Modern Date : May 1st Market Day

The Kalends of May - The Floralia

    This is one of the dies fasti (F), on which legal actions are permitted.

    The Floralia is a festival which honors the goddess of flowers, Flora, another manifestation of the earth-goddess which includes Fauna, Maia and Ops. The temple of this goddess was founded on this day on the Aventine. Offerings of milk and honey were made on this day and the surrounding five days, which comprise the Florifertum. The city would have been decorated in flowers, and the people would wear floral wreaths or flowers in their hair. Games would be celebrated on this day. The celebration of this day survives in many cultures where it is known as May Day.
    This day was sacred to Lares Praestites, the protectors of the city.
    Galerius became co-emperor this day in 305 AD.
    Maximinus Daia became co-emperor this day in 310 AD.
    In 408 AD the emperor Arcadius died and 8-year old Theodosius II succeeded to the Byzantine throne.
    May is named after the goddess Maia, the wife of Mars. May is a month of purification and religious ceremony in honor of the dead, and as such it is considered a very inauspicious time for marriage.


Modern Date : May 2nd Market Day

ante diem VI Nonas May
The Floralia

    This is one of the dies fasti (F), on which legal actions are permitted.

    This day belongs to the five day festival called Florifertum, the Festival of Flowers, and offerings of milk and honey would be made to the flower goddess Flora. The city would have been decorated in flowers, and the people would wear floral wreaths or flowers in their hair.
    On this day in 1453, Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks, after a long, bloody, and desperate battle. The last emperor of the Eastern Roman empire died in battle, his body found under a huge pile at the wall. The days of pillage, rapine, and plunder which followed destroyed the last surviving libraries of the ancient world.
    May is named after the goddess Maia, the wife of Mars. May is a month of purification and religious ceremony in honor of the dead, and is considered an inauspicious time for marriage.


Modern Date : May 3rd Market Day

ante diem V Nonas May
The Floralia
    This is one of the dies comitiales (C), when committees of citizens could vote on political or criminal matters.

    This day is the final day of the five day festival called Florifertum, and offerings of milk and honey would be made to Flora, the flower goddess. The city would have been decorated in flowers, and the people would wear floral wreaths or flowers in their hair.
    May is named after the goddess Maia, the wife of Mars. May is a month of purification and religious ceremony in honor of the dead, and as such it is considered a very inauspicious time for marriage.


Modern Date : May 4th Market Day

ante diem IV Nonas May
Fourth Day to the Nones of May

    This is one of the dies comitiales (C), when committees of citizens could vote on political or criminal matters.

    May is named after the goddess Maia, the wife of Mars. May is a month of purification and religious ceremony in honor of the dead, and as such it is considered a very inauspicious time for marriage.


Modern Date : May 5th Market Day

ante diem III Nonas May
Third Day to the Nones of May

    This is one of the dies comitiales (C), when committees of citizens could vote on political or criminal matters.

    May is named after the goddess Maia, the wife of Mars. May is a month of purification and religious ceremony in honor of the dead, and as such it is considered a very inauspicious time for marriage.


Modern Date : May 6th Market Day

pridie Nonas May
Day before the Nones of May

    This is one of the dies comitiales (C), when committees of citizens could vote on political or criminal matters.

    May is named after the goddess Maia, the wife of Mars. May is a month of purification and religious ceremony in honor of the dead, and as such it is considered a very inauspicious time for marriage.



Modern Date : May 7th Market Day

Nonas May
The Lemuria

    This is one of the dies fasti (F), on which legal actions are permitted. The rex sacrorum would appear on the steps of the Capitol on this day and announce to the people what days of the months would be holidays.

    This is the first day of the Lemuria, the nine-day feast of the dead. On this day the Vestals would prepare the sacred mola salsa (salt cake) from the first ears of wheat of the season.
    May is named after the goddess Maia, the wife of Mars. May is a month of purification and religious ceremony in honor of the dead, and as such it is considered a very inauspicious time for marriage.



Modern Date : May 8th Market Day

ante diem VIII Idus May
The Lemuria

    This is one of the dies fasti (F), on which legal actions are permitted.

