BEWARE THE IDES OF MARCH, but why? William Shakespeare’s play, “Julius Caesar” branded the phrase and date, March 15 with a gloomy and dismal connotation.

In today’s commercial world when heroes in movies, books and television are faced with the Ides of March, it is almost certainly a bad omen. For example, in 2011 Columbia Pictures released the movie, The Ides of March, featuring Ryan Gosling and George Clooney which involved a pretty clear allegory for Caesar’s death and a monumental amount of backstabbing.

Outside theatre however, historically the Ides of March is completely non-threatening being that Kalends, Nones and Ides were simply ancient markers utilized to reference dates in relation to phases of the moon. Ides unambiguously refers to the first new moon of a given month, which usually falls between the 13th and 15th.

At one point in history, the Ides of March signified the new year, which meant celebrations and rejoicing until Julius Caesar uprooted Rome’s New Year celebrations from their traditional date of March 15 to January. This happened just two years before Caesar was betrayed by members of his Roman Senate and butchered on March 15, 44 BC.

So, did the death of Julius Caesar curse this day in history or was it simply Shakespeare’s mastery of the written word which darkened this day for history? Looking through history, undoubtedly one would be able to find other horrible things which took place on March 15, but is that not true for any date throughout history? Just as there are sure to be wonderful events which also fell on this date in the past.

Whether Caesar or Shakespeare is responsible for the heaviness which comes with the negative connotation of March 15, it is truly unwarranted.