The Ides of March refers to what?

• A. The date of Julius Caesar's assassination.
• B. The first day of spring in Rome.
• C. The anniversary of the founding of Rome.
• D. The date Caesar declared war on the Senate.

Answer: (A)

It's the date of Julius Caesar's assassination. The Ides of March refers to March 15, 44 BCE, when Caesar was killed by a group of senators in the Theatre of Pompey. This moment is famous because it signals a turning point in Roman history—the fall of the Republic and the rise of imperial rule under Caesar’s heirs. It isn’t about the first day of spring (the equinox marks spring in a seasonal sense, not this date), and it isn’t the anniversary of Rome’s founding (that celebration is on April 21). It also isn’t the date Caesar declared war on the Senate; that act is associated with other events, like his crossing of the Rubicon in 49 BCE.