Caius

Caius is a vampire, one of the three ancient leaders of the Volturi, who are based in Volterra, Italy, and who, according to Edward, lead a very civilized lifestyle. Caius has a wife named Athenodora, who lives a very retired life in Volterra.

Early life
Caius was born around 1300 BC, and at some point became a vampire. He was born at least a century before Aro and was transformed into a vampire in his 40s. He later joined Volturi, along with the two other leaders, Aro and Marcus. He met Athenodora and they began travelling together as a bonded pair, with her later becoming Caius's wife. He and Athenodora joined Aro, and were quickly joined by Aro's sister Didyme, and later Aro's romantic interest, Sulpicia. Aro and Caius were in agreement after Didyme's death devastated Marcus: the wives must be protected at all cost. Some 2000 years before Breaking Dawn, he was nearly killed in a fight with a werewolf, which prompted him to hunt them to near extinction. He also took part in the extermination of the immortal children. He kept himself occupied with other crusades such as the werewolves, immortal children and the clean-up of the southern wars, making sure the newborn armies and their creators were destroyed.

Twilight
While not making an appearance, Caius is mentioned by Edward when he shows Bella a portrait of Carlisle with the Volturi leaders.

New Moon
In New Moon, Caius makes his first appearance. He is insistent that Bella not to be allowed to leave Volterra alive. When it is determined that the Cullens will change her, Aro assures him that they would try again to persuade them to join. Even though she is allowed to leave, he is of the opinion she had to be killed, but does nothing to persuade Aro's mind.

Eclipse
Caius makes no appearance in Eclipse, but he is mentioned when Jane expresses his interest of Bella still being human.

Breaking Dawn
In Breaking Dawn, Caius joins the rest of Volturi on the trip to Forks caused by the "supposed immortal child" crisis. When they arrive, however, they find not just the Cullens defending the child, but many other vampires and a large number of werewolves. Aro, after learning that Renesmee is actually half-human, tries to solve the confrontation peacefully, i.e. kill the child and obtain the gifted vampires that he covets. Caius, however, is in favor of a bloodbath. To accomplish this, he stresses the facts that the Cullens' alliance with werewolves (something the Volturi did not tolerate), and later execution of Irina's false report. During the charade of a counsel, he votes that Renesmee and everyone who defends her must be destroyed. All his efforts failed, and Aro orders the Volturi to leave peacefully once he was forced to do so to protect his coven.

Physical appearance
Caius is described as having "skin so white that it's almost translucent", comparable to an onion's skin. His eyes are a dark red, though cloudy or milky like Aro's and Marcus's. His snow white hair is shoulder-length, and very close in colour to his skin tone. Caius also thinks that animal blood is repulsive and a vegetarian lifestyle is "warped". This thinking may also be supported by his deep hatred of werewolves.

Personality
Of the three Volturi leaders, Caius can easily be considered the cruelest one, and is seen as never extending mercy to anyone. Whenever the opportunity presents itself, he advocates for more draconian methods of handling situations, and is usually in favor of executions. This depends on the fact that he is actually a very intimated individual, and enjoys abusing his power over the vampire world to feel powerful.

He has shown on occasion some willingness to argue against Aro whenever he disagrees with his decisions, however he is ultimately subservient to his superior's wishes.

In Breaking Dawn, Caius was out-voted in the decision on the Renesmee crisis. However, Caius found a way to shed blood in Irina. He pressed charges against her for false accusations and had her immediately "disposed of". He likes the sight of bloodshed, war and is very stubborn when it comes to fighting or killing.

Athenodora
Athenodora is Caius's wife. Not much is known about their relationship, but the Romanians' recognition of the wives suggests they might have been together before the Volturi came to power. It is also known she never leaves Volterra without him, which might indicate a dependency on him, similar to Kebi's towards Amun in the Egyptian Coven. When she appears in Breaking Dawn, it seems he went to great lengths to make sure she is protected in case of battle, proving even though he thinks little of life, he does value her life.



Aro
Aro is the unofficial leader of the Volturi. Caius has a type of business-like relationship with Aro. He works with Aro and Marcus to keep order, but is mainly just minding his own business while Aro and Marcus do most of the work. He also feeds with them.

There are many times that he finds Aro's decisions absurd, but does nothing to disobey him. It can be assumed that his obedience is affected by Chelsea's power to manipulate relationships.



Marcus
Marcus is a co-leader of the Volturi, sitting alongside Caius and Aro. Caius has a type of business-like relationship with Marcus, just like he does with Aro. They work together to keep order to the vampire world, but is mainly minding his own business while Aro and Marcus do most of the work. He also feeds with them.

Caius is also noted to treat Marcus like a non-existent person.

Etymology
The name "Caius" seems to be Latin for the word "rejoice" ("Caius" is pronounced kah-EE-us). The name also seems to be Roman. The name could also be spelled as "Gaius". Gaius or Caius was a common Roman praenomen (given name) of uncertain derivation. It has been suggested it might relate to the Latin 'gaudere', "to rejoice". It might also be linked to an Etruscan phrase, or to the Greek 'Gaia'. It was used among the Romans as a first name, with examples such as Gaius Julius Caesar and Gaius Caligula. Caius is mentioned in the Bible and is the name of numerous saints as well. Caius is now considered a variant of Gaius, but was probably the original spelling. At the time the letter C, which occupies in the Roman alphabet the place of the Greek Gamma, was in some cases pronounced [G]. Caius (pronounced "Keys") is also the common short name for Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, England.

Appearances

 * Twilight (Mentioned only)
 * New Moon (First appearance)
 * New Moon (film)
 * Eclipse (Mentioned only)
 * Breaking Dawn
 * Breaking Dawn Part 2

Film portrayal
Jamie Campbell-Bower was cast in the role of Caius for the New Moon film. He will reprise his role as Caius in Breaking Dawn.