Last words of Julius Caesar

Part cropped from The Death of Julius Caesar (1806) by Vincenzo Camuccini. Caesar can be seen staring at Brutus, who is looking away from his gaze. Caesar's last words may have been directed at Brutus.

The last words of the Roman dictator Julius Caesar are disputed. Ancient chroniclers reported a variety of phrases and post-classical writers have elaborated on the phrases and their interpretation.[1] The two most common theories – prevalent as early as the second century AD – are that he said nothing or that he said, in Greek, καὶ σύ, τέκνον (kaì sý, téknon; 'you too, child').[2][3]

William Shakespeare's Latin rendition of this phrase, et tu, Brute? ('You too, Brutus?'), in the play Julius Caesar, is better known in modern culture, but is not found in ancient sources.[4]

  1. ^ "The Death of Caesar". History Today. 7 July 2019. Retrieved 2021-05-20.
  2. ^ Tempest 2017, pp. 101–2.
  3. ^ Stephen Spignesi (2016). In the Crosshairs: Famous Assassinations and Attempts from Julius Caesar to John Lennon. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781510713031.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference SpT was invoked but never defined (see the help page).