Myths of Rome SocialistWorker Take a look at an interesting article we found.
Is America the New Rome? London Telegraph Take a look at an interesting article we found.
Augustus's First House Opens in Rome Xinhua Take a look at an interesting article we found.
How we travel says a lot about us. And it used to be that our means of travel were a lot more civilized.
March 14, 2008
Cicero was right.
"The Ides changed everything."
Before March 15, 44 B.C., the Ides - days of the month that marked the full moon and were sacred to Jupiter - were just another Roman holiday. They augmented the 45 public holidays on the Roman calendar and in March, May, July and October fell on the 15th.
But Julius Caesar's bloody assassination changed all that. The Ides of March (for Romans then and historians now) marked a sea change in the evolution of the Roman Empire.
"Little R" republican government was well-established when Caesar came to power in 49 B.C. There were two Consuls with joint powers. Praetors, similar to America's Supreme Court Justices, were one step below Consuls and handled judicial matters. The Senate proposed legislation, and it was all approved by a vote of the people (the upper-class people, of course).
There was a codicil for "a special temporary office" of dictator during times of extreme unrest. But a quick read of Roman history tells you that they had no love for kings. They'd expelled their last one in 509 B.C.
If you read your Shakespeare in high school, you know none of this mattered to Caesar. After conquering Gaul, he returned to Rome, set up a rump Senate, and had himself declared dictator perpetuus. He even wore the ceremonial purple robe to Rome's Lupercalia feast, raising more than a few eyebrows.
He was scheduled to leave Rome on March 18 for a military campaign near modern-day Iraq (past and future presidents take note). But a group of 60 conspirators - who called themselves "the liberators" and included Caesar's trusted protégé, Marcus Brutus - had other plans.
At a meeting of the Senate on March 15, 44 B.C., Caesar came armed with hubris; the conspirators with daggers. According to Plutarch, they stabbed him 23 times, with the best of intentions. They saw him as a threat to Rome - which he was. What they didn't plan on was Mark Antony, who ended up in bed - literally and figuratively - with Cleopatra.
While the Shakespeare play is entitled "The Life and Death of Julius Caesar," its main character is Brutus and his struggle over the fate of Rome under Caesar and his pledge of honor, patriotism and friendship.
Written in the late 16th century, the play had contemporary meaning, as well. It reflected, according to reviewers, England's own internal struggle over succession, monarchy, kings and queens. In other words, the usual stuff.
Today, the Ides of March are mostly forgotten. Instead, we worry about when the 13th falls on a Friday. But given how often history repeats itself, I'd think the current crop of presidential candidates should be more worried about the 15th of March, don't you agree?
Share the Eye:
Blips #67 From the Martian Desk Take a look at an interesting article we found.
Hillary: Beware the Ides of March Huffington Post Take a look at an interesting article we found.
Beware? Illinois Wesleyan University Take a look at an interesting article we found.
I'm not sure what I think of the current crop of candidates. You wonder if their ambition for the...
Mar. 14, 2008 3:21 AM
What superstitions do you fear?
15% 8% 0% 38% 23% 15%
I'm not sure what I think of the current crop of candidates. You wonder if their ambition for the highest office is just self-serving desire and not in the interests of the voters or the American people in general.
The Ides of March is a great metaphor. Consider the fate of Eliot Spitzer. Perhaps the ancient Greeks had it right: character is destiny. We know Spitzer's true character now. Do we really know the character of the presidential candidates or does their ambition mask it? Shakespeare, if alive today, would have a wealth of material to create new plays. Actually, he could probably publish the original plays and just changes the names of the characters: Nixon, Bush, Clinton, or maybe Brittany, or (fill in your favorite...)
Beware the Ides of March!
more on the honor rollTo add a bit Mr. Peterman, The Roman calendar organized its months around three days, each of which served as a reference point for counting the other days:
Kalends (1st day of the month)
Nones (the 7th day in March, May, July, and October; the 5th in the other months)
Ides (the 15th day in March, May, July, and October; the 13th in the other months)
There are so many political figures in todays society that Shakespeare would have a field day on writing a play about. The tony award winning of them all would be, "life and times of GW" That would be a can't miss performance, considering the comedy that was his presidency for the past 7 years.
