Emily Chan
During the first century B.C.E., the Mediterranean Sea was infested with pirates. These thieves of the sea regularly roamed the rugged region of Cilicia Trachea in southern Anatolia. The Romans lived in fear of their attacks.
According to historical records, a 25-year-old Roman nobleman named Julius Caesar had been crossing the Aegean Sea on his way to Rhodes around 75 B.C.E. when he was captured by a band of Cilician pirates.
Several Roman historians agreed that Julius Caesar had encountered pirates, but their accounts of where and when varied.
The details of his capture were at least a little clearer. Caesar was taken prisoner off the coast of Lesbos and was held for almost 40 days. From the start, he made a terrible captive.
When the pirates told him they had set his ransom for 20 talents of silver (the equivalent of $3 million today), he insisted that it was too low for someone of his status. He suggested that the pirates raise it to 50 talents ($7 million).
At night, Caesar would tell them to keep their voices down so he could sleep. He bossed them around and forced them to listen to the speeches and poems he composed out of boredom during the day.
If they were not impressed, Caesar would chew them out for being illiterate. The pirates certainly had their hands full.
Every so often, Caesar threatened to have all the pirates crucified as punishment for taking him captive.
The pirates took it as a joke, but in the end, Caesar followed through with his threat. After 38 days, the pirates collected their ransom and let Caesar go.
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