Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar: The Historical Context
In 44BC, at the age of 56, Caesar was clearly the
Numero Uno Roman. He had just been named
by the Senate as dictator for life; he controlled the public treasury; as
pontifex maximus (since 62 BC), he was head of the Roman religion; and, as
consul, was Rome’s most important administrative officer. He had sufficient clout to pack the Senate
with 400 new appointees and increased its membership from 600 to 900, thus reducing
its ultimate power as a governing body.
Caesar earned his place: He was a natural leader and
succeeded in virtually everything he did.
He was a visionary statesman, a successful and popular military leader,
a student of history, a mature and generous human being, and a vigorous seducer of women of every rank. If he was
ambitious it would seem to have been more for Rome than for Caesar. There is no hard evidence that he wanted to
be king; this was a trumped-up charge by his enemies. Gossip seems to have had it that Antony was
actually drunk when he offered Caesar the crown, that it was a game to fool the
crowd.
This play takes place in Rome’s history at the end of
the Republic and the incipient Empire ( in the latter instant, only to the
extent that we meet the first Roman emperor, Octavius, as a youth). Whatever else the Roman Republic was, it was,
for the most part, run by the Senate, an oligarchy of rich and powerful
patricians. It was pretty much ‘corrupt and contented’ at Caesar’s time. There is a good discussion of the Republic by
Coppelia Kahn at page 215 in the Folger edition of the play, which we are
reading.
Following Caesar’s death, Octavius, his adopted son
and heir presumptive, and Mark Antony, Caesar’s long time trusted lieutenant,
join forces with the then pontifex maximus, Lepidus, and together took over in
Rome and, as described by Will Durant “let loose the bloodiest reign of terror
in Roman history.” Three hundred Senators and 2000 businessmen were scheduled
for execution. Even Cicero was on the
hit list and his head was hung in the Forum for all to see and understand the
prospective consequences for unacceptable acts.
Meanwhile, Brutus and Cassius (our chief villains)
were in the East assembling forces and busily raiding local treasuries to
finance their inevitable conflict with Antony and Octavius. They were merciless in raising money: $10
million here, $9 million there, $4.2 million from Judea alone, which must have
financed a substantial army indeed.
Brutus and Cassius were encamped at the hill town of
Philippi, overlooking the Bay of Neopolis and the Agean Sea coastal plain where
the battle occurred. Philippi was
located in what was then known as Thrace; today the town is called Filippoi and
the country Greece. The two forces met
some two and one-half years after Caesar’s death, in 42BC. In the play, Brutus notes that “Our legions
are brim full, our cause is ripe./ The enemy increaseth every day;/ We, at the
height, are ready to decline.” After that comes the famous line: “There is a tide in the affairs of
men” (4.3.246-252). And Octavius says to
Antony: “You said the enemy would not come down/But would keep the hills and
upper regions.” (5.1.2 &3) The enemy
did come down.
Will Durant’s account of the battle: “Brutus’ wing
forced back Octavians’s and captured his
2.
camp; but Antony’s routed the legions of
Cassius...Octavian was confined to his
tent with illness, and his troops were in disorder. Antony reorganized the whole army and after a
few days rest led them against Brutus and put the last remnants of the
republican forces to flight.” (All of the Durant info is taken from his THE
STORY OF CIVILIZATION, Volume III, CAESAR AND CHRIST.
Neither Cassius nor Brutus were about to permit themselves
to be captured and returned to Rome in disgrace. Cassius ordered his man, Pindarus, to kill
him (A not uncommon form of suicide then.), and he dies with the words:
“Caesar, thou art revenged/Even with the sword that killed thee.” (5.3.50-51)
An ironic farewell by Shakespeare.
Brutus leave us in the same way, falling on his sword held by his man,
Strato. (5.5.55) Antony’s farewell to
Brutus (5.5.74): “This was the noblest Roman of them all./ All the conspirators
save only he/ Did that they did in envy of great Caesar/...His life was gentle
and the elements / So mixed in him that
nature might stand up/ And say to all the world “This was a man.” “ At which
time, Cassius’ ghost may well have lamented: “What the hell have I wrought”?
