Gaius Cassius Parmensis (born ; died 31 or 30 BC in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

) was a Roman politician and a Latin writer of the late

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

, who belonged to the circle of conspirators against

Gaius Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war. He ...

Family origins and philosophy

Cassius Parmensis came from that branch of the Roman ''gens'' Cassia, that played an important role in the founding of the city of Parma on the Via Aemilia in the second century BC. The ancient commentaries of

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 BC – 27 November 8 BC), Suetonius, Life of Horace commonly known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). Th ...

note that he was a follower of the teachings of

Epicurus Epicurus (, ; ; 341–270 BC) was an Greek philosophy, ancient Greek philosopher who founded Epicureanism, a highly influential school of philosophy that asserted that philosophy's purpose is to attain as well as to help others attain tranqui ...

Murder of Julius Caesar and aftermath

In the spring of 44 BC Cassius Parmensis participated in the assassination of Caesar by members of the Senate. In 43 BC, following the murder, he became a ''quaestor'' and built a fleet which supported

Gaius Cassius Longinus Gaius Cassius Longinus (; – 3 October 42 BC) was a Roman senator and general best known as a leading instigator of the plot to assassinate Julius Caesar on 15 March 44 BC. He was the brother-in-law of Brutus, another leader of the conspir ...

against Publius Cornelius Dolabella off the coast of the province of Asia. At the same time he wrote a report to

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...

from Cyprus on the situation, which has been handed down in the latter's correspondence. In November of 43 Cassius Parmensis, like many other enemies of Caesar, was declared an outlaw (proscribed) by the triumvirate of

Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman people, Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the Crisis of the Roman Republic, transformation of the Roman Republic ...

Octavian Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in ...

, and

Lepidus Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (; 89 BC – late 13 or early 12 BC) was a Roman general and statesman who formed the Second Triumvirate alongside Octavian and Mark Antony during the final years of the Roman Republic. Lepidus had previously been ...

. After the defeat of the party of the murderers of Caesar in the

Battle of Philippi The Battle of Philippi was the final battle in the Liberators' civil war between the forces of Mark Antony and Octavian (of the Second Triumvirate) and the leaders of Julius Caesar's assassination, Brutus and Cassius, in 42 BC, at Philippi in ...

(autumn of 42 BC), he gathered the remaining military units and was able to bring himself and the undamaged fleet to safety for a while with

Sextus Pompeius Sextus Pompeius Magnus Pius ( 67 – 35 BC), also known in English as Sextus Pompey, was a Roman military leader who, throughout his life, upheld the cause of his father, Pompey the Great, against Julius Caesar and his supporters during the la ...

in Sicily. After the latter's defeat in the year 36 BC, he accompanied the fallen "naval king" to Asia Minor, in order to join Antony during the final battles in Bithynia. Antony and Octavian waged a propaganda attack with in part low blows and slanders which preceded the decisive military confrontation for autocratic rule in the Roman Empire. Cassius also took part with intense violent attacks against Caesar's heirs. He asserted that Octavian was of low descent, and was only named his heir due to a homosexual relationship with Caesar. Furthermore, he accused Octavian of wanting to make his only daughter Julia the consort of the rich but "barbarous" nobleman Koson of Dacia. In 31 BC, Cassius Parmensis fought under Antony's command at the

Battle of Actium The Battle of Actium was a naval battle fought between Octavian's maritime fleet, led by Marcus Agrippa, and the combined fleets of both Mark Antony and Cleopatra. The battle took place on 2 September 31 BC in the Ionian Sea, near the former R ...

. His flight from Octavian's revenge lasted a total of twelve years (which was longer than that of all the other conspirators) but after the fall of Antony he finally lost every possibility of fleeing, since the adopted son of Caesar now ruled the entire Roman Empire. After the defeat at Actium, he fled to Athens, where, in 30 B.C. at the very latest, he was recognized as the last surviving assassin of Caesar still living and was killed by Lucius Varus under Octavian's orders.

Writings

Cassius Parmensis wrote tragedies, satires, elegies and epigrams, which, in

's opinion, were not insignificant; none of his work has survived. Only know the titles of two tragedies are known, ''Thyestes'' and ''Brutus,'' the first of which was allegedly stolen by his murderer Varus. ''Thyestes'' was subsequently published as Varus's own work. The style of his letter to Cicero seems above all complicated and pedantic in its flatteries, but also demonstrates a good talent for military observation. As for the common assertion often referring to another location in Horace, that Cassius had been burned to death together with his works, it is probably a mix-up.

Marcus Terentius Varro Marcus Terentius Varro (116–27 BCE) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Virgil and Cicero). He is sometimes call ...

quotes a verse of Cassius; however, the same verse is also attributed in another place to the poet

Lucius Accius Lucius Accius (; 170 – c. 86 BC), or Lucius Attius, was a Roman tragic poet and literary scholar. Accius was born in 170 BC at Pisaurum, a town founded in the Ager Gallicus in 184 BC. He was the son of a freedman and a freedwoman, probably fr ...

:Marcus Terentius Varro, ''On the Latin Language'' 6.7 :Nocte intempesta nostram devenit domum : ate at night he came into our home

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cassius Parmensis, Gaius 70s BC births 30s BC deaths 1st-century BC Roman poets 1st-century BC writers in Latin Ancient Roman generals Ancient Roman politicians Assassinated ancient Roman politicians Assassins of Julius Caesar Parmensis, Gaius Correspondents of Cicero Executed ancient Roman people Golden Age Latin writers Roman quaestors Roman Republican praetors Senators of the Roman Republic Ancient Roman tragic dramatists Executed assassins