Octavius Caesar was the founder of the Roman Empire and it’s first Emperor. Octavius started off with very little in his career, bar the name of his great-uncle and adoptive father Julius Caesar. At the age of nineteen, after his uncle was killed, he joined the second triumvirate and defeated the conspirators, Brutus and Cassius’, rebellion. Historians praise him as one of the greatest leaders the world has ever seen, and this fits perfectly with the Jacobean ideas of a strong leader. Shakespeare presents Caesar as a ruthless leader who is determined to achieve his goals even if it means getting rid of his fellow triumvirs Antony and Lepidus. “So the poor third is up, till death enlarge his confine.” Caesar’s victory over Mark Antony marked
Julius Caesar Themes play an integral role in the play Julius Caesar. The actions and the way that the characters express themselves define the themes of the play. The play is not comprised of one or two themes, but rather made up of an innumerable amount of them. A major theme in the play is fate. Fate is found from the smallest instance, such as a dream, to the prediction from a soothsayer.
Julius Caesar, an important figure in Roman history, lived during the end of the Roman Republic. His actions would shape the world around him forever. He was an important figure because he grew the Roman Empire, he brought about the end of the Roman Republic , and was able to grow his status within his lifetime and become dictator for life.
Gaius octavius or well known as Augustus caesar was born on september 23, 63 BCE in Rome, Italy. Caesar was the first ever roman emperor following the republic. This republic was destroyed by his great uncle or adoptive father Julius caesar. Julius caesar was a lawyer first then he became a ruler in rome. Octavian and his heritage comes from the greeks octavian
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.
Caesar was popular among the citizens because he had created a stable government and did a lot for the city of Rome. Roman senators were scared that Caesar was beginning to have too much power so they murdered him. Following his death, Caesar’s friends and family wanted revenge. His cousin, Marcus Antonius, friend, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, and nephew, Gaius Octavius Thurinus, also known as Octavian, joined forces to form the Second Triumvirate. Similar to the men in the First Triumvirate, these three men were also aggressive and seeking more power. Immediately after they rose to power, Lepidus was granted Hispania and Africa to rule over, which made him satisfied and out of the affairs in Rome. Octavian and Antonius agreed that Octavian would rule the west and Antonius the east but because of Antonius’ connection with Queen Cleopatra, Octavian was disappointed with the unbalance. This feud eventually led up to another civil war when Antonius, along with Cleopatra’s army, went into war with Octavian and his army. Octavian came out victorious and Antonius and Cleopatra both decided to commit suicide. With Octavian in power, he send Lepidus into exile and changed his name to
In the play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare shows how friends often betray each other. Julius Caesar is about to be crowned king of Rome, when some well-known Romans decide that it is not a good idea for this to happen. They form a conspiracy and kill Caesar. Brutus, an honorable Roman and a very good friend of Caesar’s, betrays Caesar by killing him for the good of Rome. Antony, Caesar’s best friend and another honorable Roman, betrays Brutus by turning against the conspirators. Cassius, a respected Roman, and Brutus betray each other by arguing and destroying their friendship. All this betraying lead to many deaths in the play.
Octavian enabled the long, nonviolent time of the Pax Romana, (Latin for Roman peace) by changing Rome from a frail, collapsing republican government to a powerful empire. He is known as the first, and one of the greatest, Roman Emperors ever. Octavian was born on September 23, 63 BC, and died in 14 AD. Born with the name Gaius Octavius Thurinus, he was adopted posthumously by his great-uncle Gaius Julius Caesar via his will, and then was named Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus. This happened in 44 BC when his great uncle, Julius Caesar, was assassinated by a group of conspirators. Additionally, he received the name “Augustus” a term meaning “the revered one” from the Roman Senate in 27 BC. Because of the various names he had, it is common to call him Octavius while referring to the events that between 63 and 44 BC, Octavian when referring to events between 44 and 27 BC, and Augustus when referring to events after 27 BC. Octavian is arguably the single most important figure in Roman history. Ever since he was a young boy, he was destined to become the next great leader. For example, Octavian along with his friend Marcus Agrippa went to visit the Sibyl of Cumae (oracle). When the Sibyl saw him, she bowed at his feet and said that he would be the next great leader. He did not believe her at the time, but just a few years later Julius Caesar would be dead and he would have power. Over the course of his long and spectacular career as “Principate,” he put an end to the collapse of the Republic, and established a system that would stand in the Roman government for three centuries.
