Time, Rewritten in Rome

July is here, but do you know where its name comes from? The answer leads back to Ancient Rome, a murdered ruler, and a calendar that still carries traces of a 2,000-year-old world. 👀

Once upon a time, July didn’t exist. The Romans called it Quintilis, meaning “fifth month”, because their year began in March. But in 44 BC, everything changed. Julius Caesar was assassinated, and his ally Mark Antony renamed the month in his honor: Julius. July.

July isn’t the only reminder the Romans left behind. In fact, our calendar still carries traces of their old year.

Look at the last four months: September, October, November, December. Their names come from the Latin words for seven, eight, nine, and ten. Yet today they’re the ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth months of the year.

Why the mismatch?

Because when those names were created, the Roman year still began in March. January and February were added later, but the old names remained.

The first months tell a different story. January honors Janus. March comes from Mars. June is linked to Juno. For centuries, Roman gods dominated the calendar. After Julius Caesar’s assassination, Quintilis was renamed July in his honor. For the first time, a month no longer commemorated a deity or a number, it commemorated a man.

Augustus’ Jealousy 👀

months on a Roman mosaic, 3rd century

A few decades later, the month of Sextilis was renamed August in honor of Emperor Augustus. According to a popular story, Augustus was so jealous of Julius that he stole a day from February to make August as long as July.

It’s a great story, but historians don’t think it’s true.

What is true is that two Roman rulers became something most emperors can only dream of: part of daily life. Every summer, people around the world write their names on calendars, often without realizing it.

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Explore Rome, Step by Step 👣

One of Rome’s greatest gifts is that ancient Rome never completely disappeared. The modern city was built on top of it, but not over it. The names we’ve mentioned, Julius Caesar, Augustus, and countless others, don’t survive only in books or on calendars. You can still visit the places where they lived, debated, ruled, and shaped history. Even the site where Julius Caesar was assassinated is known and can be visited today.

There’s no better way to experience these layers of history than by walking through them. And when you’re ready to explore Rome step by step, Piri app is there to guide the way. Don’t forget to check out our audio tours: Footsteps of Civilization, Whispers of Time, Empire in Stone, and Treasures of the Gardens & Squares✨

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Have a great weekend, everyone! See you next week!👋🏼