The Temporality of Festivals : Approaches to Festive Time in Ancient Babylon, Greece, Rome, and Medieval China

Abstract

In this volume, scholars from different fields examine the temporality of festivals of the past. They show that we can use astronomical documents, calendars, and literary texts to recover how people in the past structured and experienced festive time, shedding new light on festive time in general: on how it is distinguished from everyday time and on why it can be such a rich and special experience of time.