The Attic Calendar

The Attic Calendar

I’ve been wanting to make a post on the Attic Calendar, which was the lunisolar of Athens. Despite the numerous resources available, our knowledge of it still remains patchy due to the fact that since it wasn’t used outside of Athens, no one really bothered to make an extensive examination of it. I’ll try to explain the calendar as best as I can, and in a future post, I’ll try to cover every festival I can (Including Roman and non-Athenian festivals).

New Moon, Hekate’s Deipnon, & Noumenia

Before we discuss the months, it is quintessential to learn these three very important dates. Despite what I’ve seen from others, the new moon does not correlate with Noumenia. The Noumenia takes place 2 days after the new moon. This is because the Noumenia was marked when the first sliver of the moon was able to be seen.

“Ok, but why should we know about the Noumenia and Hekate’s Deipnon?”

Well, the Noumenia was the start of an Attic month. Hekate’s Deipnon was the end of the Attic month. I’ll explain the importance of these dates.

Hekate’s Deipnon

The day right after the new moon, Hekate’s Deipnon, also simply just called the Deipnon, was a meal served to Hekate. It was believed that on this day, Hekate called upon the restless spirits of the Underworld to roam the living world for a night. Because of this, it was incredibly unlucky to leave the house during the night hours.

To appease them, the Athenians would lay out a meal at a crossroads (typically in front of the doorway), as the crossroad is sacred to Hekate. This was done to purify the household of misdeeds and to return favor with Hekate. The Athenian would not look back on the offering, due to believing the spirits would be angry with them doing so. This meal typically consisted of raw eggs, cakes, loaves, fish, garlic, leeks, and/or onions. Incense was also lit.

This also had a secondary purpose, of which was feeding the poor. It was believed that Hekate encouraged the poor to eat the food laid out by the rich Athenians:

“From her (Hekate) one may learn whether it is better to be rich or to go hungry. For she says that those who have and who are wealthy should send her a dinner each month, but that the poor among mankind should snatch it before they put it down.’ For it was customary for the rich to offer loaves and other things to Hekate each month, and for the poor to take from them.“  -  Aristophanes in the Suda,(Suda Epsilon 363, C10th CE, trans. W. Hutton)

If the household felt they were polluted, each member would touch a dog and put all their misdeeds onto it, and they would sacrifice the dog to Hekate. This is unfathomable nowadays, and in modern practice the sweeping and cleaning of the house should work just fine. (This is also when you should clean out the kathiskos made in honor of Zeus Ktesios)

In summary, the day was used to appease restless spirits and to purify the house before the new month begins.

Noumenia

The Noumenia was the first day of the Attic month, and the second day after the new moon. Household deities were honored and worshiped on this day, but also including Selene and Apollo Noumenios.

This was a day of relaxation and no work, considered the “holiest of days” by Plutarch. No festivals were allowed to take place during the Noumenia. Frankincense, wine, flower garlands, and barley cakes were common offerings during the Noumenia.

Holy Days

You got the Noumenia and Hekate’s Deipnon down? Good, because there’s actually more. The first couple days of each month was holy to a specific God. The 1st day was for the Noumenia, 2nd day was for the Agathos Daimon, 3rd day was for Athena, 4th day was for Aphrodite, Herakles, Eros, and Hermes, 5th day was considered very unlucky so no Gods had a holy day there (except for the Erinyes and Eris), 6th day was for Artemis, 7th day was for Apollo, 8th day was for Poseidon and Theseus, and the 9th day was for Rhea, Helios, and the Muses.

The Years

The final thing we need to talk about before we even get to the months is the years. Every 4 years completed an Olympiad, which was used to determine the Olympic games. Each different year in a Olympiad was generally the same, though some festivals could only be on a specific year. Some years also had an additional month (it was unclear which month would be duplicated, but nowadays we always duplicate the month of Poseidon) in order to keep the lunar dates in line with the solar dates. For example, this year (2020 before the Athenian New Year) is the 3rd year of the 699th Olympiad. This means in 2021, it will be the 700th Olympiad, which is quite rare since every 100 Olympiads is 400 years!

Whew. Time to finally talk about the months!

Hekatombaion

Hekatombaion was the first month in the Attic calendar. It always took place after the first new moon of the summer solstice. (This was how they kept the calendar in tune with the seasons; it was necessary to do so since Greece has very pronounced seasons). It generally correlates to July and August.

Hekatombaion 1st was the Athenian New Year, but unlike in the modern day, it was of very little importance to the regular Athenian. The actual new year festivities would take place during the Panathenaea, which took place later in the month. 

This month would also host the Kronia and Synoikia.

Metageitnion

Metageitnion was the second month. It generally correlates to August and September.

This month hosted the Eleusinia (NOT related to the Eleusinian Mysteries) and the Herakleia.

Boedromion

Boedromion was the third month. It generally correlates to September and October.

This month hosted the Niketeria, Genesia, the Greater Eleusinian Mysteries.

Pyanepsion

Pyanepsion was the fourth month. It generally correlates to October and November.

This month hosted the Proerosia, Pyanepsia, Oskhophoria, Theseia, Stenia, Thesmophoria, Apatouria, and Khalkeia.

Maimakterion

Maimakterion was the fifth month. It generally correlates to November and December.

This month hosted the Pompaia.

Poseideon

Poseidon was the sixth month. It was also the month duplicated if need be, resulting in the month Poseidon-2, but it is unclear if any festivals were repeated or if there was any new festivals for it. It generally correlates to December and January.

This month hosted the Poseidea, Plerosia, Lesser Dionysia, and Haloa.

Gamelion

Gamelion was the seventh month. It generally correlates to January and February. 

This month hosted the Lenaia and the Theogamia.

Anthesterion

Anthesterion was the eighth month. It generally correlates to February and March.

This month hosted the Anthesteria, the Lesser Eleusinian Mysteries, and the Diasia.

Elaphebolion

Elaphebolion was the ninth month. It generally correlates to March and April.

This month hosted the Elaphebolia, Asklepia, Greater Dionysia, and Pandia.

Mounukhion

Mounukhion was the tenth month. It generally correlates to April and May.

This month hosted the Delphinia, Mounukhia,and the Olympeia.

Thargelion

Thargelion was the eleventh month. It generally correlates to May and June.

This month hosted the Thargelia, Bendideia, Kallynteria, and Plynteria.

Skirophorion

Skirophorion was the twelfth and final month. It generally correlates to June and July.

This month hosted the Arrephoria, Skira, and Dipolieia/Bouphonia.

Where can I check these dates?

Hellenion is pretty amazing for this, here is 2020. It has links to each festival with further explanations too. HMEPA is also great as you can go through really every year. Here’s the link to it.

Hope you enjoyed! On the Athenian New Year I plan to release a wave of posts for each month (in the Gregorian months) for all festivals (including Roman and non-Athenian) with details and how to do them. Thanks for reading!