Even mighty Julius Caesar's life was affected by piracy. In 75 B.C., Cilician pirates captured Caesar's ship and took him prisoner.He was on route to Rhodes to study rhetoric. The pirates captured him off of the island of Pharmakussa. Yet, the pirates did not understand the full weight of whom they had captured.
The pirates demande twenty talants. Caesar laughed and said he would pay fifty. He sent servants to raise money among the nearby villages. He then vowed to the pirates that when he was freed, he would have them all crucified.
The ransom was finally paid and Caesar went free. He put together a small fleet in Miletos and sailed immediately for the place he had been held prisoner. The pirates were still there. The fleet easily captured the pirates. Caesar had them placed in a prison in Pergamon.
Aparently, at the time Caesar did not have universal power and he went to Juncus, the governor of Asia Minor, to request a crucifiction. But Juncus did not act quickly enough for Caesar and he finnally ordered the execution himself.
Here we see the effects of piracy for everyone in the Roman world. Travel was risky and the traveler had to beware.
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