Howard Hayes Scullard - Feasts and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic - Thames and Hudson (1981).pdf

FESTIVALS AND CEREMONIES OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC

ASPECTS OF GREEK AND ROMAN LIFE Publisher: Professor H.H. skull

FESTIVALS AND CELEBRATIONS OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC S.H.Scullard With 88 illustrations

.'.

. jr.,:',*-

-, w.■■"■

TAMS Y HUDSON

Any copy of this book published by the publishers in paperback is sold on the condition that it will not be loaned, resold, rented, or otherwise distributed, or linked in any way, without the prior consent of the publishers, has a different linkage of that in which it was published, and without any analogous condition being imposed on any subsequent publisher, including these words. ©

1 9 8 1 THAMES E HUDSON LTD, LONDRES

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval systems, without the written permission of the publisher. Compiled by Graphic Consultants Int'l Pte Ltd, Singapore Printed in the UK by Richard Clay (The Chaucer Press) Ltd, Bungay, Suffolk

TABLE OF CONTENTS OF FIGURES 7

FOREWORD 11

First part RELIGION AND FESTIVALS 13

\ Prehistoric Beliefs 13 2 Religion and Family 17 3 Gods, State, and Foreign Influences 18 4 Roman Cult 22 5 Priests 21 6 Religious Beliefs 31 7 Feasts: Feriae and Ludi 38 8 The Roman Calendar 41 Part Two THE ROMAN 51 YEAR

January 51 February 69 March 84 April 96 May 115 June 126 July 158 August 169 September 182 October 189 November 196 December 199 Third Part OTHER OPPORTUNITIES 213

1 Triumphs and ovations 213 2 Funerals 218 3 Sessions of the Senate 221 4 Assemblies of the people 225 5 The census 232 PLAN OF THE TEMPLES AND BUILDINGS 234

GENERAL WORKS ON THE ROMAN RELIGION 238

ABBREVIATIONS 239

NOTES 241

CALENDAR 258 PARTIES ENTRIES IN CALENDAR 259

THE ANNUAL CALENDAR 261

CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF TEMPLES ETC. 211

INDEX 281

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

1 Relief of suovetaurilia. From the altar of Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus (Louvre, Paris). 2 sacrifices of bulls before the altar. Silver cup found in Boscoreale. (Edmond de Rothschild Collection, Louvre, Paris). 3 Marble relief of the Feast of the Vestals. From the Altar of the Pietas Augusta (New Capitoline Museum, Rome). 4 Flemish and Pontifex. Detail of the Ara Pacis Augustae, Rome. 5 bronze livers (Civic Museum, Piacenza). 6 sacred chickens feeding signs ex tripudiis. Illustrated in aes signatum (National Library, Paris). 7 Haruspex examining the entrails after sacrifice (Louvre, Paris). 8 The Isle of Tiberias, Rome. 9 Cult statue of Vediovis in his temple behind the Tabularium, Rome. 10 Restored Edicule of Juturna in the Forum, Rome. 11 Temple of Beaver and Pollux after the excavation in 1871, Rome. 12 General view of the Temple of Castor and Pollux from Mount Palatine, Rome. 13 Church of S. Nicola in Carcere, built over three temples in the Holy Forum, Rome. 14 Statue of Juno Sospita of Lanuvium (Vatican Museum, Rome). 15 Bronze statue of a house (Museo dei Conservatory Rome). 16 Tomb of the baker Eurysakes at Porta Maggiore, Rome. 17 Aerial view of the Regia at the Forum, Rome. 18 Via Sacra, between the Temple of Vesta and the Regia, Rome.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 19 Intaglio showing the manipulation of sacred shields by two Salian priests (Museo Arceologico, Florence). 20 Bronze biconical urn with armed dancers. Early seventh century B.C. B.C., of Bisenzio (National Museum of the Villa Giulia, Rome). 21 Head of the terracotta statue of Minerva found in S. Omobono in the Forum Boarium. late 6th century B.C. (Museum dei Conservatory of Rome). 22 Front of the Temple of the Magna Mater on the Palatine Hill, Rome. 23 Vermina Altar (New Capitoline Museum, Rome). 24 Reconstruction of the Temple of Juno Moneta from a relief at Ostia (according to Gismondi). 25 Goddess seated with child (Museo Archeologico, Florence). 26 Sacred Area of S. Omobono, Rome. 27 Temple of Jupiter Stator of the North, Rome. 28 plan in Severan marble of Rome. 29 The earliest Temple of Apollo on the Field of Mars, Rome. 30 Republican Temples C, B and A in Long Argentina, Rome. 31 Statue of Hercules Victor (Palazzo dei Conservatory Rome). 32 girls who sacrifice themselves for Diana. A fresco in the Vatican. 33 Archaic altar in the Forum, Rome. 34 Two existing temples in the Boarium Forum near the Tiber, Rome. 35 Aerial view of the Circus Maximus between Aventine and Palatine, Rome. 36 Chariot races in the Circus Maximus represented on a sarcophagus (Museum of the Bard, Tunisia). 37 Temple of Saturn, Rome. 38 Remains of the Rostra Republicana, during the 1956 excavations in Rome. 39 Funeral scene. Relief on a sarcophagus of Amiternum (Museo Arceologico, Aquileia). 40 coins. 1 King Numa with a lituus; illuminated altar; Vitimarius driving a goat. L. Pomponius Milo. approximately 97 BC (E.A. Sydenham, The Cuinage of the Roman Republic, London 1952, no. 607, cover).

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 2 Apex of Flamen between two shields of salt. L. Licinius Stolo. 17 a.C. (British Museum). 3 Head of Jupiter with laurel wreath (Syd. op. cit., obverse no. 774). 4 The Capitoline Temple (Syd. ibid., No. 774 verso). 5 Head of Bacchus (Syd. ibid., no. 776 cover). 6 Ceres in a chariot of serpents, holding torches (Syd. ibid., h.776 verso). 7 Cybele in a chariot of lions (Syd. ibid., no. 777 on the reverse). 8 The Tripod of Apollo with Entangled Serpents (Syd. ibid., no. 778 verso). 9 Roman Popular Genius (?). S. lentulus. 74 BC (Syd. ibid., no. 791 verso). 10 Heads Play of the Gods. Mr. Cordius Rufus. 46 a.C. (Syd. ibid., no. 976, first page). 11 The Dioscuros on horseback (Syd. ibid., no. 140 verso). 12 Head of Juno Sospita. L. rosciusfabatus. 64 aC (Syd. ibid., no. 915 front). 13 Reverse of 12. Girl and serpent facing each other. 14 Ceres seated with corn cobs and serpent (Syd. ibid., no. 921 obverse). 15 Q. Fabius Victor, called Quirinalis, the praetor from 189 a. N. Fabio Pictor. 126 aC (Masera-Münzhort, National Museum of Naples). 16 Bearded Mars Head Helmet. Anonymous didrachm. 280-276 BC. (Syd. op. cit. n.l cover). 17 ladder of freedom. L. Cassius. 78 BC (Syd. ibid., no. 779, first page). 18 Back part of 17. Chief Launches. 19 Head of Venus. Julius Caesar. 47-46 aC (Syd. ibid., no. 1013 front).

41 coins. 20 Half-length figure of a child holding a plaque with the inscription SORS. M. Plaetorium. 69 BC (Southern ibid. no. 801 verso). 21 Temple of Venus Erucina on Mount Eryx in Sicily. C. Considio Nonianus. 57 BC (Syd. ibid., no. 886 verse). 22 Lares Prestites seated, with a dog in the middle. Bust of Vulcano with tweezers on top. L. Caesar. 112orlllBC (Syd. ibid., No. 564 verso). 23 Bust of the Vulcan, with tongs hanging from his shoulder. L. Quote. 105 BC (British Museum). 24 heads of Fortuna Popular Romani. Q. Sicinius, 49 B.C. (British museum). 25 Head of Monitor Juno. T. Carisius. 46 BC (South op. cit. no. 982 front). 26 Reverse of 25. Anvil and punch, with tongs and hammer. 27 heads of Vesta. F. Casio. 55 BC (Syd. ibid., no. 917, first page). 28 Reverse of 27. Temple of Vesta. 29 Hercules plays the lyre. Q. Pomponius Musa. 66 BC (Southern ibid. no. 812 verso). He casts 30 Heads of Honor and Virtue. Fufio Caleno. 70 BC (Syd. ibid. No. 797 cover). 31 Victoria is tall. Clolio T. 128 BC (Syd. ibid., no. 646 verse). 32 Sestertius of the Emperor Tiberius with the Temple of Concordia, AD 35-36 33 Head irradiated by the sun. M Anthony. 42 BC (Syd. ibid., verso no. 169). 34 Head of Diana. A. Postumius Albinus. 81 BC (Syd. ibid., no. 745, first page). 35 Head of Janus on a bookcase of the same bronze. 225-217 BC (Syd. ibid., no. 72 front). 36 Sulla celebrates his triumph. L. Sila. 82 BC (Syd. ibid., no. 756 verse). 37 Rome sitting on a heap of armor and crowned with victory. M. Nonio. 59 BC (Syd. ibid., no. 885 verse). 38 voting scene. nerve P. 113 or 112 B.C. (Syd. ibid., no. 548 verse). 39 voting scene. L. Cassius Longinus. 63 BC (Syd. ibid., no. 935 verse).

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Calendar figure of Antium (Fasti Antiates Maiores), according to A. Degrassi (p.49). Compito, after C.H. Daremberg and E. Saglio (p.65). Reconstruction of the Temple of Beaver and Pollux, according to O. Richter (p.67). Reconstruction of the Temple of Vediovis (p.88). Series of archaic altars at Lavinium (p. 112). Oscillum hanging from a tree, according to C.H. Daremberg and E. Saglio (p.113). Temple of Hercules Victor, drawing by Baldassare Peruzzi (Vatican Museums, Cod. Vat. Lat. 3439, fol. 32) (p. 172). Reconstruction of the facade of the Capitoline Temple of Jupiter (p. 187). Plans of the Temples of Rome (pp. 235, 237).

Alinari Fountains Figures 14,15,16, 25, 32, 39; German Archaeological Institute, Rome 4, 9, 31; Address of the Capitoline Museums 3,23,26,28; Photo Library of the Union 8,10,11,12,13,17,18,22,27,29,30,33,34,35,37,38,41(32); Giraudon 1, 2, 7; Superintendence of Antiquities of South Etruria, Villa Giulia, Rome 20. Coins in 40 and 41 of E.A. Sydenham, The Cuinage of the Roman Republic, London 1952, reproduced by kind permission of Spink and Sohn, Ltd., London.

PREFACE

The objective of this book is to describe, day by day, throughout the year, the public ceremonies that took place in Rome during the Low Republic, in short, to answer the question: "What is happening in the city today?" . Most of these ceremonies were religious festivals or religious games, at least in origin, and the dates of most were fixed on an official calendar. I have also briefly described some more mundane occasions, such as political gatherings, but they also had a religious background, as many began to try to find out the will of the gods by "taking the auspices" or, as we might say, "opening" with the sentence'. Therefore, I have included a preliminary overview of Roman religious ideas and practices. Although public life in the late Republic was full of festivals, and Cicero could say of the Romans of his time, that although "we may be equal to or inferior to other nations in other respects, in religion (religio), that is, in reverence for to the gods (cultu deorum), we are far superior', but the origin and meaning of many of their rituals were unknown or only partially known even to educated men of the day, and a great scholar like Varro can often add much little more than antiquarian speculation. The roots of many of these practices go back to the Iron and Bronze Ages or earlier, when Roman ancestors lived in suburban conditions, but many of these early ideas survive in rites that Conservative Romans were reluctant to abandon it completely, even if its meaning has been obscured.Therefore, we will often have to look back to more primitive worlds of thought, but It is not the purpose of this book to examine this dark world in detail, except insofar as it was important to later Romans, who, of course, could not interpret it. the terms implied by the research made possible by modern anthropologists and sociologists. Ultimately, of course, our knowledge is strictly limited to what ancient writers tell us through archaeological and linguistic evidence. Comparative religious scholars can increase the probability that this or that rite was correctly recorded only in the sense of showing that people acted in the same way at different times and in different places; however, they reveal primitive thought processes foreign to the conscious mind of people of the Ciceronian era. However, even the most skeptical of these modern Romans continued to retain many of the ancient ones.

PREFACE

religious practices believed to serve the good of the state, even though their institutionalization had diminished their personal significance for many city dwellers; in the field, the older ideas found their way with more force. I hope that while I have no intention of completing it, you have provided proper documentation from old sources. Given the immense volume of modern literature, I have reduced the references to what I hope is a reasonable minimum. There are about half a dozen essential books that I have frequently referred to in certain places, but I did not find it necessary to list them all with page numbers for each topic they contributed to. The reader who desires more detailed information and opinions on individual deities and festivals should always consult the articles by G. Wissowa (Religion and Cult of the Romans), K. Latte (Roman Religious History), W. Warde Fowler (Roman Festivals and The religious experience of the Roman people), A. Degrassi (Inscriptions Italiae,XIII,ii), G.De Sanctis (Storia dei Romani,IV,2,i) and Pauly Wissowa *s Realencyclopaedie. (Referring to these works is easy, since the first five are appropriately indexed, De Sanctis lists their contents on page ix f., and the Pauly-Wissowa papers are, of course, arranged alphabetically.) Likewise, for a detailed discussion of the matters, which Ovid treats of in his Fasti, reference must generally be made here to the comments of Sir James Frazer and F. Bomer. I am, of course, immensely indebted to all of these authors, but special mention must be made of Warde Fowler's The Roman Festival. This standard book is old and, as the author himself wrote in the 1916 reprint, "some parts of it must not only be revised but rewritten to make it completely up to date" (p.ix). I was not presumptuous in trying to offer an alternative: while for the same reason, my goal was different. My main concern is not to examine in detail the obscure origins of ancient Roman festivities and deities, but to describe the rituals that survived until the late Republic and to see what they and some other forms of public ceremonies have brought to the people. throughout the year. residents of Rome. They clearly held a very important place in Roman society, though sadly it is far from clear what exactly they meant to the individual Roman, religiously or socially, or how many Romans attended or participated in such rites. Who can say, for example, what was going through Ovid's mind as he jumped like a primitive shepherd through the flames of the purification rite of the Parilia festival? For translations of ancient authors, I have gratefully used Loeb's Classical Library, with occasional minor adjustments. March 1980

H. H. SCULARP

First part RELIGION AND FESTIVALS

1 Prehistoric Beliefs The Romans of the late Republic performed or experienced many religious acts and rituals whose origins they attributed to the “Age of Romulus” or the “Time of Numa”, a period we should now call the Late Iron Age Adaptation* . While their understanding of the primitive meaning and purpose of such rites can sometimes be confusing, they were at least aware that they were following an ancient custom. But these historical-era practices have evolved since prehistoric times, and when we ask what the occupants of the Iron Age huts on Palatine Hill thought about them, we find ourselves in a world of boundless speculation, where we are forced to conjecture. . go away. later Roman antiquarians and grammarians, and in the help provided by the work of modern philologists, archaeologists, anthropologists, students of comparative religion and mythology, sociologists, and psychologists. When evidence, mostly literary, survives to show what was done, it does not always indicate why it was done, and even when explanations are offered, they can often be little more than informed or uninformed guesswork: rites are easier to rebuild. like religious ideas. . as H.J. Rose put it with brutal frankness: "The commendable desire to support the ideas behind the ancient cult does not always lead to reasonable and well-founded theories. It is enough to briefly point out just a few of the paths that were opened in the dark forest that surrounded the minds of their followers. We may wonder how these pioneers cleared the forest glades for their settlements: it is less easy to speculate on their thoughts during these tasks, though some clues survive, such as Cato telling peasants, as they walk through a grove of trees, what sacrifices and prayers one must offer the power of the empty abode, be it god or goddess (Si deus, si dea es, quotum illud sacrum est).After Mommsen and Wissowa's somewhat formal analysis of Roman religion in terms of institutions and cults , came the exciting influence of the study of primitive societies and, in particular, the extraordinary range of human religious behavior discovered by Sir James.

RELIGION AND FESTIVALS

Frazer's golden branch and Olmanian conception revealed among Polynesian Trobriand Islanders through research by Malinowski and others. Was there not, he wondered, a notion of "power" such as often underlay early Roman religion, a feeling that invisible forces inhabited man or physical objects that were stronger than the individual and made him suffer? - good or bad? In other words, weren't the ideas of magic and taboo part of the ancient Roman tradition at a predeist stage? What then do the gods and goddesses of Rome and the myths say about them? Was Wissowa right in denying that there were purely indigenous Roman myths? Were they all subsequently taken from the rich source of Greek mythology, or were they contrived literary creations intended to explain the origins of Rome and her (legendary) early history of hers? If, on the other hand, there were genuine Roman myths, the figures in them were personifications of natural forces or (as F. Altheim and the Frankfurt School argued) powerful beings such as are found in the ideas of the wider Mediterranean world that dominated Italy in the days before the Indo-European influenced the existence of Rome and were they modified by the Romans? How were the cults of the chthonic deities reconciled with those of the sky gods? On the other hand, G. Dumezil and his followers denied a predeist stage in Roman religion and emphasized Indo-European elements; They believe that the ancestors of the Romans brought religious beliefs and a mythology to Italy that they shared with others, particularly the Vedic Indians. So strong was this shared Indo-European heritage that Rome inherited not only gods (particularly the divine triad of Jupiter, Mars, and Quirinus) but also a tripartite caste system of priestly, warrior, and peasant rulers with Roman deities corresponding to their Native Americans. counterparts . Although an Indo-European element is admitted, Dumezil failed to convince many, despite his immense erudition, and as to the application of his ideas to early Roman society, it may suffice to quote A. Momigliano's judgment: "No, only his evidence is weak, but his theories are unnecessary.”2 In general, though perhaps not as momentous as HJ Rose, a “primitivist” position seems a sensible choice amidst the confusing jumble of often mutually exclusive theories, but It is good to keep in mind A.D. Nock's wise warning about parallels in modern primitive societies: "Analogies will not teach us what happened in the past: they may help us to keep our reconstructions within limits consistent with what is known." He also summarizes the dangers of the path: "The key to all religions and to all mythologies has been sought in various theories, with emphasis on the cult of the ancestors or on the cult of the heavenly gods.

PREHISTORIC BELIEFS

quince

or in the cult of inanimate and even artificial bodies charged with power, or in the kinship of certain social entities with animals or plants called totems, or in the interpretation of all phenomena in relation to mana, the dark magical force is present in various or even in the henotheistic ideas that the less developed tribes are said to have. Each time the key would open certain doors, but no amount of lime would allow it to open all the doors.”3 Evidently some primitive ideas survived into later times, but on the whole the Romans got rid of the grosser manifestations of magic and magic. taboo. , partially conscious. Thus, in the Twelve Tables of the mid-5th century B.C. a law that prescribed the use of magic to 'steal' the fertility of a neighbor's land and 'the chant of an evil magic': it was addressed to anyone, 'qui fruges'. excantassit, qui malum carmen incantassit*. However, men continued to write spells (carmina) and curses (dirae) on tablets (tabellae defixionum) to anger their private enemies, and they used amulets (such as the bubbles children wear on their necklaces) to ward off dangers such as wrong. -He saw. On certain festivals (eg, the Latin festival: see p. 113) small swaying figures (oscilla) were hung to protect the harvest. But it is far from certain that these, or the puppets thrown from a bridge over the Tiber in a procession down the Argei in mid-May (p. 120), were substitutes for human sacrifice, a rite held dear by later Romans who it was rarely practiced. exceptionally difficult circumstances. On the other hand, if it is argued (wrongly?), it is by no means a Roman rite (minime Romanum sacrum). However, some milder forms of magic managed to survive in some public ceremonies: the Aquaelicium rite, when a stone (lapis manalis) was carried in procession to the city, from where it lay near the Sea Temple outside Porta Capena. . It was a ceremony to make it rain. Ceremonial flagellation during the Lupercalia was a magical method of inducing fertility in women, and telepathic magic survived in the supposed power of the Vestals to cast a spell to prevent runaway slaves from leaving Rome. Alongside such magical practices, a certain belief in taboos persisted, namely that certain objects were impure or sacred, with the consequent need for purification when such taboos were broken. Corpses, newborns, strangers, iron, certain places struck by lightning and certain days (see p. 45) were considered taboo, while the hapless priest of Jupiter (jhmen Dialis) was subject to a variety of prohibitions: for example, he had to not touch any horse, goat, or dog, or raw meat, or corpse, or beans, or ivy, or wheat, or fermented bread; Your nails and hair should

sixteen

RELIGION AND FESTIVALS

It must not be cut with an iron knife, and it must not have knots on its body. His wife, the Jlaminica Dialis, was also subject to certain taboos, but in general few traces of these ideas remained, and they generally disappeared before historical times. A generalized but vague tnana seems to have come to be understood as localized impersonal forces residing in rocks, springs, rivers, groves, or trees. These are now often referred to as numina, although it was not until August that the number became strictly identified with a deity. Be that as it may, little by little it was assumed that the ruling deities inhabited these natural places, and over time they acquired both functional and local aspects. but slowly the process of subdivision of functions was taken to ridiculous extremes. Thus, these nominees directed all human activities from the cradle (cunina) to the grave (libitina). Fabius Pictor reported that Jlamen (Cerialis?) invoked no less than twelve "deities" in offerings to Tellus and Ceres, from Vervactor for the first harvest to Promitor for the distribution of corn. It is clear that the Roman priests made elaborate lists (infingering) of such nominees, and probably invented many, and the full conception is sometimes considered an afterthought. However, it dates back to Fabius in the 3rd century BC. and it may well represent the inflation of a much more limited set of ancient beliefs. Thus the peasants worshiped Ceres by creating the growth (cf. create) and fruit of Pomona, and then thought in relation to her functions: Thus we hear of Lua Saturni (perhaps Saturn's power to drive away disease) or Salacia Neptuni ( the power of Neptune providing sources of water), and since the meaning of some of these ancient titles is uncertain, they presumably reflect an early stage of thought. This brings us to the idea of developing the idea of the gods. Together with all these vague "ghosts", some forces rose above the rest and transcended the limits of animism. These were deities such as Jupiter, the sky god who was part of the Roman heritage from its Indo-European origins, and Mars, an agricultural power who later became a god of war, while Quirinus, a settlement deity on the Quirinal , came to preside over all the assembled citizens. In addition, gods such as Janus and Vesta were recognized as exerting influence first on domestic gates and hearths and then on areas beyond the private home. Thus the first vague supernatural "powers" were closer to specific personalities, though not yet conceived in human form, and were honored on simple crude altars, not in temples of wood and stone.

2 Religion and Family Many of Rome's state services and festivals were, in a way, large-scale family services, projecting onto the broader needs of the community the simple practices by which an individual sought to ensure the safety and well-being of others. his family and his family. country against the possible threat of supernatural forces. So we can take a quick look at some family ceremonies. Each important part of the house had its own spirit. The fire spirit Vesta dwelt in the hearth, and each day at the main meal a piece of sacred salt cake was thrown into the fire from a small sacrificial bowl. Vesta, like most deities, was never fully incarnated, and her goodwill was only necessary because in ancient times it was difficult to rekindle a dead fire (Vesta's later temple contained no images and her fire was never allowed to burn out). turned off). The pantry (Penus) must also be protected and its guardian spirits (Penates) appeased. The houses were closely connected with them. These were in a sense originally peasant deities, later introduced into the household (probably through the lar familiaris, which seems to have been the servants' house); in another view, they were the deified spirits of the family's dead ancestors. In any case, all later Roman families had their lararium or sanctuary and offered daily prayers to the Lares, perhaps with a gift of wine or incense. Even the genius, "the progenitor," that is, the procreative power on which the continued existence of the family depended, was revered: although later each man or woman had his own genius, a kind of guardian angel, whom the whole family Loved the paternal families. The most important part of the house was its door (ianua), which was the seat of Janus, who, being conceived in the image of a man, looked to both sides. It had to be guarded to prevent evil spirits from entering the house through it, and even dead family members had to be taken out on foot first at night so that they would not find their way back and haunt the house. Janus' functions were gradually specified: Janus Patulcio directed the opening of the door, Janus Clusivius the closing, while the threshold was under the care of Limentinus, the hinge of Cardea, and the blade of Forculus. If the members of the divine family were duly appeased early in the day with family prayers and the offering to Vesta, then it was hoped that all would be well. Besides his home, a man's fields needed protection. The milestones (termini) had to be placed with due ceremony and became the subject of an annual festival, the terminalia, at which the peasants whose lands they bordered decorated them with garlands (p. 79). Boundaries also had to be crossed to clear, protect and fertilize the fields: in Ambarvalia in May, p.

RELIGION AND FESTIVALS

The procession surrounded them offering the prayer and the sacrifice of a pig, a sheep and a bull (suvetaurilia; p. 124). The Lares, as deities of the fields, were appeased in the Compitalia where the roads that bordered the plantations met, a joyous ceremony attended by the slaves (p. 58). Therefore, individual families tried in different ways to protect both the land and the house. Each family also cared for the birth, marriage, and death of its members and observed certain initiation rites. So when a child was born, three men would beat the threshold at night with axe, pestle and broom, agricultural implements, to drive out the wildest spirits from the fields, whose leader would later be named Silvanus. During puberty, a boy discards his son's amulet (bulla) and, in the presence of his family and friends, exchanges his striped robe for the plain robe of manhood. The wedding was accompanied by many ceremonies. Thus, after leaving the protection of her father's house and before entering her husband's house, a bride was in a vulnerable position and wore certain garments, such as a veil, for apotropaic purposes. A bride from another family could also offend the family's spirits as a potentially dangerous stranger, so the moment she entered, she smeared her shoulder pads with wolf oil and grease, then led him across the threshold. . The dead appear to have little or no individuality, but have been identified with the dimanes, the benevolent gods, who may originally have been chthonic deities but were nevertheless found necessary to perform certain rites to ensure that they did not leave. . '. Therefore, on the Lemurian festival of May (p. 118), the heads of each family simultaneously did what each individual was accustomed to do in private after a death at home: to get rid of the spirits, they broke bronze vessels. (a Bronze Age). relic?) and blacks Spitting beans from his mouth, he repeated the formula nine times: "With this I redeem myself and mine," and when the spirits gathered the beans behind them, he drove them away with the words: "The spirits of my parents are gone" (Manes exite paternal). In the more peaceful ceremony of Parentalia above (p. 74), living members decorated their families' graves with flowers. In some of these ceremonies we are moving from purely domestic rites to similar ceremonies that are still performed by individual families but are also becoming a concern of the whole community.

3 The Gods, the State, and Foreign Influences The early Romans, whose views we are trying to assess, were a group of herders and farmers who gradually united their peoples

THE GODS, THE STATE AND FOREIGN INFLUENCES

in a community They achieved it in the 7th century BC. and so it became one of the most important settlements in Lazio, but the process was greatly accelerated in the following century when Rome was ruled by Etruscan kings and became a powerful city. It now possessed considerable territory and was as strong as many of the Etruscan cities on its northern borders or the Greek cities of southern Italy. The objective of the primitive cult was to ensure the good will of the spirits or deities through certain rituals that, when performed correctly, guaranteed the "peace of the gods" (pax deorum). This notion was semi-legal and contractual: if the believers faithfully did their part, the deities were expected or even supposed to do their part. So the state stepped in to take on that responsibility on behalf of the entire community. This meant the creation or development of parties that resembled simple private practices and the increase in the number of officials in charge of them. This organization of a priesthood is discussed later (p. 27), but we may note here that city dwellers could gradually lose interest in the details of country festivals as the calendar that dictated their dates gradually slowed down with the agricultural year. . State intervention tended to shield individuals from fear, but soon caused a certain loss of interest by an urbanized population. The Romans, being Latin themselves, naturally shared many beliefs with their Latin neighbors and, in fact, tended to assimilate any deity of their neighbors that could answer their unmet needs. Thus Minerva, an Italian goddess of crafts, was imported to meet the demands of growing trade and industry in the royal period, while Diana of Aricia was installed on the Aventine for political reasons (p. 173). Venus, originally the protector of gardens, may have descended from Ardea and Fortuna, initially an agricultural deity, from Praeneste or Antium. But a far greater impetus came from the Etruscans, who went on to change the form, if not the spirit, of Roman religion in many ways. Their main contribution was anthropomorphic: they introduced to the Romans the idea of gods and goddesses in human form, to be represented in statues and worshiped in temples of wood and stone, rather than in simple outdoor altars; A deity must have a cult statue in a temple. The most famous temple in Rome was that of the Capitoline Temple, begun by Tarquinius Priscus, completed by Tarquinius Superbus, and dedicated to the Etruscan triad Tinia, Uni, and Menrva under the Roman forms of Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva in the first year. of the Republic It was one of the largest temples in all of Italy and housed a terracotta statue of Jupiter by the Etruscan artist Vulca, but its Etruscan connections were soon forgotten and it became the main sanctuary of Jupiter Optimus.

RELIGION AND FESTIVALS

Maximus, the presiding deity of the entire state. But when Etruscan influence waned after the expulsion of their dynasty from Rome, the Romans were slow to follow these new ideas on a large scale: Mars and Hercules had to be content for a long time with their altars on the Field of Mars and the Forum Boarium, and the cult The statues of native gods were initially not numerous. For more than 170 years '[i.e. from the founding of Rome in 753 B.C. B.C.], Varro wrote, “the Romans worshiped their gods without images. The first who made images of the gods removed fear from their states and added flaws: familiarity can therefore inspire skepticism, if not contempt, among the less pious. However, the Romans did not adopt the more sinister aspects of Etruscan religion with their preoccupation with death, but rather supplemented their own practice of watching for omens of the flight of birds or lightning with the more elaborate divination methods of the Etruscans (p. 29). . ). Etruscan religion, like Etruscan art, was heavily influenced by Greek ideas, and another immense contribution from Etruria to Rome was introducing them to the gods of Greece. But Etruria was not the only channel through which Greek influences reached Rome, since they also arrived through other Latin cities and later through direct relations with the Greek cities of southern Italy; In many cases it is not possible to trace the exact route by which a particular god or cult reached Rome. However, the overall effect was excellent. Hercules may have come to Rome from the Latin Tibur: veneration of him as patron saint of commerce was performed in the Greek manner, bareheaded, at the Ara Maxima in the Forum Boarium; until 312 B.C. It was a private, non-governmental cult, run by two Roman families. The cult of Castor and Pollux may have come via Tusculum, traditionally in 499 BC. B.C., and received a temple in the forum. Apollo was given a precinct as a god of healing during the royal period and later, in 431 B.C. a temple as a result of a plague. The Greek maize deities Demeter, Dionysus, and Kore were given a temple on the Aventine Hill in 493, perhaps in response to a famine, as were Ceres, Liber, and Libera. This was after consulting a collection of sibylline oracles kept in the Temple of Capitoline Jupiter under the care of duoviri sacrisfaciundis (enlarged to ten, decemviri in 367 BC), who consulted them in times of crisis to find out how he could be better. that pax deorum. kept; This led them to introduce other Greek gods such as Mercury, Neptune, and Aesculapius under their Latin names along with the Greek rites (Graecus ritus). Even more significant for the general public was an instruction from the sibylline books in 399 BC. that images of three pairs of gods on sofas facing tables laid with food and drink were to be displayed for eight days. This was far from the customs of a few centuries before: appeal was not made to ancient divine powers, but to the

THE GODS, THE STATE AND FOREIGN INFLUENCES

the entire population was summoned for eight days of vacation to share the worship of the Greek gods. Five of these Lectisternias were held in the fourth century, though usually at times of national upheaval. Apart from, but alongside such lectisternias, ceremonies known as supplications could be performed when the mob marched in procession through the city's temples, the men wearing crowns and laurel leaves, the women with their hair unbound. In temples they found statues or other emblems of the gods displayed on platforms (pulvinaria) where they could be worshiped by kneeling believers. National needs interrupted the formality of state worship in the early Republic and forced recognition of the more emotional needs of the common individual in order to take a more personal part in the worship of the gods. This trend could not be reversed. In the tense days of Hannibal's War, a lectisternium of 217 featured no less than twelve pairs of gods, Greek and Roman, while after the catastrophe at Cannae the panic was only appeased with the burial of two Greeks and two Gauls alive in forum. Boarium. em in no way a Roman rite* (minime Romano sacrum). Another method of trying to calm and distract the people was to institute public games like the Apollinaris in 212; others soon followed, as we shall see in more detail later. A reaction to the expulsion of all private priests and prophets who undermined the state religion by introducing foreign rites was short-lived, for in 204 with the arrival of the Great Mother cult stone the first of the Eastern cults: in 191 this became Magna Mater erected a temple on the Palatine, although it must be said that the Romans at first did not recognize the orgiastic features of his cult and later tried to control Dionysus or Bacchus had long been accepted in Rome as Liber, the wildest aspects of his cult It was not until 186 a. C. that the state broke, not against religion, and legalized an extremely weakened practice of worship, with the death penalty for transgressions, a difference? Some feeble efforts were made in the second century to stop the spread of Orphism from southern Italy to Rome, with its initiation practice, which offered the individual mystical purification and the hope of happiness in the afterlife, and the Pythagorean faith. No weak resistance to the spread of Greek philosophical ideas, which the more practical Romans tended to reject, was more effective.

RELIGION AND FESTIVALS

look at it with some suspicion. However, encouraged by the speculations of Scipio Aemilianus and his friends, these Greek ideas gradually found a home in Rome, and Stoicism in particular exerted immense influence on the Roman world during a period of religious sterility and bankruptcy in the last century of the Republic. . . In contrast to the exotic cults of the East, the practical way of life established by the Stoic sage hardened the moral and spiritual fiber of Rome (p. 32). Long before that, the intersection of ancient Roman beliefs with Greek mythology was complete, aided by the growing influence of Latin literature, which first appeared in the 3rd century BCE. showed up. Roman deities became identified with their Greek counterparts in the Olympian hierarchy, and the mythological foibles of the Greek gods were displayed on the Roman stage: thus the love of Jupiter and the cunning of Mercury were displayed to a Roman audience in the Amphitruum of Plautus. , while Ennius popularized Euhemerus's teaching that the gods were simply deified human beings. This generated a lot of skepticism while the official state cults remained somewhat aloof, so it's not surprising that many people looked to wilder alien cults or philosophical ideas for relief. But of course, throughout all these centuries, the established festivals and games were celebrated every year, and much later Ovid had the idea of writing a poem, the Fasti, in twelve books, describing the festivals month by month. often associated with mythological stories. to explain its origins or some of the characteristics that have survived to this day. This poem, of which unfortunately we only have half, is an important source for our knowledge of the festivals, but before considering them in detail, it is necessary to say something about religious practices and priesthoods, viz., the methods and organization through which the pax deorum could be achieved.

4 Roman cult The main methods of securing and maintaining the goodwill of the gods were sacrifice, prayer, atonement, purification, and vows, while perhaps their will could be discerned through omens and divination. Sacrifice (sacriftcium) meant making something sacred ('sacred') and the exclusive property of the deity, sometimes as a mark of honour, sometimes as a means of atonement for an admitted offense or sin: rarely, if ever. , implied the idea of a sacramental communion with God. The offering had to contain some form of life. In family worship and in the early days, it consisted mainly of foods such as salt flour (Mola Salsa) or

ROMAN CULT

Spelled (wide) or fruit, cheese or honey or drinks like milk or wine. But blood sacrifices have been offered in state worship since ancient times. The pig was the most common victim; Sheep and oxen may be added on important occasions. A formula in the accompanying sentence, "macte this", "to be greater or stronger" (cf. the root of magnus, greater), suggests that the underlying purpose was to transfer life into the offering to the god, whose strength and glory thus it would increase and he could continue to care for the worshiper. The most vital parts of an animal, the liver, heart, kidneys, etc., were burned on the god's altar: the most edible parts were conveniently left for the priest or devotee to consume. This concept of sacrifice probably marks a stage between the earlier view that the gods did in fact participate in the offering and the later view that the offering was only an honorific. In addition, some sacrifices were not voluntary offerings, but expiatory offerings, a piaculum or attempted expiation for a crime committed and, therefore, compensation to the god. In fact, the Romans were so practical that they sometimes insured themselves against failure (which would involve the cost of repetition) by preliminary atonement intended to atone in advance. When the Arval brothers, a priesthood suffering from an iron taboo, needed to bring an iron implement to their sacred grove, they first offered a piaculum. (Figure 1). A blood sacrifice could be a dirty business, as the Jews in their temple in Jerusalem must have realized. When a private Roman citizen decided which god to sacrifice to - and it was very important to define the god and even the aspect of the god that suited his needs - he, like the priests at public festivals, had to do it and proceed with the process. maximum precision and prudence, since the state and behavior of the victim have been described in detail. The male animals were sacrificed to the gods, the females to the goddesses; the color had to be just right, white for Jupiter and Juno, black for the deities of the underworld; Size also played a role, as animals (babies) or adults (larger) nursed at different times. The priest or guardian (aedituus) of the temple in question provided the necessary information and arranged for the professional services of the men who actually killed the victim and the flutist (tibicen) who had to play during the sacrifice to drown out any ominous sounds. . Unless the devotee is a farmer who can take care of his own animal, the animal must be carefully selected from the market, as its physical condition must be perfect. When the day came, the beast or beasts with horns decorated with ribbons or even gold would be led through the streets to the temple by the worshiper if he was very reluctant or tried.

RELIGION AND FESTIVALS

escaped, it may be necessary to purchase a replacement. The sacrifice itself was usually performed at an altar in front of the temple, not in the main building itself, although the doors were left open to reveal a view of the god's statue in its central chamber (cella) at the rear of the temple. . temple. the temple. The celebrant was accompanied by his friends, but women were excluded from some services and slaves from most; Non-citizens who might be dangerous foreigners were discouraged: "procul, o procul este profani" (far, far, profane) were the words Virgil put into the Sibyl's mouth when Aeneas sacrificed before entering the underworld. The priests solemnly washed their hands: hands and clothes must be clean. After a formal cry of silence (ifavete unguis), they covered their heads with folds of their robes, sprinkled flour on the animal's horns and knife (immolare), and perhaps wine on its head. The animal was stripped of its adornments, prayers were offered, and it had to be accurately delivered. A (strict) keeper stunned the animal with a hammer blow after yelling "I must attack" (Agonize?). Then the cultarius, after turning his head first to heaven and then to earth, cut his throat; Part of the blood was retained in the vessels, part flowed to the floor. The entrails were then examined and, if they showed no defects that could disturb the ceremony, they were placed on the burning altar. Priests and believers can eat part of the remaining meat. After the state sacrifices, banquets may be given to all senators and other guests. (Pee 2; 40l). Sacrifices were treated as very solemn occasions. Every word and every action must adhere to the prescribed rules to the smallest detail; if it slipped, the whole procedure had to be repeated (instauratio), along with an additional piaculum. Thus economic, if not religious, sentiment required that due respect be shown at all times. Such sacrifices must have been common in Rome, either at great public festivals or by private individuals in fulfillment of a vow or in the hope of blessing. Many of the city's temples were founded by victorious generals and others in fulfillment of vows made on the battlefield or elsewhere, and the dedication date of most of them is known. Sacrifices were made not only on the original founding day, but presumably on that day every year: the dedicated could hardly fail to draw attention to his charity throughout his life, while we can imagine his descendants with the legacy of Rome placing great emphasis on the family, continuing the ceremony in later generations. If we go through the various ceremonies of the year one by one, we may come across some of the smaller temples and cults of lesser interest, but it is not unlikely that we would have if we had been there.

ROMAN CULT

found, say, a group of Cornelii Lentuli sacrificing on February 1 in the Temple of Juno Sospita, or of the Scipiones on June 1 in the Temple of the Tempestates, or of the Claudii in the Temple of Bellona on June 13, or of the Fulvii in the Temple of Hercules Musarum on June 30 or the Acilii in the Temple of Pietas on November 13. In this way, the exploits of his ancestors could be displayed to the public and the glory of his house could be maintained. To us, the days may seem like formal entries on a calendar, but to contemporaries they offered an interesting spectacle and a reminder of the past. The prayer, like the offerings, was a matter of meticulous care. These prayers, recorded in the hymn of the Arval brothers (Carmen) (see p. 30) or in the writings of Cato, mark a transition between magic and religion. Through their emphasis on exact wording and repetition, they retain the deity-binding qualities of spells. But, in general, the content of the sentence is a request, not an attempt to coerce. However, although the god may deny the request, it would be considered irrational and contrary to his nature to invoke the correct deity with the correct formula to reject the request. In addition, when the prayer was accompanied by a gift, an important element of negotiation was introduced: the title des I make this offer so that they give me what I ask for - this was not a legal contract, but rather a proposal for god to pay , if he were worthy of his own nature. Another method of approaching the gods was through a more formal vow (votum). Although often couched in legal language, such vows are not binding on either party, but instead are prayers accompanied by the promise of an offering if they are fulfilled. A man or woman can write a wish on a wax tablet and tie it to the knee of the god statue and then, if the wish is granted, make a small thank offering (model pieces of the god). human body were particularly common offerings to restore health). On a larger scale, a general might promise a temple before or during battle, to be dedicated after victory. Public votes taken on behalf of the state were a later development and in a sense a pact on behalf of the state. But obviously a sentence cannot be expected to succeed unless the correct deity is invoked, so it could be directed to a god by all its subtitles (even with an escape clause like "Jupiter Optimus Maximus, or whatever name you want". : ' sive quo alio nomine te appellari volueris*), or a list of other gods can be added to the above, or the deity can be left vague (as 'si deus, si dea') or simply as the "unknown god", whose altar St. Paul saw in Athens. Also, in both private and public sentences, the exact legal formula is

RELIGION AND FESTIVALS

Mules must be repeated with precision: if the speaker stumbles over a word, the entire procedure must be repeated, and, as with offerings, a flutist may be used in public prayer to drown out any illusory and disturbing sounds. An example of an ancient prayer is that of a Roman farmer clearing a forest: "Be the god or goddess to whom this grove is dedicated, for you are entitled to receive a pig sacrifice for the clearing of this sacred grove, and for these intentions I do it or someone at my request, that it be done well. Therefore, by offering you this pig, I ask you to be humble, kind and merciful to me, my home, my family and my children. Do you want to get this pig that I offer you for this purpose? (Cato, Agr. 139). Another example of a peasant's prayer is given on page 84 below. After all, purification (lustratio) was practically a form of sacrifice. These ceremonies were designed to loosen (luere) or cleanse an area of hostile spirits through processional rites which, though altered in form and meaning, are still preserved in the ritual of the Roman Catholic Church. The processions bordered the limits of the farm or village and culminated with sacrifices and prayers. Thus, as we will see, Ambarvalia was a purification of the fields, and Lupercalia of the old palatine settlement; At the Amburbio festival, the boundaries of the entire city were polished. Such a cleansing process extended from the boundary line of the court or city to the people in it, to the entire population, or to the army and its weapons, like the cleansing of the trumpets in the Tubilustrium in March. But many of these ceremonies gradually became too formalized: prayers were muttered and not listened to, and the purge of the army turned into a political census, but some, like the Lupercalia, maintained their vitality during the republican period, while than the political census, which revised the list of Roman citizens, ending in a purge (lustrum condere) of the people who gathered outside the pomerium (religious boundary of the city) on the Field of Mars (see p. 233). The will of the gods can also be experienced by observing certain signs (Auspicia). These can be unintentional (oblative auspicia), like an accidental flash, or definitely observed (inpetrative auspicia), like signs of a bird's flight (original meaning of auspicia: avis, specio). They can also be private or public. Any citizen could receive or request patronage without the help of a priest, and if he saw a strange vision or dreamed a strange dream, he was entitled to draw his own conclusions about its meaning (although he could consult a priest if he wished). . ). authority or even, at the end of the Republic, some relevant literature). But some omens or miracles (such as a rain of stones or blood) can

THE CURE

Influence the state and become a matter for the popes. Furthermore, it became customary to consult the gods before most public activities (such as elections or committee meetings), so obtaining patronage became part of a magistrate's business. The dominant idea was not to know the future, but to test the correctness of a preconceived plan and to look for some sign of encouragement or divine warning. This simple "yes" or "no" request obviated the need for an elaborate priesthood just to interpret the message. Therefore, public offices could be left to judges (although many of them could also be popes or augurs) who could turn a blind eye or a deaf ear to unsolicited charges unless another judge (obununtiatio) or a augur formally report it. . The solicited auspices (impetative) took many forms, often phenomena in the sky, such as thunder or lightning (especially in connection with Jupiter), or the flight or song of birds, or the movements or noises of quadrupeds: in fact , some "sacred". "bred chickens, whose feeding behavior provided the necessary 'cue' (signa ex tripudiis). The public sponsorship was to take place on the same day and place as the intended event, and the judges often began shortly after midnight and sometimes they even performed the act before dawn to avoid possible failure (vitium) it required a repetition of the procedure (if discovered later, it still worked: for example, in the case of the election of a magistrate, his resignation was required). Thus the whole of Roman public life was permeated with omens.Although by the end of the republic it had often become a mere formality or a weapon of political intrigue, many scholars, including Augustus, believed in it, while at least in early times it would have required a brave man to ignore the religious sentiments... of his contemporaries, as when Appius Claudius Pulcher had the holy hens drowned because they would not deliver the s signs he wanted: the superstitious would have lost his subsequent naval defeat at Drepana in 249 BC. (Figure 6).

5 The Priests When the State, on behalf of the entire community, developed practices analogous to the religious rites of the family, it needed men to perform the ceremonies and be responsible for the law that regulated the relations between the divine and human inhabitants, the ius divine Under the monarchy the king was the priest of the state, the pater familias of the community, but with the establishment of the republic his ceremonial duties fell mainly to a pontifex maximus and partly to a rex sacrorum (or sacrificial).

RELIGION AND FESTIVALS

who retained his title while his priestly assistants formed two great colleges of priests, the popes and the augurs. These priests, however, were not a separate professional class, but men who, as civil servants, held a prominent position in the state administration. Laymen were enough, because although the Roman rites were complicated in some ways, there was no revealed religion or (before the introduction of Sibylline oracles) sacred books (as in Etruria) to be interpreted by full-time specialists. When he was 57 B.C. Speaking before the College of Popes, Cicero was able to say that among the divinely inspired elements of government none was more formidable than "the worship of the gods and the vital interests of the state must be entrusted to the direction of the same people." , so that the most illustrious and most illustrious citizens protect religion through good government and protect the State through the wise interpretation of religion” (Sun. 1). Thus religion and politics went hand in hand, but in the later republic the former was often manipulated in favor. The popes who originally liked to go may have been associated with magical bridge-building rites, as their name suggests. (unless pons meant 'way'), but they became a consultative body (collegium) on religious matters, originally three, at the end of the Republic sixteen members holding office for life and after 103 BC. C. no longer by cooptation but by e A special assembly of seventeen of the thirty-five tribes was divided, in which all Roman citizens were elected. They controlled the religious calendar and decreed holidays and leap months. Their leader, the pontifex maximus, gradually replaced the rex sacrorum with control of the state religion; his official seat was the Regia in the Forum. He obtained jurisdiction over all other priests, and the pontifical college included the Vestals, the Jlamines, and the Rex Sacrorum. The Vestal Virgins, six girls in number and usually from patrician families, served the sacred fire and the cult of Vesta for thirty years; while on duty they were not allowed to marry, and unchastity could be punished by burial while alive. The Jlamines were priests associated with the worship of individual gods and the care of their temples; This specialization made them more "professional" than popes, and the office was less popular, particularly that of Jlamen Dialis, which was subject to a variety of taboos (p. 15). The three main Jlamines were united to Jupiter (Jlamen Dialis), Mars (Jlamen Martialis) and Quirino (Jlamen Quirinalis). Of the other twelve, ten are known: Volturalis, Palatualis, Furrrinalis, Floralis, Falacer, Pomonalis, Volcanalis, Cerialis, Carmentalis, and Portunalis. The taboos surrounding the Jlamen Dialis and the obscurity of many of the deities they served (particularly Volturus, Pales, Furria, Flora, Falacer, Pomona, Volcanus,

THE CURE

Ceres and Portunus) indicate a very ancient origin. The formal attire of the Jhmines was a whit, z laena, and a laurel wreath. The top, without which Zjlamen could not legally appear outdoors, was a conical or round cap to which was attached a pointed piece of olive wood, surrounded at its base by a woolen thread. The laena was a thick woolen cloak fastened with a bronze fibula. (Ps 3:4). The college of augurs, also made up of sixteen members, was made up of official soothsayers who, as we have seen, decided by observing and interpreting various signs (divination) whether the gods approved or disapproved of certain proposed measures. But the augurs did not officially go further and tried to prophesy the future: Cicero (Div.2.70) specifically says: "We Roman augurs are not of those who predict the future by observing the flight of birds and other signs" (non ... future Dicamo). This type of divination was originally left to the soothsayers (hamspices) of Etruria, who needed special knowledge of Etruscan religious teaching. The most practiced form was the examination of the vital organs of sacrificed animals, especially the liver (hepatoscopy). Its shape, coloration and pattern had to be studied and interpreted according to established rules, and for this purpose liver models were used (the bronze liver of Piacenza is known); If any irregularity appeared in any part of the royal liver, it could be compared with the corresponding part of the bronze guide, which gives the name of the deity who controlled the part of the sky that corresponded to the defective part of the liver. Although experts in this science, the hamspices, first came to Rome from Etruria, in Cicero's time a Roman citizen could become a haruspex. Although they were not official priests, they formed an Ordo (however, there were also many unofficial Jamspices outside the Ordo). They can also give advice on miracles (such as deformed births) or phenomena such as lightning or earthquakes. Although they were often considered frauds (Cato wondered how one haruspex could meet another without laughing), they were very present in the late Republic and early Empire: C. Gracchus thus kept a haruspex as a member of his house. (Image 5, 7). There were two smaller priestly colleges. One consisted of two, then ten, and later (from 82 BC?) fifteen men to perform sacrifices (duoviri, decemviri, and quindecimviri sacris faciundis). They were primarily responsible for the maintenance and, if necessary, the consultation of the Sibylline Oracles (p. 20). This was a traditional collection of verses in Greek. They were consulted by order of the Senate, and many Greek and foreign cults were instituted on their advice, including the first lectisterium in 399 BC.

RELIGION AND FESTIVALS

Thus, its guardians obtained general supervision of the non-Latin cults. Second, in 196 B.C. A college of epulones, "party organizers", was founded and expanded from three to ten members. They organized and supervised the Epulum Lovi held for the senators after the offerings at the Jupiter Optimus Maximus festivals and the public banquets held at various other festivals and games, such as the Ludi Romani. In addition to the four main priesthoods, there were other groups (Sodales) that dealt with specific rituals, such as the Arval brothers, Salii, Luperci, and Fetiales. The Fratres Arvales, twelve in number, held a festival in May in honor of the goddess Dea Dia, to whom her sacred grove was dedicated at the fifth milestone of the Via Campana on the outskirts of Rome. This was an ancient agricultural cult and its archaic chant (Carmen) survives among the remains of its records (Acta), which unfortunately only date from 21 BC. Their rite was identical or similar to the state ceremonial of Ambarvalia (p. 124). The Salii (from salere, "to dance") were priests of Mars who formed two groups of twelve each (p. 85). They wore archaic Italian armor and made ritual processions through Rome, dancing, singing, and waving their shields on March 1 and on the festivals of Quinquatrus (March 19) and Armilustrium (October 19; see pp. 92, 195). The Lupercians, also made up of two groups (Quinctiales and Fabiani), held an elaborate ceremony on February 15, marked by their half-naked run around the Palatine Hill (pp. 77 ff.). The fetiales formed a college of twenty members who maintained relations with the neighbors of Rome, in particular declaring wars or signing treaties. Faced with aggression from a neighboring town, the early Romans sent four fetiales to demand restitution and threaten action if it was not done within a month. One was called Father Patratus, another the Verbenarius, who brought herbs and soil gathered from the citadel to grant magical protection outside his own lands. Dissatisfied, the Senate sent the Fetiales back to the enemy's borders, where they officially declared war and hurled a magical spear into their country to overthrow their power. Many primitive rituals existed, as the fetials also killed a pig with a flint implement (lapis silex) when making a contract, probably mirroring a Stone Age weapon. However, when Rome faced enemies in more distant parts of Italy or abroad, this special procedure became inappropriate, and fetiales were replaced by senatorial legates. However, in an attempt to preserve something of the ancient rite, when war was declared on a distant enemy, a spear was thrown into a piece of land in front of the Temple of Bellona in Rome, which according to legal fiction was considered an enemy. . . Territory (see p. 146). This happened for the first time in the war against

RELIGIOUS BELIEF

Pyrrhus (280 BC) and the practice survived for a long time when Emperor M. Aurelius himself threw the javelin in AD 178. C. before launching a campaign on the northern border. Thus the Fetiales continued to exist, though they are not often mentioned in the later Republic; However, they were assassinated in 136 BC. it was used when Rome renounced a treaty with Numantia, and this gave antiquarian writers a new interest in an ancient ritual, but we do not hear of them again until Octavian, in 32 B.C. he revived the process by declaring war on Cleopatra.5 Thus, at the end of the Republic, Rome had a considerable number of priests. Some, like the Fetiales and many of the Flames, were survivors of the antiquarians; others, like the epulones, were newly created to meet new needs, but the government of the official state religion remained firmly in the hands of the pontifex maximus and the two colleges of popes and augurs. Before turning to one of the most important papal concerns, namely the calendar that provided the framework within which the festivals of the gods were organized and proclaimed, we must take a brief look at what the average Roman might have thought about this calendar. religious background.

6 Religious Belief What did the festivals and rites of the state religion mean to the “average” Roman of the late Republic? Such a question inevitably arises, but it is so general that it is almost useless and can also evoke a general answer such as "quot homines, tot sententiae". Tianism, ranging from the intellectual reaction of a Protestant theology professor and the unconditional acceptance of a devoutly adoring peasant in a Roman Catholic church in the heart of southern Italy, to the straightforward simplicity of a Quaker, while attitudes outside the circle of believers range from agnostics, humanists or atheists, from sympathy for some aspect to complete or hostile rejection. Since Roman "religion" was not a revealed or received belief, reactions must be even more difficult to pin down. In fact, the belief was secondary and what was done was more important, but only in a ritual sense. No particular code of ethics was adopted, just a meticulously precise execution of certain actions by the individual or the state on their behalf. Most of the participants probably had a general idea of the effectiveness of such behavior: it had worked in the past and was part of the ancient customs (mos maiorum) that made Rome great, so there was little reason for it.

