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]

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

• A social commentary play, written by Duncan Ley, was titled "The Ides of March" and premiered at The White Bear Theatre in London, UK, on 28 November 2008.
• Thornton Wilder's 1948 The Ides of March is an epistolary novel set in Rome at the time of Julius Caesar.

References

External links

• William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Act 1, Scene II
• Plutarch, The Parallel Lives, The Life of Julius Caesar
• Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Augustus (translated by Clayton M. Hall)