Caesar: What man is that?
Brutus: A soothsayer, bids you beware the ides of March.
Caesar: Set him before me; let me see his face.
Cassius: Fellow, come from the throng: look upon Caesar.
Caesar: What say'st to me now? Speak once again.
Soothsayer: Beware the ides of March.
Caesar: He is a dreamer; let us leave him;-pass.
-Shakespeare's JULIUS CAESAR, Act 1, Scene 2
Marc Antony and CaesarMarch 15th was called the ides of March on the Roman calender. The ides was actually the term given to the 15th day of May, July, and October. For all the other months the ides fell on the 13th day.
The ides of March is synonymous with the assassination of Gaius Iulius (Julius) Caesar in the year 44 BCE. Speculated as one of the greatest Roman leaders of antiquity; Caesar was part of a three man consulate, known as the First Triumvirate. The triumvirate was made up of Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus. Caesar and Pompey had both earned their stars fighting wars and leading the great armies of Rome against their enemies, really, all around them (Gauls to the north and west, Carthaginians to the south and Greeks to the east). Crassus, however, was a business man, who hadn't seen much fighting. After hearing of Caesar's military achievement and the people's newfound support of him, Crassus attempted to create his own glory in his Asia Minor and Syria, however he was killed in battle against the Parthians in 53BC.
The triumvirate was now down to two men, Caesar and Pompey. This is the Rome that is glorified in HBO's TV show, ROME. Caesar's achievement in Gaul lead him to expand further north, first to Britannia, where he did succeed in his conquests, and then Germania. Unfortunately, the Gallic people were re-massing in Gaul and the Battle of Alesia is fought between the two armies and won by Caesar. In Rome, Pompey, having taken notice to Caesar's growing popularity among the people, has been plotting to get rid of Caesar, going so far as to call him a criminal. When Caesar heard of the treachery of Pompey he crossed the Rubicon back into Italy from Gaul to account for his "crimes". What was an even more outrageous action to the Roman Senate and Pompey was Caesar's marching into Rome with an army of battle hardened and loyal soldiers. These two defining moves made by Caesar caused Pompey to flee Rome to Greece, where at this point Rome will become embroiled in a civil war. The Battle of Pharsalus, which was won by Caesar, caused Pompey to flee even farther South, choosing to go to Egypt. Pompey was certain that the Ptolemy family were his allies and would grant him the shelter he needed to amass a new army to defeat Caesar. The Egyptian royalty, however, placed their loyalties with the highest bidder which was Rome and Caesar; Pompey was executed on the Egyptian coast.
So, now we're down to Caesar, the last of the First Triumvirate who had accomplished a series of considerable victories and had gained the support of the people. The Senate proclaimed Caesar dictator for 10 years, and then, a few years later, dictator for life. Dictator in this day did not mean what most people think of today, with characters like Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin. Roman dictators were allocated absolute power during times of emergency and, "Their power was originally neither arbitrary nor unaccountable, being subject to law and requiring retrospective justification." Caesar's intentions were to reestablish the Republic, but at the same time, Brutus and Cassius feared that he may try to keep the Julii family in power by creating a dynastic rule over Rome. This led to the conspiracy around Caesar's assassination, and the eventual "tyrannocide" of Gaius Julius Caesar. Brutus and Cassius met their end at the Battle of Philippi, Cassius dying in battle and Brutus committing suicide.
That's why the ides of March are so famous.
In case, you were wondering, I've always been on the side of Brutus and the republic.
Olivia <3
Brutus and Caesar"Only tyrants need worry about tyrant killers."
- Marcus Junius Brutus. ROME 1.11
Sources:
Wikipedia: Dictatorship
JULIUS CAESAR, William Shakespeare
ROME Season One, Episode Eleven, HBO
