Calendars in Antiquity. Empires, States, and Societies

no reason why he casts similar suspicion on the duplication of

Sebaste

at the beginning of the year in the same column, on 23/9 and 24/9). As will also be evident from the next notes,

this column of the Vatican manuscript is particularly corrupt, with a tendency to allocate

ðæïô

’and 1 to the same day.

d

Here 21/4 is designated again as both

ðæïô

’and 1, followed by the name of the next month (Desios), then two blank spaces on 22/4 and 23/4, and then 24/4 as 1. It is safe to

assume that the rows have been misaligned, and that really 21/4 is

ðæïô

’, 22/4 is 1 (backward count), and 23/4 is either

Sebaste

or day 1 (duplicate) of the new month. The Sardis

inscription of 459

CE

(above in this chapter, n.105) also implies that 24/4 was reckoned as

‘day 1

’(though not necessarily the

first day of the month), since it equates

a.d. V Kal. Mai.

(27 April) with 4 Desios (Stern 2001: 43).e

In this month, similarly again, 20/6 is 3 (backward count), 21/6 is

ðæïô

’and 1, 22/6 is

Sebaste

, and 23/6 is 1; presumably, 22/6 should be 1 (backward count), and only 23/6 either

Sebaste

or 1.

fIn this month (Hestios) day 9 is repeated on 31/7 and 1/8, most probably in error. The occurrence of this repetition at the end of July and beginning of Aug

ust (thus on separate

pages, since the

hemerologia

are structured according to the Julian calendar) suggests a simple dittography.

W

e may therefore assume that the numbering of days from 23/7 to 31/7

is correct, and from 1/8 to 22/8 erroneous by one day, but without effect on the beginning date of the months.g

The Leiden MS is blank; however, this must be the

first day of month Basileos (with duplication of day 1), since 23/8 is 31 and 25/8 is 1.

h

The text reads 31 (following 23/8 that is 30), but this must be a scribal error for

‘^1

’, since 25/8 is 2.

iIn the Vatican MS the entry for 23/8 is unnumbered (whilst 22/8 is 30 and 24/8 is 1), but the name of the new month (Demetrios) is inscribed at this point, su

ggesting as in the

Florence MS that this is when the month begins (with duplication of day 1).jSame as in the Vatican MS (previous n.).Notes

: All dates represent the

first day of the month. Deviations from the scheme of the Priene inscription (i.e. from the calendar of the

first column) are indicated in bold.

So

urces

: This table is based entirely on the transcriptions of Kubitschek (1915: 42

• 53), but a fresh study of the

hemerologia

manuscripts would be desirable. The three main

manuscripts are Leiden Graec. 78, Vatican Graec. 1291, and Florence cod. Mediceus Laurentianus plut. XXVIII 26. Another Florence manuscript, Med. L

aur. plut. XXVIII 12, is

identi

fied by Kubitschek as a later copy of the Leiden manuscript; he therefore uses it to supplement the latter where it is lacking (especially for the month of J

anuary).