Question

What important cultural differences can you find between life today in your part of the world and life in Julius Caesar's Rome? What does it mean to be a part of a republic? Why did the public want Caesar to become king? Why did Brutus feel uncomfortable about this? What would it mean for the republic to have a king? Once you identify the differences, explain how this situation would be handled in our culture.
please answer in youur own words.

Answer 1

(1) The life of a Roman citizen largely depended on the work of slaves. I don't have slaves, and so far as I know, neither do my neighbors. Also, Romans venerated public service above all else, while I hold politics and most politicians in contempt. Nor is this unusual in the United States.

(2) It means the people rule. That doesn't mean it's a democracy, of course, but it means the ultimate arbiter of decisions is the people, through elections. This is in contrast to some ruling scheme whereby the source of ultimate authority is a royal bloodline, or the gods.

(3) They didn't. They wanted him to become dictator, which is a person granted unusually broad powers to fix some unusually difficult problems, and who is then expected to return those powers when the crisis is over. As for why they wanted this: because Rome had problems, and the people had transferred their faith in who could solve those problems from themselves to some extra-special ruling person.

(4) I wouldn't say Brutus was uncomfortable with the idea of a king. He just wanted the job for himself, and not Caesar. He just said he didn't like the idea of a king as camouflage for his own ambition. That may be unduly cynical on my part, but on the other hand, he certainly took onto himself the kingly power of deciding, all by himself, whether an important government official should live or die.

(5) It would mean it was no longer a republic, of course. A king implies that sovereignty -- the ultimate authority -- no longer lies with the people, but with the king. Sometimes it lies with the king's family, too, but that depends on whether you've got a hereditary monarchy or not.

Answer 2

Thamks so much!!!