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Select the first letter of the word from the list above to
jump to appropriate section of the glossary. If the term you are
looking for starts with a digit or symbol, choose the '#' link.
- Anthesteria
Festival, 11-13 Anthesterion
— see Festivals.
- Anthesterion
Sixth month of the Hellene year — see Months.-
- Apatyria
Festival, three or more consecutive days in Pyanepsion — see Festivals.
- Apellaios
Makedonian name for the month Pyanepsion.-
- Aphrodisia
Festival, 4 Hekatombaion
— see Festivals.-
- Arrephoria
Festival, 8 Skirophoria
— see Festivals. Also
called Arretophoria.-
- Artemis Agrotera
(Huntress)
Aspect of Artemis honoured at the Kharisteria on
6 Boedromion — see Festivals.-
- Audynaios
Makedonian name for the month Maimakterion.
- BCE
This stands for "Before Common Era" and refers
to years in the civil/Gregorian calendar. It replaces the
older, specifically Christian, terminology "BC"
("Before Christ").
- Boedromia
Festival, 7 Boedromion —
see Festivals.
- Boedromion
First month of the Hellene year — see Months.
- CE
This stands for "Common Era" and refers to
years in the civil/Gregorian. It replaces the older,
specifically Christian, term "AD" (Anno
Domini "Year of the Lord).
- Calculated or
Rule-based calendar
This calendar relies on arithmetical computation rather
than observation. The Hebrew calendar and the civil
Gregorian calendar are both calculated calendars.-
- City Dionysia
Festival, 9-13 Elaphebolion
— see Festivals.-
- Common Year
A "regular" or non-leap
year of 12 months, lasting either 354 or 355 days (see Year Length for an explanation).-
- Country Dionysia
Festival, Poseideon
— see Festivals.
- Daisios
Makedonian name for the month Mounykhion.
- Day Start
In this calendar, following the practice of both the Jews
and the Ancient Greeks (and the Celts, for that matter)
the day starts at sunset — conventionalized as 6:00
PM for calendrical purposes. Note that the night between,
say, Thursday and Friday is therefore regarded as Friday
night, not Thursday night — the night comes before
the day, not after as it does in the civil/Gregorian
calendar.-
- Dehiyyot,
singular dehiyyah
"Constraints," certain limitations on Hebrew
calendrical calculations to do with the exact date of 1 Tishri
(Rosh ha-Shana or New Year), designed to prevent
certain difficulties; for example, 10 Tishri is Yom
Kippur, which may not fall on Friday or Sunday (i.e.
next to Shabbat) so as to prevent there being two
consecutive days during which it is forbidden to do such
work as preparing food.)-
- Demetrios
Alternate name for the month Boedromion.-
- Dikhomenia
Monthly festival of Selene, occurring on the 15th of
every month.-
- Dionysia
See City Dionysia
or Country Dionysia.-
- Dios
Makedonian name for the month Boedromion.-
- Dystros
Makedonian name for the month Gamelion.
- Elaphebolia
Festival, 6 Elaphebolion
— see Festivals.
- Elaphebolion
Seventh month of the Hellene year — see Months.
- Gamelia
- Festival, 26 Gamelion
— see Festivals.
- Gamelion
Fifth month of the Hellene year — see Months.-
- Great
Mysteries of Eleusis
Major initiatory religious festival, 15-21 Boedromion — see Festivals.
- Haloa
Festival, 26 Poseideon
— see Festivals.
- Hekatombaion
Eleventh month of the Hellene year — see Months.-
- Hyerberetaios
Makedonian name for the month Metageition.
- Intercalary Month
This is simply the technical term for the extra month
added to lunisolar
calendars' years to correct to the solar year.
- Kallynteria
Festival, 22 Thargelion
— see Festivals.
- Karneios
Lakonian name for the month Metageitnion.-
- Khalkeia
Festival, 29 Pyanepsion
— see Festivals.-
- Kronia
Festival, 12 Hekatombaion
— see Festivals.-
- Kronion
Alternate name for the month Hekatombaion.
