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Julius Caesar effects on society
Julius caesar biography
Julius Caesar effects on society
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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.
First of all, Caesar always felt entitled to himself and always had the audacity to see everyone as beneath him. A great example of Caesar’s bravery and fearlessness is when he was eighteen and was escape the punishment from the dictator Sulla, so in the process he was captured by pirates, who decided to be help for ransom. “When they demanded twenty talents for his ransom, he laughed at them for not knowing who he was, and spontaneously promised to give them fifty talents instead, Next after he had dispatched friends to various cites to gather the money…he felt so superior to them that whenever he wanted to sleep, he would order them to be quiet” . Even being surrounded by murderous pirates clearly out numbered, he refused to let them think that they were in charge while he was in their captivity for thirty-eight days.
Afterwards, Caesar’s friends came around to pay the ransom and the pirates, they released him to go and spend their money as they wish. But that didn’t mean it was over for Caesar; after the pirates ran away they were captured and put in prison for their crime at the hand of Caesar. “Caesar [then] took the pirates out of prison and...
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...e him a better dictator. One of his greatest traits was that he was able to rule with an iron fist, but in my opinion I don’t think he abused his power since all he was trying to do was make Rome a huge and dominant empire. Obviously people who didn’t know him too well didn’t understand him, which made him appear as a scary and ruthless ruler, but even Cicero was able to change his mind about Caesar before the Gallic war was over. In the end, Caesar was one of the best dictators our world has ever seen.
Works Cited
Cicero, Letters to Atticus, 7.11, 8.13. Translation by Thomas R. Martin.
Plutarch, Life of Julius Caesar, 1-2 (excerpted). Translation by Thomas R. Martin.
Catullus, Poem 57. Translation by Thomas R. Martin.
Julius Caesar, The Gallic War, trans. Carolyn Hammond (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996), 181, 183-4, 188-89, 191-94, 241-42.
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?
Julius Caesar elected himself as the dictator of Rome. He became a favorite to many of the people of the lower classes. Unlike many leaders, Caesar valued the poor. Most people agreed with his decisions, but some of the higher classes’ did not. On March 15 44 BCE, now called the Ides of March, a few of Caesars’ closest peers decided to murder Caesar. Marcus Brutus killed Julius Caesar, on March 15.
Phillip Freeman’s Julius Caesar is a profound biography on the life, achievements, and personality of Caesar. The author’s style and major themes can be displayed in quotations from significant passages. For example, when Sulla, a dictator, ordered Caesar to divorce his wife after Sulla had removed Caesar from position of flamen dialis, Caesar refused. Freeman describes his defiance, “Whether out of stubbornness, audacity, or simply love, Caesar was a defying man who had ordered the murder of thousands. In doing so, he lost everything he owned, and was now marked for death on the proscription lists,” (32). In another pressing manner, Caesar’s personality is also displayed when he was captured by pirates. Freeman writes, “Caesar treated the pirates with a good-natured contempt that shocked and amused his captors. They were accustomed to terrified prisoners who begged for mercy, but Caesar acted more as if the pirates were a minor distraction to his busy schedule,” (39). Not to mention, Caesar’s compassion for loved ones is also depicted within this biography. When his beloved aunt died, instead of the quiet funeral orientation typical for a woman, he chose to give a bold, family pride filled speech to a huge crowd for his dearly departed aunt. Caesar himself exclaims, “The family of my aunt Julia is descended from kings on her mother’s side, and through her father, from the gods themselves. For the Marcii Reges, her mother’s family, are heirs of Ancus Marcius, fourth king of Rome, while the Julians, of which our clan is a member, descend from the goddess Venus herself. My family therefore holds the sanctity of the kings who rule among men and of gods who rule over kings,” (52). In a similar case, the death of his young wife Cornelia, his wife Sulla had told him to divorce and risked his life for her because he loved her so much, Caesar honored
(II.ii.10-11). Caesar basically says that because he is so great and powerful, he will never be defeated. He also talks in third person, which is quite arrogant of a leader to do. Whenever people feel too anxious for leadership they may let it all go to their head, another reason why he turned into a tyrant. People need to watch for tyrannical or corrupt politicians as they can get too power hungry and cannot be stopped.