Who would have been the best suited leader of Rome in sixth century B.C.? Many believe it could have been Marcus Antonius, Marcus Brutus, or the great Julius Caesar. Marcus Brutus is known to be the most honorable man in Rome at the time and was well respected. Caesar is the ruler and has a successful military. He also seeks wealth and power. Antony is Caesar’s right hand man and good friend. He later acquires the position that Caesar had and also seeks wealth and power. All three men are after the job, but Brutus is obviously the one who was most suited for it and also the only one who never got the chance.
If there were to be a villain in the Tragedy of Julius Caesar Cassius would be it. Cassius is the character who first thought up of the conspiracy against Julius Caesar. His motives weren’t as noble as Brutus’ but he made Brutus believe they were. Cassius did whatever it took to get Brutus to join in the conspiracy. We can clearly see Cassius’ true nature by what he does and says in the play.
Most notably, two of his generals, Antony and Lepidus, were members of the second triumvirate. Some of his assassins even rose to prominence serving under him, like Decimus Brutus . And of course, Octavian could begin his rise to power because Caesar adopted him posthumously in his will. Even though a dead man could not adopt someone, Gaius Octavius changed his name and became Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, and his position as Caesar 's son was incredibly important for him in the coming civil
Octavian was a tough man from the start. When he found out that Julius Caesar was murdered, he didn't hesitate to claim his position as Rome's ruler. He immediately left his place of study at Dalmatia, and hurried back to Rome. His family wasn’t too happy about him wanting to rule. They were afraid that he would meet an early demise just as his uncle had. (Sizgorich) Being 18, most would shy away from the experienced commander Mark Antony, but he met Antony head on. Octavian was fearless. The trouble began when Mark Antony was expecting to become the successor to Caesar, but instead Octavian was. This angered Mark and he didn't give up any of Caesar's inheritance, causing Caesar to have to pay for things out of pocket. (Grant) Changing his name to Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, Octavian was able to win the support of many of Julius Caesar’s veterans. (Sizgorich) Caesar also si...
Octavian, or Caesar Augustus, was an effective ruler, implementing reforms that positively affected virtually all areas of life throughout the Empire. Social, economic, and political tensions that had led to so much violence in earlier years were calmed by Augustus's policies. Corruption and abuses of the people were also given attention by the Emperor. The borders of the Roman Empire grew dramatically under Augustus's rule, adding material wealth and manpower to Rome's already significant resources.
When the name Julius Caesar is heard, it can only trigger the image of a great leader that led Rome into prosperity. Caesar's military excellence brought more power and more land; that lead to the increase of size and strength in Rome. His dictatorship helped the stability and prosperity in Rome. Caesar's assassination lead to a monarchy that was ruled by Octavin. His death lead to a domino effect ending in the ultimate collapse of the Roman Empire. Many people of the 21st century follow the path of Julius Caesar and try to be as great as he was. The assassination of Julius Caesar was a tragedy due to the contributions he made to Rome's prosperity during his life, and the chaos that occurred in Rome after his death. The contributions that Caesar made towards the strength of Rome's success, and the chaos and collapse of Rome after his death made the assassination of Julius Caesar a tragedy.
William Shakespeare's Presentation of Octavius Caesar in Antony and Cleopatra Shakespeare portrays Octavius Caesar as a very complex character in 'Antony and Cleopatra.' Shakespeare shows the audience how he has very strong feelings about War, leadership, the relationship between Antony and Cleopatra, and his sister Octavia. These attitudes can be seen as being too rational, too ambitious, and too efficient. However it is these characteristics which in some ways, form the particular contrast with Antony, which shows us his complex character, which also contributes to the conflicts which arise in the play. Shakespeare is very clever in the portrayal of Caesar; he uses Caesar as a foil for Antony, however he is a character in his own right.
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.