'Calendars: Cultures and Clocks' - A brief history of calendric development, including astronomical and political factors, with curious details from many cultures.
The areas discussed include:
The Origins of Hours | The Greeks; Celts; Germans; Romans; Standardisation of length |
Months | The Moon; Madness; Beliefs; Biorhythms; Reconciliation with the Year length |
Luni-solar Calendars | The Greeks; The Octaeteris; The Metonic cycle; The Macedonians; The Christians; The Egyptians |
The Roman Calendar | Month lengths; Terminalia; Intercalation; Naming of days of the month; Eudoxus; The Julian Calendar; Month names |
Other Cultures | The Aztecs; The Chinese; The Iranian Jalali calendar; The Hindus; The Jews; The modern Islamic calendar |
The Gregorian Calendar | Its adoption; Quarter days |
Days of the Week | The origin of the day names |
Year Numbering - Chronography | Roman AUC; Greek Olympiads |
Today | Leap seconds; Julian date |