In 200 BC To The Romans, The Ides Of Each Month, Including March 15, Are Sacred To Jupiter And Used As A Standard Deadline For Settling Debts

Beware the Ides of March, or at least, be aware of when “the Ides” even takes place (March 15). The word “Ides” is derived from the Latin word “idus,” which refers to the middle day of any month in the ancient Roman calendar. The Ides are specifically the fifteenth day of the months of March, May, July, or October, and the thirteenth day of the remaining months. The Ides were the designated days for settling debt each month in the Roman empire and generally included the seven days preceding the Ides for this purpose. No doubt debtors who could not pay their debts considered the Ides to be unlucky days as they were typically thrown into prison or forced into slavery.

• 600 BC – Early Romans develop a lunisolar calendar that organizes months around three anchor days, the Kalends, Nones, and Ides, with the Ides originally marking the full moon near the middle of each month.
• 200 BC – By the late Republic, the Ides of each month, including March 15, are sacred to Jupiter and used as a standard deadline for settling debts, with the Flamen Dialis offering the “Ides sheep” in sacrifice along the Via Sacra.
• 2nd Century BC – Romans celebrate the goddess Anna Perenna on March 15 with picnics, heavy drinking, and games along the Tiber’s banks, marking the completion of the yearly cycle and, in earlier times, the Roman New Year.
• 1st Century BC – As eastern cults spread in Rome, the Ides of March become the traditional start of a week of rites for the goddess Cybele and her consort Attis, beginning with the “Reed Entering” ceremony that recalls Attis’s mythic birth.
• 44 BC – Julius Caesar is assassinated by conspirators
• 1599 – William Shakespeare’s play, In Act I, Scene II of Julius Caesar, Shakespeare introduces a soothsayer to offer a stark warning to Caesar: “Beware the ides of March.” In the play, Caesar gives little thought to the words, but he should have taken them more to heart—because he may have lived to lead another day.
• 1767 –  Andrew Jackson, the 7th U.S. president, was born March 15, 1767.
• 19th Century – Through paintings, historical novels, and school curricula focused on Caesar and Shakespeare, the Ides of March becomes widely known in Western culture as shorthand for political treachery and ominous turning points.
• 1820 – Maine became the 23rd state
• 1917 – In 1917, Czar Nicholas II of Russia abdicated his throne, ending a 304-year royal dynasty.
• 1939 – Nazi troops attack and seize the provinces of Czechoslovakia.
• 1941 – A severe blizzard struck North Dakota, Minnesota, and areas in Canada in 1941. Wind gusts surpassed 70 miles per hour in Duluth, Minnesota, and reached 85 miles per hour in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
• 1948 – Thornton Wilder published The Ides of March, a novel set in Caesar’s Rome,
• 1952 – The heaviest rainfall ever recorded in a 24 hour period: 73.62 inches over the Indian Ocean island of La Réunion.
• 1955 – A “The Simpsons” episode heavily references the Ides of March.
• 1970 – the year the song ‘Vehicle’ was released by rock band The Ides Of March.
• 1971 – the year in which the “Ed Sullivan Show” was cancelled on Ides Of March, ending a 23-year-long reign.
• 1985 – Symbolics.com became the first internet domain name registered
• 2001 – the year the movie “The Ides Of March” was released.
• 2003 – the year in which actress Thora Hird died on the Ides of March.
• 60 – the number of senators present at the time of Caesar’s assassination.
• 23 – the number of stab wounds on Julius Caesar.
• The Romans considered the Ides the time to settle outstanding debts.
• The term Ides derives from the Latin word iduare (Latin: “to divide”), with the full moon serving as the division point in the middle of each month.
• In the early Roman calendar, the year began in March, so the Ides of March marked the first full moon of the new year and carried special seasonal weight.
• In the traditional Roman calendar, days were not counted forward from 1 to 30 or 31. Instead, three fixed reference points are structured every month: the Kalends (the first day of the month), the Nones (usually the 5th, or the 7th in March, May, July, and October), and the Ides (usually the 13th, or the 15th in those same four months).
• The Ides of March was a busy day on the Roman religious calendar. It was sacred to Jupiter, and ancient sources describe a white sheep, the ovis Idulis, being led along the Via Sacra and sacrificed by Jupiter’s high priest.
• The date was also associated with the festival of Anna Perenna, a goddess of the year, which involved feasting and drinking outside the city to mark the turning of the seasonal cycle.
• In the imperial period, the Ides of March became connected with rites for Cybele and Attis, including the cutting of a sacred pine that symbolized Attis and prepared the way for later springtime rebirth rituals.
• The Ides of Mach around the world:
  • Belarus – Constitution Day, The separation of powers is observed on Constitution Day.
  • Liberia – J.J. Roberts Day – The birthday of the first president of Liberia is celebrated.
  • Hungary – National Day – The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 is celebrated.
  • Palau – Youth Day – A day to celebrate the youths of the country in full swing.
• Here are three myths about the Ides of March killing of Emperor Julius Caesar:
  • Myth #1:
    Julius Caesar was admonished to “Beware the Ides of March” by an unknown Soothsayer.
    False: The omen was actually “Beware the next 30 days” and was prophesied on February 15, 44 B.C. by an Etruscan Soothsayer named Spurinna.
  • Myth #2:
    Brutus was Caesar’s best friend and led the assassination plot.
    False: There were in fact three conspirators: Brutus, Cassius, and Decimus. Decimus was known to be most trusted by Caesar and is considered to have been the leader of the murder conspiracy.
  • Myth #3:
    Caesar nobly uttered “Et tu, Brute” (you too, Brutus) with his dying breath.
    False: Caesar singling out Brutus as he lay dying was an invention of the Renaissance movement. The emperor was a trained soldier who fought for his life, tried to escape the ambush, and never uttered these words.

Sources: 

National Today

Days of the Year

Almanac