THE IDES OF MARCH

THE IDES OF MARCH

Today is the Ides of March. Ides is a Latin word roughly meaning 'the middle' or 'halfway'. It is significant because it was the day that Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC.

Julius Caesar was one of the most influential men in the history of the world. He was born in 100 BC. The Roman Empire was actually the Roman Republic before this his death. As its leader, Julius Caesar extended the Roman influence all the way to the Atlantic Ocean in the west when he attacked and defeated Gaul. He even sent his legions across the channel into Britain. To the east, he sent his friend Marc Antony to Egypt to deal with Cleopatra.

Caesar provoked a civil war in Rome in 49 BC and came out of it as the supreme leader of the empire but he refused to admit that he was a dictator. It was at this time that some senators developed a plot to kill him to ensure that Rome would not become an empire ruled by a single person. The irony is that his death set off civil wars that resulted in the beginning of the Roman Empire. The Roman Republic stood for about 500 years and the Roman Empire lasted about 510 years. [If the USA follows suit, we have about 270 more years to dominate the world-but don't bet on it]

As dramatized by William Shakespeare in his play titled Julius Caesar, he was warned by a soothsayer several days before his assassination to "Beware the Ides of March". Brutus killed Caesar by stabbing him some 23 times. According to Shakespeare, Caesar said "Et tu, Brute" when he was stabbed. That is Latin for "and you, Brutus" meaning that he was shocked that even Brutus was against him and part of the plot to kill him. Several years after his death, Julius Caesar was confirmed by the Senate to be a diety or god. [They always like you better when you are gone]