Tarquin the Proud
The story of the proud Roman king Tarquin serves as a warning of what dangers and vices are associated with royalty and pride. Even Tarquin's first act after Servius' death is despicable and dishonorable. Tarquin's pride has no bounds and so he is known forever in history as Tarquin the Proud. Livy's stories shape a Roman society that would prefer a republic instead of a regency or dictatorship.
After Tarquin is instated as king he immediately gets a bodyguard and is justified in doing this. Tarquin is neither supported by the people or the Senate. His lack of support among the Romans forces him to make the people fear him and his power. He killed and exiled many of his opponents and took property. He failed to consult the Senate on many different matters and made himself the supreme ruler in Rome.
Tarquin would also marry his daughter into the Latin nobility. This gave him more power and allowed him more room to extend his power influence. After Tarquin failed to show up at a meeting he called among the Latin nobility he was insulted by Turnus. This prompted Tarquin to extend his sphere of fear over the Latins and so he sets up Turnus and accuses him of planning on overthrowing Tarquin. Tarnus is found with weaponry and is executed. Tarquin uses this to bind the Latins tighter to Rome.
Tarquin does also contribute to the Roman identity by being one of the first tyrant war generals who are incredibly cruel in domestic polices yet incredibly excellent at warfare. Tarquin lead the Romans in battle and expands the Roman empire. Tarquin also broke tradition and used treachery and deceit to capture and conquer Gabii. Tarquin's actions revile the Romans and will hardly be used in Roman strategy in the future.
Tarquin's actions and extravagant demeanor are characteristics of insane leaders, many of which would be Roman kings or emperors. The Roman people feared rulers like Tarquin and would later overthrow the kings and never allow a king to exist.
He strived to create a military image for himself and this was achieved through his conquest of Britain. He personally led his Roman armies to land in Britain, despite his physical disabilities. This act gained him popularity and support from the military. He reorganised the names of the auxiliary troops, and he also changed their terms of service, and made it so that any auxiliary soldier was entitled to Roman citizenship. Claudius gained support from the military and strived to also gain the support of the Julian’s. He did this by publicly announcing Augustus as his role model and also by executing Caligula’s assassin. This did gain him the support of the Julian’s but it also made the Praetorian Guard angry. The Praetorian Guard were the Roman troops whose job it is to protect the Roman emperors. They were upset that Claudius executed Caligula’s assassin without consulting them first. However, Claudius was able to buy back their loyalty and support by providing the Guard with a generous bonus of 15 000 - 20 000 sesterces. By doing this he established a precedent. However, although Claudius had the support of many, but he struggled to gain the support of the Senate. The Senate were a danger to Claudius and he refused to enter the house of the Senate during the first thirty days of his reign. By removing and abolishing treason trials, and Caligula’s tax reforms, he sought to gain their support.
...for success, he robs his audience of the right to make certain determinations about characters such as Tarquin Superbus and Romulus because of his bias toward the motivation behind their actions. Livy’s The Rise of Rome was a grand effort and an amazing undertaking. Cataloguing the years of Roman history consolidated rumor and legend into fact, creating a model for Rome to follow. Livy’s only error in this vast undertaking was in imprinting his own conception of morality and justice onto his work, an error that pulls the reader away from active thought and engaging debate. In doing so, Livy may have helped solidify a better Rome, but it would have been a Rome with less of a conception of why certain things are just, and more of a flat, basely concluded concept of justice.
Aurelius was one of rome's best leaders keeping it safe and leading it in the right direction.
...r political status and power, to finally breakdown the Roman Republic. By Marius using war and corruption to his advantage to gain and hold on to his consulship for many years, he gave the impression that the senate was losing their power and hold over the people. By abolishing the Servian laws and allowing the landless and the poor to serve in the army, he threw out the Roman tradition that money and wealth showed loyalty and commitment to Rome. Also, he provided the generals, and himself, the pressure to continue to win the wars in order to gain loot, and land to give to their armies to keep them happy. However, mostly Marius military reform was the most influential ways that Marius had on the future Romans, that gave them the power to achieve their political success over the senate and eventually bring forth the breakdown of the Republic.
Julius Caesar was perhaps the most influential man in Roman history. A decorated war hero, he was elected consul and eventually offered the title of monarch, which he refused. Fearful of his growing power and influence, a group of senators, including Marcus Brutus, one of Caesar’s confidants, conspired ...
More powerful than Brutus, Caesar is a tyrant that talks in third person, which shows his arrogant and egocentric personality. To be a tragic hero, a character must show traits of being...
Maximus was a great warrior in the Roman legion under Emperor Marcus Aurelius. His first courageous feat occurs when he defeats the last of the Barbarians of Germaina. Leading his army along a 12 year campaign he brought it to an end. Next he risks his life as he defies the new Emperor Commodus, knowing that this could mean death. Commodus was the only son of Marcus Aurelius. However Commodus killed his father and took the place of Caesar.
Rome has experienced both its good and bad leaders throughout its stint as a monarchy. Cincinnatus and Superbus both emerged as standout examples for both ends of the spectrum. Their actions and decisions exemplified what it takes to be either a good or bad ruler. Their legacies and remembrance have survived the ages for a reason. Both rulers committed acts that affected Rome greatly whether it was in a positive or negative way. Cincinnatus cared for Rome and his actions showed that through his valiance and loyalty. Superbus will forever be deemed as a bad leader because of his greed and disregard for the Roman law. Rome experimented with people and experienced the best and worst of times, icons emerged.
For instance, Julius Caesar was a great general, but he only cared about ruling Rome. Cassius was a smart and wise man, but he wanted Caesar’s death out of envy and jealousy. Many of the senators, who were involved in Caesars assassination, hated watching him take over Rome, and many Romans thought of him as their rival. Except for one noble senator named Brutus, who was different from the other senators and fought only for Rome and not himself. Shakespeare, in his play Julius Caesar, shows readers what it means to be noble using government, politics and Brutuss experience and constant effort to bring democracy to Rome.
Through his legacy Brutus leaves the world an important lesson. Marc Antony remembers Brutus as "the noblest Roman of them all."( ) Despite his death and loss in the war, Brutus is still remembered as noble, in this he represents the moral of the play.
In Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar", Caesar is displayed as a powerful and dynamic figure in Rome because of his many accomplishments in previous wars as well as battles. When Caesar returns to Rome from a recent victorious defeat in battle, he receives a warm welcome by all the citizens of Rome. They consider and see Caesar as a hero and a strong individual, which is why they attempt to crown him King three times. A group of generals in Caesar's army are jealous and concerned with the amount of power Caesar has; they make arrangements to kill him. "Power is said to be a man's greatest desire he'll do whatever it takes to achieve his goal, even to kill." In comparison to Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" and the film Julius Caesar, we see many similarities. Furthermore, I will discuss these similarities in great depth.
...lifetime he held important title in the Roman Republic, and also contributed to the fall of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire. He ended the Republic System in Rome. He was a amibious person who restored the Republic through his dictatorial leadership. Julius Caesar was an influential leader among the Roman citizens, he provided hope and a strong foundation, that lasted for ages. He was one of the most rich orators and latin prose authors, he was killed before finishing his life’s work. Because of his achievement, he is one of the few individuals who changed the course of history. He definitely changed the asspescts of the Roman Empire. He will always be remembered. Julius Caesar was known for brilliant war tactics and politics. He was remembered as being bold and brave, he was policitcal mastermind. He helped to expand the Roman empire and lands.
	Shakespeare illustrated Caesar as a tragic hero by showing that he was a noble man of high rank. Every Roman followed his leadership and Caesar also defeated the great Pompey. First of all, At the Feast of Lupercal Caesar manipulated the commoners and made himself look noble to the commoners. Casca said, "Why there was a crown offered to him;...people fell a-shouting" (I,ii,221-223). Next, To show how noble and great Caesar was, the Romans would stand along the street sides to watch him pass by. "Madam not yet, I go to take my stand; /To see him pass on to the Capitol," said the soothsayer (II,iv,25-26). Finally, Caesar had the greatest rank possible as he would have been crowned king if it wasn’t for the conspiracy’s plot. As Casca said, "Indeed they say senators tomorrow; /Mean to establish Caesar as king..." (I,iii,87-88).
In the famed author William Shakespeare’s playwright Julius Caesar, we are introduced to an extraordinary plot of a powerful ruler, Julius Caesar, who gained power through astonishing victories and remarkable strategies but fell victim to betrayal. The betrayal that led to his demise was led by some of the very people that surrounded him the most, even some people that he considered as friends. The theme of betrayal and the notion of friendship and its validity are both topics that are worth examining but perhaps the most prevalent topic that drives this plot is the image of Caesar. Caesar ascended into power after a long period in Rome where the rise of tyranny had been fought systematically and physically. He had to not only be a powerful leader but also a wise politician when it came to his decisions. His image tarnishes more and more as his power increases and he too chases after it. He becomes so ambitious over power that he begins to feel immortal and free from danger. His conspirators do not just want him out of power for the simple sake of it but because some of them, either persuaded or not, earnestly believed that Julius Caesar’s death would save Rome not hurt it. What makes this playwright’s so extraordinary is not the dynamic drama alone, but also the depiction of Julius Caesar and how even in the monstrosity of his murder, his image was still arguable causing division amongst men. Although William Shakespeare has, for a very long time now, been known for his great writings it is clear that he himself depicted a ruler that would win favor in the eyes of the great Italian political philosopher and writer Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli but not the profound Italian writer Baldassare Castiglione. Both writers wrote ab...
Although Macbeth becomes king of Scotland after killing King Duncan, he cannot have peace. Duncans sons escape to England and try to avenge their father. Also, the witches predict that his friend Banquos descendants will be kings of Scotland. Macbeth orders his men to kill Banquo and his son.