Additional Inscription 8 : Fasti Praenestini (original) (raw)

This inscription, which was found near Praeneste, preserves part of a calendar compiled by the grammarian Verrius Flaccus in the reign of the emperor Tiberius. The calendar includes many comments on both antiquarian lore and significant recent events.

This is one of the calendars that were used by Ehrenberg & Jones to reconstruct the Fasti Anni Juliani of the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius. See key to translations for an explanation of the format.

January -February -March -April -August -September -October -December

[JANUARY]

| | - | [... is named] in Latium . . . [sacrifices] with the libation which [is called Janual] | | | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | A | [Kalends of January. Business in Court.] To Aesculapius and Vediovis on the island. This day, along with the [other] Kalends, is given the name {calendae} because it is the first of the days which the pontifex minor [calls] on the Capitol in the Calabrian senate-house, in every month up until each Nones. The new year [begins then] because on this day the new magistrates enter office; this custom started in the 601st year after the foundation [of Rome]. | | | | B | [Business in Court]. [This day is fastus. These days are named fastus] because on them it is permitted in the presence of the magistrates of the Roman people to speak {fari} those words, without which no legal business can take place. [It is a sacred day, as are all the days] that follow the kalends, and [no sacrifice can be made] on these days. | | | | C | Business in Assembly. [These days are called comitialis, when the Roman people] is permitted to come together, assemble and meet, and legal [business can take place] . . . by which law . . . no legal business can take place. | | | | D | Business in Assembly. | | | [ 5th ] | E | [Nones] . . . | | | F | [Business in Court. This] day is a [sacred day, as are all the days that follow the nones, for the same] reason as [all the days that follow the kalends]. | | | | G | Business in Assembly. Caesar Augustus [first took up the fasces], when Hirtius and Pansa [were consuls]. (Tiberius Caesar] was appointed to the board of seven epulones. | | | | H | Business in Assembly. [Tiberius Caesar dedicated] the statue of Augustan Justice . . . [when Plancus] and Silius were consuls. | | | | A | [No Business; Public Holiday.] Agonalia . . . Agonia . . . or because . . . | | | [ 10th ] | B | Mid-split Day. This word endotercisus means that [the day is split up - because in ancient times the word endo] was used instead of "in". [On a mid-split day, it is unlawful in the morning . . . before] the victim is sacrificed, [and after the entrails have been laid out . . . again] it is unlawful. Therefore [the response is often given . . . that in the middle time] business can take place. Tiberius Caesar . . . | | | C | [No Business; Public Holiday.] Carmentalia . . . [Carmentis looks after childbirth and all] future events, and therefore [inside her shrine they do not allow hides of leather or any] omen associated with dead animals. [Imp. Caesar Augustus put an end to all wars, for the third time] since Romulus, and closed the gate of Janus, [when he was consul for the fifth time, with Sex. Appuleius]. Augustus . . . Tiberius Caesar | | | | D | Business in Assembly. | | | | E | Ides. No Business; Public Holiday . . . [The senate decreed] that a chaplet of oak should be placed [above the door of the home of Imp. Caesar] Augustus, because he restored [the republic] to the Roman people. | | | | F | Mid-split Day. By [decree] of the senate an unlucky day: [the birthday of Antonius]. [This day is a sacred day, for] the same reason as all the days following Kalends and Nones. | | | [ 15th ] | G | No Business; Public Holiday. Carmentalia. A festival of Carmentis, for the same reason as the 11th. This festival is said to have been established [by Romulus], because he captured Fidenae on this day. | | | H | Business in Assembly. Imp. Caesar was called [Augustus], when he was consul for the 7th time and Agrippa [was consul for the 3rd time]. The temple of Concordia Augusta [was dedicated] when P.Dolabella and C.Silvanus were consuls. Tiberius Caesar [dedicated] it when he returned from Pannonia. | | | | A | Business in Assembly. The pontifices, [the augurs, the quindecimviri sacris faciundis, and the septemviri] epulonum sacrificed victims to the [the godhead of Augustus at the altar] which Tiberius Caesar dedicated. | | | | B | Business in Assembly. | | | | C | Business in Assembly. | | | [ 20th ] | D | Business in Assembly. | | | E | Business in Assembly. | | | | F | Business in Assembly. | | | | G | Business in Assembly. | | | | H | Business in Assembly. | | | [ 25th ] | A | Business in Assembly. | | | B | Business in Assembly. | | | | C | Business in Assembly. The temple of [Castor and] Pollux was dedicated on this day. | | | | D | Business in Assembly. | | | | E | Business in Court. A public holiday, by [decree of the senate, because on this day . . .] by Imp. Caesar [Augustus the pontifex] maximus [. . .] of the sea . . . The deified Caesar added [this and the following day] in order to increase the number of days in the year. | | | [ 30th ] | F | No Business; Public Holiday. A public holiday, by decree of the senate, because on [this] day the Ara Pacis Augustae was dedicated [in the Campus] Martius, when Drusus and Crispinus were consuls. | | | G | Business in Assembly. | | | | | 31 days in January | |

