Caesar's Quest for Power

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“Veni, vidi, vici” (I came, I saw, I conquered) (Source1). This Julius Caesar quote can be used to describe his rise to power in the Roman Republic and destruction of it in the process. Caesar was an extremely influential, yet controversial figure in Rome’s history. He had all the power any Roman could dream of but he abused it. Julius Caesar was a destroyer of the Roman Republic because his arrogance made the government benefit only him, his ruthlessness endangered others, and he undermined the authority of the Roman Senate.
Julius Caesar can only be seen as a destroyer of the Roman Republic as he was arrogant, egotistic, and manipulated the government to his advantage. The Roman Republic’s republican form of government was intended to represent the needs of all Roman citizens. Yet Caesar’s arrogant actions during his reign turned the government into an organization dedicated solely to his personal gain of power, fame, and glory. At the height of his reign, Caesar had received every honor the Roman Republic could give him. He was the high-priest, a high-ranking judge, and pro-consul (Source 1). Caesar believed he also deserved to be dictator of Rome for life so he requested the title and was granted it. He was also made consul of Rome for ten years even though this position was only supposed to be held for a year (Source 4). But even this was not enough for Caesar; he wanted to be “king of Rome” and his arrogance led him to dedicate his life to achieving this title (Source 1). His arrogance then reached the point where he believed himself to be descended from Venus, the goddess of beauty; he used his power to have a marble forum bearing his name and a temple for Venus built. He was determined to be considered “godly” (Source 3,...

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...a civil war, putting the citizens of Rome in jeopardy (Source 1). Caesar did not believe the Senate had any power over him so he disregarded its commands. Caesar did not respect the Senate, his people’s elected representatives. He undermined the Senate’s power over him, one of his greatest blows in destroying the Roman Republic.
The destruction of the Roman Republic can be accredited to Julius Caesar because his egotism resulted in the government only supporting him, he was willing to gain power at any cost which put many people at risk, and had no respect for the Roman Senate’s power over him. Caesar however, was killed by a group of conspiring senators before he could destroy the Roman Republic even more than he already had. It is a matter of great curiosity then, how much more glorious the Roman Republic could have been if Julius Caesar had not destroyed it.

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