I agree completely that the "current crop of presidential candidates" should take in consideration that once they are sworn into office in January of 2009 they should be aware of this month, because as the old saying goes, "if we don't learn from the past, we are doomed to repeat it."
Knee Jerk Liberal said...
The Ides of March merely transferred power from one ambitious politician to another. Comparisons between the Roman Empire and present US World domination and a desire to “democratize†other political cultures are a bit of a stretch don’t you think? Roman history under the Caesars shows us a disciplined army and hierarchical government controlled by generations of one family with a specific plan for controlling world resources at huge benefit to itself. There was no sentimentalizing about intentions, there was a world out there to be “had†and it meant taking it by force and then working very hard indeed to control and govern from within.
There is a much stronger comparison available far closer to home the British Empire. Britain held sway over most of the world from over 100 years until the 1950s when America as part of the Allied Forces took over after World War II. Since then America has messily sprawled and muddled its way through decade after decade of covert interference and outward dabbling as it hastily gobbles up everything it needs to keep its fractious voting population overfed and cosseted on 75% of the world’s resources. But it accomplished all this with a smug, complacent, goody-goody two shoes attitude entirely belying its intent: that America is here to save the world from communism, from religious tyrants and despotic governments and to provide aid to the desperate victims of world tragedy that are often created by America’s desperate greed. American people are victims of their own propaganda and only the truly unworldly and deeply stupid could still believe that the American government is even remotely capable of restoring balance to a world that is completely out of wack.
Britain, now a doughty sidekick to American world interference, forcibly intruded herself in China, India, Africa and America entirely in the interests of trade and control of natural resources: tea, cotton, opium, sugar, cheap labor, rubber, gold, silver, diamonds, and oil. In order to protect their interests they imposed British government, education, Christianity, and civil engineering. To establish an England away from home the British systematically set about the destruction of the culture and religion of every country it occupied. At home people in Britain could rest assured that the world was a better place because of them as they settled down for a nice cuppa tea.
Britain merely set the stage for America to continue the muddle: they “gave†Palestine to the victims of the Jewish holocaust and America steadfastly supported Israel as it has became the bully of the middle east with US cash and US arms, causing mistrust and misunderstanding for decades to come among the Arab people and the West.
Where is the difference between these two countries, then and now? Absolutely none. The pre World War II Britain perpetuated a myth of upper middle-class, public school, fair play and cricket rules for its administration and a tight lipped, judgmental and forbidding Christianity dispensing charity to repress its lower orders. America has created an elite in corporate control (an rich class preaching the promise of equality, opportunity and wealth for everyone who works hard and keeps a clean house) and a smug and complacent middle class clinging to the hollow beliefs that they are a free, liberated and educated people. Instead of civil engineering America dispenses aid, instead of education it offers a TV culture and teaches a religion of fear, mistrust and self hatred.
cherann said...
My jaded perspective on politics is about to rear it's noble head. Presidents and the like of which that hold political power I'm afraid aren't afraid of anything. Their arrogance, deception and petty public displays remind me that although I am subject to the laws of the land, I am not required nor can be forced to place my hope for happiness or prosperity in their hands. And, actually, happiness and prosperity based on position or material things is so fleeting that what does it matter if one attains them? Much better to seek after solid character that results in the joy of the soul.
When political seasons roll around and the commercials begin to invade my small little corner of the world, I feel much the same as I do when I have to go buy a car. Through all the smiles, promises and personal claims, just how badly will I be ripped off this time? Knowledge certainly helps limit the damage, but won't ever eliminate it altogether.
There have been good kings and queens that have ruled, but their number is small and they achieved honorable status by going against the masses, standing up for truth regardless of the cost, and displaying a strength and clarity of personal vision in the face of their opposers that would be difficult to argue with. They were not popular. Wouldn't it be absolutely phenomenal to once again have a president who evoked true honor, patriotism and friendship? I bet such an individual would fear God and give due respect to dates such as March 15. One can only dream.