The Roman calendar originally had ten months, and began in March rather than January. It was reformed in 45 B. C. when Julius Caesar was in power. The new calendar was based on the solar year (with the value of 365 days and 6 hours), Caesar also decreed that the new calendar, known as the Julian calendar, begin with January and not; with March. The Julian calendar was later reformed somewhat by the Gregorian calendar adopted in Germany in 1698, in England in 1752, and in Russia in 1918.
For our purposes, the names of the months and days of the week remain unchanged from the Roman times and these will be studied through mythology. The months of January through June are related in some way to mythology. July is named after Julius Caesar, August is named after Augustus, and the names of the months September through December are left from the original ten-month Latin calendar thus September was the seventh month, October the eighth, etc. July was originally the fifth month Quintilis and August was called Sextilis, the sixth month.
January—Ianuarius
January, the first month of the year, is named after the Roman god of doors, Janus. Janus was the protector of the gateway to heaven, He is represented in statues and coins as having two faces and being able to look forward and backward at the same time. He is the most distinctive and most important of the Roman gods. There is no Greek equivalent for this god
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In Roman times, a temple was built to honor Janus, It was a double arch with doors. When the Roman Empire was at peace, the gates were closed, when it was at war the doors were open. These doors were closed only once between the reign of Numa and that of Augustus. The temple, in the Forum, faced east and west, for the beginning and ending of the day. The Romans believed that Janus opened the gates of heaven at dawn to let the morning in and closed them at dusk,
Janus was invoked publicly on New Year’s Day. On this day one looks back to the old year and makes plans or resolutions for the new year. He was invoked on the first day of each month. He was the bringer of good beginnings which insured good endings. He was called upon when wars were started. Janus is also called the god of civilization and sometimes Consivius, the Sower.
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Where did the World come from?
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The Greek myth of the Creation is the account of the origin of the World. The world, in the Beginning, was what was visible to the eye of the beholder. The Earth, all of it, was what on could see all around him or her. There were also the sky and the ocean, and the sun, moon, and the stars. The sun was visible during the day and the moon and stars were visible until the sun came back again.
Before all of this, however, was Chaos, which was composed o Void, Mass, and Darkness. Then came Mother Earth (Gaea), Love (Eros), Tartarus, Erebus, and Night. Erebus and Night, children of Chaos, were joined and from them were born Aither (Sky, the light of the heavens) and Hemera (the Day). Earth produced Ouranos (Heaven), the Mountains, and Pontus (the Sea). Later Ouranos and Earth joined and brought forth the Titans, the Cyclopes (one-eyed giants), and the Hecatonchires (hundred-handed giants). There were twelve Titans: Cronus, Oceanus, Iapetos, Rhea, Tethys, Themis, Coeus, Crios, Thia, Phoebe, Mnemosyne, and Hyperion. The Cyclopes were three in number: Brontes (Thunder-man), Steropes (Lightning-man), and Arges (Shiner), Also three in number were the Hecatoncheires: Kottos, Briareos, and Gyes.
Ouranos was disgusted with the Hecatoncheires and the Cyclopes. H hated these offsprings so much that he would hide them in (the) Earth every time one of them was born. Earth groaned in pain; so Ouranos decided to send them to Tartarus, the darkness of the Earth. Earth was so upset at all this that she sought help from her other children, the Titans. She explained to them what had happened to the others but only Cronos, the youngest of the Titans, would help his mother. The other Titans were too afraid to go against their father.
Earth and Cronos devised a plan. Cronos was to hid and wait for Ouranos to come to Earth at night. Ouranos, overcome with desire, came upon Earth. Cronos sprang out with a sickle and castrated his father and threw his organs into the sea. This event also meant the separation of Heaven and Earth forever. From the blood that fell on the earth were born the Erinyes (Furies), the Giants, and Meliaii The organ itself landed in the sea, and from the foam which formed while it floated sprung the goddess Aphrodite or Venus.
