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Ides of March

 
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Ides of March

From our Archives: Today's Highlights, March 15, 2005

Beware the Ides of March! Julius Caesar was said to have been assassinated on this date in 44 B.C. by followers of Cassius and Brutus. In Shakespeare's play, Caesar, betrayed by his friend, dies with the words, "Et tu, Brute? Then fall Caesar!" The Ides falls on the 15th day of March, May, July and October; in the rest of the months, it is the 13th.
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History Dictionary:

ides of March

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March 15 in the ancient Roman calendar; the day in 44 b.c. on which Julius Caesar was assassinated.

Wikipedia:

Ides of March

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Vincenzo Camuccini, Mort de César, 1798.

The ides of March (Latin: Idus Martias) is the name of March 15 in the Roman calendar. The term ides was used for the 15th day of the months of March, May, July, and October.[1] The Ides of March was a festive day dedicated to the god Mars and a military parade was usually held. In modern times, the term Ides of March is best known as the date that Julius Caesar was assassinated in 709 AUC or 44 B.C. In William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, Caesar is warned to "beware the Ides of March."[2]

Contents

Etymology

The term idūs (ides) originally referred to the day of the full moon. The Romans considered this an auspicious day in their calendar. The word ides comes from Latin, meaning "half division" (of a month) but is probably of non-Indo-European origin.[3]

Observances

  • The Ides of March is celebrated every year by the Rome Hash House Harriers with a toga run in the streets of Rome, in the same place where Julius Caesar was killed.
  • The Atlanta Chapter of the Dagorhir Battle Games Association hosts an annual spring event at Red Horse Stables on the weekend closest to the 15th of March. The event is appropriately named "The Ides of March".
  • The Temple Hill Association in New Windsor, NY holds an annual dinner in honor of the Ides of March because it is also the day that General George Washington quelled a mutiny of his Officers in 1783.

Usage in modern popular culture

References

  1. ^ Merriam-Webster Dictionary, ides
  2. ^ William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Act 1, Scene II
  3. ^ Webster's Third New International Dictionary (1986), Unabridged (Merriam-Webster Inc. Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S.A.).

External links


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Ides of March

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Answers Corporation Spotlight. © 1999-2009 by Answers Corporation. All rights reserved.  Read more
History Dictionary. The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Ides of March" Read more

 

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