The Ides of March

For those of you in the theatre industry, today is a day to be remembered.

Or vastly quoted to the chagrin of our coworkers and family members.

It’s a day that was foretold by a soothsayer to Julius about being cautious. In honor of the death of Julius Caesar, here are some fun little facts about the fabled Ides of March.

#1. The date of the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BC

                It had to be done. Might as well be number one, right? We all only know of this day because of the infamous stabbing in the courts. Et tu Brute?

#2 Julius Caesar was stabbed 23 times, but only one of them was fatal.

                This was due to the conspirators being amateurs at murder. None of them were soldiers, so they didn’t know how to properly stab someone.

#3 He was stabbed in a golden chair

                Despite popular belief, and wonderful movies, Caesar was not standing up, or running while being stabbed. He was seated for the tribunal of the Senate at Teatro di Pompeo. One of the reasons the conspirators chose this setting was because some of them were already standing behind the chair, all set to stab Caesar in the back. (ouch)

#4 Thick togas

                The fabric used to make the popular toga of the day was often built in thick folds of wool. Because of this, the daggers took a bit longer to penetrate through the fabric and reach their mark, it also helped them to conceal the daggers until the time.

#5 Five Details

                There are five written accounts of Caesars death. Plutarch, Suetonius, Appian, Cassius Dio and Nicolaus of Damascus. How’s that for being popular. The only other person to have multiple accounts written about them was Christ. (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.)

#6 Smart Killers

                The men responsible for the assassination were all rational and highly educated men. Brutus and Cassius were praetors, and Casca was a tribune of the people.

#7 “Hail Caesar!”

                There have been counless Caesar’s in cinema history. Among those that can claim to have been stabbed are: Claude Rains, Rex Harrison, Kenneth Williams, Fritz Leiber, Timothy Dalton and the great John Gielgud.

So, in honor of the Ides of March we kindly ask you to refrain from large groups and knives.