What is the Ides of March?
Naming of the Day
Even though the word “ides” is typically only associated with the month of March, in Roman times, every month had an ides. Most ides fell on the 13th of the month, but in the month of March, along with May, July, and October, it fell on the 15th. The Romans didn’t number the days of the month on their calendars the way we do today but had three “check-points” throughout the time period. Nones and Kalends were the others, with the Nones typically falling on the 5th or the 7th of the month, and the Kalends on the first of the following month. (For example, the Kalends of March would be April 1.) The Nones, Ides, and Kalends are determined by the lunar cycles. The Ides of March, according to early Roman calendars, was the first full moon of the new year and was typically seen as a celebration of a new beginning. So while the Ides of March wasn’t always an ominous, seemingly-cursed day, it quickly transformed into one because of the death of one of Rome’s most famous leaders.
The Assassination of Julius Caesar
After an impressive military victory, Caesar was declared “dictator for life” by the Senate, a move that implanted worry into the minds of several senators. A group of Senators, led by Cassius and Brutus, were extremely concerned that, while beloved by the Roman people, Caesar might let the power get to his head, and decided the only way to make sure that didn’t happen was to get rid of Caesar once and for all. The story of Caesar’s death is quite famous and is depicted in William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar. The 23 senators gathered together at the Theatre of Pompey, and the conspirator Casca was the first to stab Caesar. From there, it was somewhat of a free-for-all, and each conspirator got a hand in the murder of Caesar. Brutus, one of Caesar’s closest friends, was the last to stab, prompting Caesar’s famous quote: “Et Tu, Brute? Then fall, Caesar!” Caesar’s death on the Ides of March that was forever immortalized in Shakespeare’s work took the day from one of celebration to a day that is surrounded by a reputation of bad luck and unfavorable conditions. On March 15, in 44 BC, Caesar was warned by many people and received many Romans that he ignored, leading to his premeditated death.
What was once a day of celebration quickly became overshadowed by Julius Caesar’s death. The actual event and Shakespeare’s depiction of it still allow the Ides of March to be enshrouded by the reputation it still has today, so this year and in the coming years, whenever March 15 rolls around, don’t forget to beware the Ides of March.
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