ante diem vii idus martias

• Festival of Mars (day 9) which included another procession of the Salian priests around the city
• 320 A.D. — martyrdom of Candidus and the other “Forty Armenian Martyrs”

ante diem vi nonas martias

• Festival of Mars (Day 2)
• c. 55 A.D. (?) — birth of Decimus Junius Juvenalis … a.k.a. Juvenal
• 258 A.D. — Martyrdom of Jovinus and Basileus at Rome

kalendae martiae

• This was originally the beginning of the New Year for the ancient Romans (and the consuls would probably enter office on this date prior to 153 B.C.)
• Festival of Mars, which included a procession of the Salian priests around the city singing their mysterious Carmen Saliare
• “birthday” of the temple of Juno Lucina
• Matronalia — a sort of ‘unofficial’ festival during which it was customary for hubbies to pray for the ongoing health of their spouses and give them presents; for their part, the wives apparently served the slaves (sort of like Saturnalia and Mother’s Day rolled into one)
• 509 B.C. — hot on the heels of the death of Lucius Junius Brutus on the battlefield (see yesterday), P. Valerius Poplicola delivers a funeral oration which Plutarch claimed ‘began the tradition’
• 293 A.D. — Co-emperor Maximian adopts Constantius, who is given the title Caesar (and it is possible that Diocletian similarly adopted and conferred a similar title upon Galerius)
• 2005 — birth of our dog, named by the rogueclassicist Tyche, but misheard by the liberi as Tyke …