Caesar's laurels

The laurels of Caesar (French original title: Les Lauriers de César ) is the 18th Asterix volume and was written by René Goscinny and drawn by Albert Uderzo . It was published in French in 1972 and in German in 1974.

action

The village chief Majestix visits his wealthy brother-in-law Homöopatix in Lutetia with his wife Gutemine and Asterix and Obelix . However, the two do not particularly like each other. After Majestix, provoked by the boasting of his brother-in-law, made a drunken bet with Homeopatix that he would personally cook the laurels of Caesar's wreath in a ragout , he sends Asterix and Obelix to Rome to fetch it.

To get to Caesar's palace, they have a slave trader sell them as slaves. However, they are not bought by Caesar's steward, as he had hoped, but by the wealthy Claudius Überflus and employed by him as cooks. Asterix and Obelix try to get free again. However, Asterix's plans always fail, but amuse Claudius and his family. The slave Kurzschlus, who sees his own position threatened, displeases the hustle and bustle and after a short time he manages to get Asterix and Obelix captured in Caesar's palace.

During the night the two break out of prison to find the laurels in the palace, but are unsuccessful. Because of the outbreak, which was inexplicable for the Romans, they are brought to justice as dangerous Gallic magicians and alleged assassins. After Asterix gives a poignant indictment speech against himself and Obelix, both are sentenced to be thrown to the wild animals in the Circus Maximus . Since Caesar, contrary to Asterix's hopes, is not present at the upcoming circus games because he is on an enterprise against pirates, the two Gauls initially refuse to go into the arena without Caesar's presence. By the time they do it, a lion has already eaten the rest of the wild animals. The audience is angry that there was no show, and a commotion breaks out in which Asterix and Obelix escape. There they hire a Roman band of robbers for a short time, and during a robbery they want to prevent, they learn from a drunk that Caesar has won a victory over the pirates and that a triumphal procession will therefore take place. In an inn they come across the slave Kurzschlus again. At first he is startled, but then tells them that he has since risen and is working in Caesar's palace. During the upcoming triumphal procession, it will be him himself who will hold his laurel wreath. Asterix and Obelix then exchange a fake laurel wreath made of fennel with the original.

While the heroes make their way back, Caesar returns in a triumphal procession , with the wreath of fennel leaves placed on him. After Asterix and Obelix return, they invite Homeopatix to the village and Majestix cooks the promised dish. When Majestix says that his brother-in-law probably doesn't get something like this every day despite all his gold, he criticizes the ragout as "too well done" and even says that fennel was the more appropriate seasoning instead of laurel. Thereupon Majestix finally breaks patience and knocks his brother-in-law unconscious.

Remarks

This is arguably the most adult Asterix story. It shows drunkenness, slavery, debauchery, nudity, and androgyny , and it takes some knowledge of art and history to understand all of the innuendo. As on page 16, where a male slave poses in the posture of famous sculptures - as Auguste Rodin's The Thinker , Apollo of Olympia , Laocoon and Discus Thrower by Myron .

References within the series

The dog Idefix is not on this trip, but only appears at the usual feast at the end of the story.

Allusions to people

The lion tamer on page 40 is a caricature of the French actor Jean Richard , who ran a zoo and circus outside Paris.

History

Caesar's campaign against the pirates was inspired by a real-life event where Caesar was captured by pirates at a young age for a ransom. Years later he captured the pirates and had them executed, which he had already announced during his captivity.

For the trial, the defense attorney intends to use the phrase "Delenda Carthago" for a dramatic effect. This sentence ("Carthage must be destroyed") is the shortened form of " Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam " ("By the way, I believe that Carthage must be destroyed"), with which Cato the Elder is said to have ended all his speeches in the Senate .

publication

In France, the story first appeared in 1971 as a series in the French magazine Pilote in issues 621 to 642 and was published as an album in 1972 by Dargaud . The German translation of the story was first published by Ehapa-Verlag in 1972 in the MV-Comix magazine (issues 6 to 20) and published in 1974 as the 18th volume in the Asterix series. In 2002 this volume was reissued and received a new cover picture.

The volume was published in English, Spanish and Turkish as well as in the dialects of Moselle Franconian and Swabian .

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