After this, Cronos became the king of the Titans, but Ouranos prophesied that one of Cronos’s own sons would someday dethrone him. is sister and queen, Rhea, bore him three daughters, Vesta, Ceres, and Juno and three sons, Pluto, Neptune, and Jupiter. Cronos swallowed his children as they were born. Rhea fooled him into thinking that he had swallowed Jupiter, the sixth child, by wrapping a stone in baby’s garments. Jupiter was sent to Crete to grow. When he became a man, he conquered Cronos and through a drink given to Cronos by Rhea, Cronos then vomited the stone and the other children, all intact and fully gown.
A great war broke out between the Titans and the Olympians. Prometheus, one of the Titans, tried counseling Cronos to release the Hectonchcires and the Cyclopes but Cronos did not listen. He gave the same advice to Jupiter, who did as Prometheus suggested, With the help of the Cyclopes’ deafening thunder and blinding lightning, and the Hecatoncheires’ stone-throwing power, the battle turned in Jupiter’s favor. The Titans were forced into Tartarus, all except Prometheus. The war lasted for ten years.
Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto
Jupiter, king of the Olympians, after drawing lots, became the king of the sky. Mount Olympus was his home. He is often represented holding a scepter or thunderbolt in his hand given to him by one of the Cyclopes. The Aegis is aLso characteristic of Jupiter. The eagle and the oak tree were sacred to him. The skies and the weather were Jupiter’s domain.
Jupiter had an insatiable sexual appetite and he had many children from mortals and immortals. He married Juno but continued having affairs with other women. Although Jupiter was the youngest of the three sons of Cronos, he became the king and father of gods and of men.
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Neptune resided beneath the Aegean Sea and his were all the oceans, rivers, and streams. Although he was a strong god he was no match for Jupiter. His wife was Amphitrite, and he was not as successful as Jupiter in romantic encounters. His symbol of power was the trident, with which he could control the seas at will. It was a gift from the Cyclopes. His children were Triton, Benthesikymen,(Wave of the Deep), and Rhode. He also had a son by the nymph Thoosa, Polyphemus, a Cyclops. He had other Less important 6 affairs. Neptune also had the power to provoke earthquakes.
Pluto, the third son of Cronos, ruled the underworld. He was given a helmet by the Cyclopes that made him invisible. He was not evil but he was unwelcome. He represented the forces of death but without judgment, His wife was Proscrpina, who ruled with him for two-thirds of the year.
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The Creation of Man
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As soon as order was in effect with Jupiter’s reign, the earth had seas, land, rivers, night and day, heat and cold, rain, snow, wind, thunder, lightning, the sun, the moon and stars. It was ready for the creation of man.
There are varied versions of the beginning of man, It has been said that the gods themselves created man and all the living creatures. Others say that it was Prometheus, who helped Jupiter to his victory over the Titans, who molded clay into different animals that live on the earth. His brother Epimetheus gave each creature a special attribute with which to survive,
Prometheus favored man above all his other creations, By the time he made man( Epimetheus had given away all his gifts, so Prometheus decided to give man a little bit of each attribute. Minerva was also pleased and she breathed a higher spirit into man.
Man had problems. He did not know how to use his XX attributes, Jupiter was also angered by the uselessness of these creatures and intended to eliminate them. Prometheus enlightened his creation; he taught man to understand and use his knowledge to survive and progress. Jupiter became pleased with man. He even let Man have the use of fire.
On one occasion, Prometheus invited Jupiter to a feast. He cut up a sacrificial bull and divided it into two unequal portions. In one pile was the meat of the bull, in the other were the bones and the fat, the latter being larger and more appealing than the former, He gave Jupiter the choice of whichever portion he wanted. Jupiter was not fooled and was greatly angered. To punish Man, Prometheus’ creation, he took away fire, but Prometheus stole some fire from Vulcan’s fore and eave it back to Man.
Jupiter, with the help of Vulcan and other gods, shaped a creature in the form of a woman. All the gods gave her gifts and she was called Pandora, or All-Gifts, The woman was given to Epimetheus, who had forgotten not to accept gifts from the gods. Pandora became Epimetheus’s wife.
The gods had given Yandora a sealed vase which she was not to open. She could not resist her curiosity to see what was inside and opened the vase. Out came plagues and other terrible things: sickness, jealousy, hatred, greed, lust, falsehood, and many others. Only hope remained beHind and was sealed inside. All these things were to cause unhappiness and misery to man.
