The assassins disperse and Mark Antony, alone with Caesar's corpse, apologizes to his fallen friend and vows to avenge him.
He requests that he be allowed to speak at Caesar's funeral, and over Cassius' protests, Brutus agrees, on the condition that Mark Antony not assign blame. Mark Antony stands sadly over his mentor's bloody corpse, then, summoning all his self-control, makes peace with Caesar's killers. Mark Antony's servant comes bearing a conciliatory message, and Brutus and the others agree to meet with him. Inside the senate house, the conspirators stab Caesar to death, with the horrified Brutus delivering the fatal thrust. Caesar meets up with the conspirators in the street, and they encounter the soothsayer, who reminds Caesar that the ides of March has not yet passed. He adds that the senate has decided to give Caesar a crown that day, and Caesar is ashamed for almost yielding to his wife's fears. Decius Brutus insists that the dream was misinterpreted, and actually signifies good tidings for Rome. When Decius Brutus, one of the conspirators, comes to escort Caesar to the senate house, Caesar says he will not go, confiding that Calpurnia dreamed she saw Caesar's statue spouting blood. Caesar refuses to be intimidated by these portents, but to placate his wife, agrees to send Mark Antony to the senate house to say that Caesar is unwell. Caesar orders a sacrifice, and the augurs confirm Calpurnia's fears. Meanwhile, Caesar's wife Calpurnia awakens in terror from a nightmare, and tells her husband that dire omens say he must not go out. After Cassius and the others leave, Brutus' wife Portia awakens and implores Brutus in vain to tell her what has been troubling him lately. Cassius proposes that Mark Antony be killed as well, but Brutus cautions against excessive bloodshed and assures the others that Mark Antony is harmless. Cassius comes by with Casca and several other conspirators, and Brutus agrees to join them. In his home, Brutus ponders his earlier conversation with Cassius through the night, and as dawn breaks on the ides of March, he concludes that only Caesar's death will release Rome from his tyranny. Cassius approaches Casca in the street and enlists him in his conspiracy against Caesar. That night, a fierce storm rips through the streets of Rome, and rumors of supernatural phenomena spread. Casca says that Caesar made a big show of refusing the crown, thus inciting the crowd, before succumbing to his "falling sickness" and passing out. Later, Brutus and Cassius encounter Casca, who relates how Caesar was offered a crown by Mark Antony three times during the ceremonies. Meanwhile, Caesar confides to his loyal protégé, Mark Antony, that he considers the smart, ambitious Cassius dangerous. Outside the stadium, Caesar's former comrades, Cassius and Brutus, discuss their dissatisfaction with the present regime. Later, at a ceremonial race, Caesar is approached by a soothsayer, who tells him to beware the ides of March. After pulling garlands off Caesar's statues and denouncing the self-appointed dictator, the two men are taken away by guards. In 44 B.C., tribunes Flavius and Marullus watch with contempt as the citizens of Rome indulge in revelry to celebrate their leader Julius Caesar's triumph over Pompey.
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