et tu Brute?

In the Roman calendar "the ides" was used to describe the 15th day of March, May, July and October. But every month in Rome had an Ides. In January, February, April, June, August, September November and December the Ides fell on the 13th day of the month, not the 15th. The most famous ides is the "Ides of March, the day when assassins killer Julius Caesar in the capital. "Beware the Ides of March" a Soothsayer told Julius Caesar in 44BC. But Caesar, the most powerful man in the world, was not going to be told what to do by some fortune teller... and he paid dearly.

Below Marlon Brando, in the role of Mark Antony, delivers the funeral oration for his fallen friend in Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar. Actually, Brando is good here, but Charlton Heston dwarfs him in the same role years later. I love this play.


This is one of the most famous speeches in all literature...