In the course of time, the world has seen an abundance of
influential men. Oftentimes, however, the forces behind these men remain
unseen. This is shown in William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar by the
supporting role the minor conspirators have on the major conspirators.
Just as women often embolden powerful men of society, the minor
conspirators embolden the major conspirators greatly affecting the outcome
of the play.
One of the most important minor conspirators of the play is Decius,
who was responsible for bringing Caesar to the capitol on the day of the
assassination. The entire conspiracy almost failed because on the night
before the assassination was to be carried out, during the storm, Caesar's
wife Calpurnia had a dream about Caesar being killed, and she had convinced
him to remain home the next day. When Decius arrived at Caesar's home in
the morning to take him to the capitol he realized that he must convince
Caesar that he had misinterpreted his wife's dream so Caesar would go as
planned. Decius needed to make Caesar realize that his wife, the
soothsayer, and all of the omens were purely coincidental which he did by
interpreting Calpurnia's dream with a double meaning, 'Your statue spouting
blood in many pipes, in which so many smiling Romans bathed, signifies that
from you great Rome shall suck reviving blood, and that great men shall
press for tinctures, stains, relics, and cognizance.' (JC. II. ii. 85-90).
Decius successfully executed his role in the conspiracy which led to the
assassination of Caesar.
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