| 4 || ” Prid. Not. Iun. ”Abbreviation of ” The day of Junias ”, “Day before the nones of June”.|| C || • ”dies natalis” of the Temple of [[Hercules in ancient Rome|Hercules Magnus Custos]](“Hercules the Great Watchman”) near the Circus Flaminius, with ”ludi” added in the Imperial eraSalzman, ”On Roman Time,” p. 126.
| 4 || ” Prid. Not. Iun. ”Abbreviation of ” The day of Junias ”, “Day before the nones of June”.|| C || • ”dies natalis” of the Temple of [[Hercules in ancient Rome|Hercules Magnus Custos]](“Hercules the Great Watchman”) near the Circus Flaminius, with ”ludi” added in the Imperial eraSalzman, ”On Roman Time,” p. 126.
|-
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| 5 || ” Ninth Junias” || N || • ”dies natalis” of the Temple of [[Dius Fidius]]
| 5 || ”Nonae ” || N || • ”dies natalis” of the Temple of [[Dius Fidius]]
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| 6 || ”VIII Ed. In.”’Abbreviated form of ”ante diem VIII Idūs Iunias,” with the ”ante diem” omitted altogether from this point. || N || • ” Colossus crown ”: The Colossal Statue of [[Sol (Roman mythology)|Sol]]was wreathed (Imperial era)Salzman, ”On Roman Time,” pp. 151, 125.
| 6 || ”VIII Ed. In.”’Abbreviated form of ”ante diem VIII Idūs Iunias,” with the ”ante diem” omitted altogether from this point. || N || • ” Colossus crown ”: The Colossal Statue of [[Sol (Roman mythology)|Sol]]was wreathed (Imperial era)Salzman, ”On Roman Time,” pp. 151, 125.
| 12 || ” approx. ID. Iun. ”Abbreviation of ” The day I. Junian ”, “Day before the Ides of June”.|| N ||
| 12 || ” approx. ID. Iun. ”Abbreviation of ” The day I. Junian ”, “Day before the Ides of June”.|| N ||
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| 13 || ” IDES Junias” || NP
” Day taboo ” || • Monthly ” holiday iovi ”
• [[Quinquatria|Lesser Quinquatrus]]
| 13 || ” Idūs ” || E.G
” Day taboo ” || • Monthly ” holiday iovi ”
• [[Quinquatria|Lesser Quinquatrus]]
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| 14 || {{Nowrap|”xvi the cal. Quinct.”}}
”XVIII Kal. Iul.’’ || N ||
| 14 || {{Nowrap|”xvi the cal. Quinct.”}}
”XVIII Kal. Iul.’’ || N ||
Month in the ancient Roman calendar
Month of June or Junealso Junius (June), was the sixth month of the Roman calendar of the classical period, following Greater (May). In the oldest calendar attributed by the Romans to Romulus, June had been the fourth month in a ten-month year that began with March (Martius, “Mars’ month”). The month following June was thus called Quinctilis or Quintilisthe “fifth” month. June had 29 days until a day was added during the Julian reform of the calendar in the mid-40s BC. The month that followed June was renamed Julius (July) in honour of Julius Caesar.
