Ancient Rome Julius Caesar

1. Ancient RomeJulius Caesar Date: 1/?/2012 Daily Question: Was Julius Caesar a good leader or a bad tyrant? Warm-up Question: Copy down all of the characteristics that you believe make a good leader: 1. Loyal 2. Humble 3. Arrogant 4. Bully 5. Charismatic 6. Harsh 7. Patient 8. Indecisive 9. Confident 10. Courageous 11. Kind 12. Caring Copy all of the people you think are or could be considered good leaders. You may add names to the list 1. Adolf Hitler 2. Abraham Lincoln 3. Fidel Castro 4. Barak Obama 5. Sarah Palin 6. Mohandas Gandhi 7. George Bush 8.

2. BRAINSTORM: Good Leaders vs. Bad Leaders • Make a list of FOUR characteristics of good leaders. • Make a list of FOUR characteristics of bad leaders. • Brainstorm: one good leader – Why a good leader? • Brainstorm: one bad leader – Why a bad leader? • Does a leader have to be likable in order to succeed?

3. Was Julius Caesar a good leader or a bad tyrant? • After the Civil War in Rome, Caesar comes to power as part of the First Triumvirate (Caesar, Pompey, Crassus) • Caesar and Pompey end up fighting for absolute power… • We will look at the historical play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare for evidence and clues as to the life of Julius Caesar.

4. Julius CaesarA tragedy by William Shakespeare • The play opens with a parade celebrating Caesar’s victory in the battle for power against Pompey • A soothsayer calls to Caesar to “beware the Ides of March,” but Caesar ignores him. • Brutus, Cassius and Antony are military and political figures (senators) that surround Caesar • Brutus tells us of his fear that the people want Caesar to be king, which would overturn the republic. • Caesar’s physical weaknesses are mentioned in contrast to his god-like power. • Brutus and Cassius say that Caesar’s rise to power can’t be the work of fate. • Caesar admits to Antony that he distrusts Cassius. • It is reported that during the parade Antony offers a crown to Caesar three times and the people cheered, but Caesar refused each time. Then, Caesar fell to the ground in a seizure (showing his physical weakness), but the crowd remained devoted to him. • Cassius comes up with a plot to convince Brutus to conspire with him against Caesar. He writes fake letters from Roman citizens “worried Caesar has become too powerful” and send the letters to Brutus. Brutus believes the people are against Caesar and fears a dictator-led empire, so he joins Cassius and other senators in a plot against Caesar. Brutus takes the lead in organizing the conspirators. • The plot is to trick Caesar into leaving his house and then kill him. Cassius wants to kill Antony as well because Antony supports Caesar, but Brutus disagrees, believing too much death will dishonor them.

5. Julius CaesarA tragedy by William Shakespeare • Caesar is preparing to got to the Senate, but his wife begs him not to go out of fear. She has had nightmares in which a statue of Caesar streamed with blood and smiling men bathed their hands in the blood. Caesar refuses to give in to her fears, but his wife convinces him to stay home out of love for her. • One senator (and conspirator against Caesar) arrives at the house and convinces him that his wife has misinterpreted her dreams. Caesar departs for the Senate with several of the senators (conspirators) • Again, the soothsayer tries to warn Caesar, but is unable to get his attention. A citizen hands Caesar a letter warning of the plot, but Caesar refuses to read it. • At the Senate, the senators (conspirators) surround Caesar and stab him one by one. They bath their hands in his blood (as his wife predicted). • Antony arrives at the Senate to find Caesar dead, swears allegiance to Brutus out of fear and is promised an explanation for his murder at the funeral. • Cassius and Brutus go to the Forum to speak to the public. Brutus declares that even though he loved Caesar, he loves Rome more, and Caesars ambition posed a threat to Roman liberty. • Antony enters the forum with Caesar’s body and makes a speech

6. Friends, Romans, CountrymenFrom Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones; So let it be with Caesar. The noble Brutus Hath told you Caesar was ambitious; If it were so, it was a grievous fault, And grievously hath Caesar answer’d it. Here under leave of Brutus and the rest – So are they all, all honourable men – Come I to speak in Caesar’s funeral.

7. Friends, Romans, CountrymenFrom Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar He was my friend, faithful and just to me: But Brutus says he was ambitious; And Brutus is an honourable man. Ha hath brought many captives home to Rome Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill: Did this in Caesar seem ambitious? When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept: Ambition should be made of sterner stuff: Yet Brutus says he was ambitious; And Brutus is an honourable man.

8. Friends, Romans, CountrymenFrom Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar You all did see that on the Lupercal I thrice presented him a kingly crown, Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambition? Yet Brutus says he was ambitious; And, sure, he is an honourable man. I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke, But here I am to speak what I do know. You all did love him once, not without cause: What cause withholds you then, to mourn for him?

9. Friends, Romans, CountrymenFrom Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar O judgment! Though art fled to brutish beasts, And men have lost their reason. Bear with me; My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar, And I must pause till it comes back to me. - Antony

10. Julius CaesarA tragedy by William Shakespeare • What was the purpose of Antony’s speech? • Sarcastically questions the claims made by Brutus • Explains how much wealth and glory Caesar brought to Rome • Points out how Caesar refused the crown three times After, Antony describes the murder of Caesar to the crowd and reads Caesar’s will, which gives every citizen a sum of money and orders his private gardens to be made public. The crowd becomes angry over the murder of such a generous man and turns against Cassius and Brutus. Caesar’s adopted son Octavius, Antony and a man named Lepidus join together in a second triumvirate and the story continues on in pursuit of Cassius and Brutus.

11. Historical Accuracy: Julius Caesar • Caesar was a brilliant general who transformed Rome from a Republic into an Empire with conquering Gaul (modern day France) and being the first to invade Britain, which gave him unmatched military power. • “Veni, Vedi, Vici.” – Caesar [meaning I came, I saw, I conquered]. • When Caesar came to power, he took a broken down central government with provinces practically independent and took absolute control with governors and the army as his tools for power. • With the weak central government, political corruption was out of control and made its members rich • Caesar wrote a new constitution, to accomplish these goals: • Stop all armed resistance in the provinces (far off land Rome controlled) to bring order to the Empire • Create a strong central government • Bring the entire Empire together under one way of doing things • In order to accomplish these goals, he gave himself more authority so that his power would be undisputed. His reforms centralized the bureaucracy of the Republic, which made him “dictator for life.” • There was no public opposition to him because he pardoned almost all enemies. However, there are reports that his celebration of a Civil War victory was thought to be in poor taste because it celebrated conquering and killing other Romans. • A group of senators, led by Marcus Junius Brutus, assassinated the dictator on the Ides of March (March 15) 44 B.C.E. in an effort to restore the constitutional government. However, this led to a series of civil wars

12. So…Was Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar accurate? • How does Shakespeare portray Caesar? • What do we know about the real Caesar? • Does Shakespeare offer an accurate portrayal? • Was Julius Caesar a GOOD leader or a BAD tyrant? Explain WHY? (Is there a way he could be a good tyrant?)

13. Homework • YOUR OPINION • What kind of a leader was Julius Caesar? • Was he a “Great Leader”? • You should definitely use the worksheet that outlines what was going on in Rome before Caesar, then during Caesar (attached to the Julius Caesar organizer) • Feel free to use the organizer and notes from class.