Tales of the Ides of March Trivia Quiz

Answer: New Year Celebration

The old Roman calendar did not count days in the way calendars do today. There were three established times of the month, depending on its length. The "Nones" was on the 5th or 7th, the "Ides" on the 13th or 15th, and the "Kalends" was the first of the following month. Even though March was the third month on Caesar's revised calendar, it was the beginning of the New Year on the old calendar, and also the first full moon of the year, and the Ides of March continued to be a date of several religious festivals and observances.

Answer: Anna Perenna

The Ides of every month marked a religious ceremony to honor Jupiter. The high priest would lead the sheep to the site of the ancient citadel of the city on the Capitoline Hill, where they would be sacrificed. The Ides of March, however, was especially sacred. Since it was the beginning of the new year, there was a feast to honor a goddess of the year, Anna Perenna, who was the goddess of the "circle" of the year.

Answer: Dictator Perpetuo

After the last of the seven legendary kings was overthrown and a new Republican government was formed, the ancient Romans vowed to never have a "rex" again. There were instances, however, when a powerful leader called a dictator was needed; in the case of such an occurrence the power of the dictator was limited to a certain amount of time.

The idea of Caesar being appointed "dictator for life" or "Dictator Perpetuo" made it appear to some that he planned to become another "rex". As it turned out, he only held this title for less than two months before his assassination. Even though Caesar's true plans and ambitions have been debated for centuries, there is, of course, no way of knowing if he planned to rule as a king or would eventually resign the position.

In addition, there is no way to know if Caesar's opponents were concerned about his absolute power - or if they coveted it for themselves.

Answer: Calpurnia

Apparently Calpurnia was frightened by dreams about the danger to her husband on the Ides of March. It is said, however, that one of the conspirators, Brutus, had stopped by Caesar's home, telling him it would be an insult to miss the meeting of the Senate and insinuating that a "real man" wouldn't pay any heed to a woman's dreams. Calpurnia wasn't the only one who was concerned for Caesar's safety that day.

Other friends, as well as his doctor, had suggested it would be better if Caesar stayed home. With all of the conspirators who were said to have been involved, it would have been next to impossible to keep the plan secret, so one must wonder if they had heard something or possessed uncanny intuition.

Answer: Lucius Tillius Cimber

Tillius Cimber presented Caesar with a request, which was to allow his exiled brother to be recalled to Rome. Said to have been at one time one of Caesar's strongest supporters, little is known about why he would have joined the group of assassins. It was written by both Plutarch and Suetonius that Caesar tried to send him away, but Cimber grabbed him by the shoulders, and pulled down Caesar's tunic.

The attack had begun.

Answer: Theatre of Pompey

The Theatre of Pompey, completed in 55 BC, was a structure that was built to house, in part, the art and other works collected by Pompey the Great on his travels and conquests. It also contained meeting rooms; the Roman Senate would use the Theatre of Pompey for meetings because it was large enough to hold everyone. On the Ides of March, 44 BC, the group of conspirators was waiting for Caesar in this location, where they had planned a gladiatorial contest.

They stopped him, and took him to one of the rooms there, although some sources claim that the room was nearby the Theatre.

It was written that he fell at the base of the "curia", or Senate meeting room, and laid there for quite some time before three slaves came to collect his body.

Answer: 23

When the stabbing began, in the version told by Eutropius, Caesar tried to get away, but was hampered by blood in his eyes. He stumbled and fell; the stabbing continued while he was helpless on the floor. It was recorded that 60 people participated in the assassination, and that Caesar was stabbed 23 times. Suetonius also wrote that a physician examined Caesar's body (the earliest known post-mortem report in history) and recorded that while only one of the blows was fatal - it had pierced his aorta - the cause of death was blood loss. Accounts relate that eventually a wax statue of Caesar, which showed all 23 stab wounds, was put up in the Forum.

Answer: Caesar was also the Pontifex Maximus.

The title of Pontifex Maximus was the highest office in the state religion of the ancient Romans. According to Livy, the office was established after the overthrow of the monarchy at the beginning of the Republic to insure that there was a priesthood to carry out religious rites. Caesar had been appointed to this position in 63 BC.

After Caesar was given the title "pertetual dictator", a coin had been minted that showed the new title and his likeness on one side, and his title of Pontifex Maximus on the other.

The assassins had not only murdered the political leader of their city, but also the chief priest. The title was later adopted by the Pope, despite its pagan origins.

Answer: He was only 18 years old at the time of Caesar's death.

Octavian heard about Caesar's death while studying in Apollonia. It may seem surprising, but Octavian earned much popularity among the Roman people just by being Caesar's adopted son and heir. While some (Marc Antony, for example) may have thought to take advantage of such a young, inexperienced man, Caesar's friends and supporters would have nothing to do with any treachery toward the young Octavian.

There was no choice but to make another alliance.

Answer: Marc Antony

Immediately after Caesar's death, Marc Antony, who had been co-consul with Caesar in 44 BC, worked to try and keep the conspirators from repealing all of the reforms that Caesar had passed. He may have even thought about trying to overthrow Octavian, who he saw as an inexperience youth. Octavian, however, carried the Caesar name, and had much support among the people. Lepidus, who had been Caesar's Master of the Horse, and consul himself in 46 BC, had already made an agreement with Antony. The alliance directive for the three factions to work together was legally binding and gave the three triumvirs total power; the only stipulation was that their power would last for five years, after which they would have to be reconfirmed.

The Second Triumvirate would rule for ten years before the "friendship" began to change between the three.

It wouldn't be long before Rome was ruled by an emperor.