...The Determined Dictator Julius Caesar has been quoted to have said, “I love the name of honor, more than I fear death” (“Julius Caesar Quotes”). That one quote tells a lot about Caesar’s attitude and his character. More than once, this determination to receive honor risked his life, but it also gained him many achievement that he has been remembered for for hundreds and hundreds of years. In the end, that same desire for honor cost him his life. Julius Caesar deserved the honor he received though. He was a self-made man who earned his respect and admiration by his own talents, wisdom, and strengths. (“Portrait”) William Shakespeare described him as a “General, Statesman, Dictator – the most famous Roman of them all” (“Julius Caesar”). Julius Caesar’s political statute, his military leadership, and his tragic assassination all reflected his desire to make a change in his country and his perseverance to achieve his goal. One area of Julius Caesar’s life where he persevered to make a change in Rome was his political statute. Julius Caesar was born in one hundred B.C. (“Portrait”). He was born into a patrician family (Crew). His father was a great politician and taught Julius as much as he could. Julius Caesar’s first job was a speaker in the Roman courts. He was very successful and eventually was elected to the office of praetor, or commanding officer of the army, which was the second ranked political office of his time (Crew). He was so popular among his peers that...
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...Does Shakespeare depict Julius Caesar as a tyrant who deserved to be deposed because of his unconstitutional usurpation of power? William Shakespeare’s well-renowned play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, has led to centuries of controversial debate on the validity of tyrannicide based on his depiction of Julius Caesar. Some scholars have argued that Shakespeare intended to portray Caesar as a tyrant, while others believe he is acting as a just King. On one hand, it is difficult to assume that Shakespeare plainly viewed Caesar as a tyrant, especially since Shakespeare deliberately left Caesar’s actions and intentions ambiguous, making him into a less obvious tyrannical figure compared to Plutarch’s representation of Caesar. In addition, Shakespeare does not solidify Caesar as a tyrant in the same way he does with Macbeth and Richard III in their respective plays. On the other hand, it is difficult to reason that Caesar is a just King because he came into power by usurpation. “In antiquity the term [“tyrant”] referred to a ruler who came to power by usurpation, without constitutional warrant.” Based on insight from several sources and my own interpretation of Julius Caesar, I have concluded that Shakespeare left Caesar’s objectives unknown in order to focus on the moral dilemma faced by Brutus, but Shakespeare still intended to depict Caesar as a tyrant who deserved to be deposed because of his unconstitutional usurpation of power. In order to prove this I will evaluate the political...
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...Julius Caesar When the name Julius Caesar is heard, it can only trigger the image of a great leader that led Rome into prosperity. Caesar's military excellence brought more power and more land; that lead to the increase of size and strength in Rome. His dictatorship helped the stability and prosperity in Rome. Caesar's assassination lead to a monarchy that was ruled by Octavin. His death lead to a domino effect ending in the ultimate collapse of the Roman Empire. Many people of the 21st century follow the path of Julius Caesar and try to be as great as he was. The assassination of Julius Caesar was a tragedy due to the contributions he made to Rome's prosperity during his life, and the chaos that occurred in Rome after his death. The contributions that Caesar made towards the strength of Rome's success, and the chaos and collapse of Rome after his death made the assassination of Julius Caesar a tragedy. Julius Caesar was assassinated by his own senate on March 15 44 BC; also known as the Ides of March. As he was walking in to the senate house, a man told him to beware the Ides of March. He ignored this statement and walked into the senate house. At this time some of the Senate members surrounded Caesar in a stealthy manner and tugged on his toga. As he looked around he was stabbed by many of the senate members multiple times. He collapsed to the ground and lay on the marble floor dead, next to the feet of Pompey's statue. (Nardo 94) Caesar's military eminence helped...
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...and takes charge. In Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare, the story begins in Rome with the celebration of Julius Caesar’s victory over Pompey, one of his enemies. Although Caesar was considered an outstanding general by many, not everyone supported him, and some even took down celebration decorations. Cassius was among those who were disapproving of Caesar, and he even plotted to kill him. For the success of his plot, Cassius acted as though Caesar’s death would be in Rome’s best interest, but he needs credibility, which is why he reached out to Brutus, a beloved and patriotic...
