| Roman Time & Calendar |
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In ancient days time was measured by the length of time there was sunlight. The Romans too used the sun's movement. As the earth makes its way around the sun, the number of daylight hours change. They could precisely measure only three times, sunrise, midday, and sunset, but they used the length of shadows to estimate other times of the day. The introduction of the sundial gave the Romans a new tool to better measure time. Travelers from Sicily brought the sundial to Rome in 263 B.C. and set it up in the Forum, where it became a popular place. People came to check the time, to socialize, and "to see and to be seen." Other sundials were set up in public buildings or squares and also became meeting spots. Only the wealthy could afford to have one in their own homes and it quickly became a status symbol.
The sundial enabled the Romans to divide the day into 12 equal parts, or hours. The hours became a way to mark time and meetings. Courts opened at about the third hour, for example, and lunch was at midday, the sixth hour. People would go home to eat a leisurely lunch and take a siesta, returning to work in a few hours. People in Rome today still leave work at 1:00 and return to work from 4:00 to 7:00.
The term 'hora' was given to 1/12 of daylight time. Borrowing Babylonian texagestimal time divisions, each hora was divided into 60 minutae primae. Each pars minuta prima (minute) was divided into 60 partes minutae secundae (seconds). However, one cannot use a minute or second as we do today since these stretched or shrunk according to the amount of light each day. Fortunately Italy is not like Alaska where one can easily experience darkness for 22 hours with daylight for but 2 hours. Using Roman calculations, one would have an hour every ten contemporary minutes.
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 Waterclock |
 Sundial |
The day was divided into ante meridiem (before midday) and post meridiem (after midday.) These divisions are still used today and abbreviated a.m. and p.m.
Before sundials time was measured with waterclocks and sand glasses.
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