Caesar butchered a lot of people to get his place in history...he did propose changes to help the plebs, and for this he wasn't the most popular guy in the senate...Glorify him, no...but he like many others has earned his place in history. "The Assassination of Julius Caesar" by Michael Parenti is my all time favorite book on Caesar...Enjoy!
Nobody is 100% right or good 100% of the times, nobody then should be glorified, but we should consider a person in his entirety and if possibile learn values we can implement in our life to improve ourselves. Julius Caesar was one of the most successful emperors, which means he ordered the invasions and assassinations of many people, and he didn't consider other people's needs and desires so this was a cause of his death. We can learn from him about his effort to be educated and a good pubblic speaker or about being resilient, persistent and that a real leader is able to negotiate and consider other people's needs. Nowadays, and learning from that, you can already see how our actual leaders are failing miserably and how people without clear values fuelling the problems.
Caesar destroyed the Republican, resulting in a succession of Emperor/dictators, beginning with Augustus, who was an Emperor in fact albeit not in name. This rather shortly resulted in the fall of Egypt, and after a few hundred years the fall of the entire Western Roman Rmpire. So, I’ll pass on ‘praising’ Caesar…
Growing up. I loved history (still do) I liked learning about men like Caesar, Alexander, etc. and for the longest time I was on Caesar's side, but after more learning I realize it's more grey than that. While he did help the plebs he also slaughtered the Gauls without mercy in a war that was questionable. I've also come to respect Brutus more as a decent and honorable man who did his best to save Rome and its traditions, but sadly I fear the corrupt of the late republic was too deep and if it wasn't Caesar it would've been someone else. Peace and great article.
"Should We Glorify Caesar?" ... Alternative: "Should Caesar's Assassins Be Lamented as Failed Patriots?"
By the Middle Ages, Dante Alighieri assuredly rejected such an alternative notion. Dante's Inferno (The Divine Comedy), past the nine circles, at the depth of hell, reveals a three-headed satan munching eternally on the conspirators Brutus (left mouth) and Cassius (right mouth) along with Judas Iscariot (center mouth) -- the arch traitor of all time). Much has evolved, devolved, revolved since 1300 AD (CE). Is it time to revisit the motives of Brutus, Cassius, Labeo, Cimber, Basilus, Casca, Aquila, et al.?
Your title line (under the graphic of the world locations of readers) ends in a preposition which is technically incorrect English usage..... however, "When Winston Churchill was chastised for ending a sentence with a preposition, he wittily responded. 'This is the type of arrant pedantry up with which I will not put.' Churchill's retort illustrates that attempts to avoid ending a sentence with a preposition can be labored and ludicrous." Nonetheless, your readers are likely mostly erudite folks and such glitches probably glare in their editor eyes and grate their inner souls as it did mine.
Funnily enough, my mind did literally go through that very cycle as I was writing... and then I had a quick deadline because of a scheduled interview (an excellent conversation with professor Cline regarding the Iron Age after 1177BC) that I had to press send without revision. I too suffer when viewing dangling prepositions...
Should we glorify Caesar? Of course not. He was a butcher. Just like we should not glorify René Descartes, the philosopher who people blindly claim was brilliant but who was pretty evil, and in some respects absolutely stupid. There, I said it!
Caesar has influenced Western politics for 2,000 years, whether we like it or not. He was a huge influence for Napoleon (and Napoleon III). Check out my new article on this very topic!
Caesar butchered a lot of people to get his place in history...he did propose changes to help the plebs, and for this he wasn't the most popular guy in the senate...Glorify him, no...but he like many others has earned his place in history. "The Assassination of Julius Caesar" by Michael Parenti is my all time favorite book on Caesar...Enjoy!
I think that is well said - "earned his place in history"!
Nobody is 100% right or good 100% of the times, nobody then should be glorified, but we should consider a person in his entirety and if possibile learn values we can implement in our life to improve ourselves. Julius Caesar was one of the most successful emperors, which means he ordered the invasions and assassinations of many people, and he didn't consider other people's needs and desires so this was a cause of his death. We can learn from him about his effort to be educated and a good pubblic speaker or about being resilient, persistent and that a real leader is able to negotiate and consider other people's needs. Nowadays, and learning from that, you can already see how our actual leaders are failing miserably and how people without clear values fuelling the problems.
That's a great point - that nobody should be glorified!
Caesar destroyed the Republican, resulting in a succession of Emperor/dictators, beginning with Augustus, who was an Emperor in fact albeit not in name. This rather shortly resulted in the fall of Egypt, and after a few hundred years the fall of the entire Western Roman Rmpire. So, I’ll pass on ‘praising’ Caesar…
Growing up. I loved history (still do) I liked learning about men like Caesar, Alexander, etc. and for the longest time I was on Caesar's side, but after more learning I realize it's more grey than that. While he did help the plebs he also slaughtered the Gauls without mercy in a war that was questionable. I've also come to respect Brutus more as a decent and honorable man who did his best to save Rome and its traditions, but sadly I fear the corrupt of the late republic was too deep and if it wasn't Caesar it would've been someone else. Peace and great article.
"Should We Glorify Caesar?" ... Alternative: "Should Caesar's Assassins Be Lamented as Failed Patriots?"
By the Middle Ages, Dante Alighieri assuredly rejected such an alternative notion. Dante's Inferno (The Divine Comedy), past the nine circles, at the depth of hell, reveals a three-headed satan munching eternally on the conspirators Brutus (left mouth) and Cassius (right mouth) along with Judas Iscariot (center mouth) -- the arch traitor of all time). Much has evolved, devolved, revolved since 1300 AD (CE). Is it time to revisit the motives of Brutus, Cassius, Labeo, Cimber, Basilus, Casca, Aquila, et al.?
Oh very good - I like looking at it from another angle... And it's a more interesting question of higher virtue: loyalty to a friend or to the state?
Your title line (under the graphic of the world locations of readers) ends in a preposition which is technically incorrect English usage..... however, "When Winston Churchill was chastised for ending a sentence with a preposition, he wittily responded. 'This is the type of arrant pedantry up with which I will not put.' Churchill's retort illustrates that attempts to avoid ending a sentence with a preposition can be labored and ludicrous." Nonetheless, your readers are likely mostly erudite folks and such glitches probably glare in their editor eyes and grate their inner souls as it did mine.
Funnily enough, my mind did literally go through that very cycle as I was writing... and then I had a quick deadline because of a scheduled interview (an excellent conversation with professor Cline regarding the Iron Age after 1177BC) that I had to press send without revision. I too suffer when viewing dangling prepositions...
Hail Caesar! Not!
”Should We Glorify Caesar?”… Yes.
Should we glorify Caesar? Of course not. He was a butcher. Just like we should not glorify René Descartes, the philosopher who people blindly claim was brilliant but who was pretty evil, and in some respects absolutely stupid. There, I said it!
Caesar has influenced Western politics for 2,000 years, whether we like it or not. He was a huge influence for Napoleon (and Napoleon III). Check out my new article on this very topic!
https://www.ancient-origins.net/history-famous-people/napoleon-french-caesar-0020437