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August | Originally called Sextilis, Augustus

 


The original Roman calendar, traditionally attributed to Romulus, was a lunar calendar with ten months, beginning in March. Here are the original positions of the months:

  1. March - 1st month
  2. April - 2nd month
  3. May - 3rd month
  4. June - 4th month
  5. July (originally Quintilis) - 5th month
  6. August (originally Sextilis) - 6th month
  7. September - 7th month (from "septem," meaning seven)
  8. October - 8th month (from "octo," meaning eight)
  9. November - 9th month (from "novem," meaning nine)
  10. December - 10th month (from "decem," meaning ten)


In 713 BCE, Numa Pompilius added January and February, shifting the start of the year to January and bringing the total to twelve months. Numa Pompilius was the second king of Rome, succeeding Romulus, and is traditionally credited with important reforms, including the establishment of the Roman calendar.

Numa Pompilius is believed to have reigned from around 715 to 673 BCE. The original Roman calendar had ten months, totaling 304 days, with a long winter period that was not assigned to any month. This system was based on the lunar cycle but was insufficient for aligning with the solar year. To create a more accurate calendar that aligned better with the solar year (approximately 365 days), Numa added January and February: With the addition of these months, the calendar expanded to twelve months, totaling 355 days. Numa also introduced the concept of intercalation, allowing for the insertion of an extra month (Mercedonius) every few years to keep the calendar in sync with the seasons.


ROMAN MYTHOLOGY


January - Named after Janus, the god of beginnings and transitions.
February - Named after Februus, the god of purification.
March - Named after Mars, the god of war.
April - Possibly named after Aphrodite (Venus in Roman), though the exact origin is unclear.
May - Named after Maia, the goddess of spring.
June - Named after Juno, the queen of the gods and goddess of marriage.
July - Originally called Quintilis, it was renamed in honor of Julius Caesar.
August - Originally called Sextilis, it was renamed in honor of Emperor Augustus.
September - From "septem," meaning seven, as it was the seventh month in the old Roman calendar.
October - From "octo," meaning eight.
November - From "novem," meaning nine.
December - From "decem," meaning ten.

Honor Julius Caesar: In 44 BCE, after Julius Caesar's assassination, the Roman Senate renamed Quintilis to Julius (July) to honor him for his contributions to Roman society, including the reform of the calendar.

Julian Calendar: Caesar also introduced the Julian calendar, which included a more accurate solar year of 365.25 days. This reform laid the groundwork for the modern calendar system used today.

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