Days, weeks and months pass, few of us think about where the current names in the calendar come from. In fact, our modern calendar dates back thousands of years, with roots in the Roman Empire.
And after the fall of the Roman Empire, the Roman calendar was used in its former territories during the early Middle Ages. Although some details have changed, our modern calendar is simply a version of the ancient Roman calendar.
This is how the months of the year got their names.
January 
Statue depicting Janus Bifrons in the Vatican Museum.
January, the first month of the Roman imperial calendar, is named after the god Janus.
This important Roman deity was the god of beginnings and was usually depicted with two faces: one looking forward and the other looking back.
Temple of Janus with closed doors on a sestertium, issued under Nero in 66 AD at the mint at Lugdunum.
Janus was also the god of doorways, gates and transitions, which is why he was chosen to mark the month of transition from one year to the next.
The first day of January was the beginning of the New Year, when the festival of Janus was celebrated by exchanging sweet gifts such as dates, figs or honey. Pies were brought as a gift to the altar of God.
February 
February from the book “The Three Riches of the Duc de Berry” - a prayer book said at canonical time.
February took its name from the festival of purification - Februus, the "purifying month" which was believed to drive out evil spirits from the city of Rome.
On the 15th day of the month, a number of rites were held throughout Rome, many of which involved sacrifices or ritual parades.
March 
March from the book “The Three Riches of the Duc de Berry” is a prayer book recited at canonical time.
March is named after Mars, the Roman god of war. It is believed that this month marked the beginning of the period when the Roman army prepared for the upcoming season of military campaigns.
Therefore, it was important to glorify the god of war at this time, and March was a period of rituals and festivals that ensured military success.
Medieval image of Mars sitting on a rainbow with a sword and scepter, calling people to war.
March was originally the first month in the Roman calendar, which at that time had only ten months. However, to avoid confusion with dates, two additional months (January and February) were added and the start of the year was moved to January.
The Julian calendar (created as a result of the reforms of Julius Caesar in the 1st century BC) is a version of the Roman calendar from which our modern dating system is derived.
April 
April panel from a Roman mosaic of the months (from El Jem, Tunisia, first half of the 3rd century AD).
April is named after the Roman month Aprillis, used as the name of the fourth month of the Roman calendar.
One of the most popular theories is that Aprillis refers to the Latin aperir, meaning "to open." April is the month when flowers begin to bloom and spring comes into full bloom, which is why it has such a special name.
May 
Hermes and Maya, detail of a ceramic amphora (c. 500 BC).
The month of May, when the earth begins to bear fruit, is named after the Greek goddess of the earth, Maya. She was the goddess of fertility and abundance, so she is associated with this warm, bountiful time of year.
The Roman poet Ovid, however, thought differently. He argued that the Latin name "May" came from major, which means "eldest", as opposed to the name "June" from junior, or "young".
June 
June is associated with one of the most important deities of the Roman Pantheon. Juno, the wife of Jupiter, is celebrated in June and she gives her name to this important month.
Juno was also known as the goddess of marriage, and in Roman culture the end of June was considered especially favorable for weddings. However, getting married before the 15th was considered a bad omen and was generally avoided.
July 
Sculpture of the Roman Emperor Julius Caesar near the ancient greenhouse in the Lazienki Public Park, Warsaw. The sculpture was made by Francis Pink (1733-1798).
July is the first month in the Roman calendar named after a historical figure. Julius Caesar, Roman dictator and conqueror of Gaul, certainly left his mark on Roman society.
Assassination of Julius Caesar by Vincenzo Camuccini, 1804
July was originally called Quintilis, as it was the fifth month in the traditional Roman calendar. However, after the assassination of Caesar in 44 BC. E. It was renamed in his honor since it was the month of his birth.
August 
Julius Caesar's successor, Octavian, did not want to be outdone by his adoptive father, and as a result, the next month in the Roman calendar is named after him.
Octavian rose to power to become the first Emperor of Rome, after which he changed his name to Augustus, meaning “sanctified” or “venerable.”
Although many other Roman figures tried to insert their name into the calendar, none succeeded, Julius Caesar and Augustus remain the only people commemorated in the names of the months of the year.
September - December
The remaining months in the Roman calendar have a less exalted etymology. They were simply called the serial number that existed before the Julian reforms.
September comes from septem, meaning seven; October from October, which means eight; November from November, meaning nine; and December from decem, meaning ten.
Roman calendar
[p.38] The Roman calendar at the time of Caesar consisted of 12 months: four - 31 days each (March, May, quintile = July, October), seven - 29 days each (January, April, June, sextile = August, September, November, December) and one of 28 days (February) - a total of 355 days a year.
Every year (in even years BC) 22 or 23 days were added to align with the solar year. This addition was made in February after the festival of terminalia (February 23); the remaining five days of February were added at the end of an additional month (intercalaris), so that the month consisted of 27 or 28 days.
The first day of the month was called Kalendae, the fifth (or seventh in a month of 31 days) was called Nonae, and the thirteenth (or fifteenth in a month of 31 days) was Idus. Counting in reverse order from these established dates, designated the days of the month. The counting was carried out inclusively, i.e. both the designated day and the day from which the countdown was carried out were included. Thus, January 2 was considered: ante diem IV Non. Jan. ; March 2: ante diem VI Non. Mart. The day before the day to be counted was called pridie (Pl. V, p. 175). Last days February after the Ides in the augmented year were counted in reverse order from the beginning of the added month: [p.39] ante (diem) V Kal. Intercalaris - February 20 (Cic., pro Quinct., 79). Sometimes even on February 14 it was unknown whether the pontiffs would add an additional month; in this case, February 14 was designated as ante diem X Terminalia (Dessau, no. 6302 = Degrassi, no. 719).
Consistent counting of days, although it was possible, is rare (A. Gagner, - "Festskrift Per Persson", 1922, p. 202).
With this number system, the Moon was completely ignored; on the contrary, the addition of 22 (or 23) days every two years violated any agreement with lunar months. However, the days throughout the month were counted in reverse order from the next lunar phase. The Pontiff announced the appearance of a new sickle (p. 14) and, based on its shape and location, informed how many days should be counted to the nones, i.e. until the first quarter. On the Nones it was again proclaimed in how many days the Ides would be ( full moon) and on what days festivals should be held (Ginzel, II, p. 173).