    This is the second day of the Lemuria, the nine-day feast of the dead. On this day the Vestals would prepare the sacred mola salsa (salt cake) from the first ears of wheat of the season.
    Augustus was adopted by Julius Caesar in 44 BCE. This day also honors the goddess Mens, the personification of understanding.
    May is named after the goddess Maia, the wife of Mars. May is a month of purification and religious ceremony in honor of the dead, and as such it is considered a very inauspicious time for marriage.



Modern Date : May 9th Market Day

ante diem VII Idus May
The Lemuria

    This is one of the dies nefasti (N), a day on which no legal action or public voting could take place.

    This is the third day of the Lemuria, the nine-day feast of the dead. Only the odd-numbered days within the nine-day period were called Lemuria. This was a domestic ceremony in honor of dead souls, called lemures. On this day the Vestals would prepare the sacred mola salsa (salt cake) from the first ears of wheat of the season.
    May is named after the goddess Maia, the wife of Mars. May is a month of purification and religious ceremony in honor of the dead, and as such it is considered a very inauspicious time for marriage.
    In Greece this day was celebrated as the Feast of Artemis, known as Diana to the Romans.



Modern Date : May 10th Market Day

ante diem VI Idus May
The Lemuria

    This is one of the dies comitiales (C), when committees of citizens could vote on political or criminal matters.

    The emperor Claudius II was born at Illyricum this day in 214 AD. He died of plague at the age of 56.
    On this night, the constellation Virgo culminates at about 10 PM. Virgo was known to all ancient cultures as the virgin goddess but by different names -- Ishtar in Babylon, Isis in Egypt, Eostre in Saxony, and Astraea in Greece. From the latter two names comes our word for Easter. Astraea was the daughter of Zeus and Themis.
    This is the fourth day of the Lemuria, the nine-day feast of the dead. On this day the Vestals would prepare the sacred mola salsa (salt cake) from the first ears of wheat of the season.
    On this day in 238 AD the emperor Maximinus is killed while besieging Aquilea.
    May is named after the goddess Maia, the wife of Mars. May is a month of purification and religious ceremony in honor of the dead, and as such it is considered a very inauspicious time for marriage.


Modern Date : May 11th Market Day

ante diem V Idus May
The Lemuria

    This is one of the dies nefasti (N), a day on which no legal action or public voting could take place.

    This is the fifth day of the Lemuria, the nine-day feast of the dead. Only the odd-numbered days within the nine-day period were called Lemuria. This was a domestic ceremony in honor of dead souls, called lemures. On this day the Vestals would prepare the sacred mola salsa (salt cake) from the first ears of wheat of the season.
    On this day in 330 AD, Constantinople, the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, was founded by Constantine the Great. Constantinople survived Rome by almost 1000 years, falling to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. A number of buildings and monuments remain in use to this day, including the Hagia Sophia.
    May is named after the goddess Maia, the wife of Mars. May is a month of purification and religious ceremony in honor of the dead, and as such it is considered a very inauspicious time for marriage.



Modern Date : May 12th Market Day

ante diem IV Idus May
The Lemuria

    This is one of the dies comitiales (C), when committees of citizens could vote on political or criminal matters.

    This is the sixth day of the Lemuria, the nine-day feast of the dead. On this day the Vestals would prepare the sacred mola salsa (salt cake) from the first ears of wheat of the season.
    May is named after the goddess Maia, the wife of Mars. May is a month of purification and religious ceremony in honor of the dead, and as such it is considered a very inauspicious time for marriage.



Modern Date : May 13th Market Day

ante diem III Idus May
The Lemuria

    This day (NP), is for special religious observance.

    This is the seventh day of the Lemuria, the nine-day feast of the dead. Only the odd-numbered days within the nine-day period were called Lemuria. This was a domestic ceremony in honor of dead souls, called lemures. On this day the Vestals would prepare the sacred mola salsa (salt cake) from the first ears of wheat of the season.
    This is the 1st day of the 6th month in the 13 month Druidic calendar. The sequent letter is H, symbolic of the tree Hawthorn or Wild Pear.
    May is named after the goddess Maia, the wife of Mars. May is a month of purification and religious ceremony in honor of the dead, and as such it is considered a very inauspicious time for marriage.



