Thursday, September 21, 2006

Today in Rome

I think, just so that I have something to make me update this a little more often, I'm going to take a page from David Meadows, but I'll be taking my information from this site, which is primarily interested in festival dates. So, to begin with, today is September 21st...

Ante diem XI Kalendas October
Eleventh Day to the Kalends of October

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

The Egyptians celebrated this day as the Feast of Divine Life. It was an epagomenal day, added to the calendar to complete a 365 day year. On this day they celebrated the birthday of their mother-goddess.

The rites of the Eleusinian Mysteries, begun on the Festival days of the 18th and the 19th, would continue this day.

On this day in 19 BC the poet Virgil died in the port of Brindisii upon his return from Greece. Virgil wrote the Aeneid, an epic account of the travels of the refugees from Troy as they settled successively in Carthage and in Latium, giving rise several generations later to the line of Romulus, the founder of Rome.

On this day in 454 AD, Aetius, who had defeated Attila the Hun, was stabbed to death by the emperor Valentinian III and his eunuch chamberlain Heraclius during a meeting in Ravenna. Aetius has been called the "Last Roman" because of his resourcefulness and vigor in fighting back the barbarians.

In Greece, the Rites of Eleusis were performed this day.


September is the 'magical' seventh month (after March).

1 comment:

Maria Verivaki said...

have you been to modern day eleusis?
it might come as quite a shock!
http://organicallycooked.blogspot.com/2009/03/athivoles-cretan-mezodopoleio-in.html