Roman calendar with all its specific features(length of the month, system of intercalations) was a rather conscious attempt to “synchronize the civil and solar years” (Censor., 20, 6). The Roman four-year cycle consisted of 355 + 378 + 355 + 377 days. It can be assumed that the author of this cycle sought to adjust the lunar year to the movement of the Sun, i.e. for the agricultural year. (Months of 29, 30 and 31 days are also found in Greek meteorological calendars.) However, the Roman four-year cycle had 1465 days, i.e. it was four days longer than four solar years. Thus, the Roman calendar lagged behind the seasons by four days every four years. But install true duration solar year was indeed not easy (see page 26). Herodotus (I, 32) was mistaken on this score; the great engineer Harpalus (c. 480 BC) believed that the period of revolution of the Earth around the Sun was 365 days and 13 hours. Even ok. 190 BC Ennius mentioned 366 days of the solar year. It should not surprise us, therefore, that around 500 B.C. Roman peasants were wrong: “You, Romulus, knew better weapons than the stars" (Scilicet arma magis quam sidera, Romule, noras. - Ovid., Fasti, I, 28).
The Roman pseudosolar cycle, apparently, was a modification of the “year of Romulus”, i.e. a purely agricultural 10-month year, beginning in March and ending in December, the “tenth” [p.40] month. The peoples of antiquity often took into account only the period of agricultural work and neglected the rest of the natural year. The entire annual period, from one spring to the next, was divided into parts of varying lengths. Such “months”, each lasting up to 39 days, are attested both for the year of Romulus (Plut., Numa, 18; Lydus, de mens., I, 16), and in general for ancient Italy (Censor., 22, 6; 19, 6). The names of the months from March to June apparently referred to the stages of growth of grain and livestock (see: J. G. Frazer, The fasti of Ovid., II, 1929, p. 8; J. Bayet, Histoire de la religion romaine, 1957 , p. 89). The ancients usually attributed the introduction of this calendar to Numa Pompilius (and associated the shortcomings of the calendar with its subsequent changes - see: Cic., de leg. II, 12, 29). Modern scholars largely attribute the introduction of the calendar to the Decemvirs (mid-5th century BC). But the latter, rather, developed only a system of additions to the calendar to harmonize with the solar year (intercalations) (Macrob., I, 13, 21). On the other hand, the calendar was associated with the Capitoline cult: the Kalends were dedicated to Juno, and the Ides to Jupiter.
The divergence of this calendar from the solar year was so obvious that already around 450 BC. The decemvirs tried to fix the entire system (see above). In 191 BC. The law of M. Atsilius Glabrion on intercalations was adopted. But these reforms did not help. Many other proposals have been put forward to adjust the calendar to solar year(Macrob., I, 13; Liv., I, 19; cf.: Ideler, II, p. 69; Ginzel, II, p. 253), but, obviously, they were never accepted by the Romans (Mommmsen, p. 44). Apparently, the Romans at some time abandoned schematic additions to the calendar and, as in Athens and other Greek cities (see page 26), supplemented the year when the need arose. From the time of the Second Punic War until Caesar's reform in 45 BC. The pontiffs regulated the calendar at their discretion. Like the Greeks (see p. 29), the Romans strove to ensure that certain sacrifices were performed accordingly at the same time of year (Quod ad tempus ut sacrificiorum libamenta serventur fetusque pecum... diligenter habenda ratio intercalandi est. - Cic., de leg., II, 121, 29). In reality, intercalations became a tool of politicians in their struggle for power and were often carried out arbitrarily, without regard to the time of year.
[p.41] This was reflected in the wording of one of the terms of the contract given by Cato (Cato, de agr., 150): si intercalatum erit. In 50 BC. Cicero on February 13 did not yet know whether an additional month would be inserted on February 23 (Cic., at Att., V, 21, 3), in 70 BC. he explained to his listeners that the Greeks' concern about adjusting their calendar to the movement of the Sun was just an eccentricity (Cic., Verr., II, 2, 129). The Roman calendar did not, in fact, coincide with either the movement of the Sun or the phases of the Moon, but “ging vielmehr gänzlich ins Wilde” (Mommsen).
Apparently, all attempts to establish clear intercalation cycles for this calendar are in vain (see: Ideler, Lehrbuch, p. 309; Mommsen, p. 44). The anecdotal evidence available, as already noted, allows only a general conclusion that during the period between the First Punic War (264 BC) and the Second (218 BC) the Roman calendar was more or less corresponded to the Julian, perhaps several weeks behind it; that during the Second Punic War under Hannibal, additions to the year were neglected, so that by 190 BC. the Roman calendar was 117 days ahead of the Julian calendar; that this discrepancy decreased to 72 days in 168 BC, i.e. in the past 22 years, intercalations have occurred 12 times. It can be assumed that in the time of the Gracchi the calendar was almost consistent with the seasons, as can be seen from the dates of military campaigns for the period from about 140 to 70 BC. Under Caesar, however, no additions to the calendar were made again: in 46 BC. the lag was 90 days.
This information about the use of the Roman calendar in the 2nd century. BC. borrowed from G. De Sanctis. We must emphasize that the available information is not sufficient to draw general conclusions. There are only two astronomical correspondences: the solar eclipse of March 14, 190 BC. observed in Rome on July 11 (Roman calendar) (Liv., XXXVII, 4, 4) and moon eclipse June 21, 168 BC observed in Rome on September 4 (according to the Roman calendar) (Liv., XLIV, 37, 8). In addition, from the terms of the contracts (Cato, de agr., 146) of that time it follows that the grain and olive harvests were collected in a timely manner, at the end of May and in November, respectively. The contracts may have specified an "ideal" month that was independent of the vagaries of the official calendar (cf. p. 19), but the Battle of Campi Raudii, near Verzella, July 30 (Roman calendar) 101 BC. really happened on the day of the summer [p.42] solstice (Plut., Marius, 26). Numerous dates that have come down to us since the time of Caesar cannot be confidently translated into dates of the Julian calendar (cf. Ginzel, II, p. 273; J. Carcopino, César, 1936, p. 696).
NOTES:
40. The available information about the Roman calendar comes from two different sources: from the living tradition of its transmission, which has survived to this day, and from ancient documents and reports of ancient authors. And currently we use the Caesar calendar, and the Roman system of dating the days of the month (nones and calends) was preserved until the 16th century. (Ginzel, III, p. 115). Main sources: Macrobius, Sat., I, 13 and Censorinus, De die natali (238 AD). In addition (in addition to numerous small excerpts from various authors, etc.) there are also calendars on stones, one of which dates back to the time before Caesar’s reform (Fasti Antiates veteres: A. Degrassi, Inscriptiones Latinae liberae reipublicae, 1957, No. 9) . See also: K. Latte, Römische Religionsgeschichte, 1960, p. 2. Among modern research according to the Roman calendar, the work of T. Mommsen (Th. Mommsen, Römische Chronologie, 2. Aufl., 1859) remains fundamental and unsurpassed. For further bibliographical information see: Ginzel, II, p. 289. Latest review and bibliography: A.K. Michels, The Calendar of the Roman Republic, 1967; A.E. Samuel, Greek and Roman Chronology, 1972, ch. 5. See also popular review: F. Della Corte, L "antico calendario dei Romani, 1969. Ancient evidence collected by A. Degrassi, - "Inscriptiones Italiae", XIII, 2, 1963. For Roman fastia (calendars), see: Latte, Römische Religionsgeschichte, p. 431. [
The Roman calendar and its Julian reformAncient Roman calendar. History has not preserved for us exact information about the time of the birth of the Roman calendar. However, it is known that during the time of Romulus, the legendary founder of Rome and the first Roman king, i.e. around the middle of the 8th century. BC e., the Romans used a calendar in which the year, according to Censorinus, consisted of only 10 months and contained 304 days. Initially, the months did not have names and were designated by serial numbers. The year began on the first day of the month in which the beginning of spring occurred.
