Posted
on March 15, 2015
Every
once in a while, you hear about the Ides of March, or you hear a
line: “Beware the Ides of March.” There is even a 2011 movie
named The Ides of March.
What
exactly ARE the Ides of March?
It
is a day on the Ancient Roman calendar that corresponds to our modern
March 15. It was the date of some religious ceremonies, including a
procession with the “Ides sheep” and a sacrifice of the sheep.
There was a feast and a festival to celebrate the the new year, and
later on the holiday evolved to become the first day of a holy week
that ended with the date of the spring equinox (one of two days of
the year when day and night are equal in length).
So—what
should anyone “beware of” during all this feasting and
merrymaking?
The
Ides of March are now best known as the date on which Julius Caesar,
one of the most influential rulers of Ancient Rome, was assassinated
in 44 BCE. He was assassinated in a very public way – stabbed to
death at a meeting of the senate – and it was his as many as 60 of
his own “friends” and fellow statesmen who conspired against and
attacked him.
According
to Greek historian Plutarch, who lived about a century after Caesar
died, Caesar was warned by a “seer” (someone who supposedly
predicts the future) that he would be harmed no later than the Ides
of March. Shakespeare dramatized this prediction in his play Julius
Caesar, and put in the seer's mouth the famous words, “Beware
the Ides of March.”
Also
on this date:
Plan
ahead:
Check
out my Pinterest boards for:
And
here are my Pinterest boards for:
No comments:
Post a Comment