Modern Date : May 14th Market Day

pridie Idus May
The Lemuria

    This is one of the dies comitiales (C), when committees of citizens could vote on political or criminal matters.

    This is the eighth day of the Lemuria, the nine-day feast of the dead. On this day the Vestals would prepare the sacred mola salsa (salt cake) from the first ears of wheat of the season.
    This day is the Festival of Isis in Eqypt and was widely celebrated in the Roman world.
    In Greece this day was the Festival of Apollo, or Apollo's Birthday. Apollo was called by the same name in Rome where they dedicated a temple to him. Apollo was the son of Jove (Jupiter) and Latona, the brother of Diana, and was the god of archery, music, poetry, and healing. He was also called Phoebus Apollo. On his birth at Delos, Apollo was acclaimed by all the gods and the island was covered with golden flowers and encircled with swans. As soon as he tasted the ambrosia of his nurse Themis, he suddenly grew to full youth and demanded a lyre and a bow. He announced that his fathers will would be presented to the world through his oracular lyric poetry. Apollo then began to play and to "step high and featly" as became his style of dance. Apollo's temple was at Crisa below Mount Parnassus in Phocis.
    May is named after the goddess Maia, the wife of Mars. May is a month of purification and religious ceremony in honor of the dead, and as such it is considered a very inauspicious time for marriage.



Modern Date : May 15th Market Day

Idus May
The Mercuralia

    This is one of the dies nefasti (N), a day on which no legal action or public voting could take place.

    This is the final day of the Lemuria, the nine-day feast of the dead. Only the odd-numbered days within the nine-day period were called Lemuria. On this day the Vestals would prepare the sacred mola salsa (salt cake) from the first ears of wheat of the season.
    This day was sacred to both Jupiter and to Mercury, as well as Maia. On this day there would be processions from the four parts of the city to the Tiber, where they would cast the wooden effigies, called the argei, into the river. These argei, which had hung in the temples since the previous year, were considered to absorb various evils, and their expulsion would thereby protect and purify the city.
    This day was also known as the Mercuralia, the Festival of Mercury. Mercury was the god of merchants, travel, and business, and was the same Hermes worshipped by the Greeks. The Mercuriales, The Men of Mercury, were perhaps the largest corporation of ancient Rome. This day would surely have been a corporate holiday for the entire firm, and many other Roman businesses, as they would give homage to Mercury for their continued success. Rites would be performed at the Temple of Mercury in Rome in which those who desired his favors would sprinkle their heads, their ships and merchandise, and their businesses with water taken from the well at Porta Capena.
    May is named after the goddess Maia, the wife of Mars. May is a month of purification and religious ceremony in honor of the dead, and as such it is considered a very inauspicious time for marriage.


Modern Date : May 16th Market Day

ante diem XVII Kalendas June
Seventeenth Day to the Kalends of June

    This is one of the dies fasti (F), on which legal actions are permitted.

    Elagabalus became emperor this day in 218 AD after Macrinus is defeated and killed by his supporters. At 15, he was the first teenage emperor and the first to practice same-sex marriage.
    May is named after the goddess Maia, the wife of Mars. May is a month of purification and religious ceremony in honor of the dead, and as such it is considered a very inauspicious time for marriage.



Modern Date : May 17th Market Day

ante diem XVI Kalendas June
Sixteenth Day to the Kalends of June

    This is one of the dies comitiales (C), when committees of citizens could vote on political or criminal matters.
    This day was known as the Dea Dia in honor of the goddess (Maia) who was the mother of Mercury (Hermes) by Zeus.

    May is named after the goddess Maia, the wife of Mars. May is a month of purification and religious ceremony in honor of the dead, and as such it is considered a very inauspicious time for marriage.



Modern Date : May 18th Market Day

ante diem XV Kalendas June
Fifteenth Day to the Kalends of June
    This is one of the dies comitiales (C), when committees of citizens could vote on political or criminal matters.
    In Greece this day was celebrated as the Feast of Pan, the Greek god of flocks and sheperds.

