The Calendar of the Therapeutae as Described by Philo of Alexandria in De vita contemplativa
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Abstract
The Therapeutae described by Philo in his treatise De vita contemplativa were settled on the outskirts of Alexandria, in a village, where they led an ascetic life of study and prayer. Secluded from the world, they spent their days in the solitude of their own refuge, but they had a weekly Sabbath day of fellowship. Their life was regulated by a Sabbath and Pentecontad calendar, that is, based on the numbers seven and fifty, and overall inserted in a solar hemerological context. While number seven was related to the Sabbath, number fifty was associated with the day of the great feast of the community, that took place every seven weeks, from sunset on the forty-ninth to sunrise on the fiftieth. In this article we will try to explain the characteristics of this peculiar calendar and its relationship with others of the time.