[FEBRUARY]

| | | * * * | | | ---------- | -------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | [ 5th ] | D | Nones. No Business; Public Holiday. To Concordia on the Capitol. A public holiday, by decree of the senate, because on this day Caesar Augustus the pontifex maximus, when he held the tribunician power for the 21st time and was consul for the 13th time, was given the title pater patriae by the senate and people of Rome. | | | | * * * | | | [ 17th ] | H | No Business; Public Holiday. Quirinalia. To Quirinus on the hill . . . the Sabine name for a spear is curis . . . [the Sabines call Mars] by the name of Quirinus . . . the festival [of fools] . . . | | | | * * * | |

[MARCH]

| | - | March is named after Mars, the Latin [god] of war, and it had this name amongst the people of Alba and most of the other peoples of Latium, even before the foundation of Rome. However some believe that it has this name because sacrifices are offered to Mars during the month. | | | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | D | Kalends of March. No Business; Public Holiday. A festival of Mars and Juno Lucina on the Esquiline, because on that day a temple was vowed to her by the wife or [daughter] of Albinus, if Juno would [protect the mother] and her baby. | | | | E | Business in Court. | | | | F | Business in Assembly. | | | | G | Business in Assembly. | | | [ 5th ] | H | Business in Assembly. | | | A | No Business; Public Holiday. Public holiday [by decree of the senate, because on this day] Imp. Caesar Augustus was appointed pontifex maximus, when Quirinius and Valgius were consuls. The duumviri [offer a sacrifice to mark the occasion]; the people wear garlands and [keep it] as a holiday. | | | | B | Nones. [Business in Court.] To Vediovis on the Capitol and Vediovis between the two groves. | | | | C | Business in Court. | | | | D | Business in Assembly. | | | [ 10th ] | E | Business in Assembly. Public holiday, by decree of the senate, because [on this day] Tiberius Caesar was appointed pontifex maximus, when Drusus and Norbanus [were consuls]. | | | | * * * | | | | | . . . of the new year . . . | | | | C | Business in Court. | | | | D | No Business; Public Holiday. Liberalia. | | | | E | Business in Assembly. | | | | F | No Business; Public Holiday. Quinquatrus {Fifth Day} . . . [however others more probably think that it was given that name because it was the fifth day after the Ides], as the days after the Ides are numbered [in this way] in Latium. A sacred day for artisans, because on this day a temple was [dedicated to Minerva] on the Aventine hill. [The Salii] perform a dance in the comitium [in the presence] of the pontifices and the tribunes of the celeres. | | | [ 20th ] | G | [Business in Assembly.] | | | H | [Business in Assembly.] | | | | A | [No Business.] | | | | B | No Business; Public Holiday. [Tubilustrium. The festival] of Mars on this day is given this name because in the Atrium Sutorium they cleanse the trumpets which are used in the sacred rites. Indeed Lutatius say that it is the clava with which Romulus inaugurated the city of Rome, and that it was found in the ruins of the Palatine after it was burnt by the Gauls. | | | | C | "Lawful [when the King] was in the comitium". Most people wrongly suppose that this day was given its name because it was on this day that [the king] fled from the comitium. But Tarquinius did not flee the comitium [to go into exile], and there are other days in other months with the [same] title. Therefore [we think that it is more likely] that this title means that [after the sacrifices have been performed], business can take place [in the law courts]. | | | [ 25th ] | D | Business in Assembly. | | | | * * * | | | [ 30th ] | A | Business in Assembly. | | | B | Business in Assembly. To Luna on the Aventine hill. | | | | | 31 days in March | |

[APRIL]

