Julius Caesar

1. Who was Pompey?

Pompey or Pompey Magnus was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a
significant role in transforming the state of Rome into the vast Roman Empire that it became. He
was born in 106 BC. He made many conquests for Rome and was even allowed to enter Rome in
triumph even when he did not hold any public office. During his lifetime he enjoyed three
triumphs. He was a great soldier and a most successful general. He thus gained great popularity
and admiration. People would climb up walls and battlements and even chimney tops hoping to
catch a glimpse of him. They would raise such a tremendous shout of joy all together when they
saw his chariot that even the waters of the Tiber trembled as the echo rolled through the banks.
Julius Caesar and he were good friends but as Caesar grew in power they fell out with each other.
Pompey became the greatest rival of Caesar who eventually defeated him at the Battle of
Pharsalia and Pompey fled to Egypt. He was murdered in Egypt by one of his own soldiers.

2. What does the term 'Roman triumph' mean?

A Roman triumph was a solemn procession in which a victorious general entered the city in a
decorated chariot drawn by four horses. Behind him followed the captives of war, spoils taken in
that war and his troops. After passing down the streets, the general would ascend the grand
staircase of the Capitol to offer sacrifice in the Temple of Jupiter.

3. How did Caesar treat the Roman citizens during his triumph?

Whenever Caesar would return after defeating an enemy, every free citizen would receive a
donation of 400 sesterces (about 400 rupees) and a year's remission of house rent. They were
treated to a sumptuous banquet which consisted of lamb meat and the choicest wines of Italy
which flowed freely. The entire populace which loved gory scenes of bloodshed was treated to
gladiator and wild animal shows exhibited on a scale far exceeding anything that the people had
ever before imagined.

4. What was the 'Capitol'?

The Capitol was the temple of Jupiter (the Father of the Roman gods and goddesses) situated on
the Capitoline Hill in Rome. It was the national temple of Rome and one of the grandest
buildings there. The victorious general who entered the city in triumph was taken in his chariot
to bow and offer thanks to Jupiter. Shakespeare uses the term Capitol to refer to the entire hill on
which it was built. He represents the meeting of the Senate as having taken place at the Capital
but it was never held there.

5. What was the 'marketplace'?

The Forum consisted of a series of buildings surrounding a quadrangular space in Rome. It was
one of the busiest places of those times and used for the transaction of all kinds of public
business.

6. What was the feast of the Lupercal?

Lupercalia was a pastoral festival of ancient Rome which was observed every year on 15th
February to purify the city, promoting health and fertility. It was held in honour of the god
Lupercus or the god of fertility on the Palentine Hill. The place contained an altar and a grove
sacred to the god. It was here that sheep and young goats were sacrificed by priests who were
known as Luperci and were young men from good families. After they had sacrificed the
animals, they cut the skins of goats and used them as thongs to run through the streets of Rome
striking all they met on the way. This was known as the 'course' (Act I Scene 2, line 4). This act
of running with thongs through the streets was a symbol of purifying the land. The act of
touching persons with these thongs was a purification of men and women, especially those
women who could not bear a child, would become fruitful. The month of February is named after
these thongs which were called 'februa' while the ceremony was called 'februalis."
Shakespeare refers to this festival and fixes the time of the play in the opening scene as 15th
February, 44 BC.

7. What is the significance of 'the Ides of March'?

The Ides of March is the 74th day of the Roman calendar corresponding to 15th March. In 44 BC
it became notorious as the date of the assassination of Julius Caesar which made the Ides of
March a turning point in the history of the Roman Empire. Before the assassination it was
marked by several religious observances and was known as the deadline for settling debts.

8. What was the 'great flood'?

The story of the great flood is found in every mythology. The great flood is a reference to the
flood brought about by Jupiter (or Zeus) to punish mankind for impiety. It was supposed to have
occurred in BC 1503 in Thessaly.

9. What did 'dictatorship' mean during the times of Julius Caesar?

There is a misconception about the word 'dictator'. In modern political thought the term
'dictatorship' means the exercise of unconstitutional supreme power or being a tyrant. However,
in the Roman Republic the dictatorship was an office or a position to which a man was
constitutionally appointed during some crisis the Republic was facing at that time. When the
crisis was safely over, the dictator resigned from his appointment.
In Julius Caesar's case, however, he made himself dictator for life. He was the sole commander
of the armed forces. At the end of 45 BC he was for the fourth time dictator In fact, in some of
his coins, his portrait appears with the title dictator perpetuus (dictator for life).

10. Write a note on the Roman Senate

Rome, being a republic, was governed by the Roman Senate. The Senate was the governing body
of the aristocracy of ancient Rome.
The Roman Senate Consisted of a body of elders, called Senators, who were elected from among
the nobles of the state. The first elected Senate had a hundred members which over the years
increased to 600 and then to 900 members under Julius Caesar. Many of the new faces came
from other Italian towns. They met at the Senate House at regular intervals to discuss the affairs
of the state, namely the internal affairs and the finances of the state under the guidance of the
Roman rulers.
These senators were required not only to be of good moral character but wealthy as well since
they were not paid for their jobs and were expected to spend their wealth on helping to run the
state. Under the leadership of Julius Caesar the Senate became more powerful since it controlled
the spending of the state money. During the later part of the Republic, the Senate was degraded
in many ways.