Your Day in the Ancient Greek World
September 1
September 1 in ancient Greece is represented in our source-audited archive by 2 verified records spanning 252 BC to 218 BC. Together, the entries below connect this calendar date with different moments in the ancient Greek world through historical and documentary evidence.
Across the centuries
On This Day
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252 BC
Life on This Day
A Woman Borrows 100 Drachmas Without Interest
On September 1, 252 BC, a woman named Nea, acting with her guardian, borrowed 100 drachmas from Echedemus. The loan was repayable on demand and carried no interest. Six witnesses were listed at the end of the Greek contract, preserving a precise glimpse of private credit, legal guardianship and documentary practice in Ptolemaic Egypt.
Sources
Primary evidence
- P.Lond. VII 1986 = SB X 10251 = TM 1548; British Library Papyrus 2243
Modern scholarship
- British Library Archives and Manuscripts catalogue record for Papyrus 2243
Public links
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218 BC
Event That Shaped History
A Lunar Eclipse Stops Attalus I’s Advance
While Attalus I of Pergamon was campaigning in western Asia Minor, a lunar eclipse occurred near the river Megistus. Polybius says the Gallic troops travelling with their wives and children regarded the eclipse as a bad omen and refused to advance. Attalus, already concerned by their indiscipline, chose not to force the issue and eventually moved them back toward the Hellespont. The episode shows how an astronomical event could alter military behavior when morale was already fragile.
Sources
Primary evidence
- Polybius, Histories 5.78.1-6
Modern scholarship
- Attalus chronology for 218 BC, which dates the episode by the lunar eclipse
Public links