Editing Gaius Cassius Longinus

{{Short description|Roman senator and general (c.86 BC–42 BC)}}
{{Other people}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Gaius Cassius Longinus 
| image              = Pseudo-Corbulo Musei Capitolini MC561.jpg
| image_upright      = 1.1
| alt                = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software -->
| caption            = The "pseudo-[[Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo|Corbulo]]" bust, likely depicting Cassius{{sfn|Nodelman|pp=57–59}}
| birth_date         = 86 BC 
| death_date         = 3 October 42 BC (aged 44)
| death_place        = near [[Philippi]], [[Macedonia (Roman province)|Macedonia]]
| death_cause        = [[Suicide]]
| resting_place      = [[Thasos]], Greece
| nationality        = Roman
| other_names        = [[Last of the Romans]]<ref name="44.2">[[Plutarch]], ''Life of Brutus'', [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Brutus*.html#44 44.2].</ref>
| occupation         = General and politician
| known_for          = [[Assassination of Julius Caesar]]
| office             = {{nowrap|[[Tribune of the plebs]] (49 BC)}}<br>[[Praetor]] (44 BC)<br>[[List of Roman consuls designate|Consul designate]] (41 BC)
| spouse             = [[Junia Tertia]]
| children           = Gaius Cassius Longinus
| module             = {{Infobox military person|embed=yes
| allegiance    = [[Roman Republic]]<br>[[Pompey]]
| serviceyears  = 54–42 BC
| serviceyears_label = Years
| rank          = 
| commands      = 
| battles       = [[Battle of Carrhae]]<br>[[Caesar's civil war]]<br>[[Battle of Philippi]]
| battles_label = 
}}
}}
<!--This article uses the BC/AD era convention; see earliest version-->
'''Gaius Cassius Longinus''' ({{IPA|la-x-classic|ˈɡaːi.ʊs ˈkassi.ʊs ˈlɔŋɡɪnʊs|lang|link=yes}}; {{c.|86 BC}} – 3 October 42 BC) was a [[Roman Republic|Roman]] [[Roman Senate|senator]] and general best known as a leading instigator of the plot to assassinate [[Julius Caesar]] on 15 March 44 BC.<ref>[[Ronald Syme]], ''The Roman Revolution'' (Oxford University Press, 1939, reprinted 2002), p. 57 [https://books.google.com/books?id=LliyGzhAo1wC&pg=PA57 online]; [[Elizabeth Rawson]], "Caesar: Civil War and Dictatorship," in ''The Cambridge Ancient History: The Last Age of the Roman Republic 146–43 BC'' (Cambridge University Press, 1994), vol. 9, p. 465.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/e/roman/texts/plutarch/lives/caesar*.html|title=Life of Caesar|last=Plutarch|website=University of Chicago|page=595|quote=...at this juncture Decimus Brutus, surnamed Albinus, who was so trusted by Caesar that he was entered in his will as his second heir, but was partner in the conspiracy of the other Brutus and Cassius, fearing that if Caesar should elude that day, their undertaking would become known, ridiculed the seers and chided Caesar for laying himself open to malicious charges on the part of the senators...}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Julius*.html|title=De Vita Caesarum|last=Suetonius|date=121|website=University of Chicago|page=107|trans-title=The Twelve Casesars|quote=More than sixty joined the conspiracy against [Caesar], led by Gaius Cassius and Marcus and Decimus Brutus.|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120530163202/http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Julius*.html|archive-date=2012-05-30|url-status=dead}}</ref> He was the brother-in-law of [[Marcus Junius Brutus|Brutus]], another leader of [[Assassination of Julius Caesar|the conspiracy]].<ref>[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Brutus*.html#7 Plutarch, ''Brutus.'' 7.1]</ref> He commanded troops with Brutus during the [[Battle of Philippi]] against the combined forces of [[Mark Antony]] and [[Augustus|Octavian]], Caesar's former supporters, and committed suicide after being defeated by Mark Antony.<ref>''[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Brutus*.html#43 Plutarch, Brutus, 43]''</ref>

