Posted up in the Subway with Julius

“When they had begun to honour Julius Caesar (now Dictator), it was with the idea, of course, that he would be reasonable; but as they went on and saw that he was delighted with what they voted, — indeed he accepted all but a very few of their decrees, — different men at different times kept proposing various extravagant honours, some in a spirit of exaggerated flattery and others by way of ridicule.”

” At any rate, some actually ventured to suggest permitting him to have intercourse with as many women as he pleased, because even at this time, though fifty years old, he still had numerous mistresses. Others, and they were the majority, followed this course because they wished to make him envied and hated as quickly as possible, that he might the sooner perish.”

Both of these quotes are close and similar to each other and they symbolize Julius to me because they are also speaking about him from the perspective of the people that witnessed him rule. The impressions that were made about him are important because it was the reason for his downfall. I chose both of these passages because I thought that they gave me the best idea of what the public thought of Julius Caesar. They speak about how he’s envied, hated and addresses his numerous mistresses. It opens my eyes to see Julius Caesar as flawed because the opinions about him were so mixed.

The first passage also talks about how he was also flattered and honored. These two opposing views gave me a great, unbiased idea of Julius Caesar and I really appreciated that. I feel like I have a better idea of Caesar’s arrogance, and I could understand the frustration of the people. These two passages are similar because they are both talking about how people felt about Julius’ acts. They are different because the second seems to be talking more about rumors about him while the first is discussing the way people felt about the way that he ruled.

The image in my blog post is a photo of me and my best friend Julius. We were just at the subway heading to my apartment. I asked him where his name came from and what he knew about Julius Caesar. He said that he thinks that the name Julius comes from the month Jupiter and admitted to not knowing much about Julius Caesar. I think that his name is similar to Julius Caesar because of his parent’s Roman background. They are very ambitious and I feel like by giving their son a big name, they are subconsciously willing him to want to do great things.

This relates to my readings because Julius Caesar, although he had an unfortunate ending, accomplished a lot and is such an important figure in world history despite being called arrogant and having numerous people have negative opinions about him.

-Mckensi Pascall, Team Aphrodite

 

AUGUSTINE

The people who live in the apartment next to me (aka my lovely neighbors who weren’t home at the time) have the last name, Augustine. I’m making an educated guess when I say Augustine is a feminine derivative of the name Augustus. Because the name Augustus means venerable which means accorded a great deal of respect, especially because of age, wisdom, or character, I don’t believe there is a correlation between the quotes and my speculation. Augustus’s name was meant to honor him but he faced the same bitterness Caesar did.

“You are shameless: a glutton and a gambler.” Catullus 29

“Indeed, when once they had voted to him on a single day an unusually large number of these honours of especial importance, — which had been granted unanimously by all except Cassius and a few others, who became famous for this action, yet suffered no harm, whereby Caesar’s clemency was conspicuously revealed, — they then approached him as he was sitting in the vestibule of the temple of Venus in order to announce to him in a body their decisions.” Cassius Dio Book 44.7-20

The first quote is describing Caesar as an amoral man, unworthy of his title. This is very similar to the second quote because although the information given leads one to believe that he is being praised, there is an underlying bitterness toward Caesar from Cassius and others.

I picked these two quotes because they characterize Caesar in two different ways. Caesar receives many honors and is known for his clemency, characteristics that are expected of a benevolent ruler. But in Catullus’s poems, readers are exposed to a negative portrayal of Caesar. He is a selfish, disgusting man-whore. Readers are left with two different opinions of this imperator and because we weren’t there to draw our own conclusion, we don’t know what to do with them.

Carrissa, Team Hestia

Caesar’s Bay

Cassius Dio – “When they had begun to honour Julius Caesar (now Dictator), it was with the idea, of course, that he would be reasonable; but as they went on and saw that he was delighted with what they voted…”

“whether he will go across the great Alps,
seeing the great monuments of Caesar,
the Gallic Rhine or those monstrous men,
the furthest Britons” -Catullus

 

These two quote describes Julius Caesar to be ambitious and self-centered because in Catullus, he mentioned Caesar having a monument because of all his hard work. In Cassios Dio’s passage, Julius expects the people to vote for him because he is reasonable. However, in truth, Julius wanted people to like him and vote for him. I chose these two quote because in the story it had a connection. Both stories are sexual because the senate wanted Caesar to have numerous mistress while the poem talks about love, sex and rivalries. So I figure that both story can be a great comparison to each other.

The two stories are different because Catullus poem feels more passionate, for example, “Let us live, my Lesbia, and love”. While the other one is more like a history book in my opinion. There is more facts and information about Caesar too, compared to Catullus’s poem. 

This image shows Caesar’s Bay in Brooklyn, Ny. Caesar’s Bay was named after Caesar Salama. He was a entrepreneur that opened a business called the bayside Bazaar in 1982. I suspect that the name for both Caesar Salama and Caesar’s Bay is deprived from the Julius Caesar because the place Caesar’s Bay had became a place where people love to relax, exercise, and travel. Also, because of Caesar Salama, this place became know as Caesar’s Bay. So it became famous because of the person name Caesar.

 

-Jia, Team Athena

A Dictator for Rome in either Outcome

“Brutus, Cassius and the more than 60 other conspirators decided that they must act. They were a disparate group, but had preserved their secret for several months. On the morning of 15 March (a date known as the Ides) there was some dismay when Caesar did not arrive at the Senate on time… For a while the charade went on, but when Caesar stood to leave and tried to shake them off, the conspirators drew their knives… Caesar died of multiple stab wounds. There was a final irony about his death, for Caesar’s own Senate House had not been completed and the old curia still lay in ruins from its destruction by Clodius’s men. As a result, the Senate had assembled in a temple attached to Pompey’s theatre complex. When Caesar fell, his body lay at the foot of a statue of Pompey.”

This part of the book I chose quickly runs through the moments before and during the assassination of Julius Caesar. The author follows the events with a showing of the irony in Caesar’s death where he dies at the feet of a statue of Pompey his once sworn enemy.

The author includes this portion of Caesar’s end in only a small way because the main focus of the book is on the civil war that Julius Caesar felt he was forced and somewhat entitled to wage. The author passes over the events of the assassination to conclude with the events that lead afterward in the senate with the conspirators trying to regain order by justifying their actions to the rest of the senate and to the public who even in death felt a stronger loyalty towards Caesar then to the senate. The author at the end fet that Caesar’s death was what truly lead to the rise of Augustus and his achievements and thus Augustus was able to do what Caesar could not by gaining complete control of the state by acceptable means.

“Shouting out the words: “Run! bolt doors! bolt doors!” 3 Then all the rest, severally taking up the cry one from another, kept shouting these words, filled the city with lamentations, and burst into the workshops and houses to hide themselves, even though the assassins hurried just as they were to the Forum, urging them both by their gestures and their shouts not to be afraid.”

This account from our Cassius Dio homework shows another claim that the conspirators tried to quell the suspicion and anger towards themselves and their actions by stating there true intentions to the others in the senate and forum.

Goldsworthy, Adrian. Caesar’s Civil War 49-44 BC, Taylor and Francis, 2003. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/brooklyn-ebooks/detail.action?docID=182989.
Created from brooklyn-ebooks on 2017-12-01 20:21:02.

-Bedirhan Gonul, Team Aphrodite

Julius Caesar in Coding?

Imagine my surprise when I saw that you can find relation to the Ides of March in a coding book. This was the case in Java for Dummies by Barry Burd. Within the first part alone you find a quote that contains the term “Ides of March”.

“Now consider the sentence ‘Julius Caesar is a person.’ If you utter this sentence, you’re probably talking about the fellow who ruled Rome until the Ides of March. Although the name Julius Caesar isn’t hard-wired into the English language, almost everyone uses the name to refer to the same person. If English were a programming language, the name Julius Caesar would be an API identifier..”

Now to a lack of my surprise, the connection wasn’t as deep as I expected it to be. If anything they were using the term as a mere example of what an identifier in java would be. They are basically saying that if you hear the name Julius Caesar, then you know who is being talked about, that even though it wasn’t hard-wired into the English language almost everyone connects the name to one person. In this case he’d be like the many other identifiers in the programming language, such as integers that are intended to represent whole numbers within the code. That if you mention the term, people will be able to connect it to just that, whole numbers.

Now there really isn’t much of a quote within the Cassius Dio to really add to the way the phrase was used, except for the whole bit where he “ruled Rome until the Ides of March” as the reading was just about that, Julius Caesar’s fall during the Ides of March. “Thereupon they attacked him from many sides at once and wounded him to death, so that by reason of their numbers Caesar was unable to say or do anything, but veiling his face, was slain  with many wounds.”

 

Burd, Barry. Java for Dummies, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2014. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/brooklyn-ebooks/detail.action?docID=1688015.
Created from brooklyn-ebooks on 2017-11-30 13:45:36.

Julius on the Calendar

” When they had begun to honour Julius Caesar (now Dictator), it was with the idea, of course, that he would be reasonable; but as they went on and saw that he was delighted with what they voted, — indeed he accepted all but a very few of their decrees,.” (Cassius Dio, Book 44.7)

“At twelve he delivered a funeral oration in honour of his grandmother Julia, Julius Caesar’s sister. At sixteen, having now come of age, he was awarded military decorations when Caesar celebrated his African triumph, though he had been too young for overseas service. Caesar then went to fight Pompey’s sons in Spain; Augustus followed with a very small escort, along roads held by the enemy, after a shipwreck, too, and in a state of semi-convalescence from a serious illness. This energetic action delighted Caesar, who soon formed a high estimate of Augustus’s character.”

 

The reason i choose these two quotation is because as a dictator of Rome, Julius Caesar he was unable to separate his public life from private life. In contrast to Augustus, Julius Caesar grew arrogant and delegated little power. Augustus on the other hand, was more a intelligent politician and willing to shared his power as he control the Empire. He had avenged the death of Caesar. Also, the months July and August was derived from their name Julius to July and Augustus to August.

July derived it name from Julius (in name to honor Julius Caesar), which he was responsible for the modern calendar for 365 days.  When I did the research, I learned that Julius Caesar died in his birth month, which later on rename as July. In the early Roman calendar, number of days were more differ than the modern calendar. It was called the intercalary month, which have less days than in a 30 to 31 days month. Julius Caesar instituted a different calendar which later on become the modern calendar.

-Team Minerva, YongQi Li

 

 

Similar Names, But That’s It

 

Fatema Islam, Team Jupiter (Right)
Julie Theodore, Team Venus (Left)

Beautifully it comes together for the shameless Cinaedii Mamurra and Caesar the pervert.
Cattulus

Is this why, oh most pious of citizens, Oh father- and son-in-law, you’ve ruined EVERYTHING?!
Catullus

Both these quotes are from a poet that is rather biased towards Julius Caesar so they may not be the most accurate depiction of Caesar but it doesn’t mean there isn’t some truth to his verses. I chose them because it was actually some of the first verses of Caesar that was in the reading as well as the fact that this is someone who wasn’t afraid to state their true opinion of Caesar. Caesar wasn’t liked by everyone but some hid it better than others, Catullus didn’t bother hiding his distaste at all though. As seen in the verses above  he doesn’t think much of him and fears that he may ruin Rome. The only difference is the difference in verses.

 

In the image above there is Julie Theodore on the left and me on the right sitting on a bench with a tree behind us with yellowing leaves. I am wearing a red hijab with a knitted gray sweater while Julie is wearing a red coat with black buttons along with a blue scarf around her neck. I chose to take a picture with Julie because her name sounds similar to Julius. Her name doesn’t match up to the verses above because Julie isn’t a politician who wants to become an emperor. I’m going to assume to that one of her parents named her that for reasons that are theirs. Because of that it’s okay for her name not to match those verses because all parents have their reasons when it comes to naming their children. Weather it’s in memory of someone or if they want their children to have strong names there are lots of reasons when it comes to names.

Fatema Islam
Team Jupiter

 

Hands move quicker than the eye can see

Suetonis Life of Augustus

“Gallius was tortured as if he were a slave; and though he confessed to nothing, Augustus himself tore out his eyes and sentenced him to death.” (Suetonis 27)

“According to some historians, he chose 300 prisoners of equestrian or senatorial rank, and offered them on the ides of March at the altar of the God Julius, as human sacrifices. (Suetonis, 15)”

The first quote is addressed in the 27 paragraph where it is explained by Augustus was hated during his reign. This quote is an example of Augustus being irrational, using just what he thought he saw (a sword) and killing a possibly innocent man. Augustus acted rashly. The reason I associate the term Iris with this quote is because although Augustus could have been mistaken with the object he thought he saw on Gallius, he went so far to tear his eyes as if removing doubt to what he saw. It is a guilty complex to assume someone is a threat and instead of being incorrect, Augustus uses the idea “If you don’t see it, it never happened”. He was trying to mask his mistake  but removing the eyes of his victim.

The second quote refers to Augustus again being hot headed. In the passage, Augustus seek revenge with sentencing death to crowds of prisoner. The event happens to be on the Ides of March, the day Julius Caesar was given his fate. The ides of march, best known as the foretold date, reminded me of eyes that could see into the future. Ides, translated to the day falling to the middle of the month, made me think of eyes (play on words) . The iris of a person’s eyes is near the front of the eye, between the cornea and the pupil- the middle of the person’s eyes. It control the amount of light a person processes. The eyes move quickly and rapidly change the amount of light it processes to the brain. Just like the Iris, Augustus is rash and impulsive to act.

 

Latin may be a dead language, but several words derive from it, including the word iris. During Caesar’s error it would not be uncommon to hear someone say iris and not refer to the color of one’s eyes. Iris was the goddess of the rainbow and the messenger of the Olympian gods, specifically the God named Hera.

In your own words

This is an image of me. I took it to show my Iris and how my eyes of dilated because of the flash. Although the name Iris, comes from a God, it comes from a God Augustus most likely knew of and worshiped during his life.

The quotes to not directly connect with Iris since it is the name of a God but I found it interesting how rash and impetuous Augustus was, especially about killing people. It reminded me of how my father teases me that my eyes are bigger than my mouth or when I go through episodes of rapid thought and continuously look for everything to do and never being able to slow down and concentrate.

This image relates to Art 1010 because I took this image in my living room next to the blue lamp my father loves. This lamp has a similar shape that of a Pelike which is a one-piece ceramic container similar to an amphora. It has two open handles, a narrow neck, a flanged mouth, and a sagging, almost spherical belly. I thought it was interesting since I considered everything in my home very modern. Having a lamp resemble something from ancient Greece would be fun to say in a conversation. 

Cameron, Cannon TEAM JUPITER

 

 

Caesar the Great

Augustus:

“Yet Augustus never wantonly invaded any country, and felt no temptation to increase the boundaries of Empire or enhance his military glory” and “Such was his reputation for courage and clemency…” (Suetonius,Life of Augustus 21)

Caesar:

“When they had begun to honour Julius Caesar (now Dictator), it was with the idea, of course, that he would be reasonable.” (Cassius Dio, Book 44.7)

The reason I chose these quotes is because these quotes shows the characteristics of Julius Ceasar and Augustus. They are both good leaders of Rome- Julius was making Rome safe from the possibility of Gallic invasions, as the quote says he is reasonable; and Augustus brought peace and stability to Rome, he was not afraid to fight. They were all thoughtful for the well-being of their people. However, we can see the different from the quotes- Julius was making himself a dictator but Augustus replaced the Roman republic with an effective monarchy instead of following Caesar’s example and making himself dictator.

The picture was showing the month August, which derived Augustus. August was named after Augustus Caesar in 8 B.C. Previously, August was called “Sextillia,” which was Latin for “sixth.” It was renamed in honor of Augustus.

Shiyin Zhao, Team Jupiter

The Month of Augustus

From unit 7, chosen from the readings on the imperator, I chose two quotes that I thought best summarized who Augustus was and his mission in life. The author claimed that “the underlying motive of every campaign was that Augustus felt it his duty, above all, to avenge Caesar and keep his decrees in force.” I chose this quote because it explained a little about his motivations, it showed that he wanted to live up to or even to exceed Julius Caesar’s accomplishments. Another fact about Augustus is that he would not stand for people against him, in this quote he said that he “drove the men who slaughtered my father into exile with a legal order, punishing their crime, and afterwards, when they waged war on the state, I conquered them in two battles.” This shows that he is the type of man that is not afraid to punish others and also to eradicate anyone against him. The similarities between the two quotes is that the subject is about the death of his father and him avenging him. The difference is that the second quote is from Julius himself, which in my opinion was more graphic which showed his true feelings about his actions towards his father’s murderers, and the first quote was an overall statement about what drove him to be the man he became.

Through researching, I found that the month August was originally called Sextillis for being the 6th month in the Roman calendar,  it wasn’t until the 700th BC that it became the 8th month of the year when the months January and February were added. Then was later changed during the 8th BC after Augustus. I suspect that the month was renamed in honor of Augustus because the month was allegedly the month he conquered Egypt. This information does connect with how the two quotes described Augustus, he accomplished a lot during his time so he could live up to Julius Caesar’s accomplishments.

Sherique Vassell, Team Artemis

The Pizza Place

There are many descriptions of Caesar which can be interpreted in different ways.

This is an image of a local pizzeria called Little Caesar.  It was probably named this because Caesar is known to be a mighty and great leader so the company wanted customers to know that the pizza sold here was the best pizza in the industry. My speculation does connect to the the quotes above to an extent. Even though most of the passages explain that Caesar was a bad person, he is known in history to be a great military leader.

Catullus says

“Why do you caress this nasty man? What can he do?

Besides devour a greasy inheritance?

Is this why, oh most pious of citizens,

Oh father- and son-in-law, you’ve ruined EVERYTHING?!”

This passage characterizes Julius Caesar to be a terrible person. Catullus expresses that Romans are fools for encouraging and supporting Caesar when he ruined everything just for his own benefit. I chose this passage because it shows that even though students were taught that Caesar was this amazing leader, not everyone believed that.

