The Ides of March

The Ides of March .... it’s a term we hear often, a portend of doom in most cases. Do you know anything about the Ides of March?

The word Ides comes from the Latin word "Idus" and means "half division" relative to a month. Used in the Roman calendar it refers to the day that was the middle of the month. Back then it was a standard way of saying the 15th of March, May, July and October. It meant the 13th day for all the other months.

Today the Ides of March is known to be the date on which Julius Caesar was assassinated, stabbed 23 times in the Roman Senate by the well-known Brutus and about 60 conspirators. When soothsayer told Caesar that he was to be killed no later than the Ides of March, he joked that “The Ides of March are come,” believing the prophesy had not been fulfilled.

“Aye, Caesar,” the seer replied, “but not gone.”

I guess we know who had that one right.

It’s because of this that the term “The Ides of March” has always seemed to evoke a dark mood, partly because of Shakespeare’s play.

Luckily we live in a modern time where we neither refer to the 15th as the ides nor do we attach any feeling of disaster or misfortune to the date and can just enjoy the fact that spring is almost here!

Also, it’s only two days until St. Patrick’s Day!