Hello All:
Happy Ides of March! Today observes the tragic (or joyful) day when Julius Caesar was assassinated in Rome. But the Ides of March wasn't always such a dreaded day to beware of.
Ides of March
The ancient Roman's had a peculiar way of observing the days of the months. Due to the cycle of the moon, there were three significant times of the month: the Kalends (the first of the month). the Nones (somewhere between the 5th through 7th), and the Ides (somewhere between the 13th through the 15th). It's important to understand that where-as our modern-day calendar counts the days as 1-31, the ancient Roman calendar started a month (after the Kalends) with how many days were remaining until the Ides; afterwards, how many days remaining until the Nones. When scheduling an event for the month, people would consider these three important phases of Kalends, Nones and Ides. If an appointment were to be made--say--on the Ides of May, people would understand that there were x-amount of days remaining for that appointment.
As for poor Julius Caesar, his days remaining were certainly numbered and counted in March. I suppose those who plotted his assassination counted down the days until the Ides.
So beware the Ides of March!
