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What’s the origin of the phrase ‘Beware the Ides of March’?

From Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, 1601. ‘Beware the Ides of March’ is the soothsayer’s message to Julius Caesar, warning of his death.

The Ides of March didn’t signify anything special in itself – this was just the usual way of saying “March 15th”. The notion of the Ides being a dangerous date was purely an invention of Shakespeare’s; each month has an Ides (often the 15th) and this date wasn’t significant in being associated with death prior to 1601.
These days the Ides of March passes by each year pretty much unnoticed.
Months of the Roman calendar were arranged around three named days – the Kalends, the Nones and the Ides – and these were reference points from which the other (unnamed) days were calculated:

Kalends (1st day of the month).
Nones (the 7th day in March, May, July, and October; the 5th in the other months).
Ides (the 15th day in March, May, July, and October; the 13th in the other months).

Some take to talismans as a means of protection from this and other perceived negative would be forces.

The eye has long been a talisman for protection, so has the Hamsa.

 

Nazar Boncugu 

These are seen literally everywhere in Turkey and also appear as far away as Greece or India. The idea is that this blue glass eye faces off the actual evil eye in a kind of mystic stare-em-out contest.

 

Hamsa

The Hamsa is a palm-shaped amulet popular throughout the Middle East and North Africa and commonly used in jewelry and wall hangings. Depicting the open right hand, an image recognized and used as a sign of protection in many times throughout history, the hamsa is believed by some, predominantly Jews, Christians, and Muslims, to provide defense against the evil eye. It has been theorized that its origins lie in Ancient Egypt or Carthage (modern-day Tunisia) and may have been associated with the Goddess Tanit.

Khamsah is an Arabic word that means “five”, but also “the five fingers of the hand”.

The Hamsa is also variously known as the Hand of Fatima after the daughter of the prophet Muhammad, the Hand of Mary, the Hand of Merriam, and the Hand of the Goddess.

 

What’s the meaning of the phrase ‘Et tu, Brute’?

Supposedly the last words of Julius Caesar. Literally ‘And you, Brutus?’.

What’s the origin of the phrase ‘Et tu, Brute’?

In 44 BC, Julius Caesar was murdered by a group of senators. They were led by Marcus Brutus, who had previously been a close friend of Caesar. There’s no substantiated evidence to show that Julius Caesar spoke those words. They come to us via Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar which, like many of his history plays, tends to massage historical record somewhat for dramatic effect. In the play Caesar begins to resist the attack but resigns himself to his fate when he sees that his friend is amongst the plotters:

Caesar: Doth not Brutus bootless kneel?
Casca: Speak, hands, for me! [They stab Caesar.]
Caesar: Et tu, Brute? Then fall, Caesar! [Dies.]
Cinna: Liberty! Freedom! Tyranny is dead!