Roman and Elizabethan Superstitions

What were they thinking?

Why do we need to know this for Julius Caesar?

What were they thinking? Roman Superstitions

• Most people know that the Romans were polytheists, or people who believed in many gods.

• The most famous Roman gods are Venus (goddess of love), Neptune (god of the sea), and Mars (god of war).

• These names might not sound familiar, but if we were to use the original Greek names the Romans adapted them from, like Aphrodite, Poseidon, and Aries, they might sound a little more familiar.

What were they thinking?Roman Superstitions

• Since the Romans did not have modern science, they used these gods and goddesses to explain the many phenomenons in nature, like lightning and hurricanes.

• Romans also believed that gods spoke to them in dreams.

• Many people in Rome made their living being “prophets” who dreamed of future events. People would abandon their children if a prophet told them he or she would grow up to ruin them, such was the people’s belief in dreams.

What were they thinking?Roman Superstitions

• But dreams can be interpreted in many different ways.

• Today, you will see how Calphurnia’s very straight-forward dreams about Caesar’s death are interpreted in a completely different way by one of the conspirators.

• Why do you think Decius will do this? If Caesar believes that Calphurnia’s dreams are real, what aspect of Caesar could Decius appeal to in order to get Caesar out of the house?

What were they thinking?Elizabethan Superstitions

• When you or somebody else sneezes, do you say “God Bless You” or some form of the phrase?

• Of course, almost everybody does. • Now, take a second and think: why is

it almost an automatic and proper thing to “bless” somebody when they sneeze?

• Who can tell me?

What were they thinking?Elizabethan Superstitions

• In Elizabethan England, everybody “knew” that when you sneezed, you gave the devil free reign on you soul. But if two Christians “blessed” each other, the devil couldn’t touch you. And we still continue this tradition across the world.

• There many little superstitions like this that litter the plays of Elizabethan England.

What were they thinking?Elizabethan Superstitions

• Many playwrights used these superstitions as a way to mimic what was happening in the plot of the play.

• Otherwise known as the macrocosm (nature, animals, heavens, gods) mimicking or copying the microcosm (humans and their relationships)

• Turn to page 789, line 15. Read about the occurrences that Casca has witnessed. What do those events possibly foretell?

Why do we need to know this for Julius Caesar?

• Many playwrights used these superstitions as a way to mimic what was happening in the plot of the play.

• Otherwise known as the macrocosm (nature, animals, heavens, gods) mimicking or copying the microcosm (humans and their relationships)

• What do the events we’ve seen so far represent or foretell?

• Turn to page 789, line 15. Read about the occurrences that Casca has witnessed. What do those events possibly foretell?

Why do we need to know this for Julius Caesar?

• A slave’s entire hand magically bursts into flames, but he is not burnt at all.

• A wild lion is seen at the Capitol in Rome but does not bother Casca as he walks by.

• Men spontaneously catch fire and walk through the streets

• An owl hooted and howled at noon when owls don’t usually come out until darkness.