Beware The Ides of March

[Charlie]

If only poor old Julius Caesar had listened, the world may have been a different place.

Anyway, you guys beware ok.

[Attalus]

Caesar: (to Soothsayer) "The Ides of March have come."

Soothsayer: "Aye, Caesar, but not gone."

[LordKathen]

?eh?

[Charlie]

http://anecdotage.com/index.php?aid=8977

http://astrology.about.com/library/w...htm?once=true&

[ 03-15-2003, 10:05 AM: Message edited by: Charlie ]

[Epona]

Originally posted by LordKathen: ?eh?

Ides = 15th of the month.

Julius Caesar was told 'beware the ides of March' and was assassinated on that day by his political opponents. This caused civil war, and his adopted son Octavian (Augustus) went on to become Consul, and was later made Emperor, hence Rome became an Empire rather than the Republic it had been previously.

I love historical 'what ifs'.

[The Hierophant]

Originally posted by Epona: Ides = 15th of the month. Julius Caesar was told 'beware the ides of March' and was assassinated on that day by his political opponents. This caused civil war, and his adopted son Octavian (Augustus) went on to become Consul, and was later made Emperor, hence Rome became an Empire rather than the Republic it had been previously. I love historical 'what ifs'.

Yeah, but Rome was well on the way to becoming an autocratic Empire when Julius was still movin' and shakin'. Part of the reason why he was assassinated by his opponents in the Senate. Brutus (his principle rival) basically pulled an Osama Bin Laden in that he brazenly attacked his enemies (the most powerful of which being Julius) in the hopes of intimidating them into backing down from opposing his ambitions. But his attacks had the adverse affect of mobilizing his foes into an even more cohesive, aggresive and organized force. He took a gamble, and lost it all. These things happen...

[Charlie]

This is a great read.

http://shakespeare.about.com/library/bljuliusscenes.htm

[Gangrell]

Ohh man, just when I thought I'd seen the last of it [img]graemlins/laugh2.gif[/img] We read the entire Julius Caesar play in my English 10 class, from the beginning with his refusal of the crown thrice to the fight of Brutus and Cassius against Mark Antony and Octavius. Good story, but a long one [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Xero279]

what a coincidence... i just finishedmy Caesar report in 10th lit friday! hehe. actually, we had just finished the play. VERY good!

If you want to check it out, go to
www.tobeornottobe.com

"CRY HAVOC AND LET LOOSE THE DOGS OF WAR!"

[Epona]

Originally posted by The Hierophant: Yeah, but Rome was well on the way to becoming an autocratic Empire when Julius was still movin' and shakin'. Part of the reason why he was assassinated by his opponents in the Senate. Brutus (his principle rival) basically pulled an Osama Bin Laden in that he brazenly attacked his enemies (the most powerful of which being Julius) in the hopes of intimidating them into backing down from opposing his ambitions. But his attacks had the adverse affect of mobilizing his foes into an even more cohesive, aggresive and organized force. He took a gamble, and lost it all. These things happen...

I agree in part. The main motivation of JC's opponents was not to prevent the formation of Empire (which in hindsight we can see was beginning to happen, but wouldn't have been so obvious at the time - and which JC himself resisted to some extent) but because the legislation he introduced was more populist than they cared for. His political opponents used propoganda effectively though - since the word 'king' (rex) was a dirty word in the Republic, dubbing JC as having 'kinglike' tendencies worked, from a propaganda point of view, in mobilising certain elements of the land-owning classes against him.

What I find interesting to ponder is what the world would look like now had Mark Antony defeated Octavian. Perhaps there would have been less expansion into central and eastern europe, and more into Africa, and the knock on effects this would have had on those cultures. Or just less expansion full stop. But part of me also thinks that expansion was an economic necessity (not least because military victories=capture of slaves - something that the Roman world would have been very different without) so may well have happened regardless - but may have happened in different areas, hence the modern world may well have been shaped differently in terms of culture and language.

Fascinating stuff!