Classical Studies 1000 Lecture : Classics lectures.docx
Document Summary
Classics lecture 1- sources for the ancient world. Focuses on the period ca 1500 bc to ca ad 476. These dates are a modern convention, reflecting the modern calendar. A strong awareness of the changing seasons and the months (astronomy) There were many calendars for individual cities. Caesar reformed the roman calendar, bringing it closer to the modern system foundation for modern calendar- 10 month calendar then added two more, one for caesar- july and one for agoutis-august (his successor) Every major city had there own calendar could always be different, change drastically. Historical events were typically dated by the year of a particular priest or magistrate in which the fell. Often reference is made to a particular season. Rough length for a single generation were used to date past dynasties. The acme system was widely used in ancient biography. Occasionally the distance is measured from some single event, common eras (e. g. the first olympics 776, founding of rome 753/2.