The Roman calendar, in particular the Julian form of the calendar during the reign of Caesar, was used as the basis for what is, globally, the most important calendar today. It evolved in a series of reforms and revolutions and many of its peculiar features, from the names of the months to the number of days, are still visible.
"It is excellent to see an updated and revised translation of Jörg Rüpke's fundamentally important study of the Roman calendar, one which keeps alive its profound learning and provocative originality."
Denis Feeney, Princeton University
"At last, thanks to Jörg Rüpke and David Richardson, we have a proper modern, historical account of the Roman calendar. A thoroughly revised and updated translation of Rüpke's earlier work, this work affects our understanding of virtually every activity at Rome mediated by time."
Clifford Ando, University of Chicago
"Rüpke's Roman Calendar offers a rich critique of received ideas about republican attitudes to time and the evolution of the calendar; it will surely provoke much radical re-thinking on major problems."
John North, London University College
"This is an excellent abridgment of Rüpke's standard work Kalender und Öffentlichkeit. In this historical survey, Rüpke discusses not only the technical details of the evolving Roman calendar but also its significance in the political and historical setting. The book is an essential resource for anyone interested in Roman civilization."
Karl Galinsky, University of Texas
The Roman calendar, in particular in the form of the Julian calendar of Julius Caesar, was used as the basis for what is, globally, the most important calendar today. This calendar evolved in a series of reforms and revolutions, and many of its peculiar features, from the name of the months to the number of days, are still visible. This book traces the history and the peculiar form taken by the calendar.
Offering new reconstructions of the critical stages of the technical, political, medial, and religious history of the Roman calendar, this book demands serious revisions to previous accounts and provides a definitive history of the Roman calendar. This new history enables a fresh understanding of the history of the Christian calendars and stimulates research on other calendars.
