Imagine being your countries hero, imagine all the people loving you and adoring you, imagine being the best at everything – now imagine Julius Caesar. It seems as though the last one doesn’t fit, does it? However, wasn’t Caesar one of the most influential people during the time of the Roman Empire AND didn’t he influence our world today? As well as in reality, in the play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, this man has a very interesting role. Despite the fact that he is immensely influential during his life, after his assassination it seems as though Caesar is still influential – or, more specifically, his spirit is.
There are three general aspects which the spirit of Caesar influenced (being still alive Caesar influenced some of
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We’ll revenge his death!” (225); some of the conspirators commit suicide: “Cassius: O, coward that I am, to live so long/To see my best friend ta’en before my face!” (238); and the main conspirator – Brutus – is visited by Caesars ghost (which could have been just a hallucination) (a.4, s.3).
The second aspect was the mind. The modern world today affects its people’s minds more than at any other time in history – though these effects are usually negative. Caesar had the same problem; his death arose many arguments and much distrust. Many people started questioning their friendships: “Brutus: The name of Cassius honors this corruption/And chastisement doth therefore hide his head” (229); and many people questioned the words of others: “Antony: He was my friend, faithful and just to me/But Brutus says he was ambitious/And Brutus is an honorable man” (223).
The third aspect which the spirit of Caesar influenced was the body. It is obvious that when Caesar was alive he affected the aspect of the body as well. However, despite the fact that he was a military and political leader, his power was clearly limited. Caesars people could consciously chose to follow him (or not to follow); but after Caesar died people were subconsciously, yet radically affected by the spirit of Caesar. Commoners started rebellions: “Plebeians: Never, never! Come, away, away!…with the brands fire the traitors’/houses…Go fetch fire…Pluck down
Julius Caesar is thought of as the most powerful and glorious ruler to step foot in Rome. The only thing
Based on ancient Greek belief, Caesar’s work as a man had already been done and he was awarded the title Divus after his death, symbolizing his apotheosis to divine status. Caesar was deified after his death, at a level that had been done before only in honor of Romulus, the founder of Rome. Caesar had transcended man and become a god that once walked among men. Caesar’s accomplishments were not beyond conceivable for a man, although rare. By awarding Caesar honors and awards while he was alive, the Senate was creating a dictator that was beyond their own control. The Senate had deified Caesar as more than a man so they could justify his assassination. However, by the time Caesar was assassinated he had already changed the course of history, leaving an heir and a trail of followers that saw it was more than possible for one man to control Rome. Caesar’s apotheosis was a turning point for the Roman republic that impacted and attributed to its decline in 27 B.C.E.
Julius Caesar’s mindset influenced the history of his people. He was born July 12, 100 b.c in Rome as Gaius Julius Caesar, known today as Julius Caesar. He was a Praetor, Aedile, Consul, Pontifex Maximus, and dictator for life, and his greatest achievement is changing the Roman republic to the Roman empire. His life ended tragically when he was stabbed twenty three times by his political enemies. Creating the Roman empire changed the history of his people.
The citizens of Rome begin to see Brutus’s way of thinking and they understand that he really did think of the good of the people while making his decision. They also understand that Brutus was not thinking selfishly like they had assumed, but logically. This helps them to trust him more because he thought about the situation in an unbiased way. The plebeians respond to Brutus’s explanation by saying, “Live, Brutus, live, live! / Bring him with triumph home unto his house… This Caesar was tyrant. / Nay, that’s certain. / We are blessed that Rome is rid of him” (III.ii.49-50 and 75-77). The Plebeians learn that Brutus had honest intentions and they respect and praise him for it. The knowledge that Brutus was selfless enough to kill his friend in order to save them from tyranny, earns their respect. A final situation where this theme is developed is during the events surrounding the death of Brutus.
