Superstitions In Julius Caesar Essay

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Superstitions were woven into the foundation of Roman culture, as with nearly all other ancient cultures. Since the beginning of time humans have searched for a way to know their destiny and what lay ahead, whether it be good or bad. There is something utterly terrifying about the unknown, and anything strange or unusual can be taken as warnings or signs. We also have a tendency to try to secure our fate by being careful with anything that may upset the balance between our physical world and the one that holds all unknown powers. Caesar himself was superstitious, and it plays an important role in Shakespeare’s play, as did the soothsayer and the belief in astrology.
The nobles of ancient Rome were less superstitious than the common people, though even Caesar himself along with his wife and senators believed their fair share of the supernatural. Nightmares and bad dreams were considered bad luck, and were taken seriously enough that a lawyer could delay his case because of one …show more content…
He ignores his own seizures (Shakespeare 1.2.265), which were taken very seriously in Rome, enough that orators or politicians would fake them to have their ideas pushed forward or have other’s ideas struck down. When Caesar’s laws were going through legislation, there was a consul who had omens read about the laws and it was enough to have them thereafter regarded with suspicion by the Roman government (roman-empire.net). On the day of his death Caesar continues to ignore signs of impending evil such as the ides of March that the soothsayer warns him of, Calphurnia’s nightmare, along with thunder, lightning, owls in daylight, and graves opening (Shakespeare 2.2). The ides, or the middle of a month, was considered bad luck all on its own, and so were odd numbers, making the 15th of march a bad day even without the soothsayer’s warning
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