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It was in the Roman Empire that astrology introduced the popular use of septimana («seven mornings» in Latin), a convention of Babylonian origin. Initially, the names of eastern gods were replaced by Latin equivalents. With the advent of Christianity, the day of the Sun, solis dies, was replaced by dominica, the Lord’s day; and saturni dies, day of Saturn, by sabbatum, derived from the Hebrew shabbath, the day of rest consecrated by the Old Testament. The other days were dedicated to: Moon (Monday); Mars (Tuesday); Mercury (Wednesday); Jupiter (Thursday) and Venus (Friday). In England, the seven-day week arrived only in the 5th century, well behind the rest of Europe – and adapted according to the Anglo-Saxon gods. Mars was replaced by Tiw, god of war, giving rise to tuesday; Mercury by Woden, god of poetry: wednesday; Jupiter by Thor, god of thunder: thursday; and Venus by Friga, goddess of love: friday.
The term “feira” appeared in Portuguese because, during Easter week, every day was a public holiday – holidays or fairs – and the markets were open-air. Over time, the Catholic Church banned the pagan names of the days of the week, making fairs official. Sunday, which would be the first fair, kept the same name because it was dedicated to God, making the count start on Monday, Monday. The Sabbath was kept out of respect for ancient Hebrew tradition. Despite opposition from the Vatican, designations of pagan origin survived throughout the Christian world, except in what would become Portugal, thanks to the apostolate of São Martinho de Braga (6th century), who fought the custom of “giving names of demons to days that God created.”
Friday was sacred to the goddess of love in Greco-Roman mythology. Now, imagine her at the court of Versailles! This is what seems to suggest the typical French neoclassical painting called The Toilet of Venus (1751), by François Boucher.