Marcus Junius Brutus
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Marcus Junius Brutus (85 –42 BC), or Quintus Servilius Caepio Brutus, was a Roman senator of the late Roman Republic. He is best known in modern times for taking a leading role in the assassination conspiracy against Julius Caesar.[1]
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Early life
Brutus was the son of Marcus Junius Brutus the Elder and Servilia Caepionis. His father was a legati to Pompey the Great; his mother was the half-sister of Cato the Younger, and later became Julius Caesar's mistress. Some sources refer to the possibility of Caesar being his real father,[2] but this is unlikely since Caesar was 15 at the time of Brutus' birth and the affair with his mother started some 10 years later. Brutus' uncle, Quintus Servilius Caepio, adopted him when he was a young man and Brutus was known as Quintus Servilius Caepio Brutus for an unknown period of time.
Brutus held his uncle in high regard[3] and his political career started when he became an assistant to Cato, during his governorship of Cyprus.[4] During this time, he enriched himself by lending money at high rates of interest. He returned to Rome a rich man, where he married Claudia Pulchra.[5] From his first appearance in the Senate, Brutus aligned with the Optimates (the conservative faction) against the First Triumvirate of Marcus Licinius Crassus, Cnaeus Pompeius Magnus and Gaius Julius Caesar.
Senate career
When the Roman Civil War broke out in 49 BC between Pompey and Caesar, Brutus followed his old enemy and present leader of the Optimates, Pompey. When the Battle of Pharsalus began, Caesar ordered his officers to take him prisoner if he gave himself up voluntarily, and if he persisted in fighting against capture, to let him alone and do him no violence.[6] After the disaster of the battle of Pharsalus, Brutus wrote to Caesar with apologies and Caesar immediately forgave him. In his letter Brutus declared he was a strong supporter of democracy and continually pushes it throughout the letter. Caesar accepted him into his inner circle and made him governor of Gaul when he left for Africa in pursuit of Cato and Metellus Scipio. In 45 BC, Caesar nominated him to be a praetor. Also, in June 45 BC, Brutus divorced his wife and re-married his first cousin, Porcia Catonis, Cato's daughter.[7][8].
Conspiracy to kill Caesar
Around this time, many senators began to fear Caesar's growing power following his appointment as dictator for life.[9] Brutus was pressured into joining the conspiracy against Caesar by the other senators[10] and he also discovered messages written on the busts of his ancestors.[11] Brutus, influenced by his loyalty to Cato and Porcia, finally decided to move against Caesar in 44 BC.[12] His wife was the only woman privy to the plot.[13][14]
The conspirators planned to carry out their plot on the Ides of March that same year. On that day, Caesar was delayed going to the Senate because his wife, Calpurnia Pisonis, tried to convince him not to go[15] The conspirators feared the plot had been found out.[16] Brutus persisted, however, waiting for Caesar at the Senate, and allegedly still chose to remain even when a messenger brought him news that would otherwise have caused him to leave.[17] When Caesar finally did come to the Senate, they attacked him. Publius Servilius Casca was allegedly the first to attack Caesar with a blow to the shoulder, which Caesar blocked.[18] However, upon seeing Brutus was with the conspirators, he covered his face with his toga and resigned himself to his fate.[19] The conspirators attacked in such numbers that they even wounded one another. Brutus is said to have been wounded in the hand.[20][21]
After the assassination
After the assassination, Brutus was approached with a compromise; if Caesar was declared a tyrant, then all of Caesars' appointments to the Senate were null and void. This meant that Brutus would no longer be a Senator and elections would have to be held. Conversely, if he agreed to recognize and honor Caesar's will, he and the other assassins would be granted amnesty and retain their positions. Brutus accepted the offer, and Caesar was not declared a tyrant. Part of the offer was that Brutus had to leave Rome, which he did. After leaving Rome, Brutus lived in Crete from 44 to 42 BC.
