THE AUGUST FULL MOON

The Full Moon Over the Parthenon

This year the August full moon rises on the 3rd of August and sets at the dawn of the 4th of August.  According to NASA's Skycal, the moon will become officially full at 11.59 am.


Full moons occur when the moon is, exactly, at the opposite side of the Earth from the sun.   If the moon passes through the earth's shadow we see a lunar eclipse, but that doesn't happen every month because the moon's orbit is slightly inclined, so the moon usually misses the shadow. 


A full moon occurs every 29.5 days, which is slightly longer than the moon's orbital period.  The reason being that the Earth is moving around the sun, so by the time the moon gets to the same place, the Earth is not directly between the moon and the sun any more.

The Full Moon Over the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion  

The full moon of August is the brightest and the most beautiful moon of the year.  In ancient Greece, the month of August was a period of festivals and celebrations.  The ancient Olympic Games were held in Ancient Olympia from 776 BC - 393 BC, starting on the day of the August full moon, and took place every four years.


The tradition still continues today,  the modern Olympic Games are held in August but is a matter of luck if the opening ceremony falls on the day of the full moon!

Selene in Her Chariot

The most famous myth about the moon is that Selene, the moon goddess, travelled in the night sky, in her silver chariot. drawn by two snow-white winged horses.   The love of Selene's life was Endymion, the shepherd Prince, the most handsome man Selene had ever seen and who granted eternal youth and immortality.  Selene paid nightly visits to Endymion ín his cave on Mount Latmos and eventually gave birth to fifty daughters, representing the fifty lunar months of the Olympiad, a period of four years, marking the inauguration of the Olympic Games. 

The Full Moon Over the Aphaia Temple in Aegina

Today, on the day of the August full moon all archaeological sites throughout Greece remain open well after midnight, with free entrance.


Years ago, the Acropolis remained open all night, not only for the full moon of August but for the twelve full moons of the year.



The "Blue Moon" occurs every 2.5 years, according to NASA, and it is considered a very infrequent phenomenon.  When two moons occur during the same month is called a Blue Moon.  The phrase "once in a blue moon" indicates the scarcity of an event.