Caesarion

[Ludovicus]

Here's an interesting blog article on the issue of Caesarion's paternity, reputed offspring of Cleopatra and Julius Caesar:

 

'Son of the avenging god, Chosen by Ptah, Dispenser of the justice of Ra, Living power of Amun' proclaims the translation of Caesarion's Egyptian name, Iwapanetjerentynehem Setepenptah Irmaatenra Sekhemankhamun. Sadly, Caesarion, Ptolemy XV, known by his Greek subjects as Ptolemy Caesar, did not live to dispense justice or avenge the death of his father. He was executed by his father's adopted son, Octavian, who would become the Roman emperor Augustus.

Of course, with literally the control of the Roman World at stake, Caesarion's actual paternity, needless to say, was much disputed by some ancient Romans, probably fueled by Octavian's robust propaganda machine.

 

for more:

http://romanpresentations.blogspot.com/p/roman-times.html

[GhostOfClayton]

I thought Titus Pullo was Caesarion's real father.

[Northern Neil]

What legal pretext, if any, did Octavian have for executing him, or was it a straight forward murder?

[Ingsoc]

What legal pretext, if any, did Octavian have for executing him, or was it a straight forward murder?

 

He was the king of the enemy nation (remember, officially the civil war ended and the Actian war was against Egypt).

[Primus Pilus]

What legal pretext, if any, did Octavian have for executing him, or was it a straight forward murder?

 

There's scant evidence of the entire affair. Suetonius only says that he (Augustus) slew Caesarion. We know that it was a great scandal in the Roman world for Antonius to name his non Roman children by Cleopatra as his heirs, but there was no law that allowed for their execution. And, of course, this doesn't really apply to Caesarion anyway.

 

Dio Cassius, recording his own thoughts centuries later, suggests that Caesarion was used to incite Egyptian resistance to Rome.

 

Now among the other preparations made for speedy warfare, they enrolled among the youths of military age, Cleopatra her son Caesarion and Antony his son Antyllus, who had been born to him by Fulvia and was then with him. Their purpose was to arouse the enthusiasm of the Egyptians, who would feel that they had at last a man for their king, and to cause the rest to continue the struggle with these boys as their leaders, in case anything untoward should happen to the parents. Now as for the lads, this proved one of the causes of their undoing; for Caesar spared neither of them, claiming that they were men and were clothed with a sort of leadership.

 

http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/51*.html#6

[Axel Wers]

Based on know sources Iulius Caesar never recognised Caesarion as his son. This is probably main reason why Caesarion's political influence was only little. If any.