lit. new moon

Summary

Noumenia is the name given to the first day of each month. The beginning of the month is determined by the appearance of the new moon. This usually happens one day after the astronomical New Moon, but in Delphi, the timing can be slightly different due to Mount Parnassos. The mountain's presence to the west affects the visibility of the new moon, potentially delaying its observation and thus shifting the timing of the Noumenia. The calendar has, in places, been built with this in mind, in order to emphasis the Delphic calendar's relationship to the stars.

In Delphi, the Noumenia was a sacred festival day, dedicated to Apollon. A common way to celebrate this day is by taking care of household statues and devotional items.

[…] nor will it keep reminding you of the first of the month and the new moon, which, though really the holiest day of the month, the money-lenders have made accursed and detested.

– Plutarch, Moralia. That We Ought Not to Borrow$^{80}$

But the law of song keeps me from telling the long tale, and the pressing hours; and by a love charm I am drawn in my heart to touch upon the new-moon festival.

– Pindar, Nemean Odes (Loeb translation)

That day fell on the first of the month, and Hecate, the maiden with ruddy feet, was graciously announcing her prophecy eager for fulfillment.

**– Pindar, Paean 2

[733] Don’t you see? When the moon shines forth with slender horns from the west, she tells us that a new month is beginning; when the first rays are shed from her that just suffice to cast a shadow, she tells us that she is entering on her fourth day; when half-full, she is at eight days; when full-faced, at mid-month. As she constantly turns different faces toward us in her different phases, she tells us which day of the month is coming around.

– Aratos, Phainomena

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