Attic Calendar – Temple of the Sea Born

Attic Calendars (Temple of the Sea Born Composed) – 2021

Click on the links below to see the calendars:

About the Attic Calendar

Although the most widely used calendar in existence today (the Gregorian calendar) is the standard for the majority of the world, the convention of a predominantly accepted calendar hasn’t always been true. Many ancient cultures had calendars that differed between nations as well as between city-states. Because of the great variation in calendars, it’s hard to make general concrete statements about them. The Temple of the Sea Born has adopted a loosely inspired form of the Attic calendar; the calendar of ancient Athens.

Even with much scholarship and sources for the classical world, there is still some debate and research ongoing over all the points of the Attic calendar and those calendars of neighboring city-states. What follows is a system that we’ve adopted based off of the more agreed upon details and that works within our tradition.

Unlike our own calendar, the Attic calendar was a lunar calendar. In the strictest interpretations, each month began with the first visible sliver of moon after the dark moon. This could be widely subjective and differ from place to place. Some traditions that adhere to a reconstructionist model still practice this pure form of date telling. For our purposes, the calendar that the temple uses begins its months the day after the new moon as noted in mainstream astrological sources.

The new year begins the day after the first new moon directly following the summer solstice; usually in June. The months were named in honor of festivals and Gods, starting with Hekatombaion and ending with Skirophorion. Because of the more variable nature of the lunar cycle, there are years that will add an extra month into the year.

The Attic calendar was important to keep track of the myriad of festivals and religious commitments throughout the year. Each month had 29 or 30 days, the first days of the month being consistently devoted to the following deities, spirits, and energies.

Day 1 – Noumenia (basically the celebration of the new moon and start of the month)
Day 2 – Agathos Daimon (a celebration of the great spirit)
Day 3 – Athena’s Birthday
Day 4 – A day to honor several deities including; Herakles, Hermes, Aphrodite, and Eros
Day 5 – Was often a rest amongst the first few days, although some monthly festivals take place on this day
Day 6 – Artemis’ Birthday
Day 7 – Apollo’s Birthday
Day 8 – A day to honor Poseidon and Theseus
Usually the last day of the month, prior to the next new moon, was dedicated to Hekate

Along with the standard daily observances each month, there were also many festivals and rites dedicated to other Goddesses and Gods, Heroes, ideas and activities (such as democracy and labor), historical dates such as victories, and mysteries (such as the time of the Eleusian mysteries). These are just a few examples.

Above you will find the Attic calendars as compiled by the temple and used for our own observances, celebrations and rituals. As noted previously, these are in no way official Attic calendars, but suffice as official for the temple. Along with each calendar you will find a few highlights to the more common and recognized celebrations and festivals of that month. For more information about specific observances, check out the “Further Information” links below.