The Ides of March…

Okay, today is the 15th of March and best known as the date when Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BCE. He was in fact stabbed to death at the Theatre of Pompey. The scene of his assassination and the betrayal by Brutus was brilliantly dramatised by William Shakespeare in his play Julius Caesar. Shakespeare racks up the dramatic tension when a Soothsayer warns Caesar to beware the Ides of March. Anyway, the Ides of March are significant not just because of Caesar’s assassination – in Roman times March was the first month of the year and the Ides generally occurred around the middle of a month, supposedly determined by the full moon which means the Ides of March would have been the first full moon of the Roman new year…but no Happy New Year for Caesar in 44 BCE!