Description
Rome’s wisest rulers appeased the mob when they became unruly, but the cleverest leaders turned them against their rivals; the plebeians always had the power to make or break the mighty. Julius Caesar was particularly adept at manipulating the plebs, and his power remained even in death. At his funeral, the grieving crowd hurled their belongings onto his pyre: the fire raged out of control and damaged the Forum. Grief soon turned to anger and the mob attacked the houses of Brutus and Cassius, two of Caesar’s assassins. They had sensibly fled the city, so the plebs contented themselves with looting rather than lynchings.