One must engage in very close reading of the text to determine the cause and the signs of change. Issues for discussion include whether Antony is carried away by personal power, whether he is driven by desire for vengeance to assuage his personal grief, and whether these things constitute a desire to act for his friend or for himself. Antony's final speech is essentially a repeat of Brutus' rhetoric following Caesar's murder, and Antony's transformation is complete.
In war he found glory. In politics, he formulated immense change. In death he found immortality. For the aforementioned reasons, the cognomen Caesar has served as the title for royals and has been romanticized in western culture. Thus, Caesar is to be revered.
In Shakespeare’s play, Caesar is a highly respected man that holds great power, and as he gains more power there are men who stand to oppose him. This is how Caesar shows so many good qualities of leadership, like keeping an open ear to the people, being observant and proud, as well as being honest. The attributes that Caesar shows has gained him the trust of all of the people, already proivng just how worthy he is to be called the greatest authority figure in Shakespeare’s drama The Tradgedy of Julius Caesar.
Antony and Cassius, unlike Brutus, never separate their private affairs from their public actions while Brutus tries to prove himself by acting only with respect to honor and virtue, completely ignoring his personal concerns. For example, Cassius disliked the fact that Caesar became “godlike” in the eyes of the Romans, so he leads Brutus to believe that Caesar had become too powerful and must die by sending him forged letters claiming that the Roman people support the death of Caesar, ultimately converting Brutus to his cause. At last Brutus ends up murdering his good friend in an act he truly believed was honorable. Marc Antony, who also shares in Cassius’ selfish trait, persuaded the conspirators that he is on their side, therefore gaining their leniency. He proceeds to persuade the plebeians of the conspirators’ injustice and gains support of the masses.
One of the biggest superstitious beliefs in Rome at that time was the power to see the future; which Caesar’s future was to die. Julius Caesar was
Caesar possessed too much power. They said he was becoming a threat to the Roman Republic,
In the determination of whether Julius Caesar was an intelligent, political hero or an egocentric, dictating villain, it is important to look at all of the facts. Born in 100 B.C.E. and assassinated in 44 B.C.E., Julius Caesar was legendary. He along Pompey, and Crassus created the first unofficial Triumvirate which was negotiated to appease both the Roman citizens and the power hungry rivals. Still, this agreement would not last long. After Pompey’s wife, Julia Caesar and daughter of Caesar’s daughter given to Pompey to establish the Trimvirate, dies in childbirth, civil war breaks out as Caesar leads his army against Rome. He fights until Pompey is murdered in Egypt. As Rome is “shattered,” Julius Caesar one person should rule. He
Brutus, Cassius, Caesar, and the other Senators held the power to do things others could not. With this authority came their ability to use poor judgement. In William Shakespeare’s tragic play Julius Caesar the theme Power Corrupts is arrayed thoroughly. Murder, treason, and ethical/moral corruption were three prevalent themes that proved the overall topic of Power Corrupts.
Julius Caesar, a man born in around 12 to 13, 100 BC, was considered the start of a new legacy in the history of Rome. Participating in several wars, becoming dictator after forming multiple military alliances, to being assassinated on the Ides of March, Julius Caesar was a politically-flexible, popular leader of the Roman Empire. (Julius Caesar Biography, April 23, 2014) Although Caesar’s birth was never confirmed on the exact date, he was born and raised by his mother, Aurelia, and by his father, Gaius Julius Caesar. (Julius Caesar: Historical Background, April 23, 2014)
Of the three men, Caesar’s fate seemed most obvious to him and to the reader. However, Caesar used his free will in many instances to in large
Julius Caesar is and was one of the most influential people in history. He created laws, stuck wars, and developed new strategies for leadership and battles. "Caesar is widely considered to be one of the greatest military geniuses of all time, as well as a brilliant politician and one of the ancient world's strongest leaders (Julius Caesar pg.1)." He transformed the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire and he extended his land all the way through Gaul to The Atlantic Ocean, as well as fighting a civil war and being proclaimed as dictator for life.