The Roman Calendar from Numa to Constantine: Time, History, and the Fasti

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

Table of Contents:
Preface vii Map 1 Distribution of preserved calendars (or calendar fragments) of the fasti type from the first century BCE to the fifth century CE viii Table 1 List of known copies of fasti ix 1 Time’s Social Dimension 1 2 Observations on the Roman fasti 6 2.1 A Republican Version 6 2.2 Forms and Functions 8 2.3 The fasti and the Birth of Augustan Epigraphy 14 2.4 The Question of the Archetype 21 3 Towards an Early History of the Roman Calendar 23 3.1 Notions of a Prehistoric Calendar 23 3.2 The Structure of the Month 24 3.3 Market Cycles 32 3.4 Modes of Dating 34 4 The Introduction of the Republican Calendar 38 4.1 Timing and Motivation 38 4.2 The Character and Significance of the Reform 41 5 The Written Calendar 44 5.1 Gnaeus Flavius 44 5.2 NP Days and Feast-names 50 5.3 Cultic and Linguistic Details 55 5.4 The Purpose of the fasti 58 5.5 The Law of Hortensius 59 5.6 Implications for the Historiography of Roman Religion 64 5.7 Variants on Stone and Paper 66 6 The Lex Acilia and the Problem of Pontifical Intercalation 68 6.1 The Nature of the Measures 68 6.2 The Ritually Correct Method of Intercalation 69 6.3 Problems of Intercalation 79 6.4 Regulating Intercalation by Means of Laws 83 7 Reinterpretation of the fasti in the Temple of the Muses 87 7.1 Marcus Fulvius Nobilior, Triumphator 87 7.2 Temple Dedications in the fasti 95 7.3 Ennius 105 7.4 All fasti are Fulvian fasti 108 8 From Republic to Empire 109 8.1 Caesar’s Calendar Reform 109 8.2 The Calendar as Collective Memory 121 8.3 Augustus and the Power of Dates 124 8.4 The Calendar as Roman Breviary 134 9 The Disappearance of Marble Calendars 140 10 Calendar Monopoly and Competition between Calendars 146 10.1 One Calendar 146 10.2 Coexisting and Competing Developments 153 10.3 Eras 156 10.4 The Calculation of Easter 157 10.5 Weekly Cycles 160 10.6 Fasti Christiani? 169 11 The Calendar in the Public Realm 175 Abbreviations 183 References 185 Sources Index 209 General Index 215