the conspiracy in late February 44. They recruited men including Gaius Trebonius, Publius Servilius Casca, Servius Sulpicius Galba, and others. There was a discussion late in the conspiracy as to whether Antony should be killed, which Brutus forcefully rejected: Plutarch says Brutus thought Antony could be turned to the tyrannicides; Appian says Brutus thought of the optics of purging the Caesarian elite rather than only removing a tyrant. Various plans were proposed – an ambush on the via sacra, an attack at the elections, or killing at a gladiator match – eventually, however, the conspiracy settled on a senate meeting on the Ides of March. The specific date carried symbolic importance, as consuls until the mid-2nd century BC had assumed their offices on that day (instead of early January). The reasons for choosing the Ides are unclear: Nicolaus of Damascus (writing in the Augustan period) assumed that a senate meeting would isolate Caesar from support; Appian reports on the possibility of other senators coming to the assassins' aid. Both possibilities "are unlikely" due to Caesar's expansion of the senate and the low number of conspirators relative to the whole senate body. More likely is Dio's suggestion that a senate meeting would give the conspirators a tactical advantage as, by smuggling weapons, only the conspirators would be armed. Ides of March The ancient sources embellish the Ides with omens ignored, soothsayers spurned, and notes to Caesar spilling the conspiracy unread, all contributing "to the tragedy of Caesar as recorded in the literature and propaganda following his death". The specific implementation of the conspiracy had Trebonius detain Antony – then serving as co-consul with Caesar – outside the senate house; Caesar was then stabbed to death almost immediately. The specific details of the assassination vary between authors: Nicolaus of Damascus reports some eighty conspirators, Appian only listed fifteen, the number of wounds on Caesar ranges from twenty-three to thirty-five. Plutarch reports that Caesar yielded to the attack after seeing Brutus' participation; Dio reported that Caesar shouted in Greek kai su teknon ("You too, child?"). Suetonius' account, however, also cites Lucius Cornelius Balbus, a friend of Caesar's, as saying that the dictator fell in silence, with the possibility that Caesar spoke kai su teknon as a postscript. As dramatic death quotes were a staple of Roman literature, the historicity of the quote is unclear. The use of kai su, however, "always has a