# "Beware The Ides of March" (The What?) (This time in the correct forum.)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beware-the-ides-of-march-the-what-this-time-in-the-correct-forum/37137>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 16, 2000, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beware-the-ides-of-march-the-what-this-time-in-the-correct-forum/37137 "2000-10-16T17:07:22Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![DRY](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@DRY](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DRY)\
**Post date:** [October 17, 2000, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beware-the-ides-of-march-the-what-this-time-in-the-correct-forum/37137/21 "2000-10-17T04:27:34Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by John Corrado \*  
> \*\*\*So why was a notorious skeptic Pontifex Maxmius? Politics. It was a _very_ presitigous and important position (imagine being able to influence votes and decisions based on how you interpret old scrolls and sheep’s bladders- “Yes, yes, the gods are telling us that I need a raise…”), and Caesar, as the scion of an old and powerful family, had been given the position as a young man. \*\*

It should also be noted that Pontifex Maximus was a title held for life. Much later, a member of the Second Triumvirate, Lepidus, tried to bully/overthrow a fellow member, Octavian. He failed. He was removed from all offices and positions of power by Octavian (who took them all for himself), save that of Pontifex Maximius, which Octavian (if I recall correctly) also succeeded to after Lepidus died.

[QUOTE]  
\*Originally posted by Maeglin \*  
\*\*

> [@](#):
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> Caesar is in fact the root of several modern words of authority, and was even an official sub-emperor after the time of Diocletian.  
> \*\*

The emperor was given the title of “Augustus”, while his heir/junior partner was given the title of “Caesar”. Offshoots of “Caesar” included “Czar”, “Tsar”, and “Kaiser” and described ruling individuals until as recently as (I believe) Turkey in the 1940s. Thus, “Caesar” or one of it’s derivatives lasted as a term for a ruling authority for roughly 2000 years.

> [@](#):
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> \*Originally posted by don Jaime \*  
> \*\*Plnnr - Cassandra figures in the Fall of Troy, some 1500 years or so before GJC was born. She slept with Apollo and was given the gift of prophecy, then PO’d him, so he cursed her so that, despite speaking the truth, she would never be believed. She knew her home town of Troy would fall to the Greeks and she would be enslaved by the Greek commander and murdered along with him by his wife, but could never convince anyone else to do anything about it. No Ides here. \*\*

Cassandra is also featured in the Shakespearean play “Troilus and Cressida”.

As far as Mythology goes, she was the brother of Hector, Paris (of the legendary apple fame) and Troilus. She was also daughter of King Priam. My understanding of her story (based on Issac Asimov’s Guide to Shakespeare–VERY highly recommended, by the way) was that she promised to sleep with Apollo in exchange for the gift of prophecy. Having received such gift, she reneged on her promise. As elaborated by don Jamie above, Apollo cursed her by making it that her prophecies would not be believed and that she would be considered mad. (Apparently, killing her was out of the question and taking away the gift of prophecy could not be done.)

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