# What was Brutus's real relationship with Julius Ceasar? Nephew or not? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 13, 2014, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-brutuss-real-relationship-with-julius-ceasar-nephew-or-not/683608 "2014-03-13T13:43:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![davidmich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e56c9b/32.png) [@davidmich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidmich)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-brutuss-real-relationship-with-julius-ceasar-nephew-or-not/683608/1 "2014-03-13T13:43:09Z")
> **[Answers - The Most Trusted Place for Answering Life's Questions](https://history.answers.com/redirectSearch?query=why-did-brutus-assassinate-julius-caesar)** > > Answers is the place to go to get the answers you need and to ask the questions you want Hi, I’m not sure which sources to believe. I’ve read that Barcus Junius Brutus was Gaius Julius Caesar’s nephew. But other sources call Brutus a friend. I look forward to your feedback. davidmich > **[Answers - The Most Trusted Place for Answering Life's Questions](https://history.answers.com/redirectSearch?query=why-did-brutus-assassinate-julius-caesar)** > > Answers is the place to go to get the answers you need and to ask the questions you want March of 44 B.C., a group of Roman Senators led by Gaius Cassius Longinus and Marcus Junius Brutus, a beloved nephew of Julius, stabbed Julius Caesar to death in the Republican Senate. > **[5 Things You Might Not Know About Julius Caesar | HISTORY](https://www.history.com/news/5-things-you-might-not-know-about-julius-caesar)** > > Find out five fascinating facts about the man who famously proclaimed “I came, I saw, I conquered.” Caesar wed his third wife, Calpurnia, in 59 B.C., when she was a teenager, and remained married to her until his death. A noted womanizer, he also had multiple mistresses, including Cleopatra VII, the Egyptian queen, and a woman named Servilia, whose son Marcus Brutus took part in Caesar’s murder in 44 B.C. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-brutuss-real-relationship-with-julius-ceasar-nephew-or-not/683608/2 "2014-03-13T14:59:37Z")
I don’t see how they could be closely related, since we know the names of Julius Caesar’s parents and of Brutus’s parents, and most of the grandparents, and they don’t share family names. Maybe “Nephew” is code for “I slept with your mom, but we’re cool.” ---
**Author:** ![Pixel\_Dent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc8723/32.png) [@Pixel\_Dent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixel_Dent)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-brutuss-real-relationship-with-julius-ceasar-nephew-or-not/683608/3 "2014-03-13T15:00:00Z")
Brutus was the son of Caesar’s mistress Servilia Caepionis. I think the term uncle in this case is an informal appellation. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-brutuss-real-relationship-with-julius-ceasar-nephew-or-not/683608/4 "2014-03-13T15:46:58Z")
Do we know Brutus’s parentage? Do we know for sure his mother wasn’t Caesar’s mistress back in 85 BC? Could “uncle” be a sly way of recognizing his bastard father? ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-brutuss-real-relationship-with-julius-ceasar-nephew-or-not/683608/5 "2014-03-13T18:41:34Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > “I slept with your mom, but we’re cool.” Dad, go home. You’re drunk. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-brutuss-real-relationship-with-julius-ceasar-nephew-or-not/683608/6 "2014-03-13T21:03:17Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Do we know Brutus’s parentage? Do we know for sure his mother wasn’t Caesar’s mistress back in 85 BC? Could “uncle” be a sly way of recognizing his bastard father? Caesar was only 15 when Brutus was born, and probably only 14 when Brutus was conceived, and there is no reason to think that he had even met Servilia (Brutus’ mother) at this stage. It was nearly twenty years, and two marriages, later that she was Caesar’s mistress. Plus, if anyone seriously imagined that Brutus might have been Caesar’s son, much would have been made of this after the assassination. Patricide was the worst crime imaginable in classical Rome.