Ides of March
ICON Day is over. It went well. I am tired and not planning to work very hard today. I may just take a looong lunch.
Here is something exciting. As it turns out, we are going to be in Rome on the Ides of March (March 15). Though I don’t know that it’s exceptionally interesting (and I think you might need a government permit to get into the guts of it), I plan to stand as near as I can to Pompey’s Curia on that day, the site of Caesar’s assassination.
I will say “Et tu, Brute?” and feel all excited. This will be especially appropriate if a pigeon craps on me at that moment or something. Does anybody know if “Et tu, Brute?” is purported to be an actual quote out of Caesar’s mouth, or is a line from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar that has gotten so well-known it’s perceived as a real quote?
Here it is, complete with romantic scaffolding.
In my high school Latin class, I was told that the actual quote was “Et tu, fili?” (fili is “son”). Wikipedia agrees, sort of; apparently ancient sources report variously that there were no last words, or that Caesar said “You too, my son?” in Greek (“Kai su, teknon?”). I dunno why that would be, though.
Well, “Et tu, Brute”–being Latin–is actually quite unlikely. I’ve heard it said that Caesar probably uttered (or rather, gurgled through the blood) a phrase that meant something similar, only in Greek. Something like “You, too, my friend?” or “You, too, my child?” or “You, too, my brother?”
You get the idea.
The most curious thing about Pompey’s Curia is that it is now a cat sanctuary. Lots of signs publicizing the cat sanctuary. I tiny litle plaque observing that it is where Caesar was stabbed. By the way you should also drop off a few flowers at Caesar’s shrine in the Forum to ensure tha you have the entire Ides of March experience.
I hope you have a great time – Rome is the best.
I know it’s hardly historically accurate but the words “Et tu, Brute?” were never uttered when Caesar was stabbed on HBO’s “Rome.”