GNOMON

The Greek term for the sundial, the use of which in Greece is said to date from Anaximenes or Anaximander (500 B.C.) The first sundial used in Rome (solarium) was brought there in 263 B.C. from Catana in Sicily, and set up in public. It was not, however, till 164 B.C. that one adapted to the latitude of Rome was constructed. From that time the use of sundials became so common throughout the empire, that it was assumed in legislation during the imperial period, and all private business was regulated by the hours marked on the dial.