Caesar: big ego or actual want for love?

Why does Caesar feel the need to make everyone like him? He is obviously a very powerful leader, particularly in the military, so why does he want common people to genuinely like him rather than just rule them by fear? Is it because of his ego or does he feel there is actually a true advantage to the common people genuinely liking who he is?

Caesar, The GOAT

“there was no danger to which he did not willingly expose himself, no labour from which he pleaded an exemption.” (Plutarch 210)

I believe this quote is important because it shows Caesar as a fearless, and brave leader. It goes along with a general theme of the text that Caesar was a leader, and not just some guy who bossed everyone around without getting his hands dirty.

Plutarch. Plutarch's Lives of Illustrious Men. The J.C. Winston Co., 1908.

In Your Weakness You Find Your Strength

"But he did not make the weakness of his constitution a pretext for his ease, but rather used war as the best physic against his indispositions "( Plutarch, 210).

Plutarch, et al. Plutarch's Lives of Illustrious Men. The J.C. Winston Co., 1908

I chose this quote because it shows that Caesar did not let any shortcomings stand in the way of his quest for power. He used his weaknesses as a drive to fight harder, rather than have them hold him back and limit him.

Man of Power and the People

       A large part of Caesar's life, as presented by Plutarch, centers around his drive for power. In multiple instances, he uses his wit and cunning to win over the people, and they rally around him in times of need. They become tools in his quest for position and power, yet he treats them with the utmost of respect even beyond simple 'winning over'. He was generous and honorable to his soldiers: "All he gave to deserving soldiers as so much increase to his own riches...there was no danger to which he did not willingly expose himself, no labor from which he pleaded an exemption" (Plutarch, 210).
      After reading about Caesar's life, what type of man can we conclude him to be? What are instances where he sides with the people only to gain their favor, and how does that later assist him in his rise to power and his impressive exploits as a leader? How does his relationship with the people (particularly the commoners, not the nobility) coincide with his power?

From the movie Little Caesar.

https://lassothemovies.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/little-caesar-1931.jpg

Caesar West-Video response

For my musical response I chose to compare Plutarch's Life of Caesar, to Kanye West's song Power. In the music video for his song, Kanye is pictured as a god. As he stands at the center of what appears to be heaven, the camera slowly pans out to reveal demi-god like beings that represent some of the vices that come along with his power. These include lust, greed and people trying to kill him. This song was made after Kanye had become an established artist in the hip-hop industry, and describes his personal experience with what fame, and thus power, has brought him. I feel like much of what Kanye experienced is similar to Caesar experience after he became the Emperor of Rome. Power brought him riches, women and enemies.

Plutarch on Caesar

Does Caesar act like a dictator?

Fake Love

For my musical challenge I picked the song "Fake Love" by Drake. In the song, Drake (who's basically the biggest hip-hop artist alive right now) describes how people who are below him in the rap game show him "fake love" in order to gain relevance in the music industry. I feel Caesar faces the same issue to an extent, as he is surrounded by political foes who are both beneath him and want his position of power.

-Trevor Delane