Cassius was elected as [[tribune of the plebs]] in 49 BC.<ref>[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Appian/Civil_Wars/2*.html#33 Appian, ''Civil Wars.,'' 2.33]</ref> He opposed Caesar, and eventually he commanded a fleet against him during [[Caesar's Civil War]]: after Caesar defeated [[Pompey]] in the [[Battle of Pharsalus]], Caesar overtook Cassius and forced him to surrender.<ref>Appian, ''Civil Wars.,'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Appian/Civil_Wars/2*.html#33 2.33]</ref><ref>Appian, ''Civil Wars.,'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Appian/Civil_Wars/2*.html#87 2.87]</ref><ref>Appian, ''Civil Wars.,'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Appian/Civil_Wars/2*.html#88 2.88]</ref> After Caesar's death, Cassius fled to the east to Syria, where he amassed an army of twelve legions. He was supported and made governor by the Senate.<ref>Appian, ''Civil Wars.,'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Appian/Civil_Wars/4*.html#58 4.58]</ref> Later he and Brutus marched west against the allies of the [[Second Triumvirate]].

He followed the teachings of the philosopher [[Epicurus]], although scholars debate whether or not these beliefs affected his political life. Cassius is a main character in [[William Shakespeare]]'s play ''[[Julius Caesar (play)|Julius Caesar]]'' that depicts the [[Assassination of Julius Caesar|assassination of Caesar]] and its aftermath. He is also shown in the lowest circle of [[Hell]] in [[Dante]]'s ''[[Inferno (Dante)|Inferno]]'' as punishment for betraying and killing Caesar.<ref>[http://www.italianstudies.org/comedy/Inferno34.htm Dante, ''Inferno: Canto XXXIV'']</ref><ref>Cook, W. R., & Herzman, R. B. (1979). "Inferno XXXIII: The Past and the Present in Dante's "Imagery of Betrayal". ''Italica'', 56(4), 377–383. {{JSTOR|478665}}. "For the vision of Satan that is Dante the pilgrim's last glimpse of hell shows the three mouths of Satan gnawing on each of the three great traitors - Brutus, Cassius, and Judas."</ref>

==Biography==
===Early life===
[[File:Gaius Cassius Longinus and Lentulus Spinther. 42 BC. AR Denarius.jpg|thumb|300px|right| [[Denarius]] (42 BC) issued by '''Cassius Longinus''' and [[Lentulus Spinther]], depicting the crowned head of [[Libertas|Liberty]] and on the reverse a sacrificial jug and ''[[lituus]]''. From the military mint in [[Smyrna]]]]
Gaius Cassius Longinus came from a very old Roman family, [[Cassia gens|gens Cassia]], which had been prominent in Rome since the 6th century BC. Little is known of his early life, apart from a story that he showed his dislike of despots while still at school, by quarreling with the son of the dictator [[Sulla]].<ref>[[Plutarch]], ''Brutus'', [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Brutus*.html#9 9.1-4]</ref> He studied philosophy at [[Rhodes]] under Archelaus of Rhodes and became fluent in [[Greek language|Greek]].<ref>[[Appian]], ''Civil Wars'', [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Appian/Civil_Wars/4*.html#67 4.67].</ref> He was married to [[Junia Tertia]], who was the daughter of [[Servilia (mother of Brutus)|Servilia]] and thus a half-sister of his co-conspirator [[Marcus Junius Brutus|Brutus]]. They had one son, who was born in about 60 BC.<ref>[[Plutarch]], ''Brutus'', [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Brutus*.html#14 14.4]</ref>

===Carrhae and Syria===
In 54 BC, Cassius joined [[Marcus Licinius Crassus]] in his eastern campaign against the [[Parthian Empire]] as quaestor.<ref>[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Crassus*.html#18 Plutarch], ''Crassus,'' 18 </ref> In 53 BC, Crassus led the Roman army at the [[Battle of Carrhae]] in Northern-[[Mesopotamia]], considered the worst defeat since the disastrous loss at Cannae in 216 BC against Hannibal.<ref>{{Cite web |date= |title=Battle of Carrhae |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/encyclopaedia_romana/miscellanea/trivia/carrhae.html |url-status=live |access-date=March 10, 2025}}</ref> Cassius led the remaining troops' retreat back into Syria, and organised an effective defence force for the province.<ref>Dio, ''Roman History,'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/40*.html#28 40.28]</ref> Plutarch’s account suggests Crassus could have avoided crushing defeat in Carrhae by listening to Cassius advice not to invade Parthia.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Morrell |first1=Kit |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SgBLDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA184 |title=Pompey, Cato, and the Governance of the Roman Empire |date=2017 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780198755142 |page=184 |language=en}}</ref> According to Dio, the Roman soldiers, as well as Crassus himself, were willing to give the overall command to Cassius after the initial disaster in the battle, which Cassius refused.<ref>Dio, ''Roman History,'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/40*.html#28 40.28]</ref> The Parthians also considered Cassius as equal to Crassus in authority, and superior to him in skill.

