Here is what scholars of pagan Greek and Roman society said about the SDA historical claims.
You can read more from the appropriate article by the protestant writer Ralph Woodrow.
From the world renowned British Museum in
London, England, Department of Greek and Roman
Antiquities:
Sir:
I am commanded by the Assistant Keeper of Greek
and Roman Antiquities to reply as follows to your
questions on the ancient week:
Question 1: Did the pagan Romans and Greeks ever
have any regular weekly day of rest from secular
work?
Answer: No.
Question 2: Did they have any regular weekly
festival day?
Answer: No.
Question 3: Did they have any regular weekly day
when they assembled for pagan worship?
Answer: No.
Question 4: Did they have any special day of the
week when individuals went to the temples to pray
or make offerings?
Answer: No; both for Greeks and Romans the month
was the unit and not the week. The Greek calendar
varied in different states but the month was generally
divided into three periods of ten days. The Romans
reckoned from three fi xed points in the month,
the Kaleend or fi rst, the Nones fi fth or seventh, the
Ides thirteenth or fi fteenth. These subdivisions in
themselves had no religious signifi cance. Also in the
Roman calendars were nundinal, or market days, at
periods of eight days. On these days farm work, etc.,
stopped and citizens fl ocked into the town markets.
To some extent this may be a regular stoppage of
secular work; but it had no religious signifi cance.
Question 5: As Sunday was sacred to the Sun, Monday
to the Moon, Saturday to Saturn, etc., were those
supposed deities worshipped on their own particular
days more than on any other days?
Answer: No; the old worship of the gods was disappearing
when the seven-day week came about. The
signifi cance of the deities’ names was astrological,
not religious, e.g., if a person were born on Monday,
the moon would infl uence his horoscope, but the
moon was never an object of common worship.
Question 6: When was our week of seven days fi rst
introduced into the Roman calendar?
Answer: There are traces in the literature of the late
republic (fi rst century B. C.) that the Romans used
the week of seven days for astrological purposes, in
connection with the many Eastern superstitions of
slightly because of space limitations) are
as follows:
From the world renowned British Museum in
London, England, Department of Greek and Roman
Antiquities:
Sir:
I am commanded by the Assistant Keeper of Greek
and Roman Antiquities to reply as follows to your
questions on the ancient week:
Question 1: Did the pagan Romans and Greeks ever
have any regular weekly day of rest from secular
work?
Answer: No.
Question 2: Did they have any regular weekly
festival day?
Answer: No.
Question 3: Did they have any regular weekly day
when they assembled for pagan worship?
Answer: No.
Question 4: Did they have any special day of the
week when individuals went to the temples to pray
or make offerings?
Answer: No; both for Greeks and Romans the month
was the unit and not the week. The Greek calendar
varied in different states but the month was generally
divided into three periods of ten days. The Romans
reckoned from three fi xed points in the month,
the Kaleend or fi rst, the Nones fi fth or seventh, the
Ides thirteenth or fi fteenth. These subdivisions in
themselves had no religious signifi cance. Also in the
Roman calendars were nundinal, or market days, at
periods of eight days. On these days farm work, etc.,
stopped and citizens fl ocked into the town markets.
To some extent this may be a regular stoppage of
secular work; but it had no religious signifi cance.
Question 5: As Sunday was sacred to the Sun, Monday
to the Moon, Saturday to Saturn, etc., were those
supposed deities worshipped on their own particular
days more than on any other days?
Answer: No; the old worship of the gods was disappearing
when the seven-day week came about. The
signifi cance of the deities’ names was astrological,
not religious, e.g., if a person were born on Monday,
the moon would infl uence his horoscope, but the
moon was never an object of common worship.
Question 6: When was our week of seven days fi rst
introduced into the Roman calendar?
Answer: There are traces in the literature of the late
republic (fi rst century B. C.) that the Romans used
the week of seven days for astrological purposes, in
connection with the many Eastern superstitions of
the period. It was probably the third century, A. D.
before the seven day week came into common use.
Question 7: From whom did the Romans learn the
week of seven days?
Answer: From the Jews, alternately the Assyrians
and Babylonians; the names were probably fi xed by
the Hellenistic Greeks.
Question 8: Did the pagan Greeks ever adopt in
common life, or in their calendar, the week of seven
days?
Answer: No.
Question 9: Did Apollo, the Sun-god, either among
the Romans or Greeks, have any special day on which
he was worshipped with prayers or offerings more
than on any other day?
Answer: There were certain set festivals at various
temples; these were annual, not weekly.
Question 10: Did the pagan reverence for Sunday
have anything to do in infl uencing Christians to
select that day as their rest day?
Answer: No; it can hardly be said that there
was any special reverence for Sunday in pagan
times (see answer to Number 5).
—I am, sir,