Beware the Ides of March...

...So said the Soothsayer in Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar. Of course, we know that Caesar ignored this warning, along with premonitions his wife had, and was assassinated on March 15th by conspirators led by Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus.

So, what exactly are the Ides? The Ides originally referred to the full moon at around the middle of the month. Later it referred to the 13th day of most months except for March, May, July, and October, where it referred to the 15th day. The Ides of March were a feast day dedicated to the Roman god Mars.

For how long was Julius Caesar Emperor of Rome? Julius Caesar was never Emperor of Rome. Rome had been a republic for nearly 500 years at the time of his death. Caesar, having marched his army across the Rubicon River to Rome (hence the phrase, crossing the rubicon) was proclaimed dictator in perpetuity. It was the fear that he wanted to dismantle the republic that drove the conspirators to assassinate him. The first Emperor was Caesar's adopted grandnephew, Gaius Octavian; later to become Augustus.

And he was assassinated at the senate in the Roman forum in 44BC? No, he was assassinated at a curia in the nearby Theatre of Pompey. A curia is a meeting place for discussion and the senate were the elders who met there. The curia at the Theatre of Pompey was used temporarily whilst the curia in the forum was being renovated.

And his dying words were, "You too, Brutus?", right? Well, it's often cited that he said "Et tu, Brute?" meaning "And you, Brutus?" but there is some debate over this. There are some Roman historians that support this while others cite he said nothing. There is also debate as to whether his last words were in Greek, "Kai su, teknon?" meaning "You too, my child?"

Julius Caesar was the first historical Roman to be officially deified. He was granted the title Divus Julius by the Roman Senate on 1 January 42 BC.