The Ides Of March: What Day is It And What Does It Mean?

The Ides of March, a phrase that resonates through history as a symbol of both celebration and caution that falls on March 15th in the Roman calendar. 

It was originally a time for settling debts and honoring Jupiter with festive rituals. However, its legacy took a darker turn in 44 BCE, when the assassination of Julius Caesar transformed it into a lasting emblem of betrayal and political upheaval.

Known in Latin as Idus Martiae and in Medieval Latin as Idus Martii, this date held immense significance in Roman culture, marked by religious observances and historical milestones.

Beware the Ides of March is a legendary line from William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, a phrase that echoes through history, conjuring images of ancient Rome, political intrigue, and dramatic betrayal.

Meaning of Ides of March

The Roman calendar functioned differently to that of modern systems and instead of sequentially, Romans used a method of backwards counting from fixed points.

• the Nones (5th or 7th),
• the Ides (13th or 15th), and
• the Kalends (1st of the following month).

The Ides usually fell on the 13th but also happened on the 15th in March, May, July, and October.

The Ides were associated to the full moon that embodied the lunar roots of the Roman Calendar.

In ancient Rome, March or Martius was the first month of the year which was a ritual seen in the numerical names of later months like September (seventh) and December (tenth). 

During this period, the Ides of March would align with the year’s first full moon, signifying a fresh start.

Over time, the date gained administrative importance as the day for settling debts and rents.

Religious Observances of The Ides of March

The Ides of March were originally rooted in Roman religious practices The month of Martius honored the god Mars, whose festivities began on March 1.

The Ides were sacred to Jupiter, the supreme deity. On this day, the Flamen Dialis, Jupiter’s high priest, led a ritual sacrifice of the “Ides sheep” (ovis Idulis) along the Via Sacra to the ARX, an essential religious site.

March retained its status as a ceremonial month even after January became the calendar's starting point.

The Ides of March also featured the Feast of Anna Perenna, a goddess associated with the year’s cycle. The common people celebrated with lively picnics, drinking, and revelry.

Additionally, some sources connect the Ides of March with the Mamuralia, a ritual where an old man dressed in animal skins was beaten and driven away.

This act may have symbolized expelling the old year to welcome the new.

In later periods, the Ides marked the start of a week-long festival honoring Cybele and Attis.

This period began with Canna intrat (The Reed Enters), commemorating Attis’s birth among river reeds.

The rituals included cutting a sacred pine tree, symbolizing Attis’s death, which was mourned before his rebirth was celebrated on March 25, aligning with the vernal equinox.

The Assassination of Julius Caesar

The Ides of March is most famously associated with the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BC, a watershed moment in Roman history.

At a Senate meeting in the Theatre of Pompey, Caesar was stabbed to death by as many as 60 conspirators led by Brutus and Cassius.

This act was the culmination of tensions surrounding Caesar's centralization of power.

Ancient sources recount ominous warnings leading to Caesar’s demise. According to Plutarch, a seer had cautioned Caesar about harm on the Ides of March.

On the fateful day, Caesar encountered the seer and remarked, “The Ides of March are come,” implying that the danger had passed.

The seer retorted, “Aye, they are come, but they are not gone.” This exchange was later immortalized in William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar.

Caesar’s death marked the end of the Roman Republic’s final chapter.

The ensuing power struggles led to the rise of Octavian (later Emperor Augustus), who became Rome’s first emperor in 27 BC.

Octavian’s rule formally transitioned Rome from a republic to an empire.

In the years following Caesar’s assassination, Octavian sought to avenge his adoptive father.

On the fourth anniversary of Caesar’s death in 40 BC, he executed 300 senators and equites who had opposed him, actions portrayed by ancient historians as religious sacrifices.