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...Julius Caesar was a widely known Roman general and politician. Historians are unsure of when his specific birth date was, but they believe he was born on July 12th or 13th, 100 BC (“Bio.com,” para. 1-2). He was born in Rome, Italy into the Julian clan, a well known, but not rich family (“BBC,” para. 2). He grew up extremely close to his mother. His father died in 85 BC when Caesar was only 15 years old (Barter, p. 50) He ruled the Roman Empire from 46 - 44 BC. He came to power by declaring himself dictator (“BBC,” para. 1-4). This caused a lot of negative feelings towards him in the senate. The conquest of Gaul also resulted in an unstable rule (“Bio.com,” para. 17-18). There were also many good things about him, he was very condescending and brave. One example of which was when he was kidnapped by pirates. Despite the situation he was in, he took was brave and took leadership into his own hands. He bossed the pirates...
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...Loyalty is pretty close to having courage in that you need loyalty in order to have courage to die for those you say you love. A great example of a leader who exercised the virtue of loyalty would be Julius Caesar. It is said in his legend that he wouldn’t just observe the battle that his men are fighting, but he would fight alongside them. That is an immense amount of loyalty! Another representation of great loyalty to a leader is hannibal. “From the Druentia Hannibal advanced towards the Alps mainly through open country, and reached the foothills without encountering any opposition from the local tribes.” (Livy). A truly loyal leader’s goal is the benefit of his men. He will never do put himself before his men, if so he is not a very good leader. Julius Caesar is the perfect example for this, he always tried and work to the beneficial goal of his men. Caesar especially shows this when in the “battle of the wills” with Vercingetorix. Vercingetorix came to the idea of sending the women, children, and elderly of Gaul, out of the gates of Alesia and into the Roman camp in order to starve out the Romans. He knew that Caesar would have to take them in, but he did not. He didn’t because he caught on to Vercingetorix’s plan, and was not going to starve his men for these Gaulish people. “Neither man blinked, and as a result, over the coming days, every single one of those...
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...The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is a story of the short rise and fall of a ruler and the conspiracy linked to it. Julius Caesar is soon to be crown king of Rome after defeating military commander, Pompey. One of the close allies of Julius, Cassius fears of Rome being under rule of a man that in truth doesn’t like and wants to take him down. Cassius gathers others close to Julius to create this plan to bring Caesar down. Cassius tries hard to recruit one man who he believes would be perfect for the conspiracy: Marcus Brutus, a man who is known for the noble deeds of him and his ancestors. After much of a inner and outer strangle for Brutus to consider this, he goes along with the plan and then seems to over take most of Cassius’s position. The conspirators take Caesar to the capitol, where he is to be murdered, and Caesar utters the infamous words: “Et tu, Brute?”. The conspirators rejoice in the deed and are then later met with Antony as they finally agree to trust him. Antony, Caesar’s right hand man, is broken by the sight of Caesar’s dead body. When the conspirators leave to capitol, Brutus and Antony start to give their speeches and expose Caesar’s body. Brutus’s speech defends the conspirators and the murder and for a moment, he has won over the people. But, Antony’s dramatic speech overwhelms the civilians and now has them against the conspirators and this starts the civil war. It is a war for the power and fait of Rome where it is Antony and Octavius’s (Caesar’s nephew and...
