The Ides of March, 2008

Beware the Ides of March, proclaimed to soothsayer in warning to the original man of the people Gaius Julius Caesar. I can speak for hours on the greatness of the original Caesar, on his skills as a warrior, his political acumen and his love for the people of Rome. And the Romans love for him, as well. He's a role model for future political actions, and the one man to compare all other leaders with. And on this day, the Ides of March... he was murdered.
All good things come to an end, and the great democratic leader was felled by 23 individual knife wounds given to him by friends and allies. His blood would flood the Senate floor where he had served the Roman Republic and it's people in so many different capacities. And while one can argue that he should have seen such an act coming, given all the colourful omens that preceded it and the fact that he was a renowned military leader and political tactictian, the assassins were able to catch him off guard while he was receiving their petitions.

The Roman Senate was corrupted by their own petty jealousy and feared that Caesar, whom they had themselves given the title of Dictator-for-Life, was becoming to powerful and popular among the Roman people. The fact that he treated his enemies with the same decency and friendliness as his allies also shook them up a bit. The Senate organized themselves into an execution party, that included long-time friend and adopted son of Caesar, Brutus. Most folks believe that Caesars final words were directed to him - in English it is quoted as "And you, my son Brutus" and in latin "Et Tu Brute", which just means "You too, Brutus?" A better lating would be "Tu Quoque, Brute, Fili Mi?" However sources on this are flimsy at best, and there is only one source as far as I can tell, and it tells that he actually spoke in Greek, and cried out: "Kai Su, Teknon?". No matter which version prefered, I would think he was to busy getting stabbed to point out each and every participant, and even if he did... he wouldn't be so polite about it.

So what were his last words? There's no way to be sure, but history agrees that as the military genius he was, he was able to see what was going on pretty quickly. He analyzed it. And came to a conclusion. And soon after the first few knives struck him, he yelled out - "But this is violence!" And he should know, he had lead many a battle, and successfully so. To the end, he was a General, and an observer. He knew violence when he saw it.

And thus he died, bleeding at the Senate floor. Surrounded by his friends and allies, the people whom he had given power, and had rewarded him for his great work.

On this day, we honour the greatest statesman of all. In memoria, Caesar-baby. Rome will be reborn.

(The BBC has the full story on his murder)