The Story
All Rome takes to the streets in celebration: the great general Julius Caesar returns triumphant from his victory over Pompey. In a republic where no man may reign, the Senate now moves to place a crown on Caesar’s head. But to those who fear a ruler’s absolute power, the lifeblood of their republic, they say, rests upon the death of this one man. Led by Cassius, the men conspire to assassinate Caesar before he can be proclaimed king. Requiring the support of a high-minded colleague like Brutus to lend respectability to their plot, it is left to Cassius to persuade his friend and ally to their side.
Caesar dismisses the nightmares of his wife and the prophecies of a soothsayer, and ventures out to the Senate. It is the Ides of March. Soon the great Caesar, conqueror of a vast empire, will lie silenced in his blood, surrounded by his murderers—the senators of Rome.
Brutus explains the necessity for Caesar's death to a bewildered crowd, calmed until Caesar's ally, Antony, with passionate words transforms them from frightened fragments into a murderous mob. Forced to flee Rome, Brutus and Cassius gather armies. Octavius, Caesar's nephew and heir, alongside Antony takes control of Rome, and together they plan the execution of all who threaten their power. It will be at Philippi that Brutus faces the spirit of Caesar--and Rome, its fate.