The question ofwhat time is and how it is relevant for humans also occupied the Roman world. Philosophical discourse onlyplayed a small part; of more interest were the functions of “time” within society. This study pays particular attention to situations in which temporal order underwent changes in the Roman Empire– for example with the introduction of clocks in Rome, the Julian reform of the calendar, the extension of the Empire to new lands and cultures– and investigates literary reflexion on these changes in the Roman literature of the Republic and the Early Empire.