I love Julius Caesar, but I believe his grandnephew (and adopted son) Augustus was the greatest man that ever lived, after Jesus.
Augustus kept many Republican institutions intact, even though he ruled as an Emperor. He essentially did not lord it over the people, but kept them engaged in civic life and didn't flaunt his power, but ruled modestly and by consensus.
The emperors Constantine and Justinian are also close contenders for "greatest man ever" and in fact, these two are saints in my church (the Orthodox Church). St. Constantine made Christianity legal in the Roman Empire, and St. Justinian, well, despite being surrounded by wealth and power, essentially lived a monastic life in the palace and ruled as the enlightened despot par excellence.
But it's hard to do better than Augustus, who was victorious in everything he did except the battle for Germania in 14 AD.
I love Julius Caesar, but I believe his grandnephew (and adopted son) Augustus was the greatest man that ever lived, after Jesus.
Augustus kept many Republican institutions intact, even though he ruled as an Emperor. He essentially did not lord it over the people, but kept them engaged in civic life and didn't flaunt his power, but ruled modestly and by consensus.
The emperors Constantine and Justinian are also close contenders for "greatest man ever" and in fact, these two are saints in my church (the Orthodox Church). St. Constantine made Christianity legal in the Roman Empire, and St. Justinian, well, despite being surrounded by wealth and power, essentially lived a monastic life in the palace and ruled as the enlightened despot par excellence.
But it's hard to do better than Augustus, who was victorious in everything he did except the battle for Germania in 14 AD.