Cassius Dio explains

“And this is precisely what happened, though Caesar was encouraged by these very measures to believe that he should never be plotted against by the men who had voted him such honours, nor, through fear of them, by any one else; and consequently he even dispensed henceforth with a body-guard.”

This passage explains why Julius Caesar was plotted against. It explains that his supporters inflated his ego to the point where Caesar thought of himself as a higher leveled human being. I chose this passage because it showed that Caesar’s downfall was the result of him listening to others.

Comparison:

These two passages are similar and different. They both show that Caesar had many negative aspects which led to his downfall. However, one was biased because their hometown was taken over by the Romans, while the other was a perspective on the events when Caesar was assassinated.

-Fariah, Team Hermes

Emperor on your salad?

“I am not really keen, Caesar, to wish to pander to you,
Nor to know whether you are a hero or a villain.”

CATULLUS 93

“Caesar is Apollo, true — but he’s Apollo of the Torments”

LIFE OF AUGUSTUS

In Catullus I believe that the author does not really care what kind of person Caesar was. He can be great or not and it wouldn’t make a difference. In the Life of Augustus, Caesar is called Apollo of the Torments which I believe is a negative comment towards Caesar’s character. I chose these two quotes because they both describe Caesar in a negative fashion.

These passages are different because one is a biography and the other is a poem.

This is a picture of me holding Caesar dressing which has the same name as Julius Caesar. Did Julius Caesar ever think that his name would be on a dressing bottle?

-Luisa, Team Hermes

Fairy Slipper

“Beware the Frozen Ides of March. Beware

the self-betrayal of a little knowledge poorly

applied. Next time he rolls towards you in the hour

before dawn, you will say yes no matter what

he has or hasn’t done. You will listen to gesture,

not word…”

Context of the quote

The quote appears in a poem entitled “Fairy Slipper”. Similar to it’s use in Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar (and other such works) it cautions the audience against a downfall. Rather than referring to a physical downfall- in Caesar’s case, his assassination- it refers to a betrayal of the heart.

Why does the author use this reference? What does she expect the reader to know about the phrase? Is it portrayed as good or bad?

The author refers to “the Ides of March” in narrative about heartache and self-fulfilling habits. She warns us to beware a certain prophesied coming. “Beware the Ides of March”, as used in this poem, can be translated to “beware the man who comes”. In using the phrase the author expects us to understand that Ides of March refers to the date on which Caesar is stabbed. The author interprets the phrase as a bad thing- beware heartache, beware the man you will ultimately let back in.

Quote from Cassius Dio and justification

“And when the right moment came, one of them approached him, as if to express his thanks for some favour or other, and pulled his toga from his shoulder, thus giving the signal that had been agreed upon by the conspirators. Thereupon they attacked him from many sides at once and wounded him to death, so that by reason of their numbers Caesar was unable to say or do anything, but veiling his face, was slain  with many wounds”

This account justifies the “Fairy Slipper” author’s interpretation of the Ides of March. The Ides of March refer to the date of Caesar’s assassination, which is portrayed as brutal and treacherous. This also seems to be the context in which “Ides of March” is used in “The Fairy Slipper”.

Citation

Goodman, Henrietta. Hungry Moon. University Press of Colorado, 2013.

Caesar Sells

From Suetonius “but sent Brutus’s head to Rome for throwing at the feet of Caesar’s divine image” (13)

From Catullus “whether he will go across the great Alps, seeing the great monuments of Caesar” (11).

Both of these quotes show how praised Caesar was. Caesars image is described as divine and great, showing how prominent he was in peoples lives.

I chose them because it showed you how people viewed Caesar during that time.

On my way home from school I passed Caesars liquor store, if you look you can see the face of Caesar on the sign and you can see the wreath around his head. I believe they used Caesar as their name because Caesar was known as a strong and powerful leader. They put him as the name to show that they are the biggest and best liquor store.

My speculation does line up with my quotes because they describe Caesar as a great and divine, which are positive descriptions.

Caesar is a very strong and powerful name which is a very good name to use when naming a store to show you are a good store for people to buy from.

-Aiden Ferris

Team Artemis

Ides of March

The book I chose is called, “Caesar: The Life of a Colossus” by Adrian Goldsworthy. The quote I chose from the heading, “Ides of March” is the following:

Caesar did not expect to die in March 44 BC and the men who killed him were
obviously not confident that nature would do their work for them in the
near future. The dictator’s death was sudden and unanticipated by all but
the conspirators. Therefore, to look at Caesar and the regime he created is
inevitably to examine something that was incomplete and still developing.

Caesar’s death was not anticipated and this is why it’s interesting to examine. It was very sudden and because the system he created was still developing, it would obviously had been difficult to take over his regime and resume his plan of rule which was still being decided upon.

The author is referring to the Ides of March because he is talking about the incidents that led to Caesar’s assassination in 44 BC. The author is expecting the readers to already know why this incident was named this. It’s because when Julius Caesar was on his way to The Theater of Pompey, where he would be assassinated, he joked, “The Ides of March are come”.

For a report, whether true or false, got abroad, as reports will spread, that the priests known as the Quindecemviri (=15-men who consulted sacred books written by the Sibyl, a priestess of Apollo) were spreading the report that the Sibyl had said the Parthians would never be defeated in any other way than by a king, and were consequently going to propose that this title be granted to Caesar.

I chose this quote from the reading, “Cassius Dio: the account of Ides of March”. It compliments the quote from the book, “Caesar: The Life of a Colossus” because it shows that Julius Caesar was brave enough to lead a massive expedition to invade Parthia and annex its territories for Rome.

Goldsworthy, Adrian. Caesar : Life of a Colossus, Yale University Press, 2006. ProQuest Ebook Central,https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/brooklyn-ebooks/detail.action?docID=3420296.

Caesar and Spartacus

‘3 At any rate, some actually ventured to suggest permitting him to have intercourse with as many women as he pleased, because even at this time, though fifty years old, he still had numerous mistresses” Cassius Dio Book 44. 7-20

“4 And this is precisely what happened, though Caesar was encouraged by these very measures to believe that he should never be plotted against by the men who had voted him such honours, nor, through fear of them, by any one else; and consequently he even dispensed henceforth with a body-guard”Cassius Dio

In these two passages they first describe how arrogant Caesar was thinking that no on would attempt any assassination against him because he was too beloved by many and all his people. They also describe him as being perverted because of his lust for women having many mistresses. In the second passage it tells of how Caesar was more charismatic and his pride in Augustus his adopted son. I chose these quotes because usually when people talk about Caesar they do not go in depth to the actual caesar these passages allow you to see how others viewed Caesar. It allows you to see some of the other characteristics Caesar portrayed.

The image I chose is of a character named Julius Caesar From the series called Spartacus. In the show Julius caesar is not particularly the same as the actual Caesar. This Julius Caesar is almost another common soldier but eventually climbs the ranks after serving Marcus Crassus. He ends up finding himself as a big part in the rebellion Spartacus has started but would betray Spartacus as he revealed it was a ruse all along. I feel as though this character received his name because the writers of the show wanted to give a common soldier the name to see how viewers would view him whether he would be an important figure or another character. But eventually he proved to be more than just a common character.

Julius Caesar and Augustus are common figures we see in Art 1010. We have seen artworks sculpted after both figures and I have seen multiple statutes that have been made after them.

 

-Al-bishr Askar, Team Hephaestus

Dictators in Business

“When Fuld summoned Pettit to his office and told him he needed to fire Williams and Shaftel, Pettit refused. In that case, Fuld said, he needed to ask Pettit to step down from running the operating committee. He laid out his plans for a small committee of six, and Pettit again refused. So Fuld demoted him to “head of client relationships.””
Ward, Vicky. Devil’s Casino : Friendship, Betrayal, and the High Stakes Games Played Inside Lehman Brothers, Wiley, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/brooklyn-ebooks/detail.action?docID=510230.
Created from brooklyn-ebooks on 2017-11-27 17:47:15.

 

In this book, there’s an entire chapter called the Ides of March. The quote that was taken doesn’t include the keyword search, but it shows just why it’s titled this. The chapter is about how a man in the corporate world plotted against two workers who he no longer wanted and went behind their backs to gather people to stand behind him. He, being the power hungry man the book makes him out to be, demoted whoever was against him. While not exactly like the Ides of March, the chapter includes a dictator like character who everyone secretly hated because he was so cruel. He made their lives so miserable to the point that people began to leave the company. The author would expect the reader to at least know the basis of the Ides of March in order to fully understand the comparison. Knowing the story gives the chapter added dramatics because when the there is a dictator, there is a fall.

” And though for the moment he did them no harm, yet later, when they issued a proclamation declaring that they were unable to speak their mind freely and safely on behalf of the public good, he became exceedingly angry and brought them into the senate-house where he accused them and put their conduct to the vote. ”

This relates to the quote taken from the book being that because Pettit had stood against him just as the officials stood against Caesar for his unfair actions, the man in power exercised it in a very unjust way by demoting him.

Reform

1. MLA Citation: Enggass, Peter M., and Russell King. “Land Reform: A World Survey.” Economic Geography, vol. 55, no. 4, Oct. 1979, p. 357., doi:10.2307/143169.
2. The intended audience of this Journal article are scholars, students, or anyone who read or is planning on reading Land Reform:A World Survey. As this is a review and summary of the 357 page book, those who are planning on picking up the book will find this article very useful.
3. The author does connect the two points, however he does not build a strong connection.  The two search terms are only connected when Enggass is discussing the second chapter of the book titled “The Evolution Of The Concept” Eggass believes the title of the chapter is misleading as he mentions, “The title of the second chapter, “Evolution of the Concept” is somewhat of a misnomer…

   ages. The reader leaps from the Gracchi reforms of 121 BC to the French Revolution to John Stuart Mill in two pages.” The use of the two terms shows the impact of each event on land reform.

4. My chosen article is about land reform and my two search terms are Gracchi and France. Gracchi or the Gracchus brothers were 2nd century Roman tribunes who attempted to pass land reform acts, these two are actually mentioned in several parts of the readings for homework, a moment which connects the two readings together is “Having thus comprehended all this in a law, they took an oath over and above the law, and fixed penalties for violating it, and it was supposed that the remaining land would soon be divided among the poor in small parcels.” This quote ties the readings together by explaining land reforms and the attempts of the Gracchus brothers to pass them.

 

Oliver, Team Hestia,

Dark Time of the Ides of March

Book: What Shakespeare Teaches Us About Psychoanalysis: A Local Habitation and a Name

Quote: “Beware the Ides of March” (I.ii.23). “The soothsayer represents the priest of an earlier period, who protects the natural order. The Ides of March is not simply a date but represents something ancient that transcends the Julian calendar. Caesar first breaks the natural order when he dismisses the soothsayer, saying: “He is a dreamer. Let us leave him” (I.ii.24). Caesar is now dangerously breaking with the ancient system.”

Grunes, Dorothy T., and Jerome M. Grunes. What Shakespeare Teaches Us About Psychoanalysis : A Local Habitation and a Name, Karnac Books, 2014. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/brooklyn-ebooks/detail.action?docID=1699470.

Created from brooklyn-ebooks on 2017-11-27 16:36:31.

Summary of quote: This quote reveals that the Ides of March is something to be prepared and aware of. The Ides of March represents something ancient that goes even beyond the Julian calendar. Julius Caesar breaks the natural order and ancient system. He was warned about the Ides of March by the soothsayer.

Authors Reference to Ides of March: The author uses the Ides of March to represent how important the death of Caesar was. The author expects the reader to know about Caesar’s death. The Ides of March was a dark day and time, when Caesar was killed. Since that time, the idea stuck that the Ides of March is unlucky or a portent of doom.

Quote from Cassius Dio: “When the right moment came, one of them approached him, as if to express his thanks for some favour or other, and pulled his toga from his shoulder, thus giving the signal that had been agreed upon by the conspirators. Thereupon they attacked him from many sides at once and wounded him to death, 5 so that by reason of their numbers Caesar was unable to say or do anything, but veiling his face, was slain with many wounds. This is the truest account, though some have added that to Brutus, when he struck him a powerful blow, he said: “Thou, too, my son?”

The quote compliments the ideas from the book because the quote explains how Caesar was killed. Caesar was attacked and killed by many conspirators and Brutus. The Ide of March will always be remembered for death of Julius Caesar.

Mohammed, team Vulcan

 

Caesar… Cut from Faith!?

7 THE SEAL OF THE SPIRIT ! Do not bring sorrow to the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed unto the day of redemption. Ephesians 4:30 AT Thornton Wilder, in The Ides of March , portrays Julius Caesar reflecting on those ancient religions that offer “a vague sense of confidence where no confidence is . . .,” that “flatter our passivity and console our inadequacy.” “What can I do,” cries Caesar, “against the apathy that is glad to wrap itself under the cloak of piety . . .?” for religious assurance: How may we claim 1 That is the central question with which to grapple in any search genuine security without becoming spiritually spineless? On the one hand, our time has well been named “The Age of Anxiety,” 2 the key word coming from the Latin term angustia meaning “shortness of breath.” 3 Many today are suffocating in the spiritually cramped quarters of a secularized world. In such a bottleneck our phobias multiply in bewilding profusion: one standard medical dictionary catalogues 217 of them. 4 Grim statistics of murder, alcoholism, and divorce reflect an unbearable discontent with life as it is now being lived. As a result, we feed off of our fingernails, a diet calculated to produce acute spiritual indigestion. On the other hand, religion has responded to the sinisterness of life by creating a cult of reassurance that coddles anxious Americans with promises of inner peace and boundless prosperity. We glibly claim to have 74 You are reading copyrighted material published by the University of Alabama Press. Any posting, copying, or distributing of this work beyond fair use as defined under U.S. Copyright law is illegal and injures the author and publisher. For permission to reuse this work, contact the University of Alabama Press..

Hull, William E.. Harbingers of Hope : Claiming God’s Promises in Today’s World, University of Alabama Press, 2007. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/brooklyn-ebooks/detail.action?docID=438184.

Created from brooklyn-ebooks on 2017-11-27 16:56:58.

The quote details an account of the Ides of March, via Thornton Wilder. He likens Caesar and his assassination to the common man and their struggle with the Christian faith. By doing this, he paints a decidedly very depressive picture of the assassination of Caesar. Rather than just acceptance of what happens, maybe even disbelief, Wilder creates the image of Caesar being in a state of hopelessness, a state of deep despair, through the comparison to one losing faith or being in a state of separation from God. I feel that this interpretation, is one that gives weight to the assassination of Caesar. For many of us, who are religious, especially those who are Christian, the struggle between hope and despair whilst serving God, is very real and through this metaphor, we can see, in some way, the torrent of conflicting emotions which must have been coursing through Caesar, as he was assassinated.

When re-reading the account of the Ides of March, from the perspective of Cassius Dio, I chose to quote the moment of Caesar’s assassination:

4 And when the right moment came, one of them approached him, as if to express his thanks for some favour or other, and pulled his toga from his shoulder, thus giving the signal that had been agreed upon by the conspirators. Thereupon they attacked him from many sides at once and wounded him to death, 5 so that by reason of their numbers Caesar was unable to say or do anything, but veiling his face, was slain  with many wounds. This is the truest account, though some have added that to Brutus, when he struck him a powerful blow, he said: “Thou, too, my son?”

In tandem with the interpretation of Wilder, and his religious metaphor, the final words of Caesar, in the account of Cassius, have their true meaning revealed. By this, I mean to say that the emotions behind those words, “Thou, too, my son?” can be laid bare to their fullest extent. If the assassination of Caesar can be likened to a loss of faith, then the despair and hopeless of those words can be seen. Just as Adam chose to not have faith in God, back in the Garden of Eden and was subsequently cut off from God, so too, though to a far lesser extent, was Caesar, mentally and physically cut off from his people/consul, and left to similarly spiral off into a pit of despair, darkness and separation.

Skaie Cooper,Team Ares

The Tastiest Consul

1. Cinaedus Romulus, will you see, and suffer, these things? YOU are shameless: a glutton and a gambler! Is this why, oh inimitable imperator,
2. He no longer restrained his wrath but showed great irritation, as if these very officials were really stirring up sedition against him

The first passage characterizes Caesar as a person of poor character. Specifically, it states that he is shameless, a glutton and a gambler. These disgraceful characteristics indicative of a sinner and criminal, not a proud ruler. The next passage characterizes Caesar as a strong but angry man. This is shown by the key phrase “ no longer restrained his wrath”. This means that he generally able to restrain his wrath and anger. Despite this, he allows the situation to get the better of him. I chose these passages because they characterize Caesar very similarly, as a man of generally low moral character. The both passages show examples of sin, both gluttony and wrath.

The image is of myself holding a bottle of Ken’s Steakhouse Creamy Caesar Dressing. Ken’s Steakhouse Creamy Caesar Dressing is likely named after the famous Roman dictator because similarly to him Creamy Caesar Dressing has many powerful yet sinful qualities. My speculation does connect with what we read as many of the texts describe Julius Caesar as a strong rough man whose actions led to the beginning of an empire. Creamy Caesar Dressing is similar as it has a strong and powerful flavor, and transform any week republican salad into a strong and unstoppable empire.  

John J. -Team Diana

July and How Its Name Is Narcissistic

July: the seventh month of the year. We use its name at least 31 days a year, but do we ever stop to think about its origins? Have you ever wondered why SEPTember, OCTOber, NOVember, and DECember are not the seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth months like their prefixes would suggest?

Originally, September through December were numbered the way you would expect, but then Julius Caesar and his nephew Augustus had the calendar rearranged to create new months so that they could have the summer (the best months, in their opinion) as their own. This was done to create an association between them and the most pleasant part of the year and. Thus these months are named July after Julius, and August after Augustus.

In the readings assigned for homework, Julius Caesar is characterized as haughty and obsessed with displays of power, as seen below:

…most men suspected him of being inflated with pride and hated him for his haughtiness (Cassius Dio, Book 44.9)

Augustus followed with a very small escort, along roads held by the enemy, after a shipwreck, too, and in a state of semi-convalescence from a serious illness. This energetic action delighted Caesar, who soon formed a high estimate of Augustus’s character (Suetonius, Life of Augustus, 8)

Julius Caesar is shown to be the kind of person to give off the impression that he is overly proud, and to be fond of someone for displaying similar traits like brash military actions. This characterization is exactly in line with the profile of someone who would fit the entire calendar to his own personal desires. He would probably love to know that we still use this system today.

