ides of march

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The Ides of March

***** Location: Italy, ancient Rome
***** Season: Spring
***** Category: Heavens

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Explanation

The Ides of March (Latin: Idus Martias)
is the name of the date 15 March in the Roman calendar. The term ides was used for the 15th day of the months of March, May, July, and October, and the 13th day of the other eight months.
In Roman times, 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 44 BC, the story of which was famously dramatized in William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar.


Vincenzo Camuccini, Mort de César, 1798


The term idūs (ides) is thought to have originally been 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).
Caesar was assassinated on the Ides of March, 44 BC, after declaring himself dictator of Rome for life.

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The Ides of March

The soothsayer's warning to Julius Caesar,
"Beware the Ides of March,"
has forever imbued that date with a sense of foreboding. But in Roman times the expression "Ides of March" did not necessarily evoke a dark mood—it was simply the standard way of saying "March 15." Surely such a fanciful expression must signify something more than merely another day of the year? Not so. Even in Shakespeare's time, sixteen centuries later, audiences attending his play Julius Caesar wouldn't have blinked twice upon hearing the date called the Ides.

The term Ides comes from the earliest Roman calendar, which is said to have been devised by Romulus, the mythical founder of Rome. Whether it was Romulus or not, the inventor of this calendar had a penchant for complexity. The Roman calendar organized its months around three days, each of which served as a reference point for counting the other days:

Kalends (1st day of the 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, unnamed days of the month were identified by counting backwards from the Kalends, Nones, or the Ides.
For example, March 3 would be V Nones—5 days before the Nones (the Roman method of counting days was inclusive; in other words, the Nones would be counted as one of the 5 days).
source : www.infoplease.com


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Calendar Systems of the World


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Worldwide use


Die Iden des März
Die Iden des März (von lateinisch Idus Martiae) sind eine in vielen Sprachen gebräuchliche Metapher für bevorstehendes Unheil, die auf die Ermordung Gaius Iulius Caesars am 15. März des Jahres 44 vor Christus Bezug nimmt.

Nach Plutarch warnte der Augur Titus Vestricius Spurinna Caesar am Tage vor dem Anschlag mit den Worten: „Cave Idus Martias“
(deutsch: „Hüte dich vor den Iden des März“).

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Things found on the way


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HAIKU

Ides of March ...
anyone remember
the history teacher?

Gabi Greve
Japan, March 15, 2009

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Ides of March---
a math teacher defines
the median of a sample

- Shared by Fred Masarani
Joys of Japan, March 2012


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Ides of March
a squirrel trapezes along
the high tension wire

Angelee Deodhar
India, March 2013



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Related words

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