Ides comes from an old Latin verb iduare, which meant "to divide." It was the Roman term for the day that came in the middle of the month. Every month has an Ides. March has 31 days, so the Ides of March is on March 15. Roman dictator Julius Caesar heard — and ignored — the infamous warning about the Ides of March in the first act of Shakespeare’s play of the same name. Caesar then stubbornly ignored several more warning signs in the play, ultimately leading to his assassination. Caesar was stabbed to death by his best friend Brutus and several other members of the Senate on the steps of the Capitol where he uttered the play’s other famous line: “Et tu, Brute?” ("And you, Brutus?")