Sunday, July 7, 2019

Who was Julius Caesar?

Did you know July is named after Julius Caesar? What do you know about this man other than being the lover of Cleopatra? (Interesting trivia note: Ma’s second cat’s name was Cleopatra!).

Some people believe that Julius was born by an operation (cutting through his mother’s abdomen whereas he was cut out from his mother’s uterus) hence why today we call this type of operation a Caesarean.

If you did not know that legend, then maybe when you read his name, you think of salad. Let me tell you that the delicious Caesar Salad is NOT named after Julius, but after the Italian-American chef, Caesar Cardini.  This other Caesar invented the salad in 1924 in Tijuana, Mexico.

Julius Caesar did NOT invent the salad nor was it named after him. He did, however, create political and social reform in Rome, although controversial at the time, it had a positive effect.

His reform included: initiation of land redistribution among the poor and land reform for veterans, he improved the calendar (Caesar is responsible for the year as we know it having 365 days, and for the existence of a leap year every four years), he created a police force, and abolished the tax system. Despite all of his good intentions, Caesar was assassinated - stabbed twenty-three times - the result of a scheme by some Roman senators.

After Julius Caesar was killed, Quintilis, his birth month, was renamed July.

We do hope you enjoyed this little history lesson and that your first week of July was terrific. Around here there were firework displays Thursday through Saturday, and I am happy to report that the noise did not scare Pasqua at all. Another first for Pasqua. Because he was so brave, I, too, put up a good front, and did not hide during all of the racket.
Stay safe and happy.



Purr & Paw,
-Stivali.

No one is so brave that he is not disturbed by something unexpected. – Julius Caesar.