The Influences Of Caesar In William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar

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Rome was not built in a day, nor by one man alone. Throughout history, influential figures have always had helpers hidden away in the background; Caesar was no exception to this. He would not have been able to succeed in his accomplishments if it were not for the help from his predecessors and peers. Many directly impacted Caesar through their actions, while others simply laid down the foundation for which Caesar later built his empire on. People’s actions have a way of affecting those who come years after them. Their work leaves giant impressions which others have no way of avoiding, and end up mixing them into their own lives. Many of Caesar’s actions had been influenced by people who came before him. One example of this is Marius and Sulla, who preceded Caesar, but still were able to lay down …show more content…

Marius had a few other accomplishments which also affected Caesar. He had many repeated consulships, which all laid down the foundation for Caesar’s desire to seek so much power from the State. He also shifted the army’s loyalty away from the Senate to the generals when he reformed the armies to include plebeians, which later made it possible for Caesar to successfully march on Rome and take absolute power. This was because Caesar was a supporter of the populares, so his soldiers were already extremely loyal to solely him, and not as much the State. These actions were all done mostly before Caesar had taken politics into his consideration, as he was still a young man. However, as seen, Caesar was still greatly impacted by these men and their actions (Marius and Sulla). Another group of predecessors to Caesar who helped lay down the foundation for him were the Seven Roman Kings. One of the Kings, Tarquinius Superbus, planned quite a few projects and reforms, including dividing people into tribes and classes, building the Servian Wall, and creating a temple for Jupiter. These actions could have easily inspired and sparked Caesar to create