The public definition of Caesar’s homicide changed too. In the first days after the murder, it seemed that the murderers would get their wish: they were granted forgiveness by the Senate led by Antony. The homicide was briefly an assassination for possibly honourable purposes. The killers would be unpunished because they had not committed a punishable act. The peace didn’t last. Against the wishes of the murderers, and entirely undermining their aims and goals, the Senate granted Caesar a public funeral.
