CAESAR. The Ides of March are come.
SOOTHSAYER. Ay, Caesar, but not gone.
(Julius Caesar, Act III, Scene i. William Shakespeare)
Today, of course, is the Ides of March, which in Roman times, meant the 15th of March (Ides meant 15th for May, July, and October as well, but meant the 13th for the other months). It was on this day, in 44 BCE that Gaius Julius Caesar was assassinated. Interestingly, Czar Nicholas II of Russia abdicated his power as ruler on the Ides of March, 1917. More recently (sort of), In Back to the Future II, George McFly was killed on the Ides of March in 1973.
This painting is called Mort de César, and was done in 1798 by Italian painter Vincenzo Camuccini.
1 comment:
I see we more or less duplicated each other's Ides of March posts.
By the way, the quote you've got there is from the beginning of Act III scene i, not Act I scene ii. Quibble.
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