Calendar, c. 25 CE

The pace of life- detail of a calendar c. 25 CE. Weeks did not exist; days of rest were religious feast days (a day of work was sacrificed to the gods), distributed throughout the year. On feast days magistrates, free men, students, slaves and animals all ceased work. The word LVDI that appears in various places means “games” (such as chariot races) or theatrical spectacles. Gladiatorial combats were not religious and do not appear on the calendar. (Museum of the Aquila)

Veyne, Paul, A History of Private Life- From Pagan Rome to Byzantium. Cambridge- Harvard Univ. Press, 1987.