The Latin language and ancient history has a bit of a reputation for being snobbish and elitist, but over the past couple of weeks the government of Great Britain announced that it would be bringing Latin studies to state schools across the country in an effort to expand the audience and get kids interested in learning about the past. This has spawned quite the debate in certain circles over just how important and useful something like Latin is, a debate that anyone with even a passing interest in the study of the Classics is probably familiar with.
The reason I bring this up is because the “Asterix and Obelix” books were brought into this debate on Twitter, so if you want to learn about some great books and some facts you can throw out at cocktail parties, read on.
Today we’re taking a tour of Roman Gaul with “Asterix and the Banquet” and meeting one of history’s greatest queens in “Asterix and Cleopatra”.
Written by Rene GoscinnyArt by Albert Uderzo
Illustrated by Albert Uderzo
We’re taking a journey through ancient Gaul and the beautiful Gaulish culture that is in no way similar to modern France in “Asterix and the Banquet”. Next, we’re off to Egypt and the nose that toppled great and powerful rulers in “Asterix and Cleopatra”
At this point in the comic’s publication history, “Asterix and Obelix” was a smashing success, with its 1967 volume selling over a million copies in two days. However, despite the success of the characters Pilote–the magazine that published their adventures–hadn’t been doing so well and had been bought by a company called Dargaud, which encouraged the magazine to publish more adult centric stories. Still, Dargaud knew they had a cash cow with Asterix, so on they went.
Asterix and the Banquet
While Asterix and his village have no ambition to challenge the might of Rome directly and just want to be left alone and at peace, their presence on the continent has created a certain air of desperation amid the Roman government. After all, how can Rome be expected to rule a Republic/Empire if they can’t conquer one tiny village?
This has led to an ever rotating cast of Roman bureaucrats and politicians who seek to conquer the village in order to gain favor back in Rome. Today’s overeager achiever is prefect named Overanxius, who believes that the legionaries surrounding the village just need the proper tactics and Roman bravery to defeat the upstart Gauls. While the men certainly prove the prefect wrong, they do succeed in building a massive stockade around the village, probably an homage to Caesar’s victory at the Battle of Alesia in 52 B.C.
In a rare moment of negotiation, Asterix makes a bet with Overanxius. If he and Obelix can bring certain dishes from various parts of Gaul back to the village, then the Romans will lift the siege and go back to the status quo. The rest of the comic is a mad dash across Gaul collecting various delicacies and foods while avoiding Roman patrols and becoming folk heroes to their fellow countrymen.
Out of all the Asterix books so far, this one is probably the most French, since it’s filled with all sorts of parodies and inside jokes that are probably really funny if you live there. All of the cities the pair visit may have Roman names, but they are distinctly related to their modern day counterparts and all the foods that they collect have ties to their specific region and city. On top of that, there are elements of modern satire and callbacks to the French resistance and collaborators during WW2 that are a bit droll, but still pretty funny. It’s worth mentioning that this was the 60’s, the Second World War was still very fresh in a lot of people’s minds.
Also, this is the story where we are introduced to Dogmatix, an adorable little puppy who becomes Obelix’s pet and one of the best companions in the entire book.
Asterix and Cleopatra
“Asterix and Cleopatra” takes us to the furthest reaches of the Roman world and the farthest our brave duo has ever gone: Egypt. The premise is simple: the Egyptian pharaoh Cleopatra has made a bet with Julius Caesar that the Egyptians can build a temple that surpasses the beauty of any Roman work of architecture in three months. Cleopatra commands an architect named Edifis to build the temple. If he succeeds he will be covered in gold, if he fails he gets thrown to the crocodiles. Fortunately, the legend of the Gaulish warriors with super strength has reached as far as Egypt, so Edifis travels to the village to recruit Asterix, Obelix, and Getafix to help him build his temple.
Continued belowWhile the usual jokes and slapstick gags apply to “Asterix and Cleopatra” like all the others, the comic’s take on ancient Egyptian culture deserves special mention. Once again, the language gags are in full effect with the Egyptians speaking in hieroglyphics. The difference is that these aren’t actual hieroglyphics, it’s just Egyptian style Pictionary. On top of that, you have all the usual jokes about pyramids, the Nile, and the sphinx. However, it’s curious that there’s no mention of the Rosetta Stone, which is interesting because the French were the ones who discovered it and famously deciphered it.
But the real star of the book is Cleopatra herself. While the actual Cleopatra is rightly regarded as a capable ruler and politician, she has also garnered a bit of a reputation over the years as a ruler with a decadent streak.
Also, there’s the fact that her family line was incredibly inbred and incestuous, but we’re not going to talk about that.
The comic plays the decadence angle to the hilt, always having Cleopatra escorted by a small army of attendants and musicians wherever she goes, and it even pays homage to the time she spent a small fortune on a single meal by dissolving a pearl in wine and drinking it. But the longest running joke in the entire comic concerns Cleopatra’s nose which–it is said–if it had been slightly smaller it would have changed the entire course of history.
For context, that little saying had been coined by the French Renaissance mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal in the 1600’s, back when having a large nose was a sign of authority and power. It’s been used as a way to talk about history, and how tiny little details can have a cumulative effect on the course of human events. According to Pascal, without her nose Cleopatra wouldn’t have been able to rule and seduce Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, which would have ensured that Rome wouldn’t have plunged into civil war and become an Empire.
It is…a very interesting way to view history, but for the purposes of this article it’s a very good joke.
Anyway, the day is saved, Cleopatra wins her bet, Edifis is covered in gold, and our Gaulish heroes go home in triumph.
Next week, Asterix and company deal with local politics in “Asterix and the Big Fight” and deal with their neighbors to the north in “Asterix in Britain”.
