Flavius & Marullus
Tribunes who wish to protect Rome’s civilians from Caesar's tyranny; they break up a crowd of commoners waiting to witness Caesar's triumph.
Julius Caesar
A successful military leader who wants the crown of Rome. Unfortunately, he is not the man he used to be and is imperious, easily flattered, and overly ambitious.
Casca
Witness to Caesar's attempts to manipulate the people of Rome into offering him the crown, he reports the failure to Brutus and Cassius.
Calphurnia
The wife of Julius Caesar; she urges him to stay at home on the day of the assassination because of the unnatural events of the previous night as well her prophetic dream in which Caesar's body is a fountain of blood.
Marcus Antonius (Marc Antony)
He appears first as a confidant and a devoted follower of Caesar, and he offers Caesar a crown during the feast of Lupercal. He has a reputation for sensuous living, but he is also militarily accomplished, politically shrewd, and skilled at oration.
Soothsayer
He warns Caesar during the celebration of the feast of Lupercal to "beware the ides of March." He again warns Caesar as he enters the Senate House.
Marcus Brutus
A praetor; that is, a judicial magistrate of Rome (a judge). He is widely admired for his noble nature. He joins the conspiracy because he fears that Caesar will become a tyrant, but his idealism causes him to make several poor judgments and impedes his ability to understand those who are less scrupulous than he.
Cassius
The brother-in-law of Brutus and an acute judge of human nature, Cassius organizes the conspiracy against Caesar and recruits Brutus by passionate argument and by deviously placed, forged letters.
Cicero
A senator and a famous orator of Rome. He is calm and philosophical when he meets the excited Casca during the night of portentous tumult proceeding the day of the “big plan.”
Cinna
The conspirator who urges Cassius to bring "noble" Brutus into the conspiracy; he assists by placing some of Cassius' forged letters where Brutus will discover them.
Lucius
Brutus' young servant; Brutus treats him with understanding, gentleness, and tolerance.
Decius Brutus
The conspirator who persuades Caesar to attend the Senate on the day of the ides of March by fabricating a flattering interpretation of Calphurnia's portentous dream and by telling Caesar that the Senate intends to crown him king.
Metellus Cimber
The conspirator who attracts Caesar's attention by requesting that his brother's banishment be repealed, allowing the assassins to surround Caesar and thereby giving Casca the opportunity to stab him from behind.
Trebonius
The first of the conspirators to second Brutus' argument that Antony be spared, Trebonius lures Antony out of the Senate House so that the other conspirators can stab Caesar without having to fear Antony's intervention.
Portia
The wife of Brutus and the daughter of Marcus Cato. She argues that those familial relationships make her strong enough to conceal Brutus' secrets, but on the morning of the assassination, she is extremely agitated by the fear that she will reveal what Brutus has told her.
Publius
An elderly senator who arrives with the conspirators to escort Caesar to the Capitol. He is stunned as he witnesses the attempted assassination. Brutus sends him out to tell the citizens that no one else will be harmed.
Caius Ligarius
No friend of Caesar's, he is inspired by Brutus' nobility to cast off his illness and join the conspirators in the early morning of the ides of March.
Artemidorus
He gives Caesar a letter as the emperor enters the Capitol; in the letter, he lists the conspirators by name and indicates that they intend to kill him, but Caesar does not read it.
Popilus Lena
The senator who wishes Cassius well in his "enterprise" as Caesar enters the Senate House. This comment intensifies the dramatic tension in the moments immediately prior to the attack by causing Cassius and Brutus to briefly fear that they have been betrayed.
Octavius Caesar
The adopted son and heir of Julius Caesar; he is one of the triumvirs who rule Rome.
M. Aemilius Lepidus
He joins Antony and Octavius to form the Second Triumvirate to rule the Roman Empire. He is weak, and Antony uses him essentially to run errands.
Lucilius
The officer who impersonates Brutus at the second battle of Philippi and is captured by Antony's soldiers. Antony admires his loyalty to Brutus and thus he protects him, hoping that Lucilius will choose to serve him as loyally as he did Brutus.
Pindarus
At Philippi, he erroneously tells his master, Cassius, that the scout Titinius has been captured by the enemy when the scout has actually been greeted by the victorious forces of Brutus.
Titinius
An officer in the army commanded by Cassius and Brutus, he guards the tent at Sardis during the argument between the two generals, and is a scout at Philippi for Cassius.
Messala
A soldier serving under Brutus and Cassius, Messala gives information concerning the advance of the triumvirs. At Philippi, he hears Cassius confess that he believes in omens.
Vero & Claudius
Servants of Brutus, they spend the night in his tent at Sardis.
Cato
The son of Marcus Cato, the brother of Portia, the brother-in-law of Brutus, and a soldier in the army commanded by Brutus and Cassius. He dies during the second battle at Philippi while trying to inspire the army by loudly proclaiming that he is the son of Marcus Cato and that he is still fighting.
Clitus & Dardanius
Servants of Brutus, they refuse their master's request at Philippi to kill him.
