Oh, yes
In March, July, October, May
The Ides fall on the fifteenth day,
The Nones the seventh, and all besides
Have two days less for Nones and Ides.
I'm finding that this post is filled with a lot of uncertainties. First of all, the certain things:
1. Today is the second holiday of holiday week, the Ides of March!
2. It was on the Ides of March in 44 B.C. that Julius Caesar was assassinated by Brutus, Cassius, and other members of the Senate.
3. Yes, as the little poem above states, all the months have Ides and, though lesser-known, Nones! The Ides of March are just the most famous.
4. Latin is awesome. :-)
So, uncertainties abounding . . . firstly, I'm not even sure if the Latin in this post title is correct. :-\ Secondly, I am positive that I remember hearing that Caesar was NOT assassinated on the Senate steps as is widely believed. We were in Rome on our honeymoon and I was sure that I heard such a thing. John can't support me on this, but I typically have the more detailed memory, anyway.
The tour guide whom, I testify, told us that Julius Caesar was not murdered on the Senate steps. Interestingly, he was from Glasgow.
Why Caesar was stabbed is a bit clearer than whether it was right that he was stabbed. He had acted as dictator for Rome, leading them in tremendous military victories. "Dictator" in its original sense did not have all the wretched connotations it has today. It was meant to be a position taken by a single strong leader to help the Roman Republic through a difficult time. And it was meant to be temporary. Certainly Caesar had been an able dictator, but when was pronounced/pronounced himself dictator for life, members of the senate took matters into their own hands. But, we know how much people look up to a single, strong leader who has helped them through a difficult time. The result was not a peaceful return to rule by representation, but a breakout of civil war, leading ultimately to the establishment of rule by emperor. Take that, Brutus.
Anyway, I have fond memories of observing the Ides of March in conjunction with Latin class in high school. Magistra Sadlon, our teacher, offered 10 bonus points for wearing a black armband to every class and 50 points for wearing a black toga! She herself wore a handsome black suit/skirt and a pin with the proper rendering of "Cave Ides Martium," whatever it is. I don't have pictures of those days, but I do recall, senior year, gliding through the halls in my makeshift black toga, grimly celebrating/mourning the death of Julius Caesar. I was never quite sure which it was supposed to be. ;-)
The Pantheon in Rome. Was it here?
