6. Julius Caesar laughed when he learned how much his kidnappers demanded for his release and then went on to exact his bloody revenge
Few kidnapping victims get angry if the price asked for their freedom is too low. But Julius Caesar did. When he was seized by pirates as a young man, he was so insulted by the amount they demanded for his release, he promised to get his revenge on the men when – not if – he was set free. Of course, the pirates could never have predicted that their young captive would go on to become the most powerful person in the known world. And, true to his word, Caesar did go on to take his revenge.
The most infamous kidnapping of ancient times took place in 75BC. According to Plutarch’s account, Caesar, then a 25-year-old man on the rise, was sailing the Aegean Sea with his entourage. They were all captured by Cilician Pirates who demanded 20 talents of silver, equivalent to 620kg of the precious metal for his freedom. Caesar was insulted. They clearly didn’t know who he was. He laughed at them and advised them to raise the ransom to 50 talents of silver. Of course, the pirates agreed, and Caesar sent some of his men off to fetch the ransom. While they were all waiting, Caesar mocked his captors, bossed them around and even promised to have them all crucified whenever he was a free man again.
Sure enough, 38 days later, the men returned with 50 talents of silver. Caesar was set free. He sailed away but before long, he had raised a small, private army. He then returned to the island where he had been held captive. Unluckily for them, the pirates hadn’t taken his threats seriously. They were still there. Caesar overpowered them and took them back to Pergamon and had them thrown in prison. The local authority refused Caesar’s request to have them executed. But, ever the rebel. Caesar went ahead and did it anyway – only he cut their throats rather than tie them up on a cross to die.