Plutarch Vs. Shakespeare: Was Caesar A Good Man?

Plutarch vs. Shakespeare: Was Caesar a Good Man? According to the great philosopher Plato, “the measure of a man is what he does with power”. While we know a lot about Julius Caesar’s legendary military and political career; his character is more or less unknown. Was he a ruthless, ambitious dictator; or was he a wise leader whose ultimate concern was for his loyal subjects? Julius Caesar was born in July of 100BC. He joined the Roman army at a young age and quickly became a great general. He led his troops to victory many times in Asia and Cilicia and was elected as a military triune. After a victory over the King of Pontus, Caesar returned to Rome to start a political career, working with Pompey, another great Roman. In 59 BC. Caesar …show more content…
He is also credited with creating the modern calendar we use today. Most importantly however, Caesar realized that the Roman Republic could not continue for much longer as it was. The distribution of land was so imbalanced that the people were near revolt. As he attempted to restructure the government in ways to bring more balance, he made many enemies within the Senate. In particular, two members of the Senate, Brutus and Cassius, who were former allies of Caesar decided that they didn’t like the amount of power Caesar had amassed. They were afraid he was going to try to make himself the king of Rome and destroy the government. On March 15, 44BC, a day forever known as the ides of March, Brutus, Cassius and their accomplices assassinated Caesar by overtaking him in a senate session and stabbing him. Two of the major sources of information on Julius Caesar are the familiar Shakespeare play bearing his name, and Caesar’s chapter in the philosopher and writer Plutarch’s book “Parallel Lives”. While both of these sources give us a good look at Caesar’s life and accomplishments, they have two very different stances on the moral character of the man. Both works teach us a lot about Caesar and Rome, but which is the correct opinion about his true …show more content…
I think that through multiple centuries of stories about the legendary ruler, his character was boosted to show that he was undeserving of his unfortunate fate. Therefore, while Shakespeare’s play is a very interesting and entertaining look at Caesar’s life and death, Plutarch’s biography of Caesar provides a more reliable account. As far as the nature of the man Julius Caesar, I believe it is not our place to decide. As we cannot know Caesar’s true motives or what drove his morals; we shouldn’t judge is character. In the end, God is the only person capable of making that