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.

Roman names for months. Named after the Roman god of beginnings and endings Janus. From aperire Latin for to open. January was named after Janus the Roman god of beginnings and transitions while Februarys name is believed to stem from Februa an ancient festival dedicated to ritual springtime cleaning and washing.

The last six names were taken from the words for five six seven eight nine and ten. Romulus the legendary first ruler of Rome is supposed to. The Roman year originally had ten months a calendar which was ascribed to the legendary first king Romulus.

Only a few names of the month were actually derived from Roman deities. This month was followed by Aprilis Maius and Iunius names derived from deities or aspects of Roman culture. On other months it was the 13th.

Most simply came from the numbers of the months or in two cases in honor of Roman emperors. From junius Latin for the goddess Juno. Named after Mars the god of war.

Named after Julius Caesar in 44 BC. In March May July and October which were most of them months with 31 days the Ides was on the 15th. Named after Maia the goddess of growth of plants.

The original Roman year had 10 named monthsMartiusMarchAprilisAprilMaiusMayJuniusJuneQuintilisJulySextilisAugustSeptemberSeptemberOctoberOctoberNovemberNovemberDecemberDecemberand probably two unnamed monthsin the dead of winter when not much happened in agriculture. A History of the Months. Tradition had it that Romulus named the first month Martius after his own father Mars the god of war.