Killing Jesus: A History

unable to hear what Popilius is saying, they are justifiably worried. Only moments before, Popilius had wished Marcus Brutus good luck in the conspiracy, but perhaps that was all a ruse. The Liberators can see that his conversation with Caesar is earnest and friendly. Their stomachs churn with fear that Popilius is informing Caesar of their plot. “Not being able to hear what he said, but guessing by what themselves were conscious of … and, looking upon one another, agreed from each other’s countenances that they should not stay to be taken, but should all kill themselves [instead of Caesar],” the historian Plutarch will write of this moment.
    Popilius ends his conversation by kissing the hands of Divus Julius and walking away from the Theater of Pompey. Caesar does not seem to be agitated. Relieved, they settle back into their seats to await his arrival.
    The great statue of Pompey glowers down on Caesar as he glides into the Senate. Cassius, who, along with Brutus, is the lead assassin, turns to the statue of Pompey and prays, hoping to invoke courage from Caesar’s former enemy.
    The entire Senate rises as Caesar enters the chamber. They have been conducting state business all morning and now watch as he takes his seat in a gilded throne. Almost immediately, a large group of them walk toward Caesar, led by Lucius Tillius Cimber. There is nothing ominous in their behavior, for it is common for senators to approach Caesar with personal petitions—and, indeed, Caesar can clearly see the scroll Tillius holds in one hand, but not the dagger he clutches in the other.
    It is easy enough for Caesar to guess what Tillius wants. The brother of the veteran senator has been sent into exile, and the petition is most likely a request for a pardon.
    The group of senators mill around Caesar’s chair, their numbers growing by the second, until he is ringed by a small mob. They lean down to offer kisses of respect on his head and chest, which has the effect of pressing the dictator even farther down into his seat.
    Caesar grows furious at their aggressive behavior and rises violently to his feet.

The murder of Julius Caesar
    This is the moment the assassins have been waiting for. Tillius grabs the top of Caesar’s robe and wrenches it down past his shoulders, pinning the dictator’s arms to his sides. At the same time, the Liberator named Publius Servilius Casca Longus— “Casca”—plunges his dagger into Caesar’s shoulder. The thrust is feeble, and the wound draws little blood, but the sudden flash of pain as he is stabbed makes Caesar cry out. “Villain Casca,” Caesar says in Latin while firmly grabbing the handle of Casca’s dagger, “what do you do?”
    As he turns to face his attacker, Caesar sees not one knife, but sixty. He feels not one stab wound, but dozens. Each of the senators has pulled a pugio from beneath his toga. Caesar sees the faces of enemies, but even more faces are those of friends, including Decimus Brutus and that of another Brutus—Marcus, the arrogant forty-one-year-old Stoic who is also rumored to be Caesar’s son. The conspirators thrust their sharpened blades into the defenseless Caesar, hacking at him again and again. Such is the depth of their frenzy that many of the senators mistakenly stab one another, and all are soon covered in blood.
    Meanwhile, Caesar attempts to fight back.
    But then Marcus Brutus delivers the killing blow. Instead of aiming for the heart or the great artery of the neck, the bastard son Marcus thrusts his blade deep into Caesar’s groin. It is an act of murder, but also an act of emasculation, meant to humiliate the man who would not claim Marcus as his own. Blood drenches Caesar’s tunic, flowing down the pale skin of his bare legs as he collapses back onto the throne.
    “You, too, my boy?” Caesar says despairingly, staring at Marcus.
    Not wanting anyone to see the death mask that will soon cross his face, Caesar pulls the fringe of his toga up over his head. A great pool of blood oozes across the marble floor as Caesar’s limp body slides from his throne and comes to rest at the foot of Pompey’s statue.
    Head covered, death arrives. Only after he dies does Julius Caesar achieve the ultimate power he so desired, when the Roman Senate posthumously deifies him as Divus Julius.
    Julius the God is quite mortal, as his murder clearly shows.

CHAPTER THREE
    PHILIPPI, NORTHERN GREECE
OCTOBER 23, 42 B.C.
MORNING
    The son of god thinks himself