Around the end of the 8th century. BC e. some months got their own names. Thus, the first month of the year was named Martius in honor of the god of war, Mars. The second month of the year was named Aprilis. This word comes from the Latin "aperire", which means "to open", as this is the month when the buds on the trees open. The third month was dedicated to the goddess Maya - the mother of the god Hermes (Mercury) - and was called Majus, and the fourth in honor of the goddess Juno (Fig. 8), wife Jupiter was named Junius. This is how the names of the months of March, April, May and June appeared. Subsequent months continued to retain their numerical designations:
Quintilis - “fifth”
Sextilis - “sixth”
September (September) - “seventh”
Oktober - “eighth”
November (November) - “ninth”
December - “tenth”
Martius, Maius, Quintilis and October each had 31 days, and the remaining months consisted of 30 days. Therefore, the most ancient Roman calendar can be presented in the form of a table. 1, and one of its samples is shown in Fig. 9.
| Table 1 Roman calendar (8th century BC) | |||
|
Name of the month |
Number of days |
Name of the month |
Number of days |
|
March |
31 |
Sextilis |
30 |
|
April |
30 |
September |
30 |
|
May |
31 |
October |
31 |
|
June |
30 |
November |
30 |
|
Quintilis |
31 |
December |
30 |
Create a 12 month calendar. In the 7th century BC e., that is, during the time of the second legendary ancient Roman king - Numa Pompilius, a reform of the Roman calendar was carried out and two more months were added to the calendar year: the eleventh and twelfth. The first of them was named January (Januarius) - in honor of the two-faced god Janus (Fig. 10), whose one face was turned forward and the other backward: he could simultaneously contemplate the past and foresee the future. The name of the second new month, February, comes from the Latin word "februarius", which means "purification" and is associated with the purification ritual celebrated annually on February 15th. This month was dedicated to the god of the underworld Februus.
The history of the distribution of days according to months. Initially, the year of the Roman calendar, as already mentioned, consisted of 304 days. To make it equal to the Greek calendar year, one would have to add 50 days to it, and then there would be 354 days in a year. But the superstitious Romans believed that odd numbers happier than even ones, and therefore added 51 days. However, from such a number of days it was impossible to make 2 full month. Therefore, from six months, which previously consisted of 30 days, i.e., from April, June, Sextilis, September, November and December, one day was taken away. Then the number of days from which new months were formed increased to 57. From this number of days, the months January, which contained 29 days, and February, which received 28 days, were formed.
Thus, a year containing 355 days was divided into 12 months with the number of days indicated in the table. 2.
Here, February only had 28 days. This month was doubly “unlucky”: it was shorter than others and contained even number days. This is what the Roman calendar looked like several centuries BC. e. The established length of the year at 355 days almost coincided with the duration lunar year, consisting of 12 lunar months but 29.53 days, since 29.53 × 12 == 354.4 days.
This coincidence is not accidental. This is explained by the fact that the Romans used lunar calendar and the beginning of each month was determined by the first appearance of the crescent moon after the new moon. The priests ordered the heralds to publicly “cry out” for everyone to know the beginning of each new month, as well as the beginning of the year.
The chaos of the Roman calendar. The Roman calendar year is shorter than the tropical year by more than 10 days. Because of this, calendar numbers corresponded less and less to natural phenomena every year. To eliminate this irregularity, every two years between February 23 and 24, an additional month was inserted, the so-called Mercedonium, which alternately contained 22 and 23 days. Therefore, the years alternated in length as follows:
| table 2 | |||
| Roman calendar (7th century BC) | |||
|
Name |
Number |
Name |
Number |
|
meoscha |
days |
months |
days |
|
March |
31 |
September |
29 |
|
April |
29 |
October |
31 |
|
May |
31 |
November |
29 |
|
June |
29 |
December |
29 |
|
Kshshtplis |
31 |
Yapnar |
29 |
|
Sextnlis |
29 |
February |
28 |
355 days
377 (355+22) days
355 days
378 (355+23) days.
Thus, each four-year period consisted of two simple years and two extended ones. Average duration years in such a four-year period was 366.25 days, i.e. it was a whole day more than in reality. To eliminate the discrepancy between calendar numbers and natural phenomena, it was necessary from time to time to resort to increasing or decreasing the duration of additional months.
The right to change the length of additional months belonged to the priests (pontiffs), headed by the high priest (Pontifex Maximus). They often abused their power by arbitrarily lengthening or shortening the year. According to Cicero, the priests, using the power granted to them, extended the terms of public positions for their friends or for persons who bribed them, and shortened the terms for their enemies. The time for paying various taxes and fulfilling other obligations also depended on the arbitrariness of the priest. In addition to all this, confusion began in the celebrations. So, The harvest festival sometimes had to be celebrated not in summer, but in winter.
We find a very apt description of the state of the Roman calendar of that time from the outstanding French writer and educator of the 18th century. Voltaire, who wrote: “Roman generals always won, but they never knew on what day it happened.”
Julius Caesar and the calendar reform. The chaotic nature of the Roman calendar created such great inconvenience that its urgent reform turned into an acute social problem. Such a reform was carried out over two thousand years ago, in 46 BC. e. It was initiated by the Roman statesman and commander Julius Caesar. By this time, he had visited Egypt, the center of ancient science and culture, and became acquainted with the peculiarities of the Egyptian calendar. It was this calendar, with the amendment of the Canopic Decree, that Julius Caesar decided to introduce in Rome. He entrusted the creation of a new calendar to a group of Alexandrian astronomers led by Sosigenes.
Julian calendar of Sosigenes. The essence of the reform was that the calendar was based on the annual movement of the Sun between the stars. The average length of the year was set at 365.25 days, which exactly corresponded to the length of the tropical year known at that time. But to start calendar year always fell on the same date, as well as at the same time of day, they decided to count up to 365 days in each year for three years, and 366 in the fourth. This lastthe year was called a leap year. True, Sosigenes must have known that the Greek astronomer Hipparchus, approximately 75 years before the reform planned by Julius Caesar, established that the length of the tropical year was not 365.25 days, but somewhat less, but he probably considered this difference insignificant and therefore neglected them.
