Fasti

Fasti is the Latin term for official Roman calendars that organized days for religious rites, civil business, and public life. The calendar distinguished days as fasti, on which public actions could be performed, and nefasti, on which such activities were prohibited. The word fasti comes from fastus, a concept in Roman religious and political regulation.

Public calendars called Fasti compiled essential dating material for Roman history. The Capitoline Fasti (Fasti Capitolini) are among the best known, inscribed lists of magistrates and major events from Rome’s early history through the Republic and into the early Empire. The consular fasti recorded the annual names of the consuls, while the fasti triumphales documented celebrated military triumphs. Fragments such as the Fasti Antiates preserve additional dating information. These calendars were maintained by officials such as the pontiffs and served to regulate religious observances and public life, as well as to date events.

In addition to official records, Fasti also appears in literature. Ovid’s Fasti, composed in the late Republic or early Imperial era, is a didactic poem that recounts the Roman festival year and the mythic origins of their holidays, illustrating how the calendar shaped religious practice and social memory.

The Julian calendar reform of 46 BCE reorganized the months and days, influencing later dating practices, but the concept of fasti as days suitable for public action persisted in chronologies and inscriptions. Today, Fasti remains a key term in the study of Roman chronology, religion, and urban administration.