RELIGION AND FESTIVALS

Question. Although the surviving literature sheds some light on the religious attitudes (and, of course, even more on the philosophical beliefs) of some scholars, notably Cicero, we can hardly define the views of the "common man"; He probably accepted traditional practices without much thought, while some people harbor ideas that range from extreme and contemptuous skepticism to gullible superstition. However, despite the scant evidence, we can consider some points of view. For centuries, after the ancestors of the Romans had passed the stage where fear of the forces of nature compelled them to appease these unseen forces through primitive and probably indisputable rites, peasant men and women no doubt continued to believing in the relatively simple rites of sacrifice and prayer. , through which they sought to protect their homes and crops from bad influences. As the city grew, efforts were made to adapt rural practices to the needs of the urban population, but as we have seen, some of these new state cults gradually lost their old appeal: if the state could maintain the pax deomm, then the individual had nothing to worry about and was free to think as he liked. Thus, in the last centuries of the Republic, a veritable chasm opened up between the city and the countryside, where the oldest traditions continued to flourish: not all the nostalgic longings of the Roman poets for the simple rites of the land were directed at a fading past, as much ancient knowledge persisted, and indeed, centuries later, Christianity had to fight one of its toughest battles against rural beliefs. In Rome itself, as trade and conquest multiplied the number of foreign residents, both slave and free, more foreign cults were accepted without seeming to undermine the conservatism of older practices. As in other areas of life, the Romans were pragmatic; As long as alien cults could be controlled and the pax deorum maintained through traditional methods of worship, little harm would be done; in hindsight, we might even assume that if we allowed humans to find other forms of worship that served as state cults, the Romans provided a useful safety valve. But they were very slow to abolish what was already established, be it constitutional machinery or religious practice. Although some ancient cults may have disappeared towards the end of the Republic (thus Varro complained that no one remembered who the goddess Furrina was), many archaic customs managed to survive: for example, we know from Cicero that a procession of priests, including augurs , last, the united oxen had to be unhooked and driven away if they withdrew at that moment, and thus give a bad omen; you would have thought so awkward

RELIGIOUS BELIEF

The measure may have disappeared after centuries (an oblique reference to this may be contained in the 6th or 5th century BC pencil inscription from Niger). This casual reference by Cicero should warn us against assuming that the Romans of a more rational age were necessarily less conservative than their ancestors. This may also apply to many on the less formal level of popular superstition: if Pliny had not recorded the fact, who would have believed that the skeptical and misguided Julius Caesar, whose chariot was in an accident, always recited a spell three times? before requesting a ride in his carriage?6 The influence of rationalism on traditionalism is illustrated in the views of Polybius and Cicero. The rationalist Polybius, who lived in the middle of the second century B.C. He arrived in Rome around 1000 B.C. C., at a time when Greek philosophical ideas were beginning to worry some conservative Romans a bit about their impact on Roman society, he offers an interesting perspective on the spread of Roman religion for a skeptic. Greek: it seemed to him the cement of the state and the drug of the people. He wrote (6.56): "The quality in which the Roman community is most clearly superior, in my opinion, is its religious belief. I think that what is scolded by other peoples, I mean superstition (deisidaimonia), is exactly what keeps attached to the Roman state. These affairs are endowed with such pomp and so intruded into his public and private life that nothing could surpass them, a fact that will surprise many. In my opinion, at least the purpose is to use it as a control for the common people. ...Since any multitude is fickle, full of lawless desires and fierce passions, must be governed by invisible terrors and similar pomp.Then, in my opinion, the ancients did not act hastily or haphazardly in presenting to man the ideas of the gods and belief in the horrors of hell, but moderns are very reckless and foolish in banishing such beliefs.This somewhat cynical interpretation was not necessarily shared by Polyb's Roman friends io as Scipio Aemilianus, C. Lelio and L. Furio Philo, who seem to have "retained the desire to preserve and, if necessary, revive the ancient religion". 7 Although these men were up to date with current Greek philosophical ideas, they were raised in a Roman tradition and may have retained some faith in a religious system believed to have made Rome great. But whatever their inner religious beliefs, many Romans, especially in the last century of the Republic, began to make greater use of the superstitions of the people and the religious machinery of the state for political and personal ends. It is not known if Aemilianus and his friends were among them.

RELIGION AND FESTIVALS

These men, known as the "Scipian Circle", were at the forefront of the intellectual discussions in which many Romans of the day were beginning to examine Greek philosophical thought, and one of Scipio's friends who stayed at his home for some time was the stoic. Philosopher, Panetius of Rhodes. It would not be appropriate here to attempt to examine the teachings of Stoicism or Epicureanism apart from the effect they might have had on Roman religious thought. Zeno, the founder of Stoicism, was a pantheist: the unity behind all things could be identified with God or reason or nature and was expressed in fate and divine providence (pronoia). Since everything is divine, there was no need for religion in the form of temples and folk religion deities, but divination can be useful as a means by which reason can reveal some of its purposes. But many of Zeno's views were modified by later disciples: thus Cleanthes wrote a hymn in praise of Zeus and asserted that after death all souls survive (until the next periodic conflagration of the universe), whereas Chrysippus believed that only the souls of the sage survived. Panaetius modified the earlier teachings in various ways, softening their rigid ethics and adapting them to the practical needs of statesmen, and rejecting divination and astrology (which Poseidonius would later accept), but. he believes in an immanent spirit or providence that controls the world. In general, the earlier view that religion should be more about prayer and self-inquiry than sacrifice and ritual was modified and the mythology explained allegorically: different gods could represent different aspects of God's workings. the universe. The Romans did not indulge excessively in theological speculation, and many accepted the challenge of a new way of life, once modified enough to avoid undue disagreement with their ancestral customs. Epicureanism taught that the mind of man must first be freed from fear of the gods who existed in distant space (Interworld) and had no influence on human life; therefore all the trappings of religion such as sacrifice, prayer, omens, omens and rituals are irrelevant. - and second, for fear of death, since there was no survival of the soul. To achieve these goals, belief in a materialistic atomic theory offered the way. Thus, Epicureanism completely rejected traditional Roman religion, although it raised its own moral ideal, the search for the highest form of personal happiness, which would lead to freedom from fear (ataraxia). This could even include the worship of the gods, but there was no point in asking them for anything. Lucretius seems to foresee a continuation of the traditional cult when he says (6.68f) that unless you remove all misconceptions from your mind, "you will not be able to approach the sanctuaries of the gods."

RELIGIOUS BELIEF

with a peaceful heart* (nee delubra deum placido cupetore adibis). However, a man needs to get away from the hustle and bustle of political life and just live with his friends. Despite the passionate defense of one Lucretius, this negative attitude towards public life and traditional religion probably did not have a widespread impact on popular thought, but it did have a significant impact on some groups of influential men, particularly towards the end of the century. . Republic.8 But it went against Roman thought: this is how Cicero asks at the beginning of his De Natura Deorum (2) “If they are right to deny that the gods have any interest in human affairs when there is cznpietas, sanctitas, religio?” Although Cicero was not a professional philosopher like Panaetius, he expounded current philosophical ideas in a large number of books and did more than any other writer to "popularize" those ideas throughout the Roman world. But despite works like his three books on the nature of the gods (De Natura Deorum) and two on divination (De Divinatione), it is not easy to define one's own philosophical and religious ideas.9 In the first book of De Natura Deorum, presented in the form of a dramatic conversation that takes place in the house of C. Aurelius Cotta, consul in 75 BC. In Book 2, another speaker expounds on the claims of Stoicism that Cotta comments on in Book 3, not rejecting them outright but criticizing some aspects. Cotta was a supporter of the Academy, which Cicero joined. At the end of the book, Cicero reveals no more of his position than to say that the Stoic orator "has come close to an image of truth." However, he made Cotta the central figure because, as Pope, he embodied both traditional Roman religion and some skepticism as a scholar. Thus, at the end of Book 2, the Stoic orator appeals to Cotta, both as a leading citizen and as Pope, not to commit the perverse impiety of arguing against the gods. Later (3:9) Cotta said that he was willing to accept the doctrine of divine existence simply because it was Roman tradition (ita nobis grandes nostros tradidisse); further arguments were unnecessary. Cotta claimed that he always had and always would hold beliefs about traditional immortal gods and religious rites, ceremonies and duties (sacra caerimonias religionsque; 3.5). He shows no difficulty in reconciling this point of view with his personal skeptical philosophical views. Cicero had no problem rejecting Epicureanism and believing in the existence of the deity, but he was also an augur (and proud of that distinction); in De Republica he advocates maintaining divination, and in the first book of De Divinatione he puts it in the mouth of his brother Quintus

RELIGION AND FESTIVALS

Arguments (many derived from Stoicism) in favor of divination as a revelation of the divine will. But in the second book he answers himself and in a powerful attack exposes his irrationality and madness: he was a superstition to be eradicated: sc.superstitionem) funditus sustulissemus. Because I want to make it very clear that the destruction of superstition does not mean the destruction of religion. Because I consider it part of the wisdom to preserve the institutions of our ancestors by keeping their rites and ceremonies sacred. In addition, the beauty of the universe and the order of heaven force me to confess that there is a supreme and eternal being (naturam) worthy of the respect and reverence of men* (D*V.3. 148). This is how Cicero seems to sum up his beliefs, although he showed no concern for the apparent contradictions; indeed, why should he feel any, when religion and state were so closely intertwined to the Roman mind?10 Varro's religious outlook seems no different than that attributed to the Cotta by Cicero. Varro, who dedicated one of his works to his contemporary Cicero's, was one of Rome's greatest scholars and an encyclopedic author, of whose works only a small fraction survives. From the point of view of Roman religion our greatest loss is the second half of his Antiquities, which in sixteen books deals with res divinae, that is, priests, temples, festivals and games, sacra and gods. To his research and interest in religious antiquities we owe much of our knowledge of Roman religious practice, since his works were widely disseminated by later writers, and his habit of scholarly research in antiquaries was continued by a freedman of the time of Augustus. , Verris. . Flaccus, who also provided subsequent writers with a treasure trove of information. Both were interested in language and etymology, and part of Varro's De Lingua Latina survives, though Verrius* De Significatu Verborum has been lost; However, Festus made an epitome of him (late 2nd century BC), half of which survives, while Festus's own epitome later became the epitome of Paulus Diaconus (8th century). a calendar created by Verrius survives in the Fasti Praenestini (p. 46). Later writers who drew on these rich sources were grammarians and church fathers who found in them illustrations of the folly of paganism. Thus Saint Augustine has much to say about Varro, who followed the pontifex maximus, Mucius Scaevola, into a tripartite division of theology: the religion of the poets (ifahulosa theologia, invented by them), the religion of the state (fWilis theologia, from artificially created state as its political institutions) and the religion of the philosophers

RELIGIOUS BELIEF

(naturalis theologia). Ideally, the latter two should agree, but in practice the state religion should at least share some of the views of the philosophers. Varro wrote to preserve the state religion, fearing that the gods would perish not by enemy attack but by the negligence of the Romans themselves (avium negligentia). Therefore, he added accounts of all the lower spirits (indigitas) so that the exact deity could be known in all situations of life, and he assigned all gods and deities an orderly place in the universe. He thus taught people to know which god to invoke and for what reason (quern cuiusque causa deum invocate atqueadvocate debeamus). He himself seems to have been influenced by Stoicism and to have believed in a god, the soul of the universe, who can be identified with Jupiter Capitolinus, the other gods being the parts or virtues of him. Varro did not approve of animal sacrifices, image worship, or the worship of the Alexandrian gods in Rome. The gods are to be respected, including the ancient Italian deities he soulfully invoked in the preface to his De Re Rustica, while the rites of the family are to be upheld no less than those of the state. Thus, despite his attachment to New Academy thought, Varro remained a Roman traditionalist.11 While humans wrestled with the nature of the god or gods behind the fading shadows of the traditional deities of Greco-Roman mythology, they dealt with the problem of death and death faced survival. In ancient times, any belief in personal survival was very vague: the Manes, the departed spirits, were considered survivors rather than a mass rather than individuals, and were worshiped at various festivals, Feralia, Parentalia, and Lemuria, which we will examine later. At the end of the Republic, the dead sometimes acquired a greater individuality: Cicero (wi Pis. 16) referred to the shadows of Catiline's conspirators (coniuratorum manes). But whatever ordinary people may have thought, writers and thinkers generally did not believe in personal immortality: Catullus (5.6) described death as nox est perpetua dormienda ("an endless night to sleep"); Caesar, as Sallust reports (Grt.51.20), perhaps under Epicurean influence, said that "death puts an end to all mortal evils and leaves no room for sorrow or joy", while Lucretius passionately expounded the doctrine of the annihilation of his master. But sometimes human yearnings and emotions flared up, and personal loss made Cicero feel some vague hints of immortality. 45 BC He suffered a severe blow with the death of his beloved daughter Tullia, trying to distract himself was one of the three reasons that led him to spend so much time writing philosophical works. To ease her pain, he planned to erect a monument to her: “I want it to be a sanctuary (fanum). . . and I hope

RELIGION AND FESTIVALS

avoid anything like a grave (sepulchmm)\, he wrote to Atticus. Under the strain of his emotions, he wants to give Tullia the same honors as those great people, heroes and others, whom the Greeks believed in death and who wanted to directly share the glory of the gods. Although he does not mention the possibility of an afterlife in his letters from this period, he clearly hopes that Tullia's spirit will not disappear into the vague mass of manes by some kind of apotheosis, and perhaps by the existence of a shrine it may be drawn to a closer connection to the personality whose loss was such a devastating blow. He also sought a remedy by writing a Consolatio, which unfortunately has been lost, but in a passage quoted in his Disputas tusculanas (1.66) he insists on the spiritual nature of the soul: "What is conscious is wise, what is alive is active, it must be heavenly and divine, and therefore eternal."12 But if some Romans could dream of heaven, did others fear hell? Lucretius thought so because his poem was designed to rid people of such groundless fears, and Polybius speaks of similar terrors in the passage quoted above.It is true that one of the Festivals of the Dead, Lemuria, suggests elements of fear, that the Etruscans believed in the torture of the damned, and that the Greek stories of Hades provided material for the poets. Latins, but in general I think not.. One must not give the impression that popular fears were widespread, or that fears of post-mortem punishment plagued the later Roman republicans, certainly not dominated by the s priests. Unfortunately, however, the voice of the common Roman rarely reaches us, so we know more about what he did in his religious life than he thought. Most Romans probably had a vague idea that the gods approved of good behavior and that certain crimes, such as incest, were offensive to them, but Roman religion offered no private moral teaching like that received by the Jews and the Romans. Christians from their families. When a Roman nobleman built a temple to an abstract virtue like Fides or Pietas, he presumably declared that such a moral quality was desirable, but it is perhaps not too cynical to say that his own personal fame and that of his family were equally important. important. a strong Reason: In general, private morality was separate from public religion.13

7 Holidays: Feriae and Ludi Feriae were holidays in general. Although the word is in the plural form (like Kalendae and Nonae), it has been applied to a single day that may alternatively be called dies ferialis. The use was sometimes looser than the public.

HOLIDAYS: HOLIDAYS AND GAMES

The games (ludi) were not strictly feriae, but the days of their celebration were festi. The fairs were divided into two groups: the public festivals ordered and paid for by the state, and the feriae privatae observed by individuals and families. These family celebrations are called feriae Claudiae, Aetniliae, Juliae, and the like, and were held to commemorate birthdays or other important days in the lives of members, as well as the ten days of mourning (Denicales) after death. However, these remained a private affair, although under the empire the emperor's birthday became a national holiday.14 The feriae publicae comprised three groups: stativae, conceptivae, and imperativee. The feriae stativae were the annual festivals, like the Lupercalia, whose date was fixed and registered in the official calendar. The feriae conceptivae were also celebrated annually, but their date was set each year by the judges or priests; the most famous were the feriae latinas. Imperatives, on the other hand, were irregular holidays proclaimed by consuls, praetors, or dictators to deal with an emergency or celebrate a victory. They could last several days and be the result of a miracle, such as a rain of stones or an earthquake, which seemed to indicate that the gods needed to be appeased; For example, 192 B.C. an earthquake period of thirty-eight days, and the dies feriae was passed in apprehension and anxiety (in sollicitudine ac metu). As a result, many of these obligatory feriae tended to be less joyous than other feriae.15 The gist of the feriae was that they were days when religious rites were performed, civil trials and fights were avoided, and all men, including slaves, could have a period currently. the silence. They were "days instituted for the sake of the gods" (dies deorum causa institutoi, Varro, LL,6.12, and "dis dedicati" Macrob. 1.16.2), while Cicero says in his Laws (2:29) that holy days they are days off Men must rest from trials and controversies, and slaves from work and fatigue. Agricultural writers record what work can and cannot be done on the land. So says Cato (Agr. 138) that at fairs oxen may gather to carry firewood, bean stalks, and grain for storage, but there are no holidays for mules, horses, or donkeys except on family feasts (nisi si in familia sunt). . , and according to Columella (2.21.2), the popes said that one should not fence a field of corn or wash sheep; Columella also lists the permitted tasks, noting that some obligatory tasks could be performed if the piacular sacrifice of a child (catulus) was performed first. In the city, the Rex Sacrorum and the hungry could not even see that work was going on: when they came out, they were preceded by heralds, who ordered all they met to stop working, lest the sanctity of the day be sullied. Failure to comply with this warning carried a fine or the sacrifice of a pig, while willful indifference was too serious to be adequately atoned for.

RELIGION AND FESTIVALS

to Pope Scaevola, but a certain Umbro declared more generously that a man was not guilty if the work was connected with the gods or sacrifices or was vital to human life: so if a house was in danger of collapsing, the occupants could take appropriate measures. measures without spoiling the holiday. While priests may argue about the extent to which the rules can be adapted to the needs of everyday life (as the Jewish rabbis viewed the Sabbath statements), there is certainly still much work to be done. Feriae provided opportunities for rest: religious people visited temples and offered prayers and sacrifices, but many probably only rested from work as much as they wanted or could afford. Individuals bound to honor the claims of an inherited or clan cult (sacra gentilicia), a Roman citizen, while bound to refrain from certain activities, was not required to attend a festival or perform an act of worship. In the country, however, the wise farmer attended annual festivals such as Compitalia and, when he was away, ensured that the normal ceremonies on his farm were maintained. Thus, according to Cato, the duties of a bailiff (vilicus) included the observance of festival days (feriae serventur), although the bailiff is later instructed not to perform any religious rites (rem divinam) except at the compitalia or fireplace. Likewise, the governess (vilica) cannot perform any religious rite without the orders of her lord or lady, although on kalends, nones and ides and when she dies on a holy day (ifestus) she must adorn the home and pray to the god of the house ( larifamiliari) as bargain offers. The absentee lord who resided in the town happily attended all the ceremonies.17 The ludi, though not strictly feriae, were recorded in calendars, celebrated at diesfesti, and have a religious origin and ritual, beginning as votives sworn in honor of Jupiter. Optimus Maximus. of a general, celebrating his return from a successful campaign. However, they were discovered at least as early as 366 BC. to the annual events held each September and remained unique until the plebeian games, around 220 B.C. they were founded. Then, during the anxieties of Hannibal's War, the authorities sought to raise public morale by establishing Ludi Apollinares at 212, Ludi Megalenses at 204, Ludi Ceriales at 202, and finally Floralia at 173. The duration as well as the number of some games increased to several days: thus, in the late Republic, no less than 17 days in April were dedicated to the games, 7 to the Megalans, 8 to the cerials, and 2 to flowers. Games commemorating the victories of Sulla (81 BC) and Julius Caesar (46) were also introduced. (Pis 403-8). Thus, at a time when public interest in some of the older festivals was beginning to wane, new forms of entertainment and

THE ROMAN CALENDAR

provided free by the state to any citizen who could enter (apparently, slaves were not allowed in Republican times). However, as the demand for splendor increased, the sum made available by the state often had to be supplemented by the magistrate in charge of the games, usually an aedile, who, provided this did not endanger his chances of subsequent election for a higher office, deep into his own bag or your friends had to grab. This often resulted in a man being in debt unless he had a large private, as Caesar discovered to his detriment when he was aedile. How a man can ask his friends for help is illustrated in Caelius's persistent letters to Cicero, who was in Cilicia, imploring him to get a good supply of panthers for his games. The games themselves originally consisted of chariot races in the Circus Maximus (circuses) with further crafting and hunting of animals (uenationes) and theatrical performances (scaenici), ranging from plays by Terence and great actors such as Aesop and Roscio to farces and vulgar pantomimes. . Gladiator fights were not yet part of the Republic, they were often held as private spectacles (munera) in the forum, especially at important funerals (p. 221). The oldest record dates from 264 BC. such funerals may also include theatrical performances; This is how the Adelphi was presented in Terence's play 160 at the funeral of Aemilius Paullus. The nature of the games is described in more detail in connection with the Ludi Romani (p. 183 ff.).

8 The Roman calendar The vast majority of festivals and games had a fixed place in the Roman calendar, which can be reconstructed from literary sources and, above all, from the numerous, albeit fragmentary, inscribed copies. The complicated problems of their early history do not concern us here, apart from the fact that the early change from a ten-month to a twelve-month year left its mark on the names of the months. The ten-month year began in March: therefore the months from the seventh to the tenth were called Quinctilis, Sextilis, September, October, etc. (the first two were later named Julius and Augustus after Julius Caesar and Augustus). The twelve-month calendar, as preserved in later copies, lists many festivals in large print, but does not include a festival for Jupiter Capitolinus; therefore, it dates back to the dedication of the temple of him on the Capitol in 509 B.C. and was probably introduced under Etruscan rule in the sixth century. It ended in February, but in 153 B.C. If not much sooner, the beginning of the calendar year was moved from March 1 to January 1 for administrative convenience when newly elected magistrates entered

RELIGION AND FESTIVALS

18 In this book we begin our review of the year in January, but it is good to keep in mind that the Roman peasantry did not feel much change at the end of December, since the real break in the agricultural year occurred in March. , after a period of more relative calm, as demonstrated by the March celebrations. In contrast, in the late Republic, citizens would be more aware that public life was in turmoil after January 1. The year usually consisted of only 355 days. March, May, July and October had 31 days, February 28 and the other months had 29 each. As a result, adjustments had to be made to match the solar year. This happened through a process of intercalation of a period of 22 or 23 days called Mercedonius or Intercalaris. This measure was taken by the College of Popes, but in such an irregular and careless manner that the calendar often did not coincide with the solar year, sometimes by as much as two or three months; For example, on New Year's Day in 46 B.C. October 14 of the previous year. This meant that the farmer, for whom the calendar had once been a general guide, could no longer rely on it and had to rely on the stars and the signs of the weather. At times, political reasons may also have led to a deliberate 'tampering' of the process and, for the sake of simplicity, may have been caused by late announcements as to whether or not nesting would take place. The reform was long overdue and was successfully implemented by Julius Caesar in 46 BC. The new Julian calendar, with its readjustment of the number of days in some months and the arrangement of leap years, came into effect on January 1, 45 BC. It came into use in the 1st century BC. C. and has continued with minor modifications to the present day. But if the months remain largely the same, the days of the month were counted by the Romans in a very different way, without any sequential numbering system. Instead, each month had three fixed points from which the date was counted backwards. These were the kalends, always the first day, the novenas (so called because they came nine days before the ides), and the ides, which originally corresponded to the full moon of the lunar month. In the long months (March, May, July, October) the ninths were the seventh day, the ids the fifteenth, while in the other months they fell on the fifth and thirteenth respectively. Therefore, all dates were counted as so many days before the kalends, nones, or ides, where the count was inclusive; for example, the anniversary of the birth of Rome on April 21 was "ten days before the kalends of May" (ante diem x Kalendas Mayas). Each month these three fixed days were marked by special ceremonies. On the sacred kalends of Juno, a little pope watched the appearance of the new moon and, after reporting the sighting to the Rex Sacrorum, they made offerings together.

THE ROMAN CALENDAR

the people (cakta plebs) of Calabra Curia on Capitol Hill, proclaiming the date the Nones fell, either the fifth or the seventh (calantur Nonae): 'Juno Covella, I denounce you on the fifth (or seventh) day an' (Juno Covella was Juno of the hollow moon, that is, waxing or new). This was done so that people could meet again at the Nones to hear about the festivals and what was going to be done during the month. No festival (with the sole exception of Poplifugia in July) was held before the Nones in a month. Meanwhile, at the Regia, Rex Sacrorum's wife would sacrifice a pig or lamb to Juno. When the Nones (originally the first quarter of the moon) arrived, the people assembled in the city of the countryside and the Rex in the citadel (arx) of the Capitol proclaimed the festivals (feriae) of the month. The ides were the days of the full moon; they were sacred to Jupiter, and the Jlamen Dialis led a sheep (puis Idulis) along the Via Sacra to the Arx and sacrificed it there to Jupiter. It is said that the day was called "Jupiter's Trust" (Iovis fiducia) because the light did not end with sunset, but the moon lengthened it. Thus the three days were associated with the phases of the moon and dated to very early times when a lunar calendar was in use: they continued to be observed throughout the Republic, but meant much less in the time of Varro, who apparently witnessed them. , although he did the Nones ceremony called survival (vestigia) .19. As these ceremonies were performed regularly from month to month, they have been described here and need not be repeated as we review them each month. The official calendar created by the popes included the dates of religious holidays, but it was just as important for the early Romans to know market days when farmers could sell their produce to the townspeople, who in turn supplied the land. with some of the goods he needed. Every eighth day there was a market day called a nundinum (the number was counted inclusive), and the time between one nundinum and the next was called a nundinum. Therefore, the calendars were denoted by a recurring cycle of the letters A through H, beginning on January 1 and continuing throughout the year, without interruption at the end of a month (for example, August 28, 29, 1 , August 2 and 2). DEFG ). Farmers who come to the city can also take the opportunity to do other business, such as solving court cases or attending rallies. In the 1st century B.C. However, in 300 B.C. C., the Nudinae became this fasti; Comitia and contiones (public meetings led by judges) could not be held, although the courts were still open. This eight-day cycle may have helped the Romans transition to a seven-day week used in Babylonia and marked by the Sabbath among the Jews.

RELIGION AND FESTIVALS

day of rest; In addition, in Hellenistic astrology the names of the planets were given to some days: Saturn, Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter and Venus. The earliest record of the use of a seven-day period in Rome is in a Sabine-era Augustan calendar (although the days have letters, A-F, and do not yet have names). The custom developed rapidly in the early Empire, but since it barely preceded the Empire, we need not trace its development here.20 Eventually, the hours, though 24 for each day, diverged from the modern 60-minute hours. Although every 24 hours was divided into 12 hours of night and day, the Roman hours varied in length (except on an equinox), being measured from sunrise to sunset and from sunset to sunrise. Thus, the time of the day did not have the same duration as that of the night, and both varied from month to month, although midnight was always the sixth hour of the night and noon the sixth hour of the day. This meant, for example, that an hour lasted about 45 minutes in the dead of winter and Wi hours in the middle of summer. Each day on the calendars was marked with a different letter in addition to its nundinal letter, indicating whether it was an ordinary weekday or a holiday. The most common of these letters were F, N, NP, EN, C; QRCF occurs twice (on March 24, see also and on May 24) and Q.S.D.F. only once (June 15, see p. 153), these three days being called diesfissi; FP, which appears three times but only in some calendars, eludes a satisfactory explanation.21 F stands for dies fasti, of which there were only 42 in the year. Those were the days when citizens could file legal actions in the city's praetor's court. Although there were only 42 dies fasti per year, a few more days were available for these judicial hearings, since the nudinae dies fasti and the dies comitiales could be used for this, where the comitia did not meet. Furthermore, the praetor played only a preliminary role, namely to determine whether or not the issue was a matter of law and, if so, he appointed an Iudex or Iudices or other court (the Centumviri or Decemviri Stlitibus Iudicandis), to deal with the matter. business. . Thus, the continuous process of dispensing justice was not limited to dies fasti, whereas the permanent courts (quaestiones perpetuae) of the last century of the Republic dealt with criminal offenses and were not limited to dies fasti.22 Instead, N dies stood for nefasti, 58 days in the pre-Julian calendars, which were the opposite of diesfasti: they prohibited what was allowed in diesfasti and dies comitiales, that is, trials before the court of praetors* and meetings of the comitias. It has sometimes been argued that all activities other than those related to religion are prohibited, but it seems that other courts can function, the Senate can meet, conventions and markets can be held. The name Nefasti originally did not mean that they were unlucky or more

THE ROMAN CALENDAR

religious associations such as diesfasti. The letter C stood for dies comialis, of which there were 195. In them, Roman citizens could meet in their assemblies, comitia, to vote for candidates for elections or laws or the verdict of some types of criminal proceedings (judicia puhlica). . But even in the dies comitiales there were some restrictions on the performance of the comitia; they could not be performed in nudinae, nor were Iiferiae conceptivae oimperativee fixed for their performance that day, nor was it easy to get people to participate in any of the games.23 The letters EN stood for endotercissus (an archaic form of intercissus) and these were eight days that were "cut off" because they were Nefasti morning and evening when offerings were prepared and then offered, while they were Fasti in between. Finally we come to the 49 enigmatic letters NP, which originally appear to have been written as a ligature. The vast majority, if not all, of the holidays that appear in large print on calendars, along with all of the Ides, are marked NP. They were therefore feriae, holidays on which religious ceremonies were performed, court hearings were avoided, and were general days of rest for all men, including slaves (although a free man taking the day off was largely dependent on measure of your own decision). . In this context, various explanations have been offered for NP: perhaps the most compelling is this Wissowa-sponsored nefasti publici. This view was supported by Mrs. Michels, who believes that they refer to fixed holidays observed on behalf of the whole people, as opposed to a subdivision (for example, pro pagis or curiis): i.e. feriae publicae stativae universipopuli communes .24. Some days were considered unlucky or bad omens (dies religiosi and atri) even though they were not recorded as such in the calendars. According to Aulus Gelio, “The days called religiosi are disreputable and hindered by a bad omen, so on them one must refrain from religious activities (res divinas facere) or start a new enterprise; these are the days that the ignorant crowd mistakenly calls Nefasti. He then quotes a letter in which Cicero tells Atticus that he was still religious on the day of the defeat of the Romans by the Gauls at Allia. According to Festus religiosi, these were days when doing something unnecessary was considered bad (nefas). Thus, on one of those days, when a ritual moat, the mundus, was dug (see p. 180), one did not go to battle, recruit soldiers, eat, travel, or marry. That some restrictions were also taken seriously in the later Republic is shown by the fact that Cicero seems to have postponed the betrothal of his daughter because two dies religiosi intervened after the Latin festival. rites, as we know that the public festival of

RELIGION AND FESTIVALS

Matralia was performed on a dies religiosus (June 11) and some temples were dedicated on similar days (June 7–15, when the Temple of Vesta was dedicated). The days so designated were the day of the Roman defeat at the Battle of Allia (dies Alliensis: July 18), the three days (August 24, October 5, and November 8) on which the mysterious Mundus with his connection with was opened to the dead, the days (June 7-15) when the Holy of Holies Interior (Penus) of the Temple of Vesta was opened, the days (October 1, 9, 23 and 19) when the Salii moved their sacred shields, and perhaps two days after the Latin Festival. The dies parentes (February 13-21) and Lemuria (May 9, 11 and 13, when the temples were closed) are opposed to the dies religiosi. The Black Days (dies atri) were the days following the Kalends, Nones and Ides of each month; during these 36 days nothing new can be done and, unlike the other dies religiosi, not even the ceremonies of state cults can be performed on them.6 In addition to these days, many other less formal days were considered unlucky. Not only the days after the Kalends, the Nones and the Ides, but also the fourth day before were considered inauspicious by some. Aulus Gellius says that the only reason he could find for this was that Claudius Quadrigarius related how the catastrophe at Cannae occurred on the fourth day before August 9 (216 BC). Other military defeats can also be remembered: Trasimene on June 21 or 23 (217 BC) or Arausio on October 6 (105 BC). Calendars, novenas and ida were avoided for weddings as the following days were unlucky days for brides to start their married life. it was also considered unlucky to get married in May or the first half of June. Furthermore, at least in the last century B.C. if not before, it was assumed that if the January kalends or the ninths of a month coincided with the nundins, the whole year would be unlucky, and this has been confirmed because it happened in 78 and 52 BC. Public problems arose. But evidently the correspondences between the nudinae and the nones must have been common: they were inevitable, but perhaps the superstitious would feel a little uncomfortable. Some people also wish to remember unlucky days: Trimalchio had two calendars posted on his dining room doorframe: one informing the family of his master's movements ("our master left on December 30 and 31") and the another, with the moon and stars, lucky and unlucky days marked with prominent buttons.27 Our knowledge of the calendar is based on references in literary sources, as well as surviving fragments of ancient calendars. Carved parts of more than forty of these fasti have been found: the largest is the magnificent Fasti Praenestini, nearly 2m high and 5.5m wide, although some others are comparatively small. All but one date from the

THE ROMAN CALENDAR

Age of Augustus or Tiberius. The exception is the larger Fasti Antiates found in 1915; Painted in red and black letters on plaster, it is dated between 84 and 46 BC. and it is thus the only pre-Julian calendar in the republic. The rest vary in their completeness, one (Fasti Maffeiani) covers most of the year and from these a complete calendar of the whole year can be constructed. Many come from or near Rome, others from Italian cities such as Praeneste, Caere, Amiternum, Allifae and Venafrum. In fact, one (the last discovered fragment, found in 1962) was discovered in Taormina, Sicily, showing that copies of the Julian calendar were made not only in Italy but also in the provinces. These fasti all have modern names: a list of common abbreviations can be found on page 258). In addition, two manuscript calendars survive, but very late: one from Philocalus AD 354 and the other from Polemius Silvius AD 448 monthly tasks, along with some astronomical information.28 Knowledge of the calendar was originally the exclusive property of the priests responsible for its care, but in 304 a. Cr. Cn. Flavio is said to have issued a judicial calendar that included forms of defense (legis actiones) in the forum, so that everyone knew when legal transactions could be completed. Four years later, the priestly colleges of popes and augurs were opened to the citizens. This would make the calendar more accessible. 189 BC A consul M. Fulvius Nobilior placed a calendar with accompanying notes on the walls of the Temple of Hercules and the Muses. Later, the Augustan scholar Verrius Flaccus drew up a calendar with notes and placed it in the Praeneste forum; Parts of this survive in the Pre-Nestine Calendar.29 The arrangement of the material is as shown in the figure on page 49. The months are shown in columns side by side from left to right. On the left side of each month there are two vertical columns: the first gives the nundinal letters (A-H), the second the kalends, nonas and ides, the corresponding letters (F, N, C, etc.) give the names of the festivals . These are written in capital letters, but there are also a number of supplements, varying in detail, written in smaller letters; The most numerous are names of deities in the dative case, although a few are essential notes. At the bottom of each column is the number of days in the month. The republican Fasti Antiates Major has a thirteenth column containing fragments of the leap month. The large printed material was interpreted by Mommsen as the origin of the "Numa Calendar" of the pre-Etruscan royal period and

RELIGION AND FESTIVALS

it remained unchanged throughout the Republic until Julius Caesar's reform. This view has been accepted, modified or rejected. Some have a more likely origin in the Etruscan period in Rome, others that (since Cerialia, for example, can hardly go that far) more festivals were added to an original list, or that the calendar was introduced somewhat later, 451/ 0 BC. 30 a.m. C., of the decemvirs.30 But we are not really concerned with this controversial issue, since few would believe in a substantial change after the fourth century. It is clear that the capitalized festivals predate the lowercase additions, and that some, if not all, are indeed very old, dating back to the Archaic period and embodying some notions of a primitive population. Some were celebrated with interest for a long time, others were almost forgotten and petrified at the end of the Republic, the object of the concern of Roman antiquaries in particular. On the following pages, large-print calendar entries for each day are in uppercase, lowercase in lowercase and italics, and bibliographic source supplements in lowercase and italics in square brackets. Individual calendars are generally not mentioned by name here unless they differ significantly from each other, but the calendar source for each entry can be found in the list of "festivals recorded in calendars" on page 259. The calendar is also provided. Roman dating. of individual days according to the republican calendar and not the more common Julian calendar, which began in 45 BC. ten more days were introduced into the year towards the end of each of the seven days). ) months, making a difference of one or two days between Julian and pre-Julian calculations: thus, for example, September 23, which was an A. VIII Kal under the former. October, became IX Cal. Oct. under Late AD Julian dates are added in brackets.

Kalender von Antium (Fasti Antiates Majores)

Part Two THE ROMAN YEAR January January was a comparatively lazy time for the Roman peasant. Varro, who divided the agricultural year into eight periods, points out that the eighth (from the solstice to the arrival of the west wind Favonius, that is, February 7) was a time of cleaning and odd jobs rather than really strenuous work. . Columella says that the most conscientious farmers (more religious) do not work the land until January 13, except that on January 1 they begin work of all kinds to secure their fortune (auspicandi causa). He then describes the type of work that is appropriate for the second half of the month. Peasant calendar (menology) for January registration: January 31 None on 5 Daylight: 93/4 hrs Darkness: 14 hrs Fri Sun in Capricorn Protector: Juno Sharpening stakes Willows and rushes Cutting Sacrifices to Dei Penaten31 The relative relaxation The The joy of the peasants in December could thus be extended until January, when two very primitive festivals, Compitalia and Sementivae, were celebrated on specific days each year (no doubt related to the prevailing weather): the neighboring peasants and the "members of the community" (pagani) gathered to celebrate the end of one agricultural period and the beginning of another. This practice continued not only in the countryside but also in Rome, even long after the average Roman had ceased to have a close connection to the land. January also included two of the old festivals written in large letters on the calendars, the Agony and the Carmentalia. In ancient times, Janus, the god of beginnings, was apparently sacrificed at the Regia

THE ROMAN YEAR

the latter was busy with the birth of the child and the hopes of the family. However, when January became the first month of the official year, civic and religious activities began, which we must address first. January 1

CAL. IAN.

[Ann]us no [vus incipitjquia eo die ma [gistratus] ineunt (Note on Praen.) (Public vote) In earlier times, consuls took office at various dates, but from at least 153 B.C. January 1 became the fixed date. Ovid greets the happy day, *a day worthy of being hallowed by a people who rule the world*. He briefly describes the ceremonies in poetic terms: In immaculate robes, the procession proceeds to the Tarpeian Towers [the Capitol]: Now the people wear the color of the feast day; and now new rods of trade point the way, new purple flashes, and a new heaviness is felt through the far ivory chair. Unharmed heifers under the yoke offer their necks to the axe, heifers that have grazed on the true Faliscan plains. When Jupiter views the world from his citadel, he finds nothing but the Roman Empire. Ovid re-describes the scene of writing a poem for Sextus Pompey, who took up his consulship early in AD 14.32. C. (fig. 409). The first duty of the consul was to defend the patronage: the expression “auspicari magistratum” was equivalent to entering the magistracy (wire magistratum). A celebratory affair at first, it became a mere formality, if not a farce, towards the end of the Republic. The magistrate spent part of the previous night in the "camp" and then prayed in the open air at dawn. Although he himself was a member of the college of augurs, it seems that he often employed an assistant, who in ancient times was someone versed in the art of divination (peritus), but in Cicero's time* someone desired by the consul (qui love ). ** This dutiful agent searched the sky until he saw or reported seeing a good omen, such as lightning coming from the left. With this help, the Consul would not have to wait long to get Jupiter's assent with a favorable sign. Auguria could be observed everywhere officially called a templum, but there was an official omen in the Capitol (probably near the apse of the current church of S. Maria in Aracoeli); Since the consuls were supposed to offer sacrifices at the Capitol at the end of the day, they could receive patronage there early in the morning: patronage of an act was usually taken at the location where the magistrate wished to perform the act. Alternatively, sponsorship

JANUARY

could have been taken home: A famous example of a consul using his own house to "watch the heavens" is when Bibulus used this device in a vain attempt to convince his colleague Julius Caesar in 59 BC. 34 Thus assured of heaven's favor, the consuls then don their purple-fringed togas (pratetexta) in the privacy of their own homes. Livy denounces Flaminius for having secretly left Rome in 217, thus avoiding all traditional ceremonies, and scornfully proclaims that he took office at Ariminum and not Rome, and "robes her purple-edged at an inn and not In its presence". household gods* (apudpenates suos). Thus dressed, each consul received formal visits (salutatio) from senators, friends, and clients. He then departed, followed by his lictors, who marched single file, in solemn procession, escorted by their supporters, the senators behind, and the equites at the top. Presumably, the processions of the two consuls met, perhaps on the Sacred Way of the Forum, and together they began to climb the Capitoline Hill. The people, duly dressed for the day of the festival, crowded around the aequimelium, an open space on the lower slopes of the hill above the vicus Iugarius, where in Cicero's time there was a market for lambs for domestic worship, the procession proof that she was probably accompanied by the sacrificed animals. In a very small space in front of the Temple of Jupiter-Optimus-Maximus, the consuls took their places on their official ivory chairs (sella curulis), probably conspicuously set up in an audience chamber (*et nova conspicuum pondera sentit Ebury: Ovid). There they were celebrated by the public. Then each one in turn offered a white bull to the god in payment of the votes for the security of the state taken a year before by the previous consuls; then the new consuls made new vows (yota publica) and the ceremonies came to a head.35 The chief consul then convened a session of the Senate on the Capitol and asked first religious and then secular questions. He announced the date of the Latin Fairs and then touched on issues such as the distribution of the provinces. This deal was made, the consuls were escorted home by the full senate (toto comitante senatuy, Ovid), and a solemn but joyful day came to a close.36 Our picture of the day is somewhat confusing because the specific action of each consul It is not always that is clear. illustrated. For practical reasons, although they had the same powers, they often divided some of their functions by agreement (comparatio) or by lot (sortitio). In general, however, they functioned on a rotating basis, with administration and fasces (bundles of lictor's staffs) assigned to each consul for a month at a time. One was called Consul Mayor: This probably did not mean the eldest of the two, but the first elected (in the electoral body,

THE ROMAN YEAR

Once the majority of the voting groups (Centuriaefi^d) had cast their votes for a candidate, their choice was announced and then a vote was taken on who would be their colleague). The Consul General began the year mainly in January. It is not known how this affected the opening ceremonies. Each consul may have received his own patronage and then been visited by his own friends; Alternatively, a consul may have assumed patronage for both. They undoubtedly sued together (if there were no problems with placing lictors and fasces next to each other) and then sat down together. All took part in the sacrifice, but it may be that only the older man actually proclaimed the fulfillment of the vows and the fulfillment of the new promises, and it was he who subsequently summoned the senate and took the initiative in his affairs. Both consuls gave their names according to the year of their mandate, but in the fasti, the lists of consuls of the first Republic, the name of the main consul came first.37 Two more acts were necessary to complete the initiation of the consuls. Five days after assuming office, they were to take an oath to observe the law3 (iurare in leges) in the Temple of Saturn at the end of the forum before the Quaestors. During the same period they would also receive a formal grant from the empire by vote of the former Comitia Curiata; but before the end of the republic this solemn occasion became a mere formality, and the thirty curiae (electoral groups of all the people) were represented at the meetings by thirty lictors. The new consul, who met in the Senate on January 1, shortly afterwards addressed the people in a contio, recalling his achievements and those of his ancestors and proclaiming his views and political goals.38 Aesculapius, Co[ .]o, Vediove (Ant .mai.) Aesculapius, Vediovi in Insula (Praen.) * And now what I was allowed to learn from the calendar itself. On this day the Senate dedicated two temples. The island surrounded by the river with its divided waters received what the nymph Coronis gave to Phoebus. Jupiter has the part of it on the site. A place has been found for both, and the temples of the mighty grandfather and grandson are united. This is what Ovid wrote in his Fasti (1, 289ff.). The son Coronis borne to Apollo in Greek mythology was Asklepias, or Aesculapius in its Latinized form. The cult of this Greek god of healing was centered in Epidaurus, where pilgrims sought healing, in particular through the ritual of incubation,

JANUARY

that is, sleeping in the temple in the hope that the god would reveal a cure in a dream. The cult spread from about 400 B.C. in the Greek world and was first observed in 293-291 B.C. Received in Rome. During a plague, the sibylline books were consulted, and under his direction, emissaries were sent to Epidaurus to bring an image of the god; In fact, they brought with them a snake that got into the boat and was believed to be the personification of the god. In Greek art, the two main attributes of Asclepias were a sacred serpent and a staff around which the serpent often coiled. When the ship reached Rome, the serpent slithered ashore on Tiber Island, and a temple to Aesculapius was built there and dedicated on 1 January 291: venitque salutifer urbi\ including Aesculapius's son* Hygeia (health) , named after the cursive Goddess Salus, probably in 180, when Aesculapius, Salus, and Apollo were given gold statues. island sanctuaries. Varro reports that he saw a painting of knights armed with spears in the temple. Eventually, boat-shaped boardwalks were built to commemorate the serpent's arrival; The parts that have survived include the Arch of Aesculapius decorated with serpents and a bull's head. This travertine dam dates from the 1st century BC. BC, when two stone bridges connecting the island to each bank of the Tiber replaced the old wooden structures40 (Fig. 8). The introduction of this well-known Greek god to Rome, with the practice of hatching and presumably Greek priests, was an important step in Rome's religious history. Not only did it mark the renewed acceptance of foreign gods directly from Greece and not from Magna Graecia, but it also spoke to Roman man in a way that the older, more formal state religion could not: it gave him direct personal access. Contact through dreams with a god and hope for relief from problems or worries. No doubt the cult was very popular in its early days. Ovid's somewhat brief description in his Fasti might indicate that the novelty was gradually wearing off, but he devoted more than a hundred lines of his Metamorphoses to the history of his institution, and several republican-dated offerings made to Aesculapius were found on the bed. . from the Tiber; other inscriptions prove his strength during the Empire. A nasty custom sprang up when callous masters began exposing their old and infirm slaves to the island to avoid the trouble of treating them, until the more humane Emperor Claudius declared all such slaves free and decreed that they should not return if they regained control. control of his master while

THE ROMAN YEAR

If one chose to kill such a slave rather than abandon him, one was charged with murder.41 Despite this later association with slaves, the cult may have maintained its popularity for a long time, and one can imagine some of the meeting attendees. Witnessing the New Year's procession of consuls could head to the Tiber Island celebrations grateful for the past or hopeful for the future ministries of the god of healing. Of the other two deities recorded in the calendars, Co[.]o is mysterious. Consus (p. 163) was suggested, but there is little room for two letters (ns) on the inscribed stone. Therefore, Degrassi prefers Co[r]o(nidi). Coronis was the mother of Aesculapius and was associated with him in worship in Greece, while in Rome there are examples of mothers associated with their children, such as Maia and her son Mercury (see May 15).42 Vediovis (Veovis or Vedius) it had festivals on January 1, March 7 and May 21 and two temples, one on Tiber Island and one on the Capitol. The sources are somewhat confused, partly because he was closely associated with Jupiter, but both temples seem to have been promised by L. Furius Purpureo, who conquered the island in 200 BC. During a campaign against the Gauls, the Capitoline temple when Purpureo was consul in 196; they were inaugurated on January 1, 194 and March 7, 192 (on the latter see also p. 87).43 But who was Vediovis? The subject may not be of great importance, but it is worth considering, if only as a good example of the difficulties so often inherent in trying to define the nature of some of the lesser deities. Cicero talks about the arduous efforts to explain the etymology of some names of the gods and asks: What will you do with Veiovis? (qyid Veiovifades?). But while the derivation was evidently unknown to Cicero and his generation, modern scholars have not shied away from seeking answers that are, of course, more speculative than conclusive, and Vediovis has appeared in an impressive array of roles as a result. He was considered an Etruscan god imported into Rome, using the first two letters of his name as the root word instead of a commonly accepted prefix (cf. Veii and Veientes). Others would follow Aulus Gelius and view Vediovis as Apollo because he is depicted holding arrows and with a goat at his side, but this identification was probably a late suggestion and hardly explains the god's primitive nature. Most modern scholars associate the name with Jupiter. He appears with the same variations as Iovis, with the particle preceded by five: Vediovis, Diovis; See, god; Veiovis, Yovis. The meaning of ve- is ambiguous since it can be privative or diminutive. Gellius explains Jupiter as a derivative

JANUARY

from iuvare (to help), and thus Vediovis is 'the one who does not help', that is, hostile. Others, who reject the iuvare derivation, interpret Vediovis as "anti-Jupiter", a chthonic deity and god of the dead, since he is associated with the dimanes, the spirits of the deceased, in a sentence quoted by Macrobius. Or he is the god who disappoints: thus, in Lucilius's satires, vesanus means male sanus ('sick'). Others see Vediovis as a little Jupiter, accepting the diminutive power of five, thus following Festus, who says that the syllable five often refers to little things. Corn. Or was he originally an ancient "Mediterranean" god, dating back to pre-Indo-European times? Amid all this confusion of ideas, Vediovis remains an enigma, but his connection to Jupiter seems quite certain. Possibly, he was originally just a middle name for Jupiter, and was later set aside as an independent deity whose exact functions are unclear today. not contemptible to be rejected, as is customary. Even if Vediovis was not a Sabine deity, his Italic origin may be very ancient: Beneath his temple on Capitoline Hill was a ritually buried repository of ex-votos, including advanced paraphernalia and impastoed buccheroids, dating to the seventh century BCE. Outside of Rome, cult of him is attested only at Bovillae, where an altar was erected c. 100 BC It was consecrated to "Father Vediovis of the Gens Iulia according to the Laws of Alba". This clue takes us back to the Iron Age. When Alba Longa was destroyed by Hostilius, his cults survived in Bovillae, founded by Alba and whose inhabitants were called Albani Longani Bovillenses until the Roman Empire. The Julii had close ties to the Bovillae and held private games and festivals there. The same may be true of the cult of Vediovis in Rome at the time when the Julii were politically influential, namely the 5th and 1st centuries BC. C. and were seen by Pliny, who died in 79 d. C. During the excavations of this temple in 1939 a marble statue was found: a male figure of the Apollonian type, with a cloak over his left arm, although his arms and head were missing. This must have replaced the earlier wooden statue which may have been destroyed in the fire of AD 80. Vediovis is said to have carried arrows and was assisted by a goat, but these have not survived. According to Aulo Gelio, the sacrifice that was offered to him was a goat sacrificed in human ritual. This phrase may imply that the goat was seen as a substitute for human sacrifices or as an offering to Vediovis.

THE ROMAN YEAR

as a chthonic deity, but probably refers to an offering to a (dead) man as opposed to an offering to the gods. However, all may be wrong: Gellius may have derived the sacrifice of a goat from the animal accompanying the statue: an attribute does not necessarily imply that it is a sacrificial object46 (fig. 9). Although Vediovis and Aesculapius were close neighbors on the Tiber Island, no actual connection between them is known. C. 3rd-5th January

c.HINON.IAN

- NO. IAN

Feriae Conceptivae (Ludi Compitales) The Compitalia were mobile festivals that took place between the Saturnalia from December 17 to January 5; The Philocalus and Silvius calendars show that in the late Roman Empire they traditionally occurred on January 3–5, although Macrobius still considered them conceptivae. In Cicero's time they fluctuated at the beginning of January and were limited to one day. Its history spans a thousand years, from the beginnings of primitive agriculture, through the "solemn and splendid" celebrations witnessed by Dionysus in august Rome, to the end of the Empire.47 Compitas were places where farm paths crossed or were They found cross paths. At a point where four small lots converged, sanctuaries were built as towers (almost covered); here the peasants made sacrifices at the end of the agricultural year (finite agriculture). The sanctuary, surrounded by four small altars, was left open in four directions, allowing access to the farmland deities (Lares) who protected each patio. The belief that half-breeds are sacred, holy, or haunted is common in human folklore. Also, peasants hung a broken plow there as a sign of work done, but these Fracta Yuga may have originally had a magical purpose. One modern suggestion is that the iugum was not a plow, but rather a wooden gate rung placed as a marker or guide to a bridge in open country where a traveler might bypass the bridge guided by Janus. Janus, however, has little to do with water crossings.48 The night before the sacrifices, a wool doll was hung for each free member of the family and a ball of wool for each slave. An ingenious explanation of the difference between these wool symbols is that the doll must have had some kind of head or caput, which also means "legal personality", while the ball of wool without a head represented a slave, which was not a human being. legal, lacked a hood Macrobius hints at a sinister background when he says that children were once sacrificed to the people.

JANUARY

Goddess Mania ['the good woman', not madness], the mother of Lares, for the good of the house, although she adds that this was changed by Brutus, the first consul, replacing it with garlic and poppy heads. Though Festus believed, he is far from certain that these heads or skeins were substitutes for human sacrifices offered in the hope that the Lares would accept the substitute and spare the living. This point of view would only be acceptable to those who see the spirits of the dead rather than agricultural deities in homes. The main focus may have been purification, a cleanup request before next year's work, or perhaps the goal was to search for the numen of houses that could be passed on to the puppets and then to their donors: da numen something mysterious was power , a lightning rod between deities and humans might seem desirable. However, on the human side, Compitalia offered time for neighboring families to come together and relax on New Year's Day. , streets with houses. There were high priests, as in the countryside, which constituted the cult centers of each vicus. Thus, as usual, the state developed its urban counterpart to the originally rural party. Since the origin of the Compitalia was attributed by the Romans to Servius Tullius and its development to Tarquinio Superbus, the cults of the city were probably organized by the Etruscan kings, who undoubtedly announced the festival. Later, the proclamation was made by a praetor in a formula quoted by Aulus Gelius, commenting on an ancient usage: “Denonipopulo Romano Quiritibus Compitalia erunt; when concepta fuerint, nefas' ('on the ninth day the Roman people, the Quirites, celebrate the Compitalia; when the business has begun, it ceases'); The praetor used an old form dienoni instead of die nono. According to Propertius, fat pigs were sacrificed, while Dionysius of Halicarnassus says that each family contributed a honey cake and that the men who prepared the sacrifices in the sanctuaries must have been slaves from whom all signs of servitude had been removed. The bailiff, vilicus, officiated on this occasion when permitted. As in the Saturnalia, the slaves participated fully in the celebrations, and these were the two occasions when the thrifty Cato treated his slaves and his family to an extra helping of wine. Thus, not only did the Compitalia involve a formal religious sacrifice, but since our New Year's Day follows Christmas, the Romans enjoyed a second period of celebration and goodwill shortly after Saturnalia. In the countryside this was concentrated in the neighboring patios, in the city it spread through all the streets with joy, dances and games.50 ***

THE ROMAN YEAR

Cicero writes to Atticus in early January 59 BC. and asks his friend to “book our tours in Compitalia (ambulationibus Compitaliciis reservemus). He thinks of the day before the festival. I will have the bath heated and [my wife] Terence will invite Pomponia [sister of Atticus and wife of Cicero's brother Quintus]. We added your mother to the party.” A few years later, in December 50, Cicero tells Atticus that since January 2 was a public holiday (compitalicius dies), he will not go to Pompey's Villa Alban until the 3rd, if he must be a nuisance to the family (ne molestus familiae veniam). Both references show that the celebration was still a family affair when slaves were granted greater freedoms, but only within the domestic sphere. It would be embarrassing for everyone if Cicero arrived in the middle of the celebrations as Pompey's guest. Another kind of shame developed in the city when the Collegia Compitalicia took on a political overtone. Seen as potentially subversive "cells" by the Senate, they were destroyed in 64 BC. abolished by Clodius six years later, banned by Caesar along with the Games (which were apparently becoming more formal at the time), and finally revived by Augustus as a major point in his religious reconstruction of ancient cults, the veneration of the Lares Compitales now associated with the Genius Augusti.51 January 5

NO.IAN.