Sosigenes divided the year into 12 months, for which he retained their ancient names: January, February, March, April, May, June, Quintilis, Sextilis, September, October, November and December. The month of Mercedonia was excluded from the calendar. January was accepted as the first month of the year, since already from 153 BC. e. the newly elected Roman consuls took office on January 1. The number of days in months was also ordered (Table 3).
| Table 3 | |||
| Julian calendar of Sosigenes (46 years BC) |
|||
|
Name |
Number |
Name |
Number |
|
months |
days |
months |
days |
|
January |
31 |
Quintilis |
31 |
|
February |
29 (30) |
Sextilis |
30 |
|
March |
31 |
September |
31 |
|
April |
30 |
October |
30 |
|
Small |
31 |
November |
31 |
|
June |
30 |
December |
30 |
Consequently, all odd-numbered months (January, March, May, Quintilis, September and November) had 31 days, and even-numbered months (February, April, June, Sextilis, October and December) had 30 days. Only February of a simple year contained 29 days.
Before implementing the reform, trying to ensure that all holidays coincide with their corresponding seasons, the Romans added to the calendar year, in addition to Mercedonia, which consisted of 23 days, two more intercalary months - one of 33 days, and the other of 34. Both of these months were placed between November and December. Thus a year of 445 days was formed, known in history as the disorderly or “year of confusion.” This was the year 46 BC. e.
In gratitude to Julius Caesar for streamlining the calendar and his military services, the Senate, at the suggestion of the Roman politician Mark Antony, in 44 BC. e. renamed the month Quintilis (fifth), in which Caesar was born, to July (Julius)
|
| Roman Emperor Augustus (63 BC-14 AD) |
Counting according to the new calendar, called the Julian calendar, began on January 1, 45 BC. e. Just on this day there was the first new moon after the winter solstice. This is the only moment in the Julian calendar that has a connection with the lunar phases.
Augustan calendar reform. The members of the highest priestly college in Rome - the pontiffs - were instructed to monitor the correctness of time calculation, however, not understanding the essence of Sosigenes' reform, for some reason they inserted leap days not after three years on the fourth, but after two years on the third. Due to this error, the calendar account was again confused.
The error was discovered only in 8 BC. e. during the time of Caesar's successor, Emperor Augustus, who made a new reform and eliminated the accumulated error. By his order, starting from 8 BC. e. and ending with 8 AD. e., skipped inserting extra days in leap years.
At the same time, the Senate decided to rename the month Sextilis (sixth) in August - in honor of Emperor Augustus, in gratitude for the correction of the Julian calendar and the great military victories he won in this month. But there were only 30 days in sextilis. The Senate considered it inconvenient to leave in the month dedicated to Augustus less days, than in the month dedicated to Julius Caesar, especially since the number 30, being even, was considered unlucky. Then another day was taken away from February and added to sextilis - August. So February was left with 28 or 29 days. But now it turns out that three months in a row (July, August and September) have 31 days each. This again did not suit the superstitious Romans. Then they decided to move one day of September to October. At the same time, one day in November was moved to December. These innovations completely destroyed the regular alternation of long and short months created by Sosigenes.
This is how the Julian calendar gradually improved (Table 4), which remained the only one and unchanged in almost all of Europe until the end of the 16th century, and in some countries even until the beginning of the 20th century.
| Table 4 | |||
| Julian calendar (early AD) | |||
|
Name |
Number |
Name |
Number |
|
months |
days |
months |
days |
|
January |
31 |
July |
31 |
|
February |
28 (29) |
August |
31 |
|
March April May June |
31 30 31 30 |
September October November December |
30 31 30 31 |
Historians indicate that the emperors Tiberius, Nero and Commodus tried three subsequent months to call by their proper names, but their attempts failed.
Counting days in months. The Roman calendar did not know the ordinal counting of days in a month. The counting was carried out by the number of days up to three specific moments within each month: Kalends, Nons and Ides, as shown in the table. 5.
Only the first days of the month were called kalends and fell at a time close to the new moon.
The nones were the 5th of the month (in January, February, April, June, August, September, November and December) or the 7th of the month (in March, May, July and October). They coincided with the beginning of the first quarter of the Moon.
Finally, the ids were the 13th of the month (in those months in which nones fell on the 5th) or the 15th (in those months in which the nones fell on the 7th).
Unlike the usual counting forward, the Romans counted days from Kalends, Nons and Ides to reverse side. So, if it was necessary to say “January 1,” then they said “on the calendars of January”; May 9 was called “the 7th day from the Ides of May,” December 5 was called “on the December Nones,” and instead of “June 15,” they said “on the 17th day from the Kalends of July,” etc. It must be remembered, however, that the original date itself was always included in the count of days.
The examples considered show that when dating, the Romans never used the word “after,” but only “from.”
In each month of the Roman calendar there were three more days that had special names. These are the eves, that is, the days preceding the nones, ids, and also the calendars of the next month. Therefore, speaking about these days, they said: “on the eve of the Ides of January” (i.e., January 12), “on the eve of the Kalends of March” (i.e., February 28), etc.
Leap years and the origin of the word “leap year”. During the calendar reform of Augustus, errors made during the incorrect use of the Julian calendar were eliminated, and the basic rule of the leap year was legalized: every fourth year is a leap year. Therefore, leap years are those whose numbers are divisible by 4 without a remainder. Considering that thousands and hundreds are always divisible by 4, it is enough to establish whether the last two digits of the year are divisible by 4: for example, 1968 is a leap year, since 68 is divisible by 4 without remainder, and 1970 is simple, since 70 is not divisible by 4.
Expression " leap year"is associated with the origin of the Julian calendar and the peculiar counting of days used by the ancient Romans. When reforming the calendar, Julius Caesar did not dare to place an additional day in a leap year after February 28, but hid it where the mercedonium had previously been located, that is, between February 23 and 24. Therefore, February 24 was repeated twice.
But instead of “February 24,” the Romans said “the sixth day before the Kalends of March.” In Latin, the sixth number is called “sextus”, and “sixth again” is called “bissextus”. Therefore, a year containing an extra day in February was called “bisextilis.” The Russians, having heard this word from the Byzantine Greeks, who pronounced “b” as “v”, turned it into “visokos”. Therefore, it is impossible to write “vysokosny”, as is sometimes done, since the word “vysokos” is not Russian and has nothing to do with the word “high”.
Accuracy of the Julian calendar. The length of the Julian year was set at 365 days and 6 hours. But this value is 11 minutes longer than the tropical year. 14 sec. Therefore, for every 128 years, a whole day was accumulated. Consequently, the Julian calendar was not very accurate. Another important advantage was its significant simplicity.
Chronology. In the first centuries of its existence, dating of events in Rome was carried out by the names of the consuls. In the 1st century n. e. the era “from the creation of the city” began to spread, which had important in the chronology of Roman history.
