There are a few random facts that most people know about Julius Caesar, including his romance with Cleopatra, his famed rule over the Roman Empire, and some even know that he is the reason we have the month of July. While all of these are facts, there are many things that people do not know for certain, and can only speculate about, especially in regards to the reasons and specifics of his assassination. There are some details that have been confirmed through the assimilation of information, but other portions of his murder are surrounded by theory. The textbook reading, in comparison with three other sources given, offer very different pictures, surrounding the events leading up to, during, and following the death of Julius Caesar. Because each reading offers a slightly different point of view and information, it is important to compare each of them against the textbook reading, before looking at the collective picture.
The Textbook Version
The textbook describes Julius Caesar as a positive figure in history, according to the description of him and his life in the textbook. They pay particular attention to describe him as an intelligent general, who came from a noble background and was basically a natural-born leader (Hunt et al. 2012, 155). They go on to describe his feud with Pompey, which led to a romance with the famous Cleopatra, and ultimately resulting in his rule (Hunt et al. 2012, 155). Although the Senate supported Pompey, they recognized Caesar and began to appoint him a variety of titles before ultimately declaring him the dictator (Hunt et al. 2012, 155). The book continues to explain some of the great things that Julius did during his rule, and how he was greatly loved by his people (Hunt et al. 2012, 155). It wr...
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...their hatred for him, and unwavering desire to return to a state of republic rule. Unfortunately, it also showed the complete lack of companionship that Julius Caesar had, as many of these killers and sympathizers were close friends and advisors of the ruler. In contrast, the textbook maintained that he was a strategic minded, intelligent, and renowned leader of the Roman Empire, helping the advancement of many aspects of their society. He was simply a man who was murdered by a group of conspirators, who ultimately plunged the region back into Civil War.
In the end, it begs the question, which depiction of Julius Caesar is the correct one, was he a power-hungry warmonger that needed to be stopped, or a man that brought about greatness, and was murdered for it? It has been said many times that there are three sides to every story, his side, her side, and the truth.
Shortly before his death Caesar was given several warnings throughout ActsⅡand Ⅲ , however he still went to meet with the Senate due to the fact he thought he was needed. He had an alliance with his adopted sons and valued soldiers Octavius and Antony. The play is about the events that follow his death making him an important secondary character that also portrays a protagonist. Caesar faced many conflicts throughout his lifetime, some internal and some external. He fought a war against Pompey ,which lead to conspirators plotting his death, and he was troubled by the fact that his wife could not provide him with a child. He showcased this by publicly asking Antony to touch her as he passed her, hoping that this would bring healing to her barren womb. He also went through several character changes. When he returned from war, he returned believing that the people would be ecstatic to have him as an emperor. Nonetheless when the people of Rome did not respond the way he expected he knew he had to play on their emotions. He did this by refusing the crown three times and by offering to kill himself to prove his honesty and trustworthiness. This gave him the desired effect, so he returned to knowing that the crowd wanted him as a king. The driving force of the play was the unfortunate murder of Caesar or what happened afterwards. Throughout this play many of the characters go through many unique changes, although Julius Caesar experienced some very significant character changes. The theatrical work exhibits Julius Caesar’s actions, alliances, character developments, and internal and external conflicts which in turn showcase his various changes. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare is a brilliant piece of work that thoroughly covers the story of Julius Caesar, a protagonistic secondary character. Julius Caesar was the unofficial emperor of Rome. He was a war General and he fought
Caesar, a strong and powerful man that doesn’t appear to have any fears. With only revealing slight fears to very trustworthy followers Caesar seemed to be invincible. “But I fear him not. Yet if my name were liable to fear, I do not know the man I should avoid so soon as that spare Cassius.” (I, II, 208-211). The Conspirators saw this as a threat and from that moment planned vengeance on Caesar. While intimidating and harsh the people of Rome adored him. The lines of Flavius when Caesar returns to Rome “Hence! Home, you idle creatures, get you home! Is this a holiday? What, know you not, being mechanical, you ought not to walk upon a laboring day without the sign of your profession?” (I, I, 1-5). They treated his return like a holiday, a festival. Even with this in mind, the Conspirators worries worsened that Caesar would become an overpowering dictator that put Rome at risk. In this situation most citizens would say spare Caesar, but the Conspirators were set on killing him. In the end the Conspirators did what they thought was right and killed Caesar in the senate, but were they right?
... he was killed, all hope for the Roman Republic to be cured and survive was lost. By killing him, the senators ensured that the Roman Republic would either fall or continue to be corrupted. Had Julius Caesar not been killed, the Roman Republic could have been revived and cured of corruption and the Roman Empire might never have existed.
Julius Caesar however, did enjoy his standing power which could be construed as an unfavorable account to his political image, which was quoted as such in the article “This act, along with his continual effort to adorn himself with the trappings of power, turned many in the Senate against him.”(The Assassination of Julius Caesar, 44 BC) This power which Caesar possessed could have given him an inherent selfish attitude and support the outcome that Caesar was egocentric. In an article written called “Plutarch: The Assassination of Julius Caesar, From Marcus Brutus (excerpts) Translated by John Dryden, the account of the assassination was similar. This article shows that Julius Caesar very much in power and needing to be stopped for the betterment of the Republic of Rome due to his arrogant leadership was essential. His political agenda was longing in power and control, however Caesar still had followers who conceded in his proposal or else too scared to take opposition. An article written and titled “Julius Caesar: Historical Background” shows facts very similar to
For thousands of years people have been talking about the great powerful Caesar. He is one of the greatest known dictators known to people today mostly because of all of the things he was able to accomplish during his rein as emperor. After reading primary sources about Caesar, it has given me a better understanding of what other people thought of him during this time period. It’s safe to say that Caesar was obsessed with power and respect from other people that would explain his thirst for war and land, which is one of his greatest strengths and helped in making Rome a great empire.