Jupiter still had to get even with Prometheus for his trickery. Vulcan took him to Mount Caucasus and pinned him to the mountainside. His punishment was to be deprived of the sight and sound of man, whom he loved so much. An eagle would eat his liver during the day. The liver would grow back during the night. He was punished for a long time until he was released by Hercules.
February—Februarius
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The second month of the year, February, is named after the Roman god Februus, the god of purification. It was a time to cleanse one’s soul and one;s home of evil spirits.
The most important festival, held on February 15, was known as the Lupercalia. The object of the festival was, by expiation and purification, to give life and fruitfulness to fields, flocks, and people,
In this festival, he-goats and a dog were sacrificed. Two young men were touched on the forehead with a knife and smeared with the blood of the goats, which was then wiped off with wool dipped in milk. After the sacrificial feast, the young men were crowned and anointed. These two, wearing only an apron of goatskin, ran around the city with thongs cut from the skin of the sacrificed goats in their hands. Women would place themselves in their way to receive blows from the tongs. This was believed to be a charm against barrenness.
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The thongs were called
februa
, from the old word
februare
“to purify”, the day,
dies februaris
“the day of purification”, and the whole month,
februarius,
“the month of purification.”
New Vocabulary
purification, to cleanse, soul, spirit(s), expiation, fruitfulness, fields, flocks, sacrifice, feast, anoint(ed), thong, to receive, blow(s), barrenness, capricious, unfaithful, offspring.
February usually has 28 days, but every four years it has one extra day, The reason for this is that a regular year has 365 days and six hours, Every four years, these extra six hours add up to 24 hours or one full day. When February has 29 days, the year is called a ‘Leap Year’.
In many countries, Valentine’s Day is celebrated on February 14. This day is special for those who are in love. Hearts and Cupids are seen everywhere. Cupid, the son of Venus and Mercury, was the Roman god of love. He made mn and women fall in love by shooting his unerring arrows. He was thoughtless and capricious, because sometimes he would get the wrong people or gods to fall in love.
Venus, Cupid’s mother, was the goddess of love and beauty. She is believed to have been the daughter of Jupiter and Dione or to have been born from the foam formed by Uranus’s organs floating on the ocean. She was married to Vulcan but was very unfaithful, She had many offsprings and many lovers. Sacred to Venus were the swan, the dolphin, the sparrow, the dove, and the rose.
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Sunday and Monday
The days of the week are also derived from the Roman gods’ names. Sunday, or the day of the sun, is named after Apollo, the god of the sun.
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At dawn, the gates to the heavens were opened and he would start his daily journey across the sky in his golden chariot. The length of his passage provided the hors of daylight on earth.
Monday is dedicated to the moon goddess, Diana, Apollo’s twin sister. She was Apollo’s counterpart, where he represented the sun, she represented the moon.
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March—Martius 14
March was originally the first and most important month of the Roma calendar. his month marked the beginning of spring and Mars was regarded as the fertilizing god of that season.
In Roman times, March was dedicated completely to the worship of Mars. He was the son of Jupiter and Juno. He wore a gleaming helmet with a floating plume. He had a leather shield and a spear of bronze. Other names given to Mars are ‘the Slayer‘, ‘the Avenger‘, and ‘the Curse‘.
March is a month of storms. There is often thunder and lightning. Sometimes the wind blows strongly.
Minerva, he goddess of war, sprang from Jupiter’s brain. She was the goddess of storms, lightning, thunderclouds and rushing winds. In contrast to Mars, who was the foe of wisdom, she was the goddess of wisdom, Skill, and contemplation, She wore the aegis( a breastplate of goat skin that had fixed on it the head of Medusa that turns those who look at it into stone.
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New Vocabulary
war, gleaming, helmet, plume, leather, shield, spear, bronze, slayer, avenger, curse, storms, thunder, lightning, fertilizing, thunderclouds, foe, wisdom, contemplation, breastplate.
