WEEK, a period of seven days, of un certain origin, but which has been used from time immemorial in eastern coun tries The week did not enter into the calendar of the Greeks, who divided the civil month into three periods of ten days each ; and it was not introduced at Homo till after the reign of Theodosius. By some writers the use of weeks is sup posed to be a remnant of the tradition of the creation ; by others, that it was sug gested by the phases of the moon ; while a third class, with more probability, re fer its origin to the seven planets known in ancient times. This opinion explains the circumstance that the days of the week have been universally named after the planets, according to a particular order. In the ancient Egyptian astron omy, the order of the planets, in respect of distance from the earth, beginning with the most remote, is Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury, the Moon. The day was divided into 24 hours, and each successive hour conse crated to a particular planet in the order now stated ; so that one hour being con secrated to Saturn, the next fell to Jupi ter, the third to Mars, and so on ; and each day was named after the planet to which its first hour was consecrated.
Now, suppose the first hour of a particu lar day to have been consecrated to Saturn, it is evident that Saturn would also have the 8th, the 15th, and the 221 hours. The 23d hour would therefore fall to Jupiter ; the 24th to Mars; and the 25th, or the first hour of the following day, would belong to the Sun, from which it would take its name. By proceeding in the same manner, it is found that the first hour of the third day would fall to the Moon, the first of the fourth day to Mars, of the to Mercury, of the sixth to Jupiter, and of the seventh to Venus. The cycle being completed, the first hour of the eighth day would return to Saturn, and all the others constantly succeed in the same order. According to Dio Cassius, the Egyptian week began with Saturday. The Jews, on their flight from Egypt, made Saturday the last day of the week. The Saxons seem to have bort ,trod the week fruit, same eastern nazi n, seb-itittiling the names of their owe tlitinities for ilaaie of the gods of Gree e. In England, the Latir names of th, days arc still retained in legislative ar...1 judiciary acts.