Dhevyn Webb
English 10 Honors
March, 27, 2015

John Sweeney once said,” I wanted to think I was invincible, at least that’s what I wanted you to think, and I wanted to think it too.” In the play the “Tragedy of Julius Caesar,” by William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar had many motives. His motives were to obtain absolute power over the Roman Empire, revel in the worship he would receive from others, and ensure that he would be remembered as a figure who was forever invincible in the minds of all men. However, his faith in his invincibility as well as his belief in the men he had called friends led to his ultimate demise. There are many reasons why Caesar takes on an invincible mindset early on in the play. This tragedy gave many examples in Caesar’s background that proved why he believed himself to be invincible. When Crassus died due to illness and Caesar’s only legitimate daughter, Julia, died of childbirth Caesar’s only competition for total control over Rome was Pompey. Caesar left Rome to pursue Pompey eventually trouncing him. Caesar’s victory over Pompey could be looked at as his first act of “invincibility” because Caesar had defeated the one man standing in the way of his objectives. After this triumph he returned to a divided Rome where he ruled as a “dictator” instead of restoring the triumvirate. Thinking of nothing except for the acquisition of total control over the Roman Empire, Caesar takes it upon himself to keep making decisions without being challenged or questioned. To Caesar, being of Roman descent meant that he was naturally superstious about almost everything. Caesar displayed this early in Act I Scene II when he orders Antonius to touch his infertile wife Calpurnia while he is running the race so that, “the curse of sterility” may be lifted. But even as a very superstious man, when a soothsayer gives Caesar the warning “Beware the Ides of March,” Caesar does not take the warning seriously. He laughed and brushed the warning off as if it were a joke. He then continued to feast and enjoy the festivities of the Feast of Lupercal. Caesar’s actions supported his belief in his invincibility. It also showed that Caesar was not particularly concerned with being overthrown or eradicated. Caesar’s undoubtable faith in his invincibility and his belief in his closest friends’ loyalties led to his inevitable demise. Caesar believed that the immortal “status” he had taken on mentally would protect his physical body. For example, Caesar ignored the warnings given to him by his wife Calpurnia’s nightmares as well as the