The Roman Calendar from Numa to Constantine: Time, History, and the Fasti

238 Pages·2011·7.635 MB·English

by  Jörg Rüpke, David M. B. Richardson

The Roman Calendar from
Numa to Constantine
The Roman Calendar from Numa to Constantine: Time, History and the Fasti, First Edition. Jörg Rüpke.
© 2011 David M. B. Richardson. Published 2011 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd. ISBN: 978-0-470-65508-5
The Roman Calendar from
Numa to Constantine
Time, History and the Fasti
Jörg Rüpke
English translation by David M. B. Richardson. Originally published in German
under the title Kalender und Öffentlichkeit: Die Geschichte der Repräsentation und
religiösen Qualifi kation von Zeit in Rom, by Jörg Rüpke, © Walter de Gruyter
GmbH & Co. KG (1995).
A John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Publication
This edition fi rst published in English 2011
English translation © 2011 David M. B. Richardson
Originally published in German under the title “Kalender und Öffentlichkeit: Die Geschichte der Repräsentation und
religiösen Qualifi kation von Zeit in Rom”, by Jörg Rüpke: © 1995 Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG
Edition history: © Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG (1e in German, 1995); Blackwell Publishers Ltd (1e in
English, 2011 hardback)
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Rüpke, Jörg.
[Kalender und Öffentlichkeit. English]
The Roman calendar from Numa to Constantine : time, history, and the fasti / by Jörg Rüpke ; English
translation by David M. B. Richardson.
p. cm.
“Originally published in German under the title Kalender und Öfffentlichkeit : die Geschichte der
Repräsentation und religiösen Qualifi kation von Zeit in Rom ... Walter de Gruyter ... 1995.”
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-470-65508-5 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Calendar, Roman. 2. Chronology,
Roman. 3. Festivals–Rome–History. 4. Rome–Religion. 5. Rome–Social life and customs. I. Title.
CE46.R86 2011
529'.322–dc22
2010042237
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This book is published in the following electronic formats: ePDF [ISBN 9781444396515]; Wiley Online Library
[ISBN 9781444396539]; ePub [ISBN 9781444396522]
Set in 11/13pt Dante by Toppan Best-set Premedia Limited
1 2011
Contents
Preface vii
Map 1 Distribution of preserved calendars (or calendar fragments)
of the fasti type from the fi rst century BCE to the fi fth century CE viii
Table 1 List of known copies of fasti ix
1 Time’s Social Dimension 1
2 Observations on the Roman fasti 6
2.1 A Republican Version 6
2.2 Forms and Functions 8
2.3 The fasti and the Birth of Augustan Epigraphy 14
2.4 The Question of the Archetype 21
3 Towards an Early History of the Roman Calendar 23
3.1 Notions of a Prehistoric Calendar 23
3.2 The Structure of the Month 24
3.3 Market Cycles 32
3.4 Modes of Dating 34
4 The Introduction of the Republican Calendar 38
4.1 Timing and Motivation 38
4.2 The Character and Signifi cance of the Reform 41
5 The Written Calendar 44
5.1 Gnaeus Flavius 44
5.2 NP Days and Feast-names 50
5.3 Cultic and Linguistic Details 55
5.4 The Purpose of the fasti 58
5.5 The Law of Hortensius 59
5.6 Implications for the Historiography of Roman Religion 64
5.7 Variants on Stone and Paper 66
vi Contents
6 The Lex Acilia and the Problem of Pontifi cal Intercalation 68
6.1 The Nature of the Measures 68
6.2 The Ritually Correct Method of Intercalation 69
6.3 Problems of Intercalation 79
6.4 Regulating Intercalation by Means of Laws 83
7 Reinterpretation of the fasti in the Temple of the Muses 87
7.1 Marcus Fulvius Nobilior, Triumphator 87
7.2 Temple Dedications in the fasti 95
7.3 Ennius 105
7.4 All fasti are Fulvian fasti 108
8 From Republic to Empire 109
8.1 Caesar’s Calendar Reform 109
8.2 The Calendar as Collective Memory 121
8.3 Augustus and the Power of Dates 124
8.4 The Calendar as Roman Breviary 134
9 The Disappearance of Marble Calendars 140
10 Calendar Monopoly and Competition between Calendars 146
10.1 One Calendar 146
10.2 Coexisting and Competing Developments 153
10.3 Eras 156
10.4 The Calculation of Easter 157
10.5 Weekly Cycles 160
10.6 Fasti Christiani? 169
11 The Calendar in the Public Realm 175
Abbreviations 183
References 185
Sources Index 209
General Index 215
Preface
Interest in calendars, which grew markedly in the fi nal decade of the second mil-
lennium of the Christian Era, has not waned in the third. Instead, we have seen
an ever - stronger tendency to historicize calendars, and not only systems for reck-
oning time. The calendar has been revealed as both a medium of cultural memory
and an arena for political debate. I am, therefore, delighted that my study of the
Roman calendar and its graphic forms, published in 1995, can now appear in
English translation. As regards the fi rst part of that book, which introduced and
discussed all surviving specimens of the Roman f asti , reference may still be made
to the German version, which continues to represent the state of academic think-
ing. But the history of the Roman calendar, the second part of the earlier study,
can now be read in new, revised, and more concise form, taking account of
research carried out during the last fi fteen years, both by myself and by others. I
should like here to offer my special thanks to Denis Feeney (Princeton), Michel
Humm (Strasbourg), and Benedikt Kranemann (Erfurt), for intensive discussions
undertaken and suggestions offered, and also Clifford Ando (Chicago), Alessandro
Barchiesi (Siena/Stanford), Jonathan Ben - Dov (Haifa), Hubert Cancik (Berlin),
Gregor Kratz (G ö ttingen), John Scheid (Paris), Hermann Spieckermann
(G ö ttingen), Sacha Stern (London), Olga Tellegen (Tilburg), Katharina Waldner
(Erfurt), and Greg Woolf (St Andrews). The conditions offered by the research
group Religi ö se Individualisierung in historischer Perspektive gave me the opportunity
to devote my entire attention to fi nalizing the revision process; for this, my heart-
felt thanks are due to the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and the University of
Erfurt, and the staff of the Max Weber Centre, in particular Bettina Hollstein and
the director Hans Joas.
I am also grateful to Wiley - Blackwell for their readiness to publish this new
edition. Haze Humbert made the way clear for this endeavour. David Richardson,
to whom I already owe the meticulous translation of an earlier book, has repeated
that service on this occasion, and helped to clarify the argument anew. Julia Carls,
Alexandra Dalek, and especially Diana P ü schel, helped revise the manuscript at
Erfurt. Abbreviations used throughout follow T hesaurus Linguae Latinae for Latin
texts and Liddell – Scott – Jones for Greek texts.
15
24
8
34 35 3
13
6
Rome
31
23 38 42
17
45 2
7
41
21
36
37
Map 1 The map shows the distribution of preserved calendars (or calendar fragments)
of the f asti type from the fi rst century B CE to the fi fth century CE
Characteristics No small - letter entries? N for nonae N; ; extended additions; very large feriae Offi cial copy? N; rich notes on imperial festivals; feriae Private; Interkalaris; loedi College; N; short formulas for imperial festivals continuous corrections Loedi; Parapegma N; feriae Loedi N; small entries Lunar letters; no CD; sen. leg.; dies aegyptiaci College? HL Priestly college; continuous feriae;corrections ()Continued
ading ested ? ? ? − + + ? ? + ? ? + + +
Heatt