Vulcan and Hebe
Vulcan and Hebe were the other two children of Jupiter and Juno. Vulcan was the god of fire, the blacksmith of the gods. He built the homes of the gods on Mount Olympus, He also made Jupiter’s scepter, the shields and spears of the Olympians, the arrows of Apollo and Diana, the breastplate of Hercules, and the shield of Achilles.
He was lame, but his lack of physical beauty and grace were made up in his skill as a craftsman. He was a kind and good-hearted god. His wife was the unfaithful Venus. The fire in Vulcan’s workshop is said to still burn when a volcano erupts.
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Hebe was another daughter of Jupiter and Juno. She was the goddess of youth and the cupbearer to the gods. She was succeeded by Ganyede when she resigned to that post when she married Hercules.
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New Vocabulary
blacksmith, scepter, lame, grace, craftsman, workshop, erupts, youth.
Tuesday
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Tuesday is also named in honor of the god Mars. In Spanish, martes and in French mardi, the derivation from the Latin root Martius is very evident. The root for Tuesday in English comes from the Norse god Tyr (Ziu or Tiw), the god of battles, He is the equivalent of Mars.
April—Aprilis
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April is derived from that Latin word
aperire
which means ‘to open’. In April, the crops and young cattle were in the process of growing. There were two important festivaLs in April, the Robigalia and the Fornicalia, in which many earth goddesses were honored. Tellus, Pales. Ceres, Flora, and Fortuna had special days set aside in the month.
Tellus was an Italian goddess of mother earth. She was invoked during earthquakes. She was also the goddess of marriage. Pales was the goddess of the shepherds, Ceres was an old Italian goddess of agriculture. Her festival was held from April 12 to April 19, It celebrated the reunion of Ceres and her daughter Proserpina, Flora was the goddess of spring, flowers, and blossoms, She was responsible for the prospering of the fruit of the fields and trees, Fortuna was the goddess of good luck and she gave good luck to women in their relations with men.
The Fornicalia was held on April 15. It was a sacrificial ceremony where unborn calves.were taken out of the pregnant cows and burnt. Their ashes were kept by the Vestals to be used at the Parilia, another ceremony, This festival was in honor of Pales, and the ashes were used to : procure the fertility of the corn which was growing in the ‘womb‘ of mother earth.
New Vocabulary
aside, invoked, earthquake, shepherds, agriculture, blossoms, prospering, luck, unborn, calves, pregnant, procure, fertility, womb,
Apollo and Diana
Apollo is the only one of the gods to retain the same name in both Greek and Latin. He was the son of Jupiter and Latona, He had a twin sister, Diana, Not only was he the god of the sun, but also the god of fine arts, medicine, music, poetry, and eloquence. Sacred to Apollo were the wolf, the roe, the mouse, the he-goat, the ram (the dolphin, and the swan.
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His twin sister, Diana, was the goddess of the moon, the goddess of hunting and guardian of wild beasts. She was a virgin goddess and the ideal of modesty, grace, and chastity. Sacred to Diana were the cypress tree, the bear, the boar, the dog, the goat, and the hind.
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New Vocabulary
retain, twin, eloquence, wolf, roe, ram, dolphin, swan, modesty, grace, chastity, boar, hind.
Latona
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The Titaness Latona was the mother of Apollo and Diana. Their father was Jupiter. No land on earth would receive her, fearing the wrath of Juno. She wandered from place to place searching for a land to give birth. Only Delos, a floating island, received her. There she had her children alone.
New Vocabulary
wrath, wandered
May—Maius
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There is controversy over the origin of the name of the month of May. The only month that was certainly named after a deity is March. It is possible that Maia was another name for Bona Dea, the! earth goddess of chastity and fruitfulness of women, Another possible origin of the name is Maia, the daughter of Atlas and Pleione. Maia was the mother of Mercury by Jupiter
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There is very little information available to support this possibility.
On May 1, a ritual was held at the temple of Bona Dea. Only women were allowed to participate in this ceremony. A pregnant sow was sacrificed, and no wine or myrtle was used.
May, like February, is a month of purification. Men are at work in the fields and the time for harvesting is growing near. It was considered to b bad luck to marry in May and it is still so in many parts of the world.