According to the Roman writer and scientist Marcus Terence Varro (116-27 BC), the estimated date of the founding of Rome corresponds to the third year of the 6th Olympiad (Ol. 6.3). Since the founding day of Rome was celebrated annually as a spring holiday, it was possible to establish that the era of the Roman calendar, that is, its starting point, is April 21, 753 BC. e. The era “from the founding of Rome” was used by many Western European historians until the end of the 17th century.
Today, all peoples of the world use the solar calendar, practically inherited from the ancient Romans. But if in its current form this calendar almost perfectly corresponds to the annual movement of the Earth around the Sun, then about its original version we can only say “it couldn’t be worse.” And all, probably, because, as the Roman poet Ovid (43 BC - 17 AD) noted, the ancient Romans knew weapons better than the stars...
Agricultural calendar. Like their neighbors the Greeks, the ancient Romans determined the beginning of their work by the rising and setting of individual stars and their groups, that is, they linked their calendar with the annual change in the appearance of the starry sky. Perhaps the main “landmark” in this case was the rising and setting (morning and evening) of the Pleiades star cluster, which in Rome was called the Virgils. The beginning of many field works here was also associated with favonium - a warm western wind that begins to blow in February (February 3-4 according to the modern calendar). According to Pliny, in Rome “spring begins with him.” Here are a few examples of the “linking” of field work carried out by the ancient Romans to changes in the appearance of the starry sky:
"Between favonium and spring equinox trees are pruned, vines are dug up... Between the spring equinox and the sunrise of Virgil (the morning sunrise of the Pleiades is observed in mid-May), the fields are weeded..., willows are cut down, meadows are fenced..., olives should be planted.”
“Between the (morning) sunrise Virgil and summer solstice dig up or plow young vineyards, shoot vines, mow forage. Between the summer solstice and the rising of the Dog (June 22 to July 19), most are busy with the harvest. Between the rising of the Dog and the autumn equinox, the straw should be mowed (the Romans first cut the spikelets high, and mowed the straw a month later).
“They believe that you should not start sowing before the (autumn) equinox, because if bad weather begins, the seeds will rot... From Favonium to the rising of Arcturus (from February 3 to 16), dig new ditches and prune the vineyards.”
It should, however, be borne in mind that this calendar was filled with the most incredible prejudices. Thus, meadows should have been fertilized in early spring no other way than on the new moon, when the new moon is not yet visible (“then the grass will grow in the same way as the new moon”), and there will be no weeds on the field. It was recommended to lay eggs under a chicken only in the first quarter of the moon phase. According to Pliny, “all chopping, plucking, cutting will do less harm if done when the Moon is debilitated.” Therefore, anyone who decided to get a haircut when the “moon is waxing” risked going bald. And if you cut off the leaves on a tree at the specified time, it will soon lose all its leaves. The tree cut down at this time was in danger of rotting...
Months and counting the days in them. The existing inconsistency and some uncertainty in the data about the ancient Roman calendar is largely due to the fact that the ancient writers themselves disagree on this issue. This will be partially illustrated below. First, let's look at the general structure of the ancient Roman calendar, which developed in the middle of the 1st century. BC e.
At the indicated time, the year of the Roman calendar with a total duration of 355 days consisted of 12 months with the following distribution of days in them:
Martius 31 Quintilis 31 November 29
Aprilis 29 Sextilis 29 December 29
Maius 31 September 29 Januarius 29
The additional month of Mercedonia will be discussed later.
As you can see, with the exception of one, all months of the ancient Roman calendar had an odd number of days. This is explained by the superstitious beliefs of the ancient Romans that odd numbers are lucky, while even numbers bring misfortune. The year began on the first day of March. This month was named Martius in honor of Mars, who was originally revered as the god of agriculture and cattle breeding, and later as the god of war, called upon to protect peaceful labor. The second month received the name Aprilis from the Latin aperire - “to open”, since in this month the buds on the trees open, or from the word apricus - “warmed by the Sun”. It was dedicated to the goddess of beauty, Venus. The third month Mayus was dedicated to the earth goddess Maya, the fourth Junius - to the sky goddess Juno, the patroness of women, the wife of Jupiter. The names of the six further months were associated with their position in the calendar: Quintilis - the fifth, Sextilis - the sixth, September - the seventh, October - the eighth, November - the ninth, December - the tenth.
The name of Januarius - the penultimate month of the ancient Roman calendar - is believed to come from the word janua - “entrance”, “door”: The month was dedicated to the god Janus, who, according to one version, was considered the god of the firmament, who opened the gates to the Sun at the beginning of the day and closing them at its end. In Rome, 12 altars were dedicated to him - according to the number of months in the year. He was the god of entry, of all beginnings. The Romans depicted him with two faces: one, facing forward, as if God sees the future, the second, facing backward, contemplates the past. And finally, the 12th month was dedicated to the god of the underworld Februus. Its name itself apparently comes from februare - “to cleanse”, but perhaps also from the word feralia. This is what the Romans called the memorial week in February. After it expired, at the end of the year they performed a cleansing rite (lustratio populi) “to reconcile the gods with the people.” Perhaps because of this, they could not insert additional days at the very end of the year, but did so, as we will see later, between February 23 and 24...
The Romans used a very unique way of counting the days in a month. They called the first day of the month calends - calendae - from the word calare - to proclaim, since the beginning of each month and the year as a whole was proclaimed publicly by the priests (pontiffs) at public meetings (comitia salata). The seventh day in four long months or the fifth in the remaining eight was called nones (nonae) from nonus - the ninth day (inclusive!) to the full moon. The nones approximately coincided with the first quarter of the moon phase. On the nones of each month, the pontiffs announced to the people what holidays would be celebrated in it, and on the February nones, moreover, whether additional days would or would not be inserted. The 15th (full moon) in long months and the 13th in short months was called the Ides - idus (of course, in these last months the Ides should have been assigned to the 14th, and the Nones to the 6th, but the Romans did not like that even numbers...). The day before the Kalends, Nones and Ides was called eve (pridie), for example pridie Kalendas Februarias - the eve of the February Kalends, i.e. January 29.
At the same time, the ancient Romans did not count the days forward, as we do, but in the opposite direction: there were so many days left until the Nons, Ides or Kalends. (The Nones, Ides and Kalends themselves were also included in this count!) So, January 2 is the “IV day from the Nons,” since in January the Nones occurred on the 5th, January 7 is the “VII day from the Ides.” January had 29 days, so the 13th day was called the Ides, and the 14th was already “XVII Kalendas Februarias” - the 17th day before the February calendars.