-Chaya, team Venus

Fall of the Superintendent

Polka, Walter S., and Peter R. Litchka. The Dark Side of Educational Leadership : Superintendents and the Professional Victim Syndrome, R&L Education. 2008. ProQuest Ebook Central.

“Steven negotiated a new contract with this new board and was able to regain his “power and authority” as the educational leader of the district, a position that he held for several more years and with some additional trials and tribulations, including changes in board politics, until his retirement, which was on his own terms. As he stated, “Even when the public resoundingly supports you as superintendent… you must always be vigilant regarding the political winds that change quickly given the political nature of boards of education and the ever present professional jealousy factor that abounds in medium sized school districts. Watch out for the Ides of March and those former allies who become like Brutus was to Caesar as a result of the mob mentality.” This is how two other superintendents described their emotions as their tenure in the district began to unravel: The signs were everywhere, yet I was too blind to see them—or too naive to think that this could actually be happening to me! In the beginning, I had a feeling what some of the board members were up to. But I did not dare say anything. I took the philosophy that maybe it would go away. But just the opposite happened: these board members became less discrete and more open with their abusive behavior toward me, especially during executive session. By the time I did say something, it was too late.”

The passage taken here is describing the sudden removal of superintendent Steven Rychert by a vote by the board of education at his school district. The removal was “mob-like” and totally out of Steven’s control. Dr. Rychert could be considered the most powerful figure in the school district, but instead was stripped of all his power in the blink of an eye.

The author refers to the Ides of March in a analogy to the murder of Caesar, by the hands of Brutus. The idea of Caesar’s fall is all about the theme of betrayal. So if someone reading this book on education sees the large act of betrayal here, they’d understand the reference to the Ides of March. The reference has a negative connotation to it, seeing as this betrayal was obvious, and the vulnerable are taken advantage of at the right moment.

“Thereupon they attacked him from many sides at once and wounded him to death, 5 so that by reason of their numbers Caesar was unable to say or do anything, but veiling his face, was slain  with many wounds. This is the truest account, though some have added that to Brutus, when he struck him a powerful blow, he said: “Thou, too, my son?””

This quote from the Cassius Dio is the climax of the story, where the murder takes place, and Caesar exclaims the famous words “Thou too my son?” or “Weren’t you my friend?”. This quote helps explain why the author used the reference to the Ides of March, as the Board of Ed can be seen as a Brutus to Steven’s Caesar. Though both are the most powerful, Brutus/BOE takes the power in their hands and demolishes the “king”.

Sean Reilly, Team Artemis

Augustus, The Great Emperor

Quotations-

“Caesar then went to fight Pompey’s sons in Spain; Augustus followed with a very small escort, along roads held by the enemy, after a shipwreck, too, and in a state of semi-convalescence from a serious illness. This energetic action delighted Caesar, who soon formed a high estimate of Augustus’s character.” (Suetonius, 8).

“When I administered my thirteenth consulate (2 B.C.E.), the senate and Equestrian order and Roman people all called me father of the country, and voted that the same be inscribed in the vestibule of my temple, in the Julian senate-house, and in the forum of Augustus under the chario which had been placed there for me by a decision of the senate.” (Res Gestae, 35).

These two quotations characterizes Augustus as a great emperor. The quotations expresses his militaristic and royal qualities. Even at the age of sixteen, he was pretty brave to follow Caesar to protect him. I chose these two quotations because they really give us the insight that Augustus was a great ruler. He had that quality since his childhood. He had that courage to protect the people of the country which is why he was very much respected by his countrymen. The passages are similar in the sense that they both depicts Augustus as brave and respected ruler of the country. The passages are different because the first one tells about him when he was too young, that is when he was sixteen years of age. The second quotation is when he got older, seventy-six years old. This was the other reason I chose these quotations because they portrays Augustus as a great person at his different ages of life.

The image that I chose is the month of the “August” in my calendar. The word, August can be described as an adjective which basically means respected and impressive. This word is derived from the Latin word, Augustus, named after the Augustus Caesar, the first Roman emperor. (Merriam Webster Dictionary). I can also connect this to the quotes that I chose above because Augustus really was respected and impressive person. His countrymen respected him. He won so many battles. He not only ruled over Rome, but doubled up the size of the empire by adding territories from Asia and Egypt. Thus, he is known as one of the great ruler of the Roman Empire.

I can also connect this to something that I learnt in my Art History class. In that class, we studied the sculpture of the Augustus of Primaporta. Augustus was the adopted son of Julius Caesar who also became the first emperor of Rome. He is always shown with the cupid on the dolphin and bare feet which is why he is also considered a God. His breastplate portrayed the battle between Romans and Parthians where Rome lost. But Augustus was successful in peacefully negotiating with the Parthians which is why he is also known as good master and diplomat. 

Gurleen Kaur, Team Venus 

The Dark Side of Leadership

“Due to the board majority’s mobbing orientation, the minority started to become more vociferous. Eventually, a month before the next election, when Steven’s health and resolve to “fight” were waning, the “Ides of March” event occurred.”

Man I wish it was AUGUSTUS again….

“He argued that ‘Augustus‘ was both a more original and a more honourable title, since sanctuaries and all places consecrated by the augurs are known as ‘august‘ — the word being either an enlarged form of auctus, implying the ‘increase’ of dignity thus given such places, or a worn-down form of the phrase aviuw gestus gustus-ve, ‘the behaviour and appetite of birds’, which the augurs observed. Plancus supported his point by a quotation from Ennius’s Annals:

‘When glorious Rome had founded been, by augury august.’” (Suetonius)

“9. The senate decreed that vows be undertaken for my health by the consuls and priests every fifth year. In fulfillment of these vows they often celebrated games for my life; several times the four highest colleges of priests, several times the consuls. Also both privately and as a city all the citizens unanimously and continuously prayed at all the shrines for my health.” (Augustus)

The first of the quotes manages to describe Augustus in that he wanted to express his name in almost a more poetic manner.  It appears that this quote is meant to help show us how serious he was when it came to everything, including titles, especially for himself.  The second quote talks about how Agustus sees himself in the eyes of the people.  It shows us how he notices his surroundings and how he feels about the peoples reaction to him.  The second quote tends to see it as very positive, as many people are saying that they will pray for his health.  I chose these 2 because they seemed the most interesting to me.  How Agustus got his name seemed like a really cool thing to explore and examine.  I figured that it was a cool thing to look for in order to also understand my photo below.  The second one seemed cool as it was still talking about him, yet from the perspective of other people.  Also to see how they feel about him seemed pretty cool and impressive.  But since they both talk about different things, there really isn’t much in common between the 2.  The 1st one like I said is more about Augustus himself, while the second one is more about his relationship with his people in some manners.

The photo above is a picture of me with the August poster for 2018.  I found this to be one of the easiest things to connect back to our readings with.  Perhaps since the name was so similar to what Augustus named himself after, Perhaps this month was given this name to honor him.  This most certainly connects with the first quote at the top of my post as it is that it can almost be seen that Augustus and August coexisted with each other during his time.  The second one, being as it talks about Augustus’ relationship with his people and also deals in with his health, has no connection whatsoever here with the picture that I have above.

I was also able to connect this to Art History as we have been studying Roman architecture recently, including things that have been seen and made during the time of both Augustus and Julius Caesar.  That can connect to here, as both men had large impacts on Roman lifestyle, and we could see more of that as we move on with the lessons.

• Scott Vincent, Team Cronos

Worries

The book “Caesar’s civil war” by Adrian Goldworthy, I found from the online BC Library described the tension of the atmosphere when all of Julius Caesar’s senates were anxious to overthrow him from power. As stated in the book, “On the morning of 15 March (a date known as the Ides) there was some dismay when Caesar did not arrive at the Senate on time.” When Caesar was not at the senate on time, those who plotted against Caesar’s power were worried that he knows what was going to happen as there was some “dismay”.

 The quote from the reading “Cassius Dio” stated, “When he had reached this point, the men who were plotting against him hesitated no longer, but in order to embitter even his best friends against him, they did their best to traduce him, finally saluting him as king, a name which they often used also among themselves.”; when Caesar arrived, the people that plotted against him did not hesitate to strike, including his best friend Decimus. The two quotes complement each other by describing the emotions the people felt before and during the act of killing Julius Caesar.   

Goldsworthy, Adrian. Caesar’s Civil War 49-44 BC, Taylor and Francis, 2003. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/brooklyn-ebooks/detail.action?docID=182989.

Created from brooklyn-ebooks on 2017-11-27 15:01:42.

Hoky, Saturn

July

Julius Caesar “pretended to shun the title [of king], [but] in reality he desired to assume it” (Cassius Duo).

““what is this but perverse generosity? Has he not achieved enough gluttony?” (Catullus).

These two quotes characterize Caesar as someone who is narcissistic and corrupted but won’t show the public in order to keep a good standing. Caesar had great pride and an even bigger ego which he looked to feed off of others comments. Although he never displayed his content with his titles, he truly appreciated being noticed. Furthermore, he would display actions which ought to be thought of good publicly, yet, had no real intentions of providing real benefits. One such example was his idea of providing the veterans with foreign land, outside of his empire. To anyone else it would seem as though this were a good thing, after all he was giving away free land to the people who served him. Unfortunately for the veterans, these lands had no real value being that they were outside of Italy. I chose these two quotations because they represent the characteristics of Caesar’s which I was never aware of. They both place Caesar in a negative spotlight, proving that one person cannot make everyone happy, especially the pretentious Julius Caesar.

Here is a picture of me holding my planner on the month July. The month, July, was derived from Caesar’s name, Julius, whose birthday happened to be in July. The Ancient Roman calendar had only 10 months and started with March. July was known to be the fifth month named Quintiles before Caesar changed it to July. After reading through the two texts, you’ll notice a distinct relation between the quotes I’ve chosen and the idea behind renaming Quintiles to July. It seems that Caesar did believe himself to be one of the most powerful, and in order to show off his accomplishments, he renamed the month after himself. After all, he did favor the warmer climate of the month of July.

Desire

Quote:  “Beware the frozen Ides of March..”

Citation: Goodman, Henrietta. Hungry Moon, University Press of Colorado, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/brooklyn-ebooks/detail.action?docID=3039825.
Created from brooklyn-ebooks on 2017-11-27 13:36:02.

This quote is from the book “Hungry Moon by Henrietta Goodman. It is line from a poem called “Fairy Slipper”. This poem talks about intimacy and the reluctance of the narrator in taking her lover back even though she desires to be with him. Goodman is referring to the Ides of March in order to warn the reader of the approaching cold. The Ides of March is a metaphor for the confusion and coldness that will undertake the narrator (or reader) when their lover comes back to them. After reading the poem countless times, I came to the conclusion that Goodman expects the reader to know what the Ides of March is. Since the author is telling the reader to beware the Ides of March, I assume that the Ides of March has a bad meaning for her.

In Cassius Dio, it says, “Another thing that happened not long after these events
proved still more clearly that, although he pretended to shun
the title, in reality he desired to assume it” (Cassius Dio 11). This quote is similar to the poem I read because just like the narrator, Julius Caesar wanted something but pretended to not desire it. In Julius Caesar’s case, it was the title of “Rex”.

---

Aisha, Team Ares

Its Okay To Die In March

“March 15

Beware the Ides of March . . . . . . are the words Shakespeare put in the mouth of the soothsayer, warning Julius Caesar of his impending death..”

Kundtz, David. Being Present : A Book of Daily Reflections, Red Wheel Weiser, 2015. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/brooklyn-ebooks/detail.action?docID=4398294.

In this daily inspiration book the author finds an interesting way to help his readers live in the present. He writes for the day of March 15, and uses The Ides of March , an event with the same time stamp, to explain why it wouldn’t be  so horrific  to consider death in mid March. He continues by explaining how the more a person can become a peace with they’re own death,  the  more peaceful  the person would be in life.  The author doesn’t just assume his readers knows about the Ides of March, instead he goes on to briefly discuss what happened on that day. He does howver assume that his readers know who Skakesphere and Julius Caesar, as he doesn’t give an introduction about them. The author in my opinion,  implies that although the Ides of March may of been a devasting time ( for  mostly Caesar of course), it probably wouldn’t have been so bad if he had been at peace with himself dying.

“This is the truest account, though some have added that to Brutus, when he struck him a powerful blow, he said: “Thou, too, my son?” ‘ This quote doesn’t downplay the death of Caesar like the author seems to do. It shows the raw emotions that went through Caesar- the pain, the agony and the feeling of  betrayal. Caesar died an unexpected death, that of which I think it’s fair to assume  he was not at all at peace at.

Sharifa, Team Hestia

The not-so-secret connection between Brutus and John Wilkes Booth

After searching for a thought-provoking read on the Ides of March in the topic of political science, I found an interesting book titled Camelot and the Cultural Revolution: How the Assassination of John F. Kennedy Shattered American Liberalism by James Piereson. The book delves into topics such as tyranny, assassination mindsets, and martyrs; one such topic in the book is titled “Martyr: Lincoln” that delves into John Wilkes Booth’s mindset behind the assassination of Lincoln. Piereson says “Booth thought that after assassinating Lincoln he would be welcomed as a hero in the dying Confederacy. As Michael W. Kaufmann writes in his fine study of Lincoln’s assassin, “Booth had hoped to kill Lincoln on the Ides and highlight his resemblance to Caesar; but instead he shot him on Good Friday, and the world compared him to Christ.”” (Piereson 73). The quote that Piereson references, in addition to his own words, gives the viewer the point of view of Booth’s assassination attempt. Booth attempted to assassinate Lincoln on the “Ides of March” to portray himself as the Brutus of the Confederacy, but when he made his attempt on Good Friday, he got the opposite of what he hoped for; he became the villain of his own “heroic” story he hoped to create when he attempted to the end the life of the “Jesus-like” figure that people admired instead the “Caesar-like” figure that the Confederacy loathed. Piereson refers to the Ides of March because of it’s importance to Booth’s mindset in the assassination attempt. In the previous and following pargaraphs, Piereson delves into how he worked alongside Lewis Powell and how Powell’s attack on the Secretary of State represents a vital relationship to the Ides of March; he explains how Booth saw William Seward, the secretary of state, “as Lincoln’s great ally, akin to Caesar’s Marc Antony” (Piereson 72). He further exaplains how some viewed Booth as a Brutus wannabe, wanting to secure a place in history as he aims to assainate the person he believes to be the nation’s traitor. Piereson’s usage of the quote expects the reader to comprehend how Booth views his conspiracy; the reader should know the background behind the figures and dates presented and the outline the quote drafts tells the audience that Booth’s plan ultimately made himself become the villain of his own making of history he didn’t expect. After re-reading the account of the Ides of March in Cassisus Dio, I found an quote that stuck out in retrospect to Booth’s planning, which said: “For, though they had planned to kill both him and Lepidus, they feared they might be maligned as a result of the number they destroyed, on the ground that they had slain Caesar to gain supreme power and not to set free the city, as they pretended; and therefore they did not wish Antony even to be present at the slaying.” (Cassius Dio, 19-2). While Brutus and Trebonius were discussing their plan and arising problems, they had a much more strategized and carefully thought-out plan in comparison to Booth’s plan. In preparation for Caesar’s assassination, the attempt was thought-out with several co-conspirators and when a new problem arises, they figure out a solution. In Lincoln’s assassination, Booth has few co-conspirators (namely Lewis Powell) and did not have a carefully thought-out executed plan. Though John Wilkes Booth made it his mission to make it into history for assassinating the “traitorous” Lincoln by taking inspiration from Brutus’s assassination of Julius Caesar, he didn’t fully take notes from Brutus; in the end, though Booth fulfilled his mission to assassinate the “modern Caesar”, he ultimately killed the “modern Jesus”, the opposite of what Booth sought to achieve.

Citations:

Piereson, James. Camelot and the Cultural Revolution: How the Assassination of John F. Kennedy Shattered American Liberalism, Encounter Books, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/brooklyn-ebooks/detail.action?docID+1574708

Cassius Dio, Book 44. 19, https://pastinpresenttense.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/readings-on-the-imperators.pdf

-A.C. Bowman, Team Saturn

 

 

Careful Sherlock Holmes!

In the book, “The Final Problem : A Sherlock Holmes Graphic Novel,” I found a letter by Dr John H. Watson that has referred back to the ides of March. In the book it states,

“Beware the ides of March,” Caesar was warned. And the middle of march 1886 was marked by major changes.”

This section, refers to the ides of march that allude a negative feeling caused by a threat. The author hopes to tell the reader that ides of march is a date on the calendar marked for catastrophe, especially by “major changes” contributing to the changes in the weather. Such threat would help the reader know it is a negative phrase as one should be warned by Watsons emotional fear.

“…Caesar dreamed he was raised aloft upon the clouds and grasped the hand of Jupiter. 2 Moreover, omens not a few and not without significance came to him: the arms of Mars…made a great noise at night, and the doors of the chamber where he slept opened of their own accord.”

This section that I took out from Cassious Dios is like the letter by Dr John H. Watson by alluding the change of weather as a symbol of danger. Cassious Dios demonstrates a threatening situation for Caesar by having bad dreams, having noises at night to indicate a starling situation, and having the chamber doors open by the gust of wind. Comparing to Dr John H. Watson’s letter, there was a dramatic change in his environment. There were meter shower and flashes of the red planet was visible from London.

Cite:
Kopl, Petr. The Final Problem. Andrews UK. 15. September. 2015.

Unit 7 blog post- Caesar

“though Caesar was encouraged by these very measures to believe that he should never be plotted against by the men who had voted him such honours, nor, through fear of them, by any one else; and consequently he even dispensed henceforth with a body-guard.”

“After the death of Crassus, Pompey ordered Caesar to disband his army but was driven from the city when Caesar approached prepared for battle.”

