An Unofficial 'The Rest Is History' Reading List

304: The Murder of Julius Caesar

February 13, 2023

Description

“He was trapped - he couldn’t get up. There was blood everywhere. The faces were coming closer, the knives rose and fell. And then, to his relief, he saw Brutus.” One of the most iconic deaths in...
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Books Referenced

Julius Caesar (play)

Author: William Shakespeare

Context:

Referenced multiple times as the source that made the assassination story famous in the English-speaking world, including the famous line 'Et tu, Brute' and the portrayal of Brutus and Cassius as conspirators

Pharsalia (epic poem about the civil war)

Author: Lucan

Context:

Mentioned as 'a great epic about the civil war in the time of Nero' which contains the famous phrase about the gods favoring the winning cause but Cato favoring the defeated one

The Twelve Caesars

Author: Suetonius

Context:

Cited as providing 'our best account' of Caesar's assassination, including details about the 23 wounds and Caesar's final moments, and the description of his body being carried home

Parallel Lives

Author: Plutarch

Context:

Cited as a source for details about the assassination, including that every conspirator agreed to stab Caesar once, and that Caesar fought back until he saw Brutus