New Vocabulary
contradiction, ritual, allowed, participate, sow, myrtle, support, judgment.
Maia and Mercury
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The birth of Mercury is told in one of the Homeric Hymns. Jupiter met with Maia in a deep cave on Mt. Cyllene in Arcadia. Ten months later, Mercury was born.
Mercury was born at dawn; by noon, he had made and was playing the Iyre, and that evening had stolen Apollo’s cattle. Mercury played a trick on Apollo by diving the cattle backwards to the sea. Apollo was confused and angered. When he was found in Maia’ cave, Mercury denied the charges. They argued and the situation was taken to Jupiter to resolve. Jupiter ordered that Mercury had to return the cattle to Apollo. After this incident the two gods were reconciled. Mercury presented Apollo with the Iyre, and Apollo gave Mercury his staff and made him keeper of the herds.
Mercury was the messenger of the gods on Mt. Olympus and Hades’ messenger as well, He was in charge of guiding the dead to Hades. He had many other responsibilities: he was the patron of traders and also the patron of thieves. He was the god of good and bad luck. He wears a petasus, a broad hat with wings, and the staff given to him by Apollo is known as a caduceus.
New Vocabulary
cave, Iyre, cattle, denied, resolve, incident, reconciled, staff, patron, traders, thieves.
Wednesday and Thursday
As with Tuesday, Wednesday’s Latin origin is more evident in the Romance languages. In Spanish miercoles, in French mercrcdi, and in Italian mercoledi, the derivation is directly from the name of Mercury. From the name of Woden, the Norse god with powers similar to Mars comes the English word, Wednesday.
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Thursday, also takes its name from a Norse god. Thor, the thunderer, was the strongest of the gods and men. He was the equivalent of Jove or Jupiter.
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New Vocabulary
evident, similar.
June—Iunius
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The first day of June was sacred to Juno, but this is not enough evidence that the month was named after the goddess. Ovid, in the
Fasti
, relates the tale of Janus and Cardea, and the ritual of Carna. These two selections give more support to the idea that June was not named after Juno but that in reality, Carna was.the principal deity.
In June, beans were harvested and on June 1, Carna’s Day was celebrated. Prayers were offered to the goddess Carna for the preservation of many internal organs, such as the liver and the kidneys. Her sacrifices were beanmeal and lard, This ceremony belonged to the age of ancient Latin agriculture
New Vocabulary
enough, evidence, prayers, tale, preservation, ancient.
Juno and Jupiter
Juno, daughter of Cronus and Rhea, was sister and wife of Jupiter. She had three children; Hebe, Mars, and Vulcan. She was the goddess of women and guardian of marriage and childbirth. Her title on Mt. Olympus was queen of the gods and heaven, She was a very jealous wife and would take vengeance on the women and the offspring from them.’.Sacred to Juno were the peacock the cow, the groves and pastures,and the pomegranate.
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Jupiter, son of Cronus and Rhea, was the most powerful of the Olympian gods. H was the ruler of heaven, earth, and all the gods and men. He was married several times before marrying Juno. He had many children with goddesses and mortals alike. The sky was Jupiter’s chief domain, and he controlled the weather; he sent favorable winds and was the cloud gatherer and thunderer. Sacred to Jupiter were the eagle and the oak tree.
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New Vocabulary
guardian, childbirth, jealous, vengeance, peacock, groves, pastures, pomegranate, ruler, eagle, oak.
Friday and Saturday
The name of Friday comes from the Norse goddess, Freya. She loved music, spring, and flowers. She, in many ways, is the equivalent of Venus, the Roman goddess of love, In Spanish viernes, in: French venedri, and in Italian venerdi, actual forms of the words are very close to the Latin root.
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Saturday is the day of Saturn. Saturn was the king of the Titans, He was the all-powerful leader until his son Jupiter dethroned him. There was a great war called the Titanomachia, in which the Olympian gods defeated the Titans with the, aid of Prometheus, a Titan who turned against Saturn.
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New Vocabulary
actual, all-powerful, dethroned, defeated, aid, turned against.
