the Rubicon was a declaration of war, and Cæsar entered Italy with his army. Upon this Pompey left Rome and retired to Dyrrachium, and Cæsar shortly afterwards entered Rome. He then went to Spain, where he conquered the partisans of Pompey, and on his return to Rome was declared dictator, and soon afterwards consul. The two hostile generals met in the plains of Pharsalia, and a great battle ensued B.C. 48. Pompey was defeated and fled to Egypt, where he was slain. At length Cæsar’s glory came to an end. Enemies had sprung up around him, and a conspiracy, consisting of many influential Romans, was formed against him. Conspicuous among the conspirators was Brutus, his most intimate friend, who, with others, assassinated him in the senate house in the ides of March, B.C. 44, in the fifty-sixth year of his age. He wrote his Commentaries on the Gallic wars when the battles were fought. This work is admired for its elegance and purity of style. It was after his conquest over Pharnaces, king of Pontus, that he made use of the words, which have since become proverbial, Veni, vidi, vici, illustrative of the activity of his operations. Shakspeare’s tragedy of Julius Cæsar, in the third act of which he is assassinated, uttering as his last words, “Et tu, Brute! Then fall Cæsar”—is devoted to the conspiracy and its results, ending with defeat and death of Brutus and Cassius at Philippi.
Calig´ula, a Roman emperor, was son of Germanicus by Agrippina. He was proud, wanton, and cruel. He was pleased when disasters befell his subjects, and often expressed a wish that the Romans had but one head, that he might have the pleasure of striking it off. He had a favorite horse made consul, and adorned it with the most valuable trappings and ornaments. The tyrant was murdered A.D. 41, in his twenty-ninth year, after a reign of three years and ten months.
Calli´ope. One of the Muses, daughter of Jupiter and Mnemosyne, who presided over eloquence and heroic poetry.
Cal´ydon. A city of Ætolia, where Œneus, the father of Meleager, reigned. During the reign of Œneus Diana sent a wild boar to ravage the country on account of the neglect which had been shown of her divinity by the king. All the princes of the age assembled to hunt the Calydonian boar. Meleager killed the animal, and gave the head to Atalanta, of whom he was enamored.