Love Medicine

Love Medicine
Detail of beadwork from an Ojibwe medicine pouch

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Info on Brutus and Cassius and Caesar's Assassination in General

Brutus and Cassius both appear in the mouth of Satan, so I thought I'd give a little input as to who they are and why they have such a punishment.


Brutus and Cassius were somewhat related; Cassius was the brother in-law of Brutus. Also, they were both key conspirators in the assassination of Julius Caesar. Cassius was in a way the mind behind the operation, but Brutus was the leader.


Read more about the assassination itself here.


After Caesar was assassinated, Brutus claimed that the Romans were free once again. However, this is pretty ironic, since immediately afterwards, Rome was thrown into discord and civil wars, ultimately ending with Octavian, with great help from Agrippa, rising out victoriously and taking power, after a quick name change. He became known as Emperor Augustus.


Not only did Cassius and Brutus assassinate the man who united Rome (which Caesar did), they also were the catalysts of the creation of the Roman Empire. It's pretty ironic that they killed Caesar because they believed he was becoming too much of a dictator. And Caesar was sworn in as Dictator for life, but he was given that by the people. Don't let the title fool you, he was in no way like Trujillo, his conquests strengthened Rome and even the Roman people, as Caesar gave them pride in their country. And Caesar was a military genius anyway. Killing him seems a bit unreasonable.


It makes sense that Brutus and Cassius are in the deepest part of Hell. Not only are they traitors to their leader and country, but they're also idiots. They tried to take power themselves after the assassination, but Marc Antony, a man in high power, and Octavian were too awesome for Brutus and Cassius, so they were defeated. And, like any failed tyrant, they killed themselves. Then Marc Antony, who wanted Rome himself, despite Octavian being named as sole heir, married Cleopatra and planned to use the Egyptian army to conquer Rome. Octavian, who was 19 when Caesar was assassinated, gave direct military control to Agrippa, who was the same age as Octavian. Antony and Cleopatra tried to take control of Rome, but Agrippa and Octavian were too awesome for them, so they were defeated at the Battle of Actium. And, like any failed tyrant, they killed themselves. Octavian gained Imperial power, established the Roman Empire, and, after such a harsh war, Rome was brought to a time of peace.


Brutus and Cassius pretty much failed miserably. They killed a beloved leader, caused a civil war, then ultimately caused the creation of the Roman Empire. Romans sure were free.



More proof of their failure:

Brutus

Cassius

2 comments:

xXJeffreyXx said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Molly A. said...

Thanks for the background info!