Fasti Antiates Maiores

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Fasti Antiates Maiores,
arranged excavated pieces Fasti Antiates, Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, Rome..jpg
Fasti Antiates Maiores,
arranged excavated pieces
Fasti Antiates Maiores,
reconstruction Museo del Teatro Romano de Caesaraugusta.43.jpg
Fasti Antiates Maiores,
reconstruction
Antium (Anzio) is south of Rome Shepherd-c-030-031.jpg
Antium (Anzio) is south of Rome

The Fasti Antiates Maiores is a painted wall-calendar from the late Roman Republic, the oldest archaeologically attested local Roman calendar and the only such calendar known from before the Julian calendar reforms. It was created between 84 and 55 BC and discovered in 1915 at Anzio (ancient Antium) in a crypt next to the coast. [1] It is now located in the Palazzo Massimo alle Terme in Rome, part of the Museo Nazionale Romano. [2]

Contents

Background

Anzio lies about 58 km south of Rome in the region of modern Lazio.

In the 6th century BC, at the latest, the Latins inhabited the region of Latium, including Antium, this town until being taken by the Volsci, [3] remaining independent of Rome until 338 BC. The Romans first took control of the region in the Latin War after the Battle of Trifanum and incorporated it into the Roman republic. [4]

Description

The Fasti Antiates maiores consist of two fragments of the thirteen month calendar and the List of Roman consuls. The 1.16 m high and 2.5 m wide calendar contains the leap month Mensis Intercalaris in addition to the twelve months. [5]

The list of consuls was the same height as the calendar, but 1.36 m wide. The names of the consuls span the period from 164 BC to 84 BC. According to the restoration of the lacunae at both ends, the list originally extended from 173 BC to 67 BC.

Contents

The calendar takes the form of a table with thirteen columns, each of which is a month labelled with an abbreviation of its name. Still legible are the following: IAN for Ianuarius (January), FEB for Februarius (February), APR for Aprilis (April), IVN for Iunius (June), and SEP for September .

Each column consists of several rows containing the days as well as a supplementary row indicating the total number of days in the month. Still visible are XXIIX (28) for February, XXIX (29) for April, June and partly for August, XXXI (31) (partial) for May and October.

Each day is marked with a letter from A to H, indicating the position of the day in the Roman nundinal cycle, with occasional further letters appended to note the ceremonial category of the day:

The first day of each month is marked by the letter K, short for Kalendae . The fifth day of January, February, April, June, August, September, November, and December is marked with the letters NON, short for Nonae , whereas NON is placed in the seventh day for the months of March, May, July, and October. The eighth day after the Nones of each month is labelled EIDVS (Ides).

Some days are marked with the letters F, N or C. F is short for fastus dies ("allowed days", when it was legal to initiate action in the courts of civil law), N for nefastus dies (banned days, when it was not), and C for comitialis dies (assembly days, when political assemblies were permitted).

The calendar also lists the foundation dates (dies natales) of the temples in the city of Rome. The fact that the foundation of the Temple of Venus connected to the Theatre of Pompey is missing indicates that the calendar was created before 55 BCE. The calendar also includes important events, like the Ludi Megalenses , one of the festivals of the cult of Magna Mater. The inauguration of her temple on the Palatine occurred on 11 April 191 BCE. The relevant festival took place from 4–11 April. A confirmation of the date of the Ludi Megalenses is found in the Fasti Quirinales, which additionally classify 11 April as Endoitio Exitio Nefas. Later Fasti contain a transmission error, which is why they provide the incorrect dates of 4–10 April. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman calendar</span> Calendar used by the Roman Kingdom and Roman Republic

The Roman calendar was the calendar used by the Roman Kingdom and Roman Republic. Although the term is primarily used for Rome's pre-Julian calendars, it is often used inclusively of the Julian calendar established by the reforms of the Dictator Julius Caesar and Emperor Augustus in the late 1st century BC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quintilis</span>

In the ancient Roman calendar, Quintilis or Quinctilis was the month following Junius (June) and preceding Sextilis (August). Quintilis is Latin for "fifth": it was the fifth month in the earliest calendar attributed to Romulus, which began with Martius and had 10 months. After the calendar reform that produced a 12-month year, Quintilis became the seventh month, but retained its name. In 45 BC, Julius Caesar instituted a new calendar that corrected astronomical discrepancies in the old. After his death in 44 BC, the month of Quintilis, his birth month, was renamed Julius in his honor, hence July.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sextilis</span> Original sixth month in the Roman calendar