Vicae Potae (Ant.mai.) The anniversary of the sanctuary of Vica Pota in Velia, in the early period near the house of the Valerii family, is recorded only in Fasti Antiates. Vica Pota was an ancient Roman goddess whose name probably derived from vincere and potiri; she was therefore identified with Victoria, who later eclipsed the older deity (for the palatine temple of Victoria, inaugurated in 294 BC, see August 1).52 January 9

V.ID.IAN.

public notary

AGONALIA The entry AGON (Agonalia, Agony: different forms survive) also appears in the calendars for March 17, May 21, and December 11, but a convincing connection is hard to find. Ovid, who offers a variety of explanations for what he calls this agonalis, shows that neither he nor his contemporaries knew the true derivation. His alternatives are: Agone ("Should I proceed?"), the expression used by an attendant brandishing his sacrificial knife; the sheep do not come (do not repent), but are

JANUARY

carried (agantur) to the altar; of Agnalia, a festival of lambs (Agnae); the agony of the victim seeing the flash of the knife reflected in the water; named after the Greek games (agones); Agony was an old word for hostility, sacrifice. Festus's somewhat dubious claim that the Quirinal Hill was first called Collis Agonus with a porta agonsis does not shed much light on the subject, while Varro mentions a college of Salii Agonenses. Perhaps agonium was in fact just the ritual word for a festival or sacrifice.53 In the four dies agonales, the Rex Sacrorum sacrificed a ram in the Regia: "dies agonales, per quos rex in Regia arietem imolabat". 9, the morning of Agonal, it was necessary to appease her (lanus Agonali lucepiandus erat), and he ends his etymological speculations with the mention of Aries: "ita rexplacare sacrorum/nutnina lanigerae coniuge debet ovis". that this ram was sacrificed to Janus, but this is implied, although we know from the Arval brothers' ritual that a ram was occasionally sacrificed to Janus The new month was named Januarius, after Janus, and the feast of The 9 it might originally have been called January, though the word has not been passed down. Janua means door or gate. In primitive times, leaving one's home or settlement meant abandoning the safety of the known to the lesser known, so care must be taken to ensure the favor of the spirit who rules the entrance, i.e. Janus, the god of the entrance. . In fact, no one could be too careful, and its functions could be described in detail. (p. 17) Since going through a city gate or gate signifies a new beginning, Janus also gradually became a god of beginnings. He then cites a list of deities in a formal sentence that even precedes Jupiter: When Decius Mus 340 B.C. "Consecrated" himself and the enemy to the deities of the underworld in a desperate attempt to ensure Rome's victory, formally invoking Janus, Jupiter, Father Mars, Quirinus, Bellona, and others. Janus's power is emphasized in the Salii hymn, where he is called the "god of gods" (divom deus), while in Ovid's time some had made him a celestial or cosmic god. Furthermore, the common Roman of the late Republic often remembered the god when he looked around the city at the many Janus temples, arches, shrines and altars, and indeed whenever he looked at his box: the two Janus, looking up. , featured prominently on the ace, while other deities (but not Jupiter) featured on the subdivisions of the copper coins. How such a Roman celebrated January 9 we do not know, apart from the formal sacrifice that took place in the Regia for many centuries.55

THE ROMAN YEAR

January 11

IID-ID. IAN

public notary

CARMENTALIA 15. January

xvi (Julian xvm) KAL .FEB .

public notary

CARMENTALIA The deity Carmentis or Carmenta (both forms occur) had feasts on two days three days apart. Almost all the festivals took place on odd days, but it is not known why the second celebration did not take place on January 13. Since the cult was very old, the two days could represent two celebrations originally separated by two communities, on the Palatinate and the Quirinal (Roman and Sabine?), which later merged. The Fasti Praenestini record that the festival was founded on January 15 by a victorious Roman general (Romulus?) to celebrate his conquest of Fidenae. Ovid offers a much crazier explanation: when the matrons of Rome were deprived of the right to drive chariots (carpenta, mistakenly associated with carmenta), they refused to have children and caused miscarriages. The Senate then revoked the decree and ordered a second party in honor of Carmentis to encourage birth. In fact, the right to wear carpenta was granted in historic times when matrons contributed gold ornaments to a thank-offering at Delphi after the death of Camillus Veii in 394 BC. he had conquered; This privilege was granted in 215 BC. Temporarily retired for about twenty years. Thus, in Ovid's (probably Varro's) opinion, the feast of January 15 would have been an afterthought, but the ridiculous etymology makes the explanation highly unlikely.56 However, Ovid offers other, more hopeful clues: he refers to Carmentis'. Prophetess” (felix vates), while Virgil calls her “the soothsaying prophetess who first predicted the greatness of the sons of Aeneas and the glory of Pallanteum”: vatisfatidicae, cecinit quae prima futuro Aeneadas magnos et nobile Pallanteum. Her name is probably derived from Carmen, meaning a spell or prophecy as well as a poem, and her cult of her was closely associated with the women who built and worshiped her sanctuary or temple near Porta Carmentalis at the foot of the Capitoline Hill. you there. An archaic altar found in the Forum Boarium may belong to her. Varro reports that "to avoid abnormal births when the child is born feet first, altars were erected in Rome for the two Carmentes, one Postverta (rearward) and the other Prorsa (forward) in connection with the birth of named the im child

JANUARY

forward or reverse position. Since such a functional division was a common early focus for somewhat lazy spirits, Carmentis was perhaps a goddess of childbirth and prophecy. This would be a natural connection as the women might well consult them about their birth prospects, which was perhaps the earlier function: the magical power (Carmen) of an ancient deity associated with the Palatine was sought after by the women, while later the of Carmen fortified prophetic aspect. Centuries later, Agustín combined the two aspects: “those goddesses who sing the luck of children at birth and are called Carmentes”. Mythology made a bridge to the distant past, which turned the ancient Italian deity, which was connected with the Palatinate, into Mother Evanders, who came to Italy from Arcadia and built a settlement on the site of Rome on the Collis Palatinus, whom he named after his mother city Arcadian Pallanteum; She later greeted Aeneas on the spot. Carmentis has also been interpreted as a goddess of the moon or a goddess of beginnings, but these explanations are highly unlikely. The claim that she is a water or spring nymph is widely accepted, but is based on little more than the fact that Virgil called Carmentis a nymph.57 The cult was clearly ancient: it was written in large letters about Fasti and the Carmentis own priest. (Flamen). A reference by Ovid to the sacrum pontificale could indicate that the popes were also involved. The Flemish duties included sacrifice, but all animal skins (scortea) were excluded from the sanctuary. Varro reports that in some sanctuaries nothing dead is brought back. the worshipers remain chaste. However, it is more likely an ancient taboo for leather, as the skins of slaughtered animals can inspire fears that women may have dead children, and we know this is not the case for Jlaminica Dialis, the wife of Jlamen Dialis Wear shoes. from the skin of an animal that died a natural death. Carmentis' sanctuary was at the foot of the Capitol near the Porta Carmentalis that bears her name and probably in the Foro Holitorio. worn by the popillii, derived from laena, a draped priestly garment. While participating in a public sacrifice as consul (probably the consul of 359 BC rather than 316 BC), Marcus Popillius, dressed in his laena because he was khlamen Carmentalis, had to hurry to settle some issues between the plebeians and relieve the patricians. .59

THE ROMAN YEAR

January may seem like an odd time of year for a birth festival, but many births probably took place around this time, as we know April weddings were favourites, but May or early June were less popular. January 11

IIIID.IAN.

public notary

Iuturnae (Ant.mai.) While it is unlikely that Carmentis was a water nymph, Juturna certainly was, noting January 11 as the day of her cult. The spirit that presides over a spring in the southwest corner of the forum at the foot of the Capitol was later identified with Juturna, which in turn was originally the spirit of the Numicus River (or a nearby spring), the Torto River. which ran between Lavinium and Ardea. The site in the forum became known as Lacus Iuturnae, with a formal pool and sanctuary. The cult was accepted early (before 500 BC?) as it did not take place under the supervision of the duoviri sacrisfaciundis and therefore took place before the consultation of the Sibylline Books. In historical times, the water from this basin was used for official sacrifices in Rome, and therefore Juturna played an important role in Roman worship. after watering his horses at his pond after being restored in 494 BC) was restored in the 1950s, badly broken statues of Castor and Pollux were found in the basin of the pond, while in an adjoining enclosure that was found in 4: this may indicate that Juturna was considered the goddess of healing, as reported by Varro.61 (Fig. 10). In addition to the forum grounds, Juturna was given a temple on the Field of Mars; Ovid tells us that her day of worship was January 11. It was built at a relatively later date by Lutatius Catullus, probably the 241 consul who ended the First Punic War with his victory at Aegates Insulae, or possibly the victor of Cimbri in 101 BC. We do not know the exact relationship between this temple and the center of the forum: perhaps Lutácio dedicated it to January 11 because it could have been the date of Juturna's festival in the forum. In any case, we know that the Juturnalia was celebrated by "those whose business had to do with water" (qui artificum aqua exercant). In addition to these worshipers who

Sixty-five

JANUARY

she had a professional interest, one wonders if any literary figure attended the festival, as there was a lot of mythology surrounding Juturna, which drew a lot of attention when Virgil gave her a prominent role in the last book of the Aeneid as the sister of Turnus , Prince of Ardea assigned .62 27 January

iv (Julián vi) CAL .FEB .

Castori, Polluci ad Forum (Verul.) The temple of Castor and Pollux, promised to the Dioscuri after they helped secure Rome's victory at Lake Regillus. He was born in 484 B.C. inaugurated according to Fasti Praenestini and Ovid on January 27, the date Ludi Castores was celebrated in Ostia during the Roman Empire. However, Tito Livio called on July 15. Since Tiberius rebuilt and dedicated the temple in AD 6. C., Livio's date for the original temple and January 27 for its restoration have sometimes been accepted. In any case, July 15 was the date of the solemn parade of the equites (Transvectio Equitum), in commemoration of the battle and the help of Castor and Pollux. However, Mommsen may be correct in believing that Livy mistook the date of the battle (July 15) with that of the restoration of the Temple, so Fasti and Ovid may be correct.63 The Dioscuri were identified with the Dei Penates , who must have been worshiped in Rome long before the arrival of Castor and Pollux. While each early Roman family had a private cult of its own penates (the spirits that presided over the closet, penus), those of the king were particularly prized by the community and later became known as the penates publici. These Penaten Dei had a local temple in Velia

A Pompeian painting showing two chapels where three paths meet (a compitum)

THE ROMAN YEAR

once occupied by the household of King Tullus Hostilius, the introduction of the Dioscuri to Rome brought the two groups together and archaic statues of the Dioscuri, such as those of Dei Penates, were found in the temple. The immediate source from which the cult reached Rome is disputed, as it was widely worshiped in Italy: in Latium its main center was Tusculum. An archaic inscription from c. 500 BC, found in 1959 at Lavinium, where we know the Penates were also worshipped, records a dedication to Castor and Pollux, the Kouroi: Castorei Podlouque qurois. The Greek title qurois shows that the cult reached Latium directly through Magna Graecia and not through Etruria, but Tusculum, rather than Lavinium, may have been the more direct channel through which it reached Rome. The fact that Lake Regillus, where the Dioscuri aided the Romans in battle, is in Tusculum's territory strengthens this city's claim. In any case, since the decemviri sacris faciundis were not involved in the establishment of the cult, the immediate source was Latin, not Greek.64 The brothers were often referred to simply as Castors and their temple as Aedes Castoris. They were considered *savior gods*. As they were often depicted on their horses riding to Rome with news of Regillus's battle, they became the patrons of the Roman cavalry; they also helped against the dangers of storms at sea. His images were often in the hands of ordinary Romans for more than half a century, since they became Roman from 211 BC. Their names were also often on the lips of disgruntled men and women, the former using Edepol as a swear word, while Ecastor or Mecastor were reserved for women in earlier times. (Plate 40ll) His temple was one of the most imposing in the forum and deserves a more detailed description as it was used for various political and religious purposes. The three surviving columns, with their entablature still standing, are a notable feature of the present forum, but like most of the surviving remains, they belong to the reconstruction under Augustus, and little or nothing is known of the first temple or its reconstruction in the year 117 AD L. Cecilio Metelo in a more Hellenistic style. This great peripheral temple rested on a high podium that rose some 22 feet above the floor of the forum. It appears that there was a platform (patio) at the front, which was later (around 117?) integrated into the front of the podium. Steps led from its top to the front of the temple, but access from the forum some four meters below was via a side stairway (the central steps from the forum to the platform were created much later, after of the great reconstruction). . your importance

JANUARY

Reconstruction of the Temple of Castor and Pollux

was that it served as a second tribune, platform for orators*, and as such played an important role in Roman public life. Probably from 304 B.C. It was used for the four-year review (census) of the eighteen centuries of equites and set the stage for a colorful ceremony (see p. 164). It also served as a platform for judges who wished to address the people in an unofficial assembly (contio) and as a center where formal popular assemblies (comitia) could register their votes. they probably climbed one of the side steps, walked across a narrow "bridge" (pons), and then cast their vows under the gaze of the officiating magistrate.65 (Pis 11:12, 4138). With the decline of the Republic, meetings were increasingly interrupted, and the Temple and its Rostra witnessed many important events in Roman history. Thus, in 62, as tribune, Cato was involved in a brawl on the rostrum when he violently tried to prevent Metellus Nepos from reading an account to the people. In 59, Caesar put his first land bill to a vote, but while speaking from the lower platform, his political opponent and fellow consul, Bibulus, meddled with a band of ruffians.

THE ROMAN YEAR

at the top of the dais where he attempted to speak out against Caesar: however, he was pushed down the stairs and his fascia was torn. It was here that Clodius introduced his legislation in 58 amid growing unrest. At one point, the temple doors were removed and the steps destroyed as he and his followers apparently tried to protect themselves against attack. In 57 Sestio, supporting with Milo the proposals for the return of Cicero from exile, entered the temple to inform the consul of unfavorable omens. He was attacked by Clodius' thugs and left on the ground to die. But unlike such popular demonstrations, the temple was also used for more dignified assemblies, since the Senate often met there. faithfully every January 27, we don't know. Feriae Conceptivae Sementivae or Paganalia A sowing festival (Sementivae) that takes place on a mobile date is described by Ovid as January 24-26. His account suggests that he thought it identical with Paganalia, although Varro's brief note may imply two festivals. However, the Sementivae may have originally been celebrated by the various parishes (pagi). Although the main planting season was from autumn to early December, spring planting was normal for some crops (spring wheat, spring wheat, and some sorghum and legumes). Thus, the festival may have sought to ensure divine protection for the seed already sown and for the one soon to be sown. It took place over two days, with a seven-day interval between them. of growth, in the second. The offerings consisted of a spelled cake and a pregnant sow. Oxen used for plowing were festooned with garlands and prayers were said to protect the seed from birds, beasts, and disease, while vibrators may have been hung from trees, as in the Latin festival (p. 113). . The first known temple of Ceres was built in 493 BC. dedicated on the Aventine after a famine three years earlier, while Tellus had to wait until he was sworn in and erected on the Esquiline in 268, but as his cult was so ancient, the temple probably stood on the site of a cult center much older (see December 13). In fact, Varro places the dramatic scene of his treatise on agriculture in the temple of Tellus, where he was spending the feast of the seed* with some friends in the manner of his father and his grandfather."68

FEBRUARY

February February was the last month of the year in the ancient calendar, as Ovid points out: qui sequitur Ianum, veterisfuit ultimus anni. Farmer's almanac (menology) Record: 28 days in February None on day 5 Daylight: 103 hours Darkness: 13 hours AV Sun in Aquarius Protection: Neptune Weeding Cornfield Cultivate the part of the vine that is above the ground Burn reeds Parentalia Lupercalia Cara Cognatio Terminalia The official of the the beginning of spring was noticed on February 5 (Varro) and the fields required a lot of attention: the meadows and cornfields were cleared (purguntur: Columella) and cleared; manicured vineyards; excavation and planting completed; Supporting willows and other trees were pruned; some spring maize was planted, and olive and fruit trees were generally cared for.69 The early Romans felt that this turning point of the year, with its promise of a new birth after hibernation, had to be approached with caution. . Hard work alone was not enough: the peasants had to count on the favor of the powers that controlled the fertility of the land. The past must not be forgotten either: the dead ancestors, who rested on the earth like the seed, must be remembered and atoned for. Thus the entire community, living and dead, must be prepared for a new beginning; A celebratory mood should follow the more joyous winter festivals. The name Februarius derives from februa (cf. also februutn), "cleanser" or "atonement"; according to Vznofehrum it was a Sabine word corresponding to the Latin purgamentum. Ovid, who says that the first Romans gave the name februa to piamina ('purification instruments'), gives examples of the meaning that has come down to his days, which in the language of the ancients was februm. of this ceremony, unless it is intended to be

THE ROMAN YEAR

along with Varro's statement that when the king proclaimed the monthly festivals on the ninth (5) February, he proclaimed a febmatus day; but Varro's remark* is connected with Lupercalia, and it is not clear whether this febmatus refers to that festival or to the day of the announcement. Ovid's second example is that "in sweeping houses, the roasted spelt and the salt given to the officer (lictor) as a means of cleansing (purgamine) receive the same name." Here Ovid is probably referring only to the common practice of cleaning up a common house after a death has occurred and the body has been removed. He would then sweep the house with a broom, almost certainly in the early days, to get rid of the spirit of the deceased, a common practice found among the Eskimos and early Germany, for example. Paul suggests that the sweeper (everriator) was the heir himself, but Ovid calls him a lictor, presumably a lictor of the jlatnen dialis. He ordered the cleaning of all private houses after death, while the actual cleaning was delegated to his lictor, or perhaps later to the heir. Ovid's third example of the meaning of Offebrua is that the name was given to the 'branch' which, cut from a clean tree, wraps its leaves around the sacred foreheads of the priests. I even saw Jlamen's wife (flaminica) ask about the fever; she at his request she received a pine branch \ Ovid concludes that the month is named after these things "because the Luperkers clean the whole floor with strips of leather, which are their cleaning instruments". This famous Lupercalia ceremony, aimed primarily at promoting female fertility, was in part an act of purification. But this and the other purification festivals in February must be seen in the Roman context. They were not the expression of repentance by a sin-conscious community urged on by an Old Testament prophet. Rather, they were realistically designed to ward off bad influences, to correct inadvertent omissions or omissions that might offend the gods; avoid future problems and generate future well-being. At the turn of the year, a clean slate must be made and good relations with the spirit world must be ensured: then everything will be fine and the processes of the natural world will continue their course. February 1st

CAL. VEF.

norte

lunoni Sospitae Matre Reginae (Ant. May.) Ovid informs that "a principio de mes Sospita, la vecina de la diosa madre Frigia, habría sido honrada con nuevos honoras

FEBRUARY

sanctuaries If you ask where the temples dedicated to the Goddess are now in these kalends, they have collapsed with the passage of time” (F.2.55^8). Livy reports that C. Cornelius Cethegus in 197 B.C. swore a temple to Sospita (savior) Juno during a battle against the Insubrian Gauls and that he dedicated a temple to Juno Matuta in the vegetable market (holitorio) in 194. The issue is further complicated by Ovid's statement that the temple of Juno was close to that of the Mother Goddess, which was located on Palatine Hill. Perhaps Livy and Ovid are wrong: Livy was simply wrong to refer to Matuta in the second passage, while Ovid mistook the Palatinate Mater Magna for Mater Matuta in the Forum Boarium near the Holitorium. Alternatively, we might assume that Juno Sospita had a temple on the Holitorian Forum and another (of which nothing else is known) on Palatine Hill. In the Holitorio Forum, under the church of S. Nicola in Carcere, remains of three temples are preserved, and the southernmost is usually identified with that of Juno Sospita; however, it cannot be the temple mentioned by Ovid, as it had disappeared before the poet's time, but it could be the temple promised by Cethegus (if it was in the Forum Holitorium at all). L. Julius, consul, built a temple of Juno Sospita in 90 BC. restored following a dream of Cecilia, daughter of Metellus Balearicus, who informed the Senate that she had dreamed that the temple had been desecrated.72 (Pis 13:14). Juno Sospita (originally Seispita) was particularly revered in the Latin city of Lanuvium. When the Romans in 338 B.C. Granted Roman citizenship to Lanuvium in BC, they officially adopted the cult of Juno there; she came under the control of the popes, and the Roman consuls had to make an annual sacrifice to her at Lanuvium. She is depicted on many Republican and Imperial coins, as well as Imperial statues and reliefs. She wore a goatskin head and horns tucked into a helmet on her head. She carried a spear and shield and wore turned-down shoes on her toes. Sometimes a snake rises in front of her. As her full title Juno Sospita Mater Regina suggests, her character was complex. Her type may have been influenced by that of Athena Polias, while the inverted shoes suggest that the cult reached Latium via Etruria. When she came to Rome we don't know: Juno was naturally a member of the Capitoline Triad, while Juno Regina was given a temple on the Aventine in 392. At Lanuvium, blindfolded girls entered their sacred grove every year and brought back barley. as a gift. cake for a snake that lives there; If the offerings were accepted, the girls would be virgins and the fertility of the year would be assured. Thus, Juno may have originally been a fertility goddess, who later assumed martial attributes as protector of the city73 (Pis 4012, 13).

THE ROMAN YEAR

(Helerna) Ovid says that on February 1st Helernus's grove was full of worshipers and "the popes still offer sacrifices" (sacra ferunt). The name of the god is uncertain: some Ovid's manuscripts give Avernos, while Festus (s.v.fwvum) records that a black ox was sacrificed to A(e)terno, where perhaps we should read Elemo; If so, Elernus may have been one of the first gods of the underworld. His grove might have been on the Tiber below the Palatine.74

February 5th

NO . FEB.

norte

Concordiae in Capitolio (Ant. May.) Concordiae in Arce (Praen.) Praetor L. Manlius promised a temple to Concord after 218 B.C. he had put down a mutiny of his troops in Cisalpine Gaul and dedicated it two years later. Probably situated on the east side of the Capitol, it overlooked the great temple promised by Camillus, which stood in the forum below.75 We are now entering two weeks of activity. In addition to the small cult of Fauno on the 13th, the Fornacalia must have begun, which ended on the 17th; the Parentalia began on the 13th and lasted until the 21st or 22nd. The Lupercalia came on the 15th and the Quirinalia on the 17th. The end of Parentalia was followed by three more festivals in quick succession: Terminalia (23), Regifugium (24), and Equirria (27).

February 13th

I WOULD GO . FEB.

public notary

Faunus on Insula Faunus was essentially a deity of the earth and farmers. A winter festival was held in his honor on December 5, which is described below (p. 201). In 196 BC However, around 300 BC. C., the aediles used the money from the fines imposed on the defaulting peasants of the public lands (pecuarii) to build a temple to Faunus on the Tiberina island. It was inaugurated two years later, but no trace of it remains. Judging by the lack of evidence, this attempt to urbanize a rural cult was not very successful; he did not "intervene" in the city, and Faunus remained mainly a wild spirit of the country, where his winter festival at the Pagi continued to be celebrated with dances and banquets.76

FEBRUARY

Feriae Conceptivae (Fornacalia) (ended on February 17) The "Festival of the Ovens" (Fornacalia) was a mobile festival of the Curia. These were thirty primitive divisions of the Roman people, originally probably composed of neighboring families; They formed the basis of early political and military organization. Each Curia had a Chief (Curio) and its own Jlamen, and the whole group was under the direction of a Curio Maximus; These officers were laymen, not priests, although they performed religious duties. Each curia had its own assembly hall where members gathered on feast days to celebrate together. This practice was still followed in the time of Augustus, when Dionysius of Halicarnassus reports (2:23) that he himself saw humble sacrifices and "meals served before the gods on old wooden tables, in baskets, and in little earthenware bowls made of barley". —bread, cakes, and spelt, with scoops of some fruit...simple, frugal, and no vulgar descriptions.* He was greatly impressed by the preservation of this archaic simplicity, and by the fact that the libation wine was presented in little cups and earthen jars, and not in silver or gold vessels. Festus (82L) reports that the festival was introduced for the purpose of spelt roasting (Far), as a sacrifice was usually made in the oven (Fornax) found in every home or they would bake their bread at home and then take it to eating together, or cakes were baked in the central building of each curia, the latter A new practice, possibly dating to very ancient times when neighbors shared a common oven, is perhaps more likely. (Figure 16). Every year until Ovid's day (d. 2527), the Curio Maximus proclaimed in a fixed verbal formula the time for the celebration of this mobile festival, and fixed separate notices for each curia in the forum, perhaps marking the place in the forum. that everyone should meet. for the final meeting. But those who did not know their own Curia or forgot their meeting could consider themselves saints in a general assembly of the thirty Curiae, which was held on the 17th, Quirinal Day, known as the Feast of Fools (Feria stultorum). Although Dionysius (2:50) tells us that the Curia tablets were dedicated to Juno Curitis, the Fornacalia does not seem to have been made in honor of any of the major deities, as a furnace goddess (Fornax) was later invented. ; she protected the corn from burning. Although cakes were offered to Mars from afar in the shady city of Iguvium as an agricultural deity, he cannot be directly linked to the Roman Fornacalia, which may well have been an agricultural festival: Ovid (F.2 525) the Happy the peasants (coloni) prayed to Fornax.

THE ROMAN YEAR

February 13th

I WOULD GO. FEB.

NP Diesreligiosus

[Kinship begins] (Fern.) Kinship begins at the grave (Silv.) The Birth of the Vestal Virgin (Phil.) February 21

ix KAL. MARKET.

F(Ant. May; Maff.) FP (Ca.; Ven.) Religious label

FERULIA 22. February

vm Kal. MARTE

Caristia These three festivals Parentalia, Feralia and Caristia are closely related. A period of appeasement of the dead (placandis Manibus) began around the sixth hour of February 13 and lasted until the 21st (Feralia) or 22nd (Caristia or Cara Cognatio). By the 21st, all the temples were closed, no fire was lit on the altars, marriages were prohibited, and the judges removed their insignia. However, only the Feralia on the 21st was a folk festival. The days of Parentalia comprised one of two annual festivals honoring the dead and were perhaps not as ancient as those of Lemuria, which took place from May 9 to 13, when each day was marked with an N on the calendars, while that the parents were not and the Feralia were part Diesfestus (21 was marked F on some calendars, FP on others: see p. 44). Others believe in the antiquity of parentage, tracing its origins to the private rites of individual families. with respect and love, they fulfilled their duties to their dead friends, ensuring their mutual well-being. The atmosphere was one of sweet reunion and vacation. While the dead were buried outside the city, groups of mourners would go out to visit the graves of their families and perform their private sacras there. The offerings used to be simple: “A tile adorned with votive garlands, a sprinkling of corn, a few grains of salt, bread soaked in wine, and a few loose violets are sufficient offerings; put them in a helmet and leave them in the middle of the road”, that is, near the tombs that line the streets (Ovid, F.2. 537ff.). The commemoration was mainly for the deceased relatives and especially for the parents and not for the dead as a whole. So, in a letter that can

FEBRUARY

Well, be honest, Cornelia rebuked her revolutionary son Gaius Gracchus: When I die you will sacrifice me (parentabis) and invoke Father God. Will you not be ashamed then to ask for the prayers of the gods that you have abandoned and abandoned in your life? 78 While many Romans could arguably simply celebrate the actual anniversary of their parents' death at home (birthdays were considered important anyway), they were happy to pay their respects at a communal gravesite event, and on days of parentage reflect a pleasant facet. of Roman life. On the first day of Parentalia, a Vestal Virgin (presumably the Greater Vestal Virgin) performed ceremonies in honor of the dead (parentat) as recorded in the Philocalus calendar. Since Tarpeia, who according to legend had betrayed the Capitol to the Sabine women, was thought to be a vestal virgin and annual libations were offered to her restless spirit at her tomb on the Capitol, this attempt to place her spirit in Parentalia might have been fact, but this Conjecture is far from certain.79 The Parentalia culminated in Feralia on the 21st. According to Varro, the name derives from the infernal forces (inferi) and from ferre "to carry", since offerings were brought to the grave . Festus derives the name from ferre or ferere, "to strike" because sheep were sacrificed to the dead. In contrast to family visits to graves, Ovid describes the spell cast by an old hag on the day of Feralia. little to no actual connection to Feralia, but they can be described here as they well illustrate how witchcraft survived until Ovid's day. They were celebrated, according to the poet, in honor of Tacita (the silent goddess), later called Muta (the silent goddess) and identified with the mother of houses. An old witch, sitting among some girls, “with three fingers placed three bundles of incense under the threshold where the little mouse made a secret path. She then draws magic threads with dark lead and mutters seven black beans into her mouth; and she roasts the head of a little fish over the fire, sews it up, wraps it in pitch, and pierces it with a bronze needle from end to end. She throws wine at him! She and her companions then drink what's left of the wine, and as she drunkenly walks away, she says, "We have bound hostile tongues and hostile mouths." The purpose of the spell would have been to silence the enemies and prevent them from cursing the people on whose behalf the rite was being performed. Very different were the celebrations of the following day, the 22nd, the Caristia or Cara Cognatio (Dear Member). After establishing a good

THE ROMAN YEAR

relationships with the dead, it was now up to the living family members to rebuild their ties and mend their differences. The name of the day comes from dear relatives (cari). The age of the custom is uncertain. It seems to be such a natural evolution of parentalia that its age would be reasonable, although some scholars favor a somewhat later origin. A family dinner was held, to which each made his own contribution, and crowds of relatives came to meet the family gods (socios deos), hostile or guilty members being expelled. Worship was offered to the Lares: “Give incense to the family gods (disgeneris), O virtuous ones. . . and offers food so that the Lares, with their tight garments, eat from the source that is offered to them as a pledge of the homage they love” (Ovidio, F.2, 63 Iss.). In each house there were photographs of the family or home, and many representations of these survive. Lar is usually a standing or dancing young male figure, wearing a short robe tied at the waist: he is shown pouring wine from a horn into a saucer. Tibulo tells us that in ancient times the images of the Lares were carved in wood and placed in wooden shrines, and that they were offered grapes, corn, honeycomb and cakes; Other offerings included wine, incense, flowers, and even pigs. This beautiful festival of family love* continued to be celebrated in Christian times and was transformed by the Catholic Church into a festival of Saint Peter (Cátedra Petri), which was celebrated on February 22 at least until the 12th century AD. 81 (figure 15).

February 15

cal. MARTE.

religious day NP

LUPERCALIA Thanks to the offering of a crown from Marco Antonio to Julio César in the celebration of Lupercalia in 44 a. According to Shakespeare, this is one of the most famous Roman holidays. It was also one of the longest-lasting: it arose in the uncertain spiritual world of prehistory and lasted until its final suppression in AD 494. C. by Pope Gelasio I, who turned it into the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin Mary. The outlines of its ritual are known, but despite much research and speculation, little certainty has been reached as to the meaning of its inner meaning. The priesthood comprised two colleges: the Luperci Quinctiales (or Quintilii) and the Luperci Fabiani (or Fabii), each of which is believed to have been founded by Romulus and Remus. A third college, the Julius, was founded in 45 BC. Founded in honor of Julius Caesar with Antony as its head, it did not survive long after his death. On February 15, the priests of the two colleges met at Lupercal, at the southwest foot of the Palatine: it was

FEBRUARY

a sacred cave where traditionally the wolf nursed Romulus and Remus in the shade of the fig tree that chewed the cud. At the end of the Republic, the cave with its bubbling spring was still intact, but the surrounding oak grove gave way to buildings and the Ficus Ruminalis was (magically) transferred to the Forum. The ceremony began with the sacrifice of goats and a dog (unusual sacrifices) and the offering of sacred cakes prepared by the Vestal Virgins: the Mola sauce was made with the first ears of corn from the previous harvest (two batches had been used earlier in Vestalia). in June and the Ides in September). Then some of the Luperci smeared the foreheads of two young men from good families (the team leaders?), which made the young men laugh. Then the Luperkers cut the goatskins into strips, with which they girded themselves; They then enjoyed what appeared to be a boisterous party. After this, the Luperci, naked except for their goatskins, ran wild in two groups around a circuit of the Lupercal, beating with leather thongs any onlookers, especially women, who approached them. Their route is uncertain: they originally circled the Palatine, later in Caesar's time perhaps only part of it, walking up and down the Via Sacra. Amid a plethora of speculative hypotheses, perhaps the most satisfying explanation for the ceremony is that it was a rite of fertility magic combined with purification and crossing the boundaries of the old Palatinate settlement. It would be inappropriate to go into too much detail here, as the Romans themselves obviously did not understand their original meaning and were unsure which god the Luperci served (a 'Lupercus' god was just an Augustan period invention): probably because the rites they reverted to a pre-tropomorphic animistic stage of development. According to Ovid, the god was Faunus, who ruled over forests and cattle, but Livy called the god Inuus (if not a precursive word, could it mean Goer-in, the god of intercourse?); both deities were identified with Pan. Livy and others asserted that the cult of Evander was imported from Arcadia long before the days of Romulus, but this opinion is based on a false comparison with the cult of Zeus Lycaeos in Arcadia. The etymology of the word Lupercus remains uncertain; If the explanation of luere per caprum, "to clean for a goat," is excluded, a connection with lupus, wolf, is almost certain. The derivation of lupus and arcere, "he who drives away wolves," is attractive as an explanation for a shepherd's festival, but the etymology is dubious. A derivation of lupus-hircus and "wolf goat" may help explain the two abilities

THE ROMAN YEAR

originally related to an animal (others would explain the duality as a fusion of two primitive groups, one serving the Palatine and the other the Quirinal). Some have thought that Lupercus is just an accentuated form of Lupus (cf. noverca, 'a new mother', i.e. a stepmother). But even if "wolf" is the root of the word, the meaning remains unclear: were the Luperci protectors of wolves, or werewolves who took the form of wolves they could control? It has even been suggested that the dead were shown in the form of wolves against which the community had to defend itself (the Lupercalia actually fell in the midst of the Parentalia when the dead were appeased). Still others, abandoned by wolves, see the ceremony as a fertility rite, in which the flogging promoted the fertility of the woman: the goat was known for her sexual power. But most of the theories meet with one or the other objection: e.g. The priests wore goat skins, not wolf skins, while any passerby, male or female, could be struck by the running priests. But whatever the origins, by Caesar's time the annual ceremony had become a spectacular public spectacle, with young men running through the streets playfully and wildly (per lusum atque lasciviam; Titus Livy), and those who bothered to think in it, its importance can be believed. that helped purify and protect the city, even favoring the fertility of the population. Thus an early pastoral rite was adapted for urban use and provided an emotional public occasion that drew large crowds. Antony chose an emotionally charged moment to appeal to the crowd to celebrate Caesar as king.82 February 17

KAL

. MARTE.

religious day NP

QUIRINALIA Quirinus in Colle (Caer.) In addition to the Lupercalia, a second festival was celebrated in the Parentalia period, the Quirinalia, and as it was celebrated on the last day of Fornacalia it was also known as Stultorum Feriae (see p. 73). . Quirinus was the god of the first Sabine settlements on the Quirinal Hill before merging with the people of the Palatine Hill in Rome. He later identified himself with Rómulo when the latter suffered an apotheosis, thus linking the two mountain communities. The meaning of the name Quirino is uncertain, but it is most likely derived from co-viri-no, "the god of the assembly of men", which links it with Quirites, the name denoting the Roman people in its civil capacity.83 Some writers (for example, Dion. Hal. 2., 48, 2) regarded Quirinius as a god of war (whether identified with Mars or not) and had his salii collini corresponding to the salii palatini (armed priests) of Mars.

FEBRUARY

The fact that he and Mars had separate individual famines and that he was later nominally closely associated with Roman civilians casts some doubt on this view. However, it may be that he was the god of war of the Sabine settlement (although some even deny his original Sabine connection) and that when the Quirinal and Palatine peoples merged, he was seen as the guardian of the entire settlement. .84 his cult companion was Hora, who was thought to be his wife, but originally may have been one of his own qualities, perhaps connoting power (cf. Virites Quirini). He was closely associated with other gods: in early cults he was grouped with Jupiter and Mars, and was invoked alongside them and Janus in prayer: "Jane, Iupiter, Mars pater, Quirine." Thefamen Quirinalis ranked third among the three great famines (after Dialis and Martialis), but served other deities alongside Quirinus, such as Consus and Robigo, at their annual festivals. (Figure 40l5). Quirinius had an archaic sanctuary on the Quirinal, but his temple was not mortgaged until 325 and was not consecrated until 293; perhaps it was built closer than on the site of the sanctuary85. In front of the temple grew two myrtle trees, one called patrician, the other commoner; after the social war of 90-89 B.C. It is said that the first withered and the second flourished. 86 Little is known of the Quirinalia ritual, but the festival may have been well promoted in the late Republic: most Roman citizens must have known that they were Quirites and presumably under the protection of Quirinus. * stood, because Julius Caesar nipped a mutiny in the bud by disparagingly calling his soldiers Quirites ("civilians"), while the Senate erected a statue to Caesar in 45 and 'the unconquered god' in the temple of Quirinus, the four years had previously been destroyed by lightning. February 21st

(see p. 74 above)

February 22

(see p. 74 above)

23 of February

I saw Kal. MARKET.

public notary

TERMINALIA The cult of Terminus, god of the frontiers, was traditionally established by Numa, during whose time a public festival may have been established to match the early private cult of peasants to the spirit (numen?) that dwelt in their cairns. Terminus had an unhewn stone sanctuary on the Capitol, and the story was told while Tarquin was building the new temple to Jupiter, the gods of others.

THE ROMAN YEAR

the shrines there happily freed up the land for the new temple, but Terminus refused to move; Therefore, the sanctuary of him was allowed to survive in Jupiter's cell under an opening in the roof, since Terminus had to receive sacrifices in the open air. Thus Terminus was associated with Jupiter, while an ancient law attributed to Numa forbade the removal of cairns (qui terminum exarasset, et ipsum et boves sacros esse) (Festus 505 L; cf. the inscription under the Lapis Niger); whoever removed such stones was cursed (sacer). We do not know what exact boundary the Capitoline Stone marked: a demarcation between the early settlements of the Palatine and the Quirinal might not have run along a ridge, as Wissowa observed.87 The gromatist Siculus Flaccus describes the ritual by which cairns were the first marked were planted:88 the blood and ashes of a sacrificial offering, together with the fruits of the earth, honey and wine, were placed in a hole by the owners of the converging fields and covered with a stone or a stump of wood. . This original ceremony was reflected in the annual Terminalia ritual on February 23, of which Ovid gives a pleasing picture. Each hacendado decorated his side of the stone and built an altar; While the farmer's wife carries the fire to the fireplace, the old man chops wood and prepares the fire. A little boy throws corn from a basket into the fire three times, and a little daughter presents honeycombs; others offer wine. The rest of the company, dressed in white, watches in silence (Unguis Candida turbafavet). The stone is then sprinkled with the blood of a lamb or piglet (although Plutarch says (erroneously?) that the sacrifice was originally bloodless).89 A feast follows, and songs are sung in praise of the holy (sanctus) Terminus. . Such sacrifices on choice stones (termini sacrificiales) clearly date back to very early times of animistic belief, when stones were considered the dwelling places of empty spirits (numina?); They continued into historical times and no doubt helped foster closeness and control those strong feelings of "territory" that man had inherited from his animal past. However, along with these primitive customs of the country, there was at least one public festival: Ovid refers to the annual sacrifice of a sheep at Rome's sixth milestone along the Via Laurentina, which marked the boundary between the early Romans. and the Laurentians. These points were evidently not forgotten: Trajan replaced some rotten wooden stumps with stones on the road to Ostia, just like Hadrian in Campania, describing them as terminus primus, terminus secundus, etc.90

FEBRUARY

February, 24

we CAL. MARCH.

norte

REGIFUGIUM Cum Tarquinius Superbus fertur ab urbe expulus (Silv.) The old Roman year ended on February 23, after which a period of lighting could follow. The discovery of Major Fasti Antiates in 1921 showed that in such circumstances the Regifugus was not celebrated on February 24, but on its proper date, the sixth day before the Kalends of March, i. h during the leap month.91 As indicated by Ovid and centuries later, according to the Silvio calendar, the Romans of the Republic considered the Regifugium as a kind of Independence Day, celebrating the expulsion of the tyrant Tarquin and the founding of the Republic. However, this was certainly not its origin. The confusion arose from an entry of the letters Q.R.C.F. on the calendars for March 24 and May 24, which indicated: “Si Rex Comitiavit Fas. 'and it meant that in those days, after the Rex Sacrorum performed a ceremony in the Comitium, legal business could be transacted in the City (Fas). But a note in the Praenestino calendar recorded that the letters were often, but incorrectly, interpreted as "Quod Rex Comitio FugeriV" (that the king fled from the Comitium); the error was apparently also corrected in a distorted passage by Festus.92 However, little agreement has been reached as to the true meaning of the ceremony. The "royal flight" is probably related to the poplifugia, the "popular flight", a purification ceremony performed on July 5 (see this term) when the crowd seems to have recoiled from something cursed (sacer). Plutarch reports that the Rex Sacrorum made a sacrifice in the Comitium and then fled the Forum as fast as he could; this was apparently in the Regifugium. In Athens a festival not dissimilar was celebrated, the Bouphonia, when an ox was sacrificed to Zeus (the word phonos could be used to mean killing a man, murder); the priest, called Matador de Toros, threw the ax and fled, and the guilty ax itself was 'judged' in court.93 The sacrifice in the Regifugium was also accompanied by a sense of guilt, but it was precisely a happy Coto hunting ground for anthropologists. There doesn't seem to be much evidence that the victim was a tainted scapegoat that needs to be dealt with quickly; on the contrary, perhaps the victim was considered sacred in some way and therefore killed as some kind of murder. Sir James Frazer has suggested that since the Regifugium of February 24 was followed by the intervening month, the Rex in question was an interim king during that intervening period when the royal king's powers were temporarily suspended (i.e. something like the false king of the Saturnalia) .94

THE ROMAN YEAR

However, since Festus mentions that the Salii participated in the sacrifice with the rex, the ceremony also became associated with warfare. But in truth we elude its true meaning, though no doubt the later Romans who celebrated it had its res publica in mind. It would be interesting to know if Brutus and Cassius died on February 24, 44 BC. commemorated the festival shortly after the events of Lupercalia. February 27

a CAL. MARTE.

public notary

EQUIRRIA It was a festival of horse racing, traditionally instituted by Romulus and held in honor of Mars on the Field of Mars, or if it was flooded, on the open land of Caelius Hill. It is not known if cars were involved. The location on Campus Martius could be the Trigarium on its west side.95 Another day of racing was held on March 14, but we do not know why these two Equirria were so close together. In any case, Mars was honored twice, once before the start of his own month, and spring was the time to prepare for the campaigning season and train the horses out of hibernation. Feriae Conceptivae (Amhurbium) February, as we have seen, was a month of purification and therefore a purification ceremony for the city as a whole could be expected. This was the Amburbium, which was a movable festival, but apparently held in February: anyway, it was placed here by Macrobius (1.13.3), who says that King Numa ordered the city to be polished in February, and the offered. to Victim Di Manes. The rites were probably similar to the better known "walking the field boundaries" at Ambarvalia in May (see p. 124). Servius (adEel 3,77) only says that the rite was called that way because the sacrifice passed through the city (circuito urbem no ambit Victim). Probably a pig, sheep, and ox were displayed in procession around the city limits (pomerium?) and then sacrificed with prayers to purify and bless all within the sacred circle. Since we know little of the ceremony, its celebration may have become somewhat irregular (although the Romans did not lightly abandon any of their traditional practices): in any case, the two occasions of its celebration mentioned in the sources refer to moments of crisis. When Caesar 49 B.C. The senatorial government of Rome, according to the poet Lucan (5.584 ss.), sent by an Etruscan

FEBRUARY

I guess he advised that "the frightened citizens march around the city (urbem ambiri), and the popes authorized to perform the ceremony purify the walls with solemn purification and encircle the outer limit of the long pomerium." They would be followed by a procession of minor priests dressed in the Gabinian manner (that is, with the toga arranged leaving the arms free, the manner of dress on certain religious occasions, as originally on Gabii), the Vestals, the Vestals, the College of Fifteen (Quindecimviri), the Augures and others, with the Salii and a Jlamen bringing up the rear. An ox was slaughtered, but its entrails, when examined, foretold disaster and civil war. Lucan is clearly describing some kind of amburio, either a special one that existed in 1949 or simply a figment of his poetic imagination. The ceremony was still observed until AD 271. C., when, according to Scriptores Historiae Augustae (Aurel. 20.3), in a moment of national danger, on January 11, the Books of Fate (the Sibylline Oracles) were consulted: The city would be purified, hymns sung, the Ambúrbium celebrated and proclaimed the Ambarvalia (lustrata urbs, cantata carmina, Ambúrbium celebratum, Ambarvalia promissa). Amburbium at Iguvium The surviving account of the purification of the Umbrian city of Iguvium (present-day Gubbio) sheds much light on the spirit, if not the details, of the Amburbium in Rome in its early days.96 The famous Iguvine bronze tablets for detail the To record the procedures to be followed by the local priesthood, a body of twelve Fratres Atiedii. Some points of this liturgy can be cited. A procession passed through the city; at each of the gates, "the officer with the herald's staff" three times orders members of four potentially hostile tribes (one of which is Etruscan) to leave; if they are not caught and they are not, "they must be taken where they must be taken, and suffer what they must suffer" (their precise, no doubt terrible, fate is not mentioned). At each gate, offerings followed the observance of omens: “So begin the ceremony by observing the birds, those in front and those behind. Presenting grain offerings, putting ribs on a plate, offering offerings with wine or mead, Frisian mountain, Iguvium state. Pray in whispers over each (portion) with (offerings) of fat and grain. Other sacrifices of various kinds were made at the other gates. When the people were to be polished, they were ordered to "organize themselves into priestly and military ranks"; then they did the circuit three times. Prayers were said against the enemies of the state and even longer curses were invoked. Two curious properties deserve mention. Three heifers were chased through the city;

THE ROMAN YEAR

When they were captured, they were sacrificed to Tursa Jovia. Then, in the procession itself, a sheep was carried away in a kind of coffin; At the place of sacrifice, a two-story frame was somehow erected around the cage, fastened with nails or bronze clamps. This device is particularly interesting because in modern times, on May 15, a ceremony called Ascension of Ceri takes place in Gubbio, in which three teams of Ceri go through the city. A cero is a twelve foot tall wooden structure with a marked 'waist' and the figure of a saint on top. It bears a suspicious resemblance to the appearance of the ornate sheep cage. The ceremony is secular but sponsored by the bishop of the diocese. Regardless of what one may think about the possibility of a direct connection, at least the indefatigable energy and enthusiasm of the Ceri bearers may reflect the devotion of the ancient Iguvini, whose rites ended in feasting and "jumping."

March March, which may date to around 153 B.C. It was the first month of the Roman year and one of the few to bear the name of a god. It marked the awakening of nature from its hibernation, a renewal of energy and fertility for plants, animals and the face. Mars, the main Roman god next to Jupiter, was a god of war, but also much more. Thus, one of the prayers for the benefit of the peasants that Cato the Elder gives in his book on agriculture (142) is addressed to Mars: "Father Mars, I beg and beseech you, to me, to our house and to our family, kind and benevolent, for whom I have ordered pigs, sheep and oxen to be brought as an offering in my field, land and yard, so that you prevent, protect and protect visible and invisible diseases, sterility and avoid waste, accidents and diseases. bad waters, that you want to make the harvest and the fruit of the earth grow and prosper, the vines and the bushes, keep the shepherds and their flocks safe, and give prosperity to me and to our house and our family. and health.' Thus, Mars was considered the protector of the earth and the harvest. We don't know how that happened. He could have been a god of war whose functions extended to protecting the lands of his worshipers from spiritual and human forces, or a protector of the fields, expanding his sphere of action to help against physical attacks, or even a somewhat vague but powerful god after a people whose main occupations were agriculture and warfare. Whatever his origins, in later times Mars was clearly much more than a god of war, and was appropriately worshiped in the month of nature's renewal, when Roman farmers had to think about cultivating and protecting their land. .

MARCH

Guerra.97 The rustic March calendar told the peasant that the month “had 31 days, the ninth being the 7th; 12 hours in the day and 12 at night, with the equinox on the 25th and the Sun in Pisces. Minerva is the protector. She supports and prunes the vines into prepared soil. She sows spring wheat (quarters). A sacred rite for Mamurius. Liberality. Fifteen'. March 1st

KAL

. MARTE.

religious day NP

Feriae Marti Junoni Lucinae Exquiliis quod eo die aedis ei dedicata est per matronas quam voverat Albin pfiliajvel uxor (Praen.) This ancient New Year was marked by a feast to Mars, taking into account the interests of women in the cult of Juno Lucina and the so-called Matronalia. It was a day of renewal as the sacred fire was tended in the hearth of the Temple of Vesta and new laurels were grown in the Regia, in the Houses of the Hungry and in the Curiae Veteres (the former center of the Curia, which was later believed to be northwest of Palatine Hill, near the later Arch of Constantine). This practice probably dates back to the early days of Rome, when the Rex, with the hungry and vestal virgins (his titular sons and daughters), fulfilled this religious duty in the aforementioned buildings98. It was also related to Mars, to whom the laurel was considered sacred: Two laurels grew in the courtyard of the Regia where her sanctuary (sacrarium) was located. (Pis 17, 18). The most spectacular public homage to Mars was the dance of her priests, the salii (the dancers or jumpers), who formed one of the lower priesthoods (sodales). They consisted of two groups of twelve men each, the Palatini and the Agonenses or Collini; The former were particularly dedicated to Mars Gradivus (the ancient derivation of Gradus, a degree, and therefore the god of walking, is not accepted by many modern etymologists), while the latter originally belonged to Quirinus. They must be of patrician origin, with both parents still alive when elected (Patrimi and Matrimi). His attire was military: a Pictish tunic girded in bronze with a rectangular cuirass, covered by the short military cloak with scarlet stripes and purple trim (trabea) and conical helmet (apex); They also carried swords. In the right hand they carried a spear or staff, while in the left arm they carried a sacred stern shield (ancile).99 All but one of these shields preserved in the Regia were copies of the original shield, the , of later legend. it fell from heaven as a gift from Jupiter to Numa; The king feared that it might be stolen, and the blacksmith Mamurius (? Mars, but an Etruscan name) made other identical shields to confuse would-be thieves. On March 1, the Salii (weapon

THE ROMAN YEAR

ancilia moventur) in the first of their processions through the city in a kind of ritual warrior dance, striking their shields with their swords and stopping at certain places to perform elaborate dances to the sound of a flute and sing their old Carmen Saliare. Since this hymn was already incomprehensible to the priests themselves at the end of the Republic, the surviving fragments may mean little to us, but they do show that Mars was not the only deity addressed by him. At night, the Salii rested in a Saliorum Mansio, where they hung up their weapons and feasted; also good, because Horace (Od. 1.37.2) speaks of a festival worthy of the Salii (Salaribus dapibus) and Emperor Claudius once forgoed a dinner to join the Salii because their food and drink looked better. The festival lasted until the 24th or possibly until the end of the month, but it is possible that the processions only took place on the 1st, 9th and 23rd (Pis 19:402:16). Primitive armor (reflecting Late Bronze Age shields), ancient language, and grouping by early peoples on the two hills indicate that the ritual was very ancient. Sounds a lot like preparation for war and the season of campaigning, but Sir James Frazer thought that it was not essentially a war dance, but rather that the clash of arms represented an attempt to drive away evil spirits of all kinds: its aim was concentrating the demons for transfer to a human scapegoat (see below on March 14), and second, dancing and jumping would stimulate the growth of corn through sympathetic magic. A very early apotropaic magical ceremony may have been converted for military purposes, and some idea of the earliest dances can be gleaned from the figures on an 8th-century bronze urn by Byzensius at Lake Bolsena (indeed, the salii are famous in addition to Rome itself in many other cities of Lazio). In historic times their procession must have been a colorful feature of the March on Rome, with members of the nobility dancing through the streets. But it was still a religious ceremony that could be taken very seriously. As a Roman army in 190 B.C. About to cross the Hellespont to face Antiochus the Great, Scipio Africanus refused to move for a month because he was a Salic priest and during Holy Days (dies religiosi) when the Ancilia were brought in procession. in Rome, any Salian who was absent had to remain where he was. (Figure 20). March 1 was also the anniversary (dies natalis) of the Temple of Juno Lucina on the Esquiline (near the church of S. Prassede in Cispius), but although the building is no older than 375 B.C. BC, she stood in a grove (lucus) sacred to the goddess for a long time, but her title Lucina probably derives neither from lucus nor luna (the moon) but from lux (light), since she is primarily the goddess. goddess of women and childbirth was and

MARCH

presided over the birth of the baby. Women participating in her cult were required to break down and untie all the knots on her dress: nothing, even symbolic, should prevent a safe delivery. Furthermore, Servius Tullius is said to have ordered a coin to be deposited in his temple for each birth to document population growth. The grove was famous for two lotus trees of great antiquity: in the oldest (called Capillata) the Vestal Virgins hung offerings from their hair. A late legend relates how Juno became the mother of Mars and that the child was born on March 1: in fact, the late Philocalus calendar marks this day as N. Mortis, the birthday of Mars.101 The First (calendar) day of every June was sacred to Juno, especially the Kalends of March, when it was customary for husbands to pray for the health of their wives and give them gifts, while the wives received their slaves and served their food; the day was officially called Matronalia. Gift-giving seems to have been widespread and is frequently mentioned in Latin literature. Thus Plautus refers to a husband who is awakened before cockcrow by his wife asking him for money for a gift for his mother *in the calendars*. Much later, Tibullus describes how on that day the streets and houses of Rome were abuzz with people bearing gifts, and how the ladies dressed for the occasion: "Great Mars, they are your calendars, and Sulpicia dresses for you" (Sulpicia est tibi cultured Tuis, Mars Magnus, Kalendis). Two hundred years later, Tertullian complained that Christians observed both Matronalia and Saturnalia when gifts were sent and it was all play, festivity, and noise. at the ancient Altar of Mars on the Field of Mars, women going to the Temple of Juno Lucina for a women's festival or staying at home, dressed as gifts, and perhaps a general feeling of joy. 7 of March

NOT . MARKET.

(Vedijovi Artis, Vediovis inter duos lucos (Praen.) Vedi[ove] in Capitol [io] (Ant. May.) Las letters ARTIS remainen oscuras (? = AEDIS). El significado de Vediovis se discutió anteriore el 1 de enero ( S 56) Su templo en el Capitolio, probably consecrated in 192 BC, is 'between two holes', que se encuentra entre los dos picos del Capitolio (asilo) Dionysius von

THE ROMAN YEAR

Reconstruction of the Temple of Vediovis

Halicarnassus adds that Romulus also built a temple there, but he himself does not know to which deity it was dedicated. However, Ovid's association of this early place with Vediovis does not seem improbable, although some scholars believe that the poet's idea is simply an antiquarian play. Substantial remains of the temple were found in 1939 behind the Tabularium (Registry Office) under one corner of the Palacio Senatorial, along with the marble statue mentioned above (p. 57). Among the remains of this temple, which was built at the same time as the Tabularium of 78 B.C. Belonging to A.C., vestiges of a temple from the middle of the 2nd century have been found and of the even older one promised by Purpureo and also of the much older one. 7th century pottery mentioned above (p. 57).103 March 9

viii

I WOULD GO . MARS.

100 religious days

Arma ancilia moventur (Phil.) The sacred shields were carried through the city a second time by the Salians (cf. p. 85 above).