In 43 BC, after Octavian received his consulship from the Roman Senate, one of his first actions was to have the people that had assassinated Julius Caesar declared murderers and enemies of the state.[22] Marcus Tullius Cicero, angry at Octavian, wrote a letter to Brutus explaining that the forces of Octavian and Mark Antony were divided. Antony had laid siege to the province of Gaul, where he wanted a governorship. In response to this siege, Octavian rallied his troops and fought a series of battles in which Antony was defeated.[23] Upon hearing that neither Antony nor Octavian had an army big enough to defend Rome, Brutus rallied his troops, which totaled about 17 legions. When Octavian heard that Brutus was on his way to Rome, he made peace with Antony.[24] Their armies, which together totaled about 19 legions, marched to meet Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus. The following battles are known as the Battle of Philippi. The First Battle of Philippi was fought on October 3, 42 BC, in which Brutus defeated Octavian's forces, although Cassius was defeated by Antony's forces. The Second Battle of Philippi was fought on October 23, 42 BC and ended in Brutus' defeat.
After the defeat, he fled into the nearby hills with only about four legions. Knowing his army had been defeated and that he would be captured, Brutus committed suicide. His last words were allegedly "Yes, we must escape, but this time with our hands, not our feet".[25] As a show of respect, Antony covered Brutus' body with a purple garment. Brutus was cremated, and his ashes were sent to his mother, Servilia Caepionis.[26] His wife Porcia also committed suicide upon hearing of her husband's death.[27][28][29][30] This is counter to the popular notion provided in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, which says Porcia committed suicide prior to Brutus' death.
Chronology
- 85 BC – Brutus was born in Rome
- 58 BC – He was made assistant to Cato, governor of Cyprus
- 53 BC – He was given the quaestorship in Cilicia
- 49 BC – Brutus followed Pompey to Greece during the civil war against Caesar
- 48 BC – Brutus was pardoned by Caesar
- 46 BC – He was made governor of Gaul
- 45 BC – He was made Praetor
- 44 BC – Murdered Caesar with other Senators; went to Athens and then to Crete
- 42 BC – Brutus tries for Rome
- October 3 - First Battle of Philippi – Defeated Octavian, but Antony defeated Cassius, who committed suicide
- October 23 - Second Battle of Philippi – His army was decisively defeated; Brutus escaped, but committed suicide soon after.
Brutus in popular culture
Influence
- The phrase Sic semper tyrannis! ("Thus always to tyrants!") is attributed to Brutus at Caesar's assassination. The phrase is also the official motto of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
- John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of Abraham Lincoln, was inspired by Brutus. Booth's father, Junius Brutus Booth, was named for Brutus, and Booth (as Mark Antony) and his brother (as Brutus) had performed in a production of Julius Caesar in New York just six months before the assassination. On the night of the assassination, Booth is alleged to have shouted "Sic semper tyrannis" while leaping to the stage of Ford's Theater. Lamenting the negative reaction to his deed, Booth wrote in his journal on April 21, 1865, while on the run, "[W]ith every man's hand against me, I am here in despair. And why; For doing what Brutus was honored for ... And yet I for striking down a greater tyrant than they ever knew am looked upon as a common cutthroat."
- The well-known phrase "Et tu, Brute?" (commonly translated as "And you, Brutus?") was said to be Caesar's last utterance, although the sources describing Caesar's death dissent about what his last words were (if he said any at all).
Fiction
- Dante Alighieri considered Brutus to be the epitome of betrayal, and in his Inferno section of the Divine Comedy (Inf., XXXIV, 64-67), portrayed Brutus being chewed, but never consumed, by Satan, along with Judas Iscariot and Gaius Cassius Longinus at the very lowest level of Hell.
- Shakespeare has Mark Antony describe Brutus as "the noblest Roman of them all" in the final scene of Julius Caesar.
- In the Masters of Rome novels of Colleen McCullough, Brutus is portrayed as a timid intellectual who hates Caesar for personal reasons. Cassius and Trebonius use him as a figurehead because of his family connections. He appears in Fortune's Favourites, Caesar's Women, Caesar and The October Horse.
- A highly fictionalized Brutus is one of the prominent characters in the Emperor series by Conn Iggulden.
- Ides of March is an epistolatory novel by Thornton Wilder dealing with characters and events leading to, and culminating in, the assassination of Julius Caesar.