Following their victory at Philippi, the victors
divvied up the empire: Antony took Egypt, Greece and the East (Cleopatra, here
I come!), Octavian took Rome and the West (from whence he became the greatest
Roman of them all), and Lepidus had the leftovers in Africa. Lepidus must have
been brought into this trio for political reasons not unlike the selection of
vice presidents in modern USA. Not much
is said of him in history. Shakespeare
has Antony put it as it was: “This is a slight, unmeritable man...” (4.1.14)
Roman Civil Wars
What follows is an attempt to put this play in a
broader historical perspective. There were two other civil wars, the first
involving Caesar directly and the last, a consequence of Caesars murder. All three major civil wars were fought in
Greece, not in a deliberate attempt to save Rome the trouble, but because the
losers fled to Greece to organize their forces. Also, Romans felt comfortable
in Greece, they knew and admired Greek history and culture.
In the first great Roman civil war, Caesar defeated
Pompey at Pharsalus on August 9, 48BC.
Pompey then represented republican Rome, Caesar, the more liberal
wing. The chief consequence of this war
is that Caesar became Number One in Rome, which automatically generated enemies. Pompey is said to have had 48,000 men and
7000 calvary; Caesar 22,000 and 1000.
Pompey lost big with 15,000 killed or wounded, 20,000 surrendering and
the rest fled. Caesar claimed he lost
only 200, which Durant says cast doubt
on all of his statistics. Pompey escaped
to Alexandria, where he was promptly slain.
On Caesars arrival, he was presented with Pompey’s head, to his horror
and distress; this was not Caesars style..
In the third civil war, the inevitable showdown
between Octavian and Antony, we find their forces at Actium in September, 31
BC, in what Durant characterized as “one of the decisive battles of
history.” Why would he come to such a
conclusion? Perhaps because if Antony
and Cleopatra had won, the entire development of Europe would have fallen under
the domination of
3.
Egypt rather
than Rome with unimagined potential
consequences.
Antony was the last in a long line of Cleopatra’s
lovers, which included Julius Caesar.
However, she was much more than a sex object; she was a political
powerhouse in the East and was the main source of Antony’s military strength in
his last battle. No small catch himself,
Cleopatra married Antony prior to 31 BC.
Antony and Cleopatra brought 500 warships to the battle at Actium, the
largest fleet ever assembled up to that time.
Octavian had 400 vessels.
This war seems to have been
mostly a sea battle; it was bloody and consumed with fire and death. Octavian
won decisively. Antony and Cleopatra
escaped and unsuccessfully tried to negotiate a truce. In the year following Actium, 30 BC, both
Antony and Cleopatra were suicides, leaving Octavian as undisputed top dog in
Rome, where he completed most of Caesars projects and distinguished himself in
a long, fruitful and distinguished reign.
Miscellaneous history
It was common at that time for married people of
consequence to have torrid extra curricular lovers, including Caesar, who
brought Cleopatra home while married to Calpernia, his fourth wife. He had an acknowledged son by Cleopatra. Gossip had it that Brutus was actually
Caesar’s son, since Caesar was bedding Brutus’ mother during that period, and
would account for Caesar’s affection for Brutus.
Caesar was born in 100 BC, allegedly by the operation
that bears his name. He died at age 56.
Antony was 18 years younger than Caesar and just over
50 when he died.
Octavius (AKA Octavian & Augustus Caesar) was only
18 on Caesars death in 44 BC; he was in his early 30s when he defeated Antony.
He became Augustus in 27 BC.
Will Durant declared that Caesars assassination was
“one of the major tragedies of history.”
Julian calendar: One year = 365 days with one extra
day every four years.
Ken Allebach,
the ides of March, 2004
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