March 4th, 2010 
JoAnn Guida 
Image via Wikipedia
Why do we remember this phrase?
Was it the soothsayer’s warning to Julius Caesar?
Did Caesar listen to the warning?
The term, “Ides of March” in the Roman times was how they simply referred to March 15 – nothing special – just a day of the year. Idus (ides) was originally referred to the day of the full moon. Ides comes from Latin, meaning “half division” of the month. Every year has 12 ides – one in each month.
The earliest Roman calendar which is said to have been created by Romulus, Rome’s mythical founder. The calendar was complex & the months were organized around three days.
The three reference days were:
1. Kalends was the first day of the month is derived from Calendar from Kalendrium which in Latin means account book, was the first of the month on which bills are due.
2. Nones was the 7th day in March, May, July and October; the other months it was the 5th day of the month
3. Ides was the 15th day in March, May, July, and October and in the other months it was the 13th day of the month
Whoa - it got complicated to say the least – for unnamed days of the month, they were referenced by counting backwards from the Kalends, Nones, or the Ides and the counting was inclusive, that is counting the reference day of Kalends, Nones, or Ides. For example: say March 4 if would be IV Nones or 4 days before March 7th.
In modern times the term Ides of March is the date that Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC as he was warned by the soothsayer, in the William Shakespeare’s play of Julius Caesar, “Beware the Ides of March” – obviously Caesar did not listen to the warning.
Celebrations of the Ides of March and
the assassination of Julius Caesar
1. In Rome, in the place where Caesar was killed, each year in Hash House Harriers have a toga run in the streets.
2. In Atlanta, Georgia, the Ides of March the Atlanta Chapter of the Dagorhir’s have a Season-Opening National Camp out. This is it’s fourth year – a 4 day event on Thursday, March 11 through Sunday, March 14, 2010.
The Ides of March
“The Ides of March” – Thornton Wilder was a famous American playwright and novelist. He received three Pulitzer Prizes:
1. One for his novel “The Bridge of San Luis Rey”
2. One for his play “Our Town“
3. One for his play “The Skin of Our Teeth”
4. A National Book Award for his novel “The Eight Day“.
He wrote “The Ides of March” as an epistolary novel. In the book he tells the story of Julius Caesar in the days leading up to his assignation by using letters written by many different people which allows us to see Julius Caesar from different view points.
Caesar was an very ambitious, intelligent, energetic man who had the will to exercise power. People saw him differently as a dictator, military genius, and a great politician OR was he.
Check out this book as Thornton Wilder has make history fun. Let us know what you think.
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