In 51 BC, Cassius was able to ambush and defeat an invading Parthian army under the command of prince [[Pacorus I|Pacorus]] and general Osaces.<ref>Dio, ''Roman History,'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/40*.html#28 40.28]</ref> He first refused to do battle with the Parthians, keeping his army behind the walls of [[Antioch]] (Syria's most important city) where he was besieged. When the Parthians gave up the siege and started to ravage the countryside, he followed them with his army harassing them as they went. The decisive encounter came on October 7 as the Parthians turned away from Antigonea. As they set about their return journey they were confronted by a detachment of Cassius' army, which faked a retreat and lured the Parthians into an ambush. The Parthians were suddenly surrounded by Cassius' main forces and defeated. Their general Osaces died from his wounds, and the rest of the Parthian army retreated back across the [[Euphrates]].<ref>Dio, ''Roman History,'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/40*.html#29 40.29]</ref><ref>Gareth C. Sampson, ''The defeat of Rome, Crassus' Carrhae & the invasion of the East'', p.159</ref>

===Civil war===
[[File:Gaius Cassius Longinus.jpg|thumb|Cassius depicted in ''[[The Death of Julius Caesar (Camuccini)|The Death of Julius Caesar]]'' (1806) by [[Vincenzo Camuccini]]]]
Cassius returned to Rome in 50 BC, when [[Caesar's civil war|civil war]] was about to break out between [[Julius Caesar]] and [[Pompey]].<ref>Plutarch, ''Brutus,'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Brutus*.html#7 7]</ref> Cassius was elected [[tribune of the plebs]] for 49&nbsp;BC, and threw in his lot with the [[Optimates]], although his brother [[Lucius Cassius Longinus (proconsul)|Lucius Cassius]] supported Caesar.<ref>Appian, ''Civil Wars.,'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Appian/Civil_Wars/2*.html#33 2.33]</ref> Cassius left Italy shortly after Caesar crossed the [[Rubicon]]. He met Pompey in [[Greece]], and was appointed to command part of his fleet.

In 48 BC, Cassius sailed his ships to [[Sicily]], where he attacked and burned a large part of Caesar's navy.<ref>[[Julius Caesar|Caesar]], ''Civil War'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0076%3Abook%3D3%3Achapter%3D101 iii.101].</ref> He then proceeded to harass ships off the [[Italy|Italian]] coast. News of Pompey's defeat at the [[Battle of Pharsalus]] caused Cassius to head for the [[Hellespont]], with hopes of allying with the king of [[Kingdom of Pontus|Pontus]], [[Pharnaces II of Pontus|Pharnaces&nbsp;II]]. Cassius was overtaken by Caesar en route, and was forced to surrender unconditionally.<ref>However, both [[Suetonius]] (''Caesar'', [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Julius*.html#63 63] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120530163202/http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Julius*.html#63 |date=2012-05-30 }}) and [[Cassius Dio]] (''Roman History'', [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/42*.html#6 42.6]) say that it was Lucius Cassius who surrendered to Caesar at the Hellespont.</ref>

Caesar made Cassius a [[legatus|legate]], employing him in the [[Alexandrian War]] against the very same Pharnaces whom Cassius had hoped to join after Pompey's defeat at Pharsalus. However, Cassius refused to join in the fight against [[Cato the Younger|Cato]] and [[Metellus Scipio|Scipio]] in [[Africa]], choosing instead to retire to Rome.

