Department or Program

Classical and Medieval Studies

Abstract

What can material culture and writing from the period tell us about the use and popular comprehension of the equinoctial hour in Greco-Roman antiquity? This project examines the use cases of the equinoctial hour contrasted against the more common seasonal hour, seeking to gauge its degree of diffusion beyond the technical spheres with which it is most commonly associated, namely astronomy and geography. The project traces the hypothesized Babylonian-to-Greek transmission of the equinoctial hour, leading to a survey of Greek equatorial dials to demonstrate a displacement of the equinoctial hour by the seasonal hour around the early 3rd century BCE. This shift provides context for the resurgence of the equinoctial hour in Rome beginning in the 2nd century BCE and its coexistence with the civil seasonal hour in both public and private contexts. The early Roman Republic witnessed the formalization of the civil day and its division of the diurnal arc, culminating in Rome’s first water clock in 159 BCE. This innovation marked a critical moment that allowed the hours of “timeless night” to be counted for the first time, paving the way for the institution of a legal day based on equinoctial hours reckoned from midnight. Through an examination of literary and scientific texts, epigraphy, and other material evidence such as surviving sundials, this project argues that a greater proportion of Roman society than is often acknowledged was aware of the equinoctial hour, with many people temporally literate in both the seasonal and equinoctial systems.

Level of Access

Open Access

First Advisor

Lynch, Sarah

Date of Graduation

5-2026

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Number of Pages

155

Components of Thesis

1 pdf file

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