They depict Caesar as a strong man and really courageous. The way they show his strength and how amazing Caesar was. I chose these quotes because they were the only quotes I saw of Caesar that I actually understood and they really describe how great of a leader he was.

My image is of me holding Caesar Ranch, it took me a while to find but I got it. It has no correlation apparently but it has the name caesar in it, so it has something to do with him. Probably before he died he was like “I want to be named after a salad and some ranch. No it does not another thing named after him was July. So I guess honor is influencing naming choices. Maybe they’re just bored. 

-Jaden, Team Hestia

The Death of Julius Caesar and the Birth of 70’s Rock

George Plasketes, author of B-Sides, Undercurrents and Overtones: Peripheries to Popular in Music, 1960 to the Present, wrote in the beginning of his book:

“Several songwriters graciously provided lyric permissions for epigraphs which are important to me as prefixes and accents. I am grateful to Mose Allison, Jim Peterik and the Ides of March, particularly Chuck Soumar for his down-to-earthness, assistance, and Riverside reminisces; and John Hiatt via Catherine Walker at Music Sales Limited, for the privilege of their words which frame my chapters so nicely” (xi).

In this quotation, Plasketes is referring to the band, “The Ides of March,” which was relevant from the mid-60s and throughout the 70s. He is thanking “The Ides of March” for graciously allowing him to use their lyrics in his book. While he is not at all referring to the same meaning of that phrase that we studied in class, we can say that generally speaking, he is looking at “The Ides of March” in a positive light. Considering this, it is likely that Plasketes does not necessarily expect the reader to know anything about the historical term, “The Ides of March,” only about the band. Plasketes portrays the band as a group of kind people, and this could potentially allow for positive associations with the phrase itself.

The quote I have chosen from the Cassius Dio reading is, “Thereupon they attacked him from many sides at once and wounded him to death, 5 so that by reason of their numbers Caesar was unable to say or do anything, but veiling his face, was slain  with many wounds.” This quote completely contradicts anything Plasketes says about “The Ides of March.” While Plasketes portrays the phrase in a positive way, from association with a band, Cassius Dio details the gruesome murder scene of Julius Caesar. While the band certainly took their name from this historical moment, it is hard to believe that they would encourage or support any sort of similar murder conspiracy. Therefore, these two representations of “The Ides of March” are completely different.

Harry, Team Vesta

 

Citation:

Plasketes, George. B-Sides, Undercurrents and Overtones: Peripheries to Popular in Music, 1960 to the Present, Taylor and Francis, 2009. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/brooklyn-ebooks/detail.action?docID=438875.
Created from brooklyn-ebooks on 2017-11-27 13:29:58.

 

Modern Day Caesar/Baroque Caesar (overlap)

Cagnacci, Guido. David with the Head of Goliath. 1655. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.

This painting I found in the Met visually corresponds to the 17th century baroque style art we learned about in unit four. In the painting David with the head of Goliath , Cagnacci uses chiaroscuro, a popular technique used by many other 17th century painters which incorporated an extreme contrast between light and shadow, often used for dramatic effect. The scene depicted is a dramatic one that has been reinterpreted by artists throughout centuries, and especially during the baroque era. David is depicted calm and confident and yet the scene is characteristically baroque with the severed head of Goliath in his hand. Since this painting is an actual baroque painting, there are hardly any differences in its style. However, it is arguably less grotesque than many baroque style paintings; there is no blood in the scene, and by use of chiaroscuro, the focus is less on the severed head and more on the pose and calm expression of David.

The celebrities and Caesars of the pre-modern era were the artists. Art and architecture were hugely emphasized all around the world before television and modern day medias existed. artists were recognized for their talents and admired even by the church, regardless of how “immoral” their actions were. In this sense the attitude towards them was strikingly similar to the attitude the Romans had towards Julius Caesar and their willingness to allow him to do this things the rest of the population wouldn’t be.

“The first of his new roles was in The Ides Of March , a new film project to be directed by the actor/producer/ writer/director George Clooney. Having already established his credentials as a director with Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind , Good Night, and Good Luck and Leatherheads , Clooney had his latest script set in the murky world of politics and was scheduled to begin shooting in February 2011..”

Johnstone, Nick. Ryan Gosling : Hollywood’s Finest, John Blake, 2013. ProQuest k Central,        http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/brooklyn-ebooks/detail.action?docID=1569214.
Created from brooklyn-ebooks on 2017-11-27 11:31:36.

The book I chose is a biography on the rise to fame of actor Ryan Gosling. This paragraph speaks about how Gosling was starred in a movie directed by George Clooney titled “The Ides Of March.” it also mentions other works by Clooney.

The author uses the term “Ides Of March” in reference to the title of a movie that Gosling was cast in. since the phrase was used in the title of a movie it is logical to assume that the Clooney expects his audience to somewhat be familiar with its meaning/reference/origin.

a)”When they had begun to honour Julius Caesar…”

b)”At any rate, some actually ventured to suggest permitting him to have intercourse with as many women as he pleased, because even at this time, though fifty years old, he still had numerous mistresses.”

“Readings on the Imperators.” The Past in Present Tense, 6 Nov. 2017,        pastinpresenttense.wordpress.com/classics-1110/7-caesar-augustus/readings/#Cassius-Dio.

We don’t have any beloved emperors today, instead, we have celebrities. Similarly to the way Julius Caesar was honored, we “honor” and look up to modern day pop icons such as actors, musicians, etc. Because of his position, The Roman people approved of Caesar having intercourse with as many women as he pleased, something which would be unacceptable for any other person in their society. We hear of celebrities partaking in behavior and committing acts deemed unacceptable in our society, and we too give them a “free pass” because of their fame. Although he hasn’t publicly committed any act that disagrees with our societal rules and standards, Ryan Gosling is a great example of a pop icon. Attractive, talented, personable, he’s admired and honored by many. A modern day Julius Caesar.

Gabriella, Team Hestia

 

The Ides of Haynes

In 2003, President Bush nominated Jim Haynes to be a federal judge on the 4th circuit court of appeals. During his time as General Counsel to the Department of Defense, he advised the Bush administration on the creation of what was later ruled unconstitutional military commissions that would try detainees held at Guantanamo Bay. His participation in this and related programs severely crippled his nomination process to the federal court.

“Having survived Kennedy’s fusillade, Haynes seemed assured of confirmation. Then he was notified about the Ides of March, the mutiny within the Office of Military Commissions that blew open four days after the committee voted. If made public, the crisis within the general counsel’s signature project, with its allegations of incompetence, suppression of evidence, and fixed trials, could be devastating for Haynes. He moved quickly, keeping the scandal secret by ordering up a confidential ‘operational assessment’ of the commissions office rather than a full-blown inquiry. The investigator, assigned to review ‘‘structure and process issues’’ but not ‘criminal allegations or ethical conduct,’ had less than a week to complete the assignment and report back privately to Haynes.”

 

Jess Bravin refers to this controversy as the Ides of March because it was foreshadowed that Haynes would not make it through the nomination process. His attempt to cover it up before it went public was his political equivalent of Caesar’s murder. Bravin assumes that the reader knows that “the Ides of March” refers to an ill omen, indicative of future failures. It’s clear that Bravin regards the Ides of March as a negative thing. This book contains an entire chapter titled “Ides of March” which discusses the complications of Hayne’s nomination.

“…but caused it to be inscribed in the records that he had refused to accept the kingship when offered to him by the people through the consul. It was accordingly suspected that this thing had been deliberately arranged and that he was anxious for the name, but wished to be somehow compelled to take it; consequently the hatred against him was intense”

This quote from the Cassius Dio reading exemplifies the skepticism of public officials that is so prevalent in American politics. The perception that Caesar had orchestrated that entire scenario to make him look good to the people is similar to the aversion that many Americans have to politicians that pander to their audience rather than engaging with them authentically. We see this in Hayne’s attempted cover-up of his misdoings while he served as General Counsel.

Bravin, Jess. The Terror Courts : Rough Justice at Guantanamo Bay, Yale University Press, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/brooklyn-ebooks/detail.action?docID=3421113.
Created from Brooklyn-ebooks on 2017-11-27 12:00:40.

David, Team Saturn

Caesar Dominates!

Res Gestae –

” In my nineteenth year, on my own initiative and at my own expense, I raised an army with which I set free the state, which was oppressed by the domination of a faction. For that reason, the senate enrolled me in its order by laudatory resolutions, when Gaius Pansa and Aulus Hirtius were consuls (43 B.C.E.), assigning me the place of a consul in the giving of opinions, and gave me the imperium.” (1)

Res Gestae shows the positive impacts that Julius Ceasar had as a leader and as a individual.  Gestae showed that even though Caesar was very young and inexperienced that he had the drive and desire to do anything for his people.  This characterizes Julius as a positive leader and showed his great attributes as a person and what he means to his people. It also shows that his people had faith in him with the confidence and assurance he gave off to them.  Overall Gestate puts Caesar in a high class showing why he deserves it and what he will do to marination his power.

Cassius Dio-

“When they had begun to honour Julius Caesar (now Dictator), it was with the idea, of course, that he would be reasonable; but as they went on and saw that he was delighted with what they voted,” (7)

In this quote Cassius Dio also talks highly about Julius Caesar and represents him as a positive and powerful figure. This relates to the quote regarding Res Gestate in how they relate to each other because both of them show Caesar in a postie way. Cassius states that his people are going to honor Caesar as they should because he represents Caesar as a inspiration to his people.

Caesars Palace 

This image shows the one and only Caesar’s palace which is named after Julius Caesar. This palace also has a huge statue of Julius Caesar representing his power as a individual.  They named this historic place that people all over around the world have heard of after Caesar himself because of how iconic he was as a person as well. His legacy is well known around the world just like the palace itself. Both the palace and Caesar symbolize power and bringing people together.

Anthony Mancuso , Team Venus

 

Augustus is more relevant than I thought

Life of Augustus

“Augustus now took command of the Army, and governed the Empire: first with Mark Antony and Lepidus as his colleagues; next, for nearly twelve years, with Antony alone; finally by himself for another forty-four years.” (Suetonius, 10)

Res Gestae

“In my nineteenth year, on my own initiative and at my own expense, I raised an army with which I set free the state, which was oppressed by the domination of a faction.” (27)

The first quote shows the power that Augustus was able to accumulate and maintain for decades. It indicates that he was very influential to his soldiers as well as to the Empire. He was able to clearly express his ideas and motives while having people follow his endgame plans. I chose this passage because it’s a written biography of Augustus and tells a story of how he was able to become powerful overtime.

The second quote indicates that Augustus discovered his independence and his leadership abilities only at the age of nineteen. The repetition of the words “own” and “I” in the underlined phrases indicates that Augustus did these actions on his own free will. He recognized that change needed to occur. By building an army with his own expenses, it expresses the determination that he possessed during a time of oppression. I chose this passage because it reveals Augustus’ personal experiences from his perspective. He writes about first-hand accounts of his accomplishments; from his multiple consulships to rebuilding the Capitol. These two quotes are similar because they convey how powerful Augustus became as a ruler and the impact he created in history.

This is a picture of my brother and I, who’s middle name happened to be Augustine. The name Augustine is derived from the name Augustus. When my brother was named, I don’t believe it was because it’s a derivative of Augustus; he was named after my grandfather. I think the second quote may connect with my brother because although he’s still young, he’s a person who likes to take initiative to certain situations rather than allowing to wait for something to happen.

-Estrella Roberts, Team Vulcan

Julius “Caesar Salad”

Cassius Dio

“7 2 At any rate, some actually ventured to suggest permitting him to have intercourse with as many women as he pleased, because even at this time, though fifty years old, he still had numerous mistresses.”

Suetonius

Life of Augustus

“8 Having recovered possession of Spain, Caesar planned a war against the Dacians and Parthians, and sent Augustus ahead to Apollonia, in Illyria, where he spent his spare time studying Greek literature.”

The first quote portrays Julius Caesar as a man of multiple women who was, to certain extent, honored by his people. Though the majority didn’t perceive him as a leader, but rather a weak link to their kingdom that they wanted to perish, he didn’t inflict harm on those who went against him. Perhaps his personality led to his assassination. Second quote expands on Caesar’s military determination. He is also shown to be a man of knowledge as he ‘plans’ wars and spends his spare time learning.

This image is me holding a Caesar salad that was made only to be advertised. I remember my first time in an unfamiliar restaurant years ago. I was given a menu in an Italian language, I didn’t understand anything but a word that looked familiar – ‘Caesar’. I quickly made a reference to Julius Caesar. Since then, I believed that the name Caesar Salad was influenced by Julius Caesar. Though my theory can be a myth or a fact, it is pretty interesting. Rumors arose that Caesar Cardini, born in Italy, was the man behind the tasty Caesar salad. Unfortunately, the rumors claim Julius Caesar was not an influence to Cardini to create the Caesar salad. On the other hand, rumor has it that Caesar salad was invented in about 1903 by Giacomo Junia who is an Italian chef in Chicago. Giacomo Junia named his invention after Julias Caesar, ‘the greatest Italian of all time’. Regardless of all these rumors, I believe that Caesar salad was greatly influenced by Julius Caesar and is an easy make and good taste – only if you stab it 23 times!

To connect this with art class, statue of Julius Caesar is shown in contrapposto wearing military uniform depicting his power over the army. In his statue we see a more naturalistic look, ideal proportions, and lack of emotions.

-Amir, Team Juno

Different Meanings of “Ides of March”

Book I used: Caesar’s Calendar: Ancient times and beginning of History

Quote from the book: “A. Barchiesi (1997) has explored the implications for Ovid’s Fasti, with a telling example from the Ides of March. For centuries, this was the date for the popular picnic feast of Anna Perenna, but then it became famous for another reason altogether, the death of Caesar and, in Ovid’s treatment in Fasti 3 (705– 10), the revenge of Caesar’s heir..”

Feeney, Denis, and Denis Feeney. Caesar’s Calendar : Ancient Times and the Beginnings of History, University of California Press, 2007. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/brooklyn-ebooks/detail.action?docID=293838.
Created from brooklyn-ebooks on 2017-11-27 10:52:57.

Summarization of the Quote: In the book the author explains how the Ides Of March was known for a different reason before the death of Julius Caesar. The Ides of March was known for the festivals held by Anna Perenna. Anna Perenna was the Roman Goddess of long life, health and renewal.

Authors Reference to Ides of March: The author uses The Ides of March to show how this important date has two meanings. The author expects the reader to already connect the Ides of March to the day that Julius Caesar was murdered. I believe that the author is portraying the Ides of March to be remembered in a negative light. He explains how centuries ago this day was celebrated with picnics, food and love making but now remembered as a day a conspirator was slaughtered.

Quote from Cassius Dio: “So they not only turned to flight themselves, every man as best he could, but they also alarmed those who met them by saying nothing intelligible, but merely shouting out the words: “Run! bolt doors! bolt doors!” 3 Then all the rest, severally taking up the cry one from another, kept shouting these words, filled the city with lamentations, and burst into the workshops and houses to hide themselves.”

Summarization of the Quote: The quote compliments the ideas from the book because the quote explains how the city was shocked and in distraught about the events that have recently occurred. The murder of Caesar will forever be connected to the Ides of March. A month which was once highly celebrated and anticipated is now a day most people remember because of the famous murder of Julius Caesar.

Naim, Team Vulcan

 

Similar Names = Similar Thoughts?

“As for foreign nations, those which I was able to safely forgive, I preferred to preserve than to destroy.” (Gestae, 3).

“Augustus thought it most important not to let the native Roman stock be tainted with foreign or servile blood, and was therefore very unwilling to create new Roman citizens, or to permit the manumission of more than a limited number of slaves.” (Suetonius, 40)

Both of these quotes characterize Augustus and his believes. It shows that he wants to preserve the cultures he conquers and not just destroy them. He also doesn’t want new blood mixed into the native Roman Population through. He wants to preserve, but keep a strict divide. These two quotes are similar because they show how Augustus dealt with foreign affairs whether it be the people or their culture. The difference though is he prefers the culture and their history over the current population. He rather know and not have the present population mixing with his “perfect” blood.

The image above is a selfie I took with a friend name Tim, but his middle name is Augustine, which derives from the name Augustus. In this picture we had just helped a friend figure her way out on the subway late one night and had seen many rats. We wanted to take a picture to remember our adventure. I asked Tim why his parents gave him the middle name of Augustine and he said it was a family name. As Augustus was very poplar there are many versions from his name and therefore to have it be a family name is not to uncommon. Perhaps his family is an actual descendant of Augustus or some how related to have this name, or it could be that a member farther back really enjoyed the name. I have only known Tim for a few months, but I think that he connects to the quotes I picked from the reading, more so the first one than the second one. Tim is very inclusive and wants to make sure that all people are represented. Like Augustus he thinks that everyone’s culture is worth learning about, unlike Augustus he doesn’t want the divide between cultures. –Emma, Saturn

Julius Caesar and Shakespeare: A Psychoanalysis

For my search on Ebrary on the Ides of March, I chose the subject of the Fine Arts as well as Psychology and found this from a book called What Shakespeare Teaches Us About Psychoanalysis: A Local Habitation and a Name.

A soothsayer appears and warns Caesar: “Beware the Ides of March” (I.ii.23). The soothsayer represents the priest of an earlier period, who protects the natural order. The Ides of March is not simply a date but represents something ancient that transcends the Julian calendar. Caesar first breaks the natural order when he dismisses the soothsayer, saying: “He is a dreamer. Let us leave him” (I.ii.24). Caesar is now dangerously breaking with the ancient system.
Grunes, Dorothy T., and Jerome M. Grunes. What Shakespeare Teaches Us About Psychoanalysis : A Local Habitation and a Name, Karnac Books, 2014. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/brooklyn-ebooks/detail.action?docID=1699470.
Created from brooklyn-ebooks on 2017-11-27 10:30:37.

The context behind this paragraph is that the authors are analyzing Julius Caesar, a play written by William Shakespeare. In this scene, the authors are analyzing the scene where Caesar is warned about the Ides of March. The soothsayer who warns Caesar is simply dismissed, which leads to his demise.

