Well, today’s that day again — the Ides of March, a day with a sinister reputation that’s probably undeserved.
We all remember that before Caesar’s time in Roman history, there were ten months and the first month of the year was March. (Back then it was called Martius, after Mars, the war god.) Ides means “split” as the lunar month was split into three parts, the ides being in the middle of the month.
And of course, we all know the saying “Beware the Ides of March,” is not meant to imply that the Ides of March itself is sinister. This was just a normal day in the Roman calendar and even though the word is plural it denotes a single day that falls in the middle of the month.
To be clear, the Ides weren’t anything — just a name given to a division of the month and every month had its Ides.
However, because Shakespeare incorporated the words into his play Julius Caesar, the Ides became associated with bad luck. A seer called Spurinna warned Caesar about the Ides of March a month before his death and later on the morning of his death. The place where he was assassinated was cursed and left vacant for a while and later it was converted into a public latrine.
So depending on your viewpoint, you can blame or credit Shakespeare for the Ides reputation. in all likelihood, today will probably feel like any other day of the month to you….
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