A Look at Roman Calendar Through Fasti's Window

Abstract

The Gregorian calendar, which is widely adopted in the world today, is a partially modified version of the ancient Roman calendar. The ancient Roman calendar itself, which has it roots in the pre-Republican era, underwent the most definite change in the age of Julius Caesar. Besides being an important medium for the organization of social life, the Roman calendar, with its religious days, festivals, assembly days, auspicious and ominous days, was a source of curiosity and inspiration for the ancient authors. Hence, we have to think of it not just as a practical time table but also as a web of symbols woven with mythology, religion and history. In this article an original reflection of the calendar in Roman poetry will be assessed within the context of Fasti by Ovid (43 BC - 17 similar to 18 AD).