ante diem iv kalendas maias
ludi Florales ... a.k.a. Floralia (day 2) -- a festival originally ordered in response to an interpretation of the Sybilline books in 238 B.C., it fell into desuetude only to be revived in 173 B.C.; it was a general festival of drinking and other merriment in honour of Flora, who presided over (of course) flowers and their blossoms
12 B.C. -- consecration of the signum et ara Vestae on the Palatine; it was a shrine built by Augustus as pontifex maximus to house the palladium (maybe) which Aeneas brought from Troy
32 A.D. -- birth of the future emperor-for-a-little-while Otho
1st century -- martyrdom of Aphrodisius and companions in what would become Languedoc
304 A.D. -- martyrdom of Pollio in Pannonia
Floralia update: yesterday I was wondering about the connection to Chloris ... an rc reader (Elspeth) emailed me via the forum (thanks!) to say: In his "Fasti", Ovid tells the story (through an interview of Flora) of how she was once a nymph called Chloris who was loved by Zephyr, the west wind, who gave her power over flowers. Her name became Flora in Latin. I think this is in book five of the Fasti ...
ludi Florales ... a.k.a. Floralia (day 2) -- a festival originally ordered in response to an interpretation of the Sybilline books in 238 B.C., it fell into desuetude only to be revived in 173 B.C.; it was a general festival of drinking and other merriment in honour of Flora, who presided over (of course) flowers and their blossoms
12 B.C. -- consecration of the signum et ara Vestae on the Palatine; it was a shrine built by Augustus as pontifex maximus to house the palladium (maybe) which Aeneas brought from Troy
32 A.D. -- birth of the future emperor-for-a-little-while Otho
1st century -- martyrdom of Aphrodisius and companions in what would become Languedoc
304 A.D. -- martyrdom of Pollio in Pannonia
Floralia update: yesterday I was wondering about the connection to Chloris ... an rc reader (Elspeth) emailed me via the forum (thanks!) to say: In his "Fasti", Ovid tells the story (through an interview of Flora) of how she was once a nymph called Chloris who was loved by Zephyr, the west wind, who gave her power over flowers. Her name became Flora in Latin. I think this is in book five of the Fasti ...