In the ancient Roman calendar, several of the months are named after gods in the Roman pantheon. January is named after Janus, the god of new beginnings. March is named after Mars, the god of war. But what about February?… Read More ›
Mars
October 19 – The Armilustrium: Another Campaign Season Comes To An End
The Roman Army was the mightiest fighting force of ancient times from the 3rd Century BC until arguably the 3rd Century AD. Each year, the soldiers were sent out to search for and fight the empire’s enemies. However, the legions… Read More ›
October 15 – The Ludi Capitolini: The Capitoline Games of Ancient Rome
Introduction The ancient Romans named the middle part of each month as the “Ides”, and each of these days was dedicated to Jupiter, King of the Gods. Sometimes, these days were marked for holding special celebrations. The Ides of October,… Read More ›
October 1 – The Kalends of October
It is now the month of October in ancient Rome. The weather has begun to cool, the Autumn harvest is ready to be gathered, and the soldiers are preparing themselves to return home after another season of fighting abroad. The… Read More ›
February 23 – The Terminalia: The Feast Day of the Roman Border God
February 23 was the date of the Terminalia, the festival dedicated to the ancient Roman god Terminus, the god of property boundaries. Yep, that was a real thing. Agrarian societies like the Roman peasant class took land ownership extremely seriously…. Read More ›
March 23 – The Tubilustrium: Hear the Trumpet’s Call
Ancient Roman re-enactors marching at Xanten, Germany. Photograph by Judith Meyer (June 23, 2012). CC0 Creative Commons. March 23 was the date for an ancient Roman festival called the Tubilustrium. This was a day of important social and military significance,… Read More ›
March 17 – The Feast of Mars
Today is March 17, Saint Patrick’s Day. While people all over the world celebrate everything that it means to be Irish, things would have been different two thousand years ago. Tradition states that Saint Patrick died on March 17, but… Read More ›
