ERA - Enciclopedia Cattolica, Vol. V, p. 299

Machine translation of the 1948–1954 Italian original. The original text is authoritative.

ERA. — Wife of Zeus, one of the most important Greek deities. Her nature is debated: is she a chthonic deity, or of lunar light, or of air and atmospheric storms, or of feminine fertility, or the “goddess-bride”?

Generally considered to be originally from the Argolid; a recent hypothesis makes her the domestic deity of the Mycenaean sovereigns of Argos, from whom she spread throughout the Peloponnese, the principal seat of her cult, and throughout Greece. Important sanctuaries, in addition to the Heraion of Argos—where at the Heraia there were equestrian contests with a shield as the first prize—were those of Olympia, of Samos—where there were festivals with processions of armed men and contests for maidens—and in Italy, those of the Lacinian promontory near Croton and of Poseidonia. She was chiefly venerated as a symbol of feminine dignity and of marriage; in spring, the memory of her sacred marriage to Zeus was celebrated.

BIBL.: L. R. Farnell, The cults of the great states, I, Oxford 1896, pp. 179 ff.; S. Eitrem, s. V. in Pauly-Wissowa, VIII, col. 369 ff.; U. V. Wilamowitz-Moellendorf, Der Glaube der Hellenen, I, Berlin 1931, p. 237 ff.; B. Pace, s. V. in E. Ioli, XII (1932), p. 169 ff.; U. Pestalozza, Boezio fóviva Geschichte der Griechischen Religion, I, Munich 1941, p. 400 ff. For southern Italy: G. Giannelli, Culti e miti della Magna Grecia, Florence 1924, p. 144 ff.

ERA. — A fixed point in time, varying from people to people and corresponding to some great religious or national event, taken as the starting point for the reckoning of years.

I. OLYMPIAD ERA

Greek historians did not feel deeply the need for a uniform chronological criterion in their narratives: Thucydides himself counted the years both from the Trojan War and from the Battle of Marathon; moreover, every Greek state had its own calendar and its own era, which could hardly be made to correspond to those of the other states. Nevertheless, a term more or less common to all Greeks was found in the reference to one of the four great national festivals: the Olympic, Nemean, Isthmian, and Pythian, and more precisely to the first, which prevailed over the others, being about two centuries older.

After the Sicilian historian Timaeus (d. c. 250 B.C.) used it in his Histories, the Olympiad era was generally employed by Greek writers, but among the historians themselves, in documentary usage, the system of counting years from the series of eponymous magistrates appears: the kings at Sparta, the archons at Athens, and so on.

The Olympiad was constituted by a period of four years, which were reckoned as I, II, III, IV of each Olympiad. It should be noted that the year of the Olympiad began with the full moon that preceded or followed the summer solstice; consequently, since its rhythm alternated between the Julian and the Alexandrian, each Olympiad year corresponded to the second half of a Roman or Christian year and to the first half of the following one.

Christian chronographers placed the birth of Jesus in the fourth year of the 194th Olympiad, so that the first Olympiad is dated to 776 B.C.

The Olympiad era was abolished by Theodosius the Great in 395 A.D. It is found, however, up to the tenth century, the word “Olympiad” being used as a synonym for “quadrennial” in the dating of some documents (Olympiad IV of my reign: i.e., “in the sixteenth year of my reign”).

II. ROMAN ERA

At Rome, alongside the constant dating (v. ANNO CONSOLARE), historians, but not documents, used to reckon the years from the founding of Rome. This date, however, though its day remained fixed (21 April), varies from author to author for the year (for Cincius Alimentus it is 728 B.C., for Cicero 754, etc.). Finally, the dates of Varro, 753 B.C., and that of the Fasti Capitolini, 752 B.C., prevailed.

The Varronian computation was the most widely used by historians and accepted also by moderns for solemn dating of documents issued by the Capitol.

III. PROVINCIAL ERA OF MAURETANIA

The numbering begins from 39 A.D. In inscriptions it is indicated by a. prov. or ann. p. or ann. p. Therefore, to obtain the modern computation, 39 units must be added.

It appears in the documents of the 89th and 96th Olympiads. At the end of the ninth century it also appears in imperial documents, where it is affirmed in the following century; in papal acts it appears with John XII in 968. Its use was not uniform, however, the date of the beginning of the year varying according to the different styles (v. anno, inizio dell').

VIII. ERA OF THE PASSION

Used in some French charters until the eleventh century, it reckons the years from an epoch varying between 31 and 34 A.D., taking as its point of reference the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. In practice it was often confused with the Christian era.

IX. MAHOMETAN ERA

It begins on 16 July 622, the date of Mohammed’s flight to Medina (hijra), and follows the Islamic calendar based on lunar years, which are 10 or 11 days shorter than the solar year; consequently 33 years of the hijra correspond to 32 of ours.

The exact correspondence of a year of the Mahometan era with that of the Christian era can therefore be found only by referring to a chronological table.

The use of this era is found, besides in Arabic documents, also in Latin or vernacular versions of Arabic charters or texts.

Bibl.: in general: E. Brinckmeier, Praktisches Handbuch d. historischen Chronologie, Berlin 1882, pp. 10-62; F. Rühl, Chronologie der Mittelalter und der Neuzeit, Berlin 1897, pp. 130-266; A. Giry, Manuel de diplomatique, new ed., Paris 1925, pp. 88-93; A. Cappelli, Cronologia e calendario perpetuo, 2nd ed., Milan 1930; C. Paoli, Diplomatica, new ed., ed. G. C. Bascapé, Florence 1942, pp. 162-214; S. Sud, Le drame classique: [W.] Kubitschek, Aero, in Pauly-Wissowa, I, cols. 606-606; Bischoff, Kalender, ibid., X, II, cols. 1568-1602; L. Ziehen, Olympia, ibid., XVIII, I, cols. 1-3; W. Kubitschek, Grundriss der antiken Zeitrechnung (Handbuch der Klassischen Altertumswissenschaft), I, 7), Munich 1928. On the Spanish era: I. Vives, Über Ursprache und Verbreitung der spanischen Aero, in Histor. Jahrbuch, 58 (1938), pp. 97-105; id., Inscripciones cristianas de la España romana y visigoda, Barcelona 1922, pp. 177-190; A. Ferrara, Tombe che parlano, in Cie. Catal., 1943, IV, pp. 97-99 and 166-171. On the Mahometan era: R. Campani, Calendario arabo, Modena 1914; [F.] Wüstenfeld-E. Mahler, Vergleichungs-Tabellen der mohammedanischen und christlichen Zeitrechnung, 2nd ed., Leipzig 1926.

Carmelo Trasselli–Alessandro Pratesi