The Curia Calabra was a religious station or ''

templum The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...

'' used for the ritual observation of the

new moon In astronomy, the new moon is the first lunar phase, when the Moon and Sun have the same ecliptic longitude. At this phase, the lunar disk is not visible to the naked eye, except when it is silhouetted against the Sun during a solar ecl ...

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom ...

. Although its exact location is unclear, it was most likely a roofless enclosure in front of an augural hut ''( auguraculum)'', on the southwest flank of the '' Area Capitolina'', the precinct of the

Temple of Capitoline Jupiter The Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, also known as the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus ( la, Aedes Iovis Optimi Maximi Capitolini; it, Tempio di Giove Ottimo Massimo; ) was the most important temple in Ancient Rome, located on the Capitoline ...

. Servius identifies the Curia Calabra with a ''

Casa Romuli The ''Casa Romuli'' ("Hut of Romulus"), also known as the ''tugurium Romuli'', was the reputed dwelling place of the legendary founder and first king of Rome, Romulus (traditional dates 771–717 BC). It was situated on the south-western corner ...

'' ("Hut of

Romulus Romulus () was the legendary founder and first king of Rome. Various traditions attribute the establishment of many of Rome's oldest legal, political, religious, and social institutions to Romulus and his contemporaries. Although many of these ...

") on the Capitoline, but

Macrobius Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius, usually referred to as Macrobius (fl. AD 400), was a Roman provincial who lived during the early fifth century, during late antiquity, the period of time corresponding to the Later Roman Empire, and when Latin was ...

implies that it was adjacent to the ''Casa''. The

Roman calendar The Roman calendar was the calendar used by the Roman Kingdom and Roman Republic. The term often includes the Julian calendar established by the reforms of the dictator Julius Caesar and emperor Augustus in the late 1stcenturyBC and some ...

was originally

lunar Lunar most commonly means "of or relating to the Moon". Lunar may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lunar'' (series), a series of video games * "Lunar" (song), by David Guetta * "Lunar", a song by Priestess from the 2009 album ''Prior t ...

. On the

Kalends The calends or kalends ( la, kalendae) is the first day of every month in the Roman calendar. The English word "calendar" is derived from this word. Use The Romans called the first day of every month the ''calends'', signifying the start of a n ...

or first day of each month, the pontifex minor occupied the Curia Calabra to await the sighting of the new moon. The Rex Sacrificulus and the pontifex then carried out a ''

res divina In ancient Rome, ''res divinae'', singular ''res divina'' (Latin for "divine matters," that is, the service of the gods), were the laws that pertained to the religious duties of the state and its officials. Roman law was divided into the ''res divi ...

'' (religious service) and sacrifice in honor of Juno, and the Roman people were called to assembly ''(in comitia calata)''. Like ''calata'', the name ''Calabra'' probably derives from ''calare'', "to summon" or "proclaim".

Varro Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes calle ...

, ''De lingua latina'' 6.27; Macrobius, ''Saturnalia'' 1.15.10–19.

Sources

* Lawrence Richardson, ''A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome'' (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992), p. 102.

Notes

Ancient Roman religion Roman calendar Topography of the ancient city of Rome {{ancientRome-stub