The authors refer to the Ides of March because they are looking for a deeper meaning in Shakespeare’s use of Ancient Rome and the Ides of March. Everyone knows that the Ides of March is the day that marks Julius Caesar’s death. It also marks the middle of the month of March; March 15th to be exact. They say that the soothsayer who warned Caesar represented a priest who protects the natural order. Caesar dismissing this natural order put him in a dangerous position that ultimately resulted in his death and the fall of his reign.

Cassus Dio:

“‘In brief, he was so confident that to the soothsayer who had once warned him to beware of that day he jestingly remarked: “Where are your prophecies now? Do you not see that the day which you feared is come and that I am alive?” And the other, they say, answered merely: “Ay, it is come but is not yet past.”’

I chose this quote because it is exactly what the book I chose was about. Caesar was confident as a person but he was so confident that he ignored the warnings he received about his imminent death. He went as far as to mock the soothsayer who was kind enough to try and warn him.

-Stacy, Team Minerva

Royal Blood

 

“King Tarquinius Priscus admitted Octavian’s, among other plebeian families, to the Roman Senate, and though Servius tullius awarded them patrician privileges, they later reverted to plebeian rank until eventually Julius Caesar made them patricians once more.” (Suetonius, page 9)

“One was the number of those who were privy to the plot, although Caesar would not receive any information about anything of that sort and punished very severely those who brought news of any kind” (Cassius Dio, page 5)

I chose these two quotes to characterize Julius Caesar. The first quote depicts Caesar as being someone with respect to familial ranks in society, and make him seem “nice.” Like Professor Yarrow discussed in class, a reason for Caesar’s murder might have been because he felt the need to be nice to all parties, seen through him wanting to give back family’s ranks that had been taken from them. The second quote paints Caesar as someone who doesn’t want to hear bad news. He doesn’t want to be told of any revolts or plots, and insists that no one tell him of any news at all. This also shows that he might come across as being too nice, for he just wants to live in a happy, violence free world. I chose these quotes because they show through Caesar’s actions his personality. One way these quotes are similar is that they are very vague, yet you get a direct sense of who people thought Caesar was.

My dog’s name is Julia Blu. The name Julia derives from Julius, and was the name of all the females in Caesar’s lineage. My mom named her this because she felt Julia seemed like a royal name, and my dog is a purebred German Shepard, so it’s almost like she has royal blood. Although it doesn’t really directly connect to Caesar, it shows that his family name comes across as being very royal, especially because all of his family had this one family name.

 

Camille, Team Diana

Ides of March Is Annual

Blowout in the Gulf: The BP Oil Spill Disaster and the Future of Energy in America by William R. Freudenburg and Robert Gramling is a book about, like the title suggests, the terrible BP oil spill in 2010. There were 11 people killed in this tragedy as well as countless non-human lives. This quote discusses the history of offshore drilling and how it came to be so loved in Louisiana. Making this sale was an enormous economic success, while the protection of the environment was barely even considered. “On a date that happened to involve the Ides of March 1989, an offshore oil lease sale was held in New Orleans, for tracts off the coast of Louisiana. There were no protestors, no state opposition, and few comments of any sort. At the sale, the Department of the Interior uneventfully leased 2.8 million acres off Louisiana to oil and gas companies, bringing over $380 million to the federal treasury” (Freudenburg and Gramling, 130). The authors refer to this quote in the context of the date of this sale, it does have a deeper meaning; however. Due to the fact that most people know of the Ides of March, Freudenburg and Gramling must have emphasized this date to suggest that this was not a good thing. They assume the readers are aware of the terrible ending for Caesar and that this event could lead to a terrible ending for the whole planet.

Cassius Dio writes of the events that occurred on the Ides of March many, many years before the 1980’s. The readers learn of some hesitation from those who took action against Caesar. “The second reason was their delay; for they stood in awe of him, for all their hatred of him, and kept putting the matter off, fearing, in spite of the fact that he no longer had any guard, that they might be killed by some of the men who were always with him; and thus they ran the risk of being discovered and put to death” (Cassius Dio, 44.15) This quote demonstrates a similar feeling to that of protestors against offshore drilling in Florida, California, and pretty much any state other than Louisiana. Although the murders of Caesar went through with committing their crime due to their hatred of him, while protestors only stand in a place of love for their cause and the environment, parallels can be seen between the two. In both cases, delays are made on the rash actions of the Ides of March and the attempt on life, or lives. If only the fate of the Ides of March could be avoided.
Freudenburg, William R., and Robert Gramling. Blowout in the Gulf : The BP Oil Spill Disaster and the Future of Energy in America, MIT Press, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/brooklyn-ebooks/detail.action?docID=3339165.
Created from brooklyn-ebooks on 2017-11-29 18:52:09.

-Sheila Kelly, Team Saturn

 

The Calendar

“The Birthday Book” was written by the Roman Scholar Censorinus as a birthday present for his best friend. In this book the author shows a vision of the universe in relation to all the planets that compose it. Censorinus talks about the aspects of time, as it was seen in his time, in the Third-Century Rome. He answers many questions related to the universe and time on our planet. In chapter 20, “The Calendar”, Censorinus gives a description of the evolution that the calendar has had up to his time. Finally he focuses on the Roman and Julian calendar, a version very similar to the one we use today, the Gregorian calendar. At the end of the book in the glossary he provides a definition of ‘’Ides’’ that says: “Ides. The Roman Calendar counted down to three important days in each month: the Kalends (whence our word ”calendar”), always the first day; the Ides (as in ”the Ides of March”), usually the thirteen day; and the Nones, nine days before the Ides, and so usually the fifth day. However, the dates of the Ides and Nones varied, depending on the months.” showing the importance that is given to the precise moment of the ‘’Ides of March’’, the date on which Julius Caesar was assassinated.

The ‘’Ides of March’’ was an important moment in Roman history. It is seen as a moment of liberation, celebrated by many who were opposed to Julius Caesar. But it was also a negative moment for many who lived it, in the reading it says: “A great outcry naturally arose from all the rest who were inside and also from those who were standing near by outside, both at the suddenness of the calamity and because they did not know who the assassins were, their numbers, or their purpose; and all were excited, believing themselves in danger.” showing how many people felt in danger after the assassination. The assassination of Julius Caesar marks a moment of change in Roman History and that is why it is represented in the Roman calendar.

Citation:

Censorinus, Holt N. ”The Birthday Book.” Ebook Central. Translated by Holt N. Parker. Published by University of  Chicago Press, 14 May 2014. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/brooklyn-ebooks/detail.action?docID=410867

Jamilex Dominguez. Team Mercury.

What a Nightmare

Book I found: Dreams and Experience in Classical Antiquity

Quote from Book: “Calpurnia’s on the night before the Ides of March for instance, or the dream of Dido in the Aeneid, can easily be described as nightmares. Ovid tells us that he dreamt terrifying dreams, as well as wish-fulfilments, as an exile.”

Summarization of quote: According to some research, Ovid was a roman poet and Calpurnia was Julius Ceasar’s wife. Instead of talking about a calendar, this quote talks about dreams or nightmares, to be specific. Ovid also says how some of his nightmares is about banishment or being expelled.

Q&A: The author is referring to the Ides of March, since it is a Roman Calendar, could be because he is trying to explain which time the story took place when Calpurnia had her nightmares, which is the night she had nightmares before the Ides of March. The author expects the reader to know that it is a Roman Calendar and also that it marks Julius Ceasar’s death which is March 15, 44 BC. The author describes it as a bad thing, because Calpurnia is having nightmares and then her husband gets killed the next day.

Quote from reading: “This is the truest account, though some have added that to Brutus, when he struck him a powerful blow, he said: ‘Thou, too, my son?’”

Summarization of quote: This quote compliments the attitudes and ideas in the book that I read, because just that one simple sentence can be a nightmare. Ceasar asks “You too, my son?”, meaning that Brutus is another person who became Ceasar’s enemy and you can tell that Ceasar felt betrayed in that simple question. It is also a nightmare, because getting murdered is one of the things that most people fear.

MLA citation: Harris, William V.. Dreams and Experience in Classical Antiquity, Harvard University Press, 2009. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/brooklyn-ebooks/detail.action?docID=3300816.

Caroline, Team Cronos

Don’t Monkey Around!

Cassius Dio: “he no longer restrained his wrath but showed great irritation, as if these very officials were really stirring up sedition against him.” (10)

Dio describes Caesar as an actual human being in this quote, meaning under all the hype about this romanticized image of the great Roman dictator Caesar, he is Julius Caesar first. People keep referring to Caesar as something that he feels that he isn’t, which I can understand why that would make him feel uncomfortable. Everyone only sees him as the Roman dictator, and nothing else, even if he tells others that he is only human. I picked this quote because it’s somewhat relatable because if people don’t listen to you after you have told them multiple times, you get annoyed after a while. This situation reminds me of what celebrities go through daily because their privacy is forgotten about, and their private lives are merged with their public lives.

Res Gestae: “In my nineteenth year, on my own initiative and at my own expense, I raised an army with which I set free the state, which was oppressed by the domination of a faction.” (1)

In this quote, Gestae shows Augustus in a positive light because he portrayed as a man who is willing to do whatever it takes for the benefit of his people. Despite Augustus being at a young age, his strong desire to contribute to society and his community persuades readers that the Roman dictator is a courageous, modest man; an image that contrasts the ones in the textbooks. I chose this quote because it promotes the message that every story has two sides to it. Even though we have been taught in school that Augustus was not a great leader, Gestae reminds readers about the positive aspects of Augustus because he was a young man that wanted to improve the well-being of his country, unaware of the fact that his risky political actions would contribute to the downfall of the Roman Empire.

The point-of-view in both passages are different from each other. In the first quote, Caesar’s thoughts of annoyance are written in third person. However, in the second quote, Augustus’ opinion is expressed in first person. Also, the passages are both referring to a different person.

In my selfie, I took a picture with Caesar. He is the main protagonist of the movie, Planet of the Apes, and he was named after Julius Caesar because his role in the movie is to lead his people. My image relates to the quotes above because of the way the leader is portrayed. For example, the quotes describe a positive image of Julius Caesar and Augustus because of their leadership qualities. Julius Caesar may have been a big risk-taker when it came to the well-being of the people he ruled over, but Julius did it with good intentions. Caesar was considered to be a hero of his time because of the way he ruled over Rome. He was a fair and caring leader, similar to Caesar, the chimpanzee, because Julius took account of the people’s thoughts and opinions to better the empire. I think the writers of the movie decided to name the main protagonist after Julius Caesar because they wanted to convey the image of a great ruler who would guide his people through battle and politics for their well-being.

– Rebecca Lee, Team Jupiter

 

It and Augustus

For this blog post, we are supposed to write about an object or person that has a name that derives from Julius Caesar or Augustus, two of the most well-known Roman emperors in history. The object I chose that has a name that derives from these two emperors is the book It by Stephen King. Even though on the surface this novel doesn’t seem connected to these two famous emperors, it actually does. If you are familiar with the novel, the 1990s mini-series, or the movie that came out this year, you know that half of the book takes place in the summer of 1958 and two months in the summer are July and August. July is named after Julius Caesar and August is named after Augustus. Even though Stephen King didn’t choose these months because of the origins of their names, it is still interesting to look at why these months have these names. While both are important, I’m mainly going to focus on August and Augustus in this post.

Augustus was the adopted great-nephew of Julius Caesar and was emperor of Rome after Caesar’s death. I thought the month of August was named after Augustus because it was the month he was born, but this speculation actually isn’t true. According to Suetonius’ “Life of Augustus,” he states, “that the name ‘August’ should be transferred to September, because Augustus had been born in September but had died in the month now called August; and that the period between his birth and death should be officially entered in the Calendar as ‘the Augustan Age.” This is quote shows that August is actually named after Augustus’ death and not his birth. This also clears up this common misconception that many people have about the origins of the name “August.”

Augustus was a very popular ruler. In the same writing, Suetonius states, “Such was his reputation for courage and clemency that the very Indians and Scythians — nations of whom we then knew by hearsay alone — voluntarily sent ambassadors to Rome, pleading for his friendship and that of his people.” This shows how Augustus was seen as this powerful, courageous, merciful leader that was a desired ally. I chose this quote because it shows how other countries saw Augustus and how they all wanted to be his ally. He was seen as someone who would protect all the people he ruled over and who were on his side. As well as being courageous and merciful, he was also well accomplished. In Res Gestae, Augustus himself says, “Twice I triumphed with an ovation, and three times I enjoyeda curule triumph and twenty-one times I was named emperor.” This shows just some of the things that Augustus accomplished his long reign as emperor and it shows how accomplished Augustus was. I chose this quote because it shows how accomplished Augustus is and how Augustus views himself. These two quotes show how Augustus was seen as this powerful figure who accomplished many triumphs. Both passages list Augustus’ political and military victories.

This postive view of Augustus can be seen in artwork such as “The Augustus of Primaporta” made in 20 BC. This was meant to be a propaganda piece that showed Augustus as a powerful decendant of the gods that had a vast amount of political triumphs. His power is show by his powerful stance. Also, his divine herititage is symbolized by the cupid and the dolphin, which are symbols of Aphrodite, and his bare feet, which was used in art work to show god-like status. Furthermore, Augustus’ breast plate depicts many of his political victories, such as the returning of military standards to Rome from the Parthians. This sculpture, the passages, and the name, “August,” shows how Augustus was seen as this powerful, god-like figure and how he has a lasting legacy.

Augustus of Primaporta picture link

-Emily Ryan, Team Mars

The “Idea of March”

 

The poem of “the idea of March” by Long, H. C. I found in the online BC library simply described the Julius Caesar’s feeling before the “idea of March” happened,  “…Suspecting each rich curtain of a knife.Even so, aware that flesh and bone are restless, With secret news and undefined intention…” which when Caesar realized people wants to get out of his control, he even tried to convince the Roman people, especially the nobility, to follow him – but it did not work. Caesar started to suspecting on everything and everyone because he’s scared of losing power and even lost his life. He knew something bad is going to happen, he “saw” someone secretly planning something, he can feel the cold that came from this chair of supreme. he’s scared but has no way to stop this thing from happening.

The quote from the reading said “When he had reached this point, the men who were plotting against him hesitated no longer, but in order to embitter even his best friends against him, they did their best to traduce him, finally saluting him as king, a name which they often used also among themselves.” indeed, one of Julius Caesar’s close friend Decimus was also the member of the group of about 60 men who began to plot how to rid Rome of Caesar. Many conspirators are well-trained soldiers, who spent weeks, even months, planning the downfall of Caesar. And indeed, this cames to the “idea of March”. according to history Caesar plans to leave Rome on March 18, travel to southern Italy to work out some of the veterans, and then east for a long campaign, and this is the deadline for conspirators, which Caesar’s must die before he leaves. To make sure the plan will follow the steps, the last assassin became the key.  Despite Caesar’s close presence in adverse signs and dizziness, his good friend Didimus convinced the Senate not to attend the meeting as an insult.  Once there, there was no bodyguard, Caesar has stabbed a total of 23 times.

 

Yao, Team Zeus

Citation:

Long, H. C. “The Ides of March.” Poetry, vol. 7, no. 3, 1915, pp. 133–133. JSTOR, JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20570635.

“Cassius Dio” Book 44.7-20, line 9-1.https://pastinpresenttense.wordpress.com/classics-1110/7-caesar-augustus/readings/#Cassius-Dio

History.com staff, “THE IDES OF MARCH”,2010.http://www.history.com/this-day-in-

Ides of March

 

Julius Caesar was indeed assassinated on the ides of March – March 15 – in the year 44 B.C. In the ancient Roman calendar, each month had an Ides. In March, May, July, and October, the Ides fell on the 15th day. In every other month, the Ides fell on the 13th. The word Ides derives from a Latin word which means “to divide.” The Ides were originally meant to mark the full moon, but because calendar months and lunar months were different lengths, they quickly got out of step.

“How Wilder differentiates and parallels these heterogeneous voices in The Ides indicates his exploration of the division between public and private identity. The reason for doing so is probably about perspectivism in Nietzsche’s sense, which implies that any way of seeing the world is subject to myopia, even including someone’s reflection upon oneself.”

A philosophical theme of The Ides of March is that divinity is necessarily hidden, because “where there is an unknowable there is a promise” ( IM 239). This accounts for Wilder’s aesthetic of uncertainty in his allegory making, ranging from his early three-minute religious playlets to his finale, Theophilus North. In this sense, the allegoricalness of Wilder’s fictions and dramas does not lie in his reverence of and borrowing from the classical motifs or archetypes, but in the polysemy of his verbal and visual imageries,

In that context, the author uses the phrase Ides of March as a symbol of divinity. The word ides take a deeper sense it is describing division between public and private.In our reading, it says that Ideas of March is a mark for the full moon and it is March of 15 which at first does not sound like something important. It says:”According to some historians, he chose 300 prisoners of equestrian or senatorial rank, and offered them on the ides of March at the altar of the God Julius, as human sacrifices. “

 

Augustus The Avenger

“The underlying motive of every campaign was that Augustus felt it his duty, above all, to avenge Caesar and keep his decrees in force. On his return from Apollonia, he decided to punish Brutus and Cassius immediately; but they foresaw the danger and escaped, so he had recourse to the law and prosecuted them for murder.”- (Suetonius, 10)

“I drove the men who slaughtered my father into exile with a legal order, punishing their crime, and afterwards, when they waged war on the state, I conquered them in two battles.”- (Res Gestae, 2)

These two passages characterize Augustus an avenger for Julius Caesar’s legacy. Julius Caesar chose Augustus to be his adoptive son. I specifically chose these two passages because Augustus is often characterized as a someone who was a powerful, great, and successful ruler, but I wanted to shine a light on why he was so mighty. His underlying purpose and intentions were to carry out what Julius Caesar could not because of his early death/ assassination. In Suetonius’s passage, it states how Augustus felt obligated to avenge Caesar by prosecuting Brutus and Cassius for murder. Similarly in Res Gestae’s passage, Augustus himself states that he wanted to take legal action in punishing those who harmed his father, Caesar. Both passages mention taking legal action as a form of punishment, but Suetonius specifically mentions Brutus and Cassius, while Res Gastae’s passage keeps the perpetrators anonymous, but points out all the things Augustus has done to avenge Caesar; not only does he punish them through law, but he successfully conquers them in two battles to defend Caesar’s honor.