Cassius spent the next two years in office, and apparently tightened his friendship with [[Cicero]].<ref>In a letter written in 45 BC, Cassius says to Cicero, "There is nothing that gives me more pleasure to do than to write to you; for I seem to be talking and joking with you face to face" ([http://www.attalus.org/translate/cassius.html#15.19 ''Ad Fam.'', xv.19]).</ref> In 44 BC, he became ''[[praetor peregrinus]]'' with the promise of the [[Syria (Roman province)|Syria]]n province for the ensuing year. The appointment of his junior and brother-in-law, [[Marcus Junius Brutus|Marcus Brutus]], as ''[[praetor]] urbanus'' deeply offended him.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

Although Cassius was "the moving spirit" in the plot against Caesar, winning over the chief assassins to the cause of [[tyrannicide]], Brutus became their leader.<ref>[[T.R.S. Broughton]], ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic'' (American Philological Association, 1952), vol. 2, p. 320, citing Plutarch, ''Brutus'' 7.1–3 and ''Caesar'' 62.2; and Appian, ''Bellum Civile'' 4.57.</ref> On the [[Ides of March]], 44 BC, Cassius urged on his fellow liberators and struck Caesar in the chest. Though they succeeded in [[Assassination of Julius Caesar|assassinating Caesar]], the celebration was short-lived, as [[Mark Antony]] seized power and turned the public against them. In letters written during 44 BC, Cicero frequently complains that Rome was still subjected to tyranny, because the "Liberators" had failed to kill Antony.<ref>For instance, [[Cicero]], ''Ad Fam.'', [http://www.attalus.org/translate/cassius.html#12.3 xii.3.1].</ref> According to some accounts, Cassius had wanted to kill Antony at the same time as Caesar, but Brutus dissuaded him.<ref>[[Velleius Paterculus]], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Velleius_Paterculus/2B*.html#58 2.58.5]; [[Plutarch]], ''Brutus'', [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Brutus*.html#18 18.2-6].</ref>
[[File:Roman coins obverse replicas.png|thumb|180px|A set of seven replica coins from the [[Roman Empire]], including a ''[[denarius]]'' of Gaius Cassius Longinus (A), which was minted on campaign in Europe in 43 or 42 BC]]

===Post-assassination===
Cassius' reputation in the East made it easy to amass an army from other governors in the area, and by 43 BC, he was ready to take on [[Publius Cornelius Dolabella (consul 44 BC)|Publius Cornelius Dolabella]] with 12 [[Roman legion|legions]]. By this point, the Senate had split with Antonius, and cast its lot with Cassius, confirming him as governor of the province. Dolabella attacked but was betrayed by his allies, leading him to commit [[suicide]]. Cassius was now secure enough to march on [[Roman Egypt|Egypt]], but on the formation of the [[Second Triumvirate]], Brutus requested his assistance. Cassius quickly joined Brutus in [[Smyrna]] with most of his army, leaving his nephew behind to govern Syria as well.

The conspirators decided to attack the triumvirate's allies in [[Asia (Roman province)|Asia]]. Cassius set upon and sacked [[Rhodes]] in 43 BC, while Brutus did the same to [[Lycia]]. They regrouped the following year in [[Sardis]], where their armies proclaimed them [[imperator]]. They crossed the [[Hellespont]], marched through [[Thrace]], and encamped near [[Philippi]] in [[Macedon]]. Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian (later known as [[Augustus]]) and Mark Antony soon arrived, and Cassius planned to starve them out through the use of their superior position in the country. However, they were forced into a pair of battles by Antony, collectively known as the [[Battle of Philippi]]. Brutus was successful against Octavian, and took his camp. Cassius, however, was defeated and overrun by Mark Antony and, unaware of Brutus' victory, ordered his freeman Pindarus to help him kill himself. Pindarus fled afterwards and Cassius' head was found severed from his body.<ref>Plutarch, Life of Brutus, 43.5-6.</ref> He was mourned by Brutus as "the Last of the Romans" and buried in [[Thassos]].<ref name="44.2">[[Plutarch]], ''Life of Brutus'', [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Brutus*.html#44 44.2].</ref>