Julius Caesar assassination was so astound that the people of Rome wanted vengeance over his killers. By the time of the Caesar, Rome had long-established the Republic government headed by two consuls with mutual powers A special temporary office, called the dictatorship, was established for use only during times of war. Minutes before Julius’s assassination, Brutus one of his closet peers surprised Julius with a fatal blow in the neck followed by countless jabs by loyal Senate of Rome. However, Julius Caesar was more than a piece to an assassination plot, he was a dictator, politician and a military commander. As a dictator he established the whole empire under his absolute rule.as politician he was elected consul, he passed laws that favored
Julius Caesar (100-44 BC) was one of the most outstanding leaders in history. He was the first ruler of the Romano-Hellenic civilization and achieved his goals with great success throughout his life of 56 years. He was assassinated by the conspirators, who accused him for practicing tyranny. This essay will discuss whether it was right for the conspirators to murder Caesar and what its consequences were.
Finally his sudden death was the result of various personal factors that insulted the senators and created hate between Caesar and them, believing his death was expected. His death then led to a domino effect, which ends in the eventual collapse of the Roman Empire. Caesar was assassinated by his own Senate. Julius Caesar had many men conspiring against him with a plot to assassinate him. Among the 60 men plotting to murder him, many were senators, which included Marcus Junius Brutus, Decimus Brutus Albinus and Gaius Cassius Longinus. Brutus believed the death of Caesar would bring the return of the old Roman spirit unfortunately, the city was in shock, and people became increasingly more aggressive, because Caesar was popular with the people of Rome. Unfortunately, peace was impossible and the conspirators fled to
Julius Caesar is the leader of Rome and is seeking to become king in a matter of time. Though he is a good military strategist, he lacks knowledge in running government and is too greedy to have any concern for the peasants when he is alive. Caesar is all about conquering and power and he is afraid of nothing. Before he is murdered, he says “The things that threatened me ne’er looked but on my back. When they shall see the face of Caesar, they are vanished” (II, ii, 575). Th...
In the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, I saw two main characters as tragic heroes. First, I saw Julius Caesar as a tragic hero because his will to gain power was so strong that he ended up losing his life for it. The fact that he could have been such a strong leader was destroyed when he was killed by conspirators. I saw Marcus Brutus as a second tragic hero in this play. Brutus was such a noble character that did not deserve to die. The main reason why he did die, however, was because he had led a conspiracy against Caesar and eventually killed him. These two characters were the tragic heroes of the play in my opinion.
Julius Caesar was a strong leader of the Romans who changed the course of the history for the Roman world decisively and irreversibly. With his courage and strength, he created a strong empire and guided the empire for almost 20 years. His life was short, but had many adventures. I will tell of some of this man’s remarkable life. He did many things, therefore, I will only discuss a few. His name, part of his reign, one of his greatest battles, and his death will be told.
Caesar was sole consul and at times acted like a king. The senate did not like this because the Romans held the tradition of a hatred of kings. It was then that the senate believed that Julius Caesar was a threat to the Republic. The senate and everyone liked Caesar, but they had decided that the best way to save the Republic was to assassinate Caesar. This was yet another piece of the game that was pulled out of the structure of the Roman Republic. Yes, the Romans were able to destroy the person that they thought was the threat to the Republic, but it was the position not the person that was the threat. With Julius Caesar gone, the void was still there for someone to fill.
THESIS STATEMENT: The assassination of Julius Caesar was due to his increased power and the Senate's fear of losing their political relevance. PURPOSE STATEMENT: Through critical analysis and research, it has been shown that Caesar's gain in power worried the Senate. INTRODUCTION: On July 13, 100 B.C., Gaius Julius Caesar was born into a family that was proud of being patrician.
Throughout many of Shakespeare's plays, a tragic hero is identified; a heroic figure that possesses a character flaw that leads to his defeat. In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, there has been controversies over who is actually the tragic hero. Many people agree that Marcus Brutus is the tragic hero. However, others argue and identify Julius Caesar as the tragic hero. After examining these two characters, a conclusion is easily drawn. Brutus is the tragic hero of this play because when a person who possesses such heroic qualities dies, it is a true tragedy.
In the play Julius Caesar, written and preformed by William Shakespeare, there are many characters, but two, Brutus and Cassius, stood out. The play begins in Rome where a celebration of Julius Caesar's victory over the former ruler of Rome, Pompeii. The victory leads to Caesar's betrayal by his jealous companions. Senators and other high status figures are jealous of Caesar's new and growing power, while others, like Brutus, fear the tyrannical rule Caesar could enforce. The conspirators, Brutus and Cassius being the most important, assassinate Julius Caesar and Marcus Antonius, better known as Antony, and Octavius Caesar, Caesar's heir to the thrown, revenge Caesar's death. Antony convinces the Roman populous to destroy the conspirators and eventually begins a war with Cassius and Brutus' armies. Both Cassius and Brutus commit suicide to save their honor and Antony and Octavius win the war. The characterizations of Brutus and Cassius show a distinct contrast in their character traits and motives for the assassination of Julius Caesar.