In this image, I took a picture with the “Silver Denarius of Octavian”. It is a silver coin that shows the head of Augustus. Augustus’s original name was Gaius Octavius. The coin was deprived from Augustus’s original name because it is meant to show that Augustus is someone who is one amongst the gods. Gods’ heads were the only ones who were allowed to be on coins. The fact that Augustus’s head is on a silver coin indicates that he is someone who is not only favored by the gods, but also someone who is a god himself. My speculation correlates with the quotes chosen above because it shows how powerful Augustus is. He is able to carry out orders as a great ruler should and he punishes those who are in the wrong. He is also victorious in his battles and brings peace among the Roman empire. A god’s job is to create order in the world and punish those who have sinned, which is similar to how Augustus controls his empire. In a way, Augustus plays the role of god among the Romans. When inheriting Caesar’s name, with it came all the titles that followed. Augustus’s name became: Imp [Julius] Caesar [Octavianus] Divi filius Augustus Imp XXI Pont Max Trib Pot XXXVII Cos XIII Princeps Senatus Pater Patriae [imperium maius]
Augustus’s full name in and of itself is something that shows how great he is. “Divi filius” means “son of god”. “Imp” is short for “Imperator” which means “emperor”. Albeit his name may be long, it shows everything that Augustus defines himself to be.

Mary Huang, Team Vulcan

First Sextilis, then August

Quotes characterized Augustus:

1) “Augustus announced his candidature for a tribuneship of the people– death had created a vacancy- although neither a patrician nor a senator, and thus doubly disqualified from standing” (Suetonius, 10).
2) “In my nineteenth year, on my own initiative and at my own expense, I raised an army with which I set free the state, which was oppressed by the domination of a faction” (Res Gestae, 1).

These two quotes show that Augustus was a man who fought for himself and people. In the first quotation, we can read that he tried to be a candidate for tribuneship, even though he never had anything to do with that, which disqualified him automatically. Another quote is a part of the piece that Augustus wrote about himself. It shows that as a young man he already was able to be there for people, and help them out.
I chose those two quotations because I wanted to describe Emperor Augustus as a brave young man who was not afraid to take actions and help.
Two passages are similar because both of them emphasizes Augustus’ courage. The first one is from Suetonius. The author describes the ruler willingness to take a risk. The second quote is Augustus’ own words. He describes how he raised an army on his own.

I took a selfie with the month of August from my new planner for 2018. August it the eight month of the year in the Gregorian calendar and it’s named after Emperor Augustus. At first it was named Sextilis (in Latin), but later on, Julius Caesar changed it in honor of Augustus Caesar in 8 BCE.

I think that there is the connection between Augustus that we read about in class and my picture. The month August was named in honor of Emperor Augustus, which means that he was an important person who deserved it. In our readings, we can read about Augustus as a young man who was able to help people, take the risk and show his courage. This post is also connected to our art history class because we spoke about Augustus’ sculpture and described him very specifically as a young brave man.

Edyta, Team Aphrodite

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everybody Hates Caesar

“Caesar could not keep back tears, and he took care that the head was burned with many very costly perfumes.” This quote from ‘Lives of Illustrious Men’ shows Julius Caesar in a more sensitive way. Even though he was a very strong man, he still had emotions that could not be held back when Pompey died. It helps us to see that he was still a regular person with feelings like us even though he was powerful. “Subsequently, however, when he was riding in from the Alban Mount and some men again called him king, he said that his name was not “Rex” but Caesar; but when the same tribunes brought suit against the first man who had termed him king, he no longer restrained his wrath but showed great irritation, as if these very officials were really stirring up sedition against him.” Just like the previous quote, this quote from ‘Cassius Dio’ shows the human side of Caesar. The men kept trying to call him king after he repeatedly told them not to. This caused Caesar to get aggravated. This would happen to anyone who has been telling someone to stop doing something and they kept doing it.

I chose these passages because they show how even though Caesar was a strong and powerful man, he was just like any regular person reacting in natural ways. They give a different view of him and not just someone who hid their emotions to look more potent.

I was watching ‘Everybody Hates Chris’ and realized Chris’ father’s name is Julius. I looked it up and Chris Rock’s middle name is Christopher Julius Rock III while his father’s real name is Christopher Julius Rock II. The name ‘Julius’ derives from Julius Caesar and I think that the name was passed down through the Rock family. I mean his great great grandfather’s name was Julius Caesar Tinghman, so they probably wanted to keep the tradition. They could be trying to follow the way names were handled back in Julius Caesars’ time but I don’t think that their names are because of what was discussed in the quotes above.

– Ivory, Team Artemis

 

Welcome to Manhattan

 

 

In the photo above is my friend Julia (on the left) and I at the foot of the Manhattan bridge. We’re sitting at a small steps at the bottom of the arch. We’re on the Manhattan side of the the bridge, and this photo shows an architectural piece that divides the incoming and outgoing traffic of the bridge. Similar to St. Peter’s square, the archway shares unique characteristics. In the photo, the sides of the arch has colonnades that extends outwards. The colonnades only contain two closely lined columns used as decoration, rather than the church’s incentive to direct traffic of pilgrims and carriages. The column’s simplistic and smooth unfluted shaft also follows the tuscan order that can be identified around St. Peter’s square. The colonnades that line either sides of the triumphal arch creates a wide semicircle shape. The shape can be compared to St. Peter’s square where people describe it to be the open arms of the church. In this case, the archway can be the welcoming arms for people coming into Manhattan. However, the entrance of the archway does not create the same sense of movement as to the piazza. St. Peter’s basilica’s columns display Baroque qualities of invoking movement in the way that the columns are unevenly spaced and are not freestanding. The colonnades of the archway are tightly lined, and are elevated so people are unable to interact with the architectural piece. Unless the steps are climbed, people are only able to approach the columns; Whereas, the columns of the piazza are much larger in scale and are spaced out for people to walk through. Another characteristic that both places share are the tops of the colonnades. It seems like fence-like structures that resemble crenellations of castles.

---

I met Julia (left of photo) in high school, and I found out that her grandmother chose her name. When her grandmother was pregnant with her father, her grandmother chose the name “Julia” if the baby was a girl. Instead, her grandmother named her father “Julio” when she found out he was a boy. Before hearing this story about Julia’s name, I thought that Julia was a common name in Hispanic culture. This story does support my speculations somewhat, and is related to what we have learned in class. The similarities of family names are passed down to different generations. I can relate this influential factor of naming choices to modern day culture, because I noticed that a lot of siblings share the same first letter of their names. For example, my cousins are named Ada, Anna, and Andy. I think that many parents find it easier to remember names if they match the first letters. Though the names “Julia” and “Julius” were separated according to gender, there was a similarity between the way a family names their relatives.

In relation to Julius Caesar, he has been described in Catullus’ poem where the poet questions “what is this but perverse generosity? Has he not achieved enough gluttony?” Catallus’ syntax interestingly juxtaposes the connotations of someone that is perverse and generous. Someone that is generous is seen as selfless and willing, whereas, perverse describes someone that is corrupted and improper. Thus, Catullus implies that Caesar’s actions may seem like they’re positively improving the community, however, his intentions may be corrupt and out of self interest. Cassius Dio also explores the same idea that Julius Caesar is not a respectable public figure by stating that “most men suspected him of being inflated with pride and hated him for his haughtiness” in his book. The quote creates the image that the public may interpret Caesar’s ego as a negative influence on his popularity and favorability towards his followers. I chose these quotes because both writers elaborate on a common theme that runs through history and culture. Leaders become examples of how their high self-esteem leads to their downfall, or hubris. This idea can be identified in how Julius Caesar was killed by his closest peers. In addition, current events display how celebrities, politicians, and fictional characters in movies are exploited by their own flaws.

Vicky, Team Hermes

The Ides of March, An Awful or Appointed Day?

“The Ides of March : Let’s face it, nobody is ever sorry to say goodbye to the month of March. March is the armpit month of the year, the uphill battle at the end of the tunnel time. April brings daffodils and daylight savings time, and then pretty soon summer is upon us and it turns out everything’s going to be fine after all. But first, you have to make it through March.”

Coyote, Ivan. Loose End, Arsenal Pulp Press, 2005. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/brooklyn-ebooks/detail.action?docID=478502.

Created from brooklyn-ebooks on 2017-11-25 19:01:27.

The book that I chose had a whole chapter entitled “The Ides of March”. The entire book; Loose End is about breaking free from the norms of society and simply being true to oneself despite differences. The chapter begins with the sentences quoted previously. Coyote writes about one March that he lived through was extremely horrible and he makes the inference that March is a very dreary, gloomy month in the year compared to the other months. Also that it is not a month that many look forward to. The Ides of March is simply a day that falls approximately in the middle of the month that the Romans would settle their debts. It was originally not a bad time in the month or year and the author of the text might not have known that because she portrays it in a negative way.

The Ides of March also marks the date that Caesar was assassinated by many Roman senators conspirators including Brutus in 44 BC. They didn’t like his tyrant like rulership and felt as though he was too powerful. To remind the Roman soldiers that their fight for the Roman Republic wasn’t in vain, and that he set them free, he created the EID MAR silver denarius.

The Cassius Dio, Book 44.16: (An account of the assassination of Julius Caesar by a Roman senator living in the late Second Century CE writing a history of Rome in Greek)  states, “So the conspirators, when the appointed day was come, gathered in the senate-house at dawn and called for Caesar.” Therefore in this passage, the Roman senators planned out this day well in advance. They had a set goal in mind; to kill Caesar. They knew who would do it, when they would, where, how and especially why. To them killing Caesar was a step forward for the Roman Republic, it is referred to as an “appointed day”. It was a positive event contrary to how the author mentioned previously depicts that the Ides of March is an unpleasant time of the year.

-Chanté, Team Venus

 

August(us)

“At sixteen, having now come of age, he was awarded military decorations when Caesar celebrated his African triumph, though he had been too young for overseas service”-Suetonis

 

“Augustus actually engaged assassins to murder Antony and, when the plot came to light, spent as much money as he could raise on enlisting a force of veterans to protect himself and the Constitution.”-Suetonis

 

These two passages characterize Augustus as a triumphant, young ruler of Rome that used his wealth to protect his citizens. I chose these passages because they highlight adjectives and words that represent who Augustus was and what he has done. These two passages are different, as the first passage is about Augustus prior to becoming emperor whereas the second passage is about Augustus as emperor.

The image I chose shows me holding a calendar, showing the month of August.  August comes from Augustus. This is probably because Augustus achieved an important accomplishment in this month and was later renamed in honor of him. My speculation does not connect with the first quote but does with the second. In the first quote, Augustus was sixteen and may have been too young to have a month named after him. In the second quote however, the assassination of Antony may have earned the respect of Roman officials and honor him with August.

 

Frank-Team Artemis

Two Ides of the story.

“But from the month of November the winter setting of the Vergiliae (Pleiades) interrupts shipping with frequent storms. So from three days before the Ides of November [i.e. 11th November] until six days before the Ides of March [i.e. 10th March] the seas are closed..”

This quote was taken from “The Ancient Sailing Seasons”, a book that specializes in military science. This book is specifically about the seafaring history of pirates, fishermen, and naval armies during the Grecco-Roman periods. This quote uses the Ides of March as a time stamp in which the seas become too violent and strong to be able to successfully navigate through. It doesn’t make any reference to it being unavailable because of Caesar’s assassination. However, the author uses the ides of march as a tool of time to assist seafarers at the time to know when to avoid the sea.

The author does not explain what the ides of march is, rather, using it as a common date everyone should know. It’s similar to today, in which one will say “Avoid voyaging on the 15th of March”. The 15th of March being the “modern” term of Ides of March. One shouldn’t explain to you what the the 15th of March is, because you should already know it.

A quote that not only would misinform the reader, but make a neat reference is from Cassius Dio, “A great outcry naturally arose from all the rest who were inside and also from those who were standing near by outside, both at the suddenness of the calamity and because they did not know who the assassins were, their numbers, or their purpose; and all were excited, believing themselves in danger.”

This would lead to the reader assume that the sea wasn’t available was due to everyone in the empire having a panic attack that their leader was assassinated, thus all things in society run by man wouldn’t be working, because they’re all panicking. However, this would lead to the reader to assume that the ides of March is the nickname for the date in which the assassination took place, not the Latin name for the fifteenth of March.

While this would be neat, it’s best to not assume that ides of march is only attributed to the assassination of Caesar. The date itself existed before Caesar was even born.

-Fernando, Team Cronos

(Beresford, James. The Ancient Sailing Season, BRILL, 2012. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/brooklyn-ebooks/detail.action?docID=1081627.
Created from brooklyn-ebooks on 2017-11-26 13:45:15.)

 

Beresford, James. A reassessment of the ancient sailing season: the case for wintertime seafaring on the Graeco-Roman Mediterranean. 2005.

See her See Caesar

This is a picture of me and my cousin Juliette. Juliette’s name derives from the name Julius, of the great emperor Julius Caesar. It possesses the prefix “ Juli” which is Latin. As you can see there is a lot of warmth between us in this picture. Although this name derives from Julius, someone could have used the name just because it sounded lovely to their ears or because it is a family name that must be passed on.

From the multiple readings we read in and out of class there seems to be a contradiction in the depiction of Caesar’s character. In the book Cassius Dio, which is, “an account of the assassination of Julius Caesar by a Roman senator living in the late Second Century CE writing a history of Roman in Greek”, such dictions of Julius Caesar are present. Subsequently, to Caesar becoming dictator the people had a lot of respect for him, thus they constantly praised and honored him and they even went as far as, let him have sexual intercourse with as many women as he pleased. With this kind of proposition in the air, “… men suspected him of being inflated with pride and hated him for his haughtiness…” While here he is depicted as being overly prideful; in the “Lives of Illustrious Men excerpts” the actions that are depicted by Caesar are not at all prideful, in contrary, he was very humble. Following the death of Pompey, “Caesar could not keep back tears, and he took care that the head was burned with many costly perfumes.” Based on the actions being described here, I think it is fair to say that Caesar is not as prideful as those other men might think. Just like other people honor him, He also honored Pompey and approached him with utmost respect especially after his death.– Izadora, Team Aphrodite

Fairy Slippers on the Ides of March

 

“Beware the frozen Ides of March.”

The quote is from a poem called “Fairly Slippers” in the book Hungry Moon by Henrietta Goodman. “Fairy Slippers” refers to a species of orchids known as Calypso bulbosa (image). These orchids are known to pollinate by deception because they attract insects to their yellow hairs but produce no nectar for the nourishment of the insects. The orchids can also cause skin irritation or allergic reaction to humans who handle them.

The poem starts off with the quote “Beware the frozen Ides of March,” as a warning to those who may be deceived, that the flowers will begin to bloom from late March and onwards. The author refers to Ides of March as “frozen”, branding it with a dark and gloomy connotation that the blooming of the flowers will never end after mid-March, which is the case with these orchids until they die, five years later. The author expects the reader to understand that “Ides of March” refers to the middle of March, and states her opinion that it is a bad thing by calling it “frozen”, and cautioning her readers to “beware”.

Quote from Cassius Dio:

“And when the right moment came, one of them approached him, as if to express his thanks for some favour or other, and pulled his toga from his shoulder, thus giving the signal that had been agreed upon by the conspirators. Thereupon they attacked him from many sides at once and wounded him to death so that by reason of their numbers Caesar was unable to say or do anything, but veiling his face, was slain with many wounds….Then all the rest, severally taking up the cry one from another, kept shouting these words, filled the city with lamentations…”

This quote which recounts the assassination of Julius Cesar compliments the attitude in the poem “Fairy Slippers”. The attitude in this quote of the “Ides of March” is of “lamentations”, as the day Julis Caesar was assassinated was a day of grief and despair for everyone. Similarly in the poem, “Ides of March” marks a day of deception and gloom because of the orchids. In reference to Julius Caesar, the “Ides of March” is a grim representation of his being deceived and assassinated, and in the Fairy Slippers too, it is a reference to insects and humans being deceived and harmed.

 

Fairy Slipper (Entire Poem)

Beware the frozen Ides of March. Beware the self-betrayal of a little knowledge poorly applied. Next time he rolls toward you in the hour before dawn, you will say yes no matter what he has or hasn’t done. You will listen to gesture, not word. Not the fairy slipper, but the way it unfurls like a squid, the gray fur at its heart. You would take any flower now, even the drunken flower of his breath, the exhaust atomized, damp and oily in his clothes. Even the flower of his waiting while you pour a thermos of coffee. Even to read the forecast with him, to see in the string of letters and numbers br, which is mist, to hear him say in your ear Baby Rain, flower of recognition, under snow.

 

Citation:
Goodman, Henrietta. Hungry Moon, University Press of Colorado, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/brooklyn-ebooks/detail.action?docID=3039825.
Created from brooklyn-ebooks on 2017-11-26 10:43:14.

 

Isra, Team Minerva

Hail Julia!

“When they began to honor Julius Caesar (now dictator), it was with the idea, of course, that he would be reasonable…”
(Cassius Dio book 44.4-20 chapter seven line two)
“whether he will go across the great Alps, seeing the great monument of Caesar, the Gallic Rhine or those monstrous men, the furthest Britons.”
(Catullus, chapter eleven line thirteen)

These quotes characterize Julius Caesar in a negative way. I chose them because of the way they similarly characterize Caesar as a monstrous dictator who is getting power and glory despite not deserving said power and let alone deserving to rule the empire as a dictator. The passages that I took the quotes from are most likely used to justify or excuse the Roman Sennett’s action of assassinating Caesar.

