More than 2,000 years after Julius Caesar's death, his followers still place flowers on an undistinguished earthy mound in the historic Roman Forum, presumed to be the dictator's grave. Such is the reverence for strong leaders in Italy that the occasional barbaric act - tossing Christians to lions, killing the children and raping the wives of enemies - can be overlooked in reaching judgement on their worthiness. "Had you rather Caesar were living and die all slaves, than that Caesar were dead, to live all free men?" was how Brutus posed the question of the great man's murder to the general populace in Shakespeare's play.
July 01, 2000