Caesar's death--oh, the air we breathe!
Rome. March 15, 44BC.
2050 years ago today, Gaius Julius Caesar was stabbed to death. Thus came an end to suspected tyranny and attempts at total rule. Or so the Roman people thought.
This is not an entry about the death of Caesar and the beginning of the Roman Empire. Rather it is an entry about how the death of this one man still affects so much of what we do.
Even still, this is not about the institutions of Senators or checks and balances or any other host of inherited political devices from the Romans. Nor is it an entry to comment on the disturbing parallelism between the fall of the Roman Empire and our country's downturn.
No, this is a different sort of entry.
First, let's get one thing straight. Caesar was not killed in the forum. I know, some of you will rush of to cite any number of sources, probably including the much, much later version by Shakespeare.
But the fact is that the Senate house (curia) in the forum was being refurbished, having been almost completely destroyed by fire.
Instead, on that morning of March 15 (the ides), Caesar set off across the forum, up over the Capitoline hill and to the Senate's temporary meeting place at the Portico of Pompey. The portico was the 'porch' or colonnaded area of the theater that Pompey (yes, the very same Pompey who was against Caesar) had built.
None of the theater or the portico is visible today except a small part of the undercroft in the small restaurant, Ristorante Pancrazio on Piazza del Biscione. In the same area, we can see the curvature of buildings based on the underlying destroyed foundations.
Now there is one more little twist to this story. No, there is no more evidence of the perpetrators or any secret document discovered.
Instead, Robert Krulwich discusses in NPR's Morning Edition for March 15, that given so many molecules are exhaled by humans, we are still breathing some of Caesar's dying breath. The number exhaled is not exactly known, though some scientists claim it to be about 10 to the 23rd. Even with that number, no one really knows how many we inhale after someone else exhales. Do we have one molecule or Caesar's breath or three? Who knows?
But one thing is clear: Caesar is still relevant and still affects us today!
Oh, and one more thing. Those ides. They sound ominous even now, "Beware the ides of March." But what are they? Very briefly, it is simply the Roman designation for the 15th of March (or May, July and October; the ides was the 13th day of other months.) At the time, it was no more ominous than saying 'Hey, it's March 15.' (And no, it was not at all like saying, "Hey, it's Friday the 13th!")
Tom
2050 years ago today, Gaius Julius Caesar was stabbed to death. Thus came an end to suspected tyranny and attempts at total rule. Or so the Roman people thought.
This is not an entry about the death of Caesar and the beginning of the Roman Empire. Rather it is an entry about how the death of this one man still affects so much of what we do.
Even still, this is not about the institutions of Senators or checks and balances or any other host of inherited political devices from the Romans. Nor is it an entry to comment on the disturbing parallelism between the fall of the Roman Empire and our country's downturn.
No, this is a different sort of entry.
First, let's get one thing straight. Caesar was not killed in the forum. I know, some of you will rush of to cite any number of sources, probably including the much, much later version by Shakespeare.
But the fact is that the Senate house (curia) in the forum was being refurbished, having been almost completely destroyed by fire.
Instead, on that morning of March 15 (the ides), Caesar set off across the forum, up over the Capitoline hill and to the Senate's temporary meeting place at the Portico of Pompey. The portico was the 'porch' or colonnaded area of the theater that Pompey (yes, the very same Pompey who was against Caesar) had built.
None of the theater or the portico is visible today except a small part of the undercroft in the small restaurant, Ristorante Pancrazio on Piazza del Biscione. In the same area, we can see the curvature of buildings based on the underlying destroyed foundations.
Now there is one more little twist to this story. No, there is no more evidence of the perpetrators or any secret document discovered.
Instead, Robert Krulwich discusses in NPR's Morning Edition for March 15, that given so many molecules are exhaled by humans, we are still breathing some of Caesar's dying breath. The number exhaled is not exactly known, though some scientists claim it to be about 10 to the 23rd. Even with that number, no one really knows how many we inhale after someone else exhales. Do we have one molecule or Caesar's breath or three? Who knows?
But one thing is clear: Caesar is still relevant and still affects us today!
Oh, and one more thing. Those ides. They sound ominous even now, "Beware the ides of March." But what are they? Very briefly, it is simply the Roman designation for the 15th of March (or May, July and October; the ides was the 13th day of other months.) At the time, it was no more ominous than saying 'Hey, it's March 15.' (And no, it was not at all like saying, "Hey, it's Friday the 13th!")
Tom
Labels: History
4 Comments:
Very interesting info. Did you ever see the HBO series, ROME, honestly, I cannot remember where Gaius Julius Caesar was murdered in that but it still was an interesting program.
I did not have the chance to see the series. I have heard both good and bad things about it.
Thank you for wrinting about our restaurant.
You're welcome. I enjoy your restaurant greatly and can't wait to return!
Tom
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