Sextilis or mensis Sextilis was the Latin name for what was originally the sixth month in the Roman calendar, when March was the first of ten months in the year. After the calendar reform that produced a twelve-month year, Sextilis became the eighth month, but retained its name. It was renamed Augustus (August) in 8 BC in honor of the first Roman emperor, Augustus. Sextilis followed Quinctilis, which was renamed Julius (July) after Julius Caesar, and preceded September, which was originally the seventh month.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman festivals</span> Scheduled celebration in ancient Rome

Festivals in ancient Rome were a very important part in Roman religious life during both the Republican and Imperial eras, and one of the primary features of the Roman calendar. Feriae were either public (publicae) or private (privatae). State holidays were celebrated by the Roman people and received public funding. Games (ludi), such as the Ludi Apollinares, were not technically feriae, but the days on which they were celebrated were dies festi, holidays in the modern sense of days off work. Although feriae were paid for by the state, ludi were often funded by wealthy individuals. Feriae privatae were holidays celebrated in honor of private individuals or by families. This article deals only with public holidays, including rites celebrated by the state priests of Rome at temples, as well as celebrations by neighborhoods, families, and friends held simultaneously throughout Rome.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Floralia</span> Roman religious festival for the goddess Flora

The Floralia was a festival in ancient Roman religious practice in honor of the goddess Flora, held on 27 April during the Republican era, or 28 April in the Julian calendar. The festival included Ludi Florae, the "Games of Flora", which lasted for six days under the empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antium</span> Former human settlement and archaeological site near Rome

Antium was an ancient coastal town in Latium, south of Rome. An oppidum was founded by people of Latial culture, then it was the main stronghold of the Volsci people until it was conquered by the Romans.

<i>Februarius</i> Second month of the revised ancient Roman calendar

Februarius, fully Mensis Februarius, was the shortest month of the Roman calendar from which the Julian and Gregorian month of February derived. It was eventually placed second in order, preceded by Ianuarius and followed by Martius. In the oldest Roman calendar, which the Romans believed to have been instituted by their legendary founder Romulus, March was the first month, and the calendar year had only ten months in all. Ianuarius and Februarius were supposed to have been added by Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome, originally at the end of the year. It is unclear when the Romans reset the course of the year so that January and February came first.

<i>Ianuarius</i> First month of the revised ancient Roman calendar

Ianuarius, Januarius, or January, fully Mensis Ianuarius and abbreviated Ian., was the first month of the ancient Roman calendar, from which the Julian and Gregorian month of January derived. It was followed by Februarius ("February"). In the calendars of the Roman Republic, Ianuarius had 29 days. Two days were added when the calendar was reformed under Julius Caesar in 45 BCE.

<i>Maius</i>

Maius or mensis Maius (May) was the third month of the ancient Roman calendar, following Aprilis (April) and preceding Iunius (June). On the oldest Roman calendar that had begun with March, it was the third of ten months in the year. May had 31 days.

<i>Ludi</i> Public games held for the benefit and entertainment of the Roman people

Ludi were public games held for the benefit and entertainment of the Roman people . Ludi were held in conjunction with, or sometimes as the major feature of, Roman religious festivals, and were also presented as part of the cult of state.

The Roman–Volscian wars were a series of wars fought between the Roman Republic and the Volsci, an ancient Italic people. Volscian migration into southern Latium led to conflict with that region's old inhabitants, the Latins under leadership of Rome, the region's dominant city-state. By the late 5th century BC, the Volsci were increasingly on the defensive and by the end of the Samnite Wars had been incorporated into the Roman Republic. The ancient historians devoted considerable space to Volscian wars in their accounts of the early Roman Republic, but the historical accuracy of much of this material has been questioned by modern historians.

<i>Fasti Ostienses</i> Calendar of Roman magistrates and events from 49 BC to AD 175

The Fasti Ostienses are a calendar of Roman magistrates and significant events from 49 BC to AD 175, found at Ostia, the principal seaport of Rome. Together with similar inscriptions, such as the Fasti Capitolini and Fasti Triumphales at Rome, the Fasti Ostienses form part of a chronology known as the Fasti Consulares, or Consular Fasti.

