Julius Caesar: Characters & Their Roles
Marcus Brutus
A supposed good friend of Julius Caesar. He is an idealistic man, motivated by nobility and principles rather than by personal relationships. He agrees to the plot to assassinate his friend because he believes it is for the good of Rome. Ultimately, his misguided sense of nobility and his poor judgment lead to his downfall.
Cassius
The chief architect of the conspiracy to assassinate Julius Caesar. He is the opposite of Brutus in that his participation in the conspiracy is neither noble nor based on ideas. He is envious of Caesar and wants to achieve power for himself. He is a shrewd manipulator of people, easily able to understand their motivations and intents.
Minor Characters
Casca
The first conspirator to stab Caesar. Cassius manipulates Casca’s simplicity and persuades him that the storm and other unnatural phenomena are omens about the fate of Rome if Caesar becomes the king. After the assassination, Casca vanishes from the play.
Calphurnia
Julius Caesar’s wife. She tries to prevent Caesar from going to the Senate because of her prophetic nightmare that foreshadows the assassination, but he does not listen to her.
Portia
Brutus’ wife. She is devoted to her husband and is concerned for his safety above all else. When the tide turns against the conspirators, she commits suicide by swallowing hot coals rather than facing her husband’s dishonor.
Artemidorus
A Greek teacher of rhetoric who tries to give Caesar a letter warning him of the conspiracy just before the assassination.
Cinna, the Poet
An unfortunate man who is torn to pieces by an angry mob simply because he bears the name of one of the conspirators and because he writes bad poetry.
Soothsayer
The prophet who foresees Caesar’s assassination and warns him to “Beware the Ides of March!” during the feast of Lupercal.
Cicero
A distinguished barrister and politician. He is an excellent orator and a fanatical conservative opposed to Caesar’s overthrow of tradition. In the play, he is a minor figure in the action and is not asked to join the conspiracy.
Publius
A Senator who witnesses Caesar’s assassination. Brutus sends him out of the Senate House to calm the citizens and to assure them that nobody else will be harmed.
Popilius Lena
A Senator.
Trebonius
One of the minor conspirators whose task is to divert Antony so that Caesar can be killed without interference. Consequently, he is the sole conspirator who does not stab Caesar. He is also the first conspirator to support Brutus’ decision that Antony should be spared.
Cinna
The conspirator who advises Cassius to win Brutus’ support for the conspiracy and places the forged letters in Brutus’ house.