Blood Revenge in Julius Caesar

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“Et tu Brute?” Caesar sputtered before falling into the darkness known as death. But this was not the end of Caesar however. Caesar returns to this world as a “shade” or ghost form. In fact, in this form he exerts more influence over Brutus than he ever did in mortal form. “Caesar is more powerful in his spirit for to affect Brutus than in his mortal form. It is in this ghost form, Caesar full-fills his revenge on Brutus.” ( Revenge did not occur in the ancient world only in plays and stories. Revenge was a way of life, an every day belief of the ancient times. In ancient times, the times of the Greeks and Romans to be precise, the inhabitants believed that death was most certainly not the end. As a matter of fact, many of these people built entire religions around the prospect of life after death, such as the Greeks and the Romans. A strong belief of the Greeks was that the ghost or “shade” was so extremely powerful that “many a time the murderer would mutilate his victim to flee the dead man’s direct revenge.” (B-Revenge) Another strong belief in the idea of blood-revenge centered around native gods. The people of the time believed that the gods played an important role in blood-revenge, especially if one of their laws were defied. In the Odyssey, Zeus and Athena intervene on Odysseus’ behalf when Odysseus wishes to destroy the suitors that had plagued his palace for a number of years. Zeus intervenes after his sacred policy, his policy of hospitality, was violated and for that the suitors were punished. In Julius Caesar, there is no evidence of any specific gods interfering, such as dialogue or actions, but there are many supernatural occurrences. These omens show that something supernatural, be it a god or fate, knows what is going to occur in the near future. Therefore, the omens show evidence of god-like activity foreshadowing, either warning or maybe even sponsoring,...
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