==Epicureanism==
"Among that select band of philosophers who have managed to change the world," writes [[David Sedley]], "it would be hard to find a pair with a higher public profile than Brutus and Cassius – brothers-in-law, fellow-assassins, and [[William Shakespeare|Shakespearian]] heroes," adding that "it may not even be widely known that they ''were'' philosophers."<ref>[[David Sedley]], "The [[Ethics]] of Brutus and Cassius," ''Journal of Roman Studies'' 87 (1997) 41–53.</ref>

Like Brutus, whose [[Stoicism|Stoic]] proclivities are widely assumed but who is more accurately described as an [[Antiochus of Ascalon|Antiochean Platonist]], Cassius exercised a long and serious interest in philosophy. His early philosophical commitments are hazy, though [[D.R. Shackleton Bailey]] thought that a remark by Cicero<ref>Cicero, ''Ad familiares'' [http://www.attalus.org/translate/cassius.html#15.16 xv.16.3].</ref> indicates a youthful adherence to the [[Platonic Academy|Academy]].<ref>As cited by Miriam Griffin, "Philosophy, Politics, and Politicians at Rome," in ''Philosophia togata: Essays on Philosophy and Roman Society'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989).</ref> Sometime between 48 and 45 BC, however, Cassius famously converted to the school of thought founded by [[Epicurus]]. Although Epicurus advocated a withdrawal from politics, at Rome his philosophy was made to accommodate the careers of many prominent men in public life, among them Caesar's father-in-law, [[Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus (consul 58 BC)|Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus]].<ref>For a survey of Roman Epicureans active in politics, see [[Arnaldo Momigliano]], review of ''Science and Politics in the Ancient World'' by Benjamin Farrington (London 1939), in ''Journal of Roman Studies'' 31 (1941), pp. 151–157.</ref> [[Arnaldo Momigliano]] called Cassius' conversion a "conspicuous date in the history of Roman [[Epicureanism]]," a choice made not to enjoy the pleasures of the [[Epicureanism#History|Garden]], but to provide a philosophical justification for assassinating a tyrant.<ref>Momigliano, ''Journal of Roman Studies'' 31 (1941), p. 151.</ref>

Cicero associates Cassius's new Epicureanism with a willingness to seek peace in the aftermath of the [[Caesar's civil war|civil war between Caesar and Pompeius]].<ref>Miriam Griffin, "The Intellectual Developments of the Ciceronian Age," in ''The Cambridge Ancient History'' (Cambridge University Press, 2000), p. 726 [https://books.google.com/books?id=3yUkzNLiY4oC&dq=%22Cassius%27+conversion%22&pg=PA726 online.]</ref> [[Miriam Griffin]] dates his conversion to as early as 48 BC, after he had fought on the side of Pompeius at the [[Battle of Pharsalus]] but decided to come home instead of joining the last holdouts of the [[civil war]] in [[Africa Province|Africa]].<ref>''Spe pacis et odio civilis sanguinis'' ("with a hope of peace and a hatred of shedding blood in civil war"), Cicero, ''Ad fam''. [http://www.attalus.org/translate/cassius.html#15.15 xv.15.1]; Miriam Griffin, "Philosophy, Politics, and Politicians at Rome," in ''Philosophia togata'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989).</ref> Momigliano placed it in 46 BC, based on a letter by Cicero to Cassius dated January 45.<ref>For a quotation of the Epicurean passage in this letter, see article on the philosopher [[Catius#Sources|Catius]].</ref> Shackleton Bailey points to a date of two or three years earlier.<ref>[[D.R. Shackleton Bailey]], ''Cicero Epistulae ad familiares'', vol. 2 (Cambridge University Press, 1977), p. 378 [https://books.google.com/books?id=Fp487vO6Hs4C&dq=%22Cassius%27+conversion%22&pg=PA378 online], in a note to one of Cicero's letters to Cassius (''Ad fam''. [http://www.attalus.org/translate/cassius.html#15.17 xv.17.4]), pointing to evidence he believed Momigliano had overlooked.</ref>