MARCH

March 14

ADJ. I WOULD GO. MARCH

public notary

EQUIRRIA Feriae Marti (Vat.) Mammalia (Phil.) Sacrum Mamurio (Rustic Calendar). February 27 was quickly followed by another horse racing festival on March 14, again in connection with preparations for the campaigning season. Since the date would contradict the custom of holding festivals on odd days of the month, it has been suggested that the Echirria March originally fell on the Ides (15) and was later shifted by a day so as not to coincide with Jupiter's festivals. collide and Anna Perenna on the 15th, but this is unlikely.104 The main problems arise from the references to Mamurius Veturius, the legendary creator of ancilia; these occur in the late Philocalus and Menology calendars, but not in the earlier calendars. Was there a separate ceremony for Mamurius, or is Mamuralia a later name for Equirria? Should Mamurius be equated with Mars or was it an Etruscan word? Did his story develop relatively late, is his name found in the Salian hymn, or are there traces of the survival of a separate ancient cult? The latter view derives from a statement by Lydus (6th century AD) that on the Ides of March (an error for the 14th century?) Mamurius: recalls the story that the blacksmith Mamurius was expelled from the city because tragedy struck the Romans. when they changed the use of the shields (Lydus is a bit confused about this, as he refers to the ancient shields not being used while only one had fallen from the sky). Furthermore, Servius reports that on a day dedicated to Mamurius, the Salii were 'pellem virgis caedunt ad artis similitudem', that is, they struck a skin as a blacksmith strikes metal, while, according to Minucius Felix, they carried shields and 'pelles caedunt' . Does this mean that they beat a man dressed in fur, and in this case Mamurius Veturius was the personification of the old year (old Mars?), so a scapegoat? But if this was an annual ritual during the Republic, it is surprising that no author mentions it, unless there is some reference in Propertius that might indicate that Mamurius was driven into hostile Ottoman territory. But amid much speculation, Mamurius remains a mystery.105

THE ROMAN YEAR

March, 15th

I WOULD GO. MARKET.

public notary

Feriae Iovi Feriae Annae Perennae via Flaminia ad lapidem primum Apparently there was nothing wrong with two festivals on the same day, in this case for Jupiter and for Anna Perenna. Anna was clearly a female personification of the year (annus), while Perenna may mean her care for the continuous succession of years, not just the beginning and end of the current year, as Macrobius says it was sacrificed to her 'ut annateperennareque dresser leak * . Her festival took place on the first full moon of the new year and she was represented to him as an old woman. Mythology identified her with Dido's sister, Anna, who arrived in Italy where she eventually fell victim to the conspiracy of Lavinia, the wife of Aeneas, but this legend, widely recounted and perhaps invented by Ovid, is based solely on identity. Of the name. while the story that she died in the river Numicus, near Rome, explained the wild implication that she was, in fact, a water nymph! Macrobius says that in March people came to make sacrifices to him both in public and in private. Her festival took place in a grove near the Tiber, at the first milestone of the Via Flaminiana (near the modern Porta del Popolo). Ovid paints a vivid picture of what he himself saw there: the people were spread out on the grass, men and women in pairs, some in tents or self-made huts, feasting and drinking as many cups of wine as they had prayed for. to live. They sang folk songs they had learned in the theater (quicquid didicere theatris) and staggered in dances. On the way home, Ovid noticed a drunken old woman dragging a drunken old man behind her. Whether Martial's obscure comment that Anna's grove "delights in virgin blood" refers to the sexual freedom of the occasion is uncertain, as is the exact relation of these general celebrations to the formal sacrifices and public prayers that Lydus says that they were offering themselves a safe marriage. The folksy side of this New Year's festival has clearly trumped the more formal: its obscure origins may have been associated with fertility rites, but it has become an uninhibited "day in the country" for an urban populace.106 16th Centuries- 17th March

xvn-xvi KAL. Abril .

a religious day

(Itur ad Argeos) (Ovid, f.3.791) A vent procession to (the sanctuaries of) Argei': These were twenty-seven tabernacles at various points within the four 'Servian' regions of Rome. The ceremony dates back to a very early stage in the growth of Rome when the city

MARCH

it did not yet include the Capitol or the Aventine. Since the dolls, known as Argei, were released into the Tiber on May 14, it's best to postpone the festive discussion to that date. March 17

xvi Kal. ABR.

public notary

LIBERALIA AGONÁLIA calendars vary. Two (Ant. mai. and Maff.) give only Liberalia, a third (Fern.) adds "Libero in Capitolio"; two (Ver. and Vat.) give Liberalia and Agonalia, while one (Caer.) gives both and adds "Libero Liberae". A Roman going out into the streets on March 17 would probably see not only the procession of the Argei, but also some old women acting as priestesses of the Liber Pater, crowned with ivy and sitting here and there around the city; They displayed cakes (liba) made of oil and honey and had small altars on which offerings were made on behalf of each customer. Liber was an ancient Italian god of fertility and especially (though perhaps not originally) of the vine. When the Greek god of wine Dionysus became known in Italy, the Romans associated him with the Liber Pater; They also occasionally connected Liber with Jupiter as Jupiter Liber (possible Latin translation of Zeus Eleutherios). He is not known to have had a temple in Rome in republican times, and his feast seems to have been quite rustic. The Caere calendar tells us that Liberalia was celebrated in honor of both Liber and his female counterpart Libera, while Augustine, after Varro, records that Liber presided over the seed of men (virorum seminibus) and Libera over that of women, and that to Accompanied by rude songs, a phallus was carried in a cart across the countryside and then escorted to the city (at Lavinium, where Liber was worshiped for a whole month after the phallus was brought to market, "a matron virtuous would be obliged to put a crown on the obscene effigy.') Augustine adds that this was done for the sake of the harvest and to keep witchcraft (fascinatio) away from the fields. In later times, the comparison with Dionysus led to Hellenization of Liber Along with Ceres, Liber and Libera were also worshiped at their most famous cult center in Rome, the 493 BC temple founded on the Aventine, venerated, the three deities corresponding to Demeter, Kore and Iacchus in the gra n cult of Eleusis (Iacchus was confused with Bacchus = Dionysus = Liber) 107 (Plate. 4017, 18). Ovidio says that on his day Liber shared the games of Ceres (Cerialia) on April 19; he suggests that there were no games in Liberalia on March 17, but that Liber had his own games in earlier times, presumably on March 17, and this view receives some support from a line by the poet Naevius,

THE ROMAN YEAR

received from Festus, "Libera lingua loquimur ludis Liberalibus". Liber in the previous month?108 On March 17, like the other three days of the year, the entry “AgonahV” appears in the calendars. As we have seen (January 9, p. 60), this probably meant a sacrifice or feast when the Rex Sacrorum sacrificed a ram in the Regia. Although we know from Macrobius that the day of Liberalia is named after the father Agonium Martiale, and from Varro that the day of Liberalia is called Agony in the books of the Salii Agonenses, it is far from certain that Mars had a part in the festival. there was Liber; a separate offering (agonium) may have been made to Mars on that day.109 A more domestic feature of March 17 was that it was the normal day for children to "come of age" (although late in the Republic and the Empire was there). were some other days). were also used). Thus says Cicero, writing to Atticus: "I intend to give Quintus his Togapura in Liberalia"; Quintus was sixteen, but that age could be any time after puberty. In this simple ceremony, the boy removes the purple-trimmed robe (praetexta) and gold trim (bula) of childhood in the presence of the images of the household gods (lares) to whom he sacrifices, and puts on a new robe that has arrived. as virilis (of masculinity) or pura (pure) because it lacked the violet border of praetexta, or libera (of freedom; whether there was a connection to Libera as a liberating god is not known). He then was escorted by his family and friends to the tabularium in the forum (deductio inforum), where he was registered as a full citizen and incorporated into a tribe. He then made another sacrifice, this time on the Capitol for Liber or Iuventus, or both. Wealthy families celebrated the occasion by entertaining their clients and hosting a large family dinner. The boy was now ready for preparation for public life (tirocinium fori), the details of which were gradually explained to him by his father or an eminent friend of his; after that he was ready to start provisional military service (Tirocinium militiae) .110 March 19

XIV Kal. ABR.

public notary

QUINQUATRUS Minervae (Ant. May.) Feriae Marti (Vat.) This day was called Quinquatrus because it was (according to the inclusive Roman count) the fifth day after the ides,111 but was popularly considered a period of five days, that is, March 19th. and the next four days.

MARCH

Entre los beneficiarios de este malentendido se encontraban los estudiantes, quienes cuerboen a cambio cinco días de vacaciones. The Quinquatrus (later the Quinquatria) was a feast of Mars, as the Vatican Fasts affirm clearly. One note to the Fasti Praenestini that says that "[Salijfaciunt in comitio saltus [presentibus pontificibus et trib [unis] celerum"" ("la danza Salii en el Comitium en presenza de papas y tribuni celerum"), will be confirmed by el testimony de Varro de que los Salii tenien que realizar un baile en sus ceremonias annuales en el Comitium. The grammarian Charisius, who (erroneously) derives Quinquatrus from the word quinquare, "to purify" (a quinquanto, that is, surveying), adds that en este día se purificaba el arma ancilia.112 So, the ceremony was al menos an annual purification of la Santa Ancilia, pero la presenza del tribuni celerum sugeste una base más amplia These were officers of the mysterious Veleres, who were the cavalry of the primer ejército romano, or less probably a real personal guard. This organization quickly disappeared from the military scene, but the tribunes survived to realize certain religious rites. solo para limpiar el Salii , sino de todo el ejército Al igual que Equirria, it would be a preparatory ritual for the nueva temporada de campaña. Fifth, el 19 de marzo, aunque sagrado para Marte, también se consideraba un día de fiesta para Minerva, aunque no había una connexion clara entre las dos deidades. day In time Día Esta diosa de la artesanía hace su primera apparition en Roma como miembro de la triada adorada en el templo Capitolino constructed during el periodo real, pero es probable que sea una antigua diosa nativa italiana en lugar de una adopción de la diosa griega Atenea a través de the Etruscans . He did not know the date of his Aventine Temple outside the Pomerium; It is mentioned for the first time during the Second Punic War when it was converted into the center of a gremio de escritores y actors y quizás también de habiles artisanos, because Minerva was the patron of artesanía y las artes. Ovid (F.3.815ff) poetically appeals to the most diverse persons to prepare for them; Los niños y las niñas se vuelven eruditos; niñas para acquirer destreza en el hilado y el tejido; pinos, tintoreros y zapateros para practicar sus oficios (el poeta comico Novius se refire a un trompo que celebra el Quinquatrus, y Plinio habla de una pintura de un artista llamado Simus que muestra un trompo que celebra el festival). Ovid also exhorted doctors, teachers, sculptors and painters to sacrifice themselves for her. Su mecenazgo de los medicos queda demonstrated por su epiteto Medica, y como tal tenía un templo en el Esquilino que parece ser de origen republicano (centos de exvotos posteriores

THE ROMAN YEAR

located near Via Merula you can mark your place). Teachers attract new students when they love it. Tertuian refers to one who gave his first stips from a new disciple to Minerva at Quinquatrus, while Juvenal tells of a boy who honored Minerva with a penny (an as) Aventine and Esquiline must have been cast at Quinquatrus, and also a sanctuary of Minerva Capta in the northern part of Caelium (probably near the church of SS. Quattro Coronato), built when a statue of the goddess after him was brought from Falerii. Destroyed by the Romans. 116 Although the 19th itself seems to have been free of bloodshed, Ovid suggests that, at least on his day, there were gladiator fights for the next four days. (Figure 21).

23 of March

xCAL. ABR.

religious day NP

TUBILUSTRIUM The trumpet cleaning ceremony held on March 23 was repeated on May 23, and in both months the following day was recorded in the calendars as Q.R.C.F. (In Rex Comitiavit Fas). A note in the Prenestine calendar records that March 23 was called Tubilustrium because during that time "the trumpets used in sacred rites are cleaned in the shoemakers' room" (in atrio sutorio tubi lustrantur, quibus in sacris utuntur); a sheep was slaughtered. The location of the room is unknown. The note goes on to describe the Tubilustrium as a party of Mars, although Ovid assigns it forti deae, that is, Minerva. John Lydus, The Purification of the Trumpets and "A Movement of Arms", i. h a dance of the Salian priests, mentions that they worshiped Mars and a goddess called Nerina in the Sabine language; it will be Nerio, the supposed wife of Mars (see note 114).117 Thus, the tubilustrium developed in the same way as the quinquatrus. The nature of the trumpets (tubi) is not entirely clear. They are often used as ritual instruments (like Santa Ancilia) to call the next day's assembly, but presumably the ceremony also included a symbolic cleaning of the trombones of the entire army. We do not know if actual military instruments were used or if representatives of the army (such as the tribunes at the Quinquatrus) were present. Another suggestion is that when Ovid says "lustrantur purae" ordinary trumpets were used, which were later cleaned. . . tubae\ the purae is proleptic.118 In any case, the ceremony was intended to help prepare the army for war, and many Romans did not.

MARCH

Those who did not attend remembered the occasion by seeing the Salii dancing through the streets of the city. March 24th

viii KAL. Abril

Q[uando] R(ex) C[omitiavit] F[as] This day, together with May 24, were days in which in the first days the Comitia Calata met to sanction wills; The trials could only begin after the Rex dismissed the Comitia (Q.R.C.F.). A note in the Praenestine Fasti giving this interpretation of the abbreviations at the same time rejects the view that they marked the day on which the king, namely Tarquin, fled from the comitiwn [ex comitio fugerit] because Tarquin did not go in and out of the Comitium. actually. his flight from the city (this vision implies a confusion with the Regifugium on February 24: see p. 81 above). The Comitia Calata was, in its beginnings, a special assembly of the Comitia Curiata summoned to witness (or perhaps ratify by their votes) the will that a testator proposed to make. However, this early form of testament was used sometime before the 1st century BCE. AC obsolete (it was superseded by the private binding will, which only required five Roman citizens as witnesses). March 31st

RP. California. ABR.

Lunae in Aventino (Praen.) The Temple of the Moon on the Aventine was attributed to Servius Tullius; He is first mentioned in 182 as being damaged by a storm. Mummius dedicated some of the booty from Corinth to him, Gaius Gracchus was wounded when he jumped while fleeing his enemies, and his lightning damage caused the consular election to be postponed in 84. It was probably at the northern end of the Aventine, near Porta Trigemina. Luna also had a sanctuary on the Palatine that was illuminated at night. The introduction of moon (and sun) worship into Rome, attributed by Varro and Dionysius of Halicarnassus to Titus Tatius, was probably an earlier rather than a later import from Greece, since Varro's invocation of the twelve gods is not directed at all. to those who have gold pictures in the forum, but to those who are "husband guides": This list begins with Jupiter and Earth (Tellus), then comes the Sun and Moon, "whose seasons are observed in sowing and Harvest". Thus, Luna may have been an ancient rural deity whose cult would have had less appeal in the city.119.

THE ROMAN YEAR

April In Roman times, a widely accepted explanation of the word Aprilis, given by Cincius and Varro, was its derivation from aperire, "to open", and the Praenestine calendar adds the reason: "because fruits and flowers and animals and seas and Do countries not open * Cincius and Varro reject the derivation of Aphrodite (=Venus), which was supported by some other antiquarians and by Ovid 12° If the cult of Venus in Rome arose somewhat later, an earlier derivation of aperire seems likely Although the Etruscans themselves named this month Cabreas, an Etruscan influence is possible: the word Apru may have been formed from Etruscan *aprodita.In any case, April was under the protection (guardianship) of Venus, as the approximate menology suggests. They also say that the sheep must be cleaned, while Varro (Rust.1.30) mentions other duties: the crops must be weeded, the oxen plowed, the pastures cut, the meadows fenced off, the olive trees planted and pruned. The are reflected in many of the festivals of this month, such as Fordicidia, Cerialia, Parilia, Vinalia, and Robigalia, while Venus probably originally ruled over the gardens. April 1st

CALIFORNIA. ABR.

Veneralia (Phil.) A note in the prenestine calendar (probably by Verrius) reports that on the Feast of Venus (Veneralia) "Women envy Fortuna Virilis in droves, and women of the lower order (humiliores) do so even in the baths, because there men undress that part of the body with which the favor of women is sought.' However, Lydus (4:45), who does not mention Fortuna Virilis, says that women of rank worshiped Aphrodite to achieve harmony and a modest life, while more modest women bathed in men's baths and wore crowns of gold. myrtle. To reconcile these two references, Mommsen suggested that the stonemason inadvertently omitted three words and read: "Frequente mulieres supplicant, /honestiores Veneri Verticordiae], Fortunae Virili humiliores", meaning the richest women worshiped Venus, the poorest fortune. Whether this is accepted or not, it seems that two originally separate cults (of Venus and Fortune) have somehow become confused. (Figure 40l9). Ovid (F.4.133ff.), who poetically calls prostitutes, but also mothers and brides, to adore, orders them to remove the jewels from the statue of Fortuna Virilis, wash them, then restore them and offer flowers. He then explains that women offer incense to Fortuna Virilis upon entering the baths so that the goddess sees any physical harm.

APRIL

visible spots, they can hide from men. Little is known about this goddess: she apparently had a sanctuary near an altar to Venus and a temple dedicated by Servius Tullius. The other goddess worshiped on April 1 seems to have been a specialized aspect of Venus, namely Venus Verticordia, as shown by Ovid (hence Mommsen's addition). This Venus, the Changer of Hearts, was given a statue in response to the bidding for the sibylline books; The simulacrum was consecrated by Sulpicia, wife of Q. Fulvius Flaccus (Consul IV in 209), as the most chaste woman in Rome. April 1, 114 B.C. A temple was dedicated to Verticordia to atone for an incestuous relationship between the Vestals; its location is unknown, but it could have been near a sanctuary of Venus Murcia near the Circus Maximus, which Servius (adAen.8. 635) confuses with Venus Verticordia (the confusion is explained by the existence of another reinforced temple of Venus near the Circus ). , started by Q. Fabius Gurges in 295 BC. B.C., but this was for Venus Obsequens). A "spring cleaning" of statues, while not attested in ancient Rome, is unprecedented in the classical world. Its practical hygienic use is more evident than its religious significance; possibly it was an annual cleansing of the deity from the sins (of the previous year*s?) of the worshipers of her. However, the women's bath in men's baths must have been a rather late development, as no public baths are found in Rome before the 2nd century. Although the reference to the Honors and Humiliors is reminiscent of the Late Roman Empire, a social distinction between two groups of believers is very likely, at least towards the end of the Republic, when, as we shall see, on April 4 and 12 two separate classes . Days to invite your friends to dinner. But the earlier growth of the cult and the confusion between the two deities (it seems unwarranted to assume they are the same) must remain obscure. However, it may have been common knowledge, at least in the late Republican era, that women, both chaste and promiscuous, sought divine support for their sexual lives on April 1.121 April 4

PRID. NOT . APR.

Ludi Matri deum Magnae Idaeae (Praen.) Ludi Megalesiaci (Phil.) In 204 B.C. the cult of the Great Mother Goddess (Mater Magna, Cybele) of Phrygia: the sacred black stone of a goddess was brought from Asia Minor and arrived in Rome on April 4. After temporary accommodation, it was placed in a temple on the Palatine, dedicated to the goddess on April 10, 191. An annual festival, the Megalesia or Megalensia (or later Megalesiaca), was established, and

THE ROMAN YEAR

these games included theatrical performances and (perhaps not initially) circus performances.122 The ceremony opened with an offering in the temple, including a bowl of herbs (moretum); This was done by a praetor in Augustine's time, but possibly by the aedile in charge of the games in Republican times. Cicero says that "our ancestors had decreed that the games should be held on the Palatine Hill in front of the temple, in full view (in ipso conspectu) of the Mater Magna herself."123 The area of the temple was heavily restricted for games of circus, so this must have been in Circus Maximus may have taken place in the valley below, which the goddess may have looked down on from her temple on high. But the temple's podium, still rebuilt today by Augustus, is reached by a stairway that could have accommodated a limited number of spectators, while some nearby buildings may have been interpreted as parts of a theater.124 However, Rome did thus until 55 BC It did not have a permanent stone theater and earlier performances were held in makeshift wooden buildings. Among the plays performed at the Megalesia were four by Terence (between 166 and 161) and at least one by Plautus, but such intellectual festivities did not go down well with everyone, and we know that much of the audience, no doubt a raucous crowd, was deserted. Terence's Hecyra to the counterattacks of a tightrope walker, perhaps to the chagrin of the senators, who sat in reserved seats in the front row. The level of literary output gradually declined, and pantomime, whether simply fanciful or politically satirical, grew in popularity. But whatever the production, it usually had little to do with Mater Magna, though we do have a hint of the possibility of a drama enacting its story: Ovid has a vague comment about Claudia, who is in the last phase with miraculous powers. he helped bring the sacred stone from Ostia to Rome, adding: "The story is strange, but it is attested from the stage (at scaena testifier", F.4.326). In the Megalensia of 55 B.C. there was an outbreak of popular violence, of which Cicero paints a vivid picture. 'on the stage i or in the auditorium (en scaenam caveamve). . . Anyone who came as a spectator or even out of pity (religionis causa: note the motives of those present) was ill-treated, and no matron dared approach for fear of the violence of the crowd of slaves. Adding to the monstrosity of Clodius' Da Vinci Code, Cicero describes Megalesia as "by tradition and custom pious, solemn, and venerable above all others" (maxime casti, solemnes, religiosi). (Figure 22). Megalesia's honesty contrasts with her own cult's adoration of Mater Magna. The Romans probably didn't get it.

APRIL

realizing his true nature when he was let into the city in hopes of perhaps gaining additional divine aid against Hannibal, emphasizing his own supposed Trojan origins. Although the goddess remained a foreign deity outside the ius divinutn and worship of her was confined to her palatine temple, her eastern eunuch priests (galli) were allowed to carry her image in procession through the streets of Rome. Smeared with blood from self-inflicted wounds, these female fanatics sang Greek hymns to the sound of drums and cymbals and begged passers-by for alms. The statue, carried in a palanquin, showed Cibeles riding in a chariot drawn by two lions. The poet Lucretius gives a classical description, based on some of the Greek poets, but doubtless reflecting many of the characteristics of the annual processions in Rome in her day: “His head of hers was surrounded by a crenellated crown. . . she was escorted by her mutilated priests; taut drums rumble beneath her hands, and hollow cymbals ring, and trumpets threaten with a harsh blast, and hollow flutes kindle her thoughts with Phrygian cadences; they carry weapons before them, symbols of her frenzy of violence. . . They have spread with bronze and silver throughout their progression. . . and snow in rose petals on her. Then an armed gang arrives. . . who engage in mock conflict, leaping in rhythmic movements, gleeting at the sight of blood, and shaking their fearsome crests as they bob their heads. While such static processions must have offended many old-fashioned Romans, it is curious that Cicero, in forbidding gatherings of beggars in his ideal city, made an exception on certain days for the priests of the Mater Magna.126 The Romans, however, they had made efforts to curb the expansion and curb the excesses of the cult, as Dionysius of Halicarnassus underlines in his description of the procession: "No Roman citizen could walk in it, take part in the cult, much less become a priest", such it is the aversion of the Romans to anything improper Display without decency*. We are not concerned here with the later developments of the cult under the Empire, when an entire week in March was devoted to its celebration, with the more orgiastic aspects of the Taurobolium bloodbath and mysteries. Long before that, the Megalesia of April lasted from the 4th to the 10th, at least in Ovid's time, but whether it was always a seven-day festival remains uncertain. In any case, patrician families invited themselves to parties (mutations) on the night of the 4th, although in 161 BC. By decree of the senate, they had to swear before the consuls not to spend more than 120 aces on any dinner other than vegetables, bread and wine, nor to serve foreign wines, nor to display more than 120 livres in cutlery. These dinners were probably

100

THE ROMAN YEAR

associated with the Clubs (Sodalitas) created in honor of Cybele in 204 when the cult was first introduced; such aristocratic associations may have provided additional means of controlling the cult.127 Thus, April 4 was a very busy day in Rome, with plays to suit all tastes, horse races, an exotic parade through the streets, and dinners, if not too fancy. at night to the patricians.

April 4 to 10

PRID. NOT. - IV Card. APR.

Ludi (Megalesia) At least in Ovid's time these games lasted until April 10 (see there), when they culminated in the circus games.

5th of April

NOT. APR.

norte

Fortunae Publicae Citeriori in Colle (Praen.) “On this ancient day was consecrated the temple of Fortuna Publica on the hill of Quirino* (Ovid, F.4.375). There were three Fortune Temples in this area known as the Three Fortunes; one of them was near the Colline Gate (Vitr.3.2.2.). One of them, inaugurated on May 25, was for the Fortuna Publica Populi Romani Quiritium in Colle Quirinale (Caerecian calendar) or Fortuna Primigenia in Colle (Venusian calendar). All three were probably dedicated to Fortuna Publica, and two are distinguished as Citerior (closest to the city) and Primigenia (unless the Venus calendar errs in naming Primigenia). Little is known about them or their websites. Fors Fortuna was an Italian goddess, probably the "bearer" (fromferre) of reproduction. She was later identified with the Greek Tyche (luck) and worshiped under various titles. A great center of her cult was the temple of her at Praeneste, one of the largest in Italy; its imposing remains still dominate the hillside. Here was an oracular sanctuary that was widely consulted; Oak boards with inscriptions were taken at random from a chest, and the researcher had to interpret the message himself. An archaic dedication to Diouofilea primocenia (ie Jupiter's eldest daughter) became nationus cratia, "the descendants". This oracle was very "popular"; Cicero, disapproving of her fortune, says that no judge or man of position (vir illustris) would consult her. Inscriptions show that many of the worshipers were local merchants. This prenestine fortune was probably born on May 25, 194 BC. one of the temples of the Quirinal was dedicated128 (plate 4124).

101

APRIL

April 10th

4. I WOULD DO IT. APR.

norte

Matri deum Magnae Idaeae in Palatio The Praenestine calendar adds: “Because on this day the temple was dedicated to her, it was the climax of megalesia: the first days were devoted to theatrical performances and minor sports, while the tenth the great games were held. They celebrated in the circus (ludi in circo) recorded in the calendars and by Ovid (F.4 391). In another poem (Amor.3.2A3f{.) Ovid describes the "golden" procession of statues of the gods parading around the Circus Maximus before the praetor signaled the start of the chariot races: first came the winged Victory, then Neptune, Mars, Apollo, Minerva, Ceres, Bacchus, Pollux and Castor and Venus. This procession began at the Capitol and descended through the Forum and Velabrum to the Forum Boario, thus entering the Circus Maximus. There will be more to say about these magnificent parades at the Folk Games when we see the Ludi Romani that took place in September. April 12-19

III Identification. APR. - XIICAL. NOT.

Ludi Cereri As soon as Megalesia finished, Cerialia began. Both culminated in the last day, which for both was marked on the calendars with iudi in circo*. In earlier times there were probably minor diversions, and in the midst of Cerialia the Fordicidia took place on the 15th. The founding date of Ceralia is unknown, but the festival was certainly before 202 BC. (Figure 40l4). The games were held in the Circus Maximus, not the Circus Flaminius. At this point it should be noted that at the end of the Republic, probably all the main ludi of the circus were in the maximus. In fact, it has been shown that the Circus Flaminius was probably not a long and narrow hippodrome like the Circus Maximus, but an open space surrounded by buildings (originally fields) in which the only horse race was held until the time of Varro, which was held every day. Ludi Taurei was there for five years (p. 156).129 April 13

I WOULD GO. APR.

public notary

Jovi Victori, lovi Libertati (Ant. mai.) A Temple of Jupiter Victor no Palatine for Betrothed of Fabius Rullianus at the Battle of Sentinum in 295 a. (The following year L. Postumius dedicated a temple to Victoria, from which a stone of the Great Mother was afterwards extracted

102

THE ROMAN YEAR

provisionally housed). The Temple of Jupiter Libertas was on the Aventine (perhaps near the Church of S. Sabina) and probably precedes a temple dedicated to Libertas por Ti. Gracchus around 238 B.C. The ides of each month were sacred to Jupiter and feriae publicae. A white sheep (ovis idulis) was led along the Sacred Way through the Forum and to the Temple of Capitoline Jupiter, where it was sacrificed by Jupiter's own priest, the Jlamen Dialis. Other temples of Jupiter must have received special attention on his birthday.130 April 15

xvi (Julian xvii) KAL . I COULD

public notary

FORDICIDY This festival of sacrificing a cow in a calf (Forda) takes us back to the beginnings of Rome; it should promote the fertility of the land and herds. Ovid gives a clear account of the ritual. Pregnant cows (Ifordae or Hordae) were offered to the earth (Tellus or later Terra Mater), which in early days was probably seen as the spirit that inhabited a farmer's fields, but later could be seen more as the mother earth, the Greek Demeter. 131 A cow was sacrificed in the Capitol by the Popes, and one in each of the thirty Curiae. With Fornacália, this was the only festival organized on the basis of the Curia. The elderly servants of the Vestal Virgin tore the unborn calves from their wombs and burned them; the vestals saved the ashes for use at Parilia on April 21 (see there). Through a process of magical sympathy, the fertility of the cows was to be stimulated in the corn that grew in the womb of the earth. If the unfortunate cattle were scattered from a central point among the various curiae, many townspeople, perhaps having little interest in placating the earth goddess, must have noted their march through the streets of Rome and their bloody end. April 19th

XII (JulianXIII)KAL.MAI.

public notary

CERT ALIA Cereri, Libero, Liberae (Ant. May.) Although the games (Ludi) in honor of Ceres were not played until 202 B.C. are attested, she was worshiped in a very distant time. She was an ancient Italian goddess of grain (growth; cf. xreare) who had her own priest (jlamen cerialis), a sign of antiquity. She was sometimes associated with the Tellus cult. The most famous temple of her in Rome was built in 493 BC. on the Aventine, where she was worshiped with Liber and Libera and therefore corresponded to the Eleusinian deities Demeter, Kore and Iacchus; This was a Greek cult and perhaps was introduced to Rome from Campania or Sicily. the

103

APRIL

The temple, built at a time of great tension between patricians and plebeians, became a center of plebeian interests; It was the seat of the commoner aediles and contained their archives, as well as copies of the Oisenatus Consultative. It was decorated by Greek artists and described as extremely beautiful and magnificent (pulcherrimutn et magnificissimum) by Cicero (Verr. 4.108). It is probably identifiable with the remains of a temple podium below the Church of S. Maria in Cosmedin in the Forum Boarium, adjacent to what later became the Statio Annonae, Rome's grain-supply center; so it was with the Circus Maximus at the starting point of the chariot races. The founding of this cult marked an important stage in the religious and political history of Rome. Ovid tells the peasants that Ceres delights in peace and the offerings of spelt and salt (perhaps in sacrificial cakes, mola sauce) and incense in ancient homes (in ancient fires). This celebration of Ceres by the peasants, presumably on April 19, may also be the one Virgil mentions “when the clear spring came (vere sereno). . . so let all the people of your land worship Ceres, and offer milk, honey and wine, and bring the auspicious sacrifice three times around the young crop for good fortune. We don't know about his temple ceremonies, but white robes are required to be worn in games. The most remarkable act of worship was performed here: foxes, with hot coals on their tails, were released at the Circus Maximus. The original purpose of this rite must remain unclear despite much speculation (for example, that a red fox would protect the white horse, Robigo, from the crops, or that the fox was a corn spirit, or that its tail was a phallic symbol). The story (Judges 15:4-6) of Samson burning the Philistines' grain is not very helpful. It is intriguing since the fox plays only a minor role in the Italian legend. Ovid's explanation is complicated by textual corruption, but he suggests that a fox was ritually burned at Carseoli, perhaps as a warning to other vermin to stay away. In any case, on April 19 the cruel streak of Roman character was fostered in the Circus Maximus, while at night plebeian families could exchange hospitality and dine together as the patricians had done in late Megalesia. The connections between the citizens and Ceres go back a long way.132 April 21

x (Julian xi) KAL.MAI.

public notary

PARILIA Roma condita (Ant. May.) Two other calendar entries require brief mention, viz., Circenses (Phil.) and Feriae coronatis omnibus (Caer. and Esq.). To celebrate Caesar's victory at Munda in 45 BC. Special games were decreed for Parilia day in honor of BC, but they soon expired, although other games later followed.

104

THE ROMAN YEAR

founded by Adrian However, Cicero mentions the games of 44 in two letters to Atticus written about a month after Caesar's assassination; complains that his nephew Quintus wore a crown in Parilia (coronatus Quintus noster Parilibus): when rebuked by his father (for political reasons), Quintus replied that he wore the wreath in honor of Caesar, whom he also wore as a loved one after his death . Thus, in the parilia 44 crowns were used, not because it was the parilia but for Caesar's victory, and the custom continued: therefore the reference in the calendars does not seem to apply to earlier parilia celebrations under the republic. .133 The parilia was an ancient agricultural festival to clean and protect livestock; It remained popular, also because it fell on what was considered the day of the founding of Rome, his birthday. It was performed in honor of Pales, a mysterious deity or deities. The Antiatean calendar for July 7 refers to two Pales (Palibus duobus), while later Romans were uncertain whether Pales was male or female. When void spirits were considered anthropomorphic, there could be doubt as to their gender and offerings could be made "sive deo sive deae". Also, Palilia would have been a more likely name for a festival of Pales (the form is found, which is why some scholars separate Pales from Parilia), while there was also a goddess named Diva Palatua who had Zjlamen Palatualis performing sacrifices on the Palatine. . Hill in the Septimontium on December 11. Thus many issues arise that need not be pursued here: suffice it to say that in the later Republic, although the sex of Pales was uncertain, M. Atilius Regulus built a Pales temple, or perhaps two Pales, in 267 BC. (probably on the Palatine and on July 7) and Pales was known as a shepherd god. More important than the obscure origins of Pales is the nature of his cult, about which we are well informed, partly because the cult, though agricultural, was maintained in Rome until the time of the Empire, partly because Ovid remembered he participated, even jumping to the bonfires, and left a fairly complete description (F.4735ff.) of how the peasants celebrated the day. The sheepfold was decorated with branches of leaves and its entrance with a wreath of flowers. As soon as the day came, the corral had to be washed with water and swept, and the sheep fumigated with sulfur; then a fire of olive and pine wood was lit, and the crackling of the laurel branches thrown into it was a good omen; Offerings of millet cakes, food and buckets of milk were brought. The shepherd then prayed to Pales for protection for himself and the flocks and for his forgiveness if he had unknowingly strayed onto the sacred ground where his sheep grazed, or if he had cut wood or polluted the sacred water. Pales is then asked to step aside.

APRIL

105

disease and wolves and prosperity. Four times the pastor said this prayer facing east and then washed his hands in the dew. Then, after drinking milk and hot wine from a bowl, he jumped into the burning fire. Ovid ends his description of the festival here, but a little later (805) he indicates that both the sheep and the shepherds had to go through the fire. Propertius (4.4.75ff.) and Tibullus (2.5.89ff.), who mention the shepherd's leap through the fire, do not refer to that of his flocks. However, there is no shortage of such action by herds and herds in Europe and the rest of the world, particularly on holidays like Easter, May Day and the Solstice, for what may well have been an old Italian custom, perhaps just based on country festivals and is not practiced in the city. One outstanding feature of the ceremony has yet to be described. Ovid introduces his account of the Parilia by personal reminiscence: "In truth, I myself have often brought with my hands full the ashes of the calf and the beans, pure atonement (februa casta), in truth I have jumped over the fire, I have put three in a row, and the moist laurel sprinkled me with water. It means that the ashes of the unborn calves, which had been preserved from the slaughter, and the blood of the horse, which had been slaughtered the previous year (see 15 of October). was mixed and thrown into the burning bean straws; The faithful then jumped through the flames. The blood and ashes, which were means of purification, were kept by the vestals. Since the supplies of this terrible concoction must have been limited, what Ovid describes is not entirely clear. Parilia was private and public (tarn privata quam publica: Varro), rural and urban. Ovid's longer description clearly applies to the ancient cult of the earth, but what happened in ro ma? We know nothing of the official cult, except that it was performed by the Rex Sacrorum and it is believed that the main sacrifice of the sacred relics took place here. Apparently, however, private celebrations were taking place all over the city; The straw for the bonfires could have been freely distributed, but it is likely that not everyone received even a small portion of the relics, although Ovid seems to have dealt with some. The day must have ended in a general celebratory mood; in any case, Propertius (4.4.75f.) refers to the revelry (lusus in urbe) and to the drunken mob (embria turba) jumping over the burning haystacks. And there was another reason for joy for everyone: April 21 was Rome's birthday, the anniversary of its founding in 753 BC. cr.134

106

April 23rd

THE ROMAN YEAR

vm (Julian ix) KAL. Mai.

F (Ant.mai.)

VINALIA Veneri Erucinae (Ant. May.) Rome celebrated two wine festivals, the first (Vinalia Priora) on April 23, the second (Vinalia Rustica) on August 19. These were originally done in honor of Jupiter, but Venus later became associated with them. About the Priory of Jupiter Varrón (LL .6.16) it is well defined, "Vinalia a vino. Here Iovis dies, non Veneris". Jupiter; only then this new wine (called Calpar) could be tasted by men: "Vinalia priora . . . degustandis vinis instituta" (Pliny, NH. 18. 287). The Athenians had a similar festival called Pithoigia, the opening of the jars, in honor of Dionysus, where new wine was offered and tasted. We do not know what social or business gatherings this wine tasting in Rome might have sparked. Verrius Flaccus said, if Paul recorded it correctly, that August 19 was the the day wine could be brought to Rome, and Varro says he saw a notice on the gates of Tusculum forbidding new wine into the city until the Vinalia which had been proclaimed in the Nones.135 But the vintage It didn't usually start until the end of September, although the exact date naturally varied in different parts of Italy and according to the climate; so August 19 is too early for the current year's new wine. It is likely, therefore, that Paul confused the two Vinalia and that April 23 was the day that wine from the previous year's harvest could first be brought to Rome. So what happened on August 19? Pliny (NH. 18, 284) seems to give the answer when he says that there were three seasons in which the people feared for their harvest and therefore instituted the festivals and festivals of Robigalia, Floralia and Vinalia. He continues: "La Vinalia Priora, founded on April 23 for wine tasting, has no relationship with the fruits of the earth." reconciling time Ifestum tempestatibus lenniendis institutum). It was therefore a ceremony to protect the vine from natural or supernatural damage, especially storms, and perhaps it was celebrated more intensely in the countryside than in the city, as the title Rustica suggests. Finally, Varro (LL.6.16), when describing the Vinalia, says that the Flamen Dialis is 'auspicatur vindemiam', which is done at the official beginning of the vintage, and when he gave the order to collect the grapes he sacrificed them to Jupiter Lamb and below To cut the entrails of the sacrifice and offer it to the god, he himself first picked a bunch of grapes. However, as we have seen, it is August 19.

APRIL

107

too early to start the harvest, so it may have been a ceremony held a little later in the year than the Vinalia Rustica. Varro, who categorically said that the Vinalia was a homage to Jupiter and not to Venus, gently refers to Venus, the protector of the gardens (procuratio hortorum), in another work, the Res Rustica (1.1.6), "in whose homage to the Rustica Vinalia is founded.' For Ovid, too, this was primarily a Feast of Venus (F.4.863ff.), as recorded in the calendars, the most complete entry of which (left) contains 'Veneri Erucinae extraportam Collinam'. Some scholars claim that Venus had a party-goer from the very beginning, but this is unlikely as her cult in Rome does not appear to be primitive: Varro (LL.6.35) says that he does not find it in any ancient find mentioned. date unknown she was identified with the Greek Aphrodite, and her first known temple in Rome, that of Venus Obsequens, was built in 295 in the Circus Maximus by Q. Fabius Gurges, whose grandson, Q. Fabius Maximus, dedicated a temple to Venus Erucina on the Capitol in 215. This was based on the cult of Aphrodite (originally the Punic Astarte) at Eryx in Sicily, where sacred prostitution was practised.Another temple outside the Colline Gate was dedicated to Venus Erucina in 181 on 23 April, Vinalia day, with who was identified, and on this day prostitutes were sacrificed to him. Whether the Italian cult of Venus as guardian of the gardens could have reached Rome much earlier, spread to the vineyards, and then linked to April 23, we simply don't know. In any case, the word Vinalia derives almost certainly from Vinum (wine) and not from Venus, and Plutarch (QM.Rom.45) says that in the Vinalia (which he baptized Veneralia!) much wine flowed from the temple of Venus . ; presumably refers to the Vinaria Priora. (Figure 4121). Ovid and others (including a short note on the Praenestine calendar) tell the legendary story of the origin of Vinalia. When Aeneas was at war with Turnus, king of the Rutulians, the Etruscan king Mecentius offered to support Turnus in exchange for what he used to give to the gods, that is (our sources vary) the wine of the next Latin harvest or the came every year. or all the firstfruits (which would include wine). The Latins then swore to deliver them to Jupiter if he would concede victory. And so it was: Mecencio died in battle and Jupiter received his annual tribute of wine. “That is why it is called Vinalia day; Jupiter claims it for himself and is pleased to be present at his own party': concludes Ovid, who previously attributed the party to Venus. Thus, on April 23, a formal offering of wine was made to Jupiter, possibly followed by general feasting and drinking while the peasants negotiated the sale of the new wine they brought with them.

108

THE ROMAN YEAR

to the market in the city. At the same time, whatever Venus's exact involvement (and perhaps she was more concerned with the August 19 Vinalia Rustica and the prayer to protect vines from disease), she received offerings from the prostitutes of Rome, who apparently also , their Gifts were also made on the 24th, since the Praenestine calendar records that the 25th was a festival for prostitutes (Ifestus puerorum lenoniorium) because the previous day (24) was a festival for whores. April 25th

we (Julian vn) KAL. MIGHT .

public notary

ROBIGALIA Feriae Robigo Via Claudia ad milliarium V ne robigo frumentis noceat. Sacrificum et ludicursoribus Maioribus minoribusquefiunt (Note on Praen.) The Feast of the Robigalia was established in honor of Robigus, or Robigo (the Romans were not sure of the gender), the spirit of Robigo, d fifth milestone on the Via Claudia, so that molds the corn does not carry anything. It was an ancient agricultural festival, perhaps dating back to a time when the fifth mark marked the end of Roman territory where disease had to be kept at bay. Its establishment has been attributed to Pliny Numa, who according to Tertullian was "Marti in Robigini ludos instituit". This observation does not imply shared games, nor is it necessary to accept the view that Robigus was a rural form of Mars. The cult of Robigus was attended by the priest of Quirinus (iflamen Quirinalis), but the reason is unknown. We learn more about the festival from Ovid. the entrails of a dog and a sheep (according to Columella, RR. 10. 342, the dog sacrificed to the evil Robigus was a child, lacteus catulus). Then Ovid must have joined the procession, for he says that he himself saw the priest, holding a napkin in his right hand, pouring wine, incense, and entrails on the fire, and heard the prayers to Robigus for the protection of the harvest. When he asked about the meaning of the rites, the priest told him that the Dog Star, Sirius, was on the Ascendant. In fact, this star disappeared at sunset on April 25 and was born on August 2, so Ovid, the priest, or an earlier source may have confused the rising with the setting of the star. Its appearance coincided with the great summer heat of which it was sometimes thought to be the cause, and the heat burned the vines, as Pliny reports, but he also attributes the attack of the robigo on the vines and crops to the damp in the valleys without wind (Plin. NH. 19, 272, 154).

APRIL

109

The connection between the sacrifice of the dog and the star of the dog claimed by the priest is very doubtful, and an explanation may lie in another sacrifice: Pliny (18:15) preserves a phrase from the Commentarii Pontificum: “Let a day be set, um an omen for the sacrifice of a dog before the corn leaves the pod and before it enters the pod* (augurio canario agendo dies instituatur). Furthermore, Festus (39L) says that the red dogs (rufae) were sacrificed near Porta Catularia to appease the Dog Star, and that “the golden grain (fmges jlavescent) might come to maturity; Presumably the strong resemblance between the reddish dogs and the reddish-golden corn was intended to be an act of sympathetic magic, or the reference referred to the roan. This sacrifice was not made on a specific day, but since it was done during the Dogstar period, it could possibly have taken place on the 25th to coincide with the similar Robigalia. A small topographical difficulty arises from the location of Robigus Grove. The Praenestine calendar placed the Iferiae festival at the fifth milestone on the Via Claudia, which led north from Rome and branched off the Via Flaminia near the Milvian Bridge at the third milestone: Ovid, however, met the procession at the way back from Nomentum, which was about fifteen miles east of Rome. It has been suggested that he returned to his own gardens near the Milvian Bridge and then found the procession in the nearby Via Claudia, but why then does he say that he found it when he returned from Nomentum, implying that the grove was in Via Nomentana? ? An unlikely guess would be to assume that a sacrifice was made in the grove on the way to Nomentum, but that the feast and games took place on the Via Claudia. and we don't know when the more elaborate games aimed at runners were added {Cursoribus Maioribus Minoribusque: Does that mean men and men's trials?). That these were performed on the Via Claudia in late Roman times is confirmed by the fact that later on April 25 the Roman Church honored Saint Mark with a procession, from S. Lorenzo no Cor then along the Flaminian Way to the Ponte Milviana , from where He returned to S. Maria Maggiore, while the Church still prays today for the harvest. Other deities not important enough or old enough to earn a place in the calendar could be honored and invoked to protect both crops and animals. Then Verminus, who protected cattle from vermin (verminatio), was given an altar outside the Porta Viminalis, which according to a lex Plaetoria in the 1st century BC. by A. Postumius Albinus. It was probably the work of the consul of 180

110

THE ROMAN YEAR

in an attempt to combat a plague at 175-74 (Livy, 41.21). The altar was discovered in 1876 in a tower of the Serbian Wall. (Fig. 23) April 27 (July 28)

IV KAL. Mai.

Ludi Florae 'Eodem die aedes Florae, quae rebus florescendis praeest, dedicata est propter striitatem frugum* (Note on Praen.) Flora was an ancient Italian goddess of flowers and vegetation in general. She had her own priest Ijlamen Florialis) and along with ancient Roman deities like Janus, Jupiter, Juno and Vesta, she received offerings from the ancient brotherhood of the Arval brothers in her sacred grove; King Tatius would have erected an altar for her in Rome. Thus, the cult of her was ancient in Rome, but she was apparently not given any temples until a drought occurred in 241 or 238 B.C. The Romans were urged to consult the Sibylline, who prescribed the building of a temple, and games were held in her honour; commoner aediles were responsible for, and provided the money for, fines imposed for encroaching on public lands. Initially, the Games were not held every year, but then frequent damage to crops meant that they were held 173 years a year. Flora Rustica, another temple on the Quirinal, perhaps where the original altar once stood). Under the Empire, the games lasted six days, beginning with theatrical performances and ending with circus games and a sacrifice to Flora. They may have extended more than a day from the time of Caesar, if not earlier, because when he died in 45 B.C.E. she reformed the calendar, adding extra days so as not to disturb the celebration of the festivals, and in April she added an extra day before the Floralia on what we call April 26 (VI Cal. May). month the 29th following the first day of Floralia (Macrobius, 1.14.9). The worship of a fertility goddess led increasingly to much debauchery and indecency. In the early days it was primitive and rustic in nature, but as regular games have become established, it has become more pervasive and sophisticated. The prostitutes claimed the Floralia and Vinalia of the 23rd as their party (indeed, Flora was later reported to be a prostitute as well), and according to Juvenal, they performed nude and even fought in gladiatorial competitions. Young Cato was so shocked by a striptease performance at one of the stage performances that he left the theater in disgust. Cicero, on the other hand, who died as aedile in 69 BC. In charge of the games, he refers to the goddess with great respect as Our Lady.

111

APRIL

Flora (Flora Mater), whose favor was to be secured among the people and the rabble of Rome by holding the festival. Normal sports certainly took place in the circus, but Florália had two special plays. Hares and goats were released: According to Ovid (5.373f), Venus justified this custom by saying that she was the patroness of gardens and fields and not of forests and wild animals. Also, both rabbits and goats were considered lustful and fertile. Second, Persius says that peas, beans, and lupins were scattered among the crowd, again perhaps partly as symbols of fertility at the spring festival. Ovid also mentions (5.355ff.) two other aspects of Floralia: instead of the usual white clothing in Cerialia, multicolored tunics were worn; The women showed their spring fashion. Second, the festival was well lit. This may refer to nightly theatrical performances, while one anecdote relates how a praetor, L. Caesianus, mocked the bald head of the Emperor Tiberius, who sent out 5,000 shaven-headed children to make way for returning spectators from the theater. to illuminate. with flowers. Tiberius enjoyed it the most, but from then on all bald people were called Cesiani.139 Feriae Conceptivae (Feriae Latinae) The Latin festival belonged to the mobile festivals (conceptivae). Its date, as we have seen, was fixed by the new consuls at the beginning of each year; It usually took place before the consuls left for the spring campaigning season, sometimes a little later, and can therefore be conveniently described here. Although the main festival did not take place in Rome, it played a huge role in Roman public life from early times until the end of the fourth century AD, when it was celebrated by a proponent of ancient Roman culture, the pagan Nicomachus Flavianus. who sought help against Theodosius in 394 as consul with Jupiter. However, Theodosius was victorious and probably suppressed the party. Miles southeast of Rome to worship Jupiter Latiaris together. During this celebration, any warfare between these Latinos ended, allowing everyone to come together to worship the god of their league, which was one of several original groupings among Latin cities. Initially the Romans may not even have been members, but when their king Tullus Hostilius destroyed Alba Longa, traditionally in the 7th century

112

THE ROMAN YEAR

Hilos from archaic altars in Lavinium

which is supported by archaeological evidence) got their position. In the following century, the Etruscan rulers of Rome may have reorganized the League, and as Roman power gradually spread across Latium, Rome eventually came to dominate the League, which began in 338 BC. BC was formally dissolved and then reorganized under Roman control. By this time, many of the initially small settlements had gradually disappeared, but Rome preserved their memory by providing priests to represent them, such as the Cabanese priests who acted for the demise of Cabe or Cabum.141 The cult was so old that initially it was, Jupiter perhaps could to have been worshiped on a primitive altar, but later, probably in the sixth century, it was given a temple and a statue. No remains of the temple remain, but later traces of the Via Triumphalis leading to it have been found. Unfortunately, nothing like the impressive thirteen stone altars of the neighboring federal assembly site at Lavinium has been discovered in the federal sanctuary at Alban.

APRIL

113

The central act was a sacrifice to the god, which may in turn have been performed by the Latins until the Romans took control and it became the job of the Roman consuls. The leader offered milk (not wine) as a libation, and the rest of the towns brought other agricultural products such as sheep or cheese. The main sacrifice sacrifice, made on behalf of the entire league, was a pure white heifer that had never known the yoke. After she killed him, her meat was divided among all of her delegates, who eagerly demanded their portions of the sacrificial meat (carnem petere) to share in a communal meal. In the early days this must have been a very solemn occasion, a sacrament by which members swore allegiance to God and to one another: it was an annual recognition of kinship among Latin peoples, and the offerings reflected the offerings of a peasant family. or even pastoral community. In later historical times, the ceremony commemorated the role played by the Latins in helping Rome achieve her supremacy in Italy. Although Jupiter Latiaris ceded pride of place in Rome to Jupiter Capitolinus as the chief deity of Imperial Rome, his earlier importance was remembered when Roman generals, denied an official triumph on the Capitol by the Senate, celebrated a triumph minor. - official at Monte Alban and addressed Jupiter Latiaris instead of Jupiter Capitolinus (p. 217).142 A fascinating feature of the celebrations was that small puppets in the shape of people (oscilla) were hung from the trees, as was customary. at the party. of the Paganalia (p. 68). Many ancient writers considered these figures to be substitutes for human sacrifice in earlier times in a later era. But despite the accusations made much later by some Christian writers such as Tertullian, Minucius Felix, and Tatian, the first

114

THE ROMAN YEAR

The Romans seem to have disliked human sacrifice, which Livy describes as "minime Romanum sacrum" ("by no means a Roman rite") and official imperial policy among the Druids was rejected. The idea behind the wobbles was perhaps less accurate, namely the hope that Jupiter would forgive the living and accept the puppets, or more generally, they may have been nothing more than charms against bad influences. Festival to Rome in later times is evidenced by the fact that the consuls were accompanied to Monte Alban by all other high-ranking Roman magistrates, and although the Senate remained in Rome, a prefect (praefectus urbi feriamm Latinarum causa) was appointed to to watch. after her to take care of the city during your absence. At the end of the Republic, the consuls still considered this duty of paramount importance. Thus, in a letter to Celio in February 50 BC. C., Cicero sarcastically refers to the notable activity of the consuls, who until then had only presented a resolution to the Senate, namely, that of the date of the Latin festival. A year later, Caesar, who had rushed back to Rome from Spain and was desperate to travel to Greece to confront Pompey, reluctantly tarried eleven days in Rome, devoting at least one day to the celebration of the Latin Festival. Augustus, who revived many ancient Roman religious practices, made a list of all the Roman magistrates who celebrated the festival at Monte Alban, and these fasti continued into the imperial period. Some surviving fragments show that Augustus himself wished to fulfill this function as consul: they report that he was prevented twice by illness (27 and 24 BC) and twice by absence of Spain (26 and 25), but 23 was present : Emperor Caesar on Mount Fuit144 The essential part of the festival lasted only one day, but if an error in the performance was discovered, the entire rite had to be repeated according to standard Roman practice. This is how the magistrate of Lanuvium forgot it in 176 BC. BC in the offering of a sacrifice to pray for the Roman people, the Quirites. This was reported to the Roman Senate, which referred it to the popes; For their part, they decided that the festival should be repeated and that Lanuvium make the sacrifice. As the festival did not take place again until August 11, the consuls could only leave for their provinces after this late date. In 1999 the party had to be repeated because delegates from Ardean complained that they had not received their usual ration of meat. Ludi), which lasted at least two days. Although some scholars believe that these events led to the main day, Cicero writes in March 56 B.C. to his brother Quinto that the two days following the Latin festival were religiosi (holidays), but

115

APRIL

otherwise, the Jupiter Latiaris party would have come to an end; this would indicate that the day of celebration was followed by relaxation. Elsewhere, Cicero records or imagines Scipio Aemilianus spending the Latin vacation at his country house (at Hortis), entertaining many of his friends and relatives. But while the Roman nobles who did not participate in the ceremony could relax in the countryside, what about the Romans and Latins who could not leave their cities to attend Monte Albán? Pliny reports that on the main day of the festival a chariot race was held at the Capitol in Rome. Given the Capitol's lack of space and its physical inadequacy, Pliny's account is often dismissed, but it is possible that he misinterpreted the location or details (for example, the Capitol). ?) and possibly provided some form of public entertainment for the majority of the population of Rome. And if in Rome, why not in some of the individual Latin cities? However, when all was completed at Monte Alban, a signal fire from its summit conveyed the message to Lazio: Vxiit Jlammifera confectas node Latinos', Lucan wrote. It's not hard to believe that a festival that lasted for more than a thousand years played an important role in the public and private life of Rome when it was celebrated each year.

English May poets from Chaucer onward regard the month of May as a season of joy. The Romans, on the other hand, are more likely to listen to James Russell Lowell, who is less enthusiastic about the American climate: "May is a pious almanac fraud." the first day could have been brighter, the festivals of the month were generally not very happy, while Lemuria, when the spirits roamed, was downright festive. Cooling ceremonies and other purification ceremonies were necessary. There was plenty to do in the fields; according to the peasant calendar, the crops had to be weeded, the sheep sheared, the wool washed, the oxen tamed, the peas cut and the cornfields polished; Sacrifices to Mercury and Flora while Apollo was the protector of the month. On the other hand, May was a time of growth and early Roman farmers may have felt that being too cheerful would be provocative and that a more cautious attitude towards the spirit world would be the best way to ensure a good harvest.

116

THE ROMAN YEAR

The derivation of the word Maius has been hotly debated among Roman scholars, whose conclusions are presented by Macrobius, while Ovid, who offered three explanations (namely Maiestas, Maius, or the Mayan goddess), was embarrassed by the multiplicity of options (copy that ipsa nocet). brought. and desperate question what to do (quidfaciaml). The simplest and perhaps most likely explanation is that of the Roman goddess Maia, whose name is derived from the root mag, indicating growth or increase. On May 1, at a time when the harvest was growing, she received a sacrifice offered by Jhmen Volcanalis, and Aulus Gellius says that the priestly books of the Roman people and many of the early prayer books contained "Vulcan's Maia". among the deities to whom prayers were offered, but this connection to the fire god Vulcan remains rather obscure. she was the mother of Hermes (Mercury) in Greek legend. may l

Kal. Mai

Maia On May 1, as mentioned above, Maia received a sacrifice from the Jlamen Volcanalis. The sacrifice was a pregnant sow, which was a fitting sacrifice to the earth goddess Terra. Consequently, some writers, including the antiquarian Cornelius Labeo, identified Maia with the earth.148 (Bona Dea ad saxum) The first of May was the day of the dedication of the temple of Bona Dea on the slope of the Aventine, under a great rock . She was dedicated by Claudia, a vestal virgin, according to Ovid, but he may have confused her with another vestal virgin, Licinia, who died in 123 BC. BC she wanted to dedicate an altar and a chapel nearby, but the popes forbade her. Bona Dea may have been an earth goddess; She was thus seen by Cornelius Labeo, who identified her with Maia as well as other deities such as Fauna, Ops, and Fatua (Macrob.l.l2.21f.). If her name were just a translation of Agathe Theos, a Greek goddess related to Hygieia (health), it would not have been known until the 3rd century BC. Introduced in Rome in the year 300 a. C., but she may have been an older deity, later identified by her Greek name. . counterpart. Thanks to Macrobius, we know something about her ritual. Her cult was celebrated only by women, men were strictly excluded. The wine brought to her temple would be called milk (lac) and would be carried in a container called a honey pot (mellarium); this could indicate an early agricultural origin. the head of

117

I COULD

The goddess had to be covered with vine leaves. Many types of medicinal herbs were kept in her temple, as well as snakes, which were closely associated with the healing arts. According to legend, Myrtle was not allowed to enter the temple because Faun had beaten her daughter Fauna her (= Bona Dea) with a myrtle staff. This reference to beatings suggests the possibility of ritual flogging, and myrtle was generally excluded because it was highly sacred (taboo) and only used on special occasions. Be that as it may, the sacrifice offered to Bona Dea was a sow (sow). Festus also tells us that the sacrifice was called Damium, the priestess Damiatrix, and the goddess Damia herself. There was a Greek deity called Damia, similar to Demeter, whose cult was found in Taranto, from where it may have spread north to to Rome.149 In general, Bona Dea may well have been an earth goddess who promoted female fertility, and whose cult received supplements from other sources. She is best known in history for the scandalous attack on Fr. Clodio, who attended the celebrations disguised as a woman; However, these were not May Day rites, but a ceremony held in a magistrate's house in December (pp. 199 ff.). Laribus (Rev. Izq.) The Lares were guardian spirits of a single family, of mestizos (when they were celebrated in the Compitalia at the beginning of January: see p. 58 above) and of the State when they carried the title of Lares Prestites and it was like such, worshiped on May 1. These guardians of Lares had an altar (attributed to King Titus Tatius) that is probably identical to a lamb sacellum that Tacitus describes as one of the original corners of the pomerium on the northwest curve of Palatine Hill. Another monument was his temple at the top of the Via Sacra (see June 27, p. 156). Ovid says that on the altar were small idols worn by time, while a dog that used to stand at its feet had disappeared entirely in its day. He explains the dog as a vigilant guardian, like the lares praestites: pervigilantqueLarespervigilantquecanes. According to Plutarch, the Lares were dressed in dog skins, but in a denarius from 112/111 BC). ) wrapped around the legs; a dog sits between them; they commemorate two other protectors of Rome, Castor and Pollux.150 Plutarch adds that some Romans interpreted the Lares as punitive spirits like the Furies, whom the dog helped track down wrongdoers. The connection between the Lares Praestites and dogs is not known; that the animals were sacrificed to him

118

THE ROMAN YEAR

Houses are possible, but not very likely. From Ovid's overview, interest in the Lares Praestites appears to have waned, in part perhaps due to Augustus's promotion of the Lares Compitales. (Figure 4122). May 3

VNON.MAI.