/
List of agistrateschronic ? − + + + + − ? + + ? ? + − ? +
m
Type S M M P M M M S M M M B S M

Date ? Tib.? Tib. Late Rep. Tib. Aug. Early Imp. Late Aug. Aug. Early Imp. Early Imp. 354 AD Tib.? Early Aug.
n copies of fasti Origin Rome Allifae Amiternum Antium = Antium Caere Capua Cupra Maritima Rome Rome Rome? Rome Forum novum Rome
w
o
n
List of kTable 1 Name 1 F. aedis Concordiae 2 F. Allifani 3 F. Amiterni 4 F. Antiates maiores 5 F. Antiates ministrorum 6 F. Caeretani 7 F. Capuani 8 F. Cuprenses 9 F. Esquilini 10 F. Fandozziani 11 F. Farnesiani 12 F. Filocali 13 F. Foronovani 14 F. fratrum Arvalium
s
e
t
o
n
Characteristics Only scheme of data; feriale N N; no CD/NL; very small sen. leg.; College? hardly any small entries College; in a ? list of Scholamagistri HL; few additions Few small entries In colony; wordy notes on feriae Extended entries no abbreviations for festivals NF; N; no NL/CD; prognostics; historical
ading ested − ? ? ? + + ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? +
Heatt

/
List of agistrateschronic − ? ? ? − + ? ? + ? ? + − ? +
m
Type S M M M M M M M M M M M S P B

Date Imp. Early Imp. Second century? Early Aug.? Aug. Aug. Aug. Aug. Aug. Aug.? Aug. Early Aug. Caligula Early Aug. 448/9 AD
Origin Guidizzola Rome Lanuvium Rome Rome Rome Nola Rome Ostia Urbinum Metaur. Rome Rome Rome? Rome Gaul

()Table 1Continued Name 15 F. Guidizzolenses 16 F. insulae Tiberinae 17 F. Lanuvini 18 F. Lateranenses 19 F. Maffeiani 20 F. magistrorum vici 21 F. Nolani 22 F. Oppiani 23 F. Ostienses 24 F. Palatii Urbinatis 25 F. Paulini 26 F. Pinciani 27 F. Pighiani 28 F. plateae M. Fanti 29 F. Polemii Silvii