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- Beyond its literal meaning as a calendar date, the Ides of March has taken on symbolic overtones of fate and the limits of preventing tragedy. Against the backdrop of Ancient Rome and in the context of Julius Caesar's death, the date represents the struggle against trying to change seemingly preordained events.
parade.com/living/ides-of-march-meaningThe 'Ides of March' Meaning: History, Origin of 'Beware' - Parade
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Ides of March, day in the ancient Roman calendar that falls on March 15 and is associated with misfortune and doom. It became renowned as the date on which Roman dictator Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BCE.
- Assassination of Julius Caesar, 44 B.C. Conspirators led by Marcus Junius Brutus stab dictator-for-life Julius Caesar to death before the Roman senate.
- A Raid on Southern England, 1360. A French raiding party begins a 48-hour spree of rape, pillage and murder in southern England. King Edward III interrupts his own pillaging spree in France to launch reprisals, writes historian Barbara Tuchman, “on discovering that the French could act as viciously in his realm as the English did in France.”
- Samoan Cyclone, 1889. A cyclone wrecks six warships—three U.S., three German—in the harbor at Apia, Samoa, leaving more than 200 sailors dead. (On the other hand, the ships represented each nation’s show of force in a competition to see who would annex the Samoan islands; the disaster averted a likely war.)
- Czar Nicholas II Abdicates His Throne, 1917. Czar Nicholas II of Russia signs his abdication papers, ending a 304-year-old royal dynasty and ushering in Bolshevik rule.
You may have heard the phrase “beware the Ides of March,” but what is an Ides and what’s there to fear? The Ides is actually a day that comes about every month, not just in March—according to the ancient Roman calendar, at least.
- Alison Eldridge
- Overview
- The Ides of March Meaning in Ancient Rome
- The Ides of March in Pop Culture
- HISTORY Vault: Rome: Rise and Fall of an Empire
From ancient Rome to its portrayal in popular culture, Shakespeare's famous phrase has long carried evolving symbolism and enduring significance.
You've probably heard the soothsayer’s warning to Julius Caesar in William Shakespeare's play of the same name: “Beware the Ides of March.” Not only did Shakespeare’s words stick, but they also branded the phrase—and the date, March 15—with a dark and gloomy connotation. It’s likely that many people who use the phrase today don’t know its true origin. In fact, just about every pop culture reference to the Ides—save for those appearing in actual history-based books, movies or television specials—makes it seem like the day itself is cursed.
The Ides of March actually has a non-threatening history. Kalends, Nones and Ides were ancient markers used to reference dates in relation to lunar phases. Ides simply referred to the first full moon of a given month, which usually fell between the 13th and 15th. In fact, the Ides of March once signified the new year, which meant celebrations and rejoicing.
Yet when heroes in movies, books and television shows are faced with the Ides of March, it’s always a bad omen. Several television shows have had episodes named “The Ides of March.” And it’s never good news.
In 1995 alone, the Ides-related episode of “Party of Five” was based around a cocaine-related death and featured a near-incident involving drunk driving; “Xena: Warrior Princess” had its protagonist facing threats from an ominous vision that showed her and her travel partner, Gabrielle, put to death by crucifixion; and Homer Simpson’s rise to power within the ancient secret society known as the Stonecutters in The Simpsons episode “Homer the Great” leads to his self-proclamation as a God. In warning him of his inevitable downfall, Lisa plays the part of the soothsayer, quoting “Beware the Ides of March.” Homer simply says “No,” and laughs it off (much like Caesar did in the play) but, like Caesar, he soon experiences a swift undoing.
In 2011, Columbia Pictures released The Ides of March, a movie about an idealistic campaign staffer (Ryan Gosling) who gets a harsh lesson in dirty politics while working for an up-and-coming presidential candidate (George Clooney). The movie involves quite a bit of figurative backstabbing, but it’s a pretty clear allegory for the death of Caesar. Again, death and destruction loom.
Did the death of Caesar curse the day, or was it just Shakespeare’s mastery of language that forever darkened an otherwise normal box on the calendar? If you look through history, you can certainly find enough horrible things that happened on March 15, but is it a case of life imitating art? Or art imitating life?
Perhaps it was Julius Caesar himself (and not the famous playwright) who caused all the drama. After all, he’s the one who uprooted Rome’s New Year celebration from their traditional March 15 date to January…just two years before he was betrayed and butchered by members of the Roman senate.
Mar 15, 2022 · The phrase warns people to be wary, particularly of people within their immediate circles, around 15 March. In Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar, the soothsayer emerges from a crowd to...
The Ides of March (/ aɪdz /; Latin: Idus Martiae, Medieval Latin: Idus Martii) [1] is the day on the Roman calendar marked as the Idus, roughly the midpoint of a month, of Martius, corresponding to 15 March on the Gregorian calendar. It was marked by several major religious observances.