Next to the numbers of the months, the first eight letters of the Latin alphabet were written: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, which were cyclically repeated in the same order throughout the whole year. These periods were called “nine-day periods” - nundins (nundi-nae - noveni dies), since the last day of the previous eight-day week was included in the count. At the beginning of the year, one of these “nine” days - nundinus - was declared a trade or market day, on which residents of the surrounding villages could come to the city for the market. Romans for a long time as if they were trying to ensure that the Nundinuses did not coincide with the Nones in order to avoid excessive crowding of people in the city. There was also a superstition that if Nundinus coincided with the calendars of January, then the year would be unlucky.
In addition to the nundine letters, each day in the ancient Roman calendar was designated by one of the following letters: F, N, C, NP and EN. On days marked with the letters F (dies fasti; fasti - schedule of days in court), judicial institutions were open and court hearings could take place (“the praetor, without violating religious requirements, was allowed to pronounce the words do, dico, addiсo - “I agree” (to appoint a court ), “I indicate” (law), “I award”). Over time, the letter F began to denote days of holidays, games, etc. Days designated by the letter N (dies nefasti) were forbidden; for religious reasons, it was forbidden to convene meetings, hold court hearings, and pass sentences. On C days (dies comitialis - “meeting days”), popular assemblies and meetings of the Senate took place. NP (nefastus parte) days were "partially forbidden", EN (intercisus) days were considered nefasti in the morning and evening and fasti in the intermediate hours. During the time of Emperor Augustus in the Roman calendar there were days F - 45, N-55, NP- 70, C-184, EN - 8. Three days a year were called dies fissi (“split” - from fissiculo - to examine the cuts of the sacrificed animals), of which two (March 24 and May 24 - "were designated as QRCF: quando rex comitiavit fas - "when the sacrificial king presides" in the national assembly, the third (June 15) - QSDF: quando stercus delatum fas - "when the dirt is taken out and rubbish" from the temple of Vesta - an ancient Roman deity hearth and home and fire. An eternal flame was maintained in the temple of Vesta, from here it was taken to new colonies and settlements. The days of fissi were considered nefasti until the end of the rite.
The list of fasti days for each month was for a long time proclaimed only on its 1st day - this is evidence of how in ancient times the patricians and priests held in their hands all the most important means of regulating public life. And only in 305 BC. e. The prominent politician Gnaeus Flavius published on a white board in the Roman Forum a list of dies fasti for the whole year, making the distribution of days in the year publicly known. Since that time, the installation of calendar tables carved on stone tablets in public places has become commonplace.
Alas, as noted in “ Encyclopedic Dictionary"F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron (St. Petersburg, 1895, vol. XIV, p. 15) "The Roman calendar seems controversial and is the subject of numerous assumptions." The above can also be applied to the question of when the Romans began counting the days. According to the testimony of the outstanding philosopher and political figure Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC) and Ovid, the day for the Romans allegedly began in the morning, while according to Censorinus - from midnight. This latter is explained by the fact that among the Romans many holidays ended with certain ritual actions, for which the “silence of the night” was supposedly necessary. That’s why they added the first half of the night to the day that had already passed...
The length of the year at 355 days was 10.24-2 days shorter than the tropical one. But in the economic life of the Romans, agricultural work played an important role - sowing, harvesting, etc. And in order to keep the beginning of the year close to the same season, they inserted additional days. At the same time, the Romans, for some superstitious reasons, did not insert a whole month separately, but in every second year between the 7th and 6th days before the March Kalends (between February 23 and 24) they “wedged in” alternately 22 or 23 days. As a result, the number of days in the Roman calendar alternated in the following order:
377 (355 + 22) days,
378 (355+ 23) days.
If the insertion was made, then February 14 was already called the day “XI Kal. intercalares", on February 23 ("eve"), terminalia was celebrated - a holiday in honor of Terminus - the god of boundaries and boundary pillars, considered sacred. The next day, as it were, a new month began, which included the rest of February. The first day was “Kal. intercal.”, then - day “IV to non” (pop intercal.), the 6th day of this “month” is the day “VIII to Id” (idus intercal.), the 14th is day “XV (or XVI) Kal. Martias."
The intercalary days (dies intercalares) were called the month of Mercedonia, although ancient writers simply called it the intercalary month - intercalaris. The word “mercedonium” itself seems to come from “merces edis” - “payment for labor”: it was supposedly the month in which settlements between tenants and property owners were made.
As you can see, as a result of such insertions, the average length of the year of the Roman calendar was equal to 366.25 days - one day more than the true one. Therefore, from time to time this day had to be thrown out of the calendar.
Evidence from contemporaries. Let's now see what the Roman historians, writers and public figures. First of all, M. Fulvius Nobilior (former consul in 189 BC), writer and scientist Marcus Terentius Varro (116-27 BC), writers Censorinus (3rd century AD) and Macrobius (5th century AD) argued that the ancient Roman calendar year consisted of 10 months and contained only 304 days. At the same time, Nobilior believed that the 11th and 12th months (January and February) were added to the calendar year around 690 BC. e. semi-legendary dictator of Rome Numa Pompilius (died c. 673 BC). Varro believed that the Romans used a 10-month year even “before Romulus,” and therefore he already indicated the 37 years of the reign of this king (753-716 BC) as complete (according to 365 1/4, but not not 304 days). According to Varro, the ancient Romans allegedly knew how to coordinate their working life with the change of constellations in the sky. So, they supposedly believed that “the first day of spring falls in the sign of Aquarius, summer - in the sign of Taurus, autumn - Leo, winter - Scorpio.”
According to Licinius (tribune of the people 73 BC), Romulus created both a 12-month calendar and rules for inserting additional days. But according to Plutarch, the calendar year of the ancient Romans consisted of ten months, but the number of days in them ranged from 16 to 39, so that even then the year consisted of 360 days. Further, Numa Pompilius allegedly introduced the custom of inserting an additional month into 22 days.
From Macrobius we have evidence that the Romans did not divide the period of time remaining after the 10-month year of 304 days into months, but simply waited for the arrival of spring to begin counting by months again. Numa Pompilius allegedly divided this period of time into January and February, with February placed before January. Numa also introduced a 12-month lunar year of 354 days, but soon added another, 355th day. It was Numa who allegedly established an odd number of days in months. As Macrobius further stated, the Romans counted years according to the Moon, and when they decided to compare them with the solar year, they began to insert 45 days into every four years - two intercalary months at 22 and 23 days, they were inserted at the end of the 2nd and 4th years. Moreover, allegedly (and this is the only evidence of this kind) in order to coordinate the calendar with the Sun, the Romans excluded 24 days from counting every 24 years. Macrobius believed that the Romans borrowed this insertion from the Greeks and that it was made around 450 BC. e. Before this, they say, the Romans kept score lunar years, and the full moon coincided with the day of the Eid.
