The Ides of March

The soothsayer's warning to Julius Caesar, "Beware the Ides of March," has forever embedded March 15th into our minds as a day to be dreaded. Dark and evil. But in Rome. and beyond, the expression "Ides of March" did not necessarily evoke a dark mood.In fact, it was only the Roman way of saying "March 15".

Legend has it that Romulus, the mythical founder of Rome, also devised the first calendar. The term "Ides" only signified the middle day of each month. An "Ides" occurred in every month. There were three terms used as reference points for counting the other days that were not named:

Kalends (The 1st day of each month)

Nones (the 7th day in March, May, July, and October; the 5th in the other months)

Ides (the 15th day in March, May, July, and October; the 13th in the other months)

The remaining days of the month were identified by counting backwards from the Kalends, Nones, or the Ides.As an example: March 3rd would be V Nones or 5 days before the Nones. The Romans counted days inclusive of the named day...Nones was included in the 5 days.

And so it goes something like this:

March 1: Kalends; March 2: VI Nones; March 3: V Nones; March 4: IV Nones; March 5: III Nones; March 6: Pridie Nones: March 7: Nones

Pridie is Latin for "on the day before".

Not wanting to change things that are extremely confusing, this system was used all the way through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Even in Shakespeare's time, sixteen centuries later, audiences attending his play Julius Caesar wouldn't have blinked twice when hearing "The Ides of March".

Julius Caesar was assassinated on the Ides of March, 44 BC, after declaring himself dictator of Rome for life. Caesar summoned the Senate to meet in the Theatre of Pompey on the Ides of March. A soothsayer warned Caesar to be on his guard against a great peril on the Ides of March, and when the day had come and Caesar was on his way to the senate, he greeted the seer with a jest and said: "The Ides of March has come", to which the seer replied: "Aye Caesar, but not gone".As the Senate convened, Caesar was attacked and stabbed to death by a group of senators.

And so, fellow Romans, do not fear The Ides Of March. Unless your name is Caesar. And a soothsayer warns you ahead of time.