THE CONTROVERSY OVER CAESAR: WHO REALLY STARTED THE ROMAN EMPIRE?

Introduction

Superstitions about Caesar

Effects of Marc Antony

Effects of Octavian

Conclusion

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---The senators showed a surprising lack of forethought when planning the death of Caesar. Michael Akinde, a doctorate student at Aalborg University, acknowleges that they planned their excuses well, associating Caesar with the word king, a word the Romans equated with tyrant and assigning him excessive titles, making him "odious" to the common Roman ("Assassination" 1). But they failed to anticipate the consequences of their actions, such as the rumors that arose after Caesar's death. As Plutarch said in his book Plutarch's Lives of Illustrious Men, " . . . the great genius which attended him through his lifetime, . . . remained as the avenger of his murder, pursuing through every sea and land all those who were concerned in it" (529). According to Plutarch, Cinna, a friend of Caesar, foretold his own death when he supposedly dreamed that Caesar requested they dine together and upon Cinna's refusal, Casear tried to force him. The next day, after an angry mob mistook Cinna for a conspirator and killed him, the dream became reality. Another superstition arose when Brutus reported that Caesar's ghost came to him during the battle of Phillipe foretelling of Brutus's death and defeat. Besides these incidents, a comet appeared in the sky for seven nights after Caesar's death, and the sun dimmed for the remainder of that year, resulting in damp air and a bad harvest (Plutarchus 529). These superstitions contributed to the supernatural aspects concerning Caesar and helped condemn his murderers to failure. By removing Caesar, the assassins turned him into a myth, his life into folklore. Since ancient Romans were very superstitious, this made the populace support Caesar's associates.

---The senators failed to do more than anticipate consequences. In "The Roman Revolution," Dr. Ellis L. Knox, a professor of Western Civilization at Boise State University, states that after Caesar's murder, chaos erupted. Proponents and opponents of Caesar each feared a massacre from the other and therefore hid. No one stepped up to organize the government (29). Akinde claims this is because the assassins were all men of no importance and without Caesar they did not know how to reform the government. The Republic had long been "a shadow without a body" (1). According to T.R. Reid in "The Power and Glory of the Roman Empire", the senators thought that with Caesar removed, democracy would restore itself (24). They were completely unprepared for a man like Marc Antony.

---Directly after Caesar's death, tension lessened, causing the general populace to believe events settled (Plutarchus 529). Knox states that Marc Antony then called the Senate into session and asked to deliver Caesar's eulogy. The senators were reluctant, but agreed on the condition that Antony neither glorify Caesar nor condemn his murderers. Unbeknowest to them, Antony had already confiscated Caesar's papers, among them, Caesar's will. In it, Caesar ordered the creation of gardens for the poor in Rome and allotted money for all Roman citizens. The people were enraged, their faith in Caesar again ignited, and they sought revenge. A mob drove the conspirators out of the city (Roman 30). The senators' mistake was to allow Antony to seize control. They knew he was dangerous, he was Caesar's most faithful general, but they were too obsessed with their own inferiority to help Rome themselves. After the funeral, their chances fo securing power were greatly diminished. As Cicero said, "the tyrant is dead, but tyranny still lives" (95).

---Upon realizing the threat of Antony, the senators, headed by Cicero began to support one of Antony's greatest rivals, Octavian. Caesar left Octavian three-fourths of his property and named Octavian the main heir in his will (Lendering 11; Knox 31). This caused a rift between Octavian and Antony since Antony expected this honor. Rosalie and Charles Baker, in their book Ancient Romans: Expanding the Classical Tradition, say that in order to gain Octavian's support, the senators repeatedly increased his power by overlooking his age to name him a senator and a consul respectively ("Octavian" 115). They also officially acknowledged Octavian as Caesar's son and deified Caesar (Baker, "Augustus" 115; Plutarchus 528). Thus Octavian became a very powerful man who could now claim to be Caesar divi filius, or the son of a god (Akinde, "Epilogue"2). The senators considered Octavian a boy and believed it was they who controlled him, even after he carried out the conditions of Caesar's will ignored by Antony. But Octavian was an ambitious man who would not settle for second best. Lendering says that Octavian used the power given to him to seize total control. He called together all his father's supporters and legions, and banking upon the power of Caesar's name, gained their support (32). With both political and military power, Octavian became an unsurpassable force. Octavian then formed a tyranny, in everything but name, with himself at the helm. Ironically, the man the senate chose to prevent such an occurence used their trust and naivete to usurp their power.

---Time and again, the senators showed ineptness. They did not realize their own inferiority, forgot to anticipate consequences, and underestimated Marc Antony. Perhaps the most convincing argument, though, was when the senators supported Octavian. Octavian was the hand picked heir to Caesar's throne. Obviously he was not someone to be underestimated. By killing Caesar, the assassins set into action the changes from democracy to tyranny. Scholars and historians disagree on this fact. Some historians argue that the change was inevitable, that the social needs of the time demanded a revolution to replace the old aristocracy with a new oligarchy (13). It must be noted, too, that Caesar was a model for Octavian; from Caesar, Octavian knew to keep the Senate, but give them no power and to heed the weaknessess of the Republic (Akinde, "Assassination" 2; Akinde "Epilogue" 2). In an email conversation, Dr. Ellis L. Knox claimed that Caesar dismantled many important institutions of the Republic and his deeds done as dictator made Octavian's job easier (1). But it is quite clear regardless of Caesar's intention, his removal caused Octavian's rise to power and the transformation from democracy to tyranny. Therefore, since the senators physically handed over their power to him, the necessary conclusion is that the assassins of Caesar relinquished their right to vote; the assassins of Caesar established rule by birth; and the assassins of Caesar founded the tyranny called the Roman Empire.