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THE ROMAN FESTIVALS

or THE

PERIOD OF THE REPUBLIC

I

THE

ROMAN FESTIVALS

OF THE

PERIOD OF THE REPUBLIC

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF THERELIGION OF THE ROMANS

BY

W. WARDE FOWLER, M.A. r-

FELLOW AND SUB-RECTOR OF LINCOLN COLLEGE| OXFORD



HonDon

MACMILLAN AND CO., Limited

NEW YORK : THE MACMILLAN COMPANY

1899AH rights reserved

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FRATRIS FILIIS

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H .G. C. F

BONAE SPEI ADOLESCENTIBUS

PREFACE

A WORD of explanation seems needed about the formthis book has taken. Many years ago I became speciallyinterested in the old Roman religion, chiefly, I think,



through studying Plutarch's Quaestiones Eomanae, at atime when bad eyesight was compelling me to abandona project for an elaborate study of all Plutarch's works.The ' scrappy ' character not only of the Quaestiones, butof all the material for the study of Roman ritual, suitedweak eyes better than the continual reading of Greektext ; but I soon found it necessary to discover a threadon which to hang these fragments in some regular order.This I naturally found in the Fasti as edited byMommsen in the first volume of the Corpus InscriptionumLatinarum-, and it gradually dawned on me that theonly scientific way of treating the subject was to followthe calendar throughout the year, and to deal with eachfestival separately. I had advanced some way in thiswork, when Roscher's Lexicon of Greek and RomanMythology began to appear in parts, and at once con-vinced me that I should have to do my work all overagain in the increased light afforded by the indefatigableindustry of the writers of the Roman articles. I there-fore dropped my work for several years while tj||^ . .Lexicon was in progress, and should have waited sl^^^v\\llonger for its completion, had not Messrs. Macmillan

yiii PREFACE

invited me to contribute a volume on the Romanreligion to their series of Handbooks of Archaeology andAntiquities.

Having once set out on the plan of following theFasti, I could not well abandon it, and I still hold itto be the only sound one: especially if, as in thisvolume, the object is to exhibit the religious side ofthe native Roman character, without getting entangled

to any serious extent in the coUuvies religionum ofthe last age of the Republic and the earlier Empire.The book has thus taken the form of a commentaryon the Fastiy covering in a compressed form almostall the public worship of the Roman state, and includingincidentally here and there certain ceremonies whichstrictly speaking lay outside that public worship. Com-pression has been unavoidable ; yet it has been impossibleto avoid stating and often discussing the conflictingviews of eminent scholars ; and the result probably isthat the book as a whole will not be found very inter-esting reading. But I hope that British and Americanstudents of Roman history and literature, and possibly

also anthropologists and historians of religion, mayfind it usefol as a book of reference, or may learn fromit where to go for more elaborate investigations.

The task has often been an ungrateful oneôneindeed of

Dipping buckets into empty wells

And growing old with drawing nothing up.



The more carefully I study any particular festival, themore (at least in many cases) I have been driven intodoubt and difficulty both as to reported facts and theirhiterpretation. Had the nature of the series permittedI should have wished to print the chief passagesquoted from ancient authors in full, as was done by

PREFACE ix

Mr. Famell in his Cults of the Greek States^ and soto present to the reader the actual material on whichconclusions are rightly or wrongly based. I have onlybeen able to do this where it was indispensable: butI have done my best to verify the correctness of theother references, and have printed in full the entriesof the ancient calendars at the head of each section.Professor Gktrdner, the editor of the series, has helpedme by contributing two valuable notes on coins, whichwill be found at the end of the volume : and I hopehe may some day find time to turn his attention moreclosely to the bearing of numismatic evidence on Boman

religious history.

It happens, by a curious coincidence^ that I am writingthis on the last day of the old [Roman year ; and thelines which Ovid has attached to that day may fitlyesqpress my relief on arriving at the end of a verylaborious task:

Yenimua in porfcom, libro cum mense peraeto,Naviget nlno alia iam mihi linter aqua.

W. W. F.

OxroBD : Ftb, aS, 1899.

CONTENTS

InraoDuciioir •Calbndab . •Festetals of llutOHApbil

19

n

nnv



9}99>9

PAOB

X

21

3366

98129

173

May

JUVB

July

AuousT 189

Seftbmbeb ai5

October 236

noyembeb 252

Becembeb 255

Januabt 277

Febbuabt ..••••••• 298

Conclusion •••••. 332

Notes oh two Coins 350

Indices 353

ABBREVIATIONS.

