CAESAR'S CONSTRUCTION OF NORTHERN EUROPE: INQUIRY, CONTACT AND CORRUPTION IN DE BELLO GALLICO

That Caesar’s plain prose does not make him a straightforward author needs no argument. Yet Caesar’s organising hand is more readily recognised in his portrayal of the protagonists of De Bello Gallico and their actions, than in the geographical setting in which they operate. Moreover, Caesar’s characterisations of northern Europe appear acceptable because they agree, to some extent, with our own conceptions of Europe. The reason for this correspondence is, of course, that Caesar’s conquests and their presentation formed an inspiration for many classical, early modern and modern historians and statesmen, on whose visions our notions are in part dependent. Yet Caesar’s ethnographies are not intended as straightforward observations of reality. The present article seeks to contribute to previous scholarship on this matter by demonstrating the interrelation of the various ethnographies in De Bello Gallico, 158