Global Journal of Human Social Science, G: Linguistics and Education, Volume 21 Issue 4

Another observable aspect is the integrity of the weekly cycle. According to Smith (1875), in their archaeological excavations, the same weekly cycle was recorded by the Assyrians: In the year 1869, I discovered among other things a curious religious calendar of the Assyrians, in which every month is divided into four weeks, and the seventh days, or "Sabbaths," are marked out as days on which no work should be undertaken. During 1870, I was engaged in preparing for publication my large work on the history of Assurbanipal, in which I gave the cuneiform texts, transcriptions, and translations of the historical documents historical documents of this important reign (SMITH, 1875, p. 12-13). One more source that highlights the uninterrupted regularity of the weekly cycle is Nature (1931) when publishing that: [...] some of these (the Jews and also many Christians) accept the week as of divine institution, with which it is unlawful to tamper; others, without these scruples, still feel that it is useful to maintain a time-unit that, unlike all others, has proceeded in an absolutely invariable manner since what may be called the dawn of history (NATURE, Our Astronomical Column, June, 06, 1931, V. 127, p. 869). According to Odom (1965), when talking about the planetary week, the important Hellenistic astrologer of Antioch named Vettius Valens (120 - c. 175) presents in his work Anthology of ten volumes a chapter where he tells how to find the day of the week when a certain date of birth had fallen: And concerning the week and [the] sabbatical day [the formula is] thus: Taking [the number of full years and the [number of] intercalations from [the commencement of the Era of] Augustus, add also the [number of] days from [the first day of] Thoth to the birth date, and subtract from [the total of] these [numbers] seven as many times as possible, and [count] the remaining (days) from [that of the] Sun [Sunday]. And in this manner you may reckon the [planetary] star to which the day belongs. And the order of the [planetary] stars in relation to the days [of the week] holds thus: Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, [and] Saturn. But the arrangement of their orbits [around the earth is] thus: Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury, [and] Moon. Moreover, by this [same] arrangement the hours [of each day] are designated; and by means of the hours [is indicated the] day of the next [planetary] star (ODOM, 1965, p. 113). It is known that the hebdomadal week has been uninterrupted for almost two millennia even in spite of the Gregorian, Juliana and Alexandrian changes in the calendar. According to Neugebauer (2017), the date of Easter Sunday can be traced through the many tables of calculations to the primitive Alexandrian table, beginning with the Easter of 311 A.D. From what can be seen, the weekly cycle has remained uninterrupted; however, some attempts at change have already occurred in history. For example, in the Soviet Union in 1929, Lenin decreed a five-day week excluding Saturdays and Sundays, with six weeks for each of the twelve months of the year, adding five days as national holidays to complete the 365 days of the year. In 1932, the calendar was changed again to 60 six-day weeks, and in 1940, it was returned to the Gregorian calendar. i. Sunday The original meaning of the first day of the week designating the day of the sun is preserved in several languages as can be seen in the table above. However, the ecclesiastical interest in liturgical syncretism, the need for political adequacy on the part of Constantine ( Flavius Valerius Constantinus - 272 - 337 A.D. ) and also the feeling of anti-Semitism promoted the change of name to Dies Dominicus or the Lord's Day. As Flavius Josephus attests in his work Against Apion , the principle of resting on the seventh day had been taken by Jews everywhere: “For there is not any city of the Grecians, nor any of the barbarians, nor any nation whatsoever, whither our custom of resting on the seventh day hath not come” (WHISTON, 1895, p. 280) 13 , but Constantine's edict promulgated on March 7, 321 AD ordered that everyone should rest on the venerable day of the sun. Gibbon (1776, p. 331) says th at Constantine styles the Lord ’s Day dies solis, a name which could not offend the ears of his pagan subjects. 14 Christians shall not judaize and be idle on Saturday, but shall work on that day; but the Lord’s Day they shall especially honour, and, as being Christians, shall, if possibl e, do no work on that day. If however, they are found judaizing, they shall be shut out from Christ (HEFELE, 1875, p. 316). Constantine called " Dies Solis " (day of the sun) the "day of the lord" a name that could not offend the ears of his pagan subjects. The council of Laodicea (A.D. 363-364), motivated by Constantine's decree, decided in Canon 29 to establish the sacredness of Sunday and to condemn the Sabbath holiday as follows: 15 ii. Monday The term feira (fair) coupled on the ordinal weekdays in Portuguese (segunda- feira , terça- feira , quarta- feira , quinta- feira , and sexta- feira ) derives from the Latin feria - singular from feriae - from which the words vacation and holiday were formed, and referred, in principle, to the days of rest, precedent to Easter Sunday, promulgated by Bishop Martinho de Braga. 13 Flavius Josephus. The Works of Flavius Josephus. Translated by. William Whisto n, A.M. Auburn and Buffalo. John E. Beardsley, 1895 . 14 Available at: http://www.limpidsoft.com/galaxy8/declinefall2.pdf p. 331 15 Available at: <https:// archive.org/stream/ahistoryofthecou02hefeuo ft#page/n331> Volume XXI Issue IV Version I 29 ( G ) Global Journal of Human Social Science - © 2021 Global Journals Year 2021 Chrononyms and the Time Identity