Download The Tragedy of Julius Caesar

Name
period
Assassination of Julius
Caesar- Caesar’s assassination
occurred on the “Ides of March”
(March 15, 44 BC). The location
of his infamous murder was in the
Theatre of Pompey. According to
the “Tragedy of Julius Caesar”,
the key murderers were Cassius
and Brutus.
Brutus- Born Marcus Junius Brutus,
was apart of the Senate of the Roman
Republic. He played a significant role
in Julius Caesar’s death; he was one
of the conspirators. Even though
Caesar and Brutus were close friends,
he felt the need to help murder Caesar
for the greater good of Rome.
Classical antiquity- Also known as
the Classical Era or the Classical
Period, was a long period of Roman
Literature which began to grow. The
period began in the 8th- 7th century
BC to 5th century AD. Roman Poets
that were known during the classical
era such as Ovid wrote mythological
and erotic poems.
Dictator- In the play of “Julius
Caesar”, the senators were
afraid of Caesar becoming a
dictator if accepted the throne
as king of Rome. Before
Caesar, Lucius Cornelius
Sulla was a Roman general
as well and he was the
dictator of Rome. The
senators didn’t want to lose
power and have Caesar
become another Sulla.
Et tu Brute?- The meaning of “Et tu
Brute?” means “You too, Brutus?”. It is a
phase in Latin and were the last words of
Julius Caesar in the William Shakespeare
play, “Julius Caesar. Caesar said the
saying when he was slowly dying from
the puncture wounds of Brutus and the
other conspirators asking Brutus why he
has betrayed him.
Flavus- Lucius Caesetius Flavus was
one of the two tribunes/senators that
were punished by Julius Caesar. A
civilian of Rome placed a crown on
Caesar’s statue, but Flavus and his
colleague, Marcellus quickly removed
it. Caesar stripped Flavus and
Marcellus of their positions.
Gladiator- A gladiator was an
armed fighter who entertained
officials of the Republic of Rome
and the Roman Empire. The
fighters would have to compete
against other gladiators or wild
animals. The gladiators would
mostly be risky volunteers, slaves,
or citizens of the low social
ranking.
Hatred- Hate was what the
conspirators (except for Brutus) had
towards Caesar. They assassinated
Julius to prevent him from becoming
King of Rome. They also wanted to
keep power of Rome instead of
having Caesar to take over.
Insula- The Insula was an apartment
building in Rome where the low and
middle social classes (Plebs and
Equates) dwelled in. The bottom floor
of the Insulae was used for
establishing shops and businesses.
The higher floor was used for shelter.
Julius Caesar- Born Gaius Julius Caesar,
was a member of the Roman Consul and a
Roman General. He was the main
character in “The Tragedy of Julius
Caesar.” He was assassinated on March
15th by multiple senators including most
importantly, Brutus and Cassius.
King- The civilians of Rome wanted Caesar to
become king among them. Julius Caesar denied
the throne thrice and he just wanted to be known
simply as “Caesar”. Even though he denied being
king, the civilians applaud his denial and one
citizen placed a crown on his statue.
Livy- Born Titus Livius, was an Ancient Roman
historian who wrote about Rome’s history and
Roman people. He was the author of “Ab Urbe
Condita Libri”, or “Chapters from the Foundation
of the City” which was a monumental history of
Ancient Rome. Livy wrote “Chapters from the
Foundation of the City” in the Latin Language.
Melancholy- Melancholy was the
mood in the Julius Caesar play in Act
I, scene 3. Act I, Scene 3 shows how
before the “Ides of March” a storm
comes and one of the characters,
Casca tells another one of the
characters, Cicero that he has been
witnessing unusual things lately. A few
things he has witnessed was a lion in
the Capitol and an owl hooting at a
marketplace at noon.
Numa Pompilius- Pompilius
was the second king of Ancient
Rome. He reigned from 717-673
BCE. After his reign, the third
king of Rome was Tullus
Hostilius.
Octavius Caesar- Born Gaius Julius
Caesar Augustus, was the adopted
son of Julius Caesar. In the play, he
alongside Marc Antony defeat the
forces of Brutus and Cassius. This
defeat results in Brutus’ and Cassius’
suicidal deaths.
Pompey- Born Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus,
was not a character in William
Shakespeare’s play of Julius Caesar, but he
does have connections to Caesar. He was a
close ally to Caesar and he married
Caesar’s daughter, Julia. Pompey was
assassinated in Egypt in September 29, 48
BC.
Queen of Egypt- The Queen of
Egypt was Cleopatra VII. She was
also not in Shakespeare’s play, but
she did have an affair with Caesar.
After Caesar’s death, she later
married Marc Antony.
Romulus and Remus- They were
Rome’s twin founders. They
founded Rome on April 21, 753
BC. Romulus and Remus’
discovery of Rome is just a
mythical legend.
Self-centered- Self-centeredness
was shown in the Julius Caesar
plays (The Tragedy of Julius, Julius
Caesar comic strip). The senators
assassinated Julius Caesar
because they didn’t want to lose
any power if Caesar became king of
Rome. The senators, except for
Brutus did not kill Caesar for the
better of Rome.
Trebonius- Gaius Trebonius was a
member of the consul in Ancient Rome. He
was not one of the main characters in
Shakespeare's Caesar play. He was one of
the conspirators that was involved in Julius
Caesar’s assassination.
Unconditional love- Unconditional love
is what Calpurnia had for Caesar. Even
though Caesar had an affair with
Cleopatra, Calpurnia stayed with
Caesar. Calpurnia also tried to save
Caesar from being murdered, but failed
to do so.
Vicarius- In Ancient Rome, vicarius
was used as a term/title for different
Roman officials. The word means, in
english “deputy”. Each vicarius would
be appointed to a particular official of a
high rank.
William Shakespeare- William
Shakespeare was the playwright of the
Elizabethan Era who wrote “Julius Caesar”.
He wrote the play in 1599. The genre of the
play was tragic drama.
Works Cited
• Davis, Kate. “Julius Caesar.” Read Magazine.
Pg. 33-50
• Shakespeare, William. “Julius Caesar.” West
Haven: Pendulum Press, Inc. 1980
• Shakespeare, William. “The Tragedy of Julius
Caesar.” Elements of Literature. Schirmer,
Robert. Austin, Texas, 2000. pg. 777-877
• Wikipedia:The Free Encyclopedia. May 5, 2010
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page>