Kal. Aug.
August 1 in Ancient Rome
Claudius is born at Lyon on the altar’s dedication day
An unlikely emperor born in Gaul
politics10 BC
Julian date · ≈ Jul 30 on our calendar
Suetonius says the future emperor Claudius was born at Lugdunum on the Kalends of August, the very day an altar to Augustus was first dedicated there.
Claudius natus est Iullo Antonio Fabio Africano conss. Kal. Aug. Luguduni eo ipso die quo primum ara ibi Augusto dedicata est
Claudius was born in the consulship of Iullus Antonius and Fabius Africanus, on the Kalends of August, at Lugdunum, on the very day an altar was first dedicated there to Augustus.
Background
Lugdunum, modern Lyon, was the capital of Roman Gaul. There, where the Rhône and Saône meet, stood a great altar to Rome and Augustus, where representatives of the Gallic peoples gathered each year to show loyalty.
Suetonius records that the youngest son of Drusus, Augustus' stepson, was born at Lugdunum on the Kalends of August, "on the very day on which an altar was first dedicated there to Augustus", and was named Tiberius Claudius Drusus per Suetonius. His mother was Antonia, daughter of Mark Antony. Of her children, Suetonius notes, only three survived: Germanicus, Livilla and Claudius.
No one at the time would have expected this child to rule. Claudius grew up with a limp and a stammer, was kept out of public life by his own family, and devoted himself to history. Only after the murder of his nephew Caligula in AD 41 did the praetorian guard make him emperor. He would add Britain to the empire and become the first Roman emperor born outside Italy. Being born on a day of loyalty to Augustus, in a provincial capital, now looks like a fitting start.
Ancient source: Suetonius, Claudius 2.1 · Reference
Sources
☁ Rome today (1991–2020 avg): 32°/20°C (90°/68°F) · rain 10% of days
Rome in AugustThe hottest weeks raised the risk of fire in the dense city, especially in…
Fields & crops
Columella marks autumn beginning around 12 August; straw and stubble were gathered, figs and early fruit picked, and vineyards readied for the vintage per Columella 11.2.
Courts & law
A quieter legal month; many elite Romans were in the countryside. Under the empire, the imperial household's slaves and freedmen kept administration running.
Senate & politics
Renamed from Sextilis in 8 BC for Augustus, who had won his greatest successes in this month, including the capture of Alexandria in 30 BC per Macrobius 1.12.35.
Military
Armies stayed in the field; disease in hot camps was often as dangerous as battle modern view based on ancient accounts.
Festivals & religion
Portunalia (17 Aug.), Vinalia Rustica (19 Aug.), Consualia (21 Aug.), Vulcanalia (23 Aug.), when small fish were offered to Vulcan to ward off fire, and Opiconsivia (25 Aug.) per Varro and Festus. On the Ides, Diana's day, enslaved people had a holiday per Festus and Plutarch.
Daily life
The hottest weeks raised the risk of fire in the dense city, especially in timber-framed insulae; Augustus set up the vigiles, a fire brigade of freedmen, in AD 6 per Suetonius and Dio. Fevers peaked in late summer and early autumn; the sick poor relied on home remedies and shrines more than on doctors modern view.
Sources: Macrobius, Saturnalia 1.12 · Columella 11.2
All days in August →
LATIN LINE OF THE DAY
Sera nimis vita est crastina: vive hodie.
“Tomorrow's life is too late: live today.”
Martial, Epigrams 1.15 · translation ours (literal)
