The corresponding month for the ancient Greeks was Metagipnion. The Greek people also gave it other names, such as Drimaris, Aloustos, and Sinologus.
In Pontus, it retained the name Augustus and Auguston. August was also the best and richest month in Pontus, because many fruits ripened in this month. To even declare this fact, they used the neuter adjective Agoustisi.
So with the first compound the word August and the second a fruit, we have the word augustapin, from the word August and the ancient apion, meaning the pear that ripens in August. From the word August and walnut, we have in Trebizond the word agoustokarydon, meaning the walnut that ripens in August.
In Pontus, the people consider August as the beginning of winter, just as March is the beginning of summer. August was the best and richest month for Kromni, because it brought threshing and the harvest of fruits and cured all pains.
However, there were also opposing views, such as in Stavris tou Pontus, where the people complained that, although August, the beginning of winter, had come, their suffering had not ended, since the god’s curse was that their tears would not dry.
The first days of August, like those of Mortis, were called “drimes”, and they believed that under the influence of the stars, the drimes damaged clothes or wood. Thus, they believed that whoever cut wood during that time would be wormed, and whoever washed their clothes would have them rot. The “drimes”, August cold spells were believed to last for three, eight, or twelve days, depending on the location. They were called meromenia, because from the weather of each day, they predicted the weather of each month of the following year.
Work
This month was the hazelnut harvest. It is known that Pontus, and in particular certain areas such as Kerasunda, were the first in hazelnut production.
Here, for the first time, they succeeded in separately processing the hazelnut species in special laboratories. The Greeks of Pontus were the first to export hazelnuts of excellent quality to many European markets.
In the region of Pafra this month, the tobacco harvest was also coming to an end. In addition to the cultivation of hazelnuts, the Pontians in general and especially in Pafra had a reputation as specialized tobacco producers and tobacco traders. In Tsarist Russia, they were leaders in the production and trade of tobacco, which is why they were called “tobacco kings”
The occupations of the inhabitants also varied depending on the region. In Imera, in August, the plowing of the fields began, the “niateman” sowing was done in a primitive way. The higher fields were sown with “javtar” or rye and the lower ones with “kokkin” or wheat. It is characteristic that after sowing, they prayed with the priest to receive God’s blessing and have a good harvest.
In many areas of Pontus, the second sheep shearing took place this month, which yielded sheep wool of better quality than the sheep wool of the first shearing.
But woe to the housewives who did not work in August out of laziness and did not try to store food for the winter, because in those parts the winter is difficult and lasts a long time. Then they would be forced to run to other people’s houses and beg in January. These women were called August housewives because in August, instead of doing chores, they would stay at home and act as housewives.
By the book “THE FOLKLORE OF PONTOS”
Writer Elsa Galanidou – Balfousia
