ABSTRACT
Roman generals were quick to take credit for military victories, but they were well aware of the capricious operation of fortuna too. In the last century of the Republic, a succession of generals advertised close links with fortuna as both deity and general phenomenon. Some even claimed fortuna as a personal quality or attribute. Plutarch, for instance, recounts an unlikely story that is set immediately after Gaius Julius Caesar's dangerous sea crossing in January 48 BCE from Brundisium in Italy to Dyrrachium in north-west Greece. Once Caesar crossed into Italy, he was the aggressor, descending upon Italy like Hannibal, but also following the hated example of Sulla. This chapter describes the campaigns of the civil war between the armies of Caesar and those of Pompey and the optimates. At a distance, Caesar put together an imposing string of military victories. A closer look indicates that he was right to emphasize the operation of fortuna.
