🤔 Today's Trivia Question:

How Many Days of the Week Were There in Ancient Rome?

Correct Answer: D) Eight.

📅 The Nundinal Cycle: Ancient Rome's Original Eight-Day Week

In Ancient Rome, the concept of a seven-day week, as we know it today, was not initially in use. The Romans originally followed an eight-day cycle known as the "nundinal cycle." Each cycle lasted eight days, culminating in a market day called "nundinae," when people from the countryside would come into the city to sell their goods and conduct business.

It wasn't until the 1st century AD, under the influence of the astrological week used in the Hellenistic world and spread through the Roman Empire, that the seven-day week began to be adopted. This seven-day week was based on the seven classical planets, which were associated with the days of the week:

1. Dies Solis (Sunday) - Sun

2. Dies Lunae (Monday) - Moon

3. Dies Martis (Tuesday) - Mars

4. Dies Mercurii (Wednesday) - Mercury

5. Dies Iovis (Thursday) - Jupiter

6. Dies Veneris (Friday) - Venus

7. Dies Saturni (Saturday) - Saturn

By the time of Emperor Constantine in the 4th century AD, the seven-day week had become more standardized and widespread across the Roman Empire.