Interesting fact about the month of August

August was originally named Sextilis because it was the sixth month of a ten month Roman calendar back in the day. It was renamed in 8BC to honour Augustus who was the first Roman Emperor. Emperor Augustus renamed Sextilis to August because this was the month he conquered Egypt. It is also rumoured that he stole days from February to make August longer, from 29 days to 31 days. This is not true however, Julius Caesar gave it extra days when he developed the Georgian calendar in 45BC.

The above statue which was discovered on April 20, 1863 in the Villa of Livia at Prima Porta, near Rome where Livia Drusilla (the wife of Augustus) retired after his death. It is now displayed in the Braccio Nuovo (New Wing) of the Vatican Museums.