Brutus, Cassius, and the philosophy of tyrannicide

[image: Brutus (left) and Cassius (right), Wikimedia]

On 15th March 44 BCE the would-be tyrant Gaius Julius Caesar was assassinated by 60 Roman Senators headed by Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus. Brutus and Cassius are arguably one of the most famous pairs of heroes or rascals, depending on one’s point of view and on whether one accepts Shakespeare’s famous take on the events or not.