The dating bears on, but is not essential to, the question of whether Cassius justified the murder of Caesar on Epicurean grounds. Griffin argues that his intellectual pursuits, like those of other Romans, may be entirely removed from any practical application in the realm of politics.<ref>Miriam Griffin, "Philosophy, Politics, and Politicians at Rome," in ''Philosophia togata'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989), particularly citing [[Plutarch]], ''Caesar'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Caesar*.html#66 66.2] on a lack of philosophical justification for killing Caesar: Cassius is said to commit the act despite his devotion to Epicurus.</ref> Romans of the Late Republic who can be identified as Epicureans are more often found among the supporters of Caesar, and often literally in his camp. Momigliano argued, however, that many of those who opposed Caesar's dictatorship bore no personal animus toward him, and [[Republicanism]] was more congenial to the Epicurean way of life than [[Roman dictator|dictatorship]]. The Roman concept of ''[[libertas]]'' had been integrated into [[Greek philosophy|Greek philosophical studies]], and though Epicurus' theory of the political governance admitted various forms of government based on consent, including but not limited to [[democracy]], a tyrannical state was regarded by Roman Epicureans as incompatible with the [[Summum bonum|highest good]] of pleasure, defined as freedom from pain. Tyranny also threatened the Epicurean value of ''[[parrhesia]]'' (παρρησία), "truthful speaking," and the movement toward [[Imperial cult (ancient Rome)|deifying]] Caesar offended Epicurean belief in abstract gods who lead an ideal existence removed from mortal affairs.<ref>Arnaldo Momigliano, ''Journal of Roman Studies'' 31 (1941), pp. 151–157. Summary of Cassius's Epicureanism also in David Sedley, "The Ethics of Brutus and Cassius," ''Journal of Roman Studies'' 87 (1997), p. 41.</ref>

Momigliano saw Cassius as moving from an initial Epicurean orthodoxy, which emphasised disinterest in matters not of vice and virtue, and [[ataraxia|detachment]], to a "heroic Epicureanism."<ref name="Momigliano, 1941 p. 157">Momigliano, ''Journal of Roman Studies'' 31 (1941), p. 157.</ref> For Cassius, virtue was active. In a letter to Cicero, he wrote:

{{cquote|I hope that people will understand that for all, cruelty exists in proportion to hatred, and goodness and clemency in proportion to love, and evil men most seek out and crave the things which accrue to good men. It's hard to persuade people that ‘the good is desirable for its own sake'; but it's both true and creditable that pleasure and tranquility are obtained by virtue, justice, and the good. Epicurus himself, from whom all your [[Catius|Catii]] and [[Amafinius|Amafinii]]<ref>[[Catius]] and [[Amafinius]] were Epicurean philosophers known for their popularizing approach and criticized by Cicero for their dumbed-down [[prose]] style.</ref> take their leave as poor interpreters of his words, says ‘there is no living pleasantly without living a good and just life.'<ref>''Ad familiares'' [http://www.attalus.org/translate/cassius.html#15.19 xv.19]; Shackleton Bailey's Latin text of this letter is available [https://books.google.com/books?id=Fp487vO6Hs4C&dq=%22Non+mehercule+in+hac+mea+peregrinatione%22&pg=PA61 online.]</ref>}}

Sedley agrees that the conversion of Cassius should be dated to 48, when Cassius stopped resisting Caesar, and finds it unlikely that Epicureanism was a sufficient or primary motivation for his later decision to take violent action against the dictator. Rather, Cassius would have had to reconcile his intention with his philosophical views. Cicero provides evidence<ref>Cicero, ''De republica'' [http://attalus.org/translate/republic1a.html#10 1.10].</ref> that Epicureans recognized circumstances when direct action was justified in a political crisis. In the quotation above, Cassius explicitly rejects the idea that morality is  good to be chosen for its own sake; morality, as a means of achieving pleasure and ''[[ataraxia]]'', is not inherently superior to the removal of political anxieties.<ref>David Sedley, "The Ethics of Brutus and Cassius," ''Journal of Roman Studies'' 87 (1997), pp. 41 and 46–47.</ref>

The inconsistencies between traditional Epicureanism and an active approach to securing freedom ultimately could not be resolved, and during the [[Roman Empire|Empire]], the philosophy of political opposition tended to be Stoic. This circumstance, Momigliano argues, helps explain why historians of the Imperial era found Cassius more difficult to understand than Brutus, and less admirable.<ref name="Momigliano, 1941 p. 157"/>

==Cultural depictions==
In [[Dante]]'s ''[[Inferno (Dante)|Inferno]]'' (Canto XXXIV), Cassius is one of three people deemed [[sin]]ful enough to be chewed in one of the three mouths of [[Satan]], in the very centre of [[Hell]], for all eternity, as a punishment for killing [[Julius Caesar]]. The other two are [[Marcus Junius Brutus|Brutus]], his fellow conspirator, and [[Judas Iscariot]], the [[Bible|Biblical]] betrayer of [[Jesus]]. It is unknown why the third ringleader of the conspiracy to kill Caesar, [[Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus|Decimus Brutus]], was not also shown this deep in Hell.

