Lent Day Eleven
Saturday, March 15, 2014 – Beware the Ides of March or Idus Martii in Latin. This is the notorious day that marks the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BC. Before the assassination, March 15 was just another day on the Roman calendar. Romans celebrated March 15 with the Festival of Anna Perenna, a Roman goddess of the year, which featured plenty of drunken debauchery and a carnival like-atmosphere. Sounds like Mardi Gras or game day in the SEC. But on the day in 44 BC, the soothsayers warned Julius Caesar to beware of the day and he was indeed stabbed to death on the steps of the Roman Senate lead by his close friends Brutus and Cassius. This just goes to show you that there are no friends in politics. The assassination was a result of Caesar becoming Dictator Perpetuus, or Dictator for Life. Before he got too big for his toga, he reformed the calendar to have 365 days, making January 1 the starting day of a new year for everyone in the world and added a leap year. When you are dictator, you can do whatever you want. Caesar’s assassination gave us such phrases as “Et tu, Brute” and others in Shakespeare’s play accurately entitled Julius Caesar. From this work, we also get phrases such as “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears,” and the phrase “It is Greek to me” meaning “HUH?” I am not certain if the assassination is the origin of the Caesar salad or not. Perhaps in their grief or celebration, depending on which side you were on, somebody developed a plate of Romaine lettuce and added some goat cheese in honor of Julius Caesar and named it after the Roman statesman. However, since Caesar salads seldom have tomatoes, I guess it would not have a Roma tomato. Get it?
Here's What I'm Thinking 