"Ahh, Cassius my good friend." Brutus said opening his arms to welcome Cassius.
"Have you heard the news about Caesar?" Cassius asked Brutus.
"No I haven't, what is this about?" Brutus asked with arched eyebrows.
"I have heard that Caesar has a plan to become an absolute king." Cassius replied.
"That is not surprising with the way he has been acting. Donning the royal, purple togas, indulging in power, and abusing the Republic's traditions. It is like he thinks he is already king." Brutus said while pacing around the room.
"Yes it does, huh? I am getting mighty tired of him and his overdeveloped ego. If he plans to destroy the Senate, we should plan to destroy him!" Cassius exclaimed with a fist thrusted into the air.
"A plan to assassinate Caesar? But I am his second heir in his will. I am his friend, but no I must remain faithful to Rome and the Republican system." Brutus said stroking his chin.
"Not to worry. I have learned that on his Parthian campaign, he will try to conquer the Parthians. If he accomplishes this he will definitely become an absolute king. We must let the others in on our little plan to restore the Republic." Cassius said to Brutus as he walked out the room.
The next morning the Senate meeting took place. Cassius stood up.
"Attention all! All who fear the death of the Republic. All who despise the thought of an absolute king. All who want Rome's old traditions back! At the Senate meeting tomorrow on March 15 in the Pompey Theatre we must restore the Republic." Cassius said, grabbing everyone's attention.
"What is he talking about?" A nameless senator said.
"I am talking about Caesar and his quest for absolute power over all of us and all of Rome."
"What do you mean? Caesar is a genius. He is an orator, writer, military leader, and a great politician. His statue is present with other great kings statues! His chiseled face is on coins! Why would he want to 'destroy' the Republic?" Brutus said, trying to help Cassius get his point across.
" Exactly! He is likening himself to be a king. No one is even allowed to have their face on a coin until they are dead! Is everyone blind? Have you've not seen the way he is acting?", Cassius shouted across the Senate floor, "Have you not seen him wear the purple togas? Have you not seen him overusing his power? Have you not seen him slowly destroying the Roman Republic?" Cassius said trying not to get angry.
"So what do you want us to do about it?" Brutus asked already knowing the answer.
"Well, we are going to assassinate him." Cassius said casually.
The Senate floor was dead silent.
"What about Marc Antony? What if he is to come too? You know how good friends he and Caesar are!" Brutus said standing up.
"Don't you worry, before me make our move on Caesar, I will distract Antony. I will ask him some questions in the corner of the room, away from Caesar. Then um..........Cimber, yes Cimber will remove his "royal" purple toga and Casca ,Caesar's good friend, and Brutus will do away with him!" Crassus exclaimed, as if claiming victory.
After much discussion and debating, it was decided that March 15 would mark the death of Caesar and the rebirth of the Republic.
The next morning on March 15, the anxious assassinators waited for Caesar to join them. For some reason Caesar did not show. Brutus informed everyone how Caesar sent Antony to cancel the meeting. Apparently Calpurnia (Caesar's wife) had a dream that Caesar was going to be killed and that he would be streaming with blood at the meeting.
The anxious assassinators had to get Caesar to come to the meeting somehow. They relied on Brutus who was Caesar's "trusty" and "loyal friend" to bring Caesar into the meeting. Little did Caesar know what the events of the day would bring.
On his way to the Senate, Caesar was given a piece of paper about the disloyal and dishonest plan that his so called "friends" had during the Senate meeting and it also said, "Beware of the Ides of March", but Caesar was too busy to read the paper.
As he walked into the Senate an eerie calm descended. Caesar sat down in his gilded chair. Cassius walked over to Marc Antony and asked him some questions in the corner of the room. Cassius looked at Cimber signaling him to start the assassination. Cimber seized Caesar's purple toga and exposed his neck, the signal for the assassination to start.
Casca aimed for Caesar's neck with his dagger, but he missed and fell to the floor. Marc Antony ran after Caesar, but he was held back by Cassius. Caesar and Casca rumbled on the floor hitting and stabbing each other. Cassius, letting go of Antony, unexpectedly popped up from behind Casca and swung his dagger right into Caesar's face. Then it was Brutus's turn to restore the Republic. Stabbing Caesar in the thigh Caesar said, "Et tu, Brute?" Just like in Calpurnia's dream there he lay, with twenty-three stabbings and blood streamed across his face, at the foot of Pompey's statue.
Caesar's death did not mark the rebirth of the Republic. It did not do anything that Brutus, Cassius, and everyone else in the Senate meeting had hoped and planned it would do. It did not return Rome back to it's traditions, it did not ensure the Romans of no more unruly dictators, nor did it spread power out evenly. Instead it was the complete death of the Republic. Civil wars broke out and gaining power was a hard struggle. Rome was never the same after the death of Caesar, nor will it ever be.