Florae (Ven.) This entry, found only in the Venus calendar, may refer to the last day (consisting of games) of Floralia, which began on April 27 and with the Temple of Flora near the Circus Maximus, but most likely it was a ceremony in his other temple on the slopes of the Quirinal, the date of foundation and history of which are unknown (cf. Degrassi, In. It. p. 454). 9, 11, 13 May

VII, v, m ID. Mai.

religious indians

LEMURIA This festival of the dead was celebrated on three non-consecutive days (even days were considered unlucky, and all but two of the forty-five festivals marked in large letters on the calendars were celebrated on odd days). Calendar entries show that Lemuria was a public cult, but the nature of the sacrifice performed on it is unknown; almost everything we know of Ovid applies to private and domestic rites.151 The dead were celebrated in two periods. The February celebrations, Parentalia, Feralia and Caristia, were, as we have seen, quiet and peaceful occasions, but Lemuria, believed by Ovid to be older than Feralia, was a far more grisly event, when ghosts roamed and needed placating. . . . Lemurs were wandering spirits of the dead, returning to visit and perhaps threaten their kin: indeed, Ovid reports an unacceptable derivation of the word from Remus, whose violent death was atoned for by the festival establishment. They are defined by Porphyry as "wandering and terrifying shadows of the untimely dead" (wandering umbras) and by Nonius Marcellinus as "nocturnal apparitions (larvae) and terrors of spirits and beasts."152 In the domestic rite described by Ovid, the head of the family, stands barefoot at midnight (avoiding knots or obstacles of any kind). Then he makes an apotropaic gesture with his thumb between his closed fingers, washes his hands in pure water, and walks around the house spitting black beans out of his mouth, turning his head to one side and saying, "With these beans, I he redeemed me and mine.’ He repeats this nine times without looking back as the spirits follow him and carry him away.

119

I COULD

to the beans without being seen. Then he washes again, knocks on some bronze vessels and repeats the word *Ghosts of my fathers, leave* nine times (manes exitpaternae: words some scholars believe to be an Ovidian error). He then looks back and everything should be fine. The meaning of the beans is uncertain. Sometimes they were considered taboo; therefore, jlamen Dialis could not touch or even mention them. They may have been fertility symbols to grant strength and new life, or they may have been stand-ins for living family members that the spirits might want to kidnap. But did the late Republic Romans take these beliefs seriously? R. M. Ogilvie finds it this way: “At first glance, it is hard to imagine that Livy, Horace, or Agrippa would solemnly get out of bed and go through this ritual. And yet they probably did, at least in a modified form. M53 Even among many educated Romans there was a strong superstition. May 11

Video. May.

n religious day

Ma[niae]. (Ant. May.) Mania was probably sacrificed instead of Mars or Mater Matuta. Mania was the mother of Lares (Mater Larum); Her name probably means "the good one" and could be a euphemistic way of referring to the goddess of death. So Lemuria would be an appropriate time for them to receive the sacrifice; we have already seen (p. 59) how much she was venerated in Compitalia. When a family was in danger, an effigy of Mania could be hung on the front door. We also hear that ugly human figures made of flour were called maniae or maniolae, but these may be different from the figures of the goddess herself. In addition, nurses used the word coconut to scare small children.154 May 14

public relation

I WOULD GO

Marti Invictus (Ven.) The Temple of Mars Invictus was built in the year 135 a. founded in the Circus Flaminio by D. Junius Brutus Callaicus, consul. Designed by a Greek architect, it was adorned with verses by the poet Accius and contained a colossal statue of Mars by Scopas. This is probably the cult given in the Venus calendar reference. An entry "[...] Undefeated" in the Fasti Antiates major for May 15 does not necessarily refer to Mars, so it should not be confused with the assumption that the Venus calendar moved the ceremony forward one day.155

120

THE ROMAN YEAR

(Argeis) There was a procession of the Argei, as we saw on March 16 and 17, but we don't know what happened in their sacella. However, more is known about the activities of May 14. Dionysius of Halicarnassus, who witnessed the ceremonies, says that the popes, vestals, and praetors, having performed the prescribed pre-sacrifice, together with other citizens who could legitimately participate in the rites, threw themselves from the sacred bridge into the Tiber. Humanoid images called Argei; This, according to Dionysus, was a later substitution for human sacrifice to Saturn in earlier times. Other sources add a little more detail: Jhmen Dialis's wife, the Flaminka, who accompanied the procession, was forbidden to comb her hair or comb her hair, that is, she had to show signs of mourning instead of her wedding dress ( Aulus Gelio); the argei launched from the Sublician bridge were numbered 27 and made of reeds (varro); they were thrown into the river by the Vestal Virgins (Festus); According to an ancient tradition, old men over sixty were once thrown off a bridge (Ovid) and in their sixties deponte was a well-known saying from the time of Cicero* (Cicero), which Ovid explains as young men throwing older men of the electoral gateways (bridges) to control the elections. Finally, Plutarch calls the entire ceremony "the greatest of all purifications."156 The ceremony is dated May 14 by Ovid and is probably preferable to Dionysus's date of May 15. Another discrepancy arises regarding the number of argei, namely the puppets and the chapels, since the same name encompasses both. Dionysius gives 30, but Varro gives 27 or 24. The Varro* text reading is somewhat uncertain, but 27 is more likely (if 24 is accepted, this may apply to 6 chapels in each of Rome's 4 Serb regions). The number 27 (3 x 9) had a mystical meaning in Greece and Rome: in times of stress, for example, 207 and 200 BC. processions of 27 virgins marched through the streets of Rome singing hymns to Juno, and at the secular games of Augustus in 17 B.C. In the Temple of Apollo, choirs of 27 boys and 27 girls sang the ode that Horace composed. If Dionysus' number 30 is accepted* (and he did eventually see the dolls thrown into the river, but of course he may have miscounted or rounded the number), the 30 chapels probably corresponded to the 30 stations (curiae). ) of the city, one each. Another reasonable suggestion may be added, viz., that the dolls were carried to the chapels by the procession on March 17 and collected by the procession on May 14, which then made its way through the city to Sublician Bridge, where the Vestal Virgins.

I COULD

121

finally got rid of them. Finally, there remains the question, which the Romans themselves could not answer, which deity was honored or appeased by the rite: Ovid and Dionysus believed it to be Saturn, Verrius Flaccus thought Dis Pater, and some scholars believe it was the Tiber River, but the truth escapes us. However, it is now generally accepted that the ceremony was very old, and that Wissowa erred in assuming that puppets were not made until the 3rd century BC. they were replaced by human sacrifices.157

So we can get a good idea of what was seen on the streets of Rome on May 14, but the original purpose of the ceremony remained unknown even to the Romans who witnessed it, so it has encompassed an immense amount of modern speculation. accumulated. . Illustrated by numerous parallels from different parts of the world. Suffice it to mention some of the theories here. A substitute for human sacrifice? If so, was there a time when tribal elders were regularly killed, or alternatively was some other human sacrifice made to an unseen power (e.g. the Spirit of the Tiber) or were puppets always used symbolically of men? ? However, the Romans had no tradition of human sacrifice, which they practiced rarely and in very exceptional circumstances. Did the puppets represent the dying spirit of the vegetation that had submerged to revive it for the next season? But the date is not very appropriate. It was significant that the Popes maintained the oldest bridge in Rome, the wooden Sublician (whatever is meant by the papal derivation of pons and facere, "bridge builders"), and thus had to appease the Tiber River, given their dignity injured by the construction. of that old wooden bridge that his would-be victims could safely cross? Does the presence of the Vestals suggest a connection to protecting the ripe harvest? Was the rite semi-dramatic rather than primarily sacrificial? Does immersion in water indicate a period of rain? Did the Argei have anything to do with the Greek Argives? And so are the guesses. Perhaps it is safer to stick with Plutarch's belief that it was a great act of purification, whether or not we accept the idea that it was a purification of all the evils that had accumulated over the last year and that in the Argei were personified as demons. , and so it naturally followed soon after the more private and domestic expulsion of the spirits on Lemuria.

122 May 15

OR ROMAN ANO ID.MAI.

public notary

Feriae Iovi (Ven.) The ides of each month were Jupiter [Mercury], Maiae, [...JUnconquered (Ant. May.) Mercury, Maiae ad Circum Maximum (Fall.) Natalis Mercurii (Phil.) Sacrum Sacred Mercury ( Menol.) The cult of Maia on May 15, as we have seen (p. 116), was due to the fact that she was identified with the Greek Maia, mother of Hermes = Mercury, venerated on that day, which was recognized as a birthday since Mercury. The temple of her was outside the Pomerium on the Aventine Hill above the Circus Maximus and was traditionally built in 495 BC. inaugurated; it appears to have been shared with the other Maia of hers. The Ides of May became the festival of merchants (Mercatores) and the Temple of Mercury became the center of her guild (Collegium). Ovid (F.5673ff.) refers to an aqua mercurii (a spring or well) near the Capena Gate, from which a merchant drew water in fumigated jars; With this water he dipped a laurel branch and sprinkled it on the goods he had to sell and on her own hair. Even Sir James Frazer, with his extensive knowledge of customs, offers no parallel to this strange procedure. Ovid then has the merchant cynically pray to Mercury for forgiveness of his past and future perjury, as well as profits and continued ability to deceive his customers. According to legend, Mercury, whose name derives from merx, merces, "goods", was a thief. Despite the lack of direct evidence, it would be reasonable to assume that the merchant guilds spent the night of the Ides dining and celebrating together.158 The identity of the god Invictus (Undefeated) must remain a mystery unless the Venus calendar suggests a misunderstanding: feast day of Mars Invictus, which is unlikely (p. 119). May 21th

XII CAL. JUN.

public notary

AGONALIA Vediovi (Ven.) Since all but one of the calendars mention only Agonalia, it is not clear which deity was worshipped: possibly Vediovis, but not with certainty, since in the parallel case of January 11 we find Carmentalia in many calendars and Luturnae Ant. May., the latter not being worshiped in the first ceremony (see p. 64). For Vediovis, see page 56; on Agonália, p. 60

123

I COULD

may 23

xCAL. JUNE.

public notary

Volcano TUBILUSTRIUM Feriae (Ven. and Amit.) This was a repetition of the Tubilustrium performed on March 23 (see p. 94); If the ceremony was only for cleaning the trumpets used to call the next day's meeting, the reason for its repetition is obvious. However, this is less clear when it comes to debugging the army. If so, it may go back to the earliest days when Rome fought its immediate neighbors and each side wanted to fight in the time that they could prevent men from tilling the fields and deal a decisive blow (eg, destroy enemy crops). between sowing and harvest. the maize itself: the campaigns were therefore rather short, though May 23 seems too early for the trumpet blast of a returning army.159 What the ceremony meant later, when the campaigns lasted for months longer , cannot be guessed. Vulcan's feast had nothing to do with the tubulustrium, but the Romans invented a connection: since he was a blacksmith and god of fire, he was considered (eg by Ovid, F.5.725f.) as the blacksmith who made the trumpets in the tubulustrium. Vulcan, as we have seen (p. 116), had a connection with Maia, and his main festival was August 23. (Figure 4123). May 24

viii CAL. JUNE.

QRCF As in March, the Tubilustrium was followed by the formal dismissal of the Comitia by the Rex Sacrorum: after that, legal transactions could be negotiated (p. 94). 25th of May

VIIIICAL.JUN.

Fortunae Publicae Populi Romani Quiritium on the Quirinale Hill (Caer.) Fortunae Primigeniae on the Hill (Ven.) As we have seen (April 5, p. 100), the three temples of Fortuna were probably dedicated to Fortuna herself, to knowing (entirely) the goods of the Roman people from the primitive quiricios. The Quirinal temple, which Tito Livio (29.36.8) calls Fortuna Primigenia, was built in 204 BC. Promised by P. Sempronius Tuditanus and inaugurated ten years later. If the Venus calendar is not mistaken, another temple of Primal Fortune stood on Capitoline Hill (see November 13). (Figure 4124).

124

THE ROMAN YEAR

Feriae Conceptivae (Ambarvalia) This festival was a 'battle of the borders', a cleansing of the fields of bad influences, in which sacrifices were brought across the borders of the affected area and then offered to the appropriate spirits or deities. . Within this magical circle, the land was thus freed from all harm ("lustration" comes from luere, for "free"). Ambarvalia was both public and private and affected the borders of both early Rome and individual peasants. It was a movable festival (conceptivae) and therefore it does not appear in the calendars, but it seems that it was celebrated in May, when the rustic menology says "segtes lustrantur" and May 29 may have been taken as the usual date. In May, the Arval brothers held a similar agricultural festival in honor of Dea Dia in their sacred grove outside Rome (see p. 30). It is not certain whether it was identical with Ambarvalia, although a sentence of Paul's (5L), as amended, may suggest so: Ambarvales hostiae dicehantur quae pro arvis a duodecim (MSS duobus) fratribus Sacrificientur ('the sacrifices made on behalf of the fields of the twelve brothers they were called the sacrifices of Ambarvales). What we know about the Arvales reveals little else about the Ambarvalia. More is known of the private than the public celebration, for Cato records the peasant's prayer and both Virgil and Tibulus give poetic descriptions of the festivals. Cato (Agr. 141) tells how the land should be cleared. A suovetaurilia, a procession of pigs, sheep, and oxen, was to be led around him, and the following words were to be used: "By the good help of the gods, may our labors be crowned with success, I command you, Manius [a constable , I guess or maybe a 'John Doe'?] so that my farm, my land, my soil is cleansed with this suovetaurilia wherever you see fit to drive or carry. Say a prayer of wine to Janus and Jupiter and say: "Father Mars, I beg you and I beg you..." The first part of this prayer is already written on page 84. It continues: "With this intention, with this intention to purify (lustrandi) and to make atonement (lustri faciendi) my court, my land, my soil, deign to accept the sacrifice of these child sacrifices (suvetaurilibus lactentibus).” Also 'stack the cakes with the knife and see if the sacrificial cake (fertum) is near, then present the offerings' The pig, lamb and calf are then sacrificed, but if no favorable omens are obtained, one should to atone for an additional sacrifice, or if a particular animal does not please Mars, then "since you were not pleased with the sacrifice of that pig, I atone with this pig."As Cato leads us to the central act of the ceremony, the poets serve as backdrop for rural purification parties, where below

I COULD

125

Mars, the god of strength, Ceres, the goddess of growth, may be worshipped. Tibullus (2.1) invokes Bacchus and Ceres and warns against sinister words when "we purify crops and fields in the manner handed down to us by our ancient ancestors." On this holy day man and beast must rest: the vinedresser hangs his part, the crowned oxen lie well fed in their mangers, the women stop spinning; All celebrations must be ritually clean, with hands ceremonially washed and free of stains from the previous night's intercourse. Then 'the holy lamb goes to the resplendent altar, and behind him a procession dressed in white and with olive leaves in their hair'. Then the prayer came, the sacrifices were slaughtered and their entrails were examined, and when everything was in order, portions were put. on the altar fire, and revelers could sit down to eat and drink. Virgil also describes (Geor. 1.345) how the sacrifice was paraded three times around the young crop, followed by a singing and dancing crowd, which, draped in oak trees, invited Ceres to her house. These Ambarvalia celebrations were still performed by individual peasants throughout the republic, but they also became an official celebration. When Rome was a group of Iron Age towns, victims could easily be herded around the boundaries of each settlement and then around the unified city. But as Rome grew, it was physically impossible to follow its expanding borders beyond a few kilometers: instead sacrifices were apparently made at certain fixed points. Thus Strabo (5.3.2) recalls that in his day, during the reign of Augustus, the priests celebrated a feast called Ambarvia, both at a place called Festi, between the fifth and sixth marks of Rome, and on the same day several other places. which are considered limits. This must refer to Ambarvalia whether or not the priests identify with the Arval brothers. There are later parallels (or vestiges). The ceremonies of the Christian Church on Rogation days have much in common with the Roman Robigalia (the Rogatio Maior fell on April 25, just like the Robigalia), but they also reflect at least one characteristic of Ambarvalia, namely the ring roads. . . In the Greater Litany ritual, harvest prayers are recited and an Italian priest leads his flock through the fields. Pastors, church guards and parishioners used to walk around the borders, praying for the prosperity of the fields and defending the rights of the parish. The boundaries were marked with willow sticks, and sometimes the boys from the community were also beaten or thrown to the ground. The ceremony would help fix the boundaries of the community in the minds of the next generation at a time when maps were scarce.

126

THE ROMAN YEAR

June The derivation of the name for the month of June was debated by the Romans, and Ovid gave the argument a mythological form by depicting three rival deities claiming the honor: Juno argued that her own name was the origin, while Juventas claimed it. goddess der Jugend sei claimed that the name was derived from junior, so Concordia indicated that she had reconciled and united the Romans and Sabines (su iunctis, from jungo). The poet discreetly refused to choose. However, Juno herself may have descended from iuvenis ('young woman' or *bride') rather than the same root as Jupiter, and if accepted, Ovid's two statements could essentially be reconciled as one. However, the Romans were not sure, as improbable tradition shows that the name of the month was related to M. Iunius Brutus, the first consul who made a sacrifice (not to Juno, but to a goddess named Carna) on Caelius Hill. in June. . 1 when Tarquin was expelled.160 If the month is named after Juno (perhaps via Etruscan uni), its connections to him are unremarkable. It is true that the kalends were sacred to her (see p. 42), but also the kalends of each month: probably because it was thought to help women and their menstrual flow, and for this reason she was associated with the moon. In very ancient times, when the Romans used a true lunar calendar, each month after the sighting of the new moon, a minor Pope and the Rex sacrificed Sacrorum to Juno and announced the date of the Nones (see p. 43), while the rex's wife became her also sacrificed in the Regia.161 Another connection between Juno and the month of June was that Juno Regina was worshiped on the kalends in her temple on the Capitol, which was celebrated on that day in 344 BC. . (look down); Of course, Juno was also worshiped in September at the Capitol in the temple she shared with Jupiter Optimus Maximus and Minerva. In general, her connections with the month of June were unremarkable. The first half of June, like all of May, was not considered an auspicious time to get married. Indeed, Ovid (F.6.219ff) says, perhaps with poetic freedom, that he consulted the wife of the Jlamen Dialis about the marriage of his own daughter and advised her to do it after June 15, that is, until after the wait. of the trash. year the temple of Vesta was washed into the Tiber. Also, many, if not all, of the days between the 7th and the 15th on which no public or private business or travel was to be conducted were religious, not so much because it was technically illegal as inadvisable. According to rustic calendars, the month was under the protection of Mercury and consecrated to Hercules and Fons Fortuna, and farmers were instructed to cut the hay and dig the earth around the vines.

127

JUNE

June

LIME. SOMEBODY

norte

Iunoni Monetae (Ven.) Iunoni en Arce (Ant. May.) The temple of Juno Moneta built in 345 BC. Promised by M. Furio Camilo, it was consecrated on June 1, 344; it probably replaced a former center of worship of the goddess. Later, the Church of S. Maria in Aracoeli on the Capitoline Hill took its place. The title Moneta was given to Juno in thanks for a timely warning (monere), either because her sacred geese saved the Capitol from an attack by the Gauls in 390 when her just-in-time whistles endangered Manlius or, according to Cicero , because during an earthquake a voice from the Temple of Juno warned people not to offer expiation (procuratio) to a pregnant sow.162 Later, when the Romans began to use money during the Pyrrhic War, a mint was established in or near his temple, and therefore Moneta meant "mint", and therefore our word "money" is indirectly derived from Juno Moneta, "the Warner". (Pis 24, 4125, 26). Martí in Clivo (Ant. May.) The Temple of Mars was outside the Capena Gate, on the slope of Mars, between the first and second milestones on the left of the Via Appia; this section of road was built in the year 189 a. repaired when provided with a portico; It was known as Via Coberta (Via Tecta) and the surrounding neighborhood as adMartis. The temple contained a statue of Mars and some wolves. It was inaugurated on June 1, probably in the year 388. Soldiers going to war gathered here, at least occasionally, and it was here that the transvectio equitum began on July 15, a spectacular march commemorating the victory of the Roman cavalry (see page 164). ). (Tempestatibus) L. Cornelius Scipio, consul in 259 BC. B.C., he dedicated a temple to storms after surviving a major storm in Corsica in the First Punic War. This is recorded in the verses of Saturn in the epitaph for him on the tomb of Scipios outside the Capena Gate; the temple was near. Cicero, when questioning whether natural phenomena such as rainbows and clouds should be considered deities, affirms that storms were consecrated according to the rites of the Roman people. The date of the celebration, however, was in doubt: Ovid assigns it to June 1, but a calendar (Ant, mai.) gives December 23. Ovid may be wrong, of course, but there may be two temples dedicated to the Tempests, or a restoration of one.164

128

THE ROMAN YEAR

(Meats). Carna was a very ancient goddess who had a temple on the hill of Caelius and was worshiped on June 1, 165. Ovid obscures the matter by identifying her with the "goddess of hinges" (Cardea?), closed, and concludes, that It's open*. This may have only allowed him to tell the story of Cardea's seduction by Janus, who rewarded her with a white thorn to ward off vampire attacks (striges). Ovid gives a terrible description of these terrible owls; their attacks could be frustrated by touching the posts with arbutus leaves three times and marking the threshold three times; After spraying the entrance with special water, raw intestines from a two-month-old sow were offered. Then came the prayer: “O birds of the night, spare the internal organs of the child: a little victim falls in love with a little boy. Take, please, heart for heart, gut for gut. We give you this life for a better life.” After the sacrifice, the entrails were exposed to the open air and those present were forbidden to look back. This example of vicarious sacrifice has been cited at length, partly to illustrate an interesting part of magical belief, partly because, although Ovid misidentified Carna with Cardea, the ritual perhaps applies to the former, as Macrobius of Carna says, "that this goddess presides over the vital organs of man" (humanis visceribus). Whether or not Carna was able to help drive out the vampires, Macrobius says that prayers were offered to him for the preservation of the liver, heart, and other internal organs. Bean flour and lard were offered as offerings (vomito fabacia et larido) because this was the best food to strengthen the body: 'because the kalends of June are popularly called Kalendae Fabariae because in this month ripe beans are sacrificed'.Ovid asks why fat bacon is eaten at kalends and why broad beans are mixed with spicy spelt; he replies that these simple foods do not harm the intestines and suggests that such an offering to Carna will ensure good digestion for the coming year. Varro adds that on this day bean porridge was offered to the gods both in public and in private. Although this custom has survived for a long time (a late inscription refers to the festival as Carneria), Carna itself seems to have fallen increasingly into oblivion. In Lemuria, as we have seen (p. 118), beans were used to drive spirits out of a house, but that does not necessarily mean that Carna was a goddess of the underworld (as Wissowa suggested), or that she had to be turned into a goddess. one of the Moon (with Pettazzoni). Her function seems to have been to promote a healthy body, although her name is not actually derived from caro, carnis "meat".166

SACRIFICE

1 Sacrificial procession of oxen, sheep and pigs (suvetaun"/ia). From: Altar of Cn .Domiti u5 Ahe:nobarbU5

2 bull sacrifices before the altar. Or: The victim's head is searched (lower right): the reason for the strike

PRIEST

3 Marble relief of the Feast of the Vestals. From the altar of the Piedad Augusta 4 Fbmen and Pontifex. Detail of the Macaw Pacis

Desire

5 Bronze liver from PiKenza, used for hepatoscopy 6 Feeding of sacred chickens (Jign/l ex lipmliiJ) . Depicted in /IN Jlgn/l/IIII1, an ancient bronze 7 Haruspex coin examining the entrails of a victim

JANUARY

8 The land along the Tiber where there were many temples, p. de Vediovis ~ and Aesculapius 9 Cult statue of Vediovis from the temple of him behind the Tabubrium 10 Restored Adiru / a de Jl, I!uma in the Roman Forum

JANUARY

11 ·Temple of Cauor and Pollux after excavations in 1871, showing the main mirror and ntps on the east side 12 Genaa! View of the Temple of Castor and Pollul (from the P~htine

FEBRUARY

13 The Church of Saint Nicob C~rn·re was built (and partially integrated) over three temples in the (Forum Holitorium). One is attributed to Juno So~piv, another to St'("on{i In in in

5"",\4 Statue of Juno Sospita clad in goatskin charging into battle. rrom Lmuvium 15 bronze statuette from a Lar 16 tomb of the baker Eurysaces near the Poru Maggiore in Rome. The Festival of the Ovens (FornacaJia) took place in February

MARCH

17 Aerial view of the Regia in the Forum 18 A$;Icra Via, between Ve~t~ Temple (right) and Regia (I.)

19 gravure. shows the movement of the sacred shields (allcili/l) by two Salic priests! 20 Bronze biconical urn. with armed dancers. early 7th century B.C. BC, by Binzio

21 Terracotta statue head of Minerva. Found near S.Omobono in the Forum Boarium. late 6th century B.C.

APRIL MAY

22 Front of the Temple of the Magna Mater on the Palatine Hill, with an altar in the foreground 23 Apr of Vermina protecting cattle from worms (Vermolilio). Dedicated by A. Postumius Albinus, probably consul from 180 BC. Found in the Servian Agger in Rome

JUNE

24 Reiving belong to the ~ reconstruction of C. Sosius (.33 aC 30 Republiom Temples C, B and A in Largo Argentina, from the south. The identifications are very uncertain: C was claimed by Feronia, B by Fortuna Huiusque Diei and A." by the remains of Juno Curit

AUGUST

31 Smue of Hercules Victor excavated near S.Maria in Cosmedin 32 girls sacrificing Diana. A fresco in the Vatican 33 Archaic goal in the Roman Forum, traditionally equated with the volcano

SEPTEMBER

35 Aerial view of Circus M ~xinllllS between Aventine and P~l~tinusgebirge 36 Chuiot r~ce in Circus Maximus, shown in Urophagus 1I

< 34 Two surviving temples at the Forum Borio near the Tiber, one called Temple Fortullus, the round temple is attributed to M ~ ~r Matuta or Vesta. One might even be dedicated to the port god Portunus.

DECEMBER / FACE AND FUNERAL

37 Temple of $;Iturn, where the Treasury (Aerário) functioned. Traditionally founded in 49811 [the exile podium belongs to a reconstruction in 42 BC. cr

38 Remains of the Republic;m RostrJ, during the eXC l\'ation~ 1956. On the right is the Lapis Niger and probably the burial scene of Volcmal proper 39. From Amittron

•

%~i"

" "

40 For capdon scc page 145

" "

frequently

..: ~.'

" "

4 J for game caprio n' page 145

145 All coins shown are Roman denarii unless otherwise noted. Usually the name of the mint master and the date of issue are given. Figures slightly enlarged (except Nos. 32 and 35, which are reduced).

holding torches 7 Cybele in a chariot of lions 1 King Numa with a lituus; 8 tripod of Apollo with altar lighted by serpents; vitimarius driving an intertwined goat 9 Genius Populi Romani (?). L. Pomponius Milo. towards 97 seated on a curul chair, BC (p. 24) 2 holding Apex of Flamen between two scepters and standing on a globe. Salico shields. L. Licinius Stolo. S. lentulus. 74 aC (p. 52) Jugate of 10 heads of the Dioscuros. 17 a.C. (p. 86) M'.Cordius Rufus. 46 a.C. (p. 3-8 Five types of coins were 66) 78 aC. 11 The Dioscuros on horseback BC issued by M. Volteius, referring (illustrated by the deities) to the Ludi Romani, reverse type common in Plebeii, Cerials, Megalenses denarii after the first edition 211 BC. and Apollinares: (p. 66) 3 laurel heads of Jupiter (p. 12 heads of Juno Sospita. 101) L.Roscius Fabatus. 64 aC (p. 71) 13 Vs. of 12. Girl and serpent 4 The Capitoline Temple facing (p. 71) 5 Head of Liber, dressed in ivy 14 Ceres seated, wreathed with maize and serpent. The inscription (ca. 6 Ceres in a chariot of serpents, 40).

41 20 Half figure of a child holding a poster with the inscription SORS. M. Pleatory. 69 BC (p. 100) 21 Temple of Venus Erucina on Mount Eryx in Sicily. C. Considio Nonianus. 57 a.C. (p. 107) 22 Lares Prestites seated, with dog in centre. Bust of Vulcan with pincers on top. L. Caesar. 112 or 111 a.C. (p. 118) 23 Bust of Vulcan, with pincers to shoulder. L.Cotta. 105 BC (p. 123,179) 24 head of the Fortune Populi Romani. Q. Sicinio. 49 aC (p. 123) 25 Head of Juno Moneta. T. Carisius. 46 a.C. (p. 127) 26 Rev. Dr. of 25. Anvil and punch, with tenacious and hammer (p. 127) 27 Head of Vesta. F. Cassius.

55 aC (p. 149) 28 rev. of 27. Temple of Vesta. Interior of curul chair, urn and plaque with inscription A C (acquitted, condemned) (p. 149) 29 Hercules plays the lyre. Registered in HERCULES MUSARUM. Q. Pomponius Muse. 66 BC (p. 171) launching 30 heads of Honos and Virtus. Fufio Calleno. 70 a.C. (p. 165) 31 Victory is high. T. Cloelio. 128 BC (p. 166) 32 Sestertius of the Emperor Tiberius with the Temple of Concordia. In the central shrine is a statue of Concord flanked by Mercury {[.) and Hercules (r.); Above the pediment are statues of other deities, 35-36 dC (p. 167) 33 Sun-irradiated head. Sr. Anthony. 42 aC (p. 171) 34 Head of Diana. An entry-

I remember the DEA. We press the muesli

FECIT) alludes to the first celebration of Cerialia in or before 211 a. C.Memius, 56 b.c. (p. 101) 15 Q.Fabius Pictor, Quirinalisy Fleming seated and holding a Flemish prong, with the armor of a praetor, that is, the praetor of the 189 a. N. Fabio Pictor. 126 aC (p. 79) 16 Head with helmet of bearded Mars. Anonymous didrachm. 280-276 BC. (p. 86) 17 Head of Liber crowned with ivy. L. Cassius. 78 aC (p. 91) 18 Rev. of 17. Head of Libera with wreath of vines (p. 91) 19 Head of Venus. Julius Caesar. 47-46 aC (p. 96)

rat albino 81 aC (p. 174) 35 Head of Janus in liberal bronze. 225-217 BC (p. 176) 36 Sila, crowned in Victory, at Quadriga, celebrating his triumph. L. Sila. 82 BC (p. 196,215) 37 Rome, seated on a heap of armor and crowned with victory. Records the first celebration of Ludi Victoriae of Sulla; Sex. Nonius praetor ludos Victoriae primus fecit. M. Nonio Suphenas. 59 aC (p. 196) 38 Election scene. A voter receives a ballot from the attendant under the bridge; another puts his in the box (cyst). nerve P. 113 or 112 B.C. (p. 229) 39 Voting scene. Vote Drop Ping Tablet Market V in Cista. L. Cassius Longinus. 63 aC (p. 229)

146 June 3

THE ROMAN YEAR

a NO. JUN.

Bellonae in Circo Flaminio (Ven.) A temple dedicated to Bellona, the goddess of war, was built by Appius Claudius Caecus in 296 BC. Promised during a war against the Etruscans and Samnites and inaugurated a few years later on the Field of Mars near the last Circus of Flaminio. Fragments of the Severan marble plan of Rome now show that it can no longer be identified with the republican temple discovered in 1937. It was outside the walls of Rome and therefore could have been conveniently used as a meeting place for for the Senate to receive foreign ambassadors who advised them not to be admitted to the city, or to receive returning Roman generals who were making reports to the Senate or begged for a triumph, since while they had empire they could not enter within the walls. In front of the temple was a small column (columella) on which a fecal priest, declaring war on an enemy abroad, threw a spear into "enemy territory" (see p. 30). Bellona has sometimes been identified with the dark Nerio, the cult partner of Mars (see #114), and with the Greek goddess of war Enyo (some even believe her origins may have been Greek, since they can't be traced back to ancient times). before 296 B.C.). may). 167

June 4

public relations no. IUN.

Herculi Magno Custodi (Ven.) Ludi in Minicia (Phil.) Ovid (F.6.209ff.) says that the temple of the guardian Hercules was near the circus of Flaminius, and refers to an inscription by Sulla who may have found it in his place. restored has dedicated the temple for the first time. It was probably the Temple of Hercules built by order of the Sibylline books and in which 218 BC. after Hannibal's first victories pleas were made. The Porticus Minucia was built in the Circus Flaminius in 110, and the games held there may have been associated with the nearby cult of Hercules.

5th June

NO. JUN.

norte

Dio Fidio on the Hill (Ven.) Dios Fidius parece means "Divine faith (faith)". Ha habido mucho debate sobre si este espíritu era originally el mismo o diferente

JUNE

147

from Semo Sancus: Anyway, they turned out to be consistent. ). One has been personalized as Sancus, which appears to be a Sabine name (Sancus has sometimes been corrupted to Sanctus, as in Propertius 4.9.74 where he is identified with Hercules). In historical times it was associated with oaths and treaties, and a common oath was medius fidius or me diusfidius (or even me hercule). Curiously, these oaths had to be taken in the open air: this was one of the Roman questions asked by Plutarch (28): "Why should children leave the house when they want to swear?" The correct answer was probably that the swearer could not hide from the sky god. In fact, Dius Fidius could simply be a specialized form of the sky god Jupiter, an example of the common practice whereby the specialized functions of the great gods were channeled to new subordinate deities. The roof of the temple of Dius Fidius must be open to the sky. It may also be related to Fisius Sansios or Fisouios Sansios of the Iguvina Tablets (see p. 83). The Temple of Semo Sancus Dius Fidius (to give it its full name) was located on the Quirinal, between Vie Nazionale and the Quirinale, near the Gardens of S. Silvestro degli Arcioni. Supposedly founded by Tarquinius Superbus, it was not founded until 466 BC. inaugurated. It contained a statue of Gaia Caecilia, or Tanaquil, wife of Tanquinius Priscus; On the belt were amulets called praestia, the remains of which the faithful took as protective talismans. It also housed the first treaty between Rome and Gabii, inscribed on an ox skin. In a sanctuary were bronze rings (Aenei Orbs) made from property confiscated from a Vitruvian traitor in 329; These could run parallel to the urfeta (=orbit), the ring or disk held by the officiating priest in the iguvium. A dedication to Semo found on the Quirinal was made by a group of bidentate priests (deciria sacerdotum bidentalium); another from Tiber Island indicates a cult there as well. A bidal was a place struck by lightning where an atonement had been made for two-year-old sheep (bidentals). Presumably the priests made such offerings to Semo Sancus. The Tiber Island inscription was seen or known by the Christian writers Justin Martyr and Tertullian, who also mention a statue and misinterpret it as a reference to the sorcerer Simon Magus. Near the Temple of the Quirinal there was a door called Porta Sanqualis, which contained the name of Sancus. The cult of Semus, which guaranteed oaths, lasted long in Rome and was perhaps more prominent in public life than his minor role suggests.169

148 7. June

THE ROMAN YEAR

vn-ID .JUN

n religious day

(Vesta aperitur) The cult of Vesta culminated in Vestalia on June 9, but the days before and after were dedicated to her and declared religiosi and nefasti. On the 7th the storehouse (Penus), the Holy of Holies of the Temple of Vesta, was opened, but only to women, since men were prohibited from entering the Temple; it was closed again on the 15th. The service will be discussed in connection with the festival on the 9th of June. (Piscatorii Ludi) Ovid recalls the games organized and held by fishermen on the Field of Mars, named after the Tiber River. However, Festus places it on the other side of the river. The Amiternum calendar assigns December 8 to Tiberinus on the Island. So, since the god controlled the middle of the river, perhaps the celebrations were held on both banks. Festus tells that these games were celebrated by the praetor Urban on behalf of the fishermen of the Tiber, "whose catch is not taken to the market, but to the territory of Vulcan, because this species of live fish is given to this god as a gift". , instead of human souls". Varro adds that in Volcanalia on August 23 (see p. 179) people threw animals into the fire instead of themselves (pro se). This strange procedure can be explained as an offering to the god from fire by creatures that, if alive, were generally safe from him, lest he do harm to objects that could easily catch fire in the heat of June 17. The Sanctuary of Vulcan*s (Volcanal) it was located in the Roman Forum at the foot of the Capitoline Hill in the Volcani Area, which contained no temple Little is known about the ancient cult of the Tiber (Tiberinus) Its institution was attributed to Romulus and recorded in the litanies of the popes and in the prayers of the augurs.171 June 8

would you do it to SOMEONE

n religious day

Menti in Capitolio According to a Sibylline oracle, Mens (mind or right thinking) was born in 217 BC. temple promised by the praetor T. Otacilius after the battle of Trasimene and inaugurated two years later. It has also been attributed to M. Aemilius Scaurus in 115, who probably restored it. Thus an abstract idea was deified and personified, possibly in the sense of a reminder to encourage Romans to remember their religious duties in times of crisis, or possibly to provide an escape from spiritlessness.

149

JUNE

which supposedly led C. Flaminius to the Trasimene disaster. The goddess was often referred to as Mens Bona.172 June 9

v. I WOULD GO. JUNE.

NDiesreligioso

VEST ALIA The private cult of Vesta, the guardian of the home, goes back to very primitive times when each family in their hut had to appease the spirit that watched over their home. As the herding villages began to merge into a single community, the need for a common center was felt and this was established in the Forum Valley, which was not among the first inhabited areas. Thus, a public cult of Vesta was established, and her fire was constantly visited by Vestals, who may have been the successors of the king's daughters who once tended the palace hearth. The cult centered around a circular building that was actually a "house" (pedes) and not a temple; Its unusual shape preserved the shape of the first huts. (No part of the surviving building predates the Augustan period.) It contained no statue of Vesta, but a fire that never went out: this was ritually rekindled every March 1 by the primitive method of rubbing two sticks together, the ignited tinder carried into the hearth in a bronze sieve. A similar method was used when the fire was put out: the vestals were flogged in addition to this arduous task. An inner holy of holies, the penis, was closed. Its content is unknown, since only the Vestal Virgins and the Pontifex Maximus could access it; Although the temple was open to women for eight days of worship beginning June 7, they were likely barred from entering this intimate sanctuary. Here sacred items used in various rituals were kept (eg ashes for the parilia: see p. 105) and a statue of Pallas Athena, the palladium saved by Aeneas, is believed to burn Troy and maintain Rome safe, along with two small figures of the Penates (the gods of Penus, the storehouse) of the Roman people. (Pee 4127:28). The Vestal Virgins not only cultivated the sacred fire, but also made the "sacred" cake (box), the mola sauce, for use on Vestalia. First they had to bring water from a sacred spring; This was a normal task as no water* was poured into the temple or the adjacent buildings where they lived. Originally, they had to go to the Egeria Spring in front of the Capena Gate, but later they were probably allowed to use the Juturna Spring near their temple (by the Emperor's time, the Egeria Spring had fallen into disrepair). Water must not be put on the road, as contact with the earth can destroy its power: it is therefore carried in narrow-bottomed containers that cannot be transported.

150

THE ROMAN YEAR

put without spilling Salt also had to be specially prepared: brine was drawn from a saline solution and then pounded in a mortar and boiled in a pot; the resulting bulge was cut with a hacksaw as necessary. The vestals salted the grain or flour with it, using the ears of spelled that they had collected, threshed and ground on the 7th, 9th and 11th of May. They then processed this into mola sauce, but didn't necessarily roast it and presumably offered it to Vesta. They also had to sweep the roosters on June 15 (see below).173 The day became a festival for bakers and millers, and Ovid says that both the millwheels and the donkeys that turned them were adorned with garlands of violets and they were hung with small cakes. A mural in Pompeii depicts such a scene.174 Ovid also reports that in the time of Vestalia, on the road (real or imagined) to the Forum, he met a barefoot matron. This suggests that women allowed to visit the temple had to remove their shoes before entering and also seem to have brought simple offerings: "A clean plate contains the food offered to Vesta* (F.6.310). In fact, however, very little is known about the public aspect of the festival.June 11

IIIID.IUN.

N?(?)Diesreligiosus

MATRALIA Main Matutae (Ant. May.) The festival of mothers, Matralia, was celebrated in honor of Mater Matuta, an ancient Italian goddess worshiped in many places in central Italy. The Romans generally derived her name from mane, "morning", and therefore regarded her as a goddess of light: thus in Lucretius she is the dawn: "Matuta diffuses the rosy dawn through the regions of the ether and scatters its light" (roseam Matuta per oras/aetheris auroram differentt et lumina pandit). However, this view is now generally discounted. Varro's explanation is that she tended the ripe corn (frumentis madurescentibus), but there is little evidence that she was in any way a goddess of the earth or associated with the fields. Perhaps Varro's "maturation" could extend to human birth, as there is evidence that she associates with women and children. Ovid erroneously identified her with the Greek Leucothea, goddess of the sea, who in turn was identified with Ino; this provides the poet with good mythological material, but we need not worry here. June 11, and both were born in 213 B.C. destroyed by fire and rebuilt the following year. The location of these two neighboring temples has

151

JUNE

they have been excavated in recent years near (one partly below) the Church of S. Omobono. The long history of the buildings cannot be described here, but they date back to sixth-century royalty and display a rich variety of luminous terracotta decoration; The site also contains numerous Greek and Etruscan vases from the 6th century. Mater Matuta also had a famous temple at Satricum, which the Romans saved when they destroyed the city in 346. A large number of terracotta ex-votos dedicated to her were found here: among them organ models, internal organs of the human body, babies wrapped in fabrics and groups of kurotrophic figures (“mother and child”). These emphasize the concern of the goddess* for the birth and care of children176 (Pis 25, 26). Her cult included a number of strange practices. The statue of her could only be adorned by the wife of a first marriage (univira). Female slaves were excluded from the temple, except that apparently one female slave was taken in annually and then slapped and whipped on the head (just as a warning to others, or to survive a fertility rite?). Plutarch, who records this, reports that in his hometown of Chaeronea, a temple guard stood whip in hand before the enclosure of Leucothea and proclaimed: "Let not enter any slave, nor any Aetolian, man or woman", but does not refer specifically. to the flogging of a slave as in Rome. The sacred cakes (testuacia) offered to the goddess were cooked in ancient clay pots (testu); Ovid calls them liba tosta. After all, women prayed to the goddess first, not for her own children, but for her nieces and nephews. This seemed so improbable to some that it has been suggested that the object of their requests might have been their puerisororii in the sense of adolescent children, sororii being understood not as an adjective of soror but of sororiare, which Festus explains as "the growth of females." ”. Breasts \ However, since Ovid and Plutarch seem to think that the prayer was intended for nieces and nephews, this may have been done in her time, although it is due to a misunderstanding of an earlier practice involving adolescents. On the other hand, another opinion is that the rite arose accidentally: once, under unusual circumstances, a woman had to pray for her sister's children, and this became part of the festival: the ritual was sometimes influenced by the coincidence In any case, the Matralia, who dealt with the birth and care of children, was accompanied by some strange rites. seen, to that of Mater Matuta, but there was probably no connection between the cults, especially since this fortune was called the Virgin,

152

THE ROMAN YEAR

and the girls dedicated their cloaks to him at the wedding. The temple contained a mysterious statue believed by some, such as Ovid, to represent Servius Tullius, who had dedicated the temple; he was covered in 'curly robes' (undulatae togae) of the type worn by the kings of Rome. However, Pliny and Varro thought that the statue represented Fortuna, although the tunics belonged to Servius and were made by Tanaquil; Pliny believed that they survived until Sejanus's death in AD 31. (interestingly, Sejanus had a statue of Fortuna that was said to belong to Servius, whether he stole it from the temple or not). At any rate it had been there some years before, as Dionysius seems to have seen it: he says that it represented Servius and that it was made of wood and that it survived the fire of 213, while the temple and all its contents were replacements; he was still worshiped by the Romans in his day. Another suggestion was that the statue represented chastity (Pudicitia).17* June 13

I WOULD GO. JUNE .

religious day NP

Feriae lovi (Ven.) All the ides were sacred to Jupiter. Only Ovid mentions the dedication of a temple to Jupiter Invictus on this day; he had already indicated a dedication to Jupiter Victor on the Ides (April 13). Possibly the two anniversaries refer to the same temple (a temple replacing a previous sanctuary?). -fifteen. June. The latter was a guild festival of flutists (tibicines) that played an important part in religious ceremonies, though only occasionally, to muffle any sinister noise; They also attended funerals and lively parties. Tito Livio tells how they settled in 311 a. B.C., having been forbidden by the censors to hold their traditional festival in the Temple of Jupiter, withdrew to Tibur until the Senate persuaded the Tiburtines to return them; This was accomplished through a ruse. Upon their return, they were allowed to wander the city for three days a year in festive regalia (ornati), play music and enjoy the usual license today, and for those who attended religious ceremonies, the right to dine in the temple. . It was established restored". On the other hand, Varro says that the Tibicinos wandered through the city and met in the temple of Minerva, and Festus adds that the day was the feast of Minerva that the Tibicinos adored and that she was worshiped in the March Quinquatrus Apparently they met at the Temple of Minerva on the Aventine.

153

JUNE

and dined with Jupiter. Their three days of wandering the streets of the city, dressed in masks and long robes (stolae longae, which were women's clothing) must have delighted Rome, especially when they played "in the midst of serious public and private affairs." as noted by Valerius Maximus.180 June 15

xvi (Julian xvii) CAL.

QUINTO Q.ST.D.F.

a religious day

Vesta clauditur (Philippians) The day was given the title "Als stercum delatumfas" because the filth was swept from the then closed Temple of Vesta and public business was allowed. The land was moved to an alleyway in the middle of the Capitoline slope in a port of Stercoria and (later, according to Ovid) carried up to the Tiber. This ended the time focused on Vestalia and the maidens were able to return to their normal routine.181 June 19

XII (Julian xm) CAL. QUINTO

Minervae in Aventino This temple was inaugurated on March 19. Therefore, this June 19 entry could refer to a restoration of the Temple by Augustus (Res Gest. 6) or to its constitutio in opposition to its earlier dedication. June 20th

xi (Julian xii) CAL. FIFTH

Summano ad Circum Maximum Reddita, quisque is est, Summano templa feruntur Turn cum Romanis, Pyrrhe, timendus eras (Ovid) The temple is said to have been dedicated to Summanus, whoever he may be, in a time when you, Pyrrhus, a terror to the Romans. This temple, which stood near the Circus Maximus, probably on the west side of the Aventine, was built around 278 BC. Founded after a terracotta statue of Summanus found on the roof of the Capitoline Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus was struck by lightning. probably at night. Not finding the head, the diviners (haruspices) said that it had been thrown into the Tiber, but it was soon recovered from the exact place they indicated. A temple to Summanus was then built, ironically in 197 BC. was struck by lightning. Unlike Cicero, however, Livy says that Jupiter himself struck a statue; Have,

154

THE ROMAN YEAR

therefore it has been suggested that Summanus. until now it was only an epithet for Jupiter and only became a deity in its own right around the year 278. On the other hand, according to Varro, the Annates reported that King Tatius had dedicated altars to Summanus and some other deities whose names had a sound .sabino. If true, Summanus was a pre-Etruscan Latin deity whose primitive altar dates from 278 BC. it was replaced by a temple. 182 Who was Summanus? Ovid apparently did not know (“quisque is est”). Saint Augustine records that Summanus was responsible for the nocturnal lightning bolts (nocturnafulmina) and that his worship was initially more popular than that of Jupiter, but after the Tarquins built the magnificent Capitoline temple to Jupiter, his worship rapidly declined. He was therefore the counterpart of Jupiter, who wielded lightning during the day. “According to the Etruscan writers,” Pliny wrote, “there are nine lightning-throwing gods, of which there are eleven types, because Jupiter throws three types. Only two of these deities were retained by the Romans, who attributed the rays of the day to Jupiter and those of the night to Summanus, the latter being, of course, rare because the night sky is cooler*. Unlike the Etruscans, who divided the sky into many regions where lightning could appear with its different effects, the Romans observed it more freely, day or night. Later inscriptions show that the term fulgur summanium continued to be used.183 The meaning of summanus remains in doubt. Several explanations have been proposed. Warde Fowler thought 'Summanus* = Sub + Mane, the god who sends lightning 'before dawn'. But apart from the etymological difficulty, this would be a strange way of saying "at night". Latte believed that the statue was Jupiter and was named Jupiter Summanus because of the height of its ceiling; When he was struck around 278 (and Jupiter destroyed his own statue of him!), Summanus was blamed for lightning at night and given a separate temple. HJ Rose argued that Summanus was an epithet for Jupiter as 'dweller in the highest places', i.e. heaven, but differed from him as the god who casts nocturnal lightning bolts. S. Weinstock believed that the word was of Etruscan origin, not Latin. When this alien god was first introduced to Rome, he found a home in the temple of the great god of lightning, namely Jupiter: hence Jupiter Summanus. However, he maintained his own independence and was later given his own temple, where he received offerings of black rams (whereas Jupiter never receives black beasts). But this view implies rejecting Tatius's evidence for the altar. So one might assume that Summanus was an Old Latin "on high" deity; then, under the anthropomorphic influence of the Etruscans, he was associated with the Capitol of Jupiter in his Etruscan-built temple; later he received his own temple from him and his own

155

JUNE

night activity area. Little by little, however, he fell into relative obscurity, although he appears in a list of gods invoked by a character in Plautus's Bacchides (c. 200 BC), while in the Curculio his name is used as a play on words Lucretius later speaks of 'caeli. . . summania templa' (the regions of the sky that thunder at night).184 Only two aspects of his cult are known. Two black rams (atri vertices) are mentioned in the archives of the Arval brothers as offerings to Summanus Pater. Second, he was also offered wheel-shaped cakes. It is safest not to follow those who seek to worship the sun in his form, if only because Summanus was active at night. Cakes were of course common in many cults like Parilia, Liberalia and others in Rome and widely in other religions. Thus the Roman practice survived in the Christian church, and cakes marked with sacred symbols still lead a moderate existence as hot buns and simnel cakes.185 Although concern for the cult seems to have largely diminished by the end of the Republic, such once in a while, or fearing overnight storms, he might have accepted the modest offer of pies as insurance for the future, if not for a while. June 24

vii (Julian vm) IR .QUINCT .

Forti Fortunae trans Tiberim ad Milliarium I and VI Fors Fortuna (Fortuna) had two temples on the other side of the Tiber, both founded by King Servius Tullius and dedicated on June 24. In the year 293 B.C. Cr. sp. Carvilius celebrated a victory over the Etruscans and Samnites by using part of the booty to build a temple to Fors Fortuna "near the temple of the goddess dedicated by King Servius Tullius". Unless Servius founded a single temple, Carvilius's must have been a new one in the first or sixth mark. Several inscriptions from Fors Fortuna have been discovered about five miles from the port gate (Porta Portuensis) and near the grove of the Arval brothers. Thus the goddess had three temples on the other side of the Tiber; at the beginning of the empire she was given a quarter, which does not concern us here.186 The festival of Fors Fortuna seems to have been a turbulent event. In any case, Ovid describes how, as some people walked, flower-bedecked boats on the river brought young revelers or even drinkers to the festival. A hint from Cicero suggests a little more reluctance when he asks, "Who has experienced such joy (Gaudium) in sailing up the Tiber (i.e., from Fors Fortuna) on the day of the feast as L. Paullus did when he sailed up the Tiber?" that? the river captures king Perseus. columella

156

THE ROMAN YEAR

He asks the gardeners to take their vegetables and flowers to the market and to sing celebratory hymns of Fors Fortuna (celebres lauds) when they have all been sold. The aforementioned inscriptions contain dedications from sellers of violets, roses, and garlands, as well as wool merchants and bronzesmiths, while Ovid reports that the goddess was particularly popular with common people and slaves: this, he says, was due to to the humble origin of Servio, supposedly the son of a slave. The day of the festival was midsummer, the summer solstice, but attempts to find a ritual connection are not convincing. June vi (Julian vii) – v (Julian vi) KAL. FIFTH.

(Ludi Taurei quinquennials) These quinquennial games were founded according to Festo in honor of the gods of the underworld, di inferi, according to the decision of the books of fate in the reign of Tarquinius Superbus, because pregnant women suffered from a plague caused by the sale piece of some meat to the people (ex came... taurorum: possibly meat offered as a sacrifice). They were probably the only circus games performed at the Circus Flaminius (p. 101) and involved horse racing around the pole (circum metam). F. Altheim's suggestion that they included not only the sacrifice of bulls but also the ritual hunting of bulls in the circus is not very convincing. They were probably of Etruscan origin and the only celebration recorded in the Republican era was the "religionis causa" of 186 BC. Fulvio Nobilior; These included actors, athletes, and lion and panther hunts. Then came a festival of nine days (holy) because for three days in Picenum hail and flames from heaven set some people's clothes on fire. Then the Popes decreed a one-day prayer time (supplicatio) because the Ops Temple on the Capitol had been struck by lightning; the consuls expiated this with adult sacrifices and cleansed the city. This is how the Romans became in 186 B.C. for twenty consecutive days.188 June 27

iv (Julian v) CAL. FIFTH.

Laribus V [. .. ] (Ant. May.) K. Latte has suggested reading 'Laribus Vialibus', but this is rejected by S. Weinstock in part because the Lares Viales, the guardians of the roads and travelers, have their altars in the streets . I had Rome and not in the city

157

JUNE

per se. At the upper end of the Via Sacra, near what would later become the Arch of Titus, stood a temple of the Lares, built in 106 BC. and restored by Augustus.189 Estes Tares V. . . ' are to be distinguished from the Lares Praestites, whose feast day was May Day (p. 117). (Iovi Statori in Palatio) Romulus is said to have sworn a temple to Jupiter Stator the Stander if he would stop the Romans, who retreated to the Forum Sabine valley after the rape of the women. However, the temple was not built until shortly after 294 BC. when M. Atilius Regulus made a similar vow and erected it in the place (fanum) reserved by Romulus. It stood near the Arch of Titus and is probably identifiable with the foundations that came to light when Turris Chartularia was demolished in 1829. In this temple the twenty-seven girls learned the hymn 'composed by Livy Andronicus, which they proceeded to sing while he was in the 207 a. he wandered through the city, though the hymn was for Juno, not Jupiter. The Senate met occasionally in this temple, especially on November 8, 63 BC. when Cicero denounced Catiline.190 (Fig. 27). June 29 (= July 30)

PR. FIFTH CAL

(Herculi Musarum in Circo Flaminio) The Temple of 'Hercules of the Muses' or 'Hercules and the Muses' was erected shortly after the triumph of M. Fulvius Nobilior over the Ambracian, or somewhat later if Eumenius is correct when he says that Fulvius he paid for it with the fines he demanded when he was a censor. Eumenius claims that Fulvius was moved by his own literary interests and his friendship with Ennius, and also by hearing in Greece that Hercules was Musagetes, the leader of the Muses. In the temple he placed a copy of his Fasti, a calendar work, along with many statues. These included the nine muses and Hercules playing a lyre he had brought back from Ambrakia, and an ancient bronze shrine to the muses transferred from the Temple of Honos and Virtus. Statues of the muses are found in a series of Q. Pomponius Musa denarii from 66 BC. illustrated. Severus of Rome's marble plan shows that the temple was on the southwest side of the Circus Flaminius and northwest of the Portico of Octavia. It was 29 B.C. Restored by L. Marcius Philippus who surrounded it with a Philippi portico. The temple remained well known in the time of Cicero, who cited it as an example of how a warrior could worship the arts of peace. So imagine that on June 30 some writers will get together

158

THE ROMAN YEAR

with the descendants of Fulvius Nobilior, they can meet there to pay their respects. Had he done so, the solemnity of the occasion might have been lessened if his eyes had strayed to some neighboring barbershops where, according to Ovid, ladies went to buy their wigs191 (Pis 28:4129).