- Leap
Year
A 13-month year, which includes the intercalary month Poseideon
II, lasting either 383 or 384 days (see Year Length for an explanation).
- Lenaia
Festival, 12-15 Gamelion
— see Festivals.-
- Lenaion
Alternate name for Gamelion.-
- Lesser
Mysteries of Eleusis
Preparatory festival for the Great Mysteries of
Eleusis, early Anthesterion
— see Festivals.
- Loios
Makedonian name for the month Skirophorion.
- Lunar Calendar
This calendar is based on the lunar months, which
approximate the period of the lunation, with little
or no regard for the solar year. Because the solar year
is about 365 days long and the lunar year of 12 lunar
months is about 354 days long, the New Year's Day will
occur approximately 11 days earlier each year. In a
strictly lunar calendar where there is no solar
correction, the months will gradually drift backwards
through the seasons around the year, and any month can
eventually fall in any season. The most familiar example
of this is the Muslim calendar.-
- Lunation
The period of the moon's cycle. This was measured by the
ancient Hebrews to be 29 days, 12 hours, 793 parts — which is only
1/2 second different from modern astronomy's measurement!-
- Lunisolar Calendar
This calendar bases its months on the lunar month and its
year on the solar year. Because the two are not in step,
corrections must be made — generally the method is
to add an extra month to the year every so often. In the
case of the most familiar example, the Hebrew calendar,
the extra month is added to certain years in a 19-year
cycle (the Metonic
Cycle), so that the year drifts back up to one lunar
month before being brought forward again. This keeps the
months falling in the same general season, although by
the solar Gregorian calendar there may be up to a month
of difference.
- Maimakteria
Festival, Maimakterion
— see Festivals.
- Maimakterion
Third month of the Hellene year — see Months.-
- Metageitnia
Festival, 7 Metageitnion
— see Festivals.-
- Metageitnion
Last month of the Hellene year, having 29 days in a
383-day leap year and 30 days in other years — see Months and Year
Length.
- Metonic Cycle
This is named for the philosopher Meton, who discovered
the 19-year cycle (basically, the moon will be in the
same phase on the same day every 19 years). To find out
what year of the cycle we are in, divide the year number
by 19 and then multiply the remainder by 19 — that
number will be the number of the year in the cycle
(unless the year is evenly divisible by 19 and leaves no
remainder, in which case we are in the 19th year of the
cycle). The 13-month leap year occurs on the 3rd, 6th,
8th, 11th, 14th, 17th, and 19th years of the Metonic
cycle.-
- Mixed Calendar
This is a generally calculated calendar that must be
"fine-tuned" by periodic observation. The
traditional Chinese calendar is a mixed calendar, in this
case lunisolar.-
- Molad
See Selenogenesis.-
- Mounykhia
Festival, 16 Mounykhion
— see Festivals.-
- Mounykhion
Eighth month of the Hellene year — see Months.
- New Year
The year starts near the autumn equinox, following the
Lakonian rather than the Athenian practice — this
may or may not be the same day as the Jewish Rosh
ha-Shana, since in the Jewish/Hebrew calendar 1 Tishri
may be delayed a day or two by dehiyyot which
do not apply to the Hellene calendar.
- Noumenia
Festival of the Visible (well, usually) New Moon
occurring on the 1st of every month. Anciently, aat least
in Athens, so sacred that no festival was ever scheduled
for that day, so as not to interfere with the Noumenia
observance.
- Observational
Calendar
This calendar relies on physical observation of celestial
or other phenomena for its timing — for example, the
Muslim calendar relies on eye-witness observation of the
new crescent moon to begin the month.-
- Oskhophoria
Festival, 7 Pyanepsion
— see Festivals.
- Panathenaia
Festival, 28 Hekatombaion
— see Festivals.
- Panemos
Makedonian name for the month Thargelion.