Caesar created jobs for his people, and he fed the hungry and the poor. “The hungry hordes in the city were now given free bread. Caesar created jobs by building roads, temples, and aqueducts.” Caesar brought fresh water to the city through his aqueducts. “Fresh water flowed freely in fountains throughout the city. Sanitation, sewage, and food all were seemingly under the control of Caesar.” Caesar was a good leader, the assassins only killed him because they were selfish and wanted their power back, the only person who had more of a reason than that was Brutus. “Now, while the average Roman basked in Caesars rule, then Senate of Rome was furious.” Caesar was a dictator, but he was a good
Julius Caesar wanted the most for his people. Athough he had his weak points, like his self-proclaimed title of “dictator for life,” he helped the people. In his time as dictator, 49 B.C. to 44 B. C, he just about doubled the land of Rome. He also refused to be king even though he was asked three times. Julius Caesar knew that to keep control of Rome, he had to keep a higher pace than his opponents. “Caesar lived at a faster tempo than the people who had to contend with him, and this gave him an enormous advantage.”
Julius Caesar was a great leader for Rome. He was able to obtain large amounts of food. All the food combined was enough to hand out to all the hungry hordes of people in Rome who were not fed when the senators where in charge. “The hungry hordes in the city were now given free bread.” This shows that Caesar cares for all the people in Rome. Instead of keeping all the food for himself he handed it out to the people that needed it more. If Caesar was a
“For the average Roman, Caesar’s rule was a blessing” (article, “Killing Caesar” by Jon Herman). Gaius Julius Caesar was no tyrant; he was a hero. Heroes do good for the people and that’s exactly what Caesar did all throughout Rome by making sure the Romans had more than what they needed to survive.
Julius Caesar was once kidnapped by pirates! Yet, even though he survived this event, Caesar’s death was the result of a conspiracy by many Roman senators. Led by Gaius Cassius Longinus and Marcus Junius Brutus, they stabbed Julius Caesar to death in a location adjacent to the Theatre of Pompey on the Ides of March (March 15), 44 BC. Julius Caesar is ancient Rome’s most famous figure. He was a fantastic politician and general with a brilliant mind that even commenced the rise of the Roman Empire. Despite how intelligent Caesar was, his murder was justifiable because he was a tyrant, egocentric, and was unstable as a politician.
“I love the name of honor, more than I fear death.”~Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar’s predominant interest was not the security and posterity of his people; rather, it was rooted in personal power and the impressions others had of him. He was willing to compromise the well-being of his republic in order to obtain glory, wealth, and popularity. Caesar was a selfish ruler who treated people poorly, made bad political decisions, and only cared about the power he'd receive.
IP One could agree that Julius Caesar was a tyrannical dictator when examining these areas of his life:Caesar was involved in a civil war with pompey.During this time caesar was after pompey to have a serious discussion.After the civil war tragedy caesar went on to conquer Rome.When Caesar was getting comfortable as a ruler his fate was near.
One major reason Caesar was a tyrant is because he was tremendously deceitful. It started out when he was elected high priest “allegedly by heavy bribes” (McGill). This shows us that whe would do anything to gain power. Caesar was also in great debt from taking loans to fun and win-over the audience by using gladiator fights. These beloved fights made the people of Rome love caesar. Another prime example of he deceitfulness is when the “senate supported Pompey” and Caesar attacked Pompey and chased and killed him in Egypt (McGill). Caesar was willing to steal, kill, and bribe to rule. Caesar deceived many people including the Roman public, political figures, and would stop at nothing to gain power.
So in conclusion, Julius Caesar really isn't a bad person. He just got caught on the wrong side of the political train. Not everyone can also say that they fought for what was right for them and their country. Though half the population loved him, there will always be the ones who don’t abide by rules. This is what most likely led to his assassination, as not everyone agrees politically and some will go to the extremes to show their
Caesar’s power in Rome was growing, and people were afraid he was going to turn Rome into a monarchy. However, Caesar did not want to be known as a king, but he was appointed dictator for life.
Caesar was born into a traditional influential and respected family. It is this influence that he used to make his way to the top of the Roman leadership. His use in warfare and military conquests are legendary although he had at first concentrated in pursuing political actions. He won the first elections in his political career at the early forties. He was el...