“Sic semper tyrannis!” (“Thus, always, to tyrants!”) – attributed to Brutus

Throughout the annals of history, there have been few men as reviled as Marcus Junius Brutus the Younger. To this day, he is associated with murder, betrayal, violence and infamy, so much so that in modern English his name provides the root for the words “brute” and “brutal”, as it does in several other Romance languages. Indeed, Brutus’s reputation was so infamous that when Dante composed his timeless Divine Comedy, he relegated Brutus to the very nethermost depths of Hell. In the Inferno, Dante reaches the pit of the Ninth Circle of Hell, where he finds the Fallen Angel, Lucifer, himself. Lucifer is described as a giant, three-faced demon whose three mouths are perpetually gnashing upon three sinners, widely regarded as being the three most despicable individuals in history. According to Dante, the deepest circle of Hell is reserved for traitors, including Traitors against Kin, Traitors against Homeland, Traitors against Guests, and Traitors against Benefactors. The three men being devoured by Satan in Dante’s Inferno are Judas, the greatest traitor of all, and the two conspirators whose knives cut down Julius Caesar: Gaius Cassius Longinus and Brutus.

By Dante’s logic, Brutus had betrayed both his kin and benefactor, because Caesar had been as a father to him and always treated him with leniency and benevolence. Similarly, he also betrayed his homeland, because his actions helped bring about the downfall of the Republic. Since his appearance in the Inferno, Brutus has proven himself to be a resilient fictional character, naturally appearing as the main antagonist in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, as well as turning up in places as diverse as contemporary novels, the Asterix comic books, and video games. This is hardly surprising, since Brutus was said to be the orchestrator and main perpetrator of the plot against Caesar, and legend had it that it was Brutus himself who dealt the final blow that struck Caesar down. Shakespeare’s “Et tu, brute?” (“And you, Brutus?”) is widely recognized as one of the most iconic lines in theatre, further cementing Brutus’s lurid notoriety, although most of the chronicles dispute whether Caesar actually said anything at all as he died.

Brutus has been history’s most notorious assassin since the Ides of March in 44 B.C., but aside from his conspiracy, the rest of his life is often overlooked, especially his role in the subsequent civil war. In fact, forces loyal to Brutus and the other main conspirator, Cassius, fought one of the biggest battles in Roman history against Octavian and Antony, and it was one that they very nearly won. However, by the end of the decisive battle, Brutus and Cassius had lost, and Brutus had taken his own life. After Octavian rose to power by defeating Antony in yet another civil war, he was able to establish himself as Caesar Augustus, and the Republic that Brutus had hoped to save was truly finished.

Naturally, Augustus ensured that Brutus was universally despised during his reign, and Brutus’s negative reputation mostly persevered over the centuries. But in more modern times, Brutus has undergone something of a rehabilitation. As Western political thought shifted away from the Divine Right of Kings and towards democracy, Brutus began to be viewed in a far more sympathetic light. In Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar itself, Brutus is praised as the best of the conspirators, because his motives were described not as being for personal gain but a genuine desire to act for the good of the Republic, however misguided. Later, he became viewed as something of a populist hero, the man who had stood up in defense of a democratic government against a tyrant who wished to seize power for himself alone. Brutus achieved a particularly positive public portrayal in the fledgling United States.

Charles River Editors

Notorious Assassins: The Life and Legacy of Marcus Brutus

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