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Brutus
A supporter of the republic who believes strongly in a government guided by the votes of senators. While Brutus loves Caesar as a friend, he opposes the ascension of any single man to the position of dictator, and he fears that Caesar aspires to such power. Brutus’s inflexible sense of honor makes it easy for Caesar’s enemies to manipulate him into believing that Caesar must die in order to preserve the republic. While the other conspirators act out of envy and rivalry, only Brutus truly believes that Caesar’s death will benefit Rome. Unlike Caesar, Brutus is able to separate completely his public life from his private life; by giving priority to matters of state, he epitomizes Roman virtue. Torn between his loyalty to Caesar and his allegiance to the state, Brutus becomes the tragic hero of the play.
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Julius Caesar
A great Roman general and senator, recently returned to Rome in triumph after a successful military campaign. While his good friend Brutus worries that Caesar may aspire to dictatorship over the Roman republic, Caesar seems to show no such inclination, declining the crown several times. Yet while Caesar may not be unduly power-hungry, he does possess his share of flaws. He is unable to separate his public life from his private life, and, seduced by the populace’s increasing idealization and idolization of his image, he ignores ill omens and threats against his life, believing himself as eternal as the North Star.
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Antony
A friend of Caesar. Antony claims allegiance to Brutus and the conspirators after Caesar’s death in order to save his own life. Later, however, when speaking a funeral oration over Caesar’s body, he spectacularly persuades the audience to withdraw its support of Brutus and instead condemn him as a traitor. With tears on his cheeks and Caesar’s will in his hand, Antony engages masterful rhetoric to stir the crowd to revolt against the conspirators. Antony’s desire to exclude Lepidus from the power that Antony and Octavius intend to share hints at his own ambitious nature.
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Cassius
A talented general and longtime acquaintance of Caesar. Cassius dislikes the fact that Caesar has become godlike in the eyes of the Romans. He slyly leads Brutus to believe that Caesar has become too powerful and must die, finally converting Brutus to his cause by sending him forged letters claiming that the Roman people support the death of Caesar. Impulsive and unscrupulous, Cassius harbors no illusions about the way the political world works. A shrewd opportunist, he proves successful but lacks integrity.
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Portia
Brutus’s wife; the daughter of a noble Roman who took sides against Caesar. Portia, accustomed to being Brutus’s confidante, is upset to find him so reluctant to speak his mind when she finds him troubled. Brutus later hears that Portia has killed herself out of grief that Antony and Octavius have become so powerful.
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Calpurnia
Caesar’s wife. Calpurnia invests great authority in omens and portents. She warns Caesar against going to the Senate on the Ides of March, since she has had terrible nightmares and heard reports of many bad omens. Nevertheless, Caesar’s ambition ultimately causes him to disregard her advice.
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Octavius
Caesar’s adopted son and appointed successor. Octavius, who had been traveling abroad, returns after Caesar’s death; he then joins with Antony and sets off to fight Cassius and Brutus. Antony tries to control Octavius’s movements, but Octavius follows his adopted father’s example and emerges as the authoritative figure, paving the way for his eventual seizure of the reins of Roman government.
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Casca
A public figure opposed to Caesar’s rise to power. Casca relates to Cassius and Brutus how Antony offered the crown to Caesar three times and how each time Caesar declined it. He believes, however, that Caesar is the consummate actor, lulling the populace into believing that he has no personal ambition.
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Cicero
A Roman senator renowned for his oratorical skill. Cicero speaks at Caesar’s triumphal parade. He later dies at the order of Antony, Octavius, and Lepidus.
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Lepidus
The third member of Antony and Octavius’s coalition. Though Antony has a low opinion of Lepidus, Octavius trusts his loyalty.
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The Soothsayer
A citizen of Rome who accurately predicts Caesar's impending death. He tells Caesar to “beware the Ides of March,” but is not taken seriously.
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Cinna (the Conspirator)
One of the conspirators who allies himself with Brutus and Cassius. He delivers the famous line “Liberty! Freedom! Tyranny is dead!” after Caesar is assassinated.
Cinna (the Poet)
An innocent poet who is beaten to death by an angry mob after being mistaken for the conspirator Cinna. His death highlights the chaos that descends over Rome after Caesar is killed.
Artemidorus
A citizen of Rome who is loyal to Caesar. He attempts to warn Caesar of the assassination plot on the morning of the Ides of March but is unsuccessful.
Metellus Cimber
A citizen of Rome whose brother was banished by Caesar before the events of the play take place. He is also one of the conspirators. On the Ides of March, he pleads with Caesar to terminate his brother’s banishment but Caesar refuses, claiming that his opinion is as “constant as the Northern Star” and that trying to change his opinion is as impossible as lifting the weight of Mount Olympus.
Publius
An elderly senator who participates in Caesar’s assassination. Cassius encourages him to flee after the assassination because he does not want him to get hurt by a potential angry mob. Later, Mark Antony says that he can be added to the list of conspirators to be executed, even though they are related.
Flavius & Murellus
A pair of Roman tribunes. In the text’s opening scene, they condemn the plebeians for their fickleness in cheering for Caesar, when once they cheered for Caesar’s enemy Pompey. They are ultimately punished for removing the decorations from Caesar’s statues during Caesar’s triumphal parade.
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Decius
A member of the conspiracy. Decius convinces Caesar that Calpurnia misinterpreted her dire nightmares and that, in fact, no danger awaits him at the Senate. Decius leads Caesar right into the hands of the conspirators.
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