Atlantean Calendar

The Atlantean Age

Although the first Atlantean civilization arose approximately 18,000 years ago, the Atlantean Calendar as it is understood by scholars today was not firmly established until approximately 14,000 years ago, around the time of the Lemurian Schism. Modern scholars place year "zero" of the Atlantean Age at 12336 BCE, based on the best available archaeological evidence.

Years

Atlantean astronomy was very well advanced and they used a Solar calendar, that is, one based on the regular and predictable rising of the Sun in relation to certain fixed stars on a yearly cycle.

The year consisted of 365 full days and was divided into 12 months of 30 days each. The months were named after the zodiacal constellation in which the Sun rose on the first day of that month (the definition of which piece of sky was or wasn't in a particular constellation being somewhat arbitrary, in order to make the system work). The twelve zodiacal constellations, along with their modern names, would be:

1. The Worker (Aries)
2. The Cow (Taurus)
3. The Great Twins (Gemini)
4. The Crayfish (Cancer)
5. The Lion (Leo)
6. The Ear of Grain (Virgo)
7. The Scales (Libra)
8. The Cutter (Scorpio)
9. The Soldier (Sagittarius)
10. The Goat-Fish (Capricorn)
11. The Pitcher (Aquarius)
12. The Swallow (Pisces)

Note: by convention, modern scholars use the modern names of the constellations when recording Atlantean dates.

There are five additional "named" days, which fall outside the 12 months, to bring the total number of days in the year to 365. These are:

1. Year Start, before Aries 1
2. Summer Solstice, between Gemini 30 and Cancer 1
3. Autumn Equinox, between Virgo 30 and Libra 1
4. Winter Solstice, between Sagittarius 30 and Capricorn 1
5. Year End, after Pisces 30

Named days were typically holidays through the Atlantean Empire.

It will be seen that the two named days Year Start and Year End come together, and literally mark the end of one year and the start of the next.

The Atlanteans understood that the year was not a whole number of days, and to prevent the dates of the equinoxes and solstices slipping they inserted leap days rather randomly and arbitrarily between months, as their astronomers decided they were needed. This is obviously an unsatisfactory solution for any number of reasons, but it is one that apparently persisted for nearly two-and-a-half millennia. As the assignment of leap days was entirely in the hands of the priests, it may be that the system was yet another subtle way in which they maintained their importance—nobody could know for sure how many days would fall between any given months until the priests told them.