Was Julius Caesar A Tyrant?

“Et tu, Brute?”, the final words spoken by the infamous tyrant of Rome, Julius Caesar.

Julius Caesar was the dictator of Rome for ‘x time.’ In his short reign, Caesar went from beloved leader to betrayed tyrant. A tyrant is “an absolute ruler unrestrained by law or constitution” (Merriam webster School Dictionary). Julius Caesar epitomizes the characteristics of a tyrant because he was deceitful, ambitious, and oppressive. 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.

Ambition is “a strong desire to do or to achieve something, typically requiring determination and hard work” (New Oxford American Dictionary). In today’s world ambition is an excellent trait, but during Caesar’s time ambition could be dangerous to that person and the people. Caesar set outlandish goals and had a strong desire to rule. This endangered the people of Rome with a great amount of wars and his willingness to do whatever it may take to rule over Rome. Several people such as Cassius and Brutus realized the danger of his ambition so “[They] slew him” (The Tragedy of Julius