Julio

(FIFTH MONTH)

Until this month was renamed July in honor of Julius Caesar, it retained the name of Quinctilis, the fifth month of the calendar year that began in March. Since the names of the first months of the year, from March (and January) to June, were associated with the workings of nature or the deities that presided over them, Quinctilis was the first in line to be named numerically, a practice which continued, with Sextilis, September, etc., until December marked the end of the calendar year and the winter solstice. July was summer heat and harvest time: "plerique messem faciunt" says Varro (Agr. 1.32.); Also the rustic calendars, indicating that the month was under the protection (guardianship) of Jupiter and that the sacrifice was due to Apollo and Neptune, draw attention to the need to harvest barley and beans. The festivities of the month marked on the calendars may have been important in the early days, but gradually they seem to have lost much of their importance. In any case, Varro and Verrius were not well acquainted with the details, while unfortunately for the second half of the year we are deprived of a great deal of information because we do not have the last six books of Ovid's Fasti, no matter the precise destination. . Could have been. However, a pleasure-loving Roman of the late Republic would find the Apollo games more entertaining than many of the older festivals. 1st of July

CALIFORNIA. QUINCE.

norte

[..., Iunjoni, [..., Felicijtati (Ant. May.) Felicitati in Capitolio (Ant. Min.) This cult of Juno, to whom the kalends of each month were sacred, is not recorded anywhere. The Temple of Felicitas may be that of Fausta Felicitas on the Capitol, assigned October 9 by the Arval and Amiterne calendars, the difference in dates possibly related to a restoration. The oldest reference to a sanctuary dedicated to Felicitas is the one built by L. Licínio

159

JULY

Sack of Lucullus made in Spain in 151-150 B.C. Felicitas was a close relative of Fortuna and a deity whose help was particularly needed by generals: the senate awarded Scipio Africanus a triumph as early as 201 because he had defeated Hannibal with his virtus e felicitas; These two attributes, together with the auctoritas and the scientia rei militaris, were considered by Cicero as prerequisites for a good general. Sulla came to call himself "Felix", and both Pompey and Caesar worshiped this abstraction, which became a deity.191 July 5

HE DOES NOT. FIFTEEN.

public notary

POPLIFUGIA Feriae lovi The Poplifugia was the only festival of the year that was inscribed in the calendars with large letters and was still celebrated before nine o'clock in the month. But that's not the only fascinating feature. The form of the title seems to connect it with the February regifugium, but later Romans seem to have been completely ignorant of what this flight of the people was intended to commemorate: so they invented two explanations, one mythological and one historical. Either the people fled when Romulus disappeared from mortal sight in a storm, or he was referring to the flight of the Romans when they were attacked by the people of Fidenae after the Gauls sacked Rome. Varro says in his de lingua latin that traces (remnants) of the rite appear in the sacrifices he described in his (now lost) work on Antiquities. Modern speculation includes the view that Jupiter was worshiped at the festival (but this does not seem to be confirmed) or that it was in some way expiatory and that some of the summoned forces were so terrifying that they forced people to flee: the devil catches at last!193 What was done on July 5 in the last republic was perhaps only the formal maintenance of an ancient cult that no longer aroused much public interest. July 6 to 13

PRIDE NO - Identity III. FIFTEEN.

Ludi Apollinares At a difficult moment in Hannibal's war, the sibylline books and oracles of a seer named Marcio decreed plays in honor of Apollo, whose cult was one of the oldest and most important that the Romans inherited from the Greek world. These remained, and four years later, in 208, a plague persuaded the Romans to make them permanent and repair them.

160

THE ROMAN YEAR

Date of July 13. Apollo should not only help the Romans in their fight against Hannibal, but also serve as a healing god. These annual games became so popular that the time allotted to them was gradually extended backwards from July 13, so that at the end of the Republic they occupied no less than eight days (6-13) - as they had been in 190 B.C. - They were held at least from July 11 and lasted 44 BC. 7 days. Of the eight days, two were devoted to circus games and the other to theatrical performances. Tito Livio describes the celebration of a day in 212. The responsibility was assigned to the Urban praetor; he received a cash donation and two adult victims. The decemviri sacris faciundis dealt with sacrifices made according to the Greek rite; they included an ox for Apollo, a cow for Latona, and two white goats probably for Diana (although Livy says Apollo); all the animals had golden horns. Those present carried garlands; The matrons offered prayers and everyone celebrated in the patio (of their own houses?) with the doors open. Over time, the games became more complex. While horse racing was going on at the Circus Maximus, plays were being performed in the theaters; Pliny says that in 60 B.C. Batiste canopies were first provided in the theater at the Apollo games. The tragedy of Ennius Thyestes is performed shortly before his death in 169, and Cicero tells Atticus how the games in 59 BC the actor Diphilus attacked Pompeius Magnus in his line "You are great to our misfortune" (nostra miseria tu es magnus ) and was applauded to heaven. This is a reminder that the voice of the people was sometimes heard at the games, and indeed elsewhere Cicero equates the applause at the games for Apollo with the testimony and judgment of the Roman people (testimonium et iudicia). Cicero also referred to the hunting of beasts (venatio) in these games, but they did not involve gladiatorial combat. Later, under the personal interest of Augustus, the cult of Apollo acquired an even greater importance in Roman life. 194 July 6

PROUD NOT OF FIFTEEN.

norte

(Fortunae Muliebri via Latina ad miliarium IV) This temple of Fortuna Muliebris, consecrated on July 6, is said to have been consecrated on December 1; this is recorded only in literary sources and not in calendars. It has been identified with the remains of a small temple found on the Via Latina about four miles from Rome. It was linked, though not necessarily first, to the Coriolanus story: Dionysius of Halicarnassus reports when the Senate wanted to honor the women who accompanied Coriolanus's wife and mother and

161

JULY

succeeded in dissuading him from his attack on Rome, they demanded and received this temple for Fortuna Muliebris. Paraphrasing "the books of the popes," Dionysius adds that the women contributed a second statue of the goddess at his own expense, and that on two occasions this statue uttered the words: "Ye have one another, married women, to giving to the holy law held me back." The women, on the advice of their priestess, stipulated that no remarried woman should touch or adorn the statue and that only newlywed women, or Univirae, should worship the holy law. The cult was restricted to the Univirae, perhaps because widows and twice-married women were considered unhappy (unworthy of turning to Fortune, whose help they actually needed even more!) given the goddess's observation of that the matronae had "given" (but only to the second statue?), it has been suggested that the temple was dedicated to the Univirae rather than to their honor (and in earlier times married women's property rights were restricted). o 195 The fact that Dionysus wrote extensively about the cult (although he apologized for the digression) might indicate that interest in it still existed in August, but on the other hand its start date is not given in any of the recorded calendars , not even on the calendar before August - Antiate caesarean section. July 7th

NOT FIFTEEN.

norte

Palibus duobus (Ant. May.) As we have seen (p. 103), the parilia was celebrated on April 21 in honor of the deity or deities of Pales, whom in 267 B.C. a temple was given on the Palatine, where she (or he or she) was worshiped as a deity of shepherds, Pales en Florus guarded, Pales Matuta in a Scholiast. Other. Silvio gives a brief summary of the history of the explanation, which Plutarch (Cam.33, Rom.29ff.) tells in much more detail. After the Gauls conquered Rome, the Latins threatened the city and claimed some of the Roman women. On the advice of a maiden (ancilla) named Philotis or Tulola, the Romans sent several ancillae dressed in the best clothes of free women. At night, when the Latins were asleep, the women disarmed them and Filotis gave the signal for the Romans to attack by lighting a beacon in a tall banyan tree (Caprificus). The Romans ran out of their city and called each other by name.

162

THE ROMAN YEAR

name, and successfully fell upon the Latins. Later they established a commemorative festival (ancillarumferiae) and called the nones in which victory was won Nonae Caprotinae. At the festival, Plutarch tells us, tents made of fig branches were erected outside the city. The Romans ran off, uttering many common names, such as Gaius, Marcius, and Lucius, and then feasted on the women. Groups of brightly dressed ancillae would play with the men and then engage in mock combat. Plutarch also refers to another tradition, according to which this festival outside the city celebrated the death of Romulus, who disappeared from sight in a storm as he was on his way to join the people of the Swamp of Goats; the people left the city, shouting the names of the people, to sacrifice in the Caprae Palus, which was located in the lower part of the Field of Mars, near the future Pantheon. Plutarch confuses the matter by saying that this celebration took place in honor of Romulus on the day of his disappearance, which was called Poplifugia e Nonae Caprotinae. But the calendars show that these festivals took place on different days, the 5th and the 7th, a connection seems unlikely. However, Varro states that the Nones were called Caprotinae in July because on that day in Lazio the women sacrificed Juno Caprotina under a wild fig tree; They also used a branch from the tree. Macrobius expressly connects the sacrifice to Juno with the feast of the Ancillae, whose legend he recounts. He also says that both ancillae and free women (liherae) attended the sacrifice to Juno Caprotina, who was offered the milky sap of the fig tree instead of milk. The purpose of the stick cut from the tree mentioned by Varro is uncertain, but if the two ceremonies are part of a single one, this is a plausible indication that the Ancillae used the sticks in their mock combat and that the item may have been used for fertility, as in Lupercalia, women were beaten with leather straps (p. 77). But behind the human aspect may be agriculture and the fertility of the fig trees themselves. Columella refers to this process that consisted of placing figs from a wild fig tree between the branches of a cultivated tree (Ficus) to favor pollination, and this was best done in july. Thus the 'marriage' of a male Capriftcus to a female may well have given rise to a women's festival.197 In any case, Juno was a female deity and the use of the 'milk' of the fig tree was appropriate. Although the threads are almost impossible to untangle, June 7 was clearly a holiday for the ancillae, decked out in matronly regalia, perhaps in their own ceremony or shared with free women in honor of Juno.

163

JULY

(Conso in Circo) Tertullian reports that already in his time there was an underground altar for Consus at the first crucial point (goal) of the circus, where sacrifice was offered by the state priests (sacerdotibus publicis) on July 7 and 7. of August. 20 of the young Quirinales and the Vestals. The accompanying inscription "Consus in Council" (Consus consilio, Mars duel, Lares Coillo potentes) is perhaps somewhat late, as Consus is mentioned in the nominative case, while the text of Tertullian's transcription is uncertain. The altar was located at the southeast end of the spine of the Circus Maximus and Tacitus identified it as one of the corners of the palatal pomerium. It was kept covered and was only displayed during the festival when offerings were made on it. Consus was an ancient Roman god whose festivals (Consualia) fell on August 19 and December 15, perhaps marking the end of the autumn harvest and planting. Although Tertullian was not alone in deriving his name from consilium, it is much more likely from condere, 'to hide' or 'to store', and therefore Consus was the god of the storehouse for harvested grain, which was stored underground. For his services in Consualia see below on August 19 and December 15.198 July 8

8 Identification. FIFTEEN.

N Diesreligiosus

(Vitulatio) Macrobius (3.2.ll.ff.) says that the Roman people, after fleeing from the Etruscans at Nones (hence the name Poplifugia), achieved victory the next day (July 8) and sacrificed to the goddess offered vitula. Macrobius gives various explanations for the name: Piso connected it with Victoria, "victory"; Fabius derived it from vitulari, meaning voce laetari, perhaps 'to sing a hymn', while a certain Hyllus said that Vitula was the goddess of joy; others associated her name with vita, "life," since she received the life-giving firstfruits of the earth as offerings (cf. Virgil, Geor. 3:77). Despite all this ingenuity, Roman scholars do not seem to have considered the possibility of vitulus, "heifer," an animal used as a scapegoat in Iguvium rites (see page 83). Regardless of the exact nature of the goddess, however, the July 8 ceremony appears to have been official and attended by popes. These minor festivals, which took place from July 6 to 8 and which we have just considered, may not have aroused much interest towards the end of the Republic, but they will have been further eclipsed as the celebration of the Ludi Apollinares receded into the beginning encompasses 8, then 7 in Caesar's time, and finally 6 as well.

164

THE ROMAN YEAR

July 13

3 id. QUINZ.

Apol[lini] (Ant. May.) On this, the main day of Ludi Apollinares, a sacrifice to Apollo is mentioned only by the main Antiates of the calendars. The reference could refer to the first Temple of Apollo, destroyed by a plague in 431 BC. and possibly preceded by a shrine to the god, an Apollinare. It was located in the Campo de Marte between the Circus Flaminio and the Holitorio Forum, which is outside of Pomerio because it is a foreign cult. If Asconius is correct that there was only one temple of Apollo in Rome before the palatine temple promised by Augustus, then that temple was probably built by Sosius, consul in 32 BC. This received a portico in 179 and contained several famous works of art. The surviving remains, including three permanent columns, belong to Sosio's restoration. Occasionally it was used by the Senate for extrapomeral sessions199 (Fig. 29). July 14-19

PRID. I WOULD GO. FIFTH. - XIVCAL. SIXTH.

Mercatus After the Apollonian Games ended, six days were set aside for markets or fairs. Business and pleasure could be combined, and the crowds that flocked from the country to the city for the festival could take advantage of the opportunity to buy and sell. Similar markets (Mercatus) are marked on calendars after Ludi Romani and Plebeii. July 15

I WOULD GO. FIFTEEN.

public notary

(Equitum Romanorum probatio (Philippians) or transvectio) July 15 was a colorful day on the streets of Rome at certain times in its history. In 304 B.C. C., to commemorate the help given to Castor and Pollux in the battle of Lake Regilo, who are believed to have watered their horses in the Roman Forum after the victory. A cavalry parade set for July 15 by the censor Q. Fabius Ruianus. The festival gradually declined over time, but was revived by Augustus when it was a magnificent spectacle, as witnessed and described by Dionysius of Halicarnassus:200 “Roman horsemen, whose horses are provided by the state (equites equo publico), ride in tribes . and centuries, as if out of battle, crowned with olive branches, and wearing the crimson robes flecked with scarlet known as trabeae. They start their procession from a temple of Mars outside the walls and leave

JULY

165

Through various parts of the city and forum they pass the Temple of Castor and Pollux, sometimes 5,000 in number, and use the rewards for bravery in battle which they have received from their commanders, a fine sight to behold. the greatness of the Roman government. it was originally an annual military parade, but may be related in some way to the Census of Equites, which is conducted every five years by the Censorship (see p. 232). His exam was not a military platoon, but a test of skill: as we have seen (p. 67), the entire corps of knights (whose core in the early days were 1,800 knights between the ages of 18 and 46) passed the censorship that they probably passed on the Platform of the Temple of Castor and Pollux seated in the Forum; each man then individually advanced and was either approved or dismissed. Although this scrutiny of censorship continued throughout the Republic until censorship fell out of favor in the time of Sulla, the history of the military procession is unfortunately obscure: all that is known is that it was in decline for a long time (post longam intercapedinem). when it was revived by Augustus, who used it as a zprobatio, or illustration, for knights. One can only wonder how many times it has been held in the middle of the republic: since an annual event, perhaps only held in years when censorship was in office, and somehow combined with this ceremony, but at its height was this military parade The annual sighting of knights riding through the city, presumably sacrificing in the forum at the Temple of Castor and Pollux, and then perhaps heading to the Temple of Jupiter on the Capitol must have been a brave sight. July 17th

xvi Cal. FRIDAY.

Honori (Ant. May.) The history of the Temple of Honos et Virtus outside Porta Capena is unusual. The first part was written in 233 BC. Built by Q. Fabius Cunctator after his campaign in Liguria and dedicated to Honos. M. Claudius Marcellus swore a temple to Honos and Virtus in 222, and after his conquest of Syracuse in 211 he renewed his vow and wanted to rededicate the ancient temple of Honos to both deities in 208; Banned by the popes, he restored the old temple of Honos and built a new part for Virtus, consecrated by his son in 205; in it he placed many of the artistic treasures that he had brought from Syracuse. He cannot have been the starting point of the equitum transvectio, as stated in de viris illustribus 22, since he was not until well after 304 BC. (see July 15 above). There was another temple to Honos outside the Colline Gate and another to Honos et Virtus built by Marius after his defeat of the Cimbri and

166

THE ROMAN YEAR

Teutons on a hill, probably the Capitol (where the Senate met to bring Cicero out of exile). Given this, there is little uncertainty as to which temple was dedicated on July 17, but it was probably the first to be mentioned. Honos and virtus were considered to have essentially military qualities and their yoke heads are recorded in a denarius from 70 BC. C. Illustrated. 201 (photograph 4130).

Victoriae in Capitolio (Viae Ardeat.) A golden statue of Victory, sent by Hiero of Syracuse to encourage the Romans to Trasimene, was placed in the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on the Capitol, while a Victor driving a chariot, in the portico was read , but it is not known if the sacrifice on July 17 was for one or the other of these202 (Plate 4131). July 18

LIME. SIXTH.

100 religious days

Alliensis dies (Ant. mai.) Dies Alliae et Fabiorum (Ant. min.) That dark day (the ater) was traditionally in 479 BC. the Fabians at Cremera and the Romans at Allia were defeated by the Gauls, who then conquered the city. In 390 Cicero writes to Atticus (9 May 2) that “our ancestors made the day of the battle of Allia a memory darker than the taking of the city, because the second catastrophe arose from the first, so that the first is hitherto a day of bad omen (dies religiosus), while the other is generally unknown. We cannot say how many educated Romans like Cicero remembered the day of his arrival each year. July 19 and 21

xiv and xii

CALIFORNIA. SIXTH.

public notary

LUCARIA Festus says that the Romans celebrated the festival of Lucarien in a large grove (Lucus) between the Via Salaria and the Tiber (presumably in the area of the Pincio Gardens) and gives a legendary explanation: the Romans, fleeing from the Gauls, they hid themselves in this grove, an idea no doubt prompted by the fact that the Battle of Allia took place on July 18. According to Plutarch, the money spent on public festivals was called lucar because it came from the profits from the public groves (luci). An ancient inscription from Luceria (in hoc madrid)y shows that lucar originally actually meant a grove, while another from Spoletium shows that an annual sacrifice (res deina anua) was performed in a lucus.203 Lucaria

167

JULY

So it probably dates back to ancient Rome, when the forest land was reclaimed where wandering spirits lurked and had to be appeased before the trees could be felled. Cato, as we have seen (p. 26), retains a suitable sentence to use with the sacrifice of a pig when a grove is to be cleared. In the late Republic, the festival probably meant little. July 20-30

xiii -

Hello Cal. SIXTH.

Ludi Victoriae Caesaris Julius Caesar promised a temple to Venus Genetrix in Pharsalus and completed it on the last day of his triumph, 26 September 46 BC. BC, opened in the forum of him. The vote included 45 repeat games when (and later) they took place from July 20 to 30 and were called Ludi Victoriae Caesaris (the Feast of Venus Genetrix was held on September 26), regardless of whether Venus and Victoria were closely related or unrelated or Victoria was created as Caesar's personal goddess. The games spanned seven days of stage events, followed by four circus celebrations. Cicero visited them in 45, and his comments are an interesting contrast to the disgust he showed at Pompey's pompous and cruel games in 55: he wrote to Atticus: 'It is something in which the spirits are disturbed by the spectacle and the general. the spirit of the people is relieved, the religious associations” (religionis Opinione et Fama). more than half of July was devoted to the games, with eight days for Apollo and eleven for Caesar. July 21

CALIFORNIA. SIXTH.

public notary

LUCARIA (second day) July 22

xi KAL. sexto

Concordiae A temple of Concordia was in the forum at the foot of the Capitol. The surviving remains belong mostly to a restoration carried out by Tiberius in 7 BC. BC, but the early history is uncertain. Camilo is said to have lived in 367 BC. BC has promised Concord a temple to celebrate the end of the struggle between patricians and plebeians, a concordia ordinum, and Ovid and Plutarch suggest that it was the temple restored by Tiberius, and therefore the one below the Capitol. However, in the year 121 after the death of Gaius Gracchus, L. Opimius

168

THE ROMAN YEAR

was ordered by the Senate to build a temple to Concordia; He also built a basilica nearby. But he either built a new temple or was simply restoring Camillus's work, and in fact Camillus actually built (or promised) a temple, or even supposedly intended to build a later forgery (Livy does not credit him with a temple). ? Whatever the truth, it is almost certain that this temple had its "birthday" on July 22.205 Concordia was already in the year 304 BC. known as a goddess in Rome, as Cn. Flavius dedicated a bronze shrine (aedicula) to her; Although it seems rather early for the assumption of a deified abstraction, the year 367 is by no means impossible. Another Temple of Concordia was located on Capitol Hill (PL 4132). If a Roman prayed for Concord at the end of the Republic, it was no longer to reunite patricians and plebeians, but to make Cicero's dream of a concordia ordinum come true between senators and knights, or perhaps between optimates and populares, or between the constitution and military adventurers. Oldiscord was not missing. July 23th

CALIFORNIA. SIXTH.

public notary

NEPTUNALIA Neptune was probably an Italian god of water whose domains extended to the sea when he was identified with the Greek god Poseidon. He is first mentioned in Rome as one of the gods who died in 399 BC. He participated in the first public lectistemium. Here he was paired with Mercury, possibly indicating that the two gods saw each other here as guardians of trade and navigation. All we know of his festival on July 23 is that the arbors (umbrae) were made of leaves, presumably to shield worshipers from the hot July sun. Their objective may have been to secure the water supply during this dry season. A 206 B.C. The altar of Neptune in the Circus Flaminio, which was first mentioned in BC, was probably inaugurated on July 23. Besides Apollo and Mars, Neptune was the only god to whom a bull could be sacrificed.206 July 25

from Cal. SIXTH.

public notary

FURRINALIA Even less is known about Furrinalia than Neptunalia! According to Varro, this festival was a state festival (feriaepublicae) for the goddess Furrina: *She was honored by the ancients, who fixed an annual sacrifice and made her a special priest (tflamen), but her name is little known, and even that only for a few.' The nature of her remains obscure, though it is believed that she presided over a fountain or fountain; later

169

JULY

she was (probably mistakenly) mistaken for the Furiae (Furies). One monument remains: a lucus Fwrinae on the Janiculum, where Gaius Gracchus met his death and where Villa Sciarra now stands.207 July 30

in Cal. SIXTH.

Fortunae Huiusque Diei in Field A by Q. Lutatius Catullus on the day of Vercellae, July 30, 101 a. This faculty is the divinity that governs the blissful event of each day. The temple was located in the Field of Mars and can be identified with Temple B in Largo Argentina. L. Aemilius Paullus also built a shrine to this goddess owing to his victory at Pydna, probably on the Palatine, where there was a Vicus Huiusque Diei. Both generals dedicated statues of Phidias in the temples208 (Fig. 30).

August (MENSIS SEXTILIS) For the farmer, the harvest was almost over, and his duties, according to Varro, were to cut the straw, stack, plow the land, collect the fodder and mow the irrigated fields a second time. Rustic calendars dictate the preparation of the stakes, the harvesting of the harvest and the wheat, and the burning of the coarse part of the flax; the month was under the protection of Ceres, and Spes, Salus, and Diana owed sacrifices, and it was the month of Volcanalia. Of course, some of the festivals had some connection with harvesting or storing crops, while many of the rites were performed near the Aventine Hill, Circus Maximus, and the banks of the Tiber, which have been noted to form part of the early times. times. of the cultivated field closest to the city.209 August 1

CALIFORNIA. SIXTH.

Spes in the Foro Holitorio A temple to Spes (Hope) was built in the Foro Holitorio during the First Punic War by A. Atilius Calatinus (who also built a temple to Fides on the Capitol). It can probably be identified with the middle one of the three temples that now stand below the church of S. Nicola in Carcere. It predates a temple at Spes on the Esquiline that came to be known as Spes Vetus.210

170

THE ROMAN YEAR

Two winners in the Palace (Arv.) of Victoria, the Maiden of Victoria! on Palatio (Praen.) Two temples of Victoria were on the Palatine. One was born in 294 B.C. Dedicated by L. Postumius Megellus from the fines he imposed as curule aedile; it appears to have been preceded by an ancient Victorian sanctuary. The other, for Victoria Virgo, was nearby and was inaugurated by M. Porcius Cato on August 3, 193211

3 NO. SIXTH.

(Supplicia canum) On this day a remarkable procession took place every year: one or more dogs were crucified alive on an elder cross between the temples of Iuventus and Summanus and apparently carried in procession. The reason given was that the temple dogs were sleeping when the Gauls tried to storm the Capitol. A goose (or geese) garbed in purple and gold was also carried on a sedan chair as a sign of its alert and watchful ancestors. Since the two temples were close to the Circus Maximus, it can be assumed that this strange procession took place in the Circus itself.212 August 5

NOT . SIXTH.

Saluti in Colle Quirinale sacrificium publicum (Vail.) 57 a. A.C. Cicero wrote to his friend Atticus, describing his triumphant return from exile to Italy and Rome: * I left Dyrrhachium and arrived at Brundisium on August 5. There my little Tullia was waiting for me on her own birthday, which happened to be the commemorative day (dies natalis) of the Brundisium colony and also of the temple of Salus near her *her house. It is interesting that Cicero knew and remembered the date of the dedication of the Temple of Salus. Later in 45 he referred to it again when he made his famous joke that he would rather see Julius Caesar (whose statue had been placed in the Temple of Quirinus) sharing a Temple of Quirinus than Salus. Since part of the Quirinal was called the Collis Salutaris, an ancient cult of Salus had probably been established there. However, the temple of him was destroyed in 302 BC. ordained dictator by C. Iunius Bubulcus; it contained some known paintings by C. Fabius Pictor (probably an ancestor of the analyst Quintus Fabius Pictor). Salus received his name from Macrobius Semonia; perhaps in earlier times he shared a cult with Semo Sancus (see June 5). Under the Empire, the Salus became the Salus Publica populi Romani.213

171

AUGUST

August 9th

DAYS. SEXTO.

Solis Indigitis on the Colle Quirinale sacrificiutn publicum (Vail.) King Tatius is said to have dedicated altars to Sol e Luna (Sun and Moon), and Quintilian refers to a Solis pulvinar near the Temple of Quirinus on the Quirinal. The sun was an obvious natural force to attract worship in the heat of summer, and the cult of Sol Indiges seems to have been ancient (it also had a sanctuary at Lavinium). The importance of Native Americans remains in doubt, despite much controversy: Native Americans were viewed as di minores (gods with limited functions), "native" (as opposed to foreign) gods, or ancestral gods. The Sun (with the Moon) had another temple near the Circus Maximus, but his cult was unable to gain a major foothold until the third century AD. 214 (FIG. 4133). August 12

public relations I WOULD GO. SIXTH.

Herculi Invictus ad Circum Maximum. Hercules was one of the first foreign gods admitted to Rome, and their first center of worship for him was the Ara Máxima in the Foro Boario, within the lineage of the Palatino Pomerio. Situated thus in the cattle market and near the Tiber, worship of him became popular with merchants and may have been introduced by Phoenician traders. Certainly he was later identified with the Tyrian god Baal-Melkart, and his cult, as we shall see, had some Semitic features, but his origin remains uncertain. He was also identified with the Greek hero Heracles, who was recognized as the "guardian of evil" (Alexikakos) as well as a traveler through his forced labor. In any case, he appeared early in Rome and the altar of him is said to have been consecrated by himself or by Evander after Hercules killed the legendary Cacus. Near the altar was a circular temple of Hercules Invictus (Victor), frescoed by the poet Pacuvio; The remains of it were destroyed by Pope Sixtus IV (1471-84), but an ancient drawing survives. Hercules Pompeian had a temple (dedicated or restored by Pompey) near the Circus Maximus; it is located under part of the Church of S. Maria in Cosmedin. It is not certain which of these three centers was honored on August 12, while on the 13th Hercules Invictus received the annual sacrifice from him near the Porta Trigemina. Finally, Hercules Victor received a temple built in 142 BC. by L. Mummius and seems to have been on Caelius Hill215 (Fig. 31). The cult of Ara Máxima was originally under the control of two Roman gens, the Potitii and the Pinarii, until it was destroyed in 312 BC. was taken over by the state when public slaves were purchased to serve the districts (the oldest

172

THE ROMAN YEAR

The early 16th century design of the Temple of Hercules Victor attests to the state cult of Hercules in the Lectisternium of 399). He was celebrated in the Greek manner bareheaded, although he was crowned with laurels. Women were excluded, though not at another Altar of Hercules: Plutarch asks why, when there were two Altars of Hercules, women did not receive a portion or a taste of the sacrifice offered on the high altar. Plutarch also mentions two other restrictions: no reference to other gods can be included in the sacrifice to Hercules (without generalis invocation) and dogs were excluded from the enclosures. Oaths were often taken at the altar and deals were struck. In addition, merchants paid a tithe to Hercules upon winning a trade (a reminder of the tithes collected in the eastern markets in Melkart's name). But in addition to successful merchants, victorious generals could also decimate their loot. Individuals also made their offerings, but perhaps no one could compare to the millionaire Crassus, who donated a tenth of his entire fortune, perhaps to impress his fellow citizens with the extent of his wealth and power. Such offerings would normally have greatly enriched the cult, but as the temples of Hercules are not regarded as particularly wealthy and the maintenance of the cult cannot have been unreasonably expensive, it has been suggested that the tithe may have been used in part, preparing a free feast. on the day of the festival: this is all the more likely since Hercules shared with Silvanus the unusual distinction that no part of the sacrificed animals could be removed from the enclosure, and this would imply that the altar was not actually burned, it was eaten immediately. Furthermore, while others were gods

AUGUST

173

Somewhat limited in the food they could receive as offerings, Hercules could eat and drink anything (Herculi autem omnia esculenta, poculenta); This suited his reputation for gluttony. When the praetor urbanus sacrificed a cow to Hercules on August 12 and poured a libation from a special chalice, the Skyphos of Hercules, this official offering was no doubt supplemented by the tithes and dues paid by private believers on that day, as well as at other times in the year. Hercules gives the impression of having been a very "popular" deity, with appeal to the single man, even beyond the probability of offering a free meal every August 12.216 Veneri Victrici, Honori, Virtuti, V[... JFelicitati in theatro marmoreo ( Allif.) Pompey built 55 BC. the first permanent stone theater in Rome. To avoid criticism for building a permanent theatre, he built a temple of Venus Victrix in the center of the seating tiers to resemble the steps of the temple so that the entire structure could be enshrined as a temple. and not like the theater. Tyre, Cicero's freedman, called it Aedes Victoriae, perhaps a colloquial name (Aul. Gell. 10:1.7). The other nearby temples (or rather altars) of Honos, Virtus, Felicitas and V (= Vesta, Valetudo??) are not known. 13.8

I WOULD GO . SIXTH.

public notary

Dianae, Vortumno, Fortunae Equestri, Herculi Victori, Castoriy Polluci, Camenis (Ant. May.) Several cults were celebrated on this day, including that of Jupiter, to whom all the Idos were consecrated, but the most important was that of Diana , since it was a general festival for all slaves. Dianae on Aventine (Ant.mai. etc.) Diana was an ancient Italian goddess, especially worshiped in the woods, and perhaps originally a "forest spirit" who gradually presided over women's affairs. The most famous of his centers of worship was near Aricia, some sixteen miles southeast of Rome, where his temple stood on the shore of Lake Nemi, in the grove whose 'king' (rex nemorensist, i.e. priest) he was known as 'the priest who is known to have killed the murderer and is killed in the ritual of the golden branch. In historic times, women of Rome, whose prayers were answered, would come to this grove in processions carrying burning torches in thanksgiving.

174

THE ROMAN YEAR

Goddess recorded by Ovid (f. 3.269) and Propertius (3.24.9f.). A significant number of her ex-votos have been found, including models of reproductive organs and women with babies. Thus Diana's association with women seems well established, but other offerings refer to her as the goddess of the hunt; They contain figures of deer and even some domestic animals, suggesting that she was not only the goddess of the hunt but also a general goddess of fertility, both in animals and humans. Her additional connections with the Greek goddess Artemis, the moon, and Ephesus and Massilia cannot be discussed here. (Pis 32:4134).

The oldest temple of Diana in Rome, probably preceded by an altar, was in the Aventine, a plebeian quarter of the city. It was founded by King Servius Tullius in the 6th century, possibly as a political move to move to Rome (or establish a rival) the headquarters of the Latin League, which met in the religious center near Aricia. But after the unification of the early Romans and Latins, all the political aspects of the cult were soon forgotten and its social side developed, although its original prescriptions, written in Greek letters, survived to be read by Dionysius of Halicarnassus. The temple became an asylum for runaway slaves, and August 13 was a holiday for all slaves, male and female, perhaps after harvest work (this development was related to the incorrect association between the word servus, " slave" and the Serbian king). All Romans were required to allow their slaves to take the day off, and Diana's cult was one of the few in which slaves could participate. A more peculiar custom of the time was that Roman women had a special custom of washing their hair: Plutarch suspects that because of the festivities the custom began among slaves and spread to freeborn women.217 The temple square in the Aventino It was probably to the west of the Church of S. Prisca on the clivus Publicius. It was an important building, so the Aventine was sometimes referred to as the Collis Dianae. It contained a wooden statue of Diana of Ephesus and bronze copies of ancient laws; On its walls was one of the oldest sundials in Rome. Vortumnus on Aventino (Allif.; Amit.) Vortumno on Loreto Maiore (Vail.) Vortumnus (Vertumnus) was an Etruscan god worshiped on Volsinii who was captured by M. Fulvius Flaccus, who died in 264 BC. he celebrated a win. It was probably he who built the temple in the northwestern part of the Aventine on the Vicus Loreti Maioris (Loretum was an ancient laurel grove); it contained a portrait of Skinny in his triumphant tunic. A statue of Vortumnus was on the vicus tuscus, and Propertius describes the offering:

175

AUGUST

Things they did to him there. The origin of the name of this Etruscan god is uncertain: it may derive from a surname, although the Romans associated it with vertere, "to turn". 180 BC During his campaign against the Celtiberians, seven years later this temple was dedicated to Fortune in her relationship with the equines. It was "in front of the stone theatre" (adtheatrum lapideum), probably Pompey's theater in the Circus Flaminius, not Marcellus' theater. Apparently it did not survive the Republic, for in the year 22 AD. a problem arose: in which temple should the knights make the offerings they had sworn to Fortuna Equestris in relation to the health of the Empress Livia, since there was no Temple of Fortuna that gave more with this epithet.219 Herculi Victori (Ant. May .) Herculi Invictus ad Portam Trigeminam (Allif.) Hercules had been honored the day before at the Circus Maximus. If the calendars give the festivals in the order of their founding, the Temple of Hercules near the Triple Gate would have been after 173 BC. Possibly founded by a victorious general. Castori, Polluci in the Circus Flaminio This temple dedicated to Castor and Pollux could only have been built by C. Flaminius, censor, in 220 BC. it could have been built if the order in the calendars had not been strictly chronological. Camenis (Ant. May.) The Camenae were originally fountain deities and later became identified with the Muses. They gave their name to a district at the southern end of Caelius Hill; it included a valley, a grove and a spring. Traditionally, King Numa built a small bronze shrine (edicule) next to the spring. The Fasti Antiates make it clear that this temple was not the same as the one built in 189 BC. de Nobilior Hercules and the muses (see June 29). Florae ad Circum Maximum (Allif.) This probably refers to the Temple of Flora, whose dies natalis were April 28 (see there) and August 13, after a restoration by Tiberius in AD 17. C. (Tac. Ann. 2.49).

176 17.8

THE ROMAN YEAR

xiv (Julian xvi) KAL. SETEMBRO

public notary

PORTUNALIA (Ant. May.) Feriae Portuno ad Pontem Aemilium (Allif) Portunus was an ancient god who had his special flamen. The latter's only recorded function was "to put oil or grease (persillum) on the armor (weapon) of Quirinus" (Festus, 238L). Originally, Portunus was probably a god who guarded the gates, Portus (the word is used with this meaning in the 5th century, Twelve Tables of the Law: 2.3). This is confirmed by the fact that he was depicted with a key in his hand, and it has been suggested from a reference in a scholium about Infocum Slaves that a ritual involving keys was performed that day: perhaps they were hardened (or cleaned ) old wooden keys. ) in the fire, and attention may have been paid to keys and doors as the harvest filled the barns and storerooms. An alternative explanation is that portus meant "a means of transportation" and that in early times Portunus ran a ferry across the Tiber. But if he was originally a ferryman or a porter, the meaning of olportus later changed to 'port', and Portunus became the port-god Virilis and Vesta) in the Forum Boarium, most likely the former. The temple setting was known as Portunium and was frequented by flower vendors, but Portunus itself was probably underestimated in the late Republic221 (Fig. 34). lano ad Theatrum Marcelli (Vail.; Allif.) This temple of Janus was built in 260 BC. Built by C. Duilius after his defeat of the Carthaginians at Mylae. It was dedicated on the day of Portunalia (August 17), but after its restoration, begun by Augustus and completed by Tiberius in AD 17. C., its dedication day became October 18. It was located in the Holitorio Forum next to the Marcelo Theater and can be identified with the (post-Republican) remains of a temple excavated in 1932/33 between the Temple of Apollo and the Church of S. Rita da Cássia.222 (Plate 4135). Since Portunus probably had a connection to the Gates, as Janus certainly did, a connection between the two gods is sometimes assumed. Therefore, it has been argued that Portunus was a branch of Janus; Another view holds that Duilius added Janus to Portunus in his building, and another that an original dedication to Portunus was changed to Janus in the Augustan age, but the evidence for a connection is not strong: the correspondence of the dates of dedication and the meanings of Portunus/Gate could be a sufficient explanation.223

177

AUGUST

19.8

XII (Julian XIV) CAL. SEPTEMBER

VINALIA VINALIA Veneri ad Circum Maximum (Vail.) VINALIA Feriae Iovi (Allif.) This was the second wine festival after the Vinalia Priora on April 23. As we have seen (p. 106), they originally honored Jupiter, but Venus later became associated with them. It seems that the wine of the previous harvest could be brought to Rome on April 23, while on August 19 the Vinalia Rustica ceremonies were aimed at obtaining protection of the growing wines and the Jlamen Dialis officially announced the harvest (auspicatur vindemoniam ), a practice that continued in Varro's time. The Temple of Venus Obsequens, near the Circus Maximus, was built by Q. Fabio Máximo Gurges with fines that, as curule aedile, he had imposed on women convicted of adultery; It was 295 B.C. It began, possibly as a thank-offering for his father's victory over the Samites at Sentinum that year. inaugurated on August 19 at the Lucus Libitinae on the Esquiline. This area was the headquarters of the gravediggers (libitinari), where the lists of the dead were kept and burials were organized. Plutarch speculates on the curious connection: was it a philosophical device (introduced by Numa) to remove disgust at funerals, or a reminder that a goddess presides over birth and death? Varro distinguishes between Venus Libitina and Venus Libentina, the goddess of sensual pleasure.225 August 21

x (Julian xii) CAL. SEPTEMBER

public notary

CONSUALIA (Ant. May.) CONSUALIA Conso in Aventino sacrijicium (Vail.) On July 7, as we have seen (p. 163), the priests of the state brought sacrifices on the underground altar of Consus, the god of gods storehouse of things Harvested Cereals at the Circus Maximus. In addition, Consus had two festivals, on August 21 and December 15, the first celebrating the end of the harvest, the second the autumn planting. On August 21, the Khlamen Quirinalis was in command, accompanied by the Vestals (despite their seniority, Consus had no Khlamen of its own). After the earth from the underground altar had been removed, Consus was honored with sacrifices and holocausts of firstfruits, and there were horse and chariot races; In addition, the horses and donkeys were decorated with garlands and allowed to rest. a shattered reference

178

THE ROMAN YEAR

on horseback in the Praenestine calendar for December 15, which includes the seductive words Htaque rex equo\, suggests that these games were held at the winter consualia, but the harvest festival in August, when the flowers were in season and the animals retarded those whose necessary rest from their work in the fields would be a better time.226 For this reason, the pre-Nestine calendar has sometimes been argued to be incorrect; however, it is more likely that a similar ceremony and races were held on both occasions, and the calendars gave no details for August 21 (below December 15, only one of five calendars gives the noted details). In any case, Dionysius of Halicarnassus associates the horse races with the kidnapping of the Sabine women, which Plutarch places in August: Romulus is said to have attracted the Sabine women to Rome with the first celebration of the Consualia, which so absorbed men that they the Romans were allowed to steal their women (but why Consus should be associated with the Sabine women is not clear). However, its probably non-primitive connection to horses may have developed during the Etruscan period in Rome, as the Etruscans were very fond of horse racing and may have associated their underground altar with the spirits of the dead and the horse. it was considered a funerary animal.227 After horse racing was added to the festival, a connection was made with the Greek Poseidon, the god of horses (Hippios), and the consualia was mistaken for a tribute to Neptune Equestris. The races, however, made Consualia an important day of the year for the common Roman, at least until the day of Strabo (5230) and probably much longer. L. Papirius Cursor promised or built a temple to Consus on the Aventine, probably in 272 BC. C. Temple of Vortumnus nearby). The Fasti Vallenses mark the dedication day on August 21, the Amiterni on December 21: it has been suggested that the latter may have marked a possible Augustan restoration. 08/23

VIII (July x) CAL. SEPTEMBER

public notary

VOLCANOLIA Volcano, Horae Quirinus, Maiae supra Comitium (Ant. May.) Vacation volcano. Vulcan in Circus Flaminius, Nymphs in the field, Opi Opiferae [in..., Horae] Quirini in Colle Vulcan, Maiae supra Comitium (Arval.) The age of Vulcan is attested by the existence of zjlamen Volcanalis, born on May 1st Maia sacrificed (see above, pp. 116, 123), but the origin of this Italian god of fire is uncertain. His name isn't Latino, but still

AUGUST

179

parallel Etruscan names It is unlikely that he was an Etruscan, since the name of the Etruscan god of fire was Sethlans; He has also been compared to the Cretan deity Velchanos. Your temple should always be outside of a city (due to its potential for destruction). In Rome his first altar, the Volcanal, was in the Area Volcani, usually at the foot of the Capitoline Hill, where a rock-cut altar was found in the northwest corner of the forum, but is now probably identified with the sacred area of Lapis Niger. Before the Rostra was built, kings and magistrates turned to the people of this area, which contained a bronze chariot dedicated to Vulcan and statues of Horace and Romulus with a plaque listing their exploits in Greek letters. A lotus tree, said to be as old as the city, still grew here in Pliny's time. Vulcan received before 214 a. a temple (when he is struck by lightning); it was attributed to Romulus himself. According to Tito Livio it was in the Circus Maximus, but it must be the same one that the Fasti Vallenses described as "in the Circo Flaminio". However, the primary ceremonies of Volcanalia were probably performed at the altar in Area Volcani.228 (Pis 33, 38, 4123). Virtually nothing is known of the cult except that "the people (populus) drive the animals into the fire as substitutes for themselves (pro se)" while, as we have seen in connection with the Fishermen's Games on July 7 (cf. 148), Vulcan-dwelling fish were offered as substitutes for human souls: the fish may be particularly acceptable as they were out of reach of the god in the river. Regardless of what the priest did, the sacrifice apparently came from individuals (populus). Volcano worship does not seem to have been of significant importance in Rome, at least in later times: this is strange, since in neighboring Ostia it was a prominent feature of the city's religious life and he was in effect its patron god. Maiae, Nymphis in Campo, Opi Opiferae, Horae Quirini in Colle As Vulcan was equated with the Greek god of fire, Hephaestus, he naturally became part of the Greco-Roman mythological scene, but was also given the titles Quietus and Mulciber (qui ignem mulcet). and with Stata Mater Connected: All of these names imply the power to stop fire. But he had other divine companions who were also worshiped on August 23. Maia, his wife, who had been sacrificed to xhzflamen Volcanalis with a pregnant sow on May 1 (p. 116) and (by confusion with Maia, Mercury's mother) was also worshiped on May 15 (p. 122 ). on August 23 a sacrifice *supra Comitium', that is, in the Area Vulcani, which towers over the Comitium. nothing is known about it

180

THE ROMAN YEAR

sacrifice for nymphs recorded only in Fasti Arvales; the proposed identification with Juturna, who had a temple on the Champ de Mars, is unlikely, since January 11 was venerated here (p. 64). Ops was a goddess who had two parties: the Opiconsivia. August 25 and Opalia on December 19. She was associated with Consus, whose two feasts preceded Ops by four days, and with Saturn, but her association with Vulcan is unclear. Her titles were Consiva and Opifera, and like Consus, she probably had something to do with corn and the harvest. The oldest place of worship of hers was a small shrine in the Regia. The later temple of her on Capitoline Hill is first mentioned in 186 BC. mentioned. L. Caecilius Metellus Delmeticus dedicated a temple to Opifera in the late 2nd century; it was probably in the forum and may have been new construction rather than a rededication of the temple on the Capitol. Virtually nothing is known of Hora, Vulcan's cult companion, though Ennius celebrated her: 'teque Quirine pater veneror Horamque Quirini\2yo August 24

vii (Julian ix) KAL . SEPTEMBER

100 religious days

Lunae in Graecostasi (Pine). The goddess of the moon (Luna) was worshiped in her temple on the Aventine on March 31 (p. 95). The Graecostasis was a courtyard or platform between the Comitium and the Forum. It is mentioned for the first time in 304 BC. BC, but the sacrifices offered to Luna here may have been a late institution: they are first mentioned in the Fasti Pinciani. (Mundus patet) The mundus was a vaulted ritual well divided into two parts and having a cover (possibly called a lapis manalis) that was removed three times a year, on August 24, October 5 and November 8. With the lifting of the lid, which was considered the gate of hell (Ostium Orci: Festus, 115L), the spirits (manes) of the underworld emerged and were allowed to roam the streets of the city. The day was "sacred" (religiosus): no public business could be conducted, no battles fought, no army raised, no ships sailed, no marriages performed. So say the sources, but the original purpose of the mundus remains uncertain. Warde Fowler has suggested that this was a pit for storing maize seed at harvest (cf. Cereris qui mundus appellatur: Festus, 126L) and that later “the Greco-Etruscan doctrine of the underworld was grafted onto this simple Roman stock. Dis and Proserpina claim the mundus. This point of view, although controversial, has been supported more recently by K. Latte. it is noteworthy

181

AUGUST

that no calendar contains the 'munduspatet', that August 24 was marked as a working day (comitialis) in the calendars, and that the dead 'wandered' during Lemuria and Parentalia when the mundus was closed. So it may be that the spirit associations were later additions to an earlier agricultural cult. Land of the country where each of his followers came from. In addition to some disagreement about the nature of this pit or ditch, there is the possibility of identification or confusion with Ceteris mundus. Were there two worlds? If so, the second might well be identified with the remains of an archaic cistern, a beehive-roofed chamber, discovered on Palatine Hill in 1914, but the traditions can hardly be satisfactorily deciphered.232 August 25

we (Julian vm) cal. SEPTEMBER

public notary

OPICONSIVIA Feriae Opi: (Dpi Consivae in Regia (Arv.) Opi in Capitolio (Vail.) Ops (Plenty), having received offerings related to Volcanalia on August 23 (see p. 178), had its own feast on August 25 The vestal virgins and the state priest wearing a white veil (suffibulum) were allowed into their sanctuary in the Regia, a large special bronze vessel called a praefericulum was, according to Festus, considered terra (earth) and was placed in revered by the Regia because it provided humanity with all its resources (omnes opes, later Rex Sacrorum), housed the fruits of the earth and was cared for by her "daughters", the Ops Vestal Virgins were also cared for in her later temple at the Capitol commemorated.233 August 27

iv (Julian vi) CAL. SEPTEMBER

public notary

VOLTURNALIA Voltumo flumini sacriftcium (Vail.) The cult of Volturnus was very old, he had his own Jlamen (Voltumalis), but Roman antiquarians seem to know little about him (he was thought to be the father of the fountain god Juturna). ). If the name derives from volvere, 'to roll', it could well apply to a river or wind: thus, Volturus was identified with Eurus, the south-easterly wind.

182

THE ROMAN YEAR

it was also the name of a river in Campania. Or the name could be Etruscan, with a possible connection to the Etruscan surname Velthuma. Thus, Volturus may have been a wind that could damage growing vines and must be appeased, or a river god whose cult may or may not have spread from Etruria. Mommsen's conjecture that Volturus is one of the first names of the Tiber raises the difficult question of the relationship between Volturus and the deity Tiberinus, to whom the sacrifice was made on December 8. Whatever solutions may be offered to this problem, the cult of Volturus seems to have received little attention in the late Republic.234 August 28

HI (Julian v) CAL. SEPTEMBER

Solis et Lunae Circenses (Philippians) The Sun and the Moon had a temple near the Circus Maximus (see August 9, p. 171), which was inaugurated on August 28. Tacitus refers to it as vetus aedem Solis ad Circum, but it only became important when games were added to celebrate it in the later empire. Tertullian says that the circus was mainly dedicated to the Sun, whose temple was in the central part; the statue of the sun (probably driving a chariot) was on top of the temple, as it was not considered appropriate to give sacred honors to the god under a roof that people outdoors have above themselves.235

September September, like November, was a month of games rather than commemoration of individual deities. None of the capitalized festivals on the calendar take place this month, around half are dedicated to the Ludi Romani. In the early days, the annual campaigning season was usually over and there was a sort of lull in the fields between harvests. The rural menology only prescribes tarring pots, picking apples and loosening the earth around the roots of the trees ('dolea picantur, porta leguntur, arborum oblaqueatio'). Varro (Agr. 1:33) in his Fifth Period (between the Dog Star and the Autumnal Equinox) suggests some further activity for the farmer, cutting straw, building heaps, raking the plowed land, gathering fodder, and watering meadows secondhand. time. must mow Rustic calendars state that the month was under the protection of Vulcan and a festival (epulum) was celebrated in honor of Minerva, but September was actually the month of Jupiter*: the Ludi Romani, ultimately from 5 to 19, derivative

183

SEPTEMBER

The votive works in her honor reached their religious climax in the epulum of Iovis on day 13, while the late reference to the feast of Minerva should probably only be understood as part of the epulum of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva. September 1st

Cal. September

lovi Tonanti on Capitol, lovi Libero, Iunoni Reginae on Aventino (Arv.) These two temples of Jupiter are not in question here: the first was built in 22 BC. by Augustus, the latter (cf. April 13, p. 102) was restored and inaugurated by him on September 1. Before his conquest of Veii in 396 BC. Camilo Juno promised Regina de Veyes a temple to persuade the goddess, through the ritual of evocation, so that she would leave the city that she guarded and come to Rome. After her victory, she built the temple on the Aventine in 392; on it was the wooden statue of the goddess that she had brought from Veii. It was next to the church of S. Sabina and was also restored by Augusto.236 5 de Setembro

NOT . SEPTEMBER .

lovi Statori (Ant. May.) The stator of Jupiter, who died in 294 B.C. 146 BC received a temple (see June 27, p. 157), received a second in 146 from Q. Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus, who also dedicated a temple to Juno Regina and Juno Regina in the Porticus Metelli near the Flaminius Circus. It is located below the Church of S. Maria in Campitelli. These two temples were probably the first to be built entirely in marble. In front of the Temple of Jupiter, Metellus placed a series of equestrian statues of Alexander’s generals, executed by Lysippus.237 Fifth-Nineteenth Centuries. September

NOT. SEPTEMBER - XII (JulianXIII) CAL. THE END.

Ludi Romani The oldest and most famous games, the Ludi Romani or Magni, were held in honor of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, whose temple on the Capitol was built on September 13, 509 BC. was inaugurated. From this single central date they lengthened in both directions, eventually covering about the middle of the month (5 to 19); in the late Republic they occupied ten days and reached fifteen before Caesar's death, when a sixteenth was added in his honor (September 4). Temples from, but at least 366 B.C. they became annuals; They are

184

THE ROMAN YEAR

organized by the curule aediles and cost a third of a million donkeys in 217. It is not certain how the days were divided between the ludi circenses and the ludi scaenici, but they began with a solemn procession to the Circus Maximus. Dionysius of Halicarnassus describes this (7:72ff.). Led by the chief justices, they went from the Capitol through the Forum to the Circus. The young men, on horseback or on foot, were followed by coachmen, some leading four horses in front, others two, and others without a yoke. The competing athletes followed him, naked except for their loincloths. Then came groups of dancers, men, youth, and children, accompanied by flutes and lyres. The dancers wore scarlet robes with bronze belts, bronze crested helmets, and swords; they carried short spears. Behind them came others posing as satyrs in goatskins and silenoi in shaggy robes, imitating and mocking the warrior-dancers before them. Other flutists and lyre players were pursued by men who burned incense along the way and others who carried gold and silver vessels, both sacred and profane. Finally, the idols were carried on coffins (fercula) at shoulder height: they included not only the twelve Olympic deities, but also Saturn, Ops, Themis, Latona, Parcae, Mnemosyne and others, such as the Muses, the Graces and the once mortal gods were like Hercules, Aesculapius, Castor and Pollux. Finally the sacrificial animals arrived. Under the presidency of the consuls, the priests, after washing their hands, washed the oxen with clean water and sprinkled them with spring parsley; They then ordered the attendees to sacrifice themselves. The victim, who was still standing, was struck on the temple with a club and fell on the prepared sacrificial knives. After being skinned and cut up, a piece of each entrails and limb was sprinkled with spring parsley and carried as scoops in baskets to the officiating priests, who placed them on altars, lit fires below, and served wine. on them while they burned. "I know these rites," Dionysius concluded, "because I have seen them performed by the Romans in my time" (Pis 35, 36). Dionysius, whose great interest in all this is to show that the Romans were not barbarians because they followed Greek practice in these ceremonies, goes on to describe the games themselves, which also reflect Greek custom. First came a chariot race, four and two horses, and unyoked horses. Dionysus also notes three-horse chariots and two joined horses, with a third acting as the lead horse. In those days the driver had an assistant who, as soon as the carriage crossed the winner's beam, would jump up and run the length of the stadium in competition with his rivals; These runners determined the outcome of the entire race. Then came athletics, boxing and wrestling, the winners of each discipline

SEPTEMBER

185

obtain a crown Another form of race, not mentioned by Dionisio but mentioned already in 169 a. 1000 B.C. it consisted of a rider (desultor) who had two horses tied up and jumped from one to the other, perhaps at the end of each round of the circus; This was possibly more socially respectable than the race, since it was practiced in 46 BC. It was practiced by upper-class men in Caesar's games. It is curious that the Romans, unlike the Greeks, occasionally did not participate in events involving horses ridden by jockeys, which is the normal basis of horse racing today.239 In parentheses another equestrian event may be mentioned. Occasionally, a military tournament called the Ludus (or Lusus) Troiae was held at the Circus Maximus. It is said that it was introduced by Aeneas, it could well be of Etruscan origin, but if so, nothing is known about it until its celebration in the time of Sulla* (81 BC). TWO squads of highborn youths paraded in armor on horseback, performed some complicated practice moves, and then engaged in mock combat. Under Augustus, these performances took place several times, but we simply do not know to what extent the citizens of the old republic had the opportunity to see them. Back to normal car racing. These emanated from boxes (prisons) arranged in an arc at the end of the circus to equalize the distance of travel for each competitor. After the president's nod, they made seven laps along and around the center column, turning points (metae) bringing more skill and danger. A seven lap race covered about five miles and lasted fifteen minutes; the Circus Maximus had around 150,000 spectators. In Republican times, the magistrates provided the carriages, horses, and drivers (the latter usually being slaves), but at least two "factions" had developed, the Reds and the Whites. The general view that green and blue were only added at the beginning of the Empire has recently been convincingly challenged, and the four colors may date to the Republic era, while chariot racing itself was a legacy of Etruscan Rome.240 The rivalry of fractal factions had developed long before the end of the Republic: at the funeral of Felix, the red coachman, in the 70s B.C. support and claimed that the man passed out at the cremation just from the smell of burning spices. With the growing enthusiasm, which corresponded to that of modern football fans in a cup final, the stakes increased, as did professionalism and organization. The games also became social events where elegantly dressed young men and women could meet and flirt as the two sexes could sit together, which was not allowed in the theater or amphitheater.241

186

THE ROMAN YEAR

Not all Romans shared the crowd's enthusiasm for the games. Cicero was not a great lover of them, especially when they were vulgarly flashy, as in the Pompey games of 55 BC. C. during the games of 91 a. C. BC young lawyers left Rome for Tusculum. Julio César considered it political to attend, but was once criticized for editing his correspondence during the performance. Later, in a rather subdued letter, Pliny the Younger denounced the races as dull, childish, and yet without novelty or variety. This was not the opinion of the Roman crowd, however, who spent half of September enjoying free entertainment.242 September 13

I WOULD GO . SEPTEMBER .

public notary

love Optimus Maximus (Ant. May.) love the bread (Arv. sab.) love, Juno, the bread of Minerva (Vail.) the bread of Minervae (Menol. mense sept.) En este día en que se dedica traditionallymente el Templo de Júpiter Optimus Maximus fue honored por M. Horatius Pulvillus, Primer Cónsul de la República, Júpiter fue honored en el Capitolio Finally he formed a party (Epulum). Esto difficilemente puede ser anterior a la dedication del templo en 509, aunque es concebible que reemplazó una comida sacrificial romana early habitual en otros lugares, como la feriae Latinae (S.I l l) o la Curiae en Fordicidia (p. 102). Sin embargo, no se menciamente explicitly en el republicano Fasti Antiates Major, mientras que el ultimo Menologia asigna un Minervae epulum a septiembre; in addition, Livio en su tercera década se refière al epulum lovis solo en relación con el Ludi Plebeii el 13 de noviembre, no con el Ludi Romani. Mommsen, por lo tanto, concluded that the fiesta de Jupiter el 13 de septiembre solo se celebraba bajo el Imperio y que solo Minerva recibía una fiesta en septiembre. Sin embargo, en contraste con la menología, los primeros calendarios imperiales mentionan una conjunta fiesta de Júpiter, Juno y Minerva, mientras que el epulum de Lovis probabilita fue anterior al establizimento de los Juegos Plebeyos alrededor del 220 a. y la construcción del Circus Flaminius desde que fueron arresteddos Por lo tanto, aunque no podemos estar seguros, una fiesta de Júpiter no era necessarily una characteristica exclusiva de los Juegos Plebeyos, sino que puede haberse celebrado el 13 de septiembre desde los primeros tiempos243 (Fig. 404). The increase in the number of public banquets in 196 a.C. BC A college of three feasts was created to organize the banquets. Al final de la república, su membresía had increased a diez. Los jueces y

SEPTEMBER

187

Reconstruction of the façade of the Capitoline Temple of Jupiter

The senators attended the Iovis epulum, which began with a sacrifice (perhaps a white heifer). The second batch of mola sauce prepared by the Vestals earlier in the year was used (the first was offered at Vestalia, the third was reserved for Lupercalia). At the feast itself presided over were images of the three deities dressed for a feast: Jupiter, with the ruddy face of Minium, was lying on a bed (lectulus), while Juno and Minerva had saddles. Tables of food were placed in front of them and music was probably played.244 Unfortunately, there are few details from ancient sources, but clearly this session of the full Senate, in the visible presence of the supreme divine guardians of the state, must have been quite a spectacle. Awesome. and a fitting climax to the more solemn aspect of Ludi Romani. A very important ritual in the early history of the Capitoline Temple was the annual driving of a nail into the temple wall on the Ides of September by the Praetor Maximus or some other magistrate. Whether this ceremony simply marked the passing of the years or had some magical or apotropaic significance, it seems to have lasted no longer than the third century BCE. and therefore need not be considered here.245

188

THE ROMAN YEAR

14.09

xvn (Julian XVIH) KAL. AUS.

religious f day

Equorum probatio The cavalry parade of July 15 (p. 164) was a splendid sight in the early days, but as this entry for September 14 does not appear in the great republican Fasti Antiates, references in imperial calendars can only apply to the Rich. .

