Mberiah – Assignment(1)

Western Civilization – Written Assignment 1

 

For this assignment, I have provided three accounts of the assassination of Julius Caesar for you to read.  These documents are considered “primary sources,” as they were written shortly after the events occurred.  There was no direct record of the event, so even though these accounts were written after the fact, they are the closest we can get to a “firsthand” account of the murder.

 

Please read each of the three documents listed below, as well as this week’s readings from the textbook.  Afterwards, describe whether Caesar was portrayed as a “model politician” or a selfish dictator in
each of the three “firsthand” accounts.  Do these portrayals differ from how Caesar was portrayed by the authors of our textbook?  If so, how and why?  
Please note that this paper is not about your opinion of Caesar, but rather is about his portrayal in historical documents.

 

Your paper must be
at least three full pages long (excluding your title page, notes and bibliography).

 

When citing the “primary sources,” please use the following citations.  You can copy/paste the citations, but you will need to change the date you accessed the information.  Historians in both academic and professional settings use Chicago style citations in their work, which requires footnotes or endnotes and a bibliography.  You are not, however, required to use this format.  If you are more comfortable with MLA or APA citations, I recommend that you use them.  Whatever format you choose, your citations must be correctly done in order to receive full credit.  Please be sure to include page numbers, if/when appropriate.

 

• “The Assassination of Julius Caesar, 44 BC.”  Eyewitness to History.  2004.  http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/caesar2.htm (accessed 18 September 2011).

• Tranquillus, Gaius Suetonius.  Lives of the 12 Caesars.  Translated by Joseph Gavorse.  Reproduced by Livius:  Articles on Ancient History. http://www.livius.org/caa-can/caesar/caesar_t09.html (accessed 18 September 2011).

• Plutarch.  “The Assassination of Julius Caesar, from Marcus Brutus (excerpts).”  Translated by John Dryden.  Reproduced by Internet Ancient History Sourcebook.  August 2000.  http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/plutarch-caesar.asp (accessed 18 September 2011).

 

If you have any trouble accessing the readings, please let me know.  I can send you a PDF version of the sites.