Attic calendar
The Attic calendar was common in ancient Athens lunisolar calendar. It is the most accurate traditional calendar of the poleis of ancient Greece.
- 3.1 Simple Oktaeteris
- 3.2 Double Oktaeteris
- 3.3 Summary
Attic year
Numerous texts that Alexandrian records related to the actual moon phases were not in accordance with the civil Attic calendar. The sources referred to in the month of the Attic calendar therefore probably refer to an additional Athenian lunar calendar. The relating of Kallippischen cycle logged Moon data also deviate from the normal civil calendar; For example, dated in the year 283 BC, the first Anthesterion, equated with the 22 and 23 Achet III in the Egyptian calendar, from the evening of 22 until sunset of the 23 Januarsjul. , although the Neulicht in Athens after sunset of the 23 Januarsjul. was visible.
Normal year
The year began with the first Neulicht after the summer solstice. The years were given the names of the archons. Each of the twelve months in a normal year, there mathematically based on the phases of the moon each 29 or 30 days, the days of the month were formally counted in three decades to ten days. The respective day of the month began after sunset, the first day of the month always fell on the first Neulichtabend. The new moon was thus at the last or second to last day of the month.
In months with 29 days a tag has been omitted in the third decade. The days within a decade were counted. The last day was always - with 29 days in months - called the thirtieth. In the third decade of the days were sometimes counted backwards.
Leap-year
Since a lunar year of twelve months has only a length of slightly more than 354 days on average, and the length of the year should correspond to the solar year, was occasionally mostly in the winter after the month Poseideon the insertion of the intercalary month Second Poseideon ( hence the term kat archonta in contrast to kata theon, the calculation according to the " natural Calendar "). For this reason, it is assumed that initially the Attic was the beginning of winter and the second Poseideon was added at the end of the year.
It is also assigned year, month, in which the switching has been inserted at another location. Moreover, individual intercalary days were added. The uneven circuit could be used to clean up before resulting deviations of the calendar.
Month names
Years counting
The Attic calendar was primarily the invoice date within the year. He saw no numbering the years, as we know it today. The indication of the year was done by enclosing the name of the reigning Archons. A year value was thus " a year as Archon X was ". This allowed several generations in the past, but not be dated in the future.
Since the calendar was only used locally in Athens, it was not possible to find times and dates "international", so throughout Greece to write clear and understandable. For this purpose, was introduced around the year 310 BC by Timaeus of Tauromenion the Olympics as a pan- Greek era. These four years of extensive time period was used in the history of Greece from now on. The first Olympiad begins 776 BC
Festivals
There were numerous festivals in the Attic year. The most important were Panathenaia, Aphrodisia, the Eleusinian Mysteries, Kallynteria and Olympia.
Oktaeteris
Simple Oktaeteris
Starting about 800 BC, the Oktaeteris was used ( from Ancient Greek ὀκτώ = eight ). This is an eight -year cycle in which each of the third, fifth and eighth year is a leap month of 30 days is added. This cycle of 99 months or 2922 days corresponds to a month length of 29.51515 days and a year length of 365.25 days.
This period thus came the actual length of the year very close. However, the lunar cycle fell by about one and a half days out of the clock, which is why periodically switching days had to be added, which increased the deviation of the length of the year. That cycle is also Ennaeteris ( AltGr. Ἐννέα = nine ), because the year is renewed in its ninth year.
Double Oktaeteris
From Oktaeteris a sixteen -year period, which is in the literature also sometimes called " Hekkaidekaeteris " developed. It corresponds to the doubling of the eight-year period and still contains three leap days. This results in 198 months with a total length of 5847 days, an average month length of 29.5303 days and an average year length of 365.4375 days.
Latter with respect to the Julian year length of 365.25 days excessive, why move the so-called epacts after sixteen years by three days. In order to come in line with the average Julian year length, a leap month [ 3x10 = 30] after ten cycles, ie 160 years, omitted. The exact day according to the average length of the Julian year was thus achieved.
Summary
Swell
- Diodorus, Libraries historiké ', 12, 36, 1
- Geminus of Rhodes, Isagoge, Chapter 8