Is Julius Caesar Good or Bad
Is Julius Caesar really a hero?
Gaius Julius Caesar had many traits. Proud, ambitious, clever, cunning, strong-willed and minded, and charismatic. He was the hero of Rome and the enemy of all that opposed it. He was a friend to the people, but the senate saw him as a threat. These things we all know to be one hundred percent true. But there is one thing about Caesar that we don’t know for sure, and maybe we never will. So many people have different opinions, and it is hard to say who is wrong and who is right. Caesar was a bad leader because he did many things that were either cruel or for selfish reasons such as achieving support and rising in power in Rome. On the one hand, Caesar always did his best to please the people of Rome. He spent his time creating games such as lavish gladiator games and other forms of entertainment to keep the people happy, and he expanded the Roman Empire by nearly a third of its original size. When he arrived in Egypt after the Egyptians had killed his rival Pompey, the Egyptians brought Caesar the head of his old rival. Caesar was said to have wept at the sight of Pompey’s head, saying that Pompey was a formidable rival and that he did not deserve such a death. He claimed that he always had Rome’s best interests in mind whatever action he took, and he ultimately made Rome a better place. For the Romans, at least. On the other hand, Caesar was cunning and cruel. He was disrespectful of his elders, and all those around him. Especially to the aristocrats. He spent way too much money on creating various games for the plebeians and created an unrest in Rome. He sent people to be in his gladiator games for disobeying even the slightest command, and he killed hundreds of millions of people. He was a womanizer and a strict military leader. He attacked native tribes and wiped them all out, one by one, claiming the land that they had inhabited. He was ruthless, and although to the ancient Romans that made him a hero, by today’s
Gaius Julius Caesar had many traits. Proud, ambitious, clever, cunning, strong-willed and minded, and charismatic. He was the hero of Rome and the enemy of all that opposed it. He was a friend to the people, but the senate saw him as a threat. These things we all know to be one hundred percent true. But there is one thing about Caesar that we don’t know for sure, and maybe we never will. So many people have different opinions, and it is hard to say who is wrong and who is right. Caesar was a bad leader because he did many things that were either cruel or for selfish reasons such as achieving support and rising in power in Rome. On the one hand, Caesar always did his best to please the people of Rome. He spent his time creating games such as lavish gladiator games and other forms of entertainment to keep the people happy, and he expanded the Roman Empire by nearly a third of its original size. When he arrived in Egypt after the Egyptians had killed his rival Pompey, the Egyptians brought Caesar the head of his old rival. Caesar was said to have wept at the sight of Pompey’s head, saying that Pompey was a formidable rival and that he did not deserve such a death. He claimed that he always had Rome’s best interests in mind whatever action he took, and he ultimately made Rome a better place. For the Romans, at least. On the other hand, Caesar was cunning and cruel. He was disrespectful of his elders, and all those around him. Especially to the aristocrats. He spent way too much money on creating various games for the plebeians and created an unrest in Rome. He sent people to be in his gladiator games for disobeying even the slightest command, and he killed hundreds of millions of people. He was a womanizer and a strict military leader. He attacked native tribes and wiped them all out, one by one, claiming the land that they had inhabited. He was ruthless, and although to the ancient Romans that made him a hero, by today’s
Cited: Paterculus, Velleius. Roman History. Book website source. New York, New York. 1924. website source. Plutarch. The Parallel Lives, Loeb Classical Library edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 1920. Website Source Froude, James Anthony. Life of Caesar. Project Gutenberg e-text. p. 67. Suetonius, Lives of the Twelve Caesars: Julius 6; Velleius Paterculus, 1879. Roman history HAIL CAESAR. AandE Home Video, 1997 VHS- BIB page Source (HAIL CAESAR) – Parenthetial Source. Zoch, Paul A. (200). Ancient Rome: An Introductory History. University of Oklahoma Press. pp. 217–218.