Episode 51. Marcus Junius Brutus: The Last Republican

Works CitedPrimary SourcesAppian. Civil Wars, Book 2. The systematic political narrative; useful for the civil war period and the conspiracy.Cicero. Letters to Atticus and Letters to Brutus. The most intimate documentary record of Brutus's intellectual world and his relationship with Cicero.Plutarch. “Life of Brutus.” The essential text; one of Plutarch's most carefully constructed portraits. Chapters 1–20 for the biography and the conspiracy; chapters 36–53 for Philippi and the death.Plutarch. “Life of Caesar.” Essential complement; Caesar's perspective on Brutus, the pardon, and the Ides.Plutarch. “Life of Cato the Younger.” Indispensable context for understanding the world in which Brutus was formed; Cato's death at Utica is covered in chapters 59–73.Suetonius. “Life of Julius Caesar.” Essential for the dictatorship period and the details of Caesar's relationship with Servilia.Secondary SourcesGoldsworthy, Adrian. Caesar: Life of a Colossus. 2006. Essential for the civil war period and Caesar's relationship with Brutus.Goodman, Rob, and Jimmy Soni. Rome's Last Citizen. 2012. On Cato; essential context for the world that formed Brutus.Holland, Tom. Rubicon. 2003. The most readable popular account of the whole period; good on the conspiracy.Tempest, Kathryn. Brutus: The Noble Conspirator. 2017. The best modern biography; rigorous, readable, and genuinely engaged with the philosophical dimension of his life.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/real-roman-history/donations