Today is the Ides of March by the old Roman reckoning. It is, of course, most famous as the day of the year when Julius Caesar was assassinated, but long before that it was a day of special importance on the Roman calendar: the traditional start of the campaigning season, when the winter rains (and snows in high country) were over, and the ground was dry enough for Roman legionaries to march forth and hack Gauls, Etruscans, or Samnites to pieces. This was the Roman national sport before they ...
