The Ides of March by Gerri Brousseau

Did you ever have an appointment you dreaded going to?  Be on your way somewhere you really didn't want to go?  I wonder what thoughts ran through the mind of Julius Caesar the morning of March 15th back in 44 B.C. as he made his way toward the senate.  He had been warned not to go.  The soothsayer had told him to beware.  He knew there were tensions.  But, was he so vain, so full of himself, he never in his wildest dreams would ever imagine anyone would strike him down?  Or did he approach the senate floor that day with the nagging warning in the back of his mind?

The Ides of March was just another date on the Roman calendar until the fateful day in 44 B.C. when Julius Caesar was assassinated.

Prior to the assassination of Caesar, the Ides of March was a division in the calendar based on the moon.  In Caesar's day, the Ides marked the beginning of the consular year, the time when the two annually elected consul took office.

Before Caesar left for the senate that day, he was given warning not to go, but he failed to heed that warning.  Can you imagine, as the senate members surrounded him, blades in hand, how he felt as the depth of betrayal dawned on him?  Even his most trusted friend, Brutus, was among them.  Betrayal, by a friend or lover, cuts so deep the wounds take years to heal and sometimes leave ugly emotional scars for a lifetime.  How hated was Julius Caesar that all his friends would turn against him when just mere months prior, he was hailed in triumph by these same men?  Wikipedia tells me Caesar was stabbed 23 times by 60 or more men.  Yikes!  Another interesting tid-bit of info was that Mark Anthony had heard of the plot to kill Caesar and was on his way to warn Julius, when he was detained outside the senate.  It is said when Anthony heard the commotion in the senate, he fled.  The Great Mark Anthony … fled.

Recently, I again watched the film, "Braveheart".  If you recall the scene when William Wallace discovers he has been betrayed by Robert the Bruce, the look on the face of Wallace perfectly portrays the disbelief and depth of hurt of betrayal.  (Kudos to Mel Gibson).  I can only imagine the emotion that Caesar felt at that moment when not one, but 60 of his closest friends and confidants betrayed him.

Have you ever been betrayed by a friend or lover?  I think we all have, although thankfully not to the extent Julius was.  I have experienced the hurt of betrayal, and the scars on my heart from it are deep.

Filed under: romance