Caesar<\/a> was a military man who was used to dealing with emergencies and he might have kept his head.<\/p>\nThe ancient sources report that there are other sources that say that Caesar said something. They reject this. They don\u2019t think he really said something, but they report what he said. What did he say? He didn\u2019t say: \u201cEt tu, Brute?<\/em>\u201d The famous statement in Shakespeare is not something that any of the ancient sources say that Caesar said; that was invented in the Renaissance: \u201cYou too, Brutus, Then die, Caesar\u201d \u2013 because of this betrayal by Marcus Brutus.<\/p>\nHowever, the sources that the better sources reject say that he did address something to Brutus. When Brutus pulled out his dagger, he said something in Greek. And what he said was \u201cKa\u00ec s\u00fa, t\u00e9knon\u201d (You too, child). So what\u2019s that all about? There are three possibilities. One is that this is part of a line of a Greek tragedy that Caesar was quoting, indicating how educated and cultivated he was. It would be as if an English-speaking politician who was being assassinated should suddenly say a line in French, that would be the valence of that.<\/p>\n
A second possibility is ancient curse tablets. The Romans believed in curse tablets. You would get an inscribed tablet against one of your enemies and you would have it buried. And the typical thing to say on a curse tablet is \u201cKa\u00ec s\u00fa<\/em>\u201d (You too) \u2013 and this is what should happen to you, as bad things have happened to me.<\/p>\nThe third possibility, and the most delicious, is that the key word here is not \u201cKa\u00ec s\u00fa<\/em>\u201d, but \u201dt\u00e9knon<\/em>\u201d (child). When Caesar was young, he had an affair with one of the most prominent women in Rome: Servilia, who was the half-sister of Caesar\u2019s arch-enemy, Cato the Younger. And she was supposed to be the greatest love of Caesar\u2019s life \u2013 so much a love that Caesar bought her a pearl that was worth a king\u2019s ransom. She also happened to be the mother of Brutus.<\/p>\n There was a rumour that Caesar was the natural father of Brutus <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div> And there was a rumour that Caesar was the natural father of Brutus: that Brutus was, not to put too fine a point on it, a bastard \u2013 Caesar\u2019s lovechild. It\u2019s unlikely because Caesar was 15 at the time that Brutus was born, but it is not 100% impossible because the Romans started young. So, the idea is that by saying to Brutus, \u201cYou too, child\u201d, Caesar was confirming the rumour and saying, in effect: you\u2019re my son and you have just killed your father. You have committed parricide \u2013 which is the most heinous crime that a Roman could commit.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s really a little bit hard to believe that as his life is ebbing before him, Caesar had the presence of mind to say this vicious thing to one of his assassins. Most likely I think he was just groaning.<\/p>\n
Barry Strauss is the Bryce and Edith M. Bowmar Professor in Humanistic Studies at Cornell University, where he is the former Chair of the Department of History as well as Professor of History and Classics<\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n
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