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The author of the document in question is Plutarch, a well known Greek essayist and biographer. He was born not long after Caesar’s death. He wrote from an historical rather than a contemporary point of view about Caesar, drawing on previous documents rather than first-hand observation, making it a secondary rather than a primary source. As a biographer, Plutarch was equally interested in establishing the general character of his subject than conveying historical occurrences. In addition to having a biographical rather than strictly historical focus, Plutarch’s writing was intended for an audience that had recently been under Caesar’s rule in life, which makes the objectivity of the document slightly suspect. “).[“Write my essay for me?” Get help here.]
The main concern of the document is Caesar’s hesitance to accept the title of King, and the population’s response to it. According to Plutarch his supporters “were so bold as to salute him by the name of King” (Plutarch, Paragraph 1) before the official conference of that title, which the people did not support. As a result Caesar himself disdained the title at first and “said his name was Caesar, not king” (Plutarch, Paragraph 1). When his supporters attempted to place a diadem on his head and he refused it, there was “universal applause” (Plutarch, Paragraph 2). Later those who had saluted him as King were arrested and placed in prison (Plutarch, Paragraph 3). This evidence serves to prove Plutarch’s point that neither Caesar nor the general population desired at that time that he become a monarch. [Click Essay Writer to order your essay]
That Plutarch chooses to convey several different anecdotes from this period of Caesar’s ascent to power is interesting given Caesar’s overall preoccupation with power. It indicates that although Caesar did desire to rule over the people, he understood that without any support from the general population he would have a difficult time justifying his position as a monarch. This may be influenced by the time period in which Plutarch wrote, in which Caesar’s rule was still comparatively fresh in people’s consciousness. The relationship of his audience to the historical material being provided no doubt influenced his subject matter and how he chose to portray Caesar’s ascent to power. That he would focus on Caesar’s initial reluctance to accept the official title of the monarchy likely reflects the attitude of his contemporary audience toward recent historical events. [Need an essay writing service? Find help here.]
