It was in the early spring of March, 44 BC. Julius Caesar was gathering with senators to discuss local matters, but in fact other plans were made. Once he entered, Caesar was held down by his robe as the senators rushed at him with daggers. A charged onslaught of flesh puncturing blows continued, first by Servilius Casca, then by the rest of the conspirators to mark the death of Rome’s first dictator 1(Appian, 4.114-117). What was the purpose behind this assassination? Were they done personally, or was it due to political circumstances? This essay will be answering all of these questions. Caesar’s unforgiving brutality and his favor amongst his friends being placed in high position instead of the rightful men was one of the main motives as to why he was assassinated; but the Senate aristocrats killed Caesar because they perceived him to be a popular leader who threatened their privileged interests and was received poorly by supporters. By looking at many of the conspirators’ individual motives as to why they participated in the execution of Julius Caesar, it will help uncover the many underlying factor in this debated topic.
1 Appian, The Civil Wars 4. p.114
Personal animosity was one of the greatest influences on any of the men conspiring in the revolutionary plot. Caesar’s vast wealth and increasing monopoly of power would have made any man on Earth jealous, and because of this, it wasn’t surprising was that Caesar had many man underneath his rule that were extremely envious. Not to mention that a large amount of them were in debt to Caesar which didt help the cause. The first was his long time friend M. Junius Brutus. Although Many Now many theories have gone around through scholars that the dreaded hate for Caesar was due to the fact that he may have had an affair with Brutus’ mother, Servilia, which led to his own hostility 2(Epstein, p. 567). It is uncertain whether or not this was true, but it is a possible trigger. Anyone with the amount of power...