The Roman year originally had ten months a calendar which was ascribed to the legendary first king Romulus.

Roman names for months. From aperire Latin for to open. Origins of the names of the months. Most simply came from the numbers of the months or in two cases in honor of Roman emperors.

Tradition had it that Romulus named the first month Martius after his own father Mars the god of war. A History of the Months. Named after Julius Caesar in 44 BC.

This month was followed by Aprilis Maius and Iunius names derived from deities or aspects of Roman culture. The old Roman name was Sextilis the sixth month from March the month in which the primitive Romans as well as Jews began the year. Named after Mars the god of war.

Only a few names of the month were actually derived from Roman deities. From junius Latin for the goddess Juno. Named after the Roman god of beginnings and endings Janus.

The 10 months were named Martius Aprilis Maius Junius Quintilis Sextilis September October November and December. The last six names were taken from the words for five six seven eight nine and ten. In March May July and October which were most of them months with 31 days the Ides was on the 15th.

Eventually January Januarius and February Februarius were added to the end of the year giving all 12 months proper names. The original Roman year had 10 named monthsMartiusMarchAprilisAprilMaiusMayJuniusJuneQuintilisJulySextilisAugustSeptemberSeptemberOctoberOctoberNovemberNovemberDecemberDecemberand probably two unnamed monthsin the dead of winter when not much happened in agriculture. Ides Full Moon whole moon visible in the night sky When the Romans fixed the length of the months they also fixed the date of the Ides.