Ides of March

This article covers the metaphor. For further meanings, see Ides of March (disambiguation) .

Vincenzo Camuccini : The Death of Caesar (1798)

The Ides of March (from the Latin Idus Martiae ) are a metaphor used in many languages for impending calamity, referring to the murder of Gaius Julius Caesar on March 15, 44 BC. Chr. Refers.

According to Plutarch , an unnamed Augur Caesar warned the day before the attack with the words: “Cave Idus Martias” (German: “Beware of the Ides of March”).

The day in the middle of the month was referred to as Iden (plural word) in the Roman calendar . In Martius (March) and in the months of Maius (May), Quintilis (July) and October (October) it fell on the 15th, in the other months on the 13th day of the month.

The metaphor serves as the title or part of the title of works of music , literature or the performing arts .

In the literature

• William Shakespeare used the term in his drama Julius Caesar , making it even more popular.
• Thornton Wilder published the epistolary novel The Ides of March about the assassination of Caesar in 1948 .
• Heinrich Heine published Zur Calming in 1844 , in which the Ides of March appear.

In music

• The jazz rock group Colosseum released the instrumental piece Beware the Ides of March on their 1969 album Those Who are About to Die Salute You , which can be seen as a paraphrase of A Whiter Shade of Pale by the group Procol Harum .
• The song Ides of March can be found on the album Church of Anthrax (1971) by John Cale and Terry Riley .
• British heavy metal band Iron Maiden's album Killers begins with an intro called The Ides of March (1981).
• The 2005 album Discovering the Waterfront by Canadian post-hardcore band Silverstein features a song called The Ides of March .
• The art rock band A Whisper in the Noise released an album called Through the Ides of March in 2002 .
• There are at least two rock groups called "Ides of March".

In film and television

• In 2011, turned George Clooney a movie about intrigue in the presidential campaign with the title The Ides of March - Days of Betrayal (The Ides of March) .
• In the series Xena - The Warrior Princess , the Ides of March episode titles are in the 4th season. Xena and Gabrielle are captured by the Romans and crucified. At the same time Gaius Iulius Caesar is murdered by a conspiracy of a group of senators.
• In the television series The Simpsons, Homer Simpsons daughter Lisa warns her father in season 6; Episode 12 ( Homer the Chosen ) before the Ides of March, as a metaphor for his imminent fall after he was proclaimed Chosen by a "stonemason lodge ".