Cassius Dio and Catullus used their work as propaganda against Caesar as well as a justification for his assassination. This is different than the propaganda Augustus’s wife made for him after his death, the statue Augustus Of Prima Porta that we learned about in art1010. The propaganda that Augustus Of Prima Porta was portraying was positive and was praising him for his military and diplomatic victories.
The image I have chosen for this blog is a picture of the name Julia written in rainbow lights, like those on a billboard sign. In the family of Gaius Julius Caesar, all women were named Julia. Someone may have the name Julia because every woman in a family were given the family name as their first name.
This does not connect to the quotes because based on the quotes no one would want to name their child after a man like Julius Caesar. More likely, each generation named a child Julia or Julius to honor a relative from the past or just because the parents liked that particular name. It is my opinion that in this way the name Julia has survived from Ancient Rome to the present day and not as a way to continue to honor Julius Caesar.

Hinda Honikman, Team Mars

Caesar and salad aren’t that different?

(Image by @adamtots)

CassiusDio

7 some actually ventured to suggest permitting him to have intercourse with as many women as he pleased, because even at this time, though fifty years old, he still had numerous mistresses.

11 he no longer restrained his wrath but showed great irritation, as if these very officials were really stirring up sedition against him.

Lives of Illustrious Men

Pompey ordered Caesar to disband his army but was driven from the city when Caesar approached prepared for battle.

Caesar could not keep back tears, and he took care that the head was burned with many very costly perfumes

Julius Caesar had a extremely mixed reputation. At times the people loved him and at times he was rather questionable which overall leads to his death. In the quotes from Cassius it really shows the questionable side of Caesar. How he would sleep with many women and his temper. However these traits made some people like him and praise him even more. In the quotes from “Lives of Illustrious Men” we see a good portray of Caesar. How he was prepared to defend and fight back and his more sensitive side in honoring Pompey even though he did not actually like him. These two passages show very different sides of Caesar and how some people loved his characteristics as a ruler but others did not.

This is Creamy Caesar dressing you put on the famous Caesar salad that many enjoy and love. However many people don’t like salad as well. Just like Julius Caesar it has qualities about it many people like and dislike. But in all seriousness Caesar salad wasn’t named after the dictator Caesar but rather after Caesar Cardini who invested in Tijuana, Mexico in 1924. He threw together a salad last minute from the ingredients he had and it was a hit. You can argue that Caesar Cardini’s name origin was from Julius Caesar considering Cadini who is from Italian decent. However the salad wasn’t originally named after Julius Caesar but it does has some qualities that the dictator has. Such as it’s popularity and people’s mixed opinions about the salad we can relate to Julius Caesar’s popularity and the mixed opinions he got from his people.

Francesca, Team Cronos

Directive Tragedy Rooted From the ‘Ides of March’

In the Devils Casino, the truth of the Lehman Brothers ploys comes to light. The words ‘Ides of March’ are referred to as a reference to Caesar’s killing in comparison to the Lehman demotion on March 15. They both occurred on the same day. It may seem overly dramatic but the truth of the matter is that for those involved, the incident of demotion was comparable to the evens of ‘Ides of March’. The author expects the reader to have a vague understanding of what ‘Ides of March’ is. They give a brief explanation of it but nothing too specific. Also, for the context that it is used in, the term doesn’t need to be delved into that much. It’s just there as a catalyst for understanding the severity of the Lehman demotion incident.  The author views it as a bad thing considering how they’re tying it to a event of this caliber that negatively affected the life of some. The quote specifically says “This episode is called the Ides of March by senior Lehman  executives  because the demotion occurred on March 15, the day Julius Caesar was killed by his former friends in 44 B.C.” Wiley John,  Devils casino: friendship, betrayal, and the high stakes games played inside lehman brothers, 2011.

From the reading of Cassius Dio, the quote of “According to some historians, he chose 300 prisoners of equestrian or senatorial rank, and offered them on the ides of March at the altar of the God Julius, as human sacrifices.” already sheds some light on how the negativity of this incident could be perceived. It compliments the way the ‘Ides of March’ attitude is in the book because in both contexts, the phrase is used in a negative scenario that can’t really offer much if any positive declarations.

Bailey Seemangal, Team 5, Hephaestus

Augusto!

• “As a judge he was both conscientious and lenient…”

-(Passage 33, Life of Augustus, Suetonius)

This quote portrays one of Augustus’ main qualities – being diligent and meticulous, while being lenient. The author gives summarized examples of how Augustus exercised his power in this manner, which included him adding a third tablet for jurors in a particular case for the benefit of the suspect, and assigning different cases to the City Praetor, with citizens’ appeals. This passage gives us insight into how Augustus executed his duties, and we are able to see that he was a dedicated and fair-minded leader.

 

• “When the dictatorship was offered to me, both in my presence and my absence, by the people and senate, when Marcus Marcellus and Lucius Arruntius were consuls (22 B.C.E.), I did not accept it.”

-(Passage 5, Res Gestae)

The second quote displays one of Augustus’ other predominant qualities – seeming humble, but with a hint of pride. This is evident in the way he highlights who and what circumstances surrounded him being offered the dictatorship – the people and senate, the consuls, and in his presence and absence. In this passage, Augustus is offered the dictatorship, and turns it down multiple times. Additionally, we are informed of how he frees the city from fear and danger through utilizing his own expenses, which also displays his humble, yet prideful, characteristic.

The traits selected stood out in both of the authors’ pieces, and were crucial in describing Augustus. Though these passages exhibit attributes that might not be that similar, they are somewhat connected in relation to building a well-respected and successful leader. Being humble, with hints of pride, and possessing diligence and leniency in work ethics are two predominant qualities in the formation of a great leader. I chose these two characteristics because of this connection, and due to the fact that these are extremely important features of Augustus. Through the presentation of different events, the first passage being his work in the courts and the second passage entailing his denial of a prestigious role, we are able to obtain these two traits and connect them.

 

This is an image featuring me and my cousin, Keon. It was taken the day after I had just arrived from Guyana. Keon, whose middle name happens to be Augusto, is from Grenada, where this name is extremely uncommon.

Theory! – After researching the actual meaning of “Augusto,” which derives from “Augustus,” and means majestic and venerable, I began to think that his parents named him this because of the name’s rarity in the Caribbean, and due to their knowledge of Augustus, while dreaming of Keon becoming someone outstanding (“majestic”), yet humble.

To confirm my speculation, I asked my Uncle why he had named my cousin “Augusto,” who responded, “Just like Augustus, he will be well-known for something amazing.” I was correct on where they obtained the name from, and their wishes for his future.

My theory of why they named him “Augusto” does connect with quotes I selected in that the quotes and my speculation of the reason for Keon’s name are extremely similar. Keon does manifest these traits in his personality – he is the type of person who tries to present himself as humble, which is obvious in everyday actions, while being very diligent in whatever he does.

 

-Daniel, Team Diana.

How Comes that Augustus Caesar relates to a Hotel’s name?

Suetonius wrote in “Life of Augustus” that “Yet Augustus never wantonly invaded any country, and felt no temptation to increase the boundaries of Empire or enhance his military glory; indeed, he made certain barbarian chieftains swear in the Temple of Avenging Mars that they would faithfully keep the peace for which they sued.” From this quotation, we see Augustus is a very peaceful and rational person, he had no temptation of expanded his empire, the reason why he fought is not that he wanted to have more glory or become more powerful but only because he wanted to united all barbarians, keep the peace and prevent further wars. He had such a big heart.

This an excerpt of what Augustus Caesar wrote at Res Gestae, it is about himself for his own Mausoleum in Rome. “I often waged war, civil and foreign, on the earth and sea, in the whole wide world, and as a victor, I spared all the citizens who sought pardon. As for foreign nations, those which I was able to safely forgive, I preferred to preserve than to destroy.” This is an excerpt of what Augustus Caesar wrote about himself, he said that he often started wars inside of the empire or outside with other nations, in the whole wide world. As a winner of the wars, he forgave all the citizens as they sought pardon, he preferred to keep these nations with peace than to destroy them. We can see here that Augustus wanted to let people know how generous he is, he didn’t want to eliminate these nation even they lose.

The reason why I chose these two quotes is that I learned from Art class that Augustus Caesar brought Pax Romana- 200 years of peace to Rome. What I learned from Art 1010 really connect to what we learned in this unit for Clas 1010. Also, this is very interesting that both Suetonius and Augustus himself described the reason of wars that Augustus started is because he wants to keep a further and longer peacetime, he is very kind to forgive the loser nation and make barbarians to vow and keep the peace.

This is an image of Hotel Caesar Augustus in Capri, Italy. Capri is famous by the statue of Augustus Caesar, it is the symbol of the city. The Hotel Caesar Augustus has it history since 19 century. Before to be transformed to be a hotel, it was a village that bought by Russia’s Prince Emmanuel Bulhak by the first half of 19th century. Bulhak believed that Augustus Caesar is the person who made Capri famous and he is the emperor of the world, Bulhak placed the statue of Augustus on the terrace because of it. By the second half of 29th century, Prince Bulhak sold the village to the family Signorini and the family transformed it into a hotel. The name of this hotel has nothing to do with the kind and peaceful characteristic of August Caesar but there is no doubt that Capri had become famous because of him and this was the reason why the family Signorini named it after him.

#Qiyi, Team Vesta

“Augustus” named on the planner

Suetonius: Life of Augustus:

“Next to the Immortals, Augustus most honoured the memory of those citizens who had raised the Roman people from small beginnings to their present glory; which was why he restored many public buildings erected by men of this calibre, complete with their original dedicatory inscriptions, and raised statues to them, wearing triumphal dress, in the twin colonnades of his Forum.”

Res Gestae:

“As for foreign nations, those which I was able to safely forgive, I preferred to preserve than to destroy. About five hundred thousand Roman citizens were sworn to me. I led something more than three hundred thousand of them into colonies and I returned them to their cities, after their stipend had been earned, and I assigned all of them fields or gave them money for their military service.

In the first passage, Augustus appears as a character who is an excellent administrator. He carried out an enormous work of reorganizing the entire Roman Empire. Furthermore, through stringent rules with strict discipline Augustus was able to bring a lasting Roman peace that improved communication and prosperous trade. Rejuvenation of old practices adequately integrated Judaism and Christianity through transmission of Classical heritage from Romans and Greeks.

Contrastingly, in the other passage of Res Gsestae, Augustus is depicted as a merciful emperor who forgave those that surrendered and gave themselves to the Roman Empire.”

These two passages characterize Augustus more than Julius Caesar. This describes more as Augustus because while I reading the text, it talks more about Augustus and what Augustus has done. It also shows the kind of person Augustus was. The first quote talks about Augustus most honored memory and how those people are respected by the Roman people. The statue that was created to make those people wear winning dress.The second quotes talk about talks about how Augustus was kind enough to forgive the one who gave up and gave themselves to the Roman Empire.

I choose those two passages because since it has many details on Augustus and talks a lot about what Augustus did and how he is so important. Also shows how he is characterized as a person.

The two passages I choose have some similarities and differences.The similarities between the two passages are that they both talk about Augustus. Both of the passages talk about him being honored and what he has done. The differences are that the first passages talk about how Roman people respect the dead people and honored them with the statue that has the wining dress. The second passage talks about how Augustus forgave people that gave up but were able to give themselves Roman Empire. It also talks about how Augustus recognize as an excellent administrator and he has much excellent recognition throughout the Roman Empire.

When I was going through my Brooklyn College planner, I came across to this page for the month of Augustus. As soon I saw that I automatically knew how Augustus connects with the month of August. The calendar derived the name of Augustus because since the name of the month August is named after Augustus.

The comparison to speculation to the quotes above, I will say it somewhat connects because is the month of the August was named after Augustus which already shows that Augustus is powerful and people showed him respect to him. And shows his importance to what he has done.

In Art History class, we also discussed about Augustus. This image was studied in Art History class.

This topic connects with art because since we studied this sculpture of Augustus Caesar in art. In art, we learned about every detailed of the image and what pose Augustus Caesar is making or what his intentions and what he is trying to say. This portrait was found in Italy and named Augustus of Prima Porta. In this picture, Augustus is the military dress, wearing highly decorated breastplate or cuirass and the drape is around his hip. His right hand is raised up and pointing up to show that his power and addressing to his troops. He is also depicted barefoot which show that he is the god. This sculpture also shows political propaganda and to show the importance of him.

-Mantaha Mannan, Team Vulcan

Citation:

“History – Augustus.” BBC, BBC, http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/augustus.shtml.

Caesar the pit bull.

• Lives of Illustrious Men (**GNAEUS POMPEIUS MAGNUS Experts)

“Caesar could not keep back tears, and he took care that the head was burned with many very costly perfumes.”

This was written to portray what had happened to Julius Caesar after Pompey’s death. He appears to be a soft hearted man who cried at the death of Pompey and very knowable for he took his head and burnt it with perfume, the best way possible.

• Cassius Dio (Book 44.7-20)

8. 4“hence most men suspected him of being inflated with pride and hated him for his haughtiness, when it was they themselves who had made him disdainful by the exaggerated character of their honours.”

In this quote it shows Julius Caesar as someone that is full of themselves and is swayed by others affection/attention.

I choose these quotes because they show two different sides of Julius Caesar. In the first one it makes Caesar look like a kind person that looks out for others. While in the second quote it looks as though he cares only about himself and his well being.

The image I took was of me and my dog, Caesar which is derived from the name Julius Caesar. I think he was named Caesar because Julius Caesar was a strong leader and emperor. Caesar is a blue nose which makes their structure look very big and muscular, which may come off scary, making him look strong.  

Unlike the first quote where Julius Caesar comes off as a softie my dog is an actually softie. He such a sweet dog that he wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone. For the second quote my dog does not relate because he is not full of himself. But it can be interpreted as such, a lot people hate the pit bull breed because these dogs are “aggressive” but in fact the only reason they are like this is because of the owners treatments towards them. So too Julius Caesar became the way he was because of the people.

Anora, Team Diana

The Great Augustus Caesar

Suetonius

“Augustus introduced many reforms into the Army, besides reviving certain obsolete practices, and exacted the strictest discipline. He grudged even his generals home leave and granted this only during the winter.”

Res Gestae

“I often waged war, civil and foreign, on earth and sea, in the whole wide world, and as the victor, I spared all the citizens who sought pardon. As for foreign nations, those which I was able to forgive safety, I preferred to preserve than to destroy.”

In the first passage, Augustus appears as a character who is an excellent administrator. He carried out an enormous work of reorganizing the entire Roman Empire. Furthermore, through stringent rules with strict discipline Augustus was able to bring a lasting Roman peace that improved communication and prosperous trade. Rejuvenation of old practices adequately integrated Judaism and Christianity through transmission of Classical heritage from Romans and Greeks.

Contrastingly, in the other passage of Res Gestae, Augustus is depicted as a merciful emperor who forgave those that surrendered and gave themselves to the Roman Empire.

The choice of two passage relies on the fact that they bring out clearly how Augustus was able to tactfully conceal autocracy in a traditionalist way to satisfy a war-worn generation. For instance, Augustus hardly was he known for mercy over his enemies, but he uses the propaganda to cloak his ruthlessness over his subjects to satisfy the upper bourgeoisie that much benefited from new requests made by the emperor.

The passages are similar in such a way that both reveal Augustus’ mastery of imaginative propaganda that was used to expand his territory as well as conquering his enemies. The technique was used to get massive following even beyond boundaries of the Roman Empire.

This is an image of my young cousin called Augustine and me. The name Augustine is a derivative of Augustus which means “the increase” or “majestic.” In particular, my cousin in the picture is believed to be having the qualities of a splendor or a leader. He is very charismatic, principled for a young boy, courageous and brave and very respectful.

Comparing my speculation to the quotes, I will say it partially connects to the quotes as my cousin is a brave and courageous boy like Augustus Caesar, but the name he was given according to his parents was influenced by a man of God.

In Art History, we discussed some of the qualities of Augustus Caesar, by analyzing the sculpture below.

This piece of sculpture is one of the famous portraits of Augustus Caesar. The portrait is called Augustus of Primaporta because of where it was found in Italy. Augustus is standing in contrapposto, this means he is a bit slanted in his stance. The emperor is wearing military regalia, and his arm is raised and outstretched, demonstrating that he might have been addressing his troops. The bare feet of the emperor suggest he was a god, and so does the cupid beside his right leg. The artwork here also serves as a visual propaganda by expressing the emperor’s divine lineage and military triumphs.

Richard, Team Vulcan.

Citations

Dowson, Thomas. “Augustus of Prima Porta.” Archaeology Travel, 10 Jan. 2017, archaeology-travel.com/friday-find/augustus-prima-porta/.

 

 

 

 

Are your Friends Really Your Friends?

• Devil’s Casino : Friendship, Betrayal, and the High Stakes Games Played Inside Lehman Brothers quote

“You think you would have liked Chris Pettit — but by the end you would not have liked him. He became someone else.” — John Cecil.

• MLA Citation

Ward, Vicky. Devil’s Casino : Friendship, Betrayal, and the High Stakes Games Played Inside Lehman Brothers, Wiley, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/brooklyn-ebooks/detail.action?docID=510230.
Created from brooklyn-ebooks on 2017-11-24 19:30:11.

• Summary of the text

In the text, A weakness that needed to be fixed was Lehman’s equities and investments banking units since it was doing very poorly compared to their fixed income. In order to do so, it was necessary to fire some of the employees whom were in the higher rankings. Chris Pettit a stubborn and biased employee refused to give up his position and defended other employees whom were his friends. This lead to, Dick Fuld, the head of the corporation to persuade Pettit’s friends to betray on him; which lead to Chris Pettit being fired from the corporation.

The text corresponds with the word term “Ides of March” because it is commonly known as the deadline to settle debts. Adding on, when people are faced with debts at their deadline, they would have to do whatever it takes in order to settle it. Therefore, the text is related to Ides of March because Dick Fuld had to get rid of Chris Pettit and other higher ranked employees in order to move forward with their corporation goals. through the text, the author would suggest that the Ides of March would not be a good thing. Reasoning for this is because of the madness and chaos it created in the corporation mainly internally.

