The Ides of March, known as Idus Martii in Latin, refers to the 15th day of March in the Roman calendar. In ancient Rome, the Ides were considered an important marker for certain religious observances and political activities. Each of the Ides was sacred to Jupiter, the Roman’s supreme deity.

The Ides were also used as markers for certain religious observances and political activities, including the settling of debts and the payment of taxes. They were also important dates for the performance of public ceremonies, such as the opening of the gladiatorial games. But the Ides of March gained notoriety due to one fateful event - the assassination of Julius Caesar on March 15, 44 BC.

It’s funny to learn about that day and hear about the nine billion different ways Caesar was warned about his assassination, and all the things that happened that day that could have prevented his murder but didn’t. Things like waking up and not feeling well, his wife tries to make him stay home but at the last second he’s like “ahhh I might as well go into work today.”

He should’ve called in sick they day.

In the Shakespeare play, he goes because he’s afraid he’ll look weak. Maybe he went because he thought the Ides meant good things for him, and the assassins chose the Ides for the same reason?

The irony is they all ended up dead.

That's not so much irony as in the fact people rarely live to be 2000 years old.

According to Bruce Bueno de Mesquita in The Dictator's Handbook, Caesar's murder was (obviously politically motivated) due to him helping the people at the expense of many of his backers or Rome's most influential people. Caesar helped the poor citizens, such as by providing land grants to former soldiers, getting rid of tax farming, and relieving the people's debt burden by 25%. This came at the expense of Rome's prominent citizens, such as those who were owed money or were large landowners (i.e. tax farmers or wanted to buy more land). These people were well-represented in the Roman Senate and killed him.

[removed]