March 15th – the Ides of March

ides of marchWe often hear phases and sayings and wonder where did they originate? The Ides of March is one of those sayings I grew up with not knowing the origin and this morning on our local TV channel 13 WLOS the question was presented – What is the Ides of March?

Here is what Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, has to say:

The Ides of March (Latin: Idus Martiae) is the name of March 15 in the Roman calendar. The term ides was used for the 15th day of the months of March, May, July, and October, and the 13th day of the other months.[1] The Ides of March was a festive day dedicated to the god Mars and a military parade was usually held. In modern times, the term Ides of March is best known as the date that Julius Caesar was killed in 709 AUC or 44 B.C. Julius Caesar was stabbed to death in the Roman Senate led by Marcus Junius Brutus, Gaius Cassius Longinus and 60 other co-conspirators.

According to Plutarch, Caesar was warned by a seer to be on his guard against a great peril on the Ides of March. On his way to the Theatre of Pompey (where he would be assassinated) Caesar saw the seer and joked “Well, the Ides of March have come,” to which the seer replied “Ay, they have come, but they are not gone.”[2] This meeting is famously dramatized in William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar, when Caesar is warned to “beware the Ides of March.”[3][4]

Here is what has happened this day is history according to infoplease.com/day in history:

Today in History March 15

44 B.C.

On the “Ides of March,” Julius Caesar was stabbed to death in the senate house by a group of conspirators led by Cimber, Casca, Cassius, and Marcus Junius Brutus.

1493

Christopher Columbus returned to Spain after his first visit to the Western Hemisphere.

1820

Maine became the 23rd state.

1917

Nicholas II, the last czar of Russia, is forced to abdicate his throne (March 2, old style calendar).

1937

The first hospital blood bank in the United States was established, in Chicago, at Cook County Hospital.

1965

President Lyndon Johnson asked Congress for legislation guaranteeing every American the right to vote.

2003

Hu Jintao was chosen to replace Jiang Zemin as the president of China.

2004

Scientists reported the discovery of Sedna, the most distant object in the solar system.
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Lynda Hysong is the owner and Broker of Connestee Falls Realty who also has 25 yrs. experience as a bank branch manager and mortgage loan originator. Lynda is very involved in serving the community of Brevard and Transylvania County. “Connestee Falls Realty TEAM’s Performance Outsells Promises”.

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