<i>Martius</i> (month)

Martius or mensis Martius ("March") was the first month of the ancient Roman year until possibly as late as 153 BC. After that time, it was the third month, following Februarius (February) and preceding Aprilis (April). Martius was one of the few Roman months named for a deity, Mars, who was regarded as an ancestor of the Roman people through his sons Romulus and Remus.

<i>Aprilis</i>

Aprilis or mensis Aprilis (April) was the second month of the ancient Roman calendar, following Martius (March) and preceding Maius (May). On the oldest Roman calendar that had begun with March, Aprilis was the second of ten months in the year. April had 29 days on calendars of the Roman Republic, with a day added to the month during the reform in the mid-40s BC that produced the Julian calendar.

<i>Iunius</i> (month) Month in the ancient Roman calendar

On the ancient Roman calendar, mensis Iunius or Iunius, also Junius (June), was the fourth month, following Maius (May). In the oldest calendar attributed by the Romans to Romulus, Iunius was the fourth month in a ten-month year that began with March (Martius, "Mars' month"). The month following June was thus called Quinctilis or Quintilis, the "fifth" month. Iunius had 29 days until a day was added during the Julian reform of the calendar in the mid-40s BC. The month that followed Iunius was renamed Iulius (July) in honour of Julius Caesar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">September (Roman month)</span> Seventh of ten months on the ancient Roman calendar

September or mensis September was originally the seventh of ten months on the ancient Roman calendar that began with March. It had 29 days. After the reforms that resulted in a 12-month year, September became the ninth month, but retained its name. September followed what was originally Sextilis, the "sixth" month, renamed Augustus in honor of the first Roman emperor, and preceded October, the "eighth" month that like September retained its numerical name contrary to its position on the calendar. A day was added to September in the mid-40s BC as part of the Julian calendar reform.

October or mensis October was the eighth of ten months on the oldest Roman calendar. It had 31 days. October followed September and preceded November. After the calendar reform that resulted in a 12-month year, October became the tenth month, but retained its numerical name, as did the other months from September to December.

November or mensis November was originally the ninth of ten months on the Roman calendar, following October and preceding December. It had 29 days. In the reform that resulted in a 12-month year, November became the eleventh month, but retained its name, as did the other months from September through December. A day was added to November during the Julian calendar reform in the mid-40s BC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ludi Triumphales</span>

In the Roman Empire of the 4th century, the Ludi Triumphales were games (ludi) held annually September 18–22 to commemorate the victory of Constantine over Licinius at Chalcedon in 324. No description of these games has survived, but they are significant in the historical transformation of Roman religious and state institutions under the Christian emperors, an era inaugurated by the conversion of Constantine. Forty-eight circus races (ludi circenses) are recorded for September 18, which was also celebrated as the birthday (dies natalis) of the emperor Trajan.

References

  1. Wiseman, Timothy Peter (2004). The Myths of Rome. University of Exeter Press. p. 63. ISBN   978-0-85989-703-7.
  2. Sears, Gareth; Keegan, Peter; Laurence, Ray (18 July 2013). Written Space in the Latin West, 200 BC to AD 300. A&C Black. p. IX. ISBN   978-1-4411-8876-2.
  3. A. Pensword. "Anzio. Vallo Volsco: Vallo Italico Tirrenico, on CambiaVersoAnzio". cambiaversoanzio.wordpress.com. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  4. Rolando, Antonio (1899). Cronologia storica: Roma fino al termine dell' impero d'occidente; coll' aggiunta dei Fasti Consolari dall' origine del consolato al termine del governo d'Augusto (in Italian). G. B. Paravia & Company. p. 39.
  5. Zautner, Andreas E. (16 February 2021). The Lunisolar Calendar of the Germanic Peoples: Reconstruction of a bound moon calendar from ancient, medieval and early modern sources. BoD – Books on Demand. p. 27. ISBN   978-3-7534-0723-4.
  6. Rüpke, Jörg (1994). "Fehler und Fehlinterpretationen in der Datierung des "dies natalis" des stadtrömischen Mater Magna-Tempels" [Errors and misinterpretations in the dating of the "dies natalis" of the temple of Mater Magna in the city of Rome]. Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik (in German). 102: 237–240.

Bibliography