Julius Caesar Group

Question:


shelby13
Student
High School - 11th Grade

Why did Caesar refuse the crown in Act 1 Scene 2?

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Posted by shelby13 on Sunday December 9, 2007 at 5:41 PM and tagged with caesar, crown, julius caesar, refuse.

Answers:


  1. khenson Teacher
    High School - 11th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    Good question...Caesar did not need the crown, his power was nearly limitless and the crown would serve only as an unnecessary symbol.  His refusal could have also served to satisfy the Roman people that he was not an ambitious leader.

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    Posted by khenson on Sunday December 9, 2007 at 5:48 PM

  2. genshorten
    genshorten Student
    Graduate School

    Since the time of the Roman King Tarquin Superbus, (Tarquin the Proud) Romans have always hated to have a king (rex in Latin). This is because he abused a married Roman woman called Lucretia who later killed herself to save her family from the shame. She then became the perfect Roman example of virtue and faithfulness. Shakespeare also wrote a play about this called The Rape of Lucrece. Brutus' ancestor, also called Brutus, drove out the Tarquins from Rome. Therefore, it is appropriate that his descendant should kill Caesar, also in order to protect the Republic from a potentially power-abusing tyrant. Therefore, if Julius Caesar accepted the crown, it would seem to people that he was setting himself up to be king. Later, after the civil war ends and Octavian (later Augustus) became the first Republican emperor, he was also presented with a crown at his inauguration ceremony which he also refused for this reason. He did not want to upset the Roman mob who really rule Rome. It is a show of modesty which is more like a show than reality.

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    Posted by genshorten on Monday December 10, 2007 at 6:59 AM