Portrait of Julius Caesar by Mark James Miller
When members of the Roman Senate came to Julius Caesar to inform him of the award of special distinctions, he did not get up at the sight of them, as was customary, and did not show respect to the esteemed body. This behaviour of Caesar was one of the main reasons for the decision to assassinate the dictator.
People of the time tried to explain such disrespectful and unreasonable behaviour of Caesar by his temporary indisposition – he was supposedly suffering from severe diarrhoea at that time. This explanation, however, does not seem very convincing, considering the fact that Caesar got up immediately after the visitation and went home.
