Young Roman noblemen pursued careers in
politics and in the military. From the age of 27, young men could run for
office. Most began by campaigning for the quaestorship, the lowest of
Rome's political offices. If they succeeded in being elected, they would
try to work their way up the political ladder by winning higher and higher
offices.
In 68 BC, Caesar began to climb the
political ladder and in 60 BC he was elected to Rome’s highest office, the
Consulship.
In order to strengthen his position, Caesar
made an alliance with two of Rome's most prominent citizens, Marcus Crassus and
Pompey the Great.
Crassus, some 15 years older than Caesar,
was the general who had put down the slave revolt of Spartacus in the 70s BC.
Since that time, he had earned a great deal of money in shady real-estate
deals. His fortune allowed him to be one of Caesar's largest campaign
contributors.
Caesar sealed his alliance with Pompey by
marrying his daughter Julia to the superstar general who had recently celebrated
the largest triumphal procession that Rome had ever seen.
Pompey was also in the process of building
a giant victory monument in his own honor. The monument was made up of a
portico, or covered walkway, that surrounded luxurious gardens filled with
sculpture and fountains and led to a theater topped by a temple dedicated to
Pompey's patron goddess, Venus Victrix.
Remains of Pompey's huge victory monument
are still visible in Rome today. In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance,
buildings were constructed on top of the theater's seats, creating a curved
street - Via della Grotta Pinta - that echoes the shape of Pompey's theater.