According to Plutarch, the fact that the numerical months of the ancient Roman calendar, when the year begins in March, end in December is proof that the year once consisted of 10 months. But, as the same Plutarch notes elsewhere, this very fact could be the reason for the emergence of such an opinion...
And here it is appropriate to quote the words of D. A. Lebedev: “According to the very witty and highly probable assumption of G. F. Unger, the Romans called proper names 6 months, from January to June, because they fall in that half of the year when the day lengthens, which is why it was considered lucky and only for it ancient times all the holidays (from which the months usually took their names) also occurred; the remaining six months, corresponding to that half of the year in which the night increases and in which, therefore, as unfavorable, no celebrations were celebrated, did not have special names in mind, but were simply counted from the first month of March. A complete analogy with this is the fact that during lunar
year, the Romans celebrated only three lunar phases: the new moon (Kalendae), the 1st quarter (popae) and the full moon (idus). These phases correspond to the half of the month when the bright part of the Moon increases, marking the beginning, middle and end of this increase. The last quarter of the Moon, which falls in the middle of that half of the month when the light of the Moon decreases, was not of any interest to the Romans and therefore did not have any name for them.”
From Romulus to Caesar. In the previously described ancient Greek parapegmas, two calendars were actually combined: one of them counted the days according to the phases of the Moon, the second indicated a change in the appearance of the starry sky, which was necessary for the ancient Greeks to establish the timing of certain field work. But the same problem faced the ancient Romans. Therefore, it is possible that the writers mentioned above noted changes in various types of calendars - lunar and solar, and in this case it is generally impossible to reduce their messages “to a common denominator”.
There is no doubt that the ancient Romans, conforming their lives to the cycle of the solar year, could easily count days and months only during the “year of Romulus” of 304 days. The different lengths of their months (from 16 to 39 days) clearly indicate the consistency of the beginning of these periods of time with the timing of certain field works or with the morning and evening sunrises and sunsets of bright stars and constellations. It is no coincidence, as E. Bickerman notes, that in Ancient Rome it was customary to talk about the morning sunrises of one or another star, just as we talk about the weather every day! The very art of “reading” signs “written” in the sky was considered the gift of Prometheus...
The lunar calendar of 355 days was apparently introduced from outside, it was probably of Greek origin. The fact that the words “Kalends” and “Ides” are most likely Greek was recognized by the Roman authors themselves who wrote about the calendar.
Of course, the Romans could slightly change the structure of the calendar, in particular, change the counting of days in the month (remember that the Greeks counted backwards only the days of the last ten days).
Having adopted the lunar calendar, the Romans, apparently, first used its simplest version, that is, the two-year lunar cycle - triesteride. This means that they inserted the 13th month every second year and this eventually became a tradition among them. Considering the superstitious adherence of the Romans to odd numbers, it can be assumed that a simple year consisted of 355 days, an embolismic year - of 383 days, i.e. that they inserted an additional month of 28 days and, who knows, maybe they were already “hiding it” "in the last, incomplete ten days of February...
But the triesteride cycle is still too imprecise. And therefore: “If in fact they, apparently having learned from the Greeks that 90 days need to be inserted into 8 years, distributed these 90 days over 4 years, 22-23 days each, inserting this wretched mensis intercalaris every other year, then, obviously , they had long been accustomed to inserting the 13th month every other year, when they decided to use octaetherides to bring their time calculation into agreement with the sun, and therefore they preferred to cut the intercalary month rather than abandon the custom of inserting it once every 2 years. Without this assumption, the origin of the wretched Roman octaetheride is inexplicable.”
Of course, the Romans (perhaps they were priests) could not help but look for ways to improve the calendar and, in particular, could not help but find out that their neighbors, the Greeks, used octaetherides to keep track of time. Probably, the Romans decided to do the same, but they found it unacceptable the way the Greeks inserted embolismic months...
But, as noted above, as a result, the four-year average duration of the Roman calendar - 366 1/4 days - was one day longer than the true one. Therefore, after three octaetherides, the Roman calendar lagged behind the Sun by 24 days, i.e., more than a whole intercalary month. As we already know from the words of Macrobius, the Romans, at least in the last centuries of the Republic, used a period of 24 years, containing 8766 (= 465.25 * 24) days:
once every 24 years, the insertion of Mercedonia (23 days) was not carried out. A further error in one day (24-23) could be eliminated after 528 years. Of course, such a calendar did not agree well with both the phases of the Moon and the solar year. The most expressive description of this calendar was given by D. Lebedev: “Abolished by Julius Caesar in 45 BC. X. The calendar of the Roman Republic was... a real chronological monstrum. It was not a lunar or solar calendar, but a pseudo-lunar and pseudo-solar one. Possessing all the disadvantages of the lunar year, he had none of its advantages, and he stood in exactly the same relation to the solar year.”
This is further strengthened by the following circumstance. Since 191 BC. e., according to the “law of Manius Acilius Glabrion”, the pontiffs, headed by the high priest (Pontifex Maximus), received the right to determine the duration of additional months (“assign as many days for the intercalary month as necessary”) and establish the beginning of months and years. At the same time, they very often abused their power, lengthening the years and thereby the terms of their friends in elected positions and shortening these terms for enemies or those who refused to pay a bribe. It is known, for example, that in 50 BC. Cicero (106 - 43 BC) on February 13 did not yet know whether an additional month would be inserted in ten days. However, a little earlier he himself argued that the Greeks’ concern about adjusting their calendar to the movement of the Sun was just an eccentricity. As for the Roman calendar of that time, as E. Bickerman notes, it did not coincide with either the movement of the Sun or the phases of the Moon, but “rather wandered completely at random...”.
And since at the beginning of each year the payment of debts and taxes was carried out, it is not difficult to imagine how firmly, with the help of the calendar, the priests held in their hands all economic and political life in ancient Rome.
Over time, the calendar became so confusing that the harvest festival had to be celebrated in winter. The confusion and chaos that dominated the Roman calendar of that time was best described by the French philosopher Voltaire (1694-1778) with the words: “Roman generals always won, but they never knew on what day it happened...”.
History has not preserved for us exact information about the time of the birth of the Roman calendar. However, it is known that in the time of Romulus (mid-8th century BC), the Romans used a lunar calendar, which diverged from the actual astronomical cycle on Earth. The year began in March and consisted of only 10 months (contained 304 days). Initially, the months did not have names and were designated by serial numbers.
