Your article (Julius Caesar may have suffered mini-strokes say doctors, 15 April) states that Caesar “rose swiftly through the political system”. In fact his career progression was erratic – under the dictatorship of Sulla he went into exile and returned to a quasi-political role as military tribune. His career was never based on a rise through a political system – a modern term that can’t be used in a classical context. The article then goes on to state: “All of the symptoms reported in Caesar’s life are compatible with him having multiple mini-strokes.” But hardly any first-hand accounts of Caesar’s life have survived. The doctors at Imperial College rely largely on Plutarch, born almost 100 years after Caesar’s death. The ancient world is both near us in thought but far away in complexity and lack of reliable knowledge.
Nik Ekholm
London