- Part
This is a translation of the Hebrew word halak,
plural halakim, which is a division of time used
in the Hebrew/Jewish calendar. I have retained it because
it allows the use of whole numbers in measurement. One
part is approximately 3 1/3 seconds — there are 1080
parts to the hour.-
- Perition
Makedonian name for the month Poseideon.-
- Plynteria
Festival, 25 Thargelion
— see Festivals.-
- Pompaia
Festival, Maimakterion
— see Festivals.-
- Poseidea
Festival, 8 Poseideon (8 Poseideon II in leap
years, see Months) — see Festivals.-
- Poseideon
Fourth month of the Hellene year — see Months.-
- Poseideon II
Intercalary month
inserted into the calendar after Poseideon
in leap years. In years of 384 days it has 30 days, in
years of 383 days it has 29 days — see Months and Year
Length.-
- Proerosia
Festival, 5 Pyanepsion —
see Festivals.-
- Prota
Selenogenesis ("First
Moon-Birth)
The first selenogenesis, which
marks the beginning of the calendar. In Hebrew this is
called the Molad shel Tohu, the
"[Moon-]Birth out of Chaos."-
- Pyanepsia
Festival, 7 Pyanepsion
— see Festivals.
- Pyanepsion
Second month of the Hellene year — see Months.
- Selenogenesis
("Moon Birth")
This is an equivalent of the Hebrew word molad
"birth," which refers to the emergence of the
new moon from behind the sun — what is marked as
"New Moon" on calendars. The selenogenesis
or molad is calculated, not observed, so may
differ slightly from the value found in calendars or
ephemerides.
The month starts on the day of or the day after the selenogenesis,
or at absolute latest the day after that, i.e. with the
visible new moon.-
- Skirophoria
Festival, 12 Skirophorion
— see Festivals. Also
called Skira.-
- Skirophorion
Tenth month of the Hellene year — see Months.-
- Solar Calendar
This is a calendar that is based on the solar year, which
is the time it takes the earth to go around the sun
— the most obvious example being our own
civil/Gregorian calendar. Although it is subdivided into
periods called "months," these periods no
longer have anything to do with the cycle of the moon.
The solar year is slightly over 365 days, which is where
we get our leap year rules from.-
- Stenia
Festival, 9 Pyanepsion
— see Festivals.
- Thargelia
Festival, 7 Thargelion
— see Festivals.-
- Thargelion
Ninth month of the Hellene year — see Months.-
- Thalysia
See Thargelia.-
- Theseia
Festival, 8 Pyanepsion
— see Festivals.-
- Thesmophoria
Festival, 11-13 Pyanepsion
— see Festivals.
- Xanthikos
Makedonian name for the month Anthesterion.
- Year Length
The Hebrew calendar year may be any one of six lengths
— a common year may be 353, 354, or 355 days long; a
leap year may be 383, 384, or 385 days long. 353- and
383-day years are called khasera
"deficient," 354- and 384-day years are called kesidra
"in order," and 355- and 385-day years are
called shleima "full."
In this Hellene calendar there are only four available
lengths, since there are no dehiyyot to
worry about. The reason for the different lengths has to
do with the fact that the lunation is not an even number
of days. The Hellene year may be 354, 355, 383, or 384
days long — note that, in Hebrew terms, there can be
no "full" leap years or "deficient"
common years. To find the length of a given year you find
its starting date and the starting date of the following
year, and subtract to find the difference.
Months alternate between 29 and 30 days in length,
because the lunation period is about 29 ½ days long.
The standard common year is thus 354 days long, and the
standard leap year is 384 days long, since the intercalary month
(Poseideon II) is conventionally 30 days long.
If a common year has 355 days, we add one day to the last
month Metageitnion, which then has 30 days;
otherwise it has 29 days. If a leap year has 383 days, we
subtract a day from Poseideon II, which then has
29 days; otherwise it has 30 days.-
- Year Zero
Some sources will tell you that the Molad shel Tohu
(Hellene Prota
Selenogenesis) occurred on Monday, September 7,
3760 BCE, and some that it occurred the previous year, in
3761 BCE. This is because for calendar calculation
purposes we posit a civil/Gregorian Year 0 between 1 BCE
and 1 CE.
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Copyright © 1998 D.H. Killaly Barr
Last modified: September 08, 1998