| | - | [April] is named after Venus, because she [coupled with Anchises and became the mother of Aeneas], the king of the [Latins], from whom the Roman race is sprung. Others think that it is named after the opening {aperilis} in the month, because then the fruits and flowers and animals open up, both by sea and by land. | | | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | | C | Kalends of April. Business in Court. The women gather together to make supplication to Fortuna Virilis. The humbler women also make supplication in the baths, because in them like men they appear naked in that part of the body, by which they attract men with their femininity. | | | | D | Business in Court. | | | | E | Business in Assembly. | | | | F | Business in Assembly. The games of the Great Idaean Mother of the Gods. They are called Megalensia, because the name of the goddess is Megale {"great"}. There are usually many mutual offers of splendid meals, because the Great Mother, when she was summoned by the Sibylline Books, moved her home from Phrygia to Rome. | | | [ 5th ] | E | Nones. No Business. Games. To Fortuna Publica Citerior {The Nearer Fortune of the State} | | | H | No Business; Public Holiday. Games. A public festival, because on the day Gaius Caesar, son of Gaius, [defeated] king [Juba] in Africa. | | | | | * * * | | | [ 10th ] | D | No Business. [During two days], a great sacrifice is offered to Fortuna Primigenia. On each of these days, the oracle is open. The duumviri sacrifice a calf. Games are held in the circus for the Great Idaean Mother of the Gods on the Palatine, because on this day her temple was dedicated. | | | E | No Business. | | | | F | [No Business. Games for Ceres.] | | | | G | Ides. [No Business; Public Holiday. Games.] | | | | H | No Business. [Games.] | | | [ 15th ] | A | [No Business; Public Holiday.] Fordicidia {Sacrifice of Cows in calf}. [Games] . . . an Oscan and Sabine [word] . . . Aulus Hirtius, with C. Caesar [as his colleague in the command, won a victory at Mutina. Hence up until] the present time, [it is customary to make supplications to Augustan Victory]. | | | B | No Business. Games . . . | | | | C | No Business. Games. | | | | D | No Business. Games. | | | | E | [No Business; Public Holiday.] Cerealia. [Games in the circus.] | | | [ 20th ] | F | No Business. | | | G | No Business; Public Holiday. Parilia . . . the fires jump . . . at the start of the [pastoral] year . . . | | | | H | No Business. | | | | A | Business in Court. Vinalia. To Jupiter. [A libation of every new wine] is offered [to Jupiter, because when the Latins] were hard pressed by the Rutuli [in war], Mezentius the king of the Etruscans agreed to come to their aid if they gave him the produce of their wine every year. Julia Augusta and Tiberius Augustus dedicated a statue to the divine father Augustus near the theatre of Marcellus. | | | | B | Business in Assembly. Tiberius put on the toga virilis, when the consuls were Imp. Caesar, for the seventh time, and M.Agrippa, for the third time. | | | [ 25th ] | C | No Business; Public Holiday. Robigalia. A festival for Robigus at the fifth milestone on the Claudian Way. To prevent mildew harming the crops, a sacrifice is offered, and games with greater and lesser races. This day is a holiday for pimps' boys, because the previous day is a holiday for female prostitutes. | | | D | Business in Court. This day was added by the deified Caesar. | | | | E | Business in Assembly. | | | | F | No Business; Public Holiday. Games for Flora. Public holiday, by decree of the senate, because on this day [the shrine and altar] of Vesta were dedicated in the house of Imp. Caesar Augustus, the pontifex maximus, when Quirinius and Valgius were consuls. On this day a temple was dedicated to Flora, who looks after the flowering of plants, to cure the barrenness of the crops. | | | | D | Business in Assembly. Games. | | | | E | Business in Assembly. Games. | | | | | 30 days in April | | | | | * * * | |

[AUGUST]

| | - | [In this month], Egypt was [brought] under the control of the [Roman] people. | | | --------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | [ 1st ] | [G | Kalends of August.] No Business; Public Holiday. To Victory. To Victory the Virgin on the Palatine. To Spes {"Hope"} in the Forum Holitorium. A public holiday, [by decree of the senate], because on this day Imp. Caesar [Augustus freed the republic from awful danger]. | | | H | Business in Assembly . . . of the Sun and Moon ... Mars . . . | | | | | * * * | |

[SEPTEMBER]

[OCTOBER]

[DECEMBER]

| | | * * * | | | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | F | Business in Assembly. | | | | G | Business in Assembly. | | | | H | Business in Assembly. | | | [ 10th ] | H | Business in Assembly. The tribunes [of the plebs enter office]. | | | A | [No Business; Public Holiday.] Agonalia. | | | | B | Mid-split Day. | | | | C | Ides. [No Business; Public Holiday. To Tellus {Earth}. A lectisternium to Ceres] "in Carinis" . . . the aediles . . . and they make the lectisternium from couches . . . which the contractor provides. | | | | D | Business in Court. | | | [ 15th ] | E | No Business; Public Holiday. Consualia. A festival for Consus. [Mules] and horses [are decked in flowers] because under his protection . . . and so the king [is carried] on a horse. | | | F | Business in Assembly. | | | | G | [No Business; Public Holiday.] | | | | | * * * | | | | [C] | No Business; Public Holiday. Divalia. A festival for the goddess [Angerona], who is named [from the disease of quinsy {angina} because she once] revealed [a remedy for it. They put up a statue of her with her mouth bound] at the altar [of Volupia, to warn people not to utter] the secret [name of the city]. | | | | [D | Business in Assembly. To the Lares Permarini] in the Minucian portico. | | | | E | No Business; Public Holiday. Larentalia. The festival [of Parentalia] for Jupiter and Acca Larentina. Some say that she was [the nurse] of Remus and Romulus; [others] say that [she was] a prostitute, the mistress of Hercules. Public offerings are made to her, because she left the Roman people as the heirs of a large amount of money, which was bequeathed to her by the will of Tarutilus, her lover. | | | | F | [Business in Assembly.] | | | [ 25th ] | G | Business in Assembly. | | | H | Business in Assembly. | | | | A | Business in Assembly. | | | | B | Business in Assembly. | | | | C | Business in Court. | | | [ 30th ] | D | Business in Court. | | | E | Business in Assembly. | | | | | 31 days in December | |

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