Julius Caesar Superstitions

The Romans were infamous for their extreme belief in omens, superstition, and fate. They believed so heavily in such things primarily because they didn’t possess the scientific advancements or knowledge to explain natural phenomena such as; epilepsy (which they thought could be cured by drinking fresh blood), lightning (which they thought was sent to them by the gods), and paralysis, (which they thought could be cured by eating cabbage). Nearly anything they came into contact with could be interpreted as an omen.(3b) From a modern viewpoint, their unwavering beliefs seem quite radical. To them however, it was perfectly normal and symbolized their and love and respect for the Gods.(2b) In Shakespeare’s, Julius Caesar, he mirrored Ancient

One that was more than just spiritual. Omens was this connection. Without the ideology of omens, fate and superstitions, Romans felt lost and like they had no sense of direction in life. Even though they had utter control over their actions, they felt like they had no control over what would happen to them because of these actions, so they were overly cautious. Thus introducing superstition. While superstitions were popular amongst all of roman civilians, it was more common throughout the lower class. (2b) Perhaps because the upper class thought that since they had riches, they could avoid or deflect the fate of Gods. Much like Creon in Shakespeare’s Antigone. Which of course never worked in their

All of which warned him to not attend but he ignores them all and decides to go anyway. One being Calpurnia's dream about a bunch of Romans standing around the fountain, washing their hands in Caesar's blood(Shakespeare). Calpurnia automatically assumes that this is a bad omen and begs Caesar to stay home in fear of him getting hurt or worse; dying. When Caesar finally agrees, Decius (one of Caesar’s conspirators) convinces him that the dream means he will be Rome's savior.(Shakespeare) That the blood the civilians were bathing in signified the new beginnings caesar’s appointment will bring. Surely, Calpurnia was right, but no one believes her (partially because she's a woman) and Caesar winds up dead after suffering from 23 stab wounds. The importance of fate, superstitions, and omens is very much present in this play. The fate of the Gods was for Caesar to die, and even if he stayed home, and didn’t die at that time, he would have died at a later time simply because the power of fate and omens is much stronger than any