In his poem on the Roman calendar, Ovid has three goddesses present three different derivations of the name June. Juno asserts that the month is named for her. Juventas (“Youth”) pairs June with Greater: the former, she says, comes from junior“a younger person”, in contrast to larger or the “elders” for whom May was named. Juno’s own name may derive from the same root meaning “young”, and these two possibilities may be reconcilable. Ovid has Concordia claim that June comes from Connect, United“join”, in honor of her uniting the Romans and the Sabines. Elsewhere, an even less likely derivation relates the month name to Marcus Iunius Brutus, a member of the nation of the Junia who made the first sacrifice to Dea Carna on the Kalends (June 1).[1]
Month illustrations that draw on the Calendar of Filocalus (354 AD) show a nude male holding a torch that may be an allegory of the summer solstice. Solstice is noted on June 24 of the calendar. The torch may be a reference to Day of Lampadarum“day of torches”, variously interpreted as the sun’s rays or as the torch of Ceres, the grain goddess who carried a torch while searching for her abducted daughter Proserpina. The solstice marked the beginning of the harvest, which is represented by the basket of fruit and a sickle. The plant may be a bean, since June 1 was the “Bean Kalends”.[2]
The Romans did not number days of a month sequentially from the 1st through the last day. Instead, they counted back from the three fixed points of the month: the Nones (5th or 7th, depending on the length of the month), the Ides (13th or 15th), and the Kalends (1st) of the following month. The Nones of June was the 5th, and the Ides the 13th. Roman counting was inclusive; June 9 was Before the day 5 idūs Juniet“the 5th day before the Ides of June,” usually abbreviated a.d. V Id. Iun. (or with the a.d. omitted altogether). The last day of June was the On the first day of the first (On the first of the first of Julias after July was renamed),[3] “day before the Kalends of July”. The modern equivalent of this date was June 29 on the pre-Julian calendar, but June 30 on the Julian, because June was one of the months to which a day was added in realigning with astronomical time. June 23 was thus 8 Kai. Quinct.“the 8th day before the Kalends of Quinctilis”, during the Republican era, but IX Kal. Iul.“the 9th day before the Kalends of July”, in the Imperial era.
On the calendar of the Republic and early Principate, each day was marked with a letter to denote its religiously lawful status. In June, these were:
- F for Day Fastidays when it was legal to initiate action in the courts of civil law;
- C for Day comitalis a day on which the Roman people could hold assemblies (elections)elections, and certain kinds of judicial proceedings;
- N for the day of the nefastiwhen these political activities and the administration of justice were prohibited;
- NPthe meaning of which remains elusive, but which marked holidaypublic holidays.
By the late 2nd century AD, extant calendars no longer show days marked with these letters, probably in part as a result of calendar reforms undertaken by Marcus Aurelius.[4] The unique Q.ST.D.F. of June 15 stands for When the damp was alreadywhen it was a religious obligation to remove dirt from the Temple of Vesta. Varro specifies the act of sweeping (Overthrot)‘.[5]
Days were also marked with nundinal letters in cycles of A B C D E F G Hto mark the “market week”[6] (these are omitted in the table below).
Festivals marked in large letters on extant splendorrepresented by festival names in all capital letters on the table, are thought to have been the most ancient holidays, becoming part of the calendar before 509 BC. A birthday was an anniversary such as a temple founding or rededication, sometimes thought of as the “birthday” of a deity. [7]
Unless otherwise noted, the dating and observances on the following table are from H.H. Scullard, Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic.[8] Scullard places the Taurian Games on June 25–26 on a five-year cycle, but other scholars believe these to play had no regular date and were held as a crisis ritual when needed. After the Ides, dual dates are given to represent both the earlier calendar, when June had 29 days and July was called Quinctilisand the 30-day month of the Julian calendar.
