Do most academics believe that Julius Caesar wanted to become a tyrant, or that he was genuinely acting for the benefit of the Republic?

Answer 1

If you put ten academics in a room together and ask them this question, two things will happen: First, you will get ten different answers; second, at least seven different arguments will break out among the academics, several of whom will be arguing with multiple people simultaneously.

This question is actually difficult to address because we have to consider the layers of implied perspective in it: When we talk about the benefit of the Republic, what standards are we measuring that by and whose standards are they? It is entirely possible that Julius Caesar believed that the only way he could benefit the Republic was by becoming a tyrant/dictator/emperor.

The reality is that we will never know what Julius Caesar actually intended or whether he really believed he was successfully benefiting the Republic, or whether it was all about his own glory. We can't call him up and ask, and even if we could, how could we trust him to tell us the truth, especially if he wasn't being honest with himself?