Footnote 11 Moreover, Plutarch's account has a dramatic point and a contextual meaning that Suetonius' enumeration of triumphal displays lacks. Footnote 10 Still, we should note that Suetonius, as an imperial secretary, had access to records and archives, where triumphal contents could have been copied and preserved. Footnote 9 Both versions could also have been preserved in the writings of Caesar's contemporaries, Oppius, Hirtius, Balbus and Asinius Pollio, sources extensively used by both Suetonius and Plutarch. Caesar could have written the words in letters to Rome and then displayed them in his triumph. Certainly, there is no way to prove either tradition right or wrong. In terms of historical credibility, moreover, there are grounds for preferring Suetonius' account of a triumphal display to Plutarch and Appian, who claim that Caesar wrote the words in a letter to Rome.

In contrast to some of Caesar's other famed sayings, like ‘You too, my child’, ‘Let the die be cast’ and ‘They wanted this’ (at Pharsalus), reported by some authors to have been said or written in Greek, Footnote 8 it is significant that veni vidi vici was quite clearly first proclaimed in Latin. Only Suetonius describes how the words were displayed in Rome, and he is, moreover, the one source to give the original Latin phrasing. However, for this paper, which proposes to discuss veni vidi vici in its Roman political context, the passage in Suetonius (quoted above) is the most important. The Greek authors (and Florus) are relevant, as they attest to the efficiency and success of Caesar's words. Footnote 6 Florus and Cassius Dio also describe the victory at Zela in words that testify to Caesar's speed and clearly refer to his statement. Footnote 5 Both give the phrase in Greek translation, but Plutarch praises the Latin wording for its persuasive composition and brevity. According to Plutarch and Appian, Caesar, having swiftly defeated Pharnaces of Pontus at Zela in 47 b.c., wrote ‘I came, I saw, I conquered’ in a letter to Rome. The phrase does, however, appear in two other writers. Suetonius is the only ancient author who writes that Caesar paraded veni vidi vici in his triumph in Rome. It will be argued that veni vidi vici was an extremely unconventional display that should be read as a strong provocation challenging traditional norms at a time that saw the final collapse of the long-praised Republican collegial system. The discussion will focus on issues of the written text, self-presentation, elite competition, public display, ritual and mos maiorum, and the basic questions posed are: What was the message and meaning of veni vidi vici? Why was it shown in Caesar's triumph? What do its style, contents and context tell us about the intent and implication of the written words? How would people have reacted to its display? ‘I came, I saw, I conquered’ is a strong announcement of self, proclaimed at a very critical point just after Caesar returned to Rome as victor in both external and internal conflicts. This article proposes to analyse veni vidi vici as a political statement made in a Late Republican triumphal context. Footnote 3 The words are taken as a reflection of Caesar's speed, which is certainly correct, but they are not scrutinized in further depth. Works on Roman history and Caesar mostly note the phrase only in passing, Footnote 2 as do discussions on the Roman triumph. Footnote 1įamous though the statement is, veni vidi vici has not been analysed in context. In his Pontic triumph he exhibited among the biers of the procession a placard ( titulus) with three words VENI VIDI VICI, not to show the deeds performed in the war, as in the others, but to mark out how fast the war had been concluded.

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