Cassius also plays a major role in [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]]'s play ''[[Julius Caesar (play)|Julius Caesar]]'' (I. ii. 190–195) as the leader of the conspiracy to assassinate Caesar. Caesar distrusts him, and states, "Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look; He thinks too much: such men are dangerous." In one of the final scenes of the play, Cassius mentions to one of his subordinates that the day, October 3, is his birthday, and dies shortly afterwards.

==See also==
* [[Ariobarzanes III]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* {{EB1911|wstitle=Cassius|display=Cassius s.v. 3. Gaius Cassius Longinus|volume=5|page=461}}
* {{cite book |last=Nodelman |year=1987 |first=Sheldon |section=The Portrait of Brutus the Tyrannicide |editor=Jiří Frel |editor2=Arthur Houghton |editor3=Marion True |title=Ancient Portraits in the J. Paul Getty Museum: Volume 1 |series=Occasional Papers on Antiquities |volume=4 |publisher=J. Paul Getty Museum |place=Malibu, CA, US |pages=41–86 |isbn=0-89236-071-2 |name-list-style=amp |url=https://www.getty.edu/publications/virtuallibrary/0892360712.html |ref={{sfnref|Nodelman}} }}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|last=Cassius Dio Cocceianus|title=The Roman History: The Reign of Augustus|url=https://archive.org/details/romanhistoryreig00cass|url-access=registration|year=1987|publisher=Penguin Books|location=London|others= [[Ian Scott-Kilvert]], trans|isbn=9780140444483 }}
* {{cite book|last=Cicero|first=Marcus Tullius|title=Selected Letters|year=1986|publisher=Penguin Books|location=London|others=D. R. H. Shackleton Bailey, trans}}
* {{cite journal|last=Gowing|first=Alain M.|title=Appian and Cassius' Speech Before Philippi ('Bella Civilia' 4.90–100)|journal=Phoenix|year=1990|volume=44|issue=2|pages=158–181|doi=10.2307/1088329|jstor=1088329}}
* {{cite book|last=Plutarch|title=Fall of the Roman Republic: Six Lives|year=1972|publisher=Penguin Books|location=New York|others=Rex Warner, trans}}
* {{cite book|last=Plutarch|title=Maker's of Rome: Nine Lives by Plutarch|year=1965|publisher=Penguin Books|location=London|others=Ian Scott-Kilvert, trans}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Gaius Cassius Longinus}}
* [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=239&letter=C "Cassius Longinus"] in the ''[[Jewish Encyclopedia]]''
* [http://www.attalus.org/translate/cassius.html Letters to and from Cassius] from [[Cicero]]'s ''Letters to Friends''
* [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Brutus*.html "Life of Brutus"]—from [[Plutarch]]'s ''Parallel Lives''

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cassius Longinus, Gaius}}
[[Category:Year of birth uncertain]]
[[Category:80s BC births]]
[[Category:42 BC deaths]]
[[Category:1st-century BC Roman governors of Syria]]
[[Category:1st-century BC Romans]]
[[Category:Ancient Roman generals]]
[[Category:Ancient Roman politicians who died by suicide]]
[[Category:Assassins of Julius Caesar]]
[[Category:Cassii Longini|Gaius]]
[[Category:Characters in the Divine Comedy]]
[[Category:Correspondents of Cicero]]
[[Category:Last of the Romans]]
[[Category:People of the Roman–Parthian Wars]]
[[Category:Roman consuls designate]]
[[Category:Roman quaestors]]
[[Category:Roman Republican praetors]]
[[Category:Suicides by sharp instrument in Greece]]