This book reconstructs the pre-Julian calendar of Rome on the basis of epigraphical and literary evidence, and analyzes its relation to the solar and lunar years. Mrs. Michels shows how the varied contents of the calendar were related to the political as well as to the religious life of Rome of the first century B.C. She traces the history of the calendar back to the fifth century, indicating the stages by which a single list of festivals may have developed into the complex document of the late republic. The Roman method of intercalation, the character of the days, and the history of the trinum nundinum are presented in appendices. Originally published in 1967. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

This book provides a definitive account of the history of the Roman calendar, offering new reconstructions of its development that demand serious revisions to previous accounts. Examines the critical stages of the technical, political, and religious history of the Roman calendar Provides a comprehensive historical and social contextualization of ancient calendars and chronicles Highlights the unique characteristics which are still visible in the most dominant modern global calendar

The smooth functioning of an ordered society depends on the possession of a means of regularising its activities over time. That means is a calendar, and its regularity is a function of how well it models the more or less regular movements of the celestial bodies - of the moon, the sun or the stars. Greek and Roman Calendars examines the ancient calendar as just such a time-piece, whose elements are readily described in astronomical and mathematical terms. The story of these calendars is one of a continuous struggle to maintain a correspondence with the regularity of the seasons and the sun, despite the fact that the calendars were usually based on the irregular moon. But on another, more human level, Greek and Roman Calendars steps beyond the merely mathematical and studies the calendar as a social instrument, which people used to organise their activities. It sets the calendars of the Greeks and Romans on a stage occupied by real people, who developed and lived with these time-pieces for a variety of purposes - agricultural, religious, political and economic.This is also a story of intersecting cultures, of Greeks with Greeks, of Greeks with Persians and Egyptians, and of Greeks with Romans, in which various calendaric traditions clashed or compromised.

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Ancient Rome is renowned for its distinctive calendar and frequent festivals dedicated to various Gods; classical scholar W. Warde Fowler discusses each event, and its role in Roman religious and cultural life. The modern, twelve-month calendar was built upon the foundations set by the Romans. Several of the months retain the names invented in Roman antiquity, and the meaning of several months in the context of seasonal weather and yearly holidays remain. While timekeeping has evolved to better suit the revolutions of the Earth, the framework established by the ancient Romans remains. Appended at the conclusion of the preface are charts of Rome's calendar, showing the individual days and events. Taking us through the Roman year, Fowler demonstrates how ancient Rome placed great significance upon their Gods. Festivals were of enormous importance in community life; gatherings and celebrations enforced the beliefs in the Roman Gods and cemented aspects of its traditions and culture. How traces of these ancient traditions endured through later periods of history is discussed. Additionally, the author mentions how in times of crisis Rome's festivals would host a return to primitive rituals as the fearful citizenry sought to ward off misfortune and ill-omens through animal sacrifice and other archaic rites.