Badge 7: The Ides of March

Julius Caesar was assassinated on the Ides of March 

Beware the Ides of March!

Many of you may have heard that phrase at some point in your life. Whether it’s a George Clooney film, or a Simpsons episode, the phrase has become ubiquitous in today’s society. But what exactly are the Ides of March and why do people use the phrase?

The Ides were simply a division in the ancient Roman calendar. The Romans did not label their calendar days sequentially, but instead counted back from three fixed point: the Nones ( 5^th to 7^th), the Ides (13^th or 15^th) and the Kalends (1^st of the next month). Since March has 31 days, the Ides of March would have been on the 15^th. 

So why is this important? Julius Caesar was assassinated on March 15th, or the Ides of March. However, the date was not considered unlucky until William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar. In the play, Caesar is warned to “Beware the Ides of March” by a soothsayer. Since that time, the phrase has been associated with death.

The "Ides of March" badge

What does this have to do with my Sporcle Quest? The answer is simple. This week’s badge required me to play three Roman themed quizzes on March 15. The quizzes were:

1. Historical Murder Match-up

2. In Plain English: Julius Caesar
3. Emperors of Rome 

While quizzes #2 and #3 were standard, I found the murder match-up quiz to be very fun. It provided a wide array of political figures and required the player to match the names with the dates and locations of their deaths. I was surprised to find that I actually knew 2/3 of the answers. I guess I must have been paying attention in high school history class. The completion of this quiz earned me a prize worthy of a Roman Emperor; a new Sporcle badge!

ALSO:
I woke up this morning and Sporcle had created two new badges that I achieved through my previous Sporcle play!  You can find out about the "Shoot for the Stars Badge" here and the "Who Are You?" badge here!

The 'Shoot for the Stars' badge

The 'Who are you?' badge