The Ides of March
Today, 15th March, is the Ides of March, the 74th day in the Roman calendar. In Rome it was the deadline for the settlement of debts. It was sacred to Jupiter and there were many associated religious practices and festivals on and around this day.
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Gaius Julius Caesar
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
In 44 BC Julius Caesar was assassinated on the Ides of March, ultimately precipitating the decline and fall of the Roman Empire.
Caesar was a bit of a warmonger really wasn't he (rather than a governor)? Maybe he expanded the empire beyond their realistic capacity to maintain it all and his assassination was just a rung on a ladder that was already leading downward.
ReplyDeleteI think he was first and foremost a soldier and wanted to make reforms that were not popular with the Senate. Empires do not last forever but the decline can take decades - cf Russia, attempting to make useful reforms after glasnost and now on a downward trajectory. Who's going to stab Putin?
ReplyDeleteI always thought the Ides of March was weather related.
ReplyDeleteI only had a vague idea of what they were/are, courtesy of Shakespeare.
ReplyDeleteI am quite sure that everyone is familiar with the expression "Beware the Ides of March" but I wonder how many are aware of its origins.
ReplyDeleteWe use so many phrases without knowing their provenance. Shame, really.
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