Discharged from his consulship for owning too much silver plate, the mention of Sulla's disgraced ancestor attaches the concept of materialism to Sulla at once. From there on numerous examples continue to paint a picture of an unstable, avaricious man with a huge appetite for self-indulgence. Sulla continually brought the disgust of the nobles and public upon himself. After making his soldiers rich by pillaging during the Libyan campaign, a member of the aristocracy remarked to him "There is certainly something wrong about you, who have become so rich when your father left you nothing at all." (Plutarch 66). Certainly, his greatest period of debauchery occurred after he had seized absolute power and spent enormous sums on parties of all kinds. When he dedicated a tenth of his property to Hercules, things were out of control. He entertained with such lavishness that a vast quantity of unused meat was thrown into the river (Plutarch 108). However, what stands out most in Plutarch's narrative is the account of Sulla's proscriptions and the greed on which some were based. Citizens who had absolutely nothing to do with politics were executed in order to confiscate their property. To further this striking example of his greed, the property of the sons and grandsons was also taken. A disgusting use of money during this period was the payment for murdering a condemned man. Two talents were paid to whoever was the executioner, be it a slave or a son (Plutarch 105). Sulla had fallen into such public disfavor from these greedy extravagancies that if he had not given up his dictatorship, it could be conjectured that he would have been overthrown.
Caesar on the other hand, used his money to create a splendor about his life so that he quickly gained the friendship of the common people. Early in his career, his dinner parties and entertainments increased his political stature (Plutarch 246).
Julius Caesar was born to Aurelia and Gaius Julius Ceasar, on the 13th day of Quintilis 100 BCE. ... Sulla, the dictator at that time in 85 BCE, wanted him to be executed and Caesar went into hiding. ... When Sulla, the dictator, died in 78 BCE, Caesar began a career as a lawyer in Rome and from then on throughout his lifetime, his eloquence in speaking was surpassed by none. ...
The second attack upon the city was carried our by Marius" enemy Sulla, leader of the optimates, in 82 BC on the latter's return from the East. ... Caesar left Rome for the province of Asia on the condition that he divorce his wife because Sulla would only allow him to leave on that condition. When he heard the news that Sulla had been killed he returned to Rome. ... The optimates, led by Quintus Lutatius Catulus and Lucius Licinius Lucullus , were chiefly men whose careers had been made by Sulla. Pompey and Crassus were consuls in 70 BC and had rescinded the most offensively reactionary ...
The second attack upon the city was carried our by Marius" enemy Sulla, leader of the optimates, in 82 BC on the latter's return from the East. ... Caesar left Rome for the province of Asia on the condition that he divorce his wife because Sulla would only allow him to leave on that condition. When he heard the news that Sulla had been killed he returned to Rome. ... The optimates, led by Quintus Lutatius Catulus and Lucius Licinius Lucullus , were chiefly men whose careers had been made by Sulla. Pompey and Crassus were consuls in 70 BC and had rescinded the most offensively reactionary ...
Through this marriage, however, Caesar also gained the hostility of Sulla, because Cinna was one of Sulla's enemies. When the Optimate dictator, Sulla was in power, he ordered Caesar to divorce her, when Caesar refused, Sulla proscribed him and Caesar went into hiding... When Sulla died in 78 BC, Caesar returned to Rome and began a career as a lawyer and a life as an elegant man about town... Thereafter, Caesar was elected quaestor and obtained a seat in the Senate; he married Pompeia, a granddaughter of Sulla. ...
The second attack upon the city was carried our by Marius" enemy Sulla, leader of the optimates, in 82 BC on the latter"s return from the East. ... Caesar left Rome for the province of Asia on the condition that he divorce his wife because Sulla would only allow him to leave on that condition. When he heard the news that Sulla had been killed he returned to Rome. ... The optimates, led by Quintus Lutatius Catulus and Lucius Licinius Lucullus , were chiefly men whose careers had been made by Sulla. Pompey and Crassus were consuls in 70 BC and had rescinded the most offensively reactionary measu...