In the 7th century BC e., i.e. During the time of the second legendary ancient Roman king, Numa Pompilius, the Roman calendar was reformed and two more months were added to the calendar year. The months of the Roman calendar had the following names:
| lat. Name | note |
| Martius | March - in honor of the god of war Mars, father of Romulus and Remus |
| Aprilis | April - possibly from Lat. aperire (to reveal), because this month the buds on trees open in Italy; variant - apricus (warmed by the sun) |
| Majus | May - the name of the month goes back to the Italian goddess of earth and fertility, nymph of the mountains, mother of Mercury - Maya |
| Junius | June - named after the goddess Juno, wife of Jupiter, patroness of women and marriage, who gives rain and harvest, success and victory |
| Quintilis, later Julius | fifth, from 44 BC e. - July, in honor of Julius Caesar |
| Sextilis, later Augustus | sixth; from 8 AD BC - August, in honor of the Roman emperor Octavian Augustus |
| September | September - seventh |
| October | October - eighth |
| November | November - ninth |
| December | December - tenth |
| Januarius | January - in honor of the two-faced god Janus, whose one face was turned forward and the other backward: he could simultaneously contemplate the past and foresee the future |
| Februarius | February is the month of cleansing (Latin februare - to cleanse); associated with the rite of purification, celebrated annually on February 15; this month was dedicated to the god of the underworld Februus. |
The names of the months were adjectival definitions of the word mensis - month, for example, mensis Martius, mensis December.
Julian calendar.
The chaotic nature of the Roman calendar created such great inconvenience that its urgent reform turned into an acute social problem. Such a reform was carried out over two thousand years ago, in 46 BC. e. It was initiated by the Roman statesman and commander Julius Caesar. He entrusted the creation of a new calendar to a group of Alexandrian astronomers led by Sosigenes.
The essence of the reform was that the calendar was based on the annual movement of the Sun between the stars. The average length of the year was set at 365.25 days, which exactly corresponded to the length of the tropical year known at that time. But so that the beginning of the calendar year always falls on the same date, as well as at the same time of day, they decided to count 365 days in each year for three years, and 366 in the fourth. This last year was called a leap year.
Sosigenes divided the year into 12 months, for which he retained their ancient names. The year began to begin on January 1. This coincided with the beginning of the Roman financial year and with the assumption of office of new consuls. At the same time, the length of months was established, which still exists today.
After the death of Julius Caesar, the fifth month of Quintilis was named Iulius (July) in his honor, and in 8 AD. Sextilis was named after Emperor Augustus.
Counting according to the new calendar, called the Julian calendar, began on January 1, 45 BC. e. In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII amended the Julian calendar, according to which the year began 13 days earlier. It was accepted all over the world. In Russia, the “new style” was introduced in 1918. The Russian Orthodox Church still uses the Julian calendar.
Counting days in months. The Roman calendar did not know the ordinal counting of days in a month. Counting was carried out by the number of days up to three specific moments within each month: Kalends, Nons and Ides. The designation of the numbers of the month by the Romans was based on the allocation in it three main days associated initially with the change of phases of the moon.
New moon day(1st day of the month) was called Kalendae (abbr. Kal.). Initially, its arrival was announced by the high priest (from Latin calare - to convene; z.: to announce the new moon). The entire system of calculation during the year was called Kalendarium (hence the calendar), and the debt book was also called the same, since interest was paid during the calendars.
Full moon day(13th or 15th day of the month) was called Ides (Idus, abbreviated Id.). According to the etymology of the Roman scientist Varro - from the Etruscan iduare - to divide, i.e. the month was divided in half.
Day of the first quarter moon ( The 5th or 7th day of the month) was called nonae (Nonae, abbr. Non.). From the ordinal number nonus - ninth, because it was the 9th day until the next milestone in the month.
In March, May, July, October, the Ides fell on the 15th, the Nones on the 7th, and in the remaining months the Ides fell on the 13th, and the Nones on the 5th.
Dates were designated by counting from these three main days of the month, including both this day and the day of the designated date: ante diem tertium Kalendas Septembres - three days before the calendar of September (i.e. August 30), ante diem quartum Idus Martias - behind four days before the Ides of March (i.e. March 12).
Leap year. The expression “leap year” is associated with the origin of the Julian calendar and the peculiar counting of days used by the ancient Romans. During the calendar reform, February 24 was repeated twice, that is, after the sixth day before the March calendars, and was called ante diem bis sextum Kelendas Martium - on the repeated sixth day before the March calendars.
A year with an additional day was called bi(s)sextilis - with a repeated sixth day. In Latin, the sixth number is called “sextus”, and “sixth again” is called “bissextus”. Therefore, a year containing an extra day in February was called “bisextilis.” The Russians, having heard this word from the Byzantine Greeks, who pronounced “b” as “v”, turned it into “visokos”.
Days of the week. The seven-day week in Rome appeared in the 1st century. AD influenced by the Ancient East. Christians introduced a regular holiday after every 6 working days. In 321, Emperor Constantine the Great enshrined this form of the week into law.
The Romans named the days of the week according to the seven then known luminaries, which bore the names of gods. Latin names, having changed, are still partly preserved in the names of the days of the week in many European languages.
| Russian | Latin | French | English | German |
| Monday | Lunae dies | lundi | Monday | Montag |
| Tuesday | Martis dies | mardi | Tuesday | Dienstag |
| Wednesday | Mercuri dies | mercredi | Wednesday | Mittwoch |
| Thursday | Jovis dies | jeudi | Thursday | Donnerstag |
| Friday | Veneris dies | vendredi | Friday | Freitag |
| Saturday | Saturni dies | samedi | Saturday | Sonnabend |
| Sunday | Solis dies | dimanche | Sunday | Sonntag |
In the Slavic names of the days of the week (via Greek Orthodox Church) the designation was learned by their numbers. In Romance languages, the tradition is to name the days of the week after the names of pagan gods (despite the stubborn struggle christian church) is still preserved. In Germanic languages, the names of Roman deities were replaced by corresponding Germanic ones. In German mythology, the Roman god of war Mars corresponds to Tiu, the god of trade Mercury - Wodan, the supreme deity of the sky and thunderstorms Jupiter - Donar (Thor), the goddess of love Venus - Freya. The name “Saturday” is a modified Hebrew word sabbaton (shabbaton) - peace. The first Christians celebrated Sunday as “the day of the Lord,” that is, the day of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Calculation. In the first centuries of its existence, events in Rome were dated by the names of consuls, who were elected two per year. Thanks to the careful historical recording of the names of the consuls and their constant use in historical writings and documents, we know the names of the consuls, starting with Brutus (509 BC) and ending with Basil (541 AD), i.e. . for over 1000 years!
The year was designated by the names of the two consuls of a given year, the names were put in the ablative, for example: Marco Crasso et Gnaeo Pompejo consulibus - to the consulate of Marcus Crassus and Gnaeus Pompey (55 BC).
Since the era of Augustus (from 16 BC), along with dating according to consuls, chronology from the supposed year of the founding of Rome (753 BC) has come into use: ab Urbe condita - from the foundation of the city, abbr. . ab U.c. An abbreviation was placed before the year number, for example, 2009 of the Gregorian calendar corresponds to 2762 of the Roman era.