Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

How did the Greeks and Romans count Years? [7:52]
YouTube ^ | December 31, 2021 | Garrett Ryan, Ph.D (as toldinstone)

Posted on 01/25/2026 6:15:45 AM PST by SunkenCiv

The AD/CE system we use to date the year was introduced - more or less by accident - during the Middle Ages. Before its invention, the classical world used a wide range of dating systems. 
How did the Greeks and Romans count Years? | 7:52 
toldinstone | 615K subscribers | 435,313 views | December 31, 2021
How did the Greeks and Romans count Years? | 7:52 | toldinstone | 615K subscribers | 435,313 views | December 31, 2021

(Excerpt) Read more at youtube.com ...


TOPICS: History; Science; Travel
KEYWORDS: epigraphyandlanguage; garrettryan; godsgravesglyphs; toldinstone
Message from Jim Robinson:

Dear FRiends,

We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.

If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:

Click here: to donate by Credit Card

Or here: to donate by PayPal

Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794

Thank you very much and God bless you,

Jim


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-32 next last

YouTube transcript reformatted at textformatter.ai could follow, but probably won't.

1 posted on 01/25/2026 6:15:45 AM PST by SunkenCiv
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: 240B; 75thOVI; Adder; albertp; asgardshill; At the Window; bitt; blu; BradyLS; cajungirl; ...
The weekly digest list of topics follows.

2 posted on 01/25/2026 6:17:50 AM PST by SunkenCiv (NeverTrumpin' -- it's not just for DNC shills anymore -- oh, wait, yeah it is.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: SunkenCiv

The answer is easy.

On their fingers.


3 posted on 01/25/2026 6:18:16 AM PST by DoodleBob (Gravity's waiting period is about 9.8 m/s²)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

Comment #4 Removed by Moderator

To: DoodleBob

👌👍


5 posted on 01/25/2026 6:20:00 AM PST by SunkenCiv (NeverTrumpin' -- it's not just for DNC shills anymore -- oh, wait, yeah it is.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

BCE or BC? Whats it for you... This week, we take a look at something that seems to bother a lot of people. And thats ok. We care about our history. So with that lets take a deep dive into both. Why do we use them, why and when did we change and what does it mean for the history and heritage of Britain? 
Are we Erasing BC and AD? | 11:59 
Paul Whitewick | 226K subscribers | 54,313 views | January 18, 2026
Are we Erasing BC and AD? | 11:59 | Paul Whitewick | 226K subscribers | 54,313 views | January 18, 2026
(pertinent, and not a strong standalone topic)

6 posted on 01/25/2026 6:21:54 AM PST by SunkenCiv (NeverTrumpin' -- it's not just for DNC shills anymore -- oh, wait, yeah it is.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: SunkenCiv

On their fingers and toes I assumed.


7 posted on 01/25/2026 6:43:31 AM PST by Raycpa
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SunkenCiv

Before Christ or Before the Christian Era is pretty much the same thing, at least for me.


8 posted on 01/25/2026 6:45:32 AM PST by Raycpa
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: SunkenCiv

I always understood BCE to mean Before the Common Era and BC is Before Christ.
Jewish people preferred BCE.


9 posted on 01/25/2026 6:47:46 AM PST by zeebee
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: SunkenCiv

BCE/CE are Christophobic, and when someone posts an article on FR using those abbreviations for dating, I correct them.


10 posted on 01/25/2026 6:51:47 AM PST by Fiji Hill
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Raycpa
Before Christ or Before the Christian Era is pretty much the same thing, at least for me.

I think BCE stands for Before Common Era. It's just a way for hate-filled left-wing historians to pretend that the counting method has nothing to do with Christianity.

11 posted on 01/25/2026 7:01:12 AM PST by libertylover (The HBM (Has Been Media) is almost all AGENDA-DRIVEN and HATE-DRIVEN, not-truth driven.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: SunkenCiv

I always preferred Goody’s to BC.


12 posted on 01/25/2026 7:03:41 AM PST by chajin ("There is no other name under heaven given among people by which we must be saved." Acts 4:12)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: SunkenCiv

The Japanese count their years usually as the reign of an emperor (they are presently in Reiwa 8), though if some major disaster occurred, an emperor could decide to start a new era—the emperor emeritus (Akihito) could have started a new era after the 2011 Fukushima disaster if he had wished.


13 posted on 01/25/2026 7:06:43 AM PST by chajin ("There is no other name under heaven given among people by which we must be saved." Acts 4:12)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SunkenCiv

I feel like I have a need to know about how Noah got to be 950 years old. Methuselah was 969, Adam was 930, Seth was 912, Job was 210, Moses was 120...What were their secrets to living such long and productive lives?


14 posted on 01/25/2026 7:07:08 AM PST by equaviator (Nobody's perfect. That's why they put pencils on erasers!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: libertylover

I know some read it that way but because I know the reality is inescapable by pretending Christ is common, I am satisfied that Christ is real and not common no matter how they want to rewrite. They can deny reality be making Christ common but I can establish in my own mind that Christ changed time and world and that is not common.


15 posted on 01/25/2026 7:11:23 AM PST by Raycpa
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: SunkenCiv

Well, at least the Romans counted them in Roman numerals.

If it wasn’t for Roman numerals, most of our modern buildings would collapse because of the missing cornerstones.


16 posted on 01/25/2026 7:20:37 AM PST by oldbill
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SunkenCiv

Long ago, the place where I worked used “a Julian Calendar”.The Julian Year was 1000 days long, with the last number of the Gregorian Calendar Year.
Example: ‘Jan 01, 1961 would be 0-0-1-1.
Next day, 0-0-2-1 all the way to 9-9-9-1, then that next day begins the “2” year, 0-0-1-2.
As to what happens when you’ve reached “9-9-9-9”, I do not recall that....
Note, an easy historical eye of 1000 days, was the length President Kennedy’s time in office.


17 posted on 01/25/2026 7:24:02 AM PST by Terry L Smith
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: oldbill

VI VII


18 posted on 01/25/2026 7:24:03 AM PST by Raycpa
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: Fiji Hill
BCE/CE are Christophobic, and when someone posts an article on FR using those abbreviations for dating, I correct them.

I could not agree more. Moreover, they are anti-intellectual, they reject history and needless create confusion and complexity.

FWIW, astronomical years agree with AD dating and subtract one or add, one depending on your point of view, to BC dates. There was no year 0 in the AD/BC system because there is no way to represent 0 in Roman Numerals used to indicate years, even after Arabic numerals became common for financial and scientific purposes. 2026 AD is astronomical year 2026, but 1 BC is astronomical year 0 and 67 BC is astronomical year -68.

Interestingly enough, in the Julian Calendar the year began on March 25th, "Lady Day". In the British Empire, the year George Washington was born, March 24, 1731 was followed the next day by March 25, 1732! Washington was born on February 22, 1732 by the Gregorian Calendar, February 11, 1731, by the Julian Calendar then in use.

19 posted on 01/25/2026 7:24:04 AM PST by Lonesome in Massachussets ( Thorough planning and careful preparation is no substitute for wishful thinking. )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

mark


20 posted on 01/25/2026 7:27:33 AM PST by Bigg Red ( Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-32 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson