Having found the time, between his Egyptian escapade with Cleopatra and his victory in Africa, to thrash King Pharnaces, Caesar had boasted of the speed of his victory in a celebrated phrase: “I came, I saw, I conquered.”18 Now, written on a billboard and borne in procession through Rome, the same phrase served to cut Pompey down to size too—for it was Pompey who had made such a big deal out of conquering Pharnaces’ father, Mithridates.
