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Gaius Cassius Longinus

Gaius Cassius Longinus (Classical Latin: [ˈɡaːi.ʊs ˈkassi.ʊs ˈlɔŋɡɪnʊs]; c. 86 BC – 3 October 42 BC) was a Roman senator and general best known as a leading instigator of the plot to assassinate Julius Caesar on 15 March 44 BC.[4][5][6] He was the brother-in-law of Brutus, another leader of the conspiracy. He commanded troops with Brutus during the Battle of Philippi against the combined forces of Mark Antony and Octavian, Caesar's former supporters, and committed suicide after being defeated by Mark Antony.

For other people named Gaius Cassius Longinus, see Gaius Cassius Longinus (disambiguation).

Gaius Cassius Longinus

c. 86 BC[2]

3 October 42 BC (aged 44)

Thasos, Greece

Roman

General and politician

Gaius Cassius Longinus

54–42 BC

Cassius was elected as tribune of the plebs in 49 BC. He opposed Caesar, and eventually he commanded a fleet against him during Caesar's Civil War: after Caesar defeated Pompey in the Battle of Pharsalus, Caesar overtook Cassius and forced him to surrender. After Caesar's death, Cassius fled to the East, where he amassed an army of twelve legions. He was supported and made governor by the Senate. Later he and Brutus marched west against the allies of the Second Triumvirate.


He followed the teachings of the philosopher Epicurus, although scholars debate whether or not these beliefs affected his political life. Cassius is a main character in William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar that depicts the assassination of Caesar and its aftermath. He is also shown in the lowest circle of Hell in Dante's Inferno as punishment for betraying and killing Caesar.[7][8]

Cultural depictions[edit]

In Dante's Inferno (Canto XXXIV), Cassius is one of three people deemed sinful enough to be chewed in one of the three mouths of Satan, in the very centre of Hell, for all eternity, as a punishment for killing Julius Caesar. The other two are Brutus, his fellow conspirator, and Judas Iscariot, the Biblical betrayer of Jesus. It is unknown why the third ringleader of the conspiracy to kill Caesar, Decimus Brutus, was not also shown this deep in Hell.


Cassius also plays a major role in Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar (I. ii. 190–195) as the leader of the conspiracy to assassinate Caesar. Caesar distrusts him, and states, "Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look; He thinks too much: such men are dangerous." In one of the final scenes of the play, Cassius mentions to one of his subordinates that the day, October 3, is his birthday, and dies shortly afterwards.

Ariobarzanes III

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the : Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Cassius s.v. 3. Gaius Cassius Longinus". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 5 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 461.

public domain

Nodelman, Sheldon (1987). "The Portrait of Brutus the Tyrannicide". In Jiří Frel; Arthur Houghton & Marion True (eds.). . Occasional Papers on Antiquities. Vol. 4. Malibu, CA, US: J. Paul Getty Museum. pp. 41–86. ISBN 0-89236-071-2.

Ancient Portraits in the J. Paul Getty Museum: Volume 1

Cassius Dio Cocceianus (1987). . Ian Scott-Kilvert, trans. London: Penguin Books. ISBN 9780140444483.

The Roman History: The Reign of Augustus

Cicero, Marcus Tullius (1986). Selected Letters. D. R. H. Shackleton Bailey, trans. London: Penguin Books.

Gowing, Alain M. (1990). "Appian and Cassius' Speech Before Philippi ('Bella Civilia' 4.90–100)". Phoenix. 44 (2): 158–181. :10.2307/1088329. JSTOR 1088329.

doi

Plutarch (1972). Fall of the Roman Republic: Six Lives. Rex Warner, trans. New York: Penguin Books.

Plutarch (1965). Maker's of Rome: Nine Lives by Plutarch. Ian Scott-Kilvert, trans. London: Penguin Books.

in the Jewish Encyclopedia

"Cassius Longinus"

from Cicero's Letters to Friends

Letters to and from Cassius

—from Plutarch's Parallel Lives

"Life of Brutus"