News from Italy
July:
The Emperor Who Still Lives on Our Calendar
Julius Caesar was known for many things: his relationship with Cleopatra of Egypt, his appointed position as “Dictator for life” of the Roman Republic, and his political and military prowess. What he is less known for is his role in creating a calendar used for over 1600 years until a new calendar modified Caesar’s design.
For many people, July -one of the months of the calendar- is the month of summer vacations, long days, and warm evenings. But have you ever wondered where the name “July” comes from? The answer to this question takes us back more than two thousand years, to ancient Rome.
The month we call July is one of the most enduring reminders of that past. Every time we say its name, we unknowingly pay tribute to one of Ancient Rome’s most influential -and controversial- figures: Julius Caesar.
Before Caesar created a new calendar, the Romans used a calendar based on the phases of the moon. It was said to have been created by Romulus, the founder of Rome, and initially consisted of 10 months, beginning in March, totalling 304 days.
In the earliest Roman calendar, the year began in March. What is now July was then the fifth month and was known as Quintilis, a name derived from the Latin word quintus, meaning “fifth.”
In 46 BC, Julius Caesar introduced a sweeping reform of the Roman calendar with the assistance of the Alexandrian astronomer Sosigenes. The result was the Julian Calendar, a remarkably accurate system that remained in use throughout much of Europe for more than sixteen centuries and eventually became the foundation of today’s Gregorian calendar.
After Julius Caesar was assassinated in the Roman Senate in 44 BC, the Senate voted to rename Quintilis as Iulius (Julius) in his honour. It was the first time in history that a month was officially named after a statesman.
The modern names of the month -July in English, Julio in Spanish, Juillet in French, Luglio in Italian, and many others- all descend from that single Latin name. Empires have risen and fallen, languages have evolved, and borders have shifted, yet Caesar’s name continues to appear on calendars across the world.
The story of Augustus is equally remarkable.
Before his death, Julius Caesar adopted his great-nephew Gaius Octavius as his heir. Following years of civil war, Octavius emerged as Rome’s first emperor and received the honorary title Augustus, meaning “the revered” or “the exalted.”
In 8 BC, the month then known as Sextilis (the sixth month) was renamed Augustus in recognition of his achievements. As a result, two consecutive months of the year came to bear the names of the two men who shaped the destiny of Rome more than any others.
Curiously, July is now the seventh month and August 8. This is because January and February were later added to the Roman calendar, shifting the beginning of the year from March to January. Although the order of the months changed, their names remained untouched.
Calendars are among history’s quietest storytellers.
Every July, we continue to speak the name of Julius Caesar; every August, we remember Emperor Augustus, often without even realising it. More than two millennia after their deaths, the names of these two Romans are still spoken every day in virtually every corner of the world.
Perhaps that is history’s greatest triumph: some individuals do not merely shape their own age; they become part of time itself.