Introduction and Anticipation Guide Julius Caesar Introduction and Anticipation Guide

…Rome was the light of the world, and the Roman Empire was the work of the gods

Julius Caesar: An Historical Play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, also known simply as Julius Caesar, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1599. It portrays the 44 BC conspiracy against the Roman dictator Julius Caesar, his assassination and the defeat of the conspirators at the Battle of Philippi. It is one of several Roman plays that Shakespeare wrote, based on true events from Roman history, which also include Coriolanus and Antony and Cleopatra. Although the title of the play is Julius Caesar, Caesar is not the most visible character in its action; he appears in only three scenes, and is killed at the beginning of the third act. Marcus Brutus speaks more than four times as many lines, and the central psychological drama is his struggle between the conflicting demands of honour, patriotism, and friendship

First Things First…Roman names What's in a (Roman) Name? A Roman man typically had three parts to his name: 1. Praenomen - the personal name 2. Nomen - the name of his gens, or tribe 3. Cognomen - the family name Example: Gaius Julius Caesar Gaius (praenomen) Julius (nomen - Julius tribe) Caesar (cognomen - Caesar family) http://home.golden.net/~eloker/romanname.htm

Major Themes: Leadership: qualities of a good/bad leader, strengths and weaknesses and abilities Friendship: what are the qualities of a good friend? How far does your friendship go… Suicide: historical vs. modern attitudes toward suicide Fate and Superstition… Let’s begin here!

Fate and Superstition What images come to mind when we think of fate and superstition? To what extent can we control our/the future? How superstitious are you? Do you have good luck rituals that you perform before important occasions? Do you watch for omens before important events? Do you read your horoscope every day and do you follow its advice?

Fate and Superstition What is a horoscope? According to wikipedia: In common usage, horoscope often refers to an astrologer's interpretation, usually based on a system of Sun sign astrology; or on the calendar significance of an event, as in Chinese astrology. In particular, many newspapers and magazines carry predictive columns based on celestial influences in relation to the zodiacal placement of the Sun on the day of a person's birth, identifying the individual's Sun sign or "star sign" based on the tropical zodiac. *the Romans were extremely superstitious people

Fate and Superstition