At the moment, UK politics resembles Shakespearean drama more each day. A by-product of this has been the discussion of Boris Johnson's father's comment on his son's political assassination - those famous words from Julius Caesar, 'Et tu, Brute?'
Several commentators have been quick to point out that according to the chronicler, Suetonius, Caesar probably said 'Kai su, Teknon?' - Ancient Greek for 'You too, my son?' Plutarch adds the words 'So fall Caesar'.
Shakespeare would obviously have been keen to choose the most dramatic and succinct line. 'Et tu, Brute' is certainly memorable and even though many educated people of his day would have swapped between Greek and Latin easily, it would have been more likely to be widely understood.
Of course we'll never know the truth. Maybe as one wag recently suggested, Caesar's last word is far more likely to have been 'arrrrgh!'
If you love a good mystery set in the Golden Age of Shakespeare, my novel Salvation is on Kindle Countdown until 15th July.
If you love a good mystery set in the Golden Age of Shakespeare, my novel Salvation is on Kindle Countdown until 15th July.
