1.7 On what day did the week start in Roman times?
Description
This article is from the Classical Studies FAQ, by Richard M. Alderson III alderson@netcom2.netcom.com with numerous contributions by others.
1.7 On what day did the week start in Roman times?
Quoting from "The Explanatory Supplement to the Astronomical Ephemeris and
American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac" :
"The week was not originally an integral part of any calendar; in its
present form, it gradually became established in the Roman calendar during
the one or two centuries preceding the Christian era. The Mosaic Law
enjoining abstinence from work on every seventh day had established the
7-day period as a Jewish measure of time, and this Jewish week later passed
into the Christian Church. Meanwhile, shortly before the Christian era, an
astrological practice had arisen of attaching the names of the seven
"planets", the term at that time including the Sun and Moon, in cyclic
succession to successive days, in the order in which the planets were
supposed to rule the days. The planetary designations of the days rapidly
acquired widespread popularity, and became the predominant usage throughout
the Roman Empire. The coincidence in the number of days in this
astrological cycle with the number of days in the entirely independent
Jewish week led to the gradual establishment of the planetary week without
official recognition, either civil or ecclestical."
The same source gives two references:
Gandz, S. "The Origin of the Planetary Week" Proc. Amer. Acad. for Jewish
Research, vol. 18, 213-254, 1949.
Colson, F.H., "The week" Cambridge University Press, 1926.
Originally each *hour* of the day was governed by a different planet (the
doctrine of "chronocratories"; cf. "horoscope", "to observe the hours"), and
whichever planet fell on the first hour could be said to open the day.
The seven planets divide the 24 hours three times with a remainder of three;
hence, if you cycle through the planetary sequence:
Saturn - Jupiter - Mars - Sun - Venus - Mercury - Moon
By taking every third planet, you will get:
Saturn - Sun - Moon - Mars - Mercury - Jupiter - Venus.
Curtis Emerson adds:
No one knows according to S. Gandz (1949) as cited in _Astronomy Before the
Telescope_ Vol 1 by Nicholas T. Bobrovnikoff (1984) ISBN 0-88126-201-3
Pachart Publishing House, Tucson AZ
See pg 25+, 38+ and bibliography for information on the nundinae and
calendars
Continue to:
My Books
