March 15 is a great day…except if your name is Julius Caesar! We’ve all heard the phrase “Beware of the Ides of March.” But what does it mean? The word ides is a Latin word that refers to the first full moon of a given month. The Romans kept track of days on their calendar by dividing each month into three separate points marking the beginning, middle and end of the month. You may have guessed it – the Ides fall in the middle of the month.

It was an important day in Roman religious and political life. It was often marked as the day of many religious observances and the settling of debts, similar to our tax day, April 15 in the U.S.

However, The Ides of March gained notoriety due to the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BCE. Caesar was launching a series of political and social reforms that did not sit well with others in the Roman Senate. According to historians, 60 senators planned and participated in the conspiracy to kill Caesar, and he was stabbed to death by a group of senators led by Brutus and Cassius on the Ides of March, March 15th, 44 BCE.

This event marked a significant turning point in Roman history. Caesar’s assassination sparked civil wars that eventually brought the downfall of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire which lasted approximately 500 years.

The term “Beware the ides of March” comes from William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar. In the play, a soothsayer warns Caesar to be careful on March 15. He was also warned by his wife, Calpurnica, who was said to have had a dream the night before his assassination where she saw Caesar covered in blood, and by other senators who either knew of or suspected there was a plot to kill him.

There are very few events that we still commemorate which occurred over 2,000 years ago. The Ides of March was such a day. It shaped the history of the western world and it is why it is still remembered in the 21st century.