Cost of Glory

• 111 - Caesar's Civil War III: Came Saw Conquered

  Cost of Glory Greece Retreat: https://costofglory.com/retreatPart 3 of 3 of Caesar's Civil War series. From triumph to near-disaster. Caesar's Egyptian entanglement transforms him from a glorious victor to a desperate challenger. In this episode:Pompey's assassination in Egypt and Caesar's unexpected grief over his former ally's deathCleopatra's legendary entrance in a bed-sack and her political seduction of CaesarThe brutal urban warfare trapping Caesar in the palace quarter for six monthsThe burning of the Great Library during the harbor battles—400,000 volumes lostCaesar's desperate swim to safety while clutching precious documents above waterYoung King Ptolemy XIII's tragic fate and the consolidation of Cleopatra's powerThe lightning campaign against Pharnaces in Asia—"Veni, Vidi, Vici"The veterans' mutiny outside Rome and Caesar's masterful psychological manipulationCato's final stand in Africa and his defiant suicideThe decisive Battle of Thapsus and the strategic genius of fighting on narrow groundThe massacre of surrendering enemies as Caesar's clemency finally failsAs Caesar recounts, the Republic's future dictator came very close to destruction in the palaces and canals of Alexandria. While Rome descended into chaos under Mark Antony's drunken rule, Caesar fought for his life against war elephants and Numidian cavalry, transformed by his liaison with the living goddess Cleopatra. The man who emerged from Egypt was no longer merely a Roman general, he had consorted with divinity and fathered the son of a pharaoh. As Cicero wrote in frantic letters to Atticus: "Where am I to look for solace?" The final campaign that would cement Caesar's supremacy began with the most dangerous gamble of his career.Works Cited: (Affiliate links - support the show!)Gareth Sampson, The Battle of Pharsalus Matthias Gelzer, Caesar: Politician and Statesman James Froude, Caesar: A Sketch, Raaflaub (ed.) Landmark Caesar Thanks to our sponsor, Ai Labs. Visit austinlab.ai to chat with a team member about custom Agentic AI power solutions for your SMB to Enterprise level business.  Powered by Shokworks.Also Thanks Dr. Richard Johnson, the Crassus to this Caesar series!

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• 110 - Caesar's Civil War II: Bloody Pharsalia

  Cost of Glory Greece Retreat: https://costofglory.com/retreatPart 2 of 3 of Caesar's Civil War series. After his lightning conquest of Italy, Caesar faces his greatest challenge yet as Pompey masses a vast army in Greece. In this episode:Caesar's second dictatorship and revolutionary reforms in Rome—citizenship grants, debt relief, and restoration of the proscribedThe dangerous winter crossing of the Adriatic, splitting his forces against Pompey's naval supremacyThe siege of Dyrrhachium and Caesar's ambitious 17-mile circumvallation to trap PompeyThe catastrophic defeat that nearly ended Caesar's career—his worst loss yetThe brilliant strategic retreat showcasing the iron discipline of Caesar's veteransYoung Curio's tragic death in Africa, highlighting Caesar's reliance on inexperienced lieutenantsThe fateful convergence at Pharsalus as both armies march into ThessalyThe decisive moment when Caesar's hidden fourth line shattered Pompey's cavalry chargeThe fall of the Roman Republic as 15,000 Romans died by Roman swordsCaesar's own account reveals a commander pushed to his absolute limits, saved only by the loyalty of soldiers who would "rather eat tree bark than let Pompey slip through our fingers." The battle that destroyed the old Republic hinged on a single morning's decisions, proving that world history sometimes turns on the choices of one man in command. As Caesar stood over the carnage at Pharsalus, he reportedly said: "This is what they chose. After so many deeds in the service of my country, they would have me, Julius Caesar, condemned as a criminal, unless I sought the protection of an army."Works Cited: Gareth Sampson, The Battle of Pharsalus Matthias Gelzer, Caesar: Politician and Statesman James Froude, Caesar: A Sketch, Raaflaub (ed.) Landmark Caesar. (Affiliate links - support the show!) Thanks to our sponsor, Ai Labs. Visit austinlab.ai to chat with a team member about custom Agentic AI power solutions for your SMB to Enterprise level business.  Powered by Shokworks.Also Thanks Dr. Richard Johnson, the Crassus to this Caesar series!

