Julius Caesar: Superstition In the work of Julius Caesar, we see a brief picture of Roman life during the period of the First Triumvirate. In this snapshot we see many unfortunate things. Shakespeare gives us the idea that many people try to get around what the future holds, such as unfortunate things, by being superstitious. Superstition seems to play a fundamental role in the daily lives of most Roman citizens. The setting of the first scene is based on superstition, the Feast of Lupercal. This holiday is in honor of the god Pan, the queen of fertility. During this time, infertile women should be able to procreate and fertile women should be able to father more. It is also a supposed time of glorification and sexual happiness. Other scenes describe how mysterious soothsayers roam the streets throughout Rome, supposedly given the power to predict the future. Dictating what will happen through pithy tidbits, these people can also be considered superstitious. In the opening scene, a soothsayer, old in his years, warns Caesar to "Beware the Ides of March", a warning of Caesar's impending death. Even though soothsayers are considered by many to be crazy and out of touch, belonging to the lower classes, many of them, including of course the soothsayer Caesar meets, are indeed right. Since they have no formal offices or shops and predict what will happen for free, one can easily understand why citizens would distrust their predictions. Superstition, in general elements such as the Feast of Lupercal, as well as on a personal level such as with the soothsayers, is a major factor in determining the events and outcome of Julius Caesar, a significant force throughout the entire course of the play . As the play develops, we see some signs of Caesar's tragic end. Aside from the fortune teller's warning, we also see another sign during Caesar's visit with the Augerers, the last "psychics". They find "No heart in the beast", which they interpret as advice to Caesar to stay home. Caesar rejects this and considers it a reproach from the gods, meaning that he is a coward if he does not come out, and therefore dismisses the wise advice as hearsay. However, the next morning, his wife Calphurnia wakes up scared due to a horrible nightmare.