History and evolution of the Roman calendar
In early Rome the calendar had 10 months. January and February did not exist. The year began on March 1st, according to tradition Romulus and Remus was born on the 24th of that month. The year had 304 days.
The first four months were given a specific name.
Martius (March) The first month of the oldest Roman calendar. It is named after Roman god of war, and ancestor of the Roman people through his sons Romulus and Remus. It was the month of the army. From Martius comes the word Martial.
Aprilis (April) derived from aperire, which means to open, because in this month the earth opens its bosom to begin to produce flowers and fruits; it was under the protection of Venus and has been represented as a man dancing to the sound of an instrument. In later times, in Ancient Rome, this month was celebrated to honor Ceres, the goddess of agriculture. According to Roman tradition, Romulus founded the city on the 21st of this month.
Maius (May); month dedicated to the elderly, who were honored for the work they had done for Rome. Much later, this month was also dedicated to the goddess Maia (originally from Greece). For the Romans, Maia embodied the concept of growth, since her name was related to the Latin comparative adjective maius ("greater" or "elder").
Iunius (June). The queen of the gods, Juno, honours the name of this month.
The rest of the months were named after their numerical position:
Quintilis (Fifth) Sextīlis (Sixth) September (Seventh)
October (Eighth) November (Ninth) December (Tenth)
After the death of Romulus there was an interregnum (a year without a king) after which Numa Pompilius was elected by the Senate. According to Roman historians and Roman tradition itself, the Senate was created by Romulus.
The calendar was reformed beginning in the Kings Etruscan period (7th-6th centuries BC), although Roman historians attributed the reform to King Numa Pompilius. In this reform, the length of the months was modified to last 29 and 31 days alternately and two months were added after December: Ianuarius and Februarius. The year came to last 355 days.
Ianuarius (January) related to Janus (Ianus) the god of the portals, the beginnings and endings.
Februarius (February) in honor of Februus, god of the dead and purification. During this month the Romans dedicated themselves to rites and religious functions to purify the body and spirit and propitiate the arrival of the new year. Februaris comes in turn from februum which means "purification".
This calendar was in force until the time of the Republic. From 153 BC, the lunar cycle was replaced by the solar cycle. Since the civil year began and ended on the winter solstice, the calendar had to start on January 1. Thus January and February became the first and second months of the year. Despite this change, the six months that were named according to their numerical position kept their names.
But things were not fixed after this reform, as the official lunar calendar was still out of phase with the seasonal course, based on the solar cycle, it was decided to add two months every four years, one of 22 and the other of 23 days, called intercalary.
The complicated system of adjusting the months so that the years would fit the solar cycle was controlled by the College of Pontiffs, but this inconsistency was never satisfactorily resolved.
Until JULIUS CAESAR arrived
With the collaboration of the prestigious astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria, Julius Caesar reformed the calendar definitively.
This reform dated the Roman seasons and festivals according to the astronomical moment in which they occurred. It was agreed that every year should have 365 days, and every four years would have 366 days; these years would be called Leap Years.
The new calendar was implemented in 46 BC; The Romans called it "The last year of confusion."
It was not until this calendar, known first as the Julius Calendar and much later as the Julian, that the months began to have the same number of days as they have to this day.
Following the infamous Ides of March in 44 BC, on the initiative of Mark Antony, the month in which Julius Caesar was born (Quintilis) was dedicated to him and named Iulius (July).
In 8 BC, through the Lex Pacuvia de mense Sextilis, the Senate dedicated the month of Sextilis to Augustus. The homage was supposedly because he had been named Consul for the first time in 43 BC in the month Sextilis, but in reality it was because he had conquered Egypt also in that month. Ironically, August died on August 19th, 14 AD.
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