20-23 September xi (Julian xii-vm) (Julian ix) CAL. THE END. Mercatus As after the Apollonian Games on July 13 (p. 164), some days were reserved for markets or fairs.

23.09

vm (Julian ix) CAL. THE END

Apollini, Latonae ad Theatmm Marcelli (Pal.) The Temple of Apollo was built in 431 BC. consecrated. As a foreign cult, it was built outside the pomerium on the Field of Mars, so the temple was often used for extrapomeral sessions of the Senate. The date of its inauguration is uncertain (July 13? See p. 164), but it was announced on September 23 (August's birthday) by a Sosio, probably C. Sosio, consul in 32 BC. BC and governor of Syria who became rich restored. with many famous works of art. It became known as the Temple of Apollo Sosianus and was joined to the Temple of Jupiter Stator. Its podium is under the cloister of S. Maria in Campitelli and three of its columns were rebuilt in 1940.246

26.09

v (Julian vi.) CAL. THE END.

Veneri Genetrici in Foro Caesaris At the Battle of Pharsalus, Julius Caesar swore a temple to Venus Genetrix, the traditional ancestor of the Juliana gens; It was built of solid marble in its new forum and completed on September 26, 46 BC. BC, inaugurated on the last day of his triumph. In addition to the statue of the goddess and two famous paintings, it contained a gilded statue of Cleopatra, a collection of engraved gems, and a breastplate adorned with British pearls.247

OCTOBER

189

October October was a pretty bad month for festivals. As it marked the end of the campaign season, we found two ceremonies in honor of Mars, the October Horse and the Armilustrium, associated with the purification of the army. It was also the harvest time that was observed in Meditrinalia. These two activities are included in the rustic calendars of the month: Tutela Martis. Vindemiae. Holy Libero'. After describing the preparations that must be made for the harvest, Columella says that after cleaning and fumigating the Liber e Libera winery and the vases from the press (in the Liberalia of March 17, see p. 91). Since Codex Theodosianus allowed harvest holidays from August 23 to October 15, Mommsen surmised that October 15 was sacred to Liber and the harvest, but it is too far from the Republic and the exact date should perhaps be uncertain. .248 October 1

CALIFORNIA. THE END.

norte

Fidei in Capitolio According to Tito Livio, King Numa instituted an annual cult of fides (good faith) and ordered the hungry to go to the sanctuary in a hooded chariot drawn by two horses; Before making sacrifices, they must join their hands up to the fingers as a sign that the faith must be preserved. The covering of the hands was intended to protect the sanctuary from human contamination: It may have been an Eastern idea that reached Rome via the Greeks: Plautus, in any case, refers to submissive messengers who came with veiled hands ( velatis manibus). It is unlikely that the cult of the personification of so abstract an idea could have been as primitive as that of Numa. However, its introduction may not have been as late as is sometimes suggested today, as Fides was probably initially seen as the attitude of the gods towards humans and not just loyalty among humans: it embodied the belief in the credibility of the gods when man would have played his role in maintaining the pax deorum: when a person prayed "do ut des", they claimed to believe in the god. There may be some confusion with the ancient cult of Dius Fidius (pp. 146 ff.), but neither Fides nor Dius Fidius had zfamen, and Livy's reference to the famine must only mean "priest" (priest). Furthermore, the description of him may apply to the later cult of Fides, first introduced (when not preceded by a sanctuary) when A. Atilius Calatinus, consul in 258 and 254 B.C. BC, built a temple known as Fides Publica; It opened on October 1 and was located in the Capitol, probably in the Capitol area.

190

THE ROMAN YEAR

It was occasionally used for Senate meetings, and copies of international agreements hung on its walls. Horace seems to indicate that the statue of the goddess had her right hand covered: "rare fidelity, her hand tied with a white cloth" (alba fides velata panno).249 Tigillo Sororio ad Compitum Acili (Arv.) In a story that is close In the context of An Early History of Perduellio and Provocatio (High Treason and Appeal), Lívio tells how the hero Horacio was acquitted of the murder of his sister; As atonement, his father erected a beam (tigillum) in a street and made his son pass under the "yoke" with her head covered. Dionysius speaks of a greater atonement: before Horace was sent under the yoke, King Tullius Hostilius ordered the popes Juno Sororia and Janus Curiatius to build two altars and offer sacrifices on them. Here we have an example of incorrect etymologies leading to primitive ceremonies linked to a legend, that of Horace and the Battle of Horatio and Curiatio. Juno Sororia has nothing to do with the sisters (sorores), but she presided over the puberty of the girls (sororiare: see p. 151), while Jano Curiacio probably presided over the transition to manhood of the Curia boys. The altars of these two deities thus formed the center of "rites of passage" in a primitive community, and those who passed under the Tigillum were purified. Later, after these first rites were abandoned, Horace was included in history by the title of Curiacio. Juno and Janus were associated with the calendars for each month.250 The Tigillum and adjacent altars were near the Compitum Acili on the southwestern slope of Oppian Hill. It was probably a horizontal beam supported by two columns, although Dionysus suggests a beam built into the walls on opposite sides of the street. It was maintained and still exists until the 4th century AD. The beam itself appears to have been a direct sacrificial object, possibly considered a type of oijanus or janus. If an educated Roman like Livy had seen the sacrifice of the priests on October 1, he might have thought of the Horace story, but hardly of the adolescents of early Rome. 4th of October

IV-No. OCTOBER

Ieiunium Ceteris (Amit.) 191 B.C. In 300 B.C. In BC, the Senate instructed the Decemviri to consult the Sibylline books, which prescribed that a fast (ieiunium) should be observed in honor of Ceres every five years. Greek influence was probably at work, such as on the second day of Thesmophoria, in honor of an Athenian festival.

191

OCTOBER

Demeter (Ceres) in October a fast (nestheia) was observed. In the time of Augustus the Ieiunium Cereris was celebrated every year on October 4251 on October 5

HE DOES NOT. OCTOBER

100 religious days

(Mundus patet) For the second time in the year the Mundus was opened: see August 24 (p. 180). October 7

NOT. THE END.

lovi Fulguri, lunoni Quiriti (Ant. May.) lovi Fulguri, lunoni Curriti in Field (Arv.) An open-air and probably ancient shrine in the Field of Mars was dedicated to Jupiter Fulgur, who threw lightning during the day while Summanus was in charge of them by night (cf. June 20, pp. 153ss. and Festus 254L). Juno Curitis was worshiped at Falerii and may have been brought to Rome by Evocatio (as Juno Regina de Veii) when the Romans conquered the city in 241 a. Its temple on the Field of Mars is sometimes called Temple A in Largo Argentina.252 (PL 30). October 9th

we identify ourselves AUS.

Public Genius, Faustae Felicitati, Veneri Victrici on the Capitol These holy places on Capitol Hill are known only from calendar entries. The date of its construction is unknown; In fact, it is not clear whether there were three separate shrines, altars, or temples. Genius Publicus also had a temple or altar near the Temple of Concord, built in 43 BC. (Gave Cass.57.2.3). The Temple of Fausta Felicitas can be identified with the one dedicated on July 1 (see p. 158), while Pompey had built a temple to Venus Victrix (see August 12, p. 173). October 10th

we identify ourselves AUS.

lunoni Monetae (Ant. May.) This entry appears to refer to a commemorative ceremony for the restoration of the Temple of Juno Moneta, originally inaugurated on June 1 (see p. 127).

192

THE ROMAN YEAR

October 11th

v Identification. THE END.

public notary

MEDITRINALIA Feriae lovi (Amit.) Varro reports that “the Meditrinalia received the name mederi ['cure'] because Flaccus, zjlamen Martialis, used to say that it was customary on that day to make an offering of new and old wine. Like to be cured. Even today, many are accustomed to say: "Of new and old wine I drink; of new and old diseases I am healed." Festus gives a similar quote, used on the day the spice was first tasted. Since it was clearly too early to start drinking the new wine, and the actual tasting and consumption at Vinalia took place on April 23 (p. 106), perhaps the focus of the ceremony at Meditrinalia was formal tasting. after a libation. , despite the lack of manuscript authority on the formula cited by Varro, some scholars would read libo for bibo). Be that as it may, this was clearly an important ceremony in early agricultural Rome, although the cultivation of the vine may not date back to Etruscan times. Meditrinalia may actually derive from a non-Indo-European word meaning the place of the ceremony, the wine press. A Meditrine goddess is only a late Roman invention of the festival's name, and the deity she presided over was probably Jupiter, as the calendars suggest. Varro's observation that even in his day many still "drank toasts" to the occasion perhaps applies more to the country than to the city.253

October 13

DAYS to m. AUS.

public notary

FONTINALIA Feriae Fonti extra Portam Fontinalem. (Viae dei Serpenti) On this festival in honor of Fons, the god of fountains, garlands were thrown into the fountains and placed around the top of the fountains. The sanctity of wells and wells was widespread in ancient times (and Rome isn't the only place where coins are still thrown into wells today). C. Papirius Maso, consul in 231 BC. BC, whose army in Corsica had been saved by the timely discovery of a water supply, dedicated a sanctuary (Delubrum) to Fons, and this may be the one outside Forta Fontinalis, the site of which is unknown.254

193

OCTOBER

October 14th

public relations I would go. October

[.. .]Penatibus in Velia (Viae Ardeat.) This temple of the Penates Dei in Velia, mentioned in the Sacrifices of the Argei by Titus Livy and Obsequens, had fallen into disrepair in the time of Augustus, who restored it. The date, October 14, may refer to this restoration rather than the original dedication. It is not known if it was under the site of the Church of SS. Cosma and Damiano.255 October 15

ID OFF.

public notary

Feriae lovi (Arv.) (Equus Oct.) entry for the festival of Jupiter, to whom all the Idos were sacred, has ruled out any reference to the 'October horse', known only in the latest Philocalus calendar as 'Equus ad Nixasfit' (the Ciconiae Nixae were post-republican). A two-horse chariot race was held on the Campus Martius on October 15, and the right horse of the victorious couple was sacrificed on an altar of Mars on the campus by the Khalmen Martialis: according to Timaeus, it was a war horse and he was killed with a spear. The horse's head was cut out and decorated with pastels. The inhabitants of Via Sacra then fought with those of Suburra for the possession of this terrible trophy; the victor, if he was the first, would then nail him to a wall of the Regia, but if the second won, they would attach him to the Turris Mamilia. Meanwhile, the tail, tail or genitals of the horse, still dripping with blood, were brought to the Regia, where the blood was dropped into the sacred hearth. The vestals probably saved some clotted blood for use in the Parilia on April 21 (p. 105). The original meaning of the rite is highly disputed: some believe in an agricultural genesis, others emphasize the military aspect. The former consider it the latest in a series of harvest festivals and believe that the horse represents a maize spirit. This view is supported by Festus' statement, idsacrificiumfiebat obfrugum eventum ("the sacrifice was made for the success of the harvest"), but is rejected by those who see it as a sacrifice to Mars related to the cleansing of the army. return from the summer campaign and connected with the Armilustrium on October 19. It is clear that there may be a grain of truth to both views: what was first an agricultural rite could have become a military one, with a war horse replacing a farm horse, especially when Mars himself began his divine career. as a farmer. deity. anyway the

194

THE ROMAN YEAR

the military aspect predominated, and in the later Republic the October Horse was seen as a purge of the army: both Timaeus and Polybius placed it in a military context (Polybius mocked Timaeus for associating it with the Trojan horse!)256. The fight between the two factions was in the 1st century BC. 44 a.m. C., but apparently the rest of the ritual continued, and Caesar may have had this in mind when he died in 44 BC. He handed over two mutinous soldiers to the Popes and the Flamen Martialis. who killed them on the Field of Mars and fixed their heads in the Regia.157 (Ludi Capitolini) The Capitoline Games are not recorded in the calendars because they were not public games but were given by a Capitoline College. This group of men was still active in the time of Cicero, who died in 56 BC. she wrote to his brother and told her how an unworthy member, an eques named M. Furius Flaccus, had been expelled. The origin of the games is uncertain but probably ancient, since they were attributed to Romulus or Camilo, who founded them to celebrate the salvation of the Capitol from the Gauls (Livio) or the conquest of Veii (Plutarch and Festus). The first perhaps derives from an attempt to explain the College of Capitolini, while the second could be related to a curious custom recorded by Plutarch: in these games it was proclaimed that "the Sardinians are for sale" and an Old Man dressing a child * bullying around his neck, he was ridiculed; Plutarch identified this old man with the defeated king of Veii, who was auctioned off along with other captives. Plutarch then explains that the Sardinians were actually Etruscans from Veii, originating from Sardis in Lydia. This explanation must be rejected as Sardinians must be Sardinians, but it is perhaps unnecessary to follow Latte and argue that the Capitoline Games must have taken place after that, since the Romans did not invade Sardinia until 238 BC. conquered. Sardi venales ("sardines for sale") has become proverbial, but its connection to the Games remains unclear. The temple was recently inaugurated at the beginning of the republic. Thus, while Livio, who attributes it to Camillus, naturally calls Jupiter Optimus Maximus, Tertullian and apparently Ennius, who believed in an earlier origin, refer to Jupiter Feretrios; Tertullian calls them the Tarpeian games but says that Piso called them the Capitol. The Temple of Jupiter Feretrius, which was the oldest in Rome and small, was traditionally built by Romulus to commemorate his conquest of the city.

OCTOBER

195

spolia opima, and those trophies won only twice in historical times (428 and 221 BC) were kept here. It contained no statue of the god, just a scepter and a flint. The derivation of Feretrius is probably from ferre 'carry' rather than ferere 'attack', and the sources offer both explanations. In the first case it refers to the carrying of weapons for the dedication of the temple; in the latter case to enter into contracts. Flint Flint, probably originally a meteorite stone, was used by fecal priests in ritual trade. The worship of Jupiter as the god of war is unusual and probably due to its central position in seventh-century Rome, at the time the temple was probably dedicated.259 As for the games themselves, it is known little about history. of the Games also known The Elder and a scholiast's reference in Virgil to the Annals of Ennius, which he says tells how Romulus built a temple to Jupiter Feretrius and spread oiled skins and held games for men to wear gauntlets (caestibus) to to fight and compete in the race (cursu): The competitors in Ennius' line were "oiled, supple, and ready to take up arms" (conque fricati oleo tardeti adque armaparati).260 October 19

xiv CAL. November

religious day NP

ARMILUSTRIUM The beginning of the campaign season in March was marked by the dance of the Salii through the streets (p. 85), Equirria (p. 89), Quinquatrus and Tubilustrium (p. 92), so its end in October he saw the October War Horse and Armilustrium ceremonies, when the army needed to be purged of the dangerous infection that might have arisen from contact with bloodshed and strangers. This was a festival in honor of Mars; its Salic priests probably danced and sang through the streets once more, tubas were played during offerings, weapons and ancillia were cleaned and put away until the following year. It is clear from Plutarch and Varro that the lustratio was performed on the Aventine W Circum Maximum in an open space called the Armilustrium (south of the church of S. Sabina), the Aventine being possibly the last point in the Salii procession. The pre-Nestine calendar appears to be October 20, but it may be a note from the Armilustrium from the previous day. She drives '[. . .] sanguinem gustare antea frequent solebanV (“they used to taste blood”). This probably refers to testing the victim's blood, a practice that seems to have ceased in the time of Augustus when the calendar was composed.

196

THE ROMAN YEAR

October 26 to November 1

vn CAL-CAL. No.

Ludi Victoriae Sullanae These games, known at first simply as Victoriae but later as Victoriae Sullanae to distinguish them from Caesar's Victory Games, were held in 81 BC. founded to celebrate Sulla's victory over the Samnites at Colline Gate. They culminated in the circuses on November 1, the day of the battle, and were staged by the praetors. They were mentioned for the first time in 81 BC. numbered from a denarius of 59 B.C. Chr. emerges: “Sex. Nonius praetor (81 BC) ludos Victoriae primus fecit'.262 (Plate 4137).

November If October was a scarce month for festivals, November was even more so, but for those who had time to see there was no shortage of plays, culminating with the Ludi Victoriae Sullanae on the 1st and the Ludi Plebeii from the 4th to the 17th. plenty to do in the fields, both plowing and sowing. Rustic calendars prescribe seeds triticariae et hordiariae (sowing wheat and barley) and scribatio (digging around trees): the month is under Diana's care and an epulum Iovis is mentioned. November 1st

LIME. November

The Sullan Victory Games 4 - 1 November 7

public relations no. November - XIV (Julian xv) CAL. TEN. civic games

These games, first written in 216 B.C. Those mentioned were probably established in 220, when C. Flaminius was censured and built the Circus Flaminius, where they may have been held, before probably moving to the Circus Maximus. They were second only to the Ludi Romani, to whom they were somewhat a counterpart: Flaminius was a popular leader and they were administered by the plebeian aediles, while the curule aediles were responsible for the Roma. As in the case of the gypsies, its focus was the festival of Jupiter on the Ides, the Equorum probatio on the 14th and the first circus games on the 15th were dedicated to stage performances and the last three (15-17) to games circus the

197

NOVEMBER

The procedure in the Plebeii and Romani seems to have been similar, and we have already seen Dionysius*'s description of the pompa circensis at the Games, with its solemnity, obscenity, and excitement, and its influence on the social life of Rome (S 184). November 8th

I identify. November

100 religious days

(Mundus patet) This was the third annual opening of the Mundus: see 24 August (p. 180) 13 November

I would go. NOV.

public notary

Fair Iovi. lovx epulum A festival of Jupiter, which may have been a feature of the Ludi Romani on September 13 (p. 186), certainly took place at the Plebeian Games, when the stage days were separated from the circus games by the festival of September 13. of November. ; this is first mentioned in 213 BC. when "the plebeian games were repeated (instaurati) for two days, and because of the games a party was held for Jupiter" (Livio, 2/25/10). So the senators met once more for the solemn celebration of Jupiter. Feroniae, Fortunae Primigeniae fPie?]tati (Ant. May.) Feroniae in Campo, Fortunae Primigeniae in C[apitolio?]. (Arv.). The name of the goddess Feronia may be Etruscan, although Varro believed that she was Sabina. Her cult was widespread in central Italy, but her main center was at Lucus Capenatis, which became a small town called Lucus Feroniae in Etruria, near Monte Soracte; it was definitively identified with a site near Scorano in 1953. In Rome, Feronia had a grove and later a temple on the Field of Mars; The latter is only attested in calendars. Interestingly, since her cult in Rome takes place in the midst of the Plebeian Games, she probably predates them and could be traced back to an early fair, as in Lucus Feroniae. She is mentioned for the first time in Rome, around 217 BC. The atonement before Christ was ordered in the sibylline books: it was even extended to freed women (libertinae) who, according to their ability, were to donate money for a gift to Feronia, while free women (matronae) contributed to Juno Regina on the Aventine. Although she may originally have been an agricultural goddess (she was offered the scoops of the season in Lucus Feroniae), she seems to have acquired a special connection to freedmen and the granting of freedom to slaves. When Varro explained her name, he called her Libert as "Libertatem deam dicit".

198

THE ROMAN YEAR

Feroniatn quasi Fidoniam\ and an inscription on a seat in his temple at Terracina, where the freedmen received the cap of liberty (pilleus) on their shaved heads, reads: "Those who deserve it will sit as slaves and rise as free men "(Bene meriti servi sedant, surgant liberi). It seems that in Terracina the slaves could take refuge in their altar: it would be a Greek and not a Roman custom. That her cult in Rome had a connection to slaves and freedmen is suggested not only by the events of 217 but also by the fact that the only surviving dedication to her was from an ancilla.263 Fortunae Primigeniae in C[. . .] (Arv.) This temple is usually equated with the “in Colle”, but in the Capitol it may be different since the Colline temple was dedicated on May 25 (p. 123).264 [. . .]tati The addition 'PietatV is likely since Pietas is mentioned together with Fortuna Primigenia in an inscription from the 2nd century AD. The temple of her in the Holitorium Forum was promised by M \. Acilio Glabrio in Thermopylae (191) and dedicated ten years later by his son. In it was a golden statue of his father, the first of his kind in Rome. The temple was built in 44 BC. destroyed to make way for the Theater of Marcelo. One aspect of the Pieta was the parent-child relationship, and this temple was associated with the (Greek) story of a daughter providing her own milk to her imprisoned father or mother. The connection may have come from the nearby Columna (Lactaria), where children who needed milk were taken. It is interesting that around the date of the foundation of the temple the personification of Pietas was attested by Plautus in his Asinaria e Curculio265 of November 14.

xvii (Julian xvm) KAL . DEZ .

F day religious

Equorumprobation (Ant. min.; Amit.) Veja 15 de julio (S. 164f.) 18-20 de noviembre

xm (Julian XIV) - xi (Julian XII) CAL. december market

199

DECEMBER

December Although there were no public games in December, no fewer than six "big print" festivals appear on the calendar, though unfortunately (like later Romans) we know little about them. Roman farmers might have enjoyed at least some of these, as work in the fields was less strenuous during that month. The rustic calendars that mark December as the beginning of winter are related to fertilizing the vineyard, planting broad beans and collecting olives; the month was under the protection of Vesta. Varro (RR1.35) suggests some more difficult work (though not during the fortnight on either side of the solstice): digging new ditches, clearing old ones, pruning vineyards and orchards; lilies and crocuses should also be planted. December 1st

LIME. TEN.

norte

Neptune, Pietati ad Circum Flaminium (Amit.) This entry probably refers to a restoration of Cn. Domitius (probably the consul of 32 BC). The temple contained a famous group of statues by Scopas representing Neptune, Thetis, and others. Its identification with some remains in via S. Salvatore in Campo is uncertain. restored after its destruction by Caesar. It is mentioned for the first time in 91 a. when she was struck by lightning.267 Lydus says also Aphrodite (Venilia?), Amphitrite (Salacia?), Tyche Ephore (Fortuna Respiciens?), Sophrosyne (Prudentia?), and Eros (Love?), but this may be later. development.268 December 3

IIINO.DEC.

norte

(Bona Dea) This female Bona Dea celebration did not appear on the calendars as it fell into a category between private and public ceremonies and was only for half the population. It was private because it had no place in the temple of the goddess, popes did not attend or the state paid for it (public sumptu). However, it was attended by the vestal virgins, made pro populo Roman, gathered in the house of a consul or praetor. In addition, the exact date has not been set. In the year 63 B.C. I found it the night of the 3rd

200

THE ROMAN YEAR

December at the house of the consul Cicero and 62 sometime in December (probably the 3rd) at the house of the praetor Julius Caesar; in the inevitable absence of the husbands, her wives presided.269 The annual sacrifice to Bona Dea, as we have seen, was made in her temple on May Day (p. 116). Her relationship to the December Festival is unclear. The latter may have been the original ceremony. It dates from royal times, when the king's wife and daughters (= vestals) officiated, but kept its exclusive character because in the late Republic only a limited number of socially acceptable women were allowed to participate. Alternatively, the cult could have reached Rome in the 4th or 3rd century from Tarentum, where Dania (= Bona Dea) is said to have come from. In any case, the founding of the temple by her, presumably before 123 B.C. B.C., a larger space was created for her cult, and the December celebration could continue to be more exclusive. The goddess, as we have seen, was a rather vague earth goddess who promoted female fertility, and her worship was so secret that neither the true name of the Good Goddess nor the details of the sacred rites could be revealed. Although Cicero refers to its mystery and Plutarch compares the cult to Orphic rites (accompanied by "play" (paidia), lots of music and objects that could only be revealed to the participants), the cult probably began as a solemn affair and appropriate. Even if her reputation suffered from Clodius' sacrilege, under the Empire it need not have degenerated into the drunken orgy of the moralist and satirist Juvenal. As for the rite itself, which Cicero called incredibilis caeremonia, the room was decorated with vine leaves, a pig was sacrificed, wine was offered to the goddess under the name of milk (and did the faithful drink it?), there was music and dance. Whether the myrtle played a role in the ritual is unclear: according to Plutarch, its private use in "house" (oikoi) worship was prohibited because it was sacred to Venus and could portend sexual impurity, and Macrobius said its use was prohibited. use. in the temple, but the very emphasis on this negative aspect raises the possibility of its exceptional use in December (p. 117). by P. Clodius is notorious. The rites were carried out in the house of Julius Caesar, who was a praetor; since his election as Pontifex Maximus he has lived in the Domus Publica on the Via Sacra, his office being in the Regia. He himself and all men were, of course, barred from the house, while his mother Aurelia and his wife Pompeii presided. Disguised as a woman and holding a lute, the young Clodius managed to enter with the acquiescence of a maiden, who hastened to tell Pompeii who Clodius was intrigued with. But one of Aurelia's assistants recognized the voice of her husband and entered.

201

DECEMBER

Horror Aurelia ended the rites and covered what could not be seen by humans (sunekalupsen). Clodius was captured and expelled. The Vestals were forced to perform the rites again, Caesar was divorced from Pompeii, and the affair resulted in Clodius's bitter hostility towards Cicero, who refuted an alibi put forward by Clodius at his later trial for sacrilege. The scandal was certainly reminiscent of the annual occurrence of this festival, but why Cicero died in Laodicea in 50 BC remains a mystery. he was so concerned about the exact date of the ceremony that he asked Atticus about it in two letters.271

December 5th

NOT December

(Fauno) If on the ninth of December a Roman, 'like one who has long done penance in a crowded city,' had sought relief by a trip to the country, he might have found a pleasant sight, made famous by one of the most beautiful Odes of Horace (3.18). Here the poet calls Faunus to come and bless his farms; In return, the god receives an offering of wine and a young kid on the ancient altar, smoking with incense. On December 9, the peasants have a quiet party in the middle of the fields and the peasant dances happily in the earth that he has dug up with so much work. Here we have the essence of true Roman terrestrial religion: the appeal to the vague and possibly dangerous spirit who guards the herds to be present but not linger too long; the smoking altar of the earth; the simple offering of wine and kid; the jumping sheep; the quiet relaxation after a year of working and dancing in the hated country that required so much work. Horace knew the conventions of pastoral poetry, but here he is certainly describing what he himself saw and perhaps shared. here because he must have played an important role in the lives of many Romans, especially in the early days. Faunus, whose name probably derives from favere, meaning "the gentle" but with a euphemistic connotation, remained essentially a spirit of the wild woods, and although worship of him began in the second century B.C. He entered the city in the first century BC. C., it seems that it never became popular. great attraction for the urban population (p. 72).

202

THE ROMAN YEAR

December 8

your id. DEC

Tiberino, Gaiae (Ant. May.) Tiberino in Insula (Amit.) The discovery of the Fasti Antiates revealed that a deity called Gaia was worshiped along with the god Tiberino, whose temple was on the island of Tiberina. Both deities are somewhat difficult to define. In times of drought, prayers were offered to Tiberinus with the formula "adesto Tiberine cum tuts undis" ("May you, oh Tiberinus, be present with your waves"), translated in a verse by Ennio "Tequepater Tiberine tuo cum" Jlumine sancto9 (“And you, Father Tiberino, with your sacred chain”). Servius informs us that the popes used to invoke Tiberinus (indigitari solet), while Cicero says that they invoked him in the prayers of the augurs. It played an important role in the ritual of the Popes: thus Varro, who derives his name from pons (bridge), says that they built and maintained the old bridge over the Tiber, and that rites with great ceremony are prepared on both sides of the Tiber. * (non mediocri ritu).272 It is not necessary to go into the relationship of Tiberinus with Volturnus and the history of the name of the Tiber: Tiberinus Pater, which seems to be the last, could actually be the oldest. In any case, the Varonian tradition in Augustine attributes the cult of Tiberino to Romulus, and the date of his feast was December 8, the anniversary of the dedication of his temple, whose location on the Tiberina island is unknown. A reflection of this festival can remain in the words that Virgil puts in his mouth, in imitation of Ennio Aeneas, who, facing the rising sun, drew water from the river with his hollow palms ('rite cavis undam dejlumine palmis') and prayed. Huqe, O Thybri tuo genitor cum jlumine sancto'.27* In ancient Roman legends, two women named Gaia had connections to the Tiber Island: a vestal virgin, Gaia Teracia of Fufetia, who gave the Campus Tiberinus or Martius to the romans. town, and Gaia Caecilia or Tanaquil, wife of Tarquinius Priscus, venerated in the temple of Semo Sancus (p. 147). Behind these legendary figures hides a deity; the word gaius means magpie, and a theriomorphic origin for Gaia has been postulated.274 December 10

iv-identification. DEC.

Tribuni fplebis magistratum ineunt] (Praen.) This, and not the first day of the year, was the date on which the tribunes assumed the office to which they had been previously elected.275

203

DECEMBER

December 11

Hello ID. TEN .

public notary

AGONALIA INpiGETI] (Ost.) This is the fourth agonalia of the year (see January 9, p. 60) and, as confirmed by Ostian Fasti, it was performed in honor of the Indians. Furthermore, Lydus ascribes it to the sun, that is, Sol Indiges, which was sacrificed on his altar on the Quirinal on August 9 (p. 171). The significance of the December feast may be that it was at the end of the sowing season (Columella says that the last sowing was called Septimontialis satio and the Septimontium feast fell on that day). Thus, the warm rays of the sun were invoked to make all the newly planted crops sprout. the former do not include it because it was not a festival for the whole town, but only for a part, the montani iferiae nonpopuli sed montanomm modo: Varro, LL.6.24.). It dates back to a very early stage in the development of Rome in the 7th century (later the famous Seven Hills). This indicates an extension of influence from an original settlement on the Palatinate, but not yet wide enough to include the Quirinal and Viminal. According to Festus, sacrifices were made on each of the seven hills, although elsewhere he refers to the feriae on all of them, citing Antistius Labeo, but mentions only two sacrifices, namely the Palatuar (an offering to the goddess Palatua). on Palatine Hill, and the second on Velia. An inscription from the Ciceronian period refers to the Magistri et Famines of the Montani of Mount Oppius surrounding and leveling a sacrel and planting trees at the expense of the Montani of Mount Oppius. Offerings seem to have been made on the same day at the sacred places on each of the hills, and we can compare the activities of the individual curiae at Fornacalia (p. 73). However, it is not easy to imagine the relationship of the parts to the whole, since the name Septimontium seems to imply a degree of collaboration that is more than separate actions on the same day. Despite the lack of evidence, it would not be surprising if the ceremony included a cleansing of all relevant neighborhoods by a primitive amburbio and ended with a communal meal, as in the Festa Latina. It should be noted that this is purely hypothetical, but even so, centuries later, Emperor Domitian celebrated the Septimontium with a banquet (epulum) where senators and knights received better food.

204

THE ROMAN YEAR

than the mob, and where he himself was the first to "begin to eat" to initiate the ceremony.277 The most important celebration probably took place on the Palatine, where the Diva Palatua had her own chlamen Palatualis. Aside from Jhtnen's sacrifice, all we know about the celebration is that no chariots or beast-drawn vehicles were allowed in the city. Plutarch supposes that the reason for this was to give both animal and man a day's rest, or to ensure good attendance by preventing people from leaving the city. More importantly, he says that even in his day, those who did not despise the old customs followed this arrangement. And we know that the festival was still flourishing in Tertullian's time.278 December 12

public relations I would go. December

Conso on the Aventine The Temple of Conso on the Aventine was dedicated on August 21 or December 12; a restoration by Augustus on December 12 remains uncertain (see p. 178). Consus was also honored with the Games three days later (see below). December 13th

I WOULD GO . TEN .

public notary

Tettu[ri in Carinis?] (East.) [Telluri. Lectisternium Cerejri at Carinis (Praen.) Tellus, the goddess of the earth, was a very ancient deity, so the temple dedicated to her by P. Sempronius Sophus in 268 BC. C. fought a battle with the Picentes. She was in Carinae, a district at the southwestern end of the Esquiline, on a site formerly occupied by Sp. Cassius, who died in 495 B.C. It was destroyed. During the disturbances of Rome in the years 56-55 a. and the alleged desecration of sacred places, the Magmentarium (archaic word meaning inner sanctuary) of the Temple of Tellus was opened to the public; The temple was restored by Cicero's brother Quintus, whose house was next door. The senate sometimes met in this temple, and a map of Italy hung on the walls.279 Ceres was often associated with Tellus: for example, a pig was sacrificed to both (porca praecidanea suscipienda Telluri et Cereri). Therefore, a restoration of et Cereri by Ostian Fasti is entirely possible. However, the reading could take place on Carinis, and there is no tradition that Ceres had a temple with Tellus on Carinae, although Sp. Cassius is said to have dedicated the property of his doomed son to Ceres, of which it was made. a statue.

205

DECEMBER

Product Sin embargo, generally it is believed that this statue was placed in the Temple of Ceres, Liber y Libera in the Aventine, dedicated to Sp. Cassius in 493 BC. (page 102). However, Arnobius records a lectistemium de Ceres en los Ides, que eran los natalis de Tellus, y una nota en el Praenestine Fasti también se refere a un lectistemium: aedijles... ] et lectistemium e lect[tis, . .they do what] the entrepreneur guarantees. Ya sea que Ceres compartiera o no el templo de Tellus, received su parte de adoración el mismo día en una ceremonia que es el único lectistemo público anual registrado en los Fasti.280 15 de diciembre

xvi (JulianXVIII)KAL. IAN.

ES (Ant.mai) but probably NP

CONSUALIA Feriae Conso (Praen.) A note on the Praenestino Fasti runs, Tiqui and [the women are crowned] that on your [screen... ]. And so the king on horseback... / 'Horses and (mules are crowned with flowers) because in his protection (...) • And so the king on horseback (• • •)' •

This second festival of Consus probably repeated the horse and chariot races and horse garlands that marked the first festival on August 21 (p. 129f.) 17-23. marked december

xiv (Julianxvi) - vm (JulianX)KAL.IAN.

SATURNALIA. Saturn (Ant.mai.) Feriae Satumo. Satumo ad Forum (Amit.) Feriae servorum (Silv.) The Saturnalia, one of the most famous Roman festivals, was perhaps the most popular: "the best days" (optimus dierum), said Catullus. From a purely religious point of view it was celebrated only on December 17, but in practice it lasted up to seven days in Cicero's time, as confirmed by Novius, a farcist of Atelle ("oftm exspectata veniunt septem Saturnalia"). . . . , and Cicero refers to Satumalibus secundis et tertiis; later, during imperial times, the number varied between three, five and seven days. The party was held at the time of the winter solstice, a time when in many places and at many times humanity felt the need to rest and enjoy, especially our own Christmas party.281 Saturn, for whom the party was held, to Often he was sometimes explained as the god of sowing or of the corn seed, deriving his name from satus; your celebration

206

THE ROMAN YEAR

the harvest would thus arrive at the end of the last planting of the year. This explanation is not without difficulties, among which is the fact that the letter a of Saturn is long while that of satus is short; Therefore, some scholars searched in Etruria for the origin of its name. In addition, sacrifices were offered to him in the Greek style (Graeco ritu) with the head uncovered, while the Romans always covered their heads so as not to hear or see bad omens during the sacrifice. However, this custom may have arisen only after being assimilated to the Greek god Cronos, father of Zeus, who according to some legends was king of the Golden Age. This is how the Romans began to speak of the Golden Age of Saturn: redeunt Saturnia regna, Virgil exclaimed, wishing for a child to be born who would herald a new Golden Age after decades of civil war.282 On December 17 the Temple of Saturn was dedicated. probably in one of the first years of the republic. It was in the Forum, at the foot of the Capitol; The imposing remains are quite late, but the surviving podium belongs to a reconstruction by L. Munatius Plancus in 42 BC. Inside was a statue of Saturn, apparently filled with oil as a preservative. The statue was also tied with woolen ribbons, which were untied on the day of the festival. Macrobius explains that this symbolizes the seed that was in the womb and rose to light in the tenth month; Perhaps an agricultural rather than a human analogy might come closer to Saturn's original function, though in fact the custom represents only an attempt to preserve the god's presence and benevolence. More significant to the common man was the fact that the temple contained the treasure283 (Fig. 37). In this temple the Saturnalia opened with a great sacrifice in which senators and knights wore their robes. A banquet then followed, which was apparently open to all. This appears to be 217 B.C. to have been established: Livy suggests that the Saturnalia itself was created first, but presumably we are to understand that the convivium publicum was later added to the sacrifice; he also adds that a lectisternium was ordered, but we do not know how often this ceremony accompanied the sacrifice. Less formal dresses (synthesis) and soft caps (pilei) were worn at the banquet; ended with a cry of the 7th Saturnalia. It was a time of general jubilation: shops, courts and schools were closed, public gambling was allowed. Seneca refers disapprovingly to the merriment of the city, and few would have followed the antisocial Pliny, who retreated to a soundproof room while the rest of his family rejoiced. a festive day), the gentlemen waited at mealtime for their brief equal servants. This may reflect the customs of earlier times, if

207

DECEMBER

Boss and man worked closer together and the farmer relaxed in his hands. In a fragment of the ancient Latin poet Accius (n. 170 BC) we read: "When they celebrate the day, they like to celebrate in the country and in the cities, and each one serves his own slaves." the false king, Saturnalicius princeps, was chosen master of the festivities, a custom reflected more recently on Twelfth Night. Gifts were given: ceramic dolls (sigillaria) for children and wax candles (cerei) for friends. Even thrifty Cato recommended an extra serving of 3 Vi congii wines (vinum familiae) to his family. while the hills of Latium and the father of the Tiber last, while your city remains Rome and the Capitol. In fact, some of their customs may have been adopted and preserved by the Christian Church. The celebration of the birth of Christ on December 25, shortly after Saturnalia, is first attested in the Philocalus calendar in AD 336. , was dedicated by Aurelian in 274 AD. Be that as it may, Christians celebrated a season of goodwill when families and friends feasted together, exchanging gifts, and sometimes even wearing paper hats (pilei?).2*6

Decembre 19th

xn (Julian xiv) KAL. IAN.

N(Ant.mai.) NP(Amit)

OPALIA Feriae Opi. Opi ad Forum (Amit.) December and August show a similar pattern: August 21 Consualia and August 25 Opiconsivia; December 15 Consualia, December 19 Opalia. Previous Ops celebrations on August 23 and 25 seen above (pp. 180,181). Little more can be added about his cult, but the ad Forum cult center held on December 19 is discussed. Mommsen suggested that it was a sack tied to the temple of her Saturn's husband; most likely it had a separate temple, location unknown, dedicated to Ops Opifera by L. Metellus (p. 180). Since Ops seems to be associated with the earth and the fruits of it, the concatenation of 15 (Consualia), 17 (Saturnalia), and 19 (Opalia) is probably indicative of the general thinking behind these festivals.

208

THE ROMAN YEAR

Io[ventati?] (east). It is more likely that this sacrifice was in honor of Juventas (Youth) than Jupiter (Io[vi]). Juventas had an ancient sanctuary (edicula) on the Capitol in Minerva's cell in the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, traditionally because when it was built Juventas, like Terminus, refused to be moved and his sanctuary was incorporated into the later temple. . . When young Romans took on the mantle of manhood (toga virilis) and became iuvenesy, that is, 'of legal age', they made a payment to the treasury of the temple of Juventas (and perhaps also made offerings to Jupiter). Likewise, births were celebrated with donations of money to Juno Lucina on March 1 (p. 86f.) and deaths in the image of Libitina, whose grove (Lucus) on the Esquiline was the seat of funeral homes (Libitinarii), where died and burials were recorded were arranged.287 207 B.C. M. Livius Salinator promised a temple and games for Juventas in the battle of Metaurus; its construction, near the Circus Maximus, was started by him in 204 and inaugurated by C. Licinius Lucullus in 191, when the Games were being held, which included the representation of plays. The ceremony of the Roman Yuvens was probably moved to this temple, where they met at the age of fourteen before beginning their military training three years later. Juventas was considered the goddess of Roman youth, and Salinator probably saw her that way when he swore to the Temple during a crisis in Hannibal's War. It is true that she was also identified with the Greek goddess Hebe (youthful beauty), wife of Hercules, but by the time Juventas was assigned a lectisternium and a supplication in the Temple of Hercules in 218, she and her Greek counterpart were already on the same page. assimilated: at no At the beginning of Hannibal's war, his interest in the welfare of the youth was probably paramount. annual public ceremony: In any case, Festus (92L) reports that "the sacred rites of Juventas were instituted for the youth" (*Iuventutis sacra pro iuvenihus sunt instituta), and Cicero, in a fascinating passage, tells Atticus that in the year 60 B.C. the annual rites of Juventas (anniversaria sacra luventatis) had not been performed; and it is conceivable that the Ludi luventatis promised by Livius Salinator should have become annual. So when every year all the young men of Rome solemnly celebrated their coming of age in a joint ceremony (which was probably arranged according to the census rankings of the families involved), it must have been an impressive sight. Although the possibility that it happened on December 19 depends entirely on who

209

DECEMBER

Restoration of Ostian Fasti, but this would be an appropriate time to prepare the Yuvens for their duties in the coming year.289

December 21

x (Julian xn) KAL. IAN.

public notary

DIVALIA ANGERONAE (Ost.) Invoking morbid]recurso[atury quod-cure eius quondam]prae[cepit. The statue wins thanksgiving in the year Volupiae, and the money is the name of the occul[tum Urbis enuntiaret... ]m aiunt ob an[ ] m. (Note on Praen.) The feast of the goddess (who was Angerona), who (of angina disease because she once had it) (cures for her. They put a statue of her with her mouth tied) on the altar ( by Volupia to warn that no one should share the (name of the city) secret..." This corrupted note can be recovered with reasonable confidence from the evidence provided by Varro, Pliny, Macrobius, and others. The Divalia performed in honor of the goddess Angerona it was called Angeronalia by Varro and Festus, Pliny saying that Rome had another name that could only be pronounced in secret ceremonies (arcanis caeremoniis) illustrates this old taboo (exemlum religionis antiquae) citing the fact that the statue of the diva Angerona was represented with a bandage that was sealed over his mouth... (a finger to the lips, after Macrobius) We cannot go into the reason for this ritual name here (to prevent enemies from calling by name the tutelary deity of Rome and the c onquisten, as the Romans themselves invoked Juno Regina de Veii by evocatio?), nor in the nature of the Name itself. (John Lydus clearly believed it was Cupid, i.e. Rome was spelled backwards when comparing it to Eros.) Whether or not Diva Angerona was the goddess of the secret name is disputed as to the meaning of her name itself and the nature of it. The Romans themselves associated her name with angina or angina: she alleviates the disease angina pectoris in humans and animals alike (so Julius Modestus) or pain (angor) and mental worry (Verrius Flaccus). Mommsen and others related the name to the winter solstice (from angrye, "to come out"), that is, to let the sun rise again. But it has been pointed out that the pre-Julian solstice did not coincide with December 21, but fell earlier on various dates. Another suggestion is to link Angerona with angustissimo die anni, but that would meet with a similar objection.290

210

AT SIM ROMANA

Angerona was venerated in the Curia Aculeia (Varro) or in the Sakel of Volupia where her statue was on the altar (Macrobius), unless they were two names for the same place. The Sacelo was where Nova entered Via Velabrum. Volupia (from voluptas) was a minor deity of pleasure, according to Tertuian and Augustine, who curiously named her in relation to infant deities. , bread or cakes (panes), and a drink of honey and wine (mulsum).292 December 22

ix (Julian xi) KAL. IAN.

Laribus Permarinis at Porticu Minucia (Praen.) This temple of the Lares, which protect sailors, was promised by L. Aemilius Regillus when he dedicated the temple to Diana and Juno in 190 BC: see below). A dedication inscription in Saturnian meters was placed on its walls. He stood on the Field of Mars, where he later died in 110 BC. BC he erected Porticus Minucia (p. 146). The epithet Permarini may be the invention of Regillus, who also dedicated Cabiri of Samothrace after his victory in terms similar to those of Lepidus in his dedication .293 December 23

vm (Julian x) KAL. IAN.

public notary

LARENTALIA Accae Laurentinphae jiunt Parentalia] Some say that she was a nurse to Remo and Romanos, others a whore, a whore of Hercules. She was her public relative of hers because she made heirs to the Roman people of a large sum of money that she had received in her will from her lover Tarutilo. (Note in Praen.) The Parentalia are performed in honor of Acca Larentia. Some say that she was the nursemaid of Romulus and Remus, others that she was a courtesan, lover of Hercules. She received public burial rites because she bequeathed to the Roman people a large sum of money, which she had received at the will of her lover Tarutilus. The Larentalia (later Larentinalia) consisted of performing funeral rites (parentatio) in the supposed tomb of Acca Larentia (less correctly Larentina). Myths about this dark goddess vary: she was a

DECEMBER

211

Prostitutes in the time of Romulus or Ancus Martius, the lover of Hercules; she later married a rich man, Tarutilus, she inherited the money from her and bequeathed it to the Roman people. Alternatively, she was the wife of Faustulus (probably a form of Faunus), the shepherd who found Romulus and Remus being suckled and reared by the wolf; or she was the mother of Romulus rather than the foster mother, the harlot (Lupe) later being equated with the wolf (Lupe). More important is the origin of her and Larentalia's name. She rejected a connection to Lares (deified ancestors?) by the amount of the letter a, which is short in Lares and long in Larentia; however, this objection does not appear to be valid. If her other name Acca is correctly compared with the Greek AKKO (akko) and the Sanskrit akka 'mother', she could very well have been Mater Larum, the Mother of Hearths, for after her death Romulus and Remus became Lares, his adoptive mother. . she became Mater Larum. But this is far from true, as is her possible connection to the Sabine goddess Larunda, whom she is equated with Lara, whom Ovid said was the mother of the country (also called Mania). Equally uncertain is any connection between Larentalia and the Jupiterian fairs recorded in the Praenestine calendar.294 The festival was celebrated at the supposed tomb of Larentia at Velabrum, where it empties into the Nova Via, by the popes and the Flamen Quirinalis. Here, says Varro, the priests offered sacrifices to the Di Manes of the slaves.295 Plutarch asks why Decimus Brutus (consul 138 BC) offered sacrifices to the dead in February while other Romans did so in December; He ends his discussion by asking if the view that Brutus was the only person to be sacrificed in December was incorrect, since "in December, offerings are made to Larentia and libations are brought to his grave." Plutarch here follows Cicero in explaining that Brutus used December as the last month of the year as the ancients used February, that is, as the ancient year ending February 153 B.C. (?) was replaced by a new year ending in December, Brutus adapted to the new circumstances. But the Parentatio of Larentia in December is certainly interesting in relation to the Parentalia performed in February, but if this began with an offering to the deceased Tarpeia (p. 75) a parallel can be drawn with the offering to Acca Larentia. Incidentally, it was another Brutus, namely Decimus (proclaimed consul in 42 BC) that Cicero wrote to Marcus Brutus, telling him that he himself had made a motion in the senate to have Decimus's name recorded in the date the status should be converted to a calendar. modeled after our ancestors, who bestowed this honor on Lady Larentia, at whose altar in Velabrum her popes customarily stand

212

THE ROMAN YEAR

Sacrifice'. But this last quote has been used to argue that, contrary to much evidence, Larentalia was not a festival of the dead: since it is stated that such an offering was not on an altar (ara .)* \ 6 Dianae, Lunoni regime in Field, Tempestatibus (Ant.mai.) M. Aemilius Lepidus swore to Diana during his campaign in 187 BC. a temple and during Juno Regina's final battle a second. As censor in 179, he dedicated these two temples on December 23 and received a donation of 20,000 aces from the Senate to finance the games. He gave stage plays to Juno three days after the dedication of the temple and two days to Diana and circus plays for one day each. Both temples were located in the Circus Flaminio. Diana's temple was west of the Circus. Junos has been described as being in Campo (Fast. Ant.) or in Circo Flaminio (Livy). The hypothetical identification of a temple with Temple A or B at Largo Argentina is uncertain (see July 30, p. 169). On December 23 there was also a festival of storms: it is not known if it was in the same temple that Ovid describes on June 1 (see p. 127).297 December 25

I saw (Julian vm) KAL. IAN.

Before the founding of the cult Sol Invictus in the year 273 d. C., December 25 had no meaning in the Roman civil calendar, but since it was so significant in the Christian calendar, perhaps we can end the year by reflecting briefly on removing strict relevance. The day was notable in the Roman astronomical calendar as it was the day of the winter solstice (mist) in the Julian calendar: Varro (LL 6.8) counted a year as the time it took for the sun to rise on a shorter day. ( mist) to pass) until the next one. Bruma was used loosely for "midwinter", or a period beginning on November 24 and ending with the winter solstice on December 25. In Byzantine times, Brumalia was celebrated as a festival, and in Byzantium itself it lasted at least until the 10th century.

Third Part OTHER OPPORTUNITIES

1 Triumphs and Cheers Although it is not an annual ceremony, in the one hundred and fifty years between 220 and 70 B.C. About 100 triumphs were made around 400 B.C. C., so a Roman did not have to wait many years to see one of the most spectacular representations of all time in the city. Originally, triumph was simply the king's return from a victorious campaign with his army and their thanksgiving to the god of the state. It therefore had both a military and a religious aspect, and may well have been a solemn procession designed to cleanse the general and his troops and offer booty to Jupiter Feretrius: thus says Festus (104L) that those laurel-adorned Soldiers followed the chariots. of the victors so that they could enter the city clean, as it were, of human blood. Furthermore, the procession around the city may also have been a kind of purification of Rome itself, an amburio.298 Under the Etruscan kings of the sixth century, the triumph became a much more spectacular and magnificent ceremony. Whatever the original name (possibly ovatio), its name "triumph" reached Rome via Etruria: the Etruscan word *triumpe seems to derive from the Greek thriambos and can be equated with the Latin tripudium, meaning musical rhythm or dance. and therefore could well be applied to a procession marching to music. As they advanced, the soldiers shouted "he succeeded". Much of the show also dates from the Etruscan period. The outfit of the triumphant general was a purple toga (toga purpurea) and a tunic with a wide hem, palm (tunica palmata). His face (or his body) was red with red lead; He wore a golden crown, carried an eagle-tipped scepter, and rode in a chariot. The clothing appears to be the normal attire of Etruscan rulers and did not differ much from that of the more common gods or mortals; However, the Romans distinguished the attire of gods, priests and men, and believed that the triumphant wore the ornatus of Jupiter Optimus Maximus. This led to an endless discussion about the status of the triumphant Roman: was his team royal or divine, and was he temporarily considered a god, or was he still mortal despite being king? The idea of temporary deification is not consistent with what

214

OTHER OPPORTUNITIES

it knows early Roman ideas (though perhaps possible under Etruscan influences) and may have developed in Hellenistic times. Be that as it may, under the Etruscans the Romans humanized their deities and endowed Jupiter with a temple and a statue, and to this new Capitoline temple came triumphs. After the Etruscan period in Rome, the triumphs of victorious Roman magistrates may have become more modest for a time, but as Roman power grew in the third and second centuries and under Hellenistic influences, they became increasingly magnificent. Even the trumpeter's outfit was improved: the purple toga was replaced by a pictish toga decorated with patterns of gold thread, and the palmata tunic was now given elaborate palmette patterns. Processions increasingly displayed the wealth of the conquered peoples who flocked to Rome, and attention inevitably focused more and more on the person of the general who had achieved such fame and fortune: if the conquered Greeks were celebrating a Flamininus like a god, could they? Did not the most impassive Romans see their victorious generals for a day near the god to whose temple the procession marched to offer sacrifices? Jupiter may have awarded victory, but it was won by the agent for all to see and honor. With this elaboration, a more precise definition of the conditions under which triumphs could be awarded to a republican general was made. He was to be a magistrate with his own empire and patronage, but later the claims of pro-magistrates were granted, while in the first century even privates with special empires like Pompey received the honour. The applicant must also have defeated a foreign enemy in a just war (iustis hostilibusque bellis): victory in a civil war or against slaves would be out of the question. He must have killed at least 5,000 men: this may be a later rating, but 62 BC. It was decreed that a general must declare his number under oath. Furthermore, the war would have to be over (debellatum) so that the army could again participate in the ceremony; But with the advent of overseas wars, this condition had to be relaxed and other forces could be substituted. On the day of his triumph, the magistrate was allowed to exercise full power in the city's pomerium, which he normally could not do. When a general claimed a victory, the Senate met outside the city, usually in the Temple of Bellona, to give him the opportunity to assert his claim in person. It was the Senate that ruled on such demands, though its decision was sometimes overturned by appeal to the people or by force, and it was the Senate that voted to allocate public money for spending. However, he couldn't always get away with it, and some of the specific requirements (for example, the 5000 dead) may represent his attempt to do so.

triumphs and ovations

215

he remained in control, especially after a series of triumphs in the first decades of the second century.299 The procession was organized on the Field of Mars, where the senate and magistrates met. As in a lustratio like the Ambarvalia, it moved counterclockwise, advancing through the Porta Triumphalis, probably an independent arch or portal near the Circus Flaminius and Porta Carmentalis. After the sacrifice was made, he passed through Velabrum instead of the Forum Boarium and through the Vicus Iugarius to return to Velabrum through the Vicus Tuscus. Then via Circus Maximus and the road between Palatine and Caelium. This led him to the Via Sacra, which led to the Forum; after crossing it he began to climb the Clivus Capitolinus.300 Here the main prisoners were taken to the prison where they were murdered, initially beheaded with an ax but later strangled. The general then went up to the Capitol and placed his laurel branch and the crowns of his fasces on the lap of the statue of Jupiter. The victims were then euthanized. A feast was offered for the senate in the temple (except for the consuls, who, although invited, were declined so that the victor would be the main present), while the troops were feted in the temple of Hercules. Pliny says (NH, 34.33) that on the occasion of the triumphs the statue of Hercules Triumphalis in the Forum Boarium was dressed in triumphal robes. At the head of the procession were the magistrates and senators, followed by trumpets and some spoils of victory on chariots: weapons and armor, artistic treasures, gold and silver, and paintings or models of some of the conquered lands, cities, mountains, and rivers. . (one of these panels in Caesar's Triumph over Pontus had the famous words veni, vidi, vici). Then came the laurel (later gold) crowns offered to generals by conquered cities. The white oxen to be sacrificed to Jupiter followed with golden horns and garlands, accompanied by the priests and the young acolytes (camili) with the sacrificial instruments and sacred vessels. Then came the main prisoners in chains along with the hostages. The climax came with the appearance of the general himself, followed by his army. First their red-robed lictors, their laurel-draped fasces (later without their axes), then dancers and singers. Amid waves of incense, the general sat in a richly decorated chariot, drawn by four horses and adorned with laurels, dressed in his splendid robes and togapicta. In his right hand he carried a laurel branch, in his left an ivory scepter topped with an eagle. At least in the early days, his face was painted red, like the terracotta statue of Jupiter, and he wore a laurel wreath. On his head was a golden crown in the shape of an oak crown.

216

OTHER OPPORTUNITIES

held up by a slave whose duty it was, in that moment of glory, to whisper from time to time a reminder that the victor was mortal: "Look back and remember that you are a man" (*respice post te, hominem te memento). His little children, boys and girls, went in carriages or on horseback; his adult sons rode behind with his officers, who followed on horseback or on foot. This is how all the Roman citizens who had been saved from slavery by victory could come: they wore the cap of freedom. Behind them marched the victorious army, with their spears crowned with laurels, and they shouted "Io triumph" and sang hymns or obscene comments about their general, another way of curbing the pride of the victor, whose fame could offend the gods. Something of the splendor of the occasion may be deduced from some of the details given by Plutarch (Aemil. 32ff.) in his description of Aemilius Paul's triumph over Perseus, king of Macedonia, in 167 B.C. At this point, a triumph could not always be captured in one day: Paullus's lasted three. The people occupied the parts of the city that offered a view of the procession and looked on in their white dresses. All the temples were open and filled with garlands and incense, while many servants and lictors held back the straggling crowd and kept the streets clear and open. The first day was barely long enough to display the captured statues, paintings and colossal figures transported in 250 wagons. On the second day, the most beautiful and richest Macedonian weapons were displayed on many floats, gleaming in freshly polished bronze and steel. They have been expertly stacked. . . so that when they were carried they collided with a harsh and terrible noise. . . then followed 3,000 men with silver coins in 750 vessels, each holding 3 talents and carried by four men, while others carried silver bowls, horns, bowls, and goblets. On the third day, at dawn, the trumpets led the way and sounded a war cry, not a march or procession tune. After them, 120 fattened oxen with golden horns, adorned with fillets and garlands, were led to the sacrifice by young men wearing aprons with some borders on their hands; The boys carried libation vessels of gold and silver. Then came the bearers of gold coins, divided like silver into 77 vessels of three talents. Behind them came the bearers of the consecrated bowl, which according to Aemilius must have been made of 10 talents of gold and adorned with precious stones, and then those who displayed the bowls, known as the Antigonids, Seleucids, and Theraclians (named after a famous Corinthian artist). ). , along with the gold plate from the table of Perseus. These were followed by the chariot of Perseus in his armor, on which was his diadem. Then, from afar, came the king's sons, led like

triumphs and ovations

217

slaves, and with them multitudes of foster parents, teachers and educators who cried and begged. . . then it was Perseus himself. . followed by a company of sad friends. . . Then came those of 400 gold crowns, which the cities sent with their envoys to Aemilius as a reward for his victory. Then Emilio himself came in a richly decorated carriage. . . He wears a purple robe woven with gold and holds a laurel branch in his right hand. The entire army also carried laurel branches behind the carriage. . . and song / Unlike many other triumphant generals, Aemilius did not need to be reminded of human mortality: one son died at fourteen five days before the triumph, another at twelve died three days later. For those who could not achieve a complete triumph, two smaller forms were opened: the ovatio, or a triumph at Monte Albán. The state gave an ovation to those whom it wished to honor but whose victories did not contain all the technical qualifications required for success, or to men whom it did not favor but whose claim to success could not be entirely denied: the many politicians often intrigue They played an important role in decision making. In this so-called minor triumph, the general entered the city on foot (later on horseback), not by carriage; he wore the praetexta toga of a magistrate and a myrtle wreath instead of the victor's robe and laurel wreath; He did not wield a scepter and was accompanied by more flutists than trumpeters. He seems to have led the procession, which included the spoils of war, but when he failed to bring back his army (exercitus non deportatus) he was apparently accompanied only by all the senators and not by a full military parade. . Presumably, however, he must have received at least a small military escort, possibly horsemen. The procession proceeded to the Capitol, where General Jupiter is said to have sacrificed a sheep instead of a bull. In fact, Plutarch derived the word ovatio from ovis > "a sheep", although it is more likely from the Greek cry euoi. The celebration is known between 360 and 211, while it is between 200 and 174 BC. Chr. gave seven; then, after a long hiatus, it reappears some forty years later, when it was used in victories over slave rebellions in Italy and Sicily. So while in the late Republic triumphs averaged twice every three years, a standing ovation was a much rarer sight. A victorious general who could win the senate's approval for either a triumph or an ovation could celebrate a triumph at his own expense at Monte Alban. This happened for the first time in 231 BC. by C. Papirius Maso during the Feriae Latinae, the ancient festival in honor of Jupiter Latiaris (p.

218

OTHER OPPORTUNITIES

111) to which was added, as it were. The general acted on the authority of his consular power (iure consularis impertii), and the legality of his triumph was confirmed by his inclusion in the Fasti Triumphales, which publicly portrayed all the triumphs achieved in Rome. But although it was occasionally practiced in the early second century, it seems not to have been used in the late Republic, and in any case focused on the Temple of Jupiter on Monte Albán and not in Rome itself.302

2 Funerals The rites that accompanied birth, marriage, and death were, of course, private and domestic affairs, but when a Roman nobleman died, the streets of Rome could witness an extraordinary scene that deeply impressed the Greek Polybius. The description of him (6.53) deserves full mention: "Whenever a famous man dies, he is brought at the funeral in all his funerary regalia to the rostrum of the forum, sometimes sitting upright and conspicuous, more rarely lying down." . Then an adult son, if there are any left in Rome, or another relative, enters the Rostra with all the people around and talks about the virtues and achievements of the deceased. In this way, people remember what was done and are drawn to see it with their own eyes, not only to those who participated in these conquests but also to those who did not, and are moved by such sympathy that the loss seems not to be limited to the mourners, but public, affecting all people. After the burial and the usual ceremonies, they place the image of the deceased in the most visible place in the house, enclosed in a wooden altar. This image is a mask that represents the dead with remarkable fidelity both in modeling and complexion. They display these images and decorate them with great care in public offerings, and when a respected member of the family dies, they bring these masks to the funeral and place them on the men they believe most closely resemble the dead. man in height and posture. These deputies wear clothing appropriate to the rank of the deceased: if consul or praetor, purple-striped toga (toga praetexta), if censor, purple toga (toga purpurea), if triumphant, gold-embroidered toga (togapicta). They travel in carriages preceded by fasces, axes, and other insignia corresponding to the dignity of the state offices that each one held while alive. When they arrive at the Rostra, they are all seated in a row on ivory chairs. There could not be a more inspiring vision for a young man fighting for glory and bravery. For all those who are not moved by the sight.

FUNERAL

219

of images of men famous for their excellence, all together as if they were alive and breathing? What spectacle could be more glorious than this? In addition, the speaker who says the prayer for the dead to be buried, having finished his prayer over him, narrates the achievements and conquests of the others present, beginning with the eldest. Thus, as the reputation of brave men is constantly renewed, the fame of those who have done noble deeds becomes immortal, while the fame of those who have done good service to their country becomes known to the people and becomes a legacy for future generations. But the most important result is that the young are thus inspired to endure all suffering for the common good, in the hope of reaching the glory that befits brave men.' This spectacle of corpses and masked figures representing their ancestors may have seemed grotesque, but it was evidently a time of great celebration and national unity and fervor as the traditions of older generations were passed on to new ones. This right to exhibit ancestral images (the so-called ius imaginum) was perhaps, like the title of the Nohilites in the last century B.C. BC, restricted to families that had obtained the consulate; otherwise it could have extended to holding a curule position. Since the consulate was a dual magistracy, an average of two consuls or ex-consuls had to die each year, so such ceremonial burials were not uncommon in the Roman year. The (imaginary) masks were probably not literal death masks, but in the early days, when they might have had a semi-magical aura, they were crude representations of the dead, only becoming realistic representations with the advent of Hellenistic verism. Art about Polybius's own time. They were used until the end of the 1st century BC. Made of wax when other materials can be substituted. Diodorus's description of the burial of Aemilius Paul, whose triumph we have already commented on, reveals another point: not only his ancestors are portrayed, but even Paul himself, it seems, as follows: «The nobles employ actors (mimetai) who spend their entire lives observing intently his bearing and the various peculiarities of his appearance." Unless mimetai means "artist" or Diodorus misinterpreted his source, the dead man himself was at least occasionally personified; Polybius curiously does not mention this, but custom seems to be corroborated by later usage, for at Vespasian's funeral a chief mimic (Archimimus) wore the emperor's mask and, according to the usual custom (ut est mos), imitated the actions and words after the deceased.Diodorus also records that practically the entire population of Rome, including magistrates and senators who had neglected affairs of state, as well as many others, attended Paul's funeral.

220

OTHER OPPORTUNITIES

People from cities around Rome. Another fundamental feature of these burials was the prayer (laudatio funebris), which could be said for both women and men, such as Popillia, mother of Catullus (consul 102 BC) or later (AD 23) widow. of C. . Cassius, the tyrant of Nicidal, when twenty masks of his illustrious ancestors were on display. These speeches, often preserved and sometimes published, emphasized the contribution of the individual to the state, but above all they praised his gens, which must have strived to surpass other gens in honoring their dead.303 So far we have discussed with Polybius the high point , but also the procession that takes them away, must have been an impressive spectacle. After a death, the body, dressed in judicial robes, lay on a large bed (lectus funebris) in the atrium of the house, with its feet towards the door of the house; Cypress branches were placed outside. A herald (praeco) came around and publicly invited the funeral (the so-called afunus indicitivum). The pageantry of the procession was determined by the wealth of the family, although various laws of ostentation were enacted (as early as the Twelve Tables, 450 BC) to limit extravagance. Sometimes this is provided for in the testator's will. Funerals were arranged by professional morticians whose business, as we have seen (p. 177), was in the temple or grove of Libitina where the dead were registered. The assistants to the designator who organized the movement were dressed in black. Musicians playing tubaey tibiae and cornua led the way. Then came the mourners (praeficae), who sang funeral hymns in honor of the deceased. The dancers and mummers could follow them, and then came the solemn line of carriages carrying the picture frames. The body of the deceased lay in a coffin, which could be carried by relatives or freed slaves. Other relatives followed him, dressed in black, sons with veiled heads, daughters uncovered and with tousled hair. When the procession reached the forum, it stopped and the eulogy began. From there, the procession moved to the burial or cremation site outside the city limits. By the end of the Republic, cremation had largely replaced burial, although the latter was maintained by specific families: thus the Cornelii Scipiones had a family tomb on the Appian Way, and Sulla was the first Cornelius to be cremated. Funerals, even when they were public spectacles, were usually the responsibility of the family concerned, but sometimes the state intervened to organize a public funeral (ifunus publicum). This even happened to some notable foreign captives: Syphax, the prince of Numidia defeated by Scipio Africanus, was thus treated after his death in Italy, as was Perseus, the Macedonian king. Public funerals would also have been allowed.

221

FUNERAL

some early Roman heroes like Valerius Poplicola and Agrippa Menenius due to their poverty. However, the first Roman recipient may have been Sulla, who was anything but poor! The Senate voted on the funds, the quaestors arranged for burial by private undertakers, and the dead man and his descendants were given a free cemetery. Sulla's burial arguably surpassed all previous burials in splendor, and indeed a prized-value law that he himself had enacted had to be repealed. It seemed more like a triumph than a funeral. It is said that the women brought such a quantity of spices that, in addition to what was carried in 210 palanquins, a large effigy of Sulla himself and another of a lictor were cast in precious incense and cinnamon wood. His body was carried in a gilded sedan chair "in royal splendor" preceded by a large number of trumpeters playing dirges. No fewer than 2,000 gold crowns were on display, hasty gifts from towns, friends, and soldiers. All the priests and vestals escorted the body, along with the entire senate, magistrates, and a large number of knights and legionaries who served under him. Senators, knights, soldiers and the people, in turn, shouted goodbye. After delivering the eulogy on the Rostra, the senators carried the coffin to the Field of Mars, where the knights and army charged around the pyre. The remains were interred in a tomb provided by the state.304 Important burials were sometimes enlivened by gladiatorial games and stage performances. The first, whose organizer wore a black tunic (praetextapulla), were known as munera, services rendered to the dead. Dramatic performances were less common, but Aemilius Paullus performed Terence's Adelphi in the Ludifunebres, and ludi scenei and gladiator fights were mentioned at the death of Titus Flamininus in 174 BC. Reference is also made to the distribution of food and public banquets. Thus, in general, important burials and their secondary events were an important, if irregular, addition to public occasions in Rome.305 (Fig. 39).

3. Sessions of the Senate Attendance at sessions of the Senate was restricted to senators and judges (and the Flamen Dialis) and no one else, citizen or foreigner, could be admitted without being introduced by a qualified judge. But although the public was barred from entering the Senate, the doors were left open and people were able to gather in the lobby. This is how Livio describes an orator referring to his relatives who are "in vestihulo curiae" awaiting the decision of the Senate, while later in his second Philip Cicero could

222

OTHER OPPORTUNITIES

they shout in outrage, "Why aren't the gates of Concord open?" (The Senate met in the Temple of Concord). In the lobby, the children of senators were waiting to walk their parents home from a meeting, and no doubt people were gathering there to find out what was going on. However, if it wished, the Senate could go into secret session when the scribes (scribae) retired and the doors were closed. In addition, the presiding magistrate could order senators to keep deliberations confidential: a senator was once severely reprimanded for inadvertently divulging details of the Third Punic War debate to a man he mistook for a fellow senator. In times of crisis, just when people are most enthusiastic about discussions, they may be left out. But on these occasions, as on other occasions, people can interrupt the meetings. Thus he tells Cicero Atticus how 57 v. On the day he thanked the Senate for his return from exile, crowds flocked to the Senate (homines adsenatum concurrissent) at the instigation of Clodius to demonstrate against the shortage of grain. When Cicero denounced Catiline, he was referring to all the knights and other citizens who were around the senate (qui circumstabant senatum) and, somewhat later, to those who were in the senate (stare ad curiam). For example, there was no gallery of foreigners in the Roman Senate, but the general public could get an idea of its procedures.306. The main meeting place of the Senate was the Curia Hostilia in the northwest corner of the Forum: having been restored by Sulla (80 BC), burnt down and rebuilt in 52, and replaced by a new building in 44, it is naturally known little bit. on its original structure, except that it was accessed by stairs. But it was not the only place where the Senate met in each dedicated temple. Thus he occasionally met in the temples of Jupiter Capitolinus (at the assumption of office of the consuls and perhaps when a declaration of war was being debated), of Castor, of Concordia, and more rarely in the temples of Fides, Honos et Virtus, Jupiter Stator, Tellus, or even outside the Pomerium at a distance of a mile, in the temples of Apollo or Bellona, or in Pompey's theater (where Caesar was killed). The public could gather on the steps of these temples and try to listen to what was happening inside. If a Roman citizen started early enough, they could see the senators assembled in the forum, and then wait in a senaculum before entering the curia: perhaps this was originally an open area and then an assembly hall (there were a few others, for example, in the Temple of Bellona). In due course, a herald (praeco) summoned the senators to the curia, where they were able to find that one or two had "disarmed": Cato Uticensis used to sit in the curia and read while the others assembled. the

SESSIONS OF THE SENATE

223

The session was called by the magistrate (consul, praetor or tribune) who presided over it, and the date and place used to be announced by edict a few days in advance. If our Roman citizen had looked inside, he would have seen different numbers of senators at different times. The post-Sullan Senate counted 600 (or possibly 500), but the highest attendance on record is 417, not counting the justices; In some circumstances there may have been a quorum of 200, but our sources refer to a senatus frequens or infrequens more often than an exact number. Senators wore distinctive clothing; Curules and former curule magistrates wore a toga with a purple sash, while common senators wore a wide sash on their robes. All wore a gold ring and distinctively shaped red leather shoes (calceus mulleus) (details uncertain, but only curule magistrates may have worn a crescent-shaped buckle). Senators sat on benches (subsettia) arranged along the long sides of the rectangular building, perhaps one or two lower stories higher. They were seated disorderly and without fixed positions: in fact, sometimes the individuals approached the speaker they wanted to support, and the way in which they isolated Catilina is well known: 'simul atque assedisti, partem istam subselliorum nudam atque inanem reliquerunt'. ('once he took his seat, they (ie, the former consuls) left the entire seating area bare and empty'). In a court (tribunalia) sat the magistrates who had the right to preside, the consuls and praetors in their ivory curule chairs, the tribunes on a tribunician bench (longum subsellium); other magistrates do not appear to have held any special office.307 Before the magistrate who called the session and would preside, usually one of the consuls, before entering the room, he would make a sacrifice and consult patronage, probably under Use of the pullarii containing the sacred chickens. We cannot go into the details of the procedure here, but in general terms, after having drawn up the report they deemed appropriate, other magistrates could use the ius referendi (praetors or tribunes) to ask questions to the camera. However, the presiding magistrate set the order of the day and submitted to the judgment of the senators what he wanted from the opinions that emerged in the course of the debates. Senators who rose to speak were asked to give their advice (quid census?) in the order of their official position, while the weather often did not allow younger members to speak. However, a senator granted the right to speak could discuss matters other than the proposal itself (egredi relatedem) as long as he ended his speech by commenting on the proposal. Voting was by division (discessio), but often senators could add a few approving words to a speech without rising, and thus the mood of the House could be gauged without a formal recount.

224

OTHER OPPORTUNITIES

The presiding magistrate and sitting magistrates, including quaestors, could intervene in a debate: thus Cicero delivered his fourth oration to Catiline in the midst of the rogatio sententiarum between speeches by Caesar, a praetor-appointed, and Cato, a tribune-appointed . Such interruptions can lead to violent exchanges of words (altercatio): thus Suetonius refers to three days wasted in meaningless arguments (triduoque per invitas altercationes absumpto). The insult can be strong: *eo die Cato (trib.pl. 56 BC) vehementer est in Pompeium invectus. . . replied Pompey vehemently. Mario threatened in 119 a. As tribune of the people, he even tried to imprison the consul Cotta if he did not repeal a law: “Cotta then turned to Metellus (his fellow consul) and asked him to express his opinion, and Metellus stood up in his place, agreed with the consul, but Marius ordered the bailiff to take Metellus himself to prison. . . so the Senate relented and rescinded its vote. Many lively scenes are recorded: Thus, Gabinius was assassinated in 54 BC. B.C., when he was attacked in the senate, "beaten on all sides, and attacked by me most bitterly," wrote Cicero, "the boy could bear no more, and with a voice quavering with rage, he called me an exile; Thereupon, the Senate stood up to a man with a shout, and even made preparations to attack him. Again, Plancus, thanking Cicero for defending his interests in the Senate, refers to "his endless discussions of him with my detractors" (perpetua iugia cum obtrectationibus) .30 *. We do not know how often the Senate met, since until Augustus instituted it there was no fixed date (senatus legitimus) and the magistrates called a session when they considered it appropriate. However, it was traditional for consuls to preside over a meeting on the day they took office, in which religious matters were dealt with first, whereas it became customary for the reception (and legally binding by the lex Gabinia, probably in 61 BC). foreign embassies by the Senate versus the February regular sessions. Furthermore, it is not clear whether séances were prohibited on specific days: it may be that tradition dictated that comital days were to be avoided throughout the year, and that a lex pupia, probably dating from 61 B.C. BC, its use in January prohibited February. .309 If the most worthy Senate of 280 B.C. B.C., referred to as the "Assembly of Kings" by the Pyrrhic ambassador, can be compared to the calmer atmosphere of the British House of Lords, the Senate of the late republic often featured tumultuous scenes more reminiscent of the House of Commons. And since listening to a good argument may seem like entertainment to some, it's safe to assume that the Senate chamber was often packed with idle crowds, as well as more serious people who wanted to catch a glimpse of some of the great speakers or listen to the arguments. for and against national policy issues.

gathering of the people

225

4 Popular Assemblies A more direct way in which the people of Rome could know their affairs was through a public assembly, a contio - and not only to learn, but to some extent to express their feelings. Cicero says that the opinion and desire (iudicium ac voluntas) of the Roman people in public affairs could be most clearly expressed in three places: in an assembly (contione), in an assembly (comitia), and in an assembly for plays and concerts. gladiators (ludorum gladiatommque concessu). A contio was not a chance meeting, but a formally constituted meeting called by a magistrate (or a priest) at which there was limited discussion but no vote. The meeting may simply serve to convey information, but it may also serve as preparation for calling an assembly (comitia) where Roman citizens can vote on issues already conveyed in the Contio.310 An example of its General Use was when Cicero, after November 8, 63 B.C. He denounced Catilina in the Senate and held a public meeting the next day to explain what had happened: Catilina had fled Rome and steps were being taken to protect the city. Again, after presenting documentary evidence against the conspirators in the Senate, Cicero turned to the people assembled in the forum and told them what had happened. This suggests a somewhat hasty informality, but a magistrate could call such contests whenever he chose, with or without pause between calling and meeting. However, his right to hold such a meeting could be annulled by a higher magistrate or rejected by a tribune, while in the late Republic contiones para nudinae were probably prohibited. We hear of meetings in the Forum, the Capitol, and the Circus Flaminius.311 Other meetings may be more formal. Although it is unlikely that the magistrate first assumed patronage (except possibly when a contio was to lead a committee), he ordered that the citizens be summoned by a herald (praeco). He then invited other magistrates or senators to attend and help him with his advice. After opening the meeting with a prayer, he told the people what he had to say and let the other judges speak; the debate can, but does not necessarily, extend to other citizens. The magistrate spoke from a platform (sometimes using the rostrum in the forum), but the privates spoke from a lower position, perhaps from the steps. When giving the floor to others, he could specify a maximum time for the speech. During the meeting, the entire crowd remained standing. Although, of course, the meeting was intended for non-citizen Roman citizens who had no legal right to attend,

226

OTHER OPPORTUNITIES

and women were apparently not turned away either, though of course they were not asked to speak. A well-known anecdote illustrates two aspects of a Contio. An enemy tribune asked Scipio Aemilianus, recently arrived in Rome after conquering Numantia in Spain, to give his opinion on Ti's death. Graco, his brother-in-law. He replied that Tiberius had been justly slain (lure caesum), but when the entire assembly roared (omnis contio) in protest, he asked: * How could he, who so often did not fear armed enemies, be frightened by enemies? mens? gunpoint? Who was Italy but a stepmother? Thus a tribune forced one of the most powerful men in Rome* to express an opinion when he preferred to remain silent, while Aemilian's mocking reply shows that many of those present were freedmen or slaves of foreign origin and not true Romans or Italians, some perhaps even a cabal organized by their political enemies.312 (Fig. 38). In the last years of the republic the meetings became more and more turbulent. In his defense of Sestius (56 BC), Cicero exclaims: "What an assembly was held in those years - I mean that it was not full of mercenaries, but rather a true assembly worthy of the name - in which there were the unanimous consent of the Romans the people was clearly seen? Many meetings were called through my fault (eg Cicero's banishment) by a cursed gladiator (eg Publius Clodius) attended by no one who had not been bribed, nor by honest citizens. . . these gatherings of rogues had to be stormy (illae contiones... necessarily turbulentae). . . P. Lentulus, as consul, held a meeting about me; the Roman people flocked to it, men of all classes, all of Italy was there (omnes ordines, tota in ilia condone Italia constitit). He introduced Cn.Pompeyo. . . the other heads of state (principes civitatis) spoke for me”. Cicero told Atticus of disorderly meetings by Metellus, wild meetings by Appius, and furious and mad meetings by Publius in 57 (contiones turbulentae... temerariae... furiosissimae). It is clear that it was the time when politics degenerated into violence with the gang wars of Clodius and Milo, but if real violence was lacking in earlier times, the people did not hesitate to say what they thought clearly: thus, as the Baebio bribed tribune to prevent Jugurta from responding in a contio called by Memmio, those gathered in the meeting became very agitated and tried to insult the tribune with shouts, angry looks, often with threatening gestures (clamore, vultu, saepe impetu) to frighten. We cannot say what conditions were like during the Orders' struggle in the early Republic, since the details given by Tito Livio and other authors cannot be blackmailed. But overall, the Contio, while not an effective democratic body, at least provided the state with a safety valve that allowed people to speak up.

gathering of the people

227

their emotions and general sentiments on some subjects, and they often put on a lively show in Rome.313 The number of congresses held each year must have been considerable; only those that were preludes to the meetings of the Comitia were confined to the dies coitiales. When a rally was scheduled to be held, the Contio was dissolved and citizens were asked to go to the polls (ire in suffragium or simply discedere), that is, to form their voting units at a rally. Since, as Professor L. R. Taylor writes, voting was one of the main occupations of citizens living in republican Rome,314 we must look briefly at how legislation, process, and elections were organized in the rather complicated assemblies that took place. developed throughout the 19th century. 20th century Roman Empire Development of the Roman constitution with emphasis on the period after 287 B.C. when plebeian decrees (plebiscite) had the force of law. First the bare bones. There were three rallies. The oldest, the Com itia Curiata, had become a formal assembly at the end of the Republic, with the thirty Curiae represented by thirty lictors. He formally authorized the appointment of magistrates and witnessed the appointment of priests, adoptions, and certain types of wills; in it, probably a pope announced each month the day on which the nonos would fall. The other comitia were the Comitia Centuriata and the Comitia Tributa. In the first, citizens met in "centuries," groups each casting a common vote. But the centuries were divided into five classes in such a way that the rich could win over the poor: the system was timocratic. In early times it was the main legislative body, but after 218 B.C. He seldom enacted further laws, except when declaring war and peace. Likewise, its first judicial functions in criminal matters vanished, but it continued its elective function of choosing consuls, praetors and censors. Part of the reason for their decline in these spheres was that their division over 193 centuries made it difficult to organize and control the physical act of voting, so that the same people sometimes chose to reconcile on a different basis, that of their local tribes. . to meet in a Comitia, Populi Tributa, which had only 35 voting units, the Tribes. This body enacted laws, conducted minor trials, and elected quaestors, curule aediles, corporals, and special commissions. Finally, a council of commoners, Concilium Plebis, which met on a tribal basis and existed in the early days of 287 B.C. the right to legislate for the whole community. The exclusion of the patricians, who were comparatively few in the later republic, changed little, and this Concilium was actually sometimes, confusingly, called the Comitia. He carried out most of the laws passed in the last century before Christ. BC, conducted trials for non-capital crimes and elected tribunes from among the plebs and plebeian aediles without first assuming patronage, unlike the two comitia, which were headed by one

228

OTHER OPPORTUNITIES

South or praetor who enjoyed the ius cum populo agendi and the right of patronage. But the differences between this Concilium Plebis and the Comitia Populi Tributa were not great. A comitia and the last preceding contio could only be performed in a dies comialis, of which there were 195 a year, most in the second half of the month and often in rapid succession. The comitia were not necessarily held on all dies comitialisy, and on some of these days they could not be held, i. h on nudinae and on days when feriae conceptivae oimperativee fell, although it was unwise to call them on days when Ludi provided a counterattack draw. The Comitia Centuriata, which had a military origin in armed commoners, always met outside the pomerium, usually on the Field of Mars, where an area was reserved for a wooden enclosure. This saepta or ovile (herd) consisted of a series of "corrals" through which voters could pass; it was uncovered and must have been very hot in the summer sun. Julius Caesar planned a marble building with a mile-high portico in circumference, but it was not completed until after his death. This Saepta Julia was close to the Villa Pública and probably in practically the same place as the previous republican building. It covered an area about 94 m wide and 286 m high; it contained no seats (as rallies were mainly held for voting, not speaking) and was probably temporarily divided (by ropes?) into a series (35?) of narrow parallel compartments running the length of the building. also used by the Comitia Tributa and the Concilium Plebis, at least towards the end of the Republic, for their assemblies to hold elections, but for the approval of laws and judgments that sat in the forum. The reason for the difference was probably a matter of number and space: in elections, the tribes voted simultaneously, so 35 divisions were needed at once, but in legislative and judicial assemblies, the tribes voted one by one, for what the actual survey area might be smaller and you only need to take one tribe at a time (while the other 34 are outside waiting their turn). For a long time the Comitium was used in the forum: it was a closed level area. Between him and the forum there were 338 a. A new speaker's platform, the rostrum, was erected so that a speaker could face the forum and address the crowd in contio and then turn and face the comitium as the tribes assembled one by one. But 145 B.C. A tribune got people from the Comitium to vote in the forum, probably because the Comitium was getting too close. Another meeting place was the Castor Temple, where, as we have seen (pp. 67 ff.), boisterous meetings were sometimes held. Another, but less spacious, meeting place was the Capitol (the Capitoline Territory), where most of the legislative and judicial power resided.

gathering of the people

229

Assemblies met from the time of the Hannibal War until the Gracchi, but after that the forum was mainly used. The voting procedure was basically the same at all meetings. Until 139 B.C. Since BC all votes were oral and public, with obvious opportunities for intimidation, but secret write-in ballots were introduced that year for elections and shortly thereafter for legislative and judicial decisions. Votes were recorded on official tables (tabellae) in fixed formulas: in vti rogas (V) and antiquo (A) laws, namely, for and against; in the jurisdictions of Libero (L) and Damno or Conunto (C) for acquittal or conviction; in elections I say orfacio by the name (abbreviated?) of a favorite candidate. The procedure was for the presiding magistrate to submit the matter in question to the people in one or more disputes; the text of a bill or a list of candidates for public office has been read. From there the people went to the electoral precinct, where they were organized in groups of tribes or centuries. It must have been a confusing time, with a lot of shoving, but also a social occasion as members of the unit came together. The details of the voting procedure varied in different assemblies, but it would be inappropriate to include them here. After drawing lots for a preliminary unit for the first ballot, the units usually lined up in the enclosed space: in Saepta, members of each group advanced (in single file?) along one of the parallel divisions until each individual It came to the end, where several 'Puentes' (bridges) lead to urns, large urns (cists). Here, at the end of the hall, was the high court, where the presiding judge sat and closely watched the proceedings. After the electors (deribitores) had counted the votes, he announced the results (renuntiatio)™ (Pis 4138, 39). Legislation and jurisprudence naturally followed when opportunity arose, but elections were annual events and affected considerable numbers of people: around seventy judges were elected each year after Sulla's time. So we can briefly examine what this means, and it turns out that we have quite a bit of evidence: Titus Livy showed the general pattern since he wrote all the elections from 218 to 167 BC. BC, while Cicero sheds a lot of light on the details, not to mention the campaign pamphlet written for him by his brother Quintus. There was no party system in Rome: men presented themselves personally, without necessarily being associated with any particular politics. In practice, candidates came from a relatively small number of noble families, and few outsiders managed to rise to high office (Cicero was a notable exception). For support, a candidate relied on his family, his gens, his clients, his freedmen, and whatever help he could muster from other friendly families (sometimes supported by marital ties) and from all social connections.

230

OTHER OPPORTUNITIES

and business groups. And so he fought for success with these amici, in rivalry with members of other family groups and without any party organization save what personal following he could muster. A potential candidate notified the president of his intention (professio) well in advance of the election date and, if accepted, began voting (petitio). At the end of the Republic they can start almost a year in advance (Cicero began the campaign for consular elections in 64 on July 17, 65 BC) and it was customary to nominate a candidate in a specially designed white toga ( candidate) to be seen attending the forum with a large escort of friends and family and greeting voters he met; perhaps thanks to a slave with a good memory (nomenclator) who accompanied him frequently, he was able to address many by name: "as far as possible", wrote Quintus Cicero (Pet, 36), "go down to the Forum at hours fixed”. times; a The great daily gathering that accompanies them to the forum is a matter of great honor and esteem.* Perhaps you could persuade a friendly magistrate to hold a contio on your behalf, where your merits can be displayed and your agents criticized rival constituencies. (dividers), each responsible for collecting votes on behalf of a tribe, while the clubs (sodalicia) exerted increasing political influence. Bribery was common, and it is significant that ambitus, which originally meant 'hunt', had an influence meaning 'bribe': the laws against it seem to have been ineffective. In his pamphlet, Quintus Cicero wrote: 'The main defect in our state is that through bribery (largitione interposita) the virtue and value of are forgotten', he adds, but 'in all elections, however flawed they may be, some candidates close to centuries surrender without receiving bribes. In a famous case in 54 B.C. BC Cicero led the defense of Cn. Plancio, accused of bribery in the mayoral elections of the previous year. The electoral propaganda scrawled on the walls of Pompeii shows the interest that municipal elections have aroused there; The enthusiasm may have been less widespread in a larger city like Rome, but on important occasions, even voters from Italian communities flocked to Rome. We hear of many hard-fought battles in the years Titus Livy describes, while in Cicero's time the temperature was raised by increased bribery and violence. The elections were made in hieratic order: first the consuls, and as soon as possible the praetors, the curule aediles and the quaestors. Its date is uncertain and our knowledge is imperfect, but when the magistrates took office on March 15 (so it was not until 153 BC?), January may have been the normal month, and when the official year It was March 1st. January began, elections may have taken place. it was in november. After Sulla made a clearer distinction between magistrates and pro-magistrates, they moved to July. The court elections took place in July

gathering of the people

231

1st century BC when the tribunes took office on December 10. With festivals and games, July must have been a busy month in Rome despite the summer heat. The laws and the verdicts in the popular assemblies were, of course, more publicized throughout the year. In the early days of the Republic, the Comitia Centuriata had dealt with capital charges and appeals (Provocatio), but though it heard one or two cases of treason (Perduellio) by the end of the second century, the tribunes they were at this point bringing their main cases before the Plebis Council. The first half of the second century in particular was the heyday of popular justice, when town tribunes and aediles actively denounced alleged abuses or simply brought charges for political gain. Many of these trials involved some of the great statesmen, and if a Scipio or Cato was accused, the public interest must have been widespread. In fact, Cato would have been tried forty-four times, many times before the rallies, but never convicted! The procedure was that the car (as well as the bills) had to be published at least one tritium nundinum before the final contio and comitia. Meanwhile, more arrests (at least three before trials) were made and ordered by the president and often by other judges and perhaps by private individuals. If later no unfavorable indications are reported, the process could start on the appointed day after the last count. But 149 B.C. A permanent court to deal with extortion (quaestio repetundarum) was established and other permanent courts followed until Sulla formalized the entire system. These courts were held by senators or knights, and gradually eclipsed the jurisdiction of the tribunes of the people, who, preserving constitutional rights, seldom instituted tribal trials in the late Republic. After 287 B.C. the people controlled the legislation: the resolutions (plebiscite) of the Concilium Plebis became binding on the entire community; while the resolutions of the senate (senatus consulta), which were strictly only advice to the magistrates, were only practical and not legally binding. But as the plebeian tribunes came more and more from the ruling class, they passed many laws that were generally acceptable. However, with the challenge of the Gracchi, some tended to resume their former role as champions of the people, while others became instruments in the hands of ambitious "people" politicians. The benevolent legislation of the Gracchi led to bloodshed, and soon the tribunes of the people threatened the constitution by proposing "extraordinary" ordinances for some of the princes. These, contested by the Senate, gave rise to heated discussions and angry meetings, as when Gabinius and Manilius proposed orders against the pirates and against Mithridates.

232

OTHER OPPORTUNITIES

Pompey (67 and 66 BC) or when Vatinio requested that Caesar receive the Gallic command. In this way, public gatherings not only required the fulfillment of civic duties, but also had their "entertainment" value, especially when the fate of famous men or crucial matters were at stake. We can't get any real idea of how many electors regularly turned out, but while Cicero can sometimes complain about the low turnout, it's hard to imagine the low turnout when Scipio Africanus, Hannibal's conqueror, was impeached when Marius ran for electoral power. . consulate or when Clodius proposed a law for the free distribution of cereals, while in the Cayo Graco election there was not enough space in the Campus Martius electoral precinct for all the voters, some of whom had to shout their support from the rooftops neighbors 312

5 The census Every four years a regular census of Roman citizens was carried out, originally quinta quoque anno, but from 209 BC. the expression was interpreted as every five years; the interval between two festivals was called lustrum. The duties of the censors included reviewing the list of citizens, the equites, and the senate. Their canvass of the Senate (lectio senatus) was largely a private affair, as they only noted the names of the senators they wished to expel on the register, and then added new names. However, the revised list was apparently read by the rostra to the assembled people thereafter, and if a popular figure had been excluded one can imagine that there might have been some expression of public sentiment. 318 BC L. Flamininus, brother of the victors of Cynoscephalae and liberators from the Greeks, a family as influential as the Flaminini, could press for an explanation in the Contio, and Cato was morally bound to justify his actions in scathing speech: No, the result did Lucius good. Equites' critique, however, was far more spectacular. It took place in the Forum, often in the Temple of Castor and Pollux (see p. 64). Here the entire body of equites equo publico of the eighteenth century passed through the censor seated in an audience chamber, each man pulling his horse's bridle when his name was called. The censors then caught up with him (traduc equum) or dismissed him (yende equum). A man can be dismissed without shame or dishonour; in the first case the reason would be the performance of the normal service, in the second a moral weakness or a lack of care of his horse. Here

the census

233

again, as with senators, censors can be activated for political and moral reasons, as Cato L. Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus has pointed out; although this was done shamelessly and perhaps with reasonable grounds, it was a public insult to an important member of a rival family. Whether and how this ceremony had any connection with the transvectio of the Roman Equitas of July 15 is not clear (cf. p. 165); It was mainly a civil ceremony, as the censors were not military commanders, whereas the transvectio appears to have been a military parade. The census was the first task of the censors, who ordered them to the Field of Mars. This was a reflection of the concentration of the army in their centuries, and it was these men, grouped into the five classes, who were the main concern of the censors, who had to register them in their tribes and evaluate their qualities to locate them. in the correct classes. both for tax purposes and for military service. The head of the family must answer questions about the wealth and age of all its members; capites censi, whose wealth was below the minimum qualification for admission to the classes, could be represented by their tribal chiefs. Varro (LL,6.86) retained details of the preliminary procedure. After taking refuge in a temple for the night, the censor ordered a herald to issue a summons from the Tetnplum and then from the city walls to all citizen-soldiers and citizens as spokesmen for their tribes (curatores omnium tribuum). . At dawn, the censors, scribes and judges were anointed with myrrh and ointments. At the meeting the two censors decided by lot which of them should lead the Lustrum, and after having erected a temple on the Field of Mars, the chosen censor held the meeting and continued what must have been a very long task. When he had completed these and all other official duties, the end of the censorship was marked by a formal purification of the people (lustratio), who were again led out of the Pomerium on the Field of Mars. After a procession of Suovetaurilia passed around them three times, the animals were sacrificed to Mars. The ceremony became known as lustrum condere, with much debate over the exact meaning of the phrase. res meliores amplioresquefacerent) until 142 a. According to the well-known anecdote, the censor (Scipio Aemilianus?) magnae sunt; itaque precor ut eas perpetuo uncolumes servedn).320

Key to the plans of the Temples of Rome

The numbers mark the position of (a) buildings whose location is known with certainty or approximately, and (b) those, with a question mark added, whose general area is known. The exact location of many smaller temples in some areas (for example, Capitol, Aventino, or Campus Martius) remains uncertain, while even some surviving temples (for example, those in Largo Argentina) cannot be assigned to the correct deities with certainty. . The days and dates of its dedication are added when known (although services at one location often precede the dedication of a local temple).

PLANO 1

one? Temple of Flora 2? Quirinus Temple. February 17, 293 3? Temple of the Sun Indigenous August 9 4? Salus Temple. August 5, 302 5? Temple of the Three Destinies April 5 6. Temple of Semo Sancus. June 5, 466 7? fine sanctuary. October 13, 231 8 Temple of Juno Lucina. March 1 at 375? 9? Temple of Venus Libitina August 19, 10? Trigari 11? 12 swamp goats? TempleofJuturna.il January 13? The grove of Anna Perenna. Festival March 14 14 Saepta 15 Dibitorium 16-90 See map 2 91? Sister Brick. October 11, 92? Earth Temple. December 13, 268

93? 94? 95? 96? 97 98?

99? 100? 101? 102? 103? 104? 105? 106? 107? 108?

Sanctuary of Vica Pota. Jan. 5 Temple of Lares. June 27 Temple of Jupiter Stator. June 27 Temple of Fors Fortune. June 24 Lucus Furrinae. July 25 Temple of Hercules Invictus ad Portam Geminam. 13.8. Temple of Moon. March 31 Temple of Vortumnus. August 13, 264? Temple of Jupiter Libertas. April 13 Temple of Juno Regina. 1 game.392 Armilustrium. Oct. 19 Temple of Consus. Aug. 21, 272 Temple of Minerva. March 19 Temple of Diana, August 13 Temple of Flora. April 28 of 241 or 238 Temple of Mercury. May 15,

109? 110? 111?

112? 113 114? 115? 116? 117?

118? 119? 120? 121? 122? 123?

Temple of Summanus. June 20, 278 Temple of Iuventas. Dec. 19 (?), 191 Temple of Venus Verticordia, April 1. 114 Temple of Venus Obsequens. August 19 Maximum Circus Temple of Bona Dea. May 1 Temple of Honor and Virtue. July 17 of 205 Temple of Honos. July 17 of 233 Temple of Storms. June 1 or December 23 259 March. June 1 Temple of Minerva Medica Shrine of Minerva Capt. March 19 c.241 Temple of Hercules Victor. 142 Temple of Carna. June 1 Forest of the Camenae. 13.8

KEY TO THE PLANS OF THE TEMPLE OF ROME

236

PLANO 2

16 17? 18?

19? 20? 21 22? 23? 24? 25? 26? 27? 28? 29? 30?

31? 32? 33? 34? 35? 36? 37? 38?

Tempel en Largo Argentina Tempel von Juno Curitis. 7. Octubre Tempel der Fortuna Hiusce Dei 30. Julio c.101 Bosque de Feronia Tempel von Lares Permarini. 22 de diciembre de 179 Theater des Pompeius Tempel der Fortuna Equestris. 13. August 173 Schrein des Jupiter Fulgur. 7. Octubre Tempel des Neptune 1. Diciembre Tempel des Vulkans. 23. August Tempel des Herkules Custodio. 4 June Pietas-Temple 1 December Castor-Temple 13.8. Tempel de Marte 14. Mayo 135 (?) Tempel des Herkules Muserum. June 30 c. 189 Temple of Diana. 23. Diciembre 179 Tempel der Juno Regina. 23 December 179 Tempel des Jupiter Stator. 5. September c. 146 Temple of Apollo. 13 July 431 Tempel von Bellona. June 3, 296 Pietas-Tempel. 13.11.181 Janustempel. 17 de Augusto de 260 Tempel von Spes. August 1

39? 40? 41? 42? 43? 44 45 46? 47? 48? 49? 50? 51

52? 53? 54? 55? 56? 57 58 59 60 61 ?

Temple of Juno Sospita February 1, 194 Shrine of Carmen. Jan. 15 Temple of Faunus. February 13, 194 Temple of Vedios. Jan. 3, 194 Shrine of Tiberinus. December 8 Temple of Aesculapius. ljan.c.291 Temple of Juno Moneta. June 1, 344 Temple of Venus Erucina. 215 Temple of the Spirit. 215 Concord Temple. Feb. 5, 216 Temple of Fausta Felicitas. lJuly Temple of Jupiter Feretrius Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus September 13, 509 Temple of Fortune Primogenia Temple of Faith. Oct. 1, 254 or 250 Temple of Honor and Virtue July 17, 233 Temple of Ops. August 25 Shrine of Vediovis Public Temple of Genius. March 7, 192 Tabularium Temple of Saturn. Dec. 17, 509 (?) Concord Temple. 22 July c. 367 (?) Shrine of the public genius, etc. . October 9th

62 63? 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79? 80 81? 82? 83? 84? 85? 86? 87? 88? 89 90?

The front of the Temple of Ops. December 19 Curia Lapis Black Comitium Shrine of Venus Cloacina Volcanic Lake Curtius Regia Temple of Beaver and Pollux January 27 484 Temple of Vesta Domus Publica Lacus Juturnae Area S.Omobono TempleofFortuna.il June Temple of Mater Matuta. June 11 Temple of Portuno. August 17 Temple of Hercules Pompeian. 12. August? The Forest of Helen. February 1 Ara Maxima Temple of Hercules Invinctus August 12? sanctuary of lust. December 21 Tomb of Acca Larentia. December 23 Temple of Lares. May 1 Shrine of the Virgin of Victory. Aug. 1, 193 Temple of Victory. August 1 The Lupercal Temple of the Great Mother April 11 191 Temple of Juno Sospita. February 1st?

GENERAL WORKS ON ROMAN RELIGION More detailed works are cited in the Notes F. Altheim, A History of Roman Religion (London, 1938) C. Bailey, Phases in the Religion of Ancient Rome (Oxford, 1932) J. Bayet, Histoire Political and Psychology of Roman Religion2 (Paris, 1969) De Sanctis, G., Storia dei Romani, IV. (Florence, 1953) Dumezil, G., Archaic Roman Religion (Chicago, 1965) – Roman Summer and Autumn Festivals (Paris, 1975) Grenier, A. , The Etruscan and Roman Religions (Paris, 1948) Halliday, W. R., Lectures on the History of Roman Religion (Liverpool, 1922) Latte, K., Various Religions (Munich, 1960) Ogilvie, R. M., The Romans and Their Gods (London, 1969) Radke, G., Die Gotter Altitaliens (Munster, 1949); Rose, H.J., Ancient Roman Religion (London, 1949) Warde Fowler, W . , The Religious Experience of the Roman People (London, 1922) – The Roman Festivals (London, 1889) Wissowa, G., Religion and Culture of Rome2 (Munich, 1911)

ABBREVIATIONS

Aelian, NH-App. BC Arnobio, Adv. Nat. August

Aelian, On the nature of the apian beasts, The civil wars of Arnobius, Augustine against the nations, On the city of God

Civ.D. Aulo Gelio, Noites de César na Attica, Guerra Civil de César, BC Cato, De Agricultura Cato, Agr. Censorinus, DN Censorinus, De Die Natali Cicero, Pro Archia Cic. Bogen Briefe an Atticum Att. Para Celio Cael Gato Catilina Sobre Adivinhação Div. von Seinen Haus, dom. Charters à Fam. Vertrautes De Finihus Aleta. De Haruspicum Har.Resp. Em publicado en Lei Agraria Agr. Gib ihm den Schinken. Na perna gib ihm Manilia. Von mil mil Para Murena Mur Sobre a Natureza dos Deuses Nat. Deor. Oraciones Philippians Phil. Em Pisa Pis Karten vorbereiten QFr. O Quinto Irmão da República Rep. Em Senectute Sen. Bereiten Sie sich auf die sechste Sitzung vor Tusc Disp. Disputationes Columella, De Re Rustica Columella De Viris Illustribus De Vir III Dio Cassius Dio Cass. Dionisio Halicarnassus Dion H. Aul. Gel

Grom Veterinary Festival Lactantius, div. Inst. Lydus, Mente. macrob. Minucius Felix, ej.

Ovid, AF Pont. petron. Session. Pliny, NH Plut.Qu.Rom. Sebo. touch. A-N-A. Tertullian History, Nat. Speed Apollo. Val.Max Varro, LL Rost. Virg. George Altheim, HRR Bomer

CAH CIL CQ CR Crawford,

RRC Dar. Sag.

Festus (herausgegeben von W.M.Lindsay) Gromatici Veteres Lactantius, Divine Institutiones Lydus, De Mensibus Macrobius, Saturnalia Minucius Felix, Octavius Tácito, Annales Historia Tertulliano, Ad Nationes Apologeticus De Spectaculis Valerius Maximus Varro, De Lingua Latina De Re Rustica Virgil, Georgics F.Altheim, A History of Roman Religion (1938) F.Bomer, POvidius Naso: Die Fasten, 2 Bände (1958 ) Cambridge Ancient History Corpus Latin Inscriptions (1863-) Classical Quarterly Classical Review M. Crawford, Roman Republican Coinage (1974) Chap. Daremberg, von E. Saglio, Dictionnaire des Antiquites grecques et romanes

(1877-1919)

240

ABBREVIATIONS

Degrassi, ILLRP In.lt.

DeSaints, Sto. ROMs. Dessau, ILS DialArch. SER

frazer, quick

ILS JDAI JRS Leche, RR Mem.Amer. academic granada. MERF Michels, Momigliano calendar,

A. Degrassi, Inscriptions Latinae Liberae Rei Publicae, (1957-63) Inscriptions Italiae XIII, ii, Fasti Anni Numani et Juliani (1963) G. De Sanctis, Storia dei Romani (1907-66) H. Dessau, Inscriptions Latinae Selectae ( 1892-1916) Dialoghi di Archeologia J.Hastings, Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics (1908-21) J.G.Frazer, P.Ovidii Nasonis Fastorum Libri Six, i-v (1929, Repr. 1973) H.Dessau, Inscriptions Latinae Selectae (1892- 1916) Jahrbuch des deutschen arch'ologischen Instituts Journal of Roman Studies K. Latte, Römische Religionsgeschichte (1960) Memorias da Academia Americana em Roma Melanges darcheologie. . . aus I'Ecole française de Rome A.K.Michels, El Calendario de la República Romana (1967) A.Momigliano, Primo

publications

Mommsen, Dr. publ. Nash, Pict.Dict.

not Scav. number of cr. TOC Ogilvie, Livy PBSR Platner-Ashby, Top.Dict.

Rose, ARR TAPA Warde Fowler, Festivalis Wissowa, RKR

(Segundo usw.) Contributions to the history of classical studies (1955-) Th. Mommsen, Le Droit publique romain (1887) E.Nash, Pictorial Dictionary of Ancient Rome (1961-62) News of the excavations of antiquity Numismatic Chronicle Oxford Classical Dictionary2 (1970) R.Ogilvie, A Commentary on Livy, Books 1-5 ( 1965) Documentos de la Escuela Británica en Roma A.B.Platner und T. Ashby, Diccionario topográfico de la antigua Roma (1929) A.Pauly.G.Wissowa und W.Kroll, Real-Encyclopaedie d. klassichen A Itertumswissenschaft (1893-) H J . Rose, Ancient Roman Religion (1949) Transaktionen der American Philological Association W.Warde Fowler, The Roman Festivals, (1889) G.Wissowa, Religion und Kultus der Romer2 (1911)

NOTES First part RELIGION AND FESTIVALS

4 For the word numen see F. Pfister, PW, s.v. It is important to remember that we have virtually no Latin literature from before the third century B.C. Chr. and therefore have nothing 1 HJ. Rose, The Year's Work in Classical as Contemporary Evidence for What the Studies, 1939-1945 (1948), 123. The ancestors of the Romans naturally called these 2 early Roman primitivism vague powers, the existence of which is discussed in all books standard about poses. in the ritual of Ceremonies like the Roman religion, and few books can do the Terminalia. S. Weinstock claimed to be mentioned here. Mana: see especially {JRS, 1949, 166f.) against HJ. Rose that H. Wagenvoort, Roman Dynamism numen did not mean 'govinity' per se (1947); H J Rose ARR (1949). (in contrast, for example, numen Iovis) on myth: F. Altheim, A History of Roman Augustan period. Rose (Harvard Theol. Religion (1938), 200ff.; M. Grant, Roman Rev., 1951, 109ff.) elaborated this mythology (1971); Overall: S.G. Kirk criticizes and concludes that if myth, its meaning and functions in the ancient numen was an ancient or comparatively new and different cultural (1970) and Greek word, the early Romans had such myths (1974). Concepción, whatever they called Altheim and Dumezil: between their edition, and this is the most important story of numerous writings on Altheim's side. Roman Religion and Dumezil *s Archaic mana/numen by G. Dumezil, Archaic Roman Religion, 2 vols. (1974), may be Roman Religion (1974), 18ff. highlighted. For a critique of Altheim see HJ. Rose, Harvard Theological Review, 5 Fetiales: see Livy, 1.24.4ff.; 32.4ff. (Cf. 1934, 33 ff., by Dumezil, see Rose,/RS, Ogilvie, Livy, Hoff., 127 ff.). Information from 1947, 183ff. the procedure and the formulas given by Tito Livio reflect more than the latter. For further details and other reported works by century antiquarians published in the last thirty years, see the original publication. See also J. W. Rico, AK Michels' valuable research in Classical Declaring War in the Roman Republic in the Weekly, 1955, 25ff., and Surveys from Period of Transmarine Expansion (1976), Rose, Year's Work in Class. Study and compare some doubts raised by E. 1939-1945, 85ff., and 1945-1947, 85ff., Rawson, JRS, 1973, 166ff. they were expressed. e/RS, 1960, 161 et seq. 6 For the apparent conflict between conservatives, P. Boyance compiled his critique of vatism and innovation, see J. North, Early Roman Religion (including PBSR critiques, 1976, Iff.; A.J. Toynbee, Hanof Wagenvoort, Dumezil, and J. Bayet's Nibal's Legacy (1965), II, Chapter XII Yuked Histoire politique et psychobgique de la oxen: Cic. Div. 2.77; Festus 226 L. religion romaine2, 1969) in his Etudes sur la Caesar: Plinio, NH, 28.76. Roman Religion (1972). Citing Momigliano, see Terzo Contrihuto, 583. 7 E. Rawson, JRS, 1973, 162. For more 3 A.D. Nock, Essays on Religion and the Discussion, see this article, “Scipio, Laelius • cient World (ed. Z. Stewart , 1972), II, 603, and Furius and the Ancestral Religion*. i, 333. On the influence of rationalism in religion

242

STAGES

introduced until the Decemviri founded it at the end of the Republic, see now J.H.W.G. in the year 451/0 B.C. and January Liebeschütz, made continuity and change in the first month of the calendar. No Roman Religion (1979), 29ff. If one accepts this data wholeheartedly, it may be 8. For a critique of B. Farrington's view of the good, this might be 153, the traditional date for "popular" Epicureanism (science and the beginning of the year, it is too late For politics in the ancient world, 1939), see A For a discussion of Michels' main theses, see Momigliano, JRS, 1941, 149ff. = According to R. M. Ogilvie, CR, 1969, 330ff. and A. Contribution. 375ff. Drummond JR 5, 1971, 282f. 9 For a translation of this work, see H.C.P. McGregor and J. M. Ross, Cicero, The Plebs 19 Calata: Macrob.1.15.10. Calantur Nonae: Varro, LL, 6.27. Feriae proclaimed the nature of the gods (Penguin, 1972); is with by rex: Macrob. 1.15.12 implies a good introduction by Ross at all, which he applauds, but Varro, LL, 6.20 says just to sketch out the intellectual background. the first: perhaps a proclamation of all 10 On the continuation of the belief in prophecy in early times became only a symbol (although not to the same degree the belief in the proclamation of the first through the patronage of Varro ) towards the end of the republic, cf. time: cf. Michels, Calendar, 20, No. 30. J.H.W.G. Liebeschuetz, Continuity and 20 On nudina, and see in particular Michels, CalenChange in Roman Religion (1979), 7ff. give, 84ff. A Trinundum was a period of 11 In Varro's theology, see especially the time that should elapse, for in Augustine, Civ.D.6. 2-9, and short position, passage of a bill, and bar, RRt 291ff., A.D. Nock, CAH, x, vote on him, or between the publication of 470f. and Liebeschütz, Continuity and the names of the candidates for election and change in the Roman religion, 36f. Civilis rel. the vote itself Its duration is uncertain: and naturalis: August 6. 6 God and the Universe: between 17 and 24 days, see A.W. LinAgo. 7.6. Correct deity: 04/22/08. A dead man, CQ, 1965, 281ff. and Michels and other gods: 4.11. 194ff. Seven-day calendar, Fasti 12 Writing distraction: Cic. deor Sabini, see Degrassi, In. This. 5 sec 1.9. Tullia \/am

Howard Hayes Scullard - Feasts and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic - Thames and Hudson (1981).pdf - VSIP.INFO (2023)

References