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• 109 - Caesar's Civil War I: Breakdown

  Cost of Glory Greece Retreat: https://costofglory.com/retreatPart 1 of 3 of Caesar's Civil War series. The die is cast—Caesar crosses the Rubicon and plunges Rome into civil war. In this episode:The political crisis of 51-50 BCE as Caesar's enemies demand his recall from GaulCurio's shocking defection and proposal that both Caesar and Pompey lay down armsThe breakdown of negotiations and Pompey's fateful acceptance of command against CaesarHis lightning campaign through Italy as cities surrender without a fightThe siege of Corfinium and Caesar's revolutionary policy of clemency toward enemiesPompey's strategic retreat to Greece, abandoning Rome and splitting the RepublicThe brilliant Spanish campaign at Ilerda, showcasing Caesar's military geniusThe brutal siege of Marseille and Caesar's appointment as DictatorCaesar's own account reveals a man driven not by revolutionary ambition, but by wounded dignity and the desperate need to defend his honor against enemies who would destroy him through partisan prosecution. As Lucan wrote of this cosmic struggle: "Of civil wars and worse waged on Thessalian fields / Of crime made law we sing, how a powerful people / Turned on its own heart its conquering hand." The war that would transform Rome forever begins not with grand ideology, but with Caesar's refusal to submit to humiliation—and his enemies' fatal miscalculation of the man they sought to crush.Works CitedKurt Raaflaub (ed.), The Landmark Julius CaesarMatthias Gelzer, Caesar: Politician and StatesmanErich Gruen, Last Generation of the Roman Republic Thanks to our sponsor, Ai Labs. Visit austinlab.ai to chat with a team member about custom Agentic AI power solutions for your SMB to Enterprise level business.  Powered by Shokworks.Also Thanks Dr. Richard Johnson, the Crassus to this Caesar series!

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• 108 - Caesar 2: Law and Nature

  Cost of Glory Greece Retreat: https://costofglory.com/retreatPart 2 of 3 of the Life of Julius Caesar. In this episode:Caesar forms the First Triumvirate with Pompey and Crassus, uniting Rome's most powerful menHis revolutionary consulship of 59 BCE bypasses Senate opposition through popular assembliesThe brilliant staging of the Gallic conquest, using allies and tribal conflicts as pretexts for expansionHis management of Rome through letters while commanding armies across GaulThe death of Julia and Crassus fractures the political alliance holding Rome togetherVercingetorix's rebellion culminates in the decisive siege of Alesia, securing Gaul for RomeCaesar transforms both Rome and Gaul forever through calculated strategy, personal magnetism, and relentless ambition—all while his enemies in Rome, led by Cato, plot his downfall and convince Pompey to turn against him, setting the stage for civil war. Thanks to our sponsor, Ai Labs. Visit austinlab.ai to chat with a team member about custom Agentic AI power solutions for your SMB to Enterprise level business.  Powered by Shokworks.Also Thanks Dr. Richard Johnson, the Crassus to this Caesar series!

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• 107 - Caesar 1: Man of Destiny

  Cost of Glory Greece Retreat: https://costofglory.com/retreatThe much awaited series on Julius Caesar begins, with the inaugural episode: "Man of Destiny".In this episode:Caesar's formative years in the shadow of Sulla's dictatorshipHis early political boldness and refusal to divorce CorneliaThe capture by pirates and his merciless revengeCaesar's rise through the ranks of Roman politics as Quaestor and AedileThe Catilinarian conspiracy and Caesar's narrow escape from executionHis famous ambition: "I would rather be first man here than second at Rome"A tale of charm, audacity, and calculated risk as a young aristocrat from a modest branch of an ancient family navigates the treacherous waters of late Republican politics. Caesar—stylish, charismatic, deeply in debt, and dangerously ambitious—sets himself against the legacy of Sulla while methodically building a coalition that would eventually transform Rome forever. Thanks to our sponsor, Ai Labs. Visit austinlab.ai to chat with a team member about custom Agentic AI power solutions for your SMB to Enterprise level business.  Powered by Shokworks.Also Thanks Dr. Richard Johnson, the Crassus to this Caesar series!

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