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Caesars sexual desires, ambition and love of power lead to

both his extreme success and his demise, according to

both Suetonius and Plutarch. This is exemplified in his

birth into a family which was not so prestigious and

growing up in Subura, faraway from the dignitasof PalatineHill. An important modern work on Julius Caesar is

Adrian Goldsworthys Caesar: Life of a Colossus.

Goldsworthy sites Caesars personality as the reason we

discuss him today, and his intensely dramatic life has

been the muse for great works of drama by Bernard Shaw

and, of course, William Shakespeare, in which his dramatic

lines drew some of the most famous of his quotes:

"beware the Ides of March" and "Friends, Romans,countrymen, lend me your ears.

An example of his personality, as depicted in Suetonius

and Plutarch, is seen near the island Pharmacusa. Caesars

ego stating he is worth 50, not 20 talents and forcing his

captors to listen to his bland poetry. When the ransom

was fulfilled and he was set free, his dignitas expressed theneed to find the Pirates and kill them, with his ego

eradicating all pirates in the Roman Empire. This

personality trait thus directly the Roman Empire as he had

a prestigious name to uphold. His manipulative personality

trait was seen in the Cataline Conspiracy of 63BC,

speaking out in the Senate for Cataline to be executed:

Caesar was in control.

Although Caesar supposedly had sexual relations with

both Pompeys and Crassus wives, he formed one of the

strongest political alliances in Roman history with those

two men. Suetonius suggestion is the most interesting,

that is, the First Triumvirate was used as a method of

gaining prestige for Caesar, by bypassing the Senate and

delivering popular legislation for the Empire. To add, after

Vercingetorix was destroyed, Caesars dignitasonly grew.

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After his infinitely important success in the Gallic Wars

for the Empire, he delivered his most famous line of all

time I came, I saw, I conquered. This must not becorrelated with the supposed relations he had with the

King of Bythnia, a woe he suffered with all of his career,

but of his undeniable ambition. This ambition is portrayed

in Suetonius when, as we all know, upon visiting the

Temple of Hercules, saw a statue of the incomparable

Alexander the Great, and openly wept as he had not

achieved the same feats at that stage in his life as

Alexander had.

Cicero was quoted on Caesars use of clementia in a letter,

stating: "You will say they are frightened. I dare say they

are, but I'll be bound they're more frightened of Pompey

than of Caesar. They are delighted with his artful clemency

and fear the other's wrath. Clementia was a virtue:

Pompey did not possess this quality, nor many Senators,

and this established Caesars name. Caesar also most

definitely used Saevitia, a contradiction of clementia,

bloodshed, in battle. This juxtaposition was used by

Caesars digression to further the Empire. Also, his

overriding sexual desires displayed for Cleopatra, an

important personal trait, lead to his leaving of Rome in a

time of need, staying in Egypt, and causing Senators to

despise him. This personality trait thus directly affected

the Empire.

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On his assassination, Caesar was given a funeral like one

for a King, a display the epitome of his egotism and status.

This was due to his manipulation of the people, giving

them exactly what they wanted. Suetonius, states that

Brutus mother was a favourite for Caesar, which couldhave aggravated his decision; we can only ascertain that

Caesar was able to proudly tell your mother jokes to the

Senate.

As Phillip Freeman, another modern historian stated

More than two thousand years after his death, Julius

Caesar remains one of the great figures of history.Caesars personality was vital to his success and his success

changed the Roman Empire, killing and enslaving

thousands, and changing the format of Roman leadership

from the old Republic to a militaristic dictatorship like

Monsieur Buonaparte or Kim Jong Un. His ambition, lust

for absolute power and supreme ability to manipulate the

population, were the most dominant of these personality

traits, ultimately leading to his sudden demise.Shakespeares Julius Caesar Act 1, Scene 2 says: Men at

some time are masters of their fates. The fault, dear

Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are

underlings. Thus, one of the great figures of history was

master of his fate. His personality mastered his fate.