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So was King Nicomedes IV Philapator of Bithynia, if we are to start sinking to that level... I'll admit that I have a considerable admiration for Caesar, and I'll also admit that Colleen McCullough did much to facilitate this admiration. I believe Caesar's military ability was not overrated, and that he was also an orator, writer and legal draftsman up there with (and perhaps beyond) Cicero himself. His Achilles' Heel, to me, was his complete and utter devotion to his dignitas. McCullough suggests that he firmly believed in the concept that his and every man's dignitas was also Rome's dignitas, and as such strove to the utmost all his life to increase it. Perhaps this is somewhat naive, but i don't like to assume the worst about people. This almost fanatic zeal made him incapable of the sort of compromise that would see his dignitas decreased, even a little. Maybe if he was more subtle, less obviously aiming for greatness, he would not have attracted the jealousy of his peers. This was the way of Augustus I believe. A post earlier stated that Caesar wasn't a good politician. To me, to be a "good politician", and all that being a "good politician" entails, is not something to boast about Was Caesar the greatest Roman figure? I don't think any one man can be declared Rome's greatest figure. As Caesar himself may (or may not) have believed, he was just one of the passing figures in the ongoing pageant that was the Glory of Rome. No doubt he was one of the greatest parts. But not the greatest. No one Roman can claim that title, in my opinion. Each great Roman had to face the unique context of their own time, and times change, as do the people.