Quota hōra est? What time is it?
In certain instances, Latin
and the Roman world are not an exact science.
[1] Nobody in Ancient Rome
ever said that a boat would arrive at 4:27! The Roman day was a far more
flexible affair because minutes and seconds were not included in the
calculation of time, the day being divided into 12 hours of the day and 12
hours of the night. There was [i] ‘civil day’ (diēs cīvīlis) from
midnight to midnight and [ii] a ‘natural day’ (diēs nātūrālis) from
sunrise to sunset.
[2] The Romans used ordinal
numbers with hōra (hour) to tell the time:
- hōra prīma: first hour
- hōra secunda: second
hour
- hōra tertia: third hour
etc.
[3] diēs nātūrālis:
the natural day
- sōlis ortus: sunrise
- sōlis occāsus: sunset
Sunrise (sōlis ortus)
and sunset (sōlis occāsus) vary dependent upon the time of year.
Therefore, hours were shortened (to about 45 minutes) or lengthened (to about
75 minutes) to compensate so that the hours would always be aligned to the
sunrise and sunset.
Posted is a comparison of
the Roman hours and our times. Note that these are approximate and
simplified versions of research which gives exact modern equivalents
in minutes and seconds. You may come across variations. You do not require such
precision to express yourself – nor did the Romans – but when you read a time
in Classical Latin or you wish to express a time yourself, then the table gives
you an indication of what time they’re talking about.
[4] The Romans used the
terms: merīdiēs (mid-day) and media nox (midnight).
We see the former in: A.M. (ante merīdiēm: before mid-day) and P.M.
(post merīdiēm: after mid-day).
[5] To express ‘at’ a
certain time, the ablative of time when is used.
- hōrā secundā: at the
second hour
- hōrā ūndecimā: at the
eleventh hour
Quota hōra est? What time is
it?
> Quotā hōrā domum
redīs? At what time do you go home?
That term “ablative of time
when” is the standard phrase in grammar; when a specific time is referred to
the ablative is used. It’s also used when being specific about other time
periods e.g. in Winter or in the year 1450
and so on; more on that later.
[6] You can approximate by
using the preposition circa (around) + accusative case:
- Circā hōram nōnam:
around / about the ninth hour
And you already know four
prepositions which can also be used with expressions of time:
[i] ante + accusative:
before
[ii] post + accusative:
after
[iii] ad + accusative:
(here) until
- ante hōram prīmam:
before the first hour
- post hōram septimam:
after the seventh hour
- ad hōram quintam:
until the fifth hour
[iv] ab + ablative: from
- ab horā octavā:
from the eighth hour
[7] diēī (of
the day) may be added to the times to clarify that it is daytime rather than
night-time being referred to:
- hōra dieī octāva: the
eighth hour of the day
[8] The Roman day ends at
the twelfth hour. Thereafter, the hours are repeated, but noctis (of
the night) was included:
- hōra prīma noctis:
first hour of the night
- hōra secunda noctis:
second hour of the night
[9] The night was divided
into four “watches” (vigiliae) each of three hours in length; the
information is posted.
Look at the table for Summer
and work out roughly when you would do the following. How would you answer the
questions?
- get up: Quotā hōrā māne
surgis?
- have breakfast: Quotā
hōrā ientāculum sūmis?
- leave the house: Quotā
hōrā domō discēdis?
- have lunch: Quotā hōrā
prandium sūmis?
- go home: Quotā hōrā
domum redīs?
And here’s a good dramatic
time from a witness statement:
Nōnum Kal. Septembrēs ¦
hōrā ferē septimā ¦ māter mea indicat eī adpārēre
nūbem inūsitātā et magnitūdine et speciē.
"On the ninth day
before the first of September ¦ at almost the seventh hour,
¦ my mother indicates to him that a cloud of unusual size and shape is
appearing."
What happened next? And
check the modern equivalents to find out at about what time it happened.
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