| Modern date |
Roman date | status | Observances |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 1 | Kalitas of June | N | • birthday of the Temple of Juno Moneta • birthday of the Temple of Mars outside the Porta Capena • birthday of the Temple of the Tempestates • festival of Carna, popularly known as the “Bean Kalends”, and in the later Empire the last day of the Games fabarici (“Bean Games”)[9] |
| 2 | to IV not. Iun.[10] | F | |
| 3 | Iiiiii is non. Jun [11] | C | • birthday of the Temple of Bellona in the Circus Flaminius |
| 4 | prid. Not. Iun.[12] | C | • birthday of the Temple of Hercules Magnus Custos (“Hercules the Great Watchman”) near the Circus Flaminius, with to play added in the Imperial era[13] |
| 5 | Ninth to June | N | • birthday of the temple of DIUS fidus |
| 6 | VIII Id. Indu.[14] | N | • Colossus crowned: the colossal statue of Sol was wreathed (Imperial era)[15] |
| 7 | VII id. Jun. | N taboo day |
• Vesta is opened (“Vesta is opened”), when the inner sanctum of the Temple of Vesta was opened for women only • Games Fisherman“Fishermen’s Games” |
| 8 | You id. Someone. | N taboo day |
• birthday of the Temple of Mens |
| 9 | V ID. Jun | N taboo day |
• VESTALIA |
| 10 | IV ID. Jun | N | |
| 11 | IIBILE ID. Jun | NP taboo day |
• Fashion • birthday of the Temple of Fortuna in the Forum Boarium |
| 12 | approx. ID. Iun.[16] | N | |
| 13 | IT’S JUNIAE | NP taboo day |
• monthly Holiday iovi • Lesser quinquatrus |
| 14 | XVII Kal. Quint. XVIII Kal. Iul. |
N | |
| 15 | 16 Kai. Quinct. XVII Kal. Iul. |
F Q.ST.D.F. taboo day |
• Vesta closed inner sanctum of Vesta closed |
| 16 | XV Kal. Quinct. XVI Kal. Iul.[17] |
C | |
| 17 | XIV Kal. Quinct. XV Kal. Iul. |
C | |
| 18 | XIII Kal. Quint. XIV Kal. Iul. |
C | |
| 19 | XII Kal. Quint. XIIII Kal. Iul. |
C | • birthday for the Temple of Minerva on the Aventine |
| 20 | X. Quinc. XII Kal. Iul. |
C | • birthday for the Temple of Summanus near the Circus Maximus |
| 21 | X Kal. Quinct. XI Kal. Iul. |
C | |
| 22 | Xal. Quinct. X Kal. Iul. |
C | |
| 23 | 8 Kai. Quinct. IX Kal. Iul. |
C | |
| 24 | 7 Id. Quinct. VIII Call. Its. |
C | • birthday for the Temple of Fors Fortuna across the Tiber • Solstice or Day of Lampadarum[18] |
| 25 | 6 Kai. Quinct. VII KAL. July. |
C | |
| 26 | V Kal. Quinct. VI Kal. Iul. |
C | |
| 27 | 4 Kai. Quinct. V Kal. Iul. |
C | • NATAL DIES for a Temple of the Lares and of Jupiter Stator on the Palatine |
| 28 | 3 Id. Quinct. IV Kal. Iul. |
C | |
| 29 | prid. Kal. Quinct. III. Jul |
C | |
| 30 | approx. Kal. Iul. | C |
- ^ H.H. Scullard, Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic (Cornell University Press, 1981), p. 126.
- ^ Michele Renee Salzman, On Roman Time: The Codex Calendar of 354 and the Rhythms of Urban Life in Late Antiquity (University of California Press, 1990), p. 92.
- ^ The month name is construed as an adjective modifying Of the date; Ninth or Identall of which are of feminine grammatical gender.
- ^ Salzman, On Roman Time, pp. 17, 122.
- ^ Varro, Of Latin lingua 6.32; Robin Lorsch Wildfang, Rome’s Vestal Virgins (Routledge, 2006), p. 140; Salzman, On Roman Time, p. 160.
- ^ Jörg Rüpke, The Roman Calendar from Numa to Constantine: Time, History, and the Fasti, translated by David M.B. Richardson (Blackwell, 2011, originally published 1995 in German), p. 6.
- ^ Scullard, Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republicp. 41.
- ^ Scullard, Festivals and Ceremonies, pp. 126–158.
- ^ Salzman, On Roman Time, p. 122.
- ^ Abbreviated form of Before the Day 4 Nones of Junias“fourth day before the Nones of June”.
- ^ Abbreviated form of Before the Day 3 Nones.
- ^ Abbreviation of the day before the day of Junias“day before the Nones of June”.
- ^ Salzman, On Roman Time, p. 126.
- ^ Abbreviated form of Before the day 8 Iran Junias with the before Diem omitted altogether from this point.
- ^ Salzman, On Roman Time, pp. 151, 125.
- ^ Abbreviation of The day before the Juniet“day before the Ides of June”.
- ^ Abbreviated form of before the day of Junial Day 17.
- ^ Marked on the Calendar of Filocalus; Salzman, On Roman Time, pp. 92–93, 124.
