A little reason to celebrate
Ides of March
History ยท March 15
The Ides of March, the Roman calendar's midmonth marker, remembered for Julius Caesar's assassination and the soothsayer's famous warning.
Ides of March falls on Monday, March 15, 2027. That is 139 days away.
In the old Roman calendar, the ides was simply the middle of the month. Every month had one. Romans counted days backward from three fixed points, the kalends, the nones and the ides, which sounds tiring until you remember most people just asked a neighbor.
One ides became far more famous than the rest. Julius Caesar was stabbed to death at a meeting of the Roman Senate by a group of senators, among them Brutus and Cassius. The killing did not restore the old republic the conspirators hoped to save. Years of civil war followed, and Rome ended up ruled by emperors.
Most Americans know the story through Shakespeare. In his play Julius Caesar, a soothsayer tells Caesar to beware the Ides of March, and Caesar brushes him off. The line stuck so well that the phrase now stands for any looming bad turn, and it shows up in headlines, classrooms and offhand jokes about Mondays.
It is marked in the United States as well as elsewhere, usually in modest ways. Latin teachers and history classes stage short readings or mock senate debates. Book clubs pick up the play. Some people cook a Roman style meal with bread, olives, cheese and figs, foods a Roman diner would have recognized.
The ides itself was never meant to be ominous. For Romans, it was the middle of a month, and sometimes a payment came due.
Ways to celebrate
- Read or watch the assassination scene from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.
- Learn how the Roman calendar counted days using kalends, nones and ides.
- Share a simple Roman style meal of bread, olives, cheese and figs.
- Look up a map of ancient Rome and find the Senate's meeting places.
Dates
| Year | Date |
|---|---|
| 2026 | Sunday, March 15 |
| 2027 | Monday, March 15 |
| 2028 | Wednesday, March 15 |
| 2029 | Thursday, March 15 |
| 2030 | Friday, March 15 |
Also on March 15
Categories: History days