The Athenian Year - by Benjamin D Meritt (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Dive into the intricate world of ancient Athenian timekeeping with The Athenian Year, an in-depth exploration of the city-state's calendar system and its historical significance. This work unravels the complexities of a system influenced by both practical governance and lunar cycles, offering a rare glimpse into how the Athenians balanced tradition, astronomy, and civic needs. Through meticulous analysis, the book examines irregularities introduced by archons, the interplay between observed lunar phenomena and calendrical conventions, and the adjustments that ensured alignment with festivals and key historical events.

Rich in scholarly insight, The Athenian Year bridges the gap between ancient practices and modern interpretations. It meticulously reconstructs how the Athenians managed their festival and conciliar years, highlighting discrepancies and tampering while proposing methodologies for translating these dates into Julian equivalents. For historians, classicists, and enthusiasts of ancient Greek culture, this book provides both a detailed framework for understanding Athenian calendrical practices and a broader reflection on the intersection of astronomy, politics, and society in antiquity.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1961.