In the roman world, king is much worse than god. The big mistake thawere, one of the mistakes that caesar seems to have made, is not just to take on some of the attributes of a god, but to take on the attributes ofa king. So he er was given the honor of being at official ceremonies, being able to wear the old ceremonial clothing of a king. He had all these features that looked as if he was aspiring to kingship. And then the key, there are key events leading up to the assassination that are moments when it looks as if he is aspiring toing quite publicly. Three times mark antony tries to put a diadem
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the life, work and reputation of Julius Caesar. Famously assassinated as he entered the Roman senate on the Ides of March, 44 BC, Caesar was an inspirational general who conquered much of Europe. He was a ruthless and canny politician who became dictator of Rome, and wrote The Gallic Wars, one of the most admired and studied works of Latin literature. Shakespeare is one of many later writers to have been fascinated by the figure of Julius Caesar.
With:
Christopher Pelling
Regius Professor of Greek at the University of Oxford
Catherine Steel
Professor of Classics at the University of Glasgow
Maria Wyke
Professor of Latin at University College London
Producer: Thomas Morris.