Julius Caesar
Introduction and Anticipation Guide
…Rome was the light of the world, and
the Roman Empire was the work of the gods
Julius Caesar: An Historical Play
 The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, also known simply as Julius Caesar, is a tragedy
by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1599.
 It portrays the 44 BC conspiracy against the Roman dictator Julius Caesar, his
assassination and the defeat of the conspirators at the Battle of Philippi. It is
one of several Roman plays that Shakespeare wrote, based on true events
from Roman history, which also include Coriolanus and Antony and
Cleopatra.
 Although the title of the play is Julius Caesar, Caesar is not the most visible
character in its action; he appears in only three scenes, and is killed at the
beginning of the third act. Marcus Brutus speaks more than four times as
many lines, and the central psychological drama is his struggle between the
conflicting demands of honour, patriotism, and friendship
First Things First…Roman names
 What's in a (Roman) Name?
 A Roman man typically had three parts to his name:
1. Praenomen - the personal name
2. Nomen - the name of his gens, or tribe
3. Cognomen - the family name
 Example:
Gaius Julius Caesar
 Gaius (praenomen) Julius (nomen - Julius tribe) Caesar (cognomen - Caesar
family)
 http://home.golden.net/~eloker/romanname.htm
Major Themes:
 Leadership: qualities of a good/bad leader, strengths and weaknesses and
abilities
 Friendship: what are the qualities of a good friend? How far does your
friendship go…
 Suicide: historical vs. modern attitudes toward suicide
 Fate and Superstition… Let’s begin here!
Fate and Superstition
 What images come to mind when we think of fate and superstition?
 To what extent can we control our/the future?
 How superstitious are you? Do you have good luck rituals that you perform
before important occasions?
 Do you watch for omens before important events?
 Do you read your horoscope every day and do you follow its advice?
Fate and Superstition
 What is a horoscope? According to wikipedia:
In common usage, horoscope often refers to an astrologer's interpretation,
usually based on a system of Sun sign astrology; or on the calendar significance
of an event, as in Chinese astrology. In particular, many newspapers and
magazines carry predictive columns based on celestial influences in relation to
the zodiacal placement of the Sun on the day of a person's birth, identifying the
individual's Sun sign or "star sign" based on the tropical zodiac.
*the Romans were extremely superstitious people
Fate and Superstition