- In a parody of the Shakespeare play featured in Simpsons Comics, Brutus is portrayed by Waylon Smithers (as Caesar is portrayed by Mr. Burns). At one point, the conspirator (played by Homer Simpson) mistakenly addresses him as Bluto, in reference to the naming confusion of Popeye's nemesis.
- Asterix comics sometimes portray a bored Brutus sitting next to Julius Caesar. Caesar's words to him are often unintentionally prophetic, but apply only to comically mundane, everyday situations. Examples include "I don't like your habits with that knife" in response to Brutus playing with a dagger, and "et tu, brute" ("you too, Brutus", Shakespeare's version of Caesar's last words) as an instruction when Brutus doesn't applaud with a crowd. Generally a very minor character, Brutus is the main antagonist in the comic Asterix and Son. The character appears in the live action adaptations Asterix and Obelix vs Caesar (played by Didier Cauchy) and Asterix at the Olympic Games . In the latter film, he is portrayed as a comical villain by Belgian actor Benoît Poelvoorde . He is a central character to the film, even though he was not depicted in the original Asterix at the Olympic Games comic book.
- Brutus is a very frequent supporting character in Xena: Warrior Princess. Early on, played by Grant Triplow, he is the loyal right hand of Caesar. Then, played by David Franklin, he becomes a more complicated character, torn between his sense of honor and justice and his loyalty to Caesar. He is convinced by Xena and mostly by Gabrielle, whom he somewhat endeared to, of Caesar's treachery. That was the prime conjurate in killing him. Later, during a plot to conquer Egypt against Mark Antony and Augustus, he kills Cleopatra by sending her an asp, and was killed in turn by Gabrielle in a gory duel.
Drama
- In Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, actors such as James Mason, Jason Robards and Richard Pasco have played the role of Marcus Brutus in television productions and films.
- In Julius Caesar he is portrayed by Ian Duncan.
- A slightly fictionalized Marcus Junius Brutus appears in the 2005 HBO television series Rome, played by Tobias Menzies.
- Marcus Brutus also appears in the highly fictionalized 2005 six-part mini series Empire played by James Frain.
- Brutus in Takarazuka Revue's version of Julius Caesar (Rome at Dawn) is portrayed by Jun Sena.
Music
- Swedish Rock & Roll band The Hives have a song titled "B is for Brutus" on their 2004 album Tyrannosaurus Hives.
Notes
- ^ Europius, Abridgement of Roman History [1]
- ^ Plutarch, Life of Brutus, 5.2.
- ^ Plutarch, Life of Brutus, 2.1.
- ^ Plutarch, Life of Brutus, 3.1.
- ^ Cicero. ad Fam. iii. 4.
- ^ Plutarch, Life of Brutus, 5.1.
- ^ Plutarch, Marcus Brutus, 13.3.
- ^ Cicero. Brutus. 77, 94
- ^ Cassius Dio, Roman History, 44.8.4.
- ^ Cassius Dio, Roman History, 44.12.2.
- ^ Cassius Dio, Roman History, 44.12.3.
- ^ Cassius Dio, 44.13.1.
- ^ Cassius Dio, 44.13.
- ^ Plutarch, Marcus Brutus, 14.4
- ^ Plutarch. Marcus Brutus. 15.1.
- ^ Cassius Dio. Roman History. 44.18.1.
- ^ Plutarch. Marcus Brutus. 15.5.
- ^ Plutarch. Marcus Brutus. 17.5.
- ^ Plutarch. Marcus Brutus. 17.6.
- ^ Plutarch. Marcus Brutus. 17.7.
- ^ Nicolaus. Life of Augustus. 24.
- ^ Greek Texts
- ^ Background on Philippi
- ^ http://www.greektexts.com/library/Plutarch/Marcus_Brutus/eng/629.html
- ^ Plutarch, Marcus Brutus. 52.3.
- ^ Plutarch, Marcus Brutus, 53.4.
- ^ Valerius Maximus, De factis mem. iv.6.5.
- ^ Cassius Dio, Roman History. 47.49.3.
- ^ Appian, The Civil Wars, Book 5.136.
- ^ Valerius Maximus, De factis mem. iv.6.5.
External links
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