    May is named after the goddess Maia, the wife of Mars. May is a month of purification and religious ceremony in honor of the dead, and as such it is considered a very inauspicious time for marriage.



Modern Date : May 19th Market Day

ante diem XIV Kalendas June
Fourteenth Day to the Kalends of June

    This is one of the dies comitiales (C), when committees of citizens could vote on political or criminal matters.

    May is named after the goddess Maia, the wife of Mars. May is a month of purification and religious ceremony in honor of the dead, and as such it is considered a very inauspicious time for marriage.



Modern Date : May 20th Market Day

ante diem XIII Kalendas June
Thirteenth Day to the Kalends of June

    This is one of the dies comitiales (C), when committees of citizens could vote on political or criminal matters.

    May is named after the goddess Maia, the wife of Mars. May is a month of purification and religious ceremony in honor of the dead, and as such it is considered a very inauspicious time for marriage.


Modern Date : May 21st Market Day

The Agonalia

    This day (NP), is for special religious observance. On this day the rex sacrorum would offer sacrifrice to the gods of an animal untamed by the yoke.

    The Agonalia is a holiday which recurs three times throughout the year (also January and December), and is otherwise called the Agonium or the dies agonalis. The word comes from the question the priest would ask prior to the sacrifice of a sheep - agone? Agone means "shall I slay?". The Agonalia of May were dedicated to Vediovis, a personification of Mars as a protector.
    On this day in 427 BCE the Greek philosopher Plato, the student of Socrates, was born. His transcriptions of Socrates' words were considered, in their ancient Greek original, to be works of poetic and philosophical genius.
    May is named after the goddess Maia, the wife of Mars. May is a month of purification and religious ceremony in honor of the dead, and as such it is considered an inauspicious time for marriage.
    In Greece, this was the Festival of Demeter (Ceres) and Persephone. Persephone was also known as Proserpina, Kore, Cora, and Catherine. Demeter and Persephone were goddesses associated with the Eleusinian Mysteries. Persephone means the Maid. Such was their happiness that Persephone was inseparable from her mother. Zeus, without Demeter's knowledge, gave her in marriage to Hades who opened the earth and snatched her while she was gathering flowers. In sadness at this loss and unable to get Hades to relinquish her daughter, Demeter let the crops wither. Zeus then arranged a compromise in which Persephone would spend part the year with Demeter and then four months with the grim lord. And so we have the winter when the plants will not grow.



Modern Date : May 22nd Market Day

ante diem XI Kalendas June
Eleventh Day to the Kalends of June

    This is one of the dies fasti (F), on which legal actions are permitted.

    The emperor Constantine died of illness this day in 337 AD. Although later Christians claimed Constantine was converted to Christianity before he became emperor, in fact he refused baptism until he was on his deathbed. The story that he had a vision on the road to do battle with Licinius was not recorded by his contemporaries, but appeared at a much later date. Constantine was a shrewd leader and merely recognized that Christianity was the predominant religion of his soldiers, and permitted them to carry banners with crosses into battle.
    May is named after the goddess Maia, the wife of Mars. May is a month of purification and religious ceremony in honor of the dead, and as such it is considered a very inauspicious time for marriage.



Modern Date : May 23rd Market Day

The Tubilustrium

    This day (NP), is for special religious observance.

    The Tubilustrium of May is dedicated to Volcanus (Vulcan), the divine smith responsible for making the trumpets (tubae) of the Tubilustrium. On these days the trumpets were lustrated, or purified for use in ceremonies. The entire army would assemble outside the city in full dress review for this ceremony. The tubae were long straight trumpets which had a deep sound.
    These tubae were used during sacrifices, funerals, public games, and military maneuvers. They were the same type of trumpets Scipio Africanus used to terrify and stampede the elephants of Hannibal in his final defeat at Carthage.
    May is named after the goddess Maia, the wife of Mars. May is a month of purification and religious ceremony in honor of the dead, and as such it is considered a very inauspicious time for marriage.



Modern Date : May 24th Market Day

The Quando Rex Comitiavit

    This is one of the dies fasti (F), on which legal actions are permitted.

