Today is the historic day of the Ides of March aka March 15th. Julius Caesar was assassinated in the Roman Senate 2,067 years ago.
This famous event became even more popular by William Shakespeare’s tragedy Julius Caesar.
The “Ides of March” become immortalized when a soothsayer in this tragic play warns Julius Caesar to “beware the Ides of March”.
This got me thinking…what the heck is an “Ide”?
Is there an “Ides of January” on through the “Ides of December”?
Are other “Ides” also seen as unlucky days?
In Roman calendars, the Ides were the approximate middle of a month. For long months like March, this fell on the 15th. For shorter “hollow” months, this fell on the 13th.
So here are the various Ides for each month:
Hollow months:
January 13th, February 13th, April 13th, June 13th, September 13th, November 13th, December 13th.
Long months:
March 15th, May 15th, July 15th, August 15th, October 15th.
These “Ides” days don’t appear to be especially unlucky (unless you are Julius Caesar). But you can always pick out days of bad fortune for any of the 366 days in our calendar.
Here are a few examples:
The Ides of January aka January 13th in 1919 saw the Great Molasses Flood of Boston, Massachusetts…
…A huge molasses storage tank burst causing a flood of the sweetener killing 21 and injuring 150!
The Ides of October aka October 15th in 1970 saw a span of Australia’s West Gate Bridge falls and kills 35 workers. It’s still the most fatal industrial accident in Australian history.
P.S. Let’s make this Ides of March lucky for you. Check out “One Big Thing” where John Thornhill reveals the one thing you need to be successful online.P.P.S. If you’d like to follow my journeys via email and get a free gift, click this link.