HIstory of Each Month: August

Continuation of series. Our calendar has the names of 12 months and although we may vaguely know of the name's origin, there is a rich history behind the name chosen for each month. The source for the information I share is from The Stories of the Months and the Days, by Reginald C. Couzens, 1923. Here is some of what he wrote about August:

"This month is also named after a great Roman emperor, Augustus Caesar, but was first called Sextilis, the sixth month. Augustus, whose full name was Caius Julius Caesar Octavianus--Augustus (the Majestic) being a title given him after he became emperor--was a young man at the time of Caesar's murder. Julius, who had no son of his own, adopted Augustus as his son and heir, in order that when he died Augustus should become emperor in his place. The nobles who had killed Julius, however, did not wish Augustus to become emperor, and it was not until he had fought and won many battles that he became the head of the Roman Empire. As soon as he had conquered all his enemies, he returned to Rome, and, closing the temple of Janus, proclaimed peace throughout the Empired. During his reign there lived the greatest poets and writers that Rome ever had, of whom the best known are Virgil, Horace, Ovid, and Livy; just as in the rein of our Queen Elizabeth there lived some of England's greatest poets and writers--in fact the time from Spenser and Sidney in Elizabeth's reign, passing beyond Shakespeare to Milton in Charles II's reign, is spoken of as the "Augustan Age" of English Literature.

The month known as Sextilis was chosen as the one to be named after Augustus, because it was during that month that the most fortunate events of his life had happened. In that month he had first become consul, the most important man in Rome; he had three times entered the city in triumph after his great victories; he had conquered Egypt and had ended the civil wars. As the month had only thirty days, and the one named after Julius Caesar had thirty-one, a day was taken from February in order to make them equal."

We will be doing 1 ATC for 1 partner. It can be any media, it can be literal or figurative. You can certainly do more research if you wish, or simply draw from what is quoted here. Your ATCs just need to reflect in some manner the history behind the name of August.

ATC must have an element that is entirely originally made by you. This could be hand-drawn, hand-painted, sewn, or a mixed media piece involving different papers, ephemera, AND paint/inks. Scrapbook style (anything using more than 10 percent scrapbooking type materials and ATCs that do not have an original art element as described above) is not permitted in this swap.

Have fun with it!