    On this day the trumpets lustated on the Tubilustrium would be blown to herald the arrival of the ceremonial rex sacrorum as he entered the Comitium. The rex sacrorum would be accompanied by the pontiffs and the Vestal Virgins, the guardians of the sacred fire, as he tossed twenty four stuffed figures (representing local heroes called Argei) into the Tiber from the Pons Sublicus. This was the day on which Romans made their testament in the Comitia Calata, that is, in the presence of the Quirites gathered in curiae.
    May is named after the goddess Maia, the wife of Mars. May is a month of purification and religious ceremony in honor of the dead, and as such it is considered a very inauspicious time for marriage.



Modern Date : May 25th Market Day

ante diem VII Kalendas June
Eighth Day to the Kalends of June

    This is one of the dies comitiales (C), when committees of citizens could vote on political or criminal matters.

    On this day the Greeks celebrated the Festival of Gaia, the deity representing Earth. It is also transliterated as Gaea. Gaia was one of the four primeval deities who were, in order, Chaos (Infinite Space), Gaia, Tartarus (Lower World), and Eros (Love). Gaia was revered as the fruitful power that sustains universal life, and was thereby recognized as the ancestral source of all life. Gaia was poetic termed "broad-bosomed Mother Earth" by Hesiod. In form and concept the Greek Gaia is identical to the Great Spirit of Native America. It is most curious to note in this context that the Aztec word for god, "Teo" is identical to the Greek "Theo" and the Roman "Deo."
    May is named after the goddess Maia, the wife of Mars. May is a month of purification and religious ceremony in honor of the dead, and as such it is considered a very inauspicious time for marriage.


Modern Date : May 26th Market Day

ante diem VII Kalendas June
The Festival of Diana

    This is one of the dies comitiales (C), when committees of citizens could vote on political or criminal matters.

    Germanicus celebrated his Triumph over the Germans this day in 17 AD.
    This is the first day of the Festival of Diana. Diana was the goddess of the moon and was often called Diana Lucifera, Diana the Bringer of Light. The Greeks knew her as Artemis, the twin sister of Apollo, and daughter of Zeus and Leto. She was born under Mount Cynthus in Delos and hence was also called Cynthia and Delia. She was the goddess of hunting, carried a bow and quiver like her brother, and was especially fond of music and dance. Diana was never conquered by love, and submitted to no man, hence she was the goddess of a "chaste" moon and, except for her family, tolerated only female companions. Her priestesses were all chaste and this festival was celebrated with daily music and dance until the kalends of June.
    May is named after the goddess Maia, the wife of Mars. May is a month of purification and religious ceremony in honor of the dead, and as such it is considered a very inauspicious time for marriage.



Modern Date : May 27th Market Day

ante diem VI Kalendas June
The Festival of Diana

    This is one of the dies comitiales (C), when committees of citizens could vote on political or criminal matters.

    This is the second day of the Festival of Diana. Diana was the goddess of the moon and was often called Diana Lucifera, Diana the Bringer of Light. The Greeks knew her as Artemis, the twin sister of Apollo, and daughter of Zeus and Leto. She was born under Mount Cynthus in Delos and hence was also called Cynthia and Delia. She was the goddess of hunting, carried a bow and quiver like her brother, and was especially fond of music and dance. Diana was never conquered by love, and submitted to no man, hence she was the goddess of a "chaste" moon and, except for her family, tolerated only female companions. Her priestesses were all chaste and this festival was celebrated with daily music and dance until the kalends of June.
    May is named after the goddess Maia, the wife of Mars. May is a month of purification and religious ceremony in honor of the dead, and as such it is considered a very inauspicious time for marriage.



Modern Date : May 28th Market Day

ante diem V Kalendas June
The Festival of Diana

    This is one of the dies comitiales (C), when committees of citizens could vote on political or criminal matters.

    Drusus celebrated his Triumph over Pannonia this day in 20 AD.
    This is the third day of the Festival of Diana. Diana was the goddess of the moon and was often called Diana Lucifera, Diana the Bringer of Light. The Greeks knew her as Artemis, the twin sister of Apollo, and daughter of Zeus and Leto. She was born under Mount Cynthus in Delos and hence was also called Cynthia and Delia. She was the goddess of hunting, carried a bow and quiver like her brother, and was especially fond of music and dance. Diana was never conquered by love, and submitted to no man, hence she was the goddess of a "chaste" moon and, except for her family, tolerated only female companions. Her priestesses were all chaste and this festival was celebrated with daily music and dance until the kalends of June.
    On this day in 585 BCE was fought the battle between Cyaxerxes of Media and Alyattes of Lydia, during which a solar eclipse occurred.
    May is named after the goddess Maia, the wife of Mars. May is a month of purification and religious ceremony in honor of the dead, and as such it is considered a very inauspicious time for marriage.



Modern Date : May 29th Market Day

ante diem IV Kalendas June
The Amabarvalia

    This is one of the dies comitiales (C), when committees of citizens could vote on political or criminal matters.

    This day was also known as the Ambarvalia, a day sacred to Ceres, and on which the priests and people would make a solemn procession three times around the fields (arva) in an act of purification. This would be followed by the sacrifice of a sow, a sheep, and a bull.
    This is also the fourth day of the Festival of Diana and dancing and feasting would go on continuously until midnight. Diana was the goddess of the moon and was often called Diana Lucifera, Diana the Bringer of Light. The Greeks knew her as Artemis, the twin sister of Apollo, and daughter of Zeus and Leto. She was born under Mount Cynthus in Delos and hence was also called Cynthia and Delia. She was the goddess of hunting, carried a bow and quiver like her brother, and was especially fond of music and dance.
    This day was sacred to the goddess Dia (Maia).
    On this day in 1453 Constantinople fell to the Turks. After weeks of desperate fighting, the brave but undermanned and outgunned defenders were overrun and slaughtered, as were over 15,000 citizens. The last emperor of Rome, seeing the end, chose to plunge into battle and die a true Roman rather than flee. The last books from the libraries of the ancient world, the only ones that had survived Christianity, were burned by illiterates of another faith. Seventeen hundred years of unbroken Roman sovereignity came to an end and the last remaining city of the ancient world was lost. In Genoa, Italy, Columbus was learning to walk.
    May is named after the goddess Maia, the wife of Mars. May is a month of purification and religious ceremony in honor of the dead, and as such it is considered a very inauspicious time for marriage.



Modern Date : May 30th Market Day

ante diem III Kalendas June
The Festival of Diana

    This is one of the dies comitiales (C), when committees of citizens could vote on political or criminal matters.

    This is also the fifth day of the Festival of Diana. Diana was the goddess of the moon and was often called Diana Lucifera, Diana the Bringer of Light. The Greeks knew her as Artemis, the twin sister of Apollo, and daughter of Zeus and Leto. She was born under Mount Cynthus in Delos and hence was also called Cynthia and Delia. She was the goddess of hunting, carried a bow and quiver like her brother, and was especially fond of music and dance. Diana was never conquered by love, and submitted to no man, hence she was the goddess of a "chaste" moon and, except for her family, tolerated only female companions. Her priestesses were all chaste and this festival was celebrated with daily music and dance until the kalends of June.
    May is named after the goddess Maia, the wife of Mars. May is a month of purification and religious ceremony in honor of the dead, and as such it is considered a very inauspicious time for marriage.



Modern Date : May 31st Market Day

pridie Kalendas June
The Festival of Diana
    This is one of the dies comitiales (C), when committees of citizens could vote on political or criminal matters.

    This is the final day of the Festival of Diana. Diana was the goddess of the moon and was often called Diana Lucifera, Diana the Bringer of Light. The Greeks knew her as Artemis, the twin sister of Apollo, and daughter of Zeus and Leto. She was born under Mount Cynthus in Delos and hence was also called Cynthia and Delia. She was the goddess of hunting, carried a bow and quiver like her brother, and was especially fond of music and dance. Diana was never conquered by love, and submitted to no man, hence she was the goddess of a "chaste" moon and, except for her family, tolerated only female companions. Her priestesses were all chaste and this festival was celebrated with music and dance until midnight.
    May is named after the goddess Maia, the wife of Mars. May is a month of purification and religious ceremony in honor of the dead, and as such it is considered a very inauspicious time for marriage.

Mois de Juin