The Ides of March

0:03 Calarugus Shark Media. Hi. I'm Mark Ellison, and today's theme is the IDEs of March, Julius Caesar, Ancient Rome and Shakespeare's greatest plays. Question one. In the Roman calendar, the iides marked the midpoint of certain months tied to the lunar cycle. On what modern calendar date does the IDEs of March fall the day forever linked to Julius Caesar's assassination? Question two. Caesar was not killed in Rome's traditional senate house during a senate meeting in forty four BCE. He was attacked in a different venue. Name the specific location in Rome where the assassination occurred. Question three. In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, who delivers the ominous line beware the IDEs of March that Caesar dismisses on his way to the capitol Question four. Shakespeare relied on a single classical source widely read in sixteenth century England for much of the material in his Roman histories. What work provided the main basis for Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra, and Coriolanus? Question five.

1:25 Beyond Julius Caesar, Shakespeare explored the peril of unchecked ambition in other masterpieces, which tragedy opens with three witches whose prophecy lures a Scottish general toward murder and tyranny. We'll be right back with these answers after this break. Welcome back. Question one, on what date is the IDEs of March? Answer March fifteenth In the Roman calendar, the Iides fell on the fifteenth in March, May, July, and October, and on the thirteenth in other months. March fifteenth, forty four BCE is the date when Caesar was assassinated. Question two Where in Rome was Caesar assassinated? Answer the Curia of Pompey in the Theatre of Pompey. The Senate convened in the Curia of Pompey, a hall attached to Pompey's theater complex, where the conspirators killed Caesar. The usual Senate house was under reconstruction after a fire. Question three, who warns beware the IDEs of March and Julius Caesar? Answer the soothsayer.

2:29 The unnamed soothsayer repeatedly cautioned Caesar, but his warning is ignored. Shakespeare uses the moment to underscore themes of fate in Hubris. Question four, what was Shakespeare's main source for his Roman plays, Answer Plutarch's Parallel Lives in Sir Thomas North's translation. North's fifteen seventy nine translation of Plutarch's Lives supplied vivid biographies of Caesar, Brutus, Antony, and Coriolanus. Shakespeare often echoes North's phrasing and structure. Question five, which shakespeare tragedy with Witches, explores fatal ambition answer Macbeth. Macbeth begins with prophecies that spur its hero to seize the crown, paralleling themes of fate, persuasion, and political violence found in Julius Caesar. It is widely regarded as one of Shakespeare's greatest tragedies. That concludes Today's five Daily Trivia questions. I'm Mark Ellison, and today's questions were crafted with the help of AI technology. See you tomorrow.