Casticus was a nobleman of the

Sequani The Sequani were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the upper river basin of the Arar river (Saône), the valley of the Doubs and the Jura Mountains during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Sequanos'' by Caesar (mid-1 ...

of eastern

Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...

. His father, Catamantaloedes, had previously been the ruler of the tribe and had been recognized as a "friend" by the

Roman Senate The Roman Senate () was the highest and constituting assembly of ancient Rome and its aristocracy. With different powers throughout its existence it lasted from the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in 753 BC) as the Sena ...

Social position

According to

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 Caesar's civil wa ...

, Casticus was a Sequanian whose father Catamantaloedes had been king for many years. It is believed that he was chosen by Orgetorix to join his conspiracy because he was one of the "two most prominent chieftains within his reach."

Conspiracy

In 60 B.C. he entered into a conspiracy with Orgetorix of the

Helvetii The Helvetii (, , Gaulish: *''Heluētī''), anglicized as Helvetians, were a Celtic tribe or tribal confederation occupying most of the Swiss plateau at the time of their contact with the Roman Republic in the 1st century BC. According to Ju ...

and Dumnorix of the

Aedui The Aedui or Haedui (Gaulish language, Gaulish: *''Aiduoi'', 'the Ardent'; ) were a Gauls, Gallic tribe dwelling in what is now the region of Burgundy during the La Tène culture, Iron Age and the Roman Empire, Roman period. The Aedui had an ambi ...

. Each individual gave a pledge and swore an oath to one another in the hope that when they seized the sovereignty that they would be the three most powerful and valiant nations. This plan however fell apart when the conspiracy was made known to the

by an informer. Some historians have found links between the Conspiracy of Orgetorix the Helvetian, Dumnorix the Aeduan, and Casticus as an allusion to the

First Triumvirate The First Triumvirate was an informal political alliance among three prominent politicians in the late Roman Republic: Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, Marcus Licinius Crassus, and Gaius Julius Caesar. The republican constitution had many veto points. ...

. William Henry Altman expands on Yves Gerhard's views of this by presenting six parallels between what he calls "The Gallic Triumvirate" and the First Triumvirate.

Parallels between "The Gallic Triumvirate" and the First Triumvirate

# Secret character of alliance # Chronological simultaneity of two triads # Common goal of two conspiracies # Use of marriage for political goal # Common appeal to people against aristocracy # Eventual defeat of coalitions

Death

The cause of Casticus’ death is not detailed in the accounts given by Caesar. However, according to Rene Van Royen, it can be inferred that Casticus was either put to death swiftly upon the discovery of the conspiracy by the Helvetii or that he faced a fate similar to the one that Orgetorix faced (burning) when he was brought forward for trial by the Helvetii. Since the account of his death is missing, it is not known exactly what fate awaited Casticus. All that is known thus far is inferred from what is known of the people and the times.

In drama

Casticus appears as a minor character in two

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

-era plays written in Latin for students. ''The Conspiracy of Orgetorix, A Dramatization'' was written as a project for the author's Latin class to perform as a complement to reading Caesar's text. Published in 1917, the play depicts Orgetorix planning and persuading others to join in his conspiracy. Casticus appears in Act III, when Orgetorix persuades him and Dumnorix to join the conspiracy in the hopes of gaining control of Gaul. The final act of the play is the trial of Orgetorix after the conspiracy has been revealed. Students were encouraged to discuss parallels with the war of their own time. ''Dumnorix, A Play Fabula Braccata'' (1918) also dramatizes the formation of the conspiracy. It was written by the scholar Max Radin during his time teaching at Newton High School in New York City.{{cite journal , last1=Radin , first1=Max , title=Dumnorix, A Play Fabula Braccata , journal=The Classical Journal , date=1918 , volume=13 , issue=5 , pages=314–342 , jstor=3288427

References

{{reflist Celtic warriors 1st-century BC Gaulish tribal chiefs Sequani