The following are the most important abbreviations which occur inthe notes :

C J. L. stands for OyrpuA InwiipiUmum lAxUnairum, Where the volume isnot indicated the reference is invariably to the aecond edition of that partof vol. i which contains the FoaH (Berlin, 1893)*

Marquardt or Marq. stands for the third volume of Marquardt's BXmischt



Staatsvencaltung, second edition, edited by Wissowa (Berlin, 1885). It isthe sixth volume of the complete Handbuch der Bomischen AUerthUmer ofMommsen and Marquardt.

Preller, or Preller-Jordan, stands for the third edition of Preller'sR5misch$ Mythologie by H. Jordan (Berlin, 1881).

Myth, Lex, or Lex, stands for the AuafuhrlicJies Lexicon der Oriechisehen undESmischen Mythologie, edited by W. H. Roscher^ which as yet has only beencompleted to the letter N.

Festus, or Paulus, stands for K. 0. Muller's edition of the fragments ofFestus, De SignificaMone Verhorum, and the Exeerpta ex Festo of PaulusDiaconus ; quoted by the page.

INTRODUCTION

>

I. The lloMAN Method op Reckoning the Year*.

There are three ways in which the course of the year maybe calculated. It can be reckoned —

1. By the revolution of the moon round the earth, twelveof which=354 days, or a ring {annus\ sufficiently near to thesolar year to be a practicable system with modifications.

2. By the revolution of the earth round the sun, i.e. 365 Jdays ; a system which needs periodical adjustments, as theodd quarter (or, more strictly, 5 hours 48 minutes 48 seconds)

cannot of course be counted in each year. In this purelysolar year the months are only artificial divisions of time,and not reckoned according to the revolutions of the moon.This is our modern system.

3. By combining in a single system the solar and lunaryears as described above. This has been done in various waysby different peoples, by adopting a cycle of years of varyinglength, in which the resultants of the two bases of calculationshould be brought into harmony as nearly as possible. In

^ The difficult questions connected with this subject cannot be discussedhere. Since Mommsen wrote his RomiscJie Chronologie it has at least been

possible to give an intelligible account of it, such as that in the Diet ofAtitiquities (second edition), in Marquardt's Staatsverwcdtungy iii. 281 foil.,and in Bouche*Leclercq, Pontifes, p. 230 foil. There is a u&eful summary inH. Peter's edition of Ovid's Fasti (p. 19). Mommsen's views have beencriticized by Buschke, Das RdmiscfieJahry and Hartmann, Der Rom, Kalender :the former a very unsafe guide, and the latter, unfortunately, an unfinishedand posthumouii work. The chief ancient authority is Censorinus, De dienatalif a work written at the beginning of the third century a d., on thebasis of a treatise of Suetonius.



2 THE ROMAN FESTIVALS

other words, though the diflFerence between a single solar yearand a single lunar year is more than 1 1 days, it is possible,by taking a number of years together and reckoning them aslunar years, one or more of them being lengthened by anadditional month, to make the whole period very nearlycoincide with the same number of solar years. Thus theAthenians adopted for this purpose at different times groupsor cycles of 8 and 1 9 years. In the Octaeteris or 8-year cyclethere were 99 lunar months, 3 months of 30 days being addedin 3 of the 8 years — a plan which falls short of accuracy byabout 36 hours. Later on a cycle of 19 years was substitutedfor this, in which the discrepancy was greatly reduced. TheEoman year in historical times was calculated on a system ofthis kind, though with such inaccuracy and carelessness as tolose all real relation to the revolutions both of earth and moon.But there was a tradition that before this historical calendarcame into use there had been another system, which theEomans connected with the name of Romulus. This yearwas supposed to have consisted of 10 months, of which 4 —March, May; July, October — had 31 days, and the rest 30 ;

in all 304. But this was neither a solar nor a lunar year ;for a lunar year of 10 months=295 days 7 hours 20 minutes,while a solar year=365-J. Nor can it possibly be explained asan attempt to combine the two systems. Mommsen hastherefore conjectured that it was an artificial year of 10months, used in business transactions, and in periods ofmourning, truces*, &c., to remedy the uncertainty of theprimitive calculation of time ; and that it never really wasthe basis of a state calendar. This view has of course beenthe subject of much criticism ^ But no better solution hasbeen found ; the hypothesis that the year of 10 months wasa real lunar year, to which an undivided period of time wasadded at each year's end, to make it correspond with the

solar year and the seasons, has not much to recommend itor any analogy among other peoples. It was not, then, theso-called year of Eomulus which was the basis of the earlieststate-calendar, but another system which the Romans them-

^ Chron, 48 foil. ; Marq. 284 and notes.

3 Buschke, op. cU. 8 foil. ; HartmanUi p. 13.

INTRODUCTION 3

selves usually ascribed to Numa. This was originally perhapsa lunar year ; at any rate the number of days in it is verynearly that of a tine lunar year (354 days 8 hours 48 minutes) '.It consisted of 1 2 months, of which March, May, July, Octoberhad 31 days, and the rest 29, except February, which had 28.All the months therefore had an odd number of days, exceptthe one which was specially devoted to purification and thecult of the dead ; according to an old supei-stition, probablyadopted from the Greeks of Southern Italy ^, that odd numberswere of good omeuj even numbers of ill omen. This principle,



as we shall see, holds good throughout the Roman calendar.