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...Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare William Shakespeare Renowned English poet, playwright and actor William Shakespeare’s birth date is not known; however, he is said to have been baptized on the 26th of April 1564. He died on the 26th of April 1616 but not before he had written about 38 plays, 154 sonnets and other literary pieces. Shakespeare’s plays have been translated into several languages over the years and have been produced in many forms throughout the ages. The Play Julius Caesar is a play about friendship, betrayal and power. The play is a historical tragedy as it presents the biography of one of the greatest man to have ever lived in Rome. Caesar was made Dictator and Consol after he chased Pompey and his forces out of Rome in an attempt to obtain ultimate power. Caesar’s ultimate goal was to become Rome’s first king and he remained focus on this goal until his death in 44BC. His death was as a result of fate and his refusal to acknowledge the many signs and omens that foreshadowed his fall. Brutus a very good friend of Caesar also took part in his assassination. Brutus feared that Caesar would become a tyrant and harm the people of Rome. In an attempt to ‘save’ the people Brutus helped Cassius to take Caesar’s life. After Caesar’s death he is avenged by his loyal servant Antony who skillfully manipulates his way into the band of conspirators. Later, after winning the love of the people Antony pursues and conquers Brutus’ and Cassius’ forces...
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...Marcus Brutus and Marc Antony’s speeches “Character may almost be called the most effective means of persuasion”- Aristotle. This quote could be interpreted in different ways, but I feel it means when someone shows leadership and passion others will mostlikely follolw them. In Julius Caesar there is a huge example of persuasion, and that is the speeches of both Brutus and Antony. Antony’s speech was based mainly around pathos (emotion). Whereas, Brutus went for more of a logic and ethic approach (logos and ethos). Both of these speeches were filled with a variety of devices, techniques, and even mistakes. Which leads to the final question, whose speech was more successful? Antony’s speech was based on emotion. This is because...
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...believe we shall succeed. Merriam Webster’s dictionary defines winning as, “Relating to or producing a win, successful at something” which brings up a key point—success. Success is something that we all strive for throughout our lives, which can only be achieved through winning. With winning, comes success on various scales. Lombardi was a great advocate for winning; he had spent a greater part of his life teaching this attribute. “He constantly lectured his three sons that they’d be successful only if they worked harder than everybody else” (Phillips, 2). History has taught us time and time again that winning is crucial in order to succeed. The great Julius Caesar once said “Veni, vidi, vici”; a Latin phrase for “I came, I saw, I conquered”. He said this in his speech during his campaign in Britain in 54 B.C. Caesar was referring to his victory...
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...AN ESSAY ON THE NATURE OF LEADERSHIP; AUGUSTUS CAESAR INTRODUCTION LEADERS UNLIKE MANAGERS, REQUIRE FOLLOWERS, AS FOLLOWERS ARE PIVOTAL TO THE SUCCESS AND IMPACT THAT A LEADER REQUIRES.[i] THE ABOVE OPENING QUOTE SPOKEN BY AUGUSTUS CAESAR IDENTIFIES HIS LEADERSHIP STYLE IN A NUTSHELL. UNLIKE HIS PREDECESSOR, AUGUSTUS WAS NEVER FOCUSED ON PRIDE AND DISPLAYS OR POWER. RATHER, HE WAS CONTENT WITH ACTING AS A GUIDE AND ADVISOR IN FRONT OF THE CROWDS WHILST IN REALITY HE HAD A FIRM GRIP ON THE REINS OF SOCIETY, CONTROLLING EVERYTHING BEHIND THE SCENES. AUGUSTUS WAS A CUNNING AND ADMIRABLE LEADER, WITH NUMEROUS POSITIVE LEADERSHIP ATTRIBUTES THAT JUNIOR OFFICERS COULD STUDY OR ADOPT. Augustus Caesar was shown by the leadership trait theory to possess a personality that would likely succeed in leadership. He also displayed a solid mission, excellent goal setting skills and overall strong values.[ii] Augustus Caesar also portrayed leadership attributes that a junior officer would find to be undesirable to adopt. These undesirable attributes can include Augustus Caesars’ unwillingness to attain long-term alliances and friends. Nevertheless, Augustus Caesar has proven himself to be an important and rich learning source when looking at leadership skills and techniques. Know Yourself and seek self-improvement AUGUSTUS CAESAR WAS HONOURED WITH THE NAME AUGUSTUS, WHICH MEANS “THE EXALTED”, BY THE ROMAN SENATE IN 27 B.C. THIS HONOUR WAS NOT ONLY A SHOW FOR THE NUMEROUS...
