Transcript Julius Caesar - cloudfront.net

Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar
• 100-44 BC
• Born into a patrician family who claimed to
be descended from Venus.
– Patrician: upper-class, noble
– Plebeian: lower-class, peasant
• Suffered from epilepsy.
• Rose from general, to statesman, to dictator
of Rome.
• Developed a political and romantic alliance
with Cleopatra, the last pharaoh of Egypt.
• Well loved by the lower and middle class.
• Widely considered to be one of the greatest
military geniuses of all time.
Timeline
• 60 BC: formed the First Triumvirate with Crassus and
Pompey.
– Triumvirate: “rule of three men,” a political alliance
• 53 BC: Crassus died.
• 51 BC: conquest of Gaul.
• 49 BC: Caesar defied Pompey and the Senate, who ordered
him to return to Rome. Caesar attacked Pompey’s forces in
Spain, Greece, and Egypt, which began a civil war. He won
the war and was eventually declared “dictator in
perpetuity.”
• 44 BC: assassinated by members of the Senate who feared
that he would become a tyrant and disband the Republic.
Octavius (Caesar Augustus)
• Julius Caesar’s grandnephew and heir.
• Formed the Second Triumvirate with
Mark Antony and Lepidus to defeat
Caesar’s assassins.
• Defeated Antony and Cleopatra at the
Battle of Actium.
• Became the first emperor of the
Roman Empire after Lepidus was
exiled and Antony committed suicide.
• Began the period known as the Pax
Romana (Roman Peace)
Mark Antony
• Loyal supporter, friend, and distant
cousin of Julius Caesar.
• Studied rhetoric and philosophy in
Athens.
• Known for wild living and gambling.
• Became the administrator of Italy and
Caesar’s second in command.
• Tried to warn Caesar of the
assassination plot but was distracted.
• Gave a passionate speech at Caesar’s
funeral, which caused the Roman
citizens to revolt against the assassins.
Brutus
• Possible illegitimate son of Julius Caesar who was
next in line as his heir after Octavius.
• Supported Pompey in the battle against Caesar,
but was later forgiven by Caesar and made
governor of Gaul.
• Feared that Caesar would become too powerful
as a dictator, which would ruin the Republic.
• Defeated by Mark Antony and Octavius at the
Battle of Philippi in 42 BC, where he committed
suicide.
• In Dante’s Inferno, he, along with Cassius and
Judas Iscariot, is condemned to the deepest circle
of Hell for being “Treacherous Against [His
Master] where he is chewed in one of the three
mouths of Satan for all eternity.
Cassius
• Co-conspirator and brother-in-law of Brutus.
• Planned and convinced most of the people to
join the conspiracy, although Brutus was
commonly seen as the leader.
• Remained sure in his desire to assassinate
Caesar, while Brutus hesitated before joining.
• Wanted to assassinate Antony too, but Brutus
decided against it.
Calpurnia
• Warned Caesar not to go to the capitol on the
Ides of March because of the nightmares she
had the night before predicting his death.
• Delivered Caesar’s personal papers and
possessions to Mark Antony.
Porcia Catonis
• Brutus’s wife and the daughter
of Cato.
• The only woman who knew
about the assassination plot.
• Wounded herself in the thigh to
show her loyalty to Brutus.
• Committed suicide upon
Brutus’s death by swallowing
hot coals.
Rome before and after Caesar
• Roman Republic: 509-44 BC
– Ruled by a constitution and senate
– Out of the Senate, a consul was elected who served
for one year.
– Julius Caesar was named consul, then dictator, which
ended the Republic
• Roman Empire: 27 BC-476 AD
– Began when Octavius was named Caesar Augustus
and emperor of Rome.
– Ruled by one emperor, who had absolute power.