Ides of March...

[Bruce Dykes]

Here's an 'Ides of March' source (from:
http://www.travel-italy.com/ct/ides.html):

Ides of March

Beware the Ides of March. Julius Caesar ignored that warning and you know
what happened to him. But what are the Ides of March? Is there any such
thing as a single Ide? Are Ides anything like Druthers? The Ides of March
are what Romans called March 15. There's no such thing as a single Ide. Ides
are nothing at all like Druthers. Druthers are smaller, hairier, and have
fewer moving parts. Do other months have Ides? Yes, every selfrespecting
month has Ides. May I call April the 15th the Ides of April. No, you may
not, though local newscasters, for whom a little knowledge is always a
dangerous thing, inevitably refer to the tax deadline as the Ides of April.
Anyone with a third grade education (if he or she went to school in the
40's) can tell you right off that in April the Ides fall on the 13th and can
recite the rhyme: in April, March, October, May, the Ides fall on the 15th
day, the Nones the 7th. What's this about Nones? Okay, now listen carefully.
The Romans did not count the days of the month from 1 through 30. Instead,
three days in every month had names: the Kalends fell on the 1st; the Nones
on the 5th or 7th, according to the rhyme; and the Ides on the 13th or 15th.
And before you ask, there's no such thing as a single Kalend or None, and
neither of them is anything like a Druther. When a Roman wanted to say march
the 14th, she had to say: "the day before the Ides of March." ) It goes
faster in Latin) March the 6th would be: "The day before the None of March."
(you never couted after, always before). April fool's day fell 'On the
Kalends of April." After the Ides (the 13th or 15th, according to the month)
you counted the days to the Kalends of the next month. March the 16th was
"17 days before the Kalends of April." (with March 16 and April 1 in ancient
fashion counting as full days). It was complicated stuff. A Roman had to
know the rhyme In March, July, October, May; and when the date fell after
the Ides, he hadda be able to manipulate "thirty days hath September" pretty
quick too. My theotry is Caesar just got the day\s wrong. When told to
n\\beware the Ides of March, he had affairs of state on his mind. Dutifuly,
he bewore all day on the 13th, the wrong damn day. Nothing happened. On the
15th his guard was down and they got him, in Pompey's theater, at the foot
of Pompey's statue, where the senate happened to be meeting that day in the
temple of Venus that was part of the theater complex. The foundations of the
theater survive to this day, where the modern Roman restaurant Da Pamcrazio
invites passersby to dine where Caesar was slain. It's in a wonderful part
of the old city, near the Campo dei Fiori. The salad bar's pretty good, but
avoid the Texas toast, and above all, Beware the Ides of March.

Classical Trivia: ©1987 Victor Estevez - All rights reserved.
Site design and upkeep: ©1997 Jesse Estevez