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...is particularly relevant to the character of Brutus during the play. During the scenes of William Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, characters are able to rise to power through their particular strengths. These characters, Cassius, Brutus, and Antony all have different characteristics that helped them gain power within the city of Rome. However, these people also showed that they were human by having weaknesses that led to their down fall. Within a leader, it is important to look at their trustworthiness, honorability, reputation, and their use of empathy. These three characters all displayed differences within these traits which made them unique in their own ways. Within the scenes of Julius Caesar, Cassius, the leader of the conspiracy against Caesar, displays many strengths that guide him to the rise to power, and weaknesses which direct him to his eventual fall. Cassius believes that the people of Rome are responsible for the government of Rome. They have allowed a man to gain excessive power; therefore, they have the responsibility to stop him, and with a man of Caesar's well-known ambition, that can only mean assassination. Clearly, the most significant characteristic of Cassius is his ability to perceive the true motives of men; in other words, the ability to read or see through other people, which is called empathy. Caesar...
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...vidi, vici' (I came, I saw, I conquered) Could Julius Caesar have made a statement like it in the 21st century? Julius Caesar was one of the greatest in history, many say. Even though he was not the first emperor of Rome, becoming the emperor he showed all victories achieving it. He conquered many city-states and give the peoples much better lives. He started in Spain with great lessons he learned personally and for his career. But how would Caesar have lived in the 21st Century and are their any leaders alike nowadays? From early age, Caesar understood that Rome was corrupted in the 80’s BC and that he needed a network in the higher sits to prosper and become a leader. To achieve higher position he got in high debt by organizing events and bribed officials to make political friends. By the time he was 40 in 60 BC he had achieved the title of praetor (in Ancient Rome this was the positions as commander of one army) of the troops in Spain that was struggling until Caesar arrived. With a lot of hard work and learning experience of discovering his new talents, Caesar acknowledged to himself that war and victory is the path to money, power, and emperorship. In Plutarch, “I’d rather be first here than second in Rome” and “Don’t you think it’s sad that while Alexander was already ruling over a vast empire at such young age, I haven’t yet achieved anything remarkable (p.310-311)?” These statements show his drive to power and leadership with one goal of being number one. Thus, from...
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...Throughout the many decades of leadership, many people have only looked at the successes of leaders to learn what it takes to be a good leader. But as potential leaders we must also look at the many failures of these leaders. In my readings I have found that there are three fatal areas in which leaders set up their own failures and ultimately their demises. Knowing Others, Contextual Intelligence, and The Self, are easily misunderstood and forgotten and create failure and compromise. Mr. Bennis refers to Knowing Others as the “Caesars Problem”. It comes from the Shakespeare play called Julius Caesar. It is described as leaders exhibiting arrogance after many years of leadership, which leads to a communication disconnect with subordinates and coworkers. A great example of this would be the case of Margaret Thatcher. Margaret was the leader of U.K for just over a decade. She had a multitude of successes and was widely loved by all her citizens. But in her last year she plagued by economic problems and political infighting which led to her demise. Many say it was her...
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...purposes more easily if they can grasp the interest of the nation. It is imperative for a leader to be respected, admired, and loved by its people. This leads to trust, as the citizens feels heard and understood by their leader. In fact the more a person feel secured and are satisfied with the current regime, then they are less likely to be misbehave in society, and be productive and positive towards the growth of the nation. Another features of a loved leadership is that mostly all government official would believe in their work and ways of modifying society that they would become less corruptible, which would allow for a stronger nation, as it wealth can be put to good use and not go in the pocket of the rulers and his family. Although being a good and loved leader should not be so difficult, there is a lot of enemy of the peace that are greedy for power. Numerous great loved leaders were destitute from their thrones by people seeking it for themselves, wanting money and power. Some very famous examples are Julius Caesar, Mahatma Gandhi and the U.S president J.F Kennedy. All those famous leader where assassinated and for some, what they have built was sweep clean...
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