• The account of Ides of March in Cassius Dio quote

“When he had reached this point, the men who were plotting against him hesitated no longer, but in order to embitter even his best friends against him, they did their best to traduce him, finally saluting him as king, a name which they often used also among themselves.”

This quote is able to compliment the text because this situation is the similar to each other since both involve persuading the best friend into betraying Julius Caesar and Chris Pettit. Adding on this is able to help the text connect to the Ides of March due to how similar it was to situation Caesar and Pettit was in. Due to their unwillingness to step down from their position, the people had to figure out a way to do so in order to move forward. Thus, by persuading

It’s a Metaphor!!

 

1. “…when, at a crisis in the fighting, the standard-bearer of his legion was seriously wounded, Augustus himself shouldered the Eagle and carried it for some time” (Suetonius 9).
2. “… After the fall of the city Augustus took vengeance on crowds of prisoners and returned the same answer to all who sued for pardon or tried to explain their presence among the rebels” (Suetonius 15)

These two passages show that Augustus is a responsible and righteous man. He is also someone with great leadership skills since he was able to lead an entire army. Augustus takes the burden and fights for his people. I chose them because it shows how brave and capable he is as a leader. Both passages talk about Augustus’ burden of being a powerful figure that is leading a whole army in order to conquer lands, and how much the people depend on him.

This image is a picture of Augustus Waters from the movie The Fault In Our Stars; It is an adaption of the book which is by John Green. The name ‘Augustus’ is actually suitable for this character because he is brave, courageous, loyal, but, not perfect. The first quote can support how Augustus from the movie and book tries to fight cancer with a smile on his face, knowing that he may die. The second quote supports the part when he helps his blind friend, Issac, get revenge on his ex-girlfriend by throwing eggs at her car. Augustus could have literally been the most perfect guy in The Fault In Our Stars, like Augustus from the “Imperators”, however, both are not perfect beings.

Becky, Team Hera

Ides of March Reference In Modern Literature

Roman publicani (tax collectors)

Quote: The handing over of the money is due to be made by the publicani to the Aerarium on the second Ides of October ( ¼ 15 October) and likewise in the sequel on the Ides of October in each year..
The Customs Law of Asia, edited by M. Cottier, et al., OUP Oxford, 2008. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/brooklyn-ebooks/detail.action?docID=430380.
Created from brooklyn-ebooks on 2017-11-20 14:54:39.

Context: This chapter is concerned with payment methods. The paragraph the quote is taken from references Roman payment from the publicani (tax collectors) to the Aerarium (public treasury). While this quote only only discusses when this payment was made, the following lines go into specifics regarding the process.

The authors of “The Customs Law of Asia” didn’t write the book specifically about ancient Rome. While discussing the circulation of money in economy, the authors give an example of how the ancient Roman treasury received money from the public. It is here that they state that this transaction happened on the second ides of October. The authors perhaps expect the reader to have heard of the phrase but not what it means. As shown in the quote, the authors define Ides in parenthesis so the reader knows what day it is. The authors don’t have an opinion of whether or not it was a bad thing. This book is purely factual and aims to educate the reader, not persuade them.

Quote: ” …but as they went on and saw that he was delighted with what they voted, — indeed he accepted all but a very few of their decrees, — different men at different times kept proposing various extravagant honors, some in a spirit of exaggerated flattery and others by way of ridicule” (An account of the assassination of Julius Caesar by a Roman senator living in the late Second Century CE writing a history of Rome in Greek).

This quote doesn’t directly agree with or contradict the first quote. However, it does show some flaws if the ancient Roman government. Julius Cesar was supposed to be a righteous leader but according to the senator, he was easily swayed by the flattery of those below him. While the collection of funds by the national treasury is impressive, especially for an ancient civilization, Cesar’s behavior makes us question if the publicani manipulated the laws to keep money to themselves.

Elene T., Team Mars

Xena and Caesar: Two Peas In A Pod

“ Later, Gabrielle abandons the Way of Love for an even higher power. In “The Ides of March” (4.21), she dispenses with her pacifism when Xena is critically injured. With a violent rage rarely seen in her, Gabrielle destroys a troop of Roman soldiers attempting to finish off the paralyzed warrior princess. Though she is wounded, a horrified Xena feels responsible,” (Stuller 90).

  The phrase “Ides of March” is used within this novel ,as seen in the quote above, as a section in the film Xena:Warrior Princess .In the film the female heroin Xena is stabbed by the Roman warriors and Gabrielle , Xena’s companion, “destroys” them. The author uses the phrase “Ides of March” to compare Xena to Julius Caesar , in the sense that both were stabbed by angry Romans. The author uses this phrase in expectation that the audience knows that Caesar was stabbed at the Ides of March. This sways me to believe that it was used in a positive way due to the fact that she compares Caesar to a heroin. In the class text it says “ Augustus also sent cavalry in pursuit of Caesarion, Julius Caesar’s bastard son by Cleopatra; and killed him when captured.”. This illustrates that Caesar was killed by Augustus, an angry Roman enemy, just like Xena.

Samantha, Team Minerva

Book Citation

Stuller, Jennifer K.. Ink-stained Amazons and Cinematic Warriors : Superwomen in Modern Mythology, I.B.Tauris, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/brooklyn-ebooks/detail.action?docID=677081.

Created from brooklyn-ebooks on 2017-11-20 12:49:47.

Image Citation

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiKxKSXic7XAhWr7oMKHf1CCboQjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.whoosh.org%2Fissue96%2Fsheffield3.html&psig=AOvVaw302hGWujdq8f_ZwLqh7JkW&ust=1511298798029965

“I am simply one hell of a butler”: Sebastian

Suetonius: Life of Augustus
“Augustus‘ was both a more original and a more honorable title,”

Res Gsestae: Augustas:

“I was able to safely forgive, I preferred to preserve than to destroy. 

These two quotes characterize Augustas because it describes his personality and his disposition.

I chose these quotes because it shows why Augusta’s name is ‘Augustus’ and how his name characterized him as a person.

The two passages are similar because they both characterize him as honorable. The 1st quote directly states that Augustus means honorable while the 2nd quote describes an action that shows such character.

This is an image of me and a character from popular anime called Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler). The character’s name is Sebastian.  He was named “Sebastian” because it was the name of the main character’s dog which he thought was fitting for the role of a butler.

The name Sebastian derives from the Greek word σεβαστός (sebastos), a city that was named after Augustus. The word translates to “venerable” which was an epithet used for Augustas. Also, It was the Greek translation of the Roman title Augustus (Etymonline.com).

Sebastian might have a name derived from Augustus and means venerable because his character was very wise and commanded respect from all other characters. He was also shown as an extremely skilled person in battle as was Augustus.

The speculation does connect to the quotes because both names describe the character of the person who holds it. I am not sure if the character name Sebastian was directly inspired from Augustas but it does seem like it was inspired by what the name Sebastian describes.

This topic also connects to our art class because we studied the sculptor of Augustus.

This is the image of the sculpture of Augustus from Primaporta. As we have seen in Classics, the name Augustus was a name that described his honorable characters and was a political title that held him as an esteemed individual.  Similarly, this image sculpture is also a visual political propaganda that set him up as an extremely important and esteemed person. This correlates to our Art class as we have learned the importance of Art as visual propaganda. His breastplate held to account for his diplomatic victory against the Parthians and advertise him as a great military and diplomatic emperor who held the title of ‘Augustus’.

 

https://www.etymonline.com/word/sebastian

image: https://www.google.com/search?q=sebastian+black+butler&rlz=1C1GGRV_enUS752US752&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi0saG7uM7XAhVr6YMKHaNBBykQ_AUICigB&biw=1366&bih=662#imgdii=Wmp_I-jQaaelPM:&imgrc=v8ocVZNwoWSQiM:

Masuma, Team Mercury

Breaking News! History is back! Better and modern!!!

In chapter seven, Our readings were about Julius Caesar. He was a Roman politician that played a huge part in the events that led to the rise of the Roman empire. He is seen as powerful military leader who did a lot for the Roman empire. In Live of Illustrious experts, it states that ” His authority was so great that Opimius took up arms against Gracchus, and Marius against Glaucia and Saturninus, because of Scaurus’ advice in private” this quote gives just one of the many examples discussed in the writing like him building Mulvian Bridge and his military sacrifices. People  really thought of him as Great leader for doing such great acts. They honored him until his true colors came out. But in another passage we see a different side. In Cassius Dio ( Book 44.7-20), we get to see more of Caesar or the hidden side of him. It states “At any rate, some actually ventured to suggest permitting him to have intercourse with as many women as he pleased, because even at this time, though fifty years old, he still had numerous mistresses” this quote shows how he did not had much respect for women or his own wife. He had many mistresses for his own pleasure.  The fact that he treated used women like this shows that he is not as perfect as he seems. As we go on in the readings we truly see his selfish side. He took too much pride in himself and thought of himself more than a king. We see his self conceited side again when he rejects the king role, the offer that priests give him ” Caesar answered: “Jupiter alone is king of the Romans,” and sent the diadem to Jupiter on the Capitol; yet he was not angry, but caused it to be inscribed in the records that he had refused to accept the kingship when offered to him by the people through the consul” in this quote his response shows how he refuses the offer and calls himself better than a king. He did not care what people are offering him but instead declined for his selfish reasons. The readings in chapter seven clearly show both sides of Julius Caesar. It shows how no one is perfectly great. His flaws and his good actions are written perfectly for the audience. The readings both praise and show his evil side of the story. The different quotes given above show his different sides. The  image that I used is of this haircut called “Caesar’. It’s a selfie of me and my best friend. He has Caesar hairstyle which I recognized after doing my research on this type of hairstyle. It was introduced by Julius Caeser from who the name is derived. The Caesar haircut requires short hair, although your fringe can be long, and should be styled by bringing the hair forward. It was really popular in the 90s and is still used in modern era. This shows how our past is all around us. Our important figures names are even used in haircuts but we never really pay attention to it. This knows how powerful knowledge is and how important it is to be aware of our surroundings because the possibilities of finding new things are endless. Fizza saeed, Team Hermes

“Beware the Ides of March”

The book I found that had “Ides of March” in it was found under the “Education” subject section because education personally interests me. The book is called Academic Leadership Day by Day : Small Steps that Lead to Great Success, I searched for “Ides of March” within the book and found “The Ides of March is a good day to reflect on the extent to which we’re connecting with and properly motivating the people who report to us..” This quote is saying that The Ides of March would be a day for people to really think about how you may be connecting or interacting with people as well as being able to help the people to come to you. The author of this book says this because he is saying that one has to really be careful when it comes to self evaluation and setting goals. The author is referring to the ides of March because he wants people to reflect on themselves in order to know how you treat others so that nothing bad will happen to you like how there was a plan to kill Julius Caesar and it actually went through. The author of this book is trying to help us see if we are conducting all the questions that he provides in his chapter to prevent us from “getting assassinated” as he says in his book. He says this as a metaphor because earlier in the chapter he says “Today brings us to the Ides of March, the day when Julius Caesar was assassinated and the Roman Republic began a long and bloody civil war.” so the author actually does not expect the reader to know much about this phrase because he clearly gives us an idea of what happened on the Ides of March. I feel like the author’s opinion is that they think it was a bad thing but it now a good day in his opinion for people to look back on how they are doing. Citation:
Buller, Jeffrey L.. Academic Leadership Day by Day : Small Steps That Lead to Great Success, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/brooklyn-ebooks/detail.action?docID=624487.
Created from brooklyn-ebooks on 2017-11-18 07:24:59.

There is a quote I found from the reading that compliments the ideas in the book I read which is from the account of the ides of march in Cassius Dio. The quote is “Now these were the influences that persuaded Brutus to attack Caesar, whom he had opposed from the beginning in any case, although he had later accepted benefits from him.” I would say this relates to the ideas in the book that I read because the author of the book is saying that people need to re-evaluate themselves so that what happened to Julius Caesar on that day won’t happen to you metaphorically. What Caesar had done persuaded Brutus to want to plan this attack on Caesar which goes hand in hand with the book I read about being careful with how you treat others because if not, it may backfire.

-Raine, Team Jupiter

The Month of “Augustus”

Throughout the readings, we learn a lot about who he is and his characteristics.

“He argued that ‘Augustus‘ was both a more original and a more honorable title, since sanctuaries and all places consecrated by the augurs are known as ‘august‘” (Life of Augustus 7).

“I drove the men who slaughtered my father into exile with a legal order, punishing their crime, and afterwards, when they waged war on the state, I conquered them in two battles” (RES GESTAE 2)

These two quotes displays how people honored Augustus and Augustus’s actions. People feel that his name is empowering and respected while he gets revenge to the people who slaughtered his father. I chose these quotes because they both display to the reader they type of person Augustus is. One is what others characterized him as while the other is what the reader takes away about his actions. Both quotes are similar in that they both use specific wording to fully characterize Augustus. In the first quote, the terms original and honorable are being used to characterize Augustus while in the second quote it uses the terms punish and conquer.

This is a picture of me holding a calendar opened up to the month of August. The month of August is named after Augustus. Augustus completed the calendar and named the month after himself. This relates to the reading in a way because Augustus is known for conquering therefore him naming a month after himself shows power and honor as discussed  in the previous quotes.

Extra Credit:

This picture relates to the class because we are currently learning about Augustus and Julius Caesar. The month on July is named after Julius and the month of August is named after Augustus. This is me holding a calendar opened up to the month of August. Augustus named this month after himself which shows that he is very powerful and respected by many.

Adam Allan, Team Ares

Julius Caesar

The first quote I choose is from the Lives of Illustrious Men, ” Here lies Pompey the Great. Pompey’s head, wrapped with an Egyptian covering, was presented along with a ring to Caesar by Achillas, an attendant of Ptolemy. Caesar could not keep back tears, and he took care that the head was burned with many very costly perfumes.” I chose this quote in particular because it depicts Julius Caesar in a slightly different light than most people are used to. Most people when they read about Caesar or think of him, they think of a strong and powerful man, one with barely any flaws or vulnerabilities; similar to that of depictions of views of Augustus or Alexander the Great. But this passage shows Julius in a vulnerable state. Albeit it doesn’t show him in a particularly bad light, but he is deeply mourning and saddened over the death of his friend and ally, Pompey, which is something new. Moreover, this passage also shows him in a more human way and characterizes him as a man with great humility. Like stated above, he is not some great god or savior, he is a human man, who is not afraid to openly mourn over a friend’s death.

The second Quote I choose is from Cassius Dio, “Antony with his fellow-priests saluted him as king and binding a diadem upon his head, said: “The people offer this to you through me.” 3 And Caesar answered: “Jupiter alone is king of the Romans,” and sent the diadem to Jupiter on the Capitol; yet he was not angry, but caused it to be inscribed in the records that he had refused to accept the kingship when offered to him by the  people through the consul.” This second quote is very similar to the first one, in my opinion, which is the reason why I picked it. In this quote, Julius Caesar rejects the kingship that the priests/Diadem present him with. stating that he is not a king, but the god, Jupiter, alone is the true king of the Romans. When I first read this, I was confused because I thought that Julius was a king. What I realized, after doing some research, was that Caesar in fact was not the king of the Roman Republic. He was simply the dictator/leader of the Roman Republic. But going back to how this quote is similar to the first one above, is the fact that this passage once again illustrates the humility that Julius Caesar possessed within his character. He had enough humility to outright say he, himself, is not the King, without any hesitation or second thought. In addition, it shows him as not being merciless or a angry leader, as he did not get furious when the priests presented him with the crown. 

The selfie that I decided to take was one of me and the moth of July. When googling things named after Julius Caesar, I learned that the moth July is actually named in honor of him. Apparently when Julius Caesar died, the Roman month Quintillis (which was in fact his birth month) was renamed July. Unfortunately, the two quotes placed above does not entirely show why something like a whole month would be named after Julius Caesar. Sure he was a man with great humility and benevolence, but in my opinion that alone wouldn’t give him this great honor. I speculate that what gave him  or what influenced this great honor was due to how great Julius Caesar was and all the things he achieved and accomplished for the Roman Republic. Furthermore, because of all that he did and accomplished he was revered and renowned in Roman society.

Fun fact: I’m actually born in the month of July as well, it’s interesting because I hadn’t realized this fact until just now.

Sean lau, Team Ares

Seeing Caesars Everywhere

             Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino situated in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and Windsor. It is known as an important landmark in it’s Las Vegas location. It was established in 1966, by Jay Sarno. The architecture was supposed to be similar to that of Rome, and even has a lot of statues and columns, including one of Julius Caesar near the entrance. I believe that the reason why this casino was named after Julius Caesar is because of the prestige associated with his name and Rome. The creator had in mind to build a luxury casino, and perhaps since Julius Caesar was royal, it would also translate to his business, by bringing about wealthy gamblers, and also spectators from around the world, due to the architecture being built to emulate Rome. One passage I chose was Lives of Illustrious Men, It states “Caesar could not keep back tears, and he took care that the head was burned with many very costly perfumes.” This characterizes Julius Caesar in a positive light, showing a different side to him. His powerful regal image, can slightly be broken down, as his human exterior is exposed. Him showing his respects to Pompey reveals his true character, and how he can step away from his pedestal when the time is needed. Another Article I chose was Cassius Dio “At any rate, some actually ventured to suggest permitting him to have intercourse with as many women as he pleased, because even at this time, though fifty years old, he still had numerous mistresses.” This passage characterizes Caesar in the image most know him as, which would be a prideful, and powerful leader. With this power, he is able to get whatever he wants, including his share of women. This also displays his influence. I chose these passages, because It humanizes and shows a different side to him than what we usually see. He is usually presented as a powerful and strong leader, but this description reveals his innermost emotions. And the second passage displays, the typical image of Caesar. As a result, one passage shows his more human image, while the other shows a stereotypical image of Caesar. My speculation connects with the quotes above, because most people hold Caesar in high esteem, and he is still honored in Rome today.

Marisa, -Team Ares