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National Latin Exam
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- The first Roman calendar, introduced by Romulus, was a lunar calendar.
- The first lunar calendar had only ten months: Martius, Aprilis, Maius,
lunius,Quintilis, Sextilis, September, October, November, December.
- The 11th & 12th lunar cycles were unnamed until Numa Pompilius named them
lanuarius and Februarius ca. 750 B.C.
- In honor of Janus as god of beginnings and ends, lanuarius and Februarius were moved
to the beginning of the year by the Senate in 153 B.C.
- On Jan. 1, 45 B.C. Julius Caesar introduced the solar calendar which he had
borrowed from Egypt.
- Quintilis was renamed lulius in honor of J. Caesar who had been born on the 12th of
that month, 100 B.C.
- Sextilis was renamed Augustus in honor of Octavianus Augustus who had died on its 19th
day, A.D. 14.
- The Roman week (interval between market days) had nine days which were counted
inclusively as follows:
| (9-1) |
Market day |
Nundinae |
| (2) |
Monday |
Lunae dies |
| (3) |
Tuesday |
Martis dies |
| (4) |
Wednesday |
Mercuni dies |
| (5) |
Thursday |
lovis dies |
| (6) |
Friday |
Veneris dies |
| (7) |
Saturday |
Saturni dies |
| (8) |
Sunday |
Solis dies |
| (9-1) |
Market Day |
Nundinae |
- Rather than giving the date by counting which day it was from the beginning of the
month, Romans gave the date in relation to three standard
points of reference: The Kalends (1st day/new
moon), the Nones (9 days before the Ides), the Ides (full moon).
- "In March, July, October and May, the Ides are on the 15th day." In all other
months the Ides are on the 13th.
- When the 1st sundial was set up in Rome (263 B.C.), the term hora (hour) was
given to 1/12th of daylight.
- Borrowing Babylonian hexagesimal time divisions, each hora was divided into 60
partes minutae prlmae. Likewise, each pars minuta
prima (minute) was divided into
- 60 partes minutae secundae (seconds).
- The Romans divided night time Into four watches (vigiliae).
- Caesar's solar year (365 days 6 hrs) was 11 mins, 14.5 secs. too long, so Pope Gregory
XIII Introduced a new calendar in 1582.
- A Lunar calendar is still used In Jewish religious calculations.
- The dates of all moveable Christian feasts depend on Easter which is still
calculated according to the lunar calendar.
- Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the 1st full moon on or after the
Vernal Equinox (March 21).
- The uncorrected Julian Calendar is still used in Eastern Orthodox churches.
Courtesy of "Study Sheets for Latin Cultural Drill Tapes," by Dr. B.F. Barcio, L.H.D.
Pompeiiana, Inc. Indianapolis, IN