But this reckoning of the year, if it ever existed at all, couldnot have lasted long as it stood. As we know it in historicaltimes, it has become modified by applying to it the principleof the solar year. The reason for this should be notedcarefully. A lunar year, being about 11 days short of thesolar year, would in a very short time become out of harmonywith the seasons. Now if there is one thing certain aboutthe Eoman religious calendar, it is that many at least of itsoldest festivals mark those operations of husbandry on whichthe population depended for its subsistence, and for theprosperous result of which divine agencies must be propitiated.These festivals, when fixed in the calendar, must of courseoccur at the right seasons, which could not be the case ifthe calendar were that of a purely lunar year. It was there-fore necessaiy to work in the solar principle ; and this wasdone '^ by a somewhat rude expedient, not unlike that of theAthenian Octaeteris, and probably derived from it *. A cycleof 4 years was devised, of which the first had the 355 daysof the lunar year, the second 355 + 22, the thii-d 355 again,

^ Oensorlnus, Be die natali, 20. 4.

* Mommson {Ghron, 13) believes it to have been a Pythagorean doctrinewhich spread in Southern Italy. Hartmann, on the contrary, calls it anold Italian one adopted by Pythagoras. See a valuable note in Schwegler,Bom. Qesch. i. 561, inclining to the latter view.

* Probably by the Decemvirs, b.c. 450, who are said to have made Somealteration in the calendar (Macrob. i. 13. 2 1 >.

* See Diet, Ant, i. 337 and 342. It is highly probable that there wasa still older plan, which gave way to this at the time of the Decern virate :the evidence for this, which is conjectural only, is stated by Mommsen inthe first chapter of his Chronologie. The number of days in this cycle (alsoof 4 years) is computed at 1475, ^"^ ^^® average in each year at 368 j.

B 2


and the fourth 355 + 23. The extra periods of 22 and 23 dayswere inserted in Februaiy, not at tlie end, but after the 23rd(Termindlia) *. The total number of days in the cycle was1465, or about i day too much in each year; and in courseof time even this system got out of harmony with the seasonsand had to be rectified from time to time by the Pontifices,

who had charge of the calendar. Owing to ignorance on theirpart, misuse or neglect of intercalation had put the wholesystem out of gear before the last century of the Kepublic.All relation to sun and moon was lost ; the calendar, asMommsen says, * went on its own way tolerably unconcernedabout moon and sun.' When Caesar took the reform of thecalendar in hand the discrepancy between it and the seasonswas veiy serious ; the former being in advance of the latterprobably by some weeks. Caesar, aided by the mathematicianSosigenes, put an end to this confusion by extending the year



46 B.C. to 445 days, and starting afresh on Jan. i, 45 b.c.'-— a day henceforward to be that of the new year— with a cycleof 4 years of 365 days* ; in the last of which a single day wasadded, after the Terminalia, This cycle produced a true solaryear with a slight adjustment at short intei-vals ; 4nd after a fewpreliminary blunders on the part of the Pontifices, lastedwithout change until a. d. 1582, when Pope Gregory XIIIset right a slight discrepancy by a fresh regulation. Thisregulation was only adopted in England in 1752, and is stillrejected in Kussia and by the Greek Church generally.

^ Or, according to Mommsen, in alternate years after the 23rd and24tli, i.e. in the year of 378 days 23 days were inserted after the2'enninalia; in the year of 377 days 22 days were inserted after the24th (Regifvgium), Thus February would in the one case have 23, andin the other 24 days ; the remaining 5 and 4 being added to theintercalated period. The object of the Decemvirs (if it was they whomade this change) in this curious ari'angement was, in part at least, tokeep the festival of the god Terminus on its original day (Mommsen,Chi'on, 38). Terminus would budge neither from his seat on the Capitol(Liv. I. 55) nor from his place in the calendar.

* Probably in order that the beginning of the year might coincide witha new moon ; which actually happened on Jan. i, 45, and was doubtlessregarded as a good omen.

' He added 10 days to the normal year of 355 : January, Sextilis,December, receiving two ; April, June, September, November, one only.These new days were placed at the end of the months, so that the dayson which religious festivals fell might remain as before.

INTRODUCTION 5

11. Order of Months in the Year.

That the Roman year originally began with March is certain \not only from the evidence of the names of the months, whichafter June are reckoned as 5th ^Quinctilis), 6th (Sextilis), and soon, but from the nature of the March festivals, as will be shownin treating of that month. In the character