prompter: What are the Ides of March?

assistant: The Ides of March is the 74th day in the Roman calendar (15 March). In Rome it was known as a deadline for settling debts. It is also the date of the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BC.

prompter: What events led to the assassination of Julius Caesar?

assistant: Caesar was unpopular with the senate due to his enormeous political power and his popularity and alignment with the people. He would often disregard their opinions and rather enact policies promoted in the public meetings that everyone could attend. In short, Julius Caesar was a political problem for the senate and he was threat to their socieconomic and political power in Roman society. Many senators conspired against him by striking him with knives as a group to disperse the blame for his murder. Caesar ignored a warning about this threat as he had a lot of misplaced trust in the members of the senate. When he walked inside without his guards he was struck to death with knives before anyone could react.

assistant: Caesar had been recently named “dictator in perpetuity” of the Roman Republic. Ongoing tensions between Caesar and the Senate, amid fears that he also planned to claim the title of king, overthrow the Senate and rule as a tyrant, were the principal motives for his assassination. Personal jealousies also came into play. According to a modern account by David Epstein, “the presence of so many personal animosities explains why the conspiracy was not betrayed despite its large size.” But the senators’ concerns may have been misplaced: Suetonius, writing nearly 150 years later, reported that, as the fateful day approached, a crowd shouted to him rex (“king”), to which Caesar replied, “I am Caesar, not rex.” Caesar had been preparing to invade the Parthia — a campaign subsequently undertaken up by his successor, Mark Antony, without lasting results — and planned to leave Rome in the latter half of March to oversee the attack. This forced the conspirators’ timetable. Two days before the assassination, Cassius told them that, should anyone discover the plan, they were to turn their knives on themselves.

assistant: The assassination of Julius Caesar was a significant event in the history of ancient Rome and had far-reaching consequences for the future of the Roman Empire. The events leading up to the assassination can be traced back to Caesar's rise to power and his increasing control over the Roman government.

Caesar had been appointed as governor of a province in Gaul (modern-day France) and, during his time there, he successfully defeated a number of local tribes and expanded Roman territory. Upon his return to Rome, he was appointed as consul, a high-ranking official in the Roman government, and he quickly became one of the most powerful figures in the city.

However, his rise to power and increasing control over the government worried many senators, who feared that Caesar was becoming too powerful and that he would abolish the Senate and become a dictator. The senators were particularly concerned about Caesar's proposed reforms, which they saw as a threat to their power and influence.

In response to these fears, a group of senators, led by Marcus Brutus and Gaius Cassius, formed a conspiracy to assassinate Caesar. On the morning of March 15, 44 BC, Caesar was attending a Senate meeting when he was suddenly surrounded by the conspirators and fatally stabbed.

The assassination of Julius Caesar had immediate and long-lasting consequences. It led to a civil war, as Caesar's supporters, led by Mark Antony, fought against the conspirators and their allies. The conflict ultimately resulted in the end of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire, with Augustus becoming the first Roman Emperor. Additionally, the events surrounding the assassination of Caesar have been the subject of numerous works of literature and art, making it one of the most famous events in ancient Roman history.

prompter: Have there been any politcal events in the 20th or 21th cenutry been compared to his death?

assistant: Using the Gregorian calendar, The Ides of March is the 15th March. Using the ancient Roman calendar, the Ides of any month would coincide with the first full moon of the month. In addition to being a full moon, the Ides of March became superstitious because Julius Caesar was assassinated on this day.

prompter: What other superstitions are there about the Ides of March?

assistant: While you might be referring to the 2011 movie starring Ryan Gosling, George Clooney and Philip Seymour Hoffman, the Ides of March originally refer to the 74th day of the Roman calendar - 15th of March, a day commonly used for deadlines to settle debts. The date, and the term with it, became notorious due to the assassination of Julius Caesar, emperor of Rome, in 44 BC. This event is seen as a turning point in Roman history, triggering a civil war that would end with his adopted heir Augustus rising to power.

prompter: I was referring to the movie. Who was the director and how was it received?

assistant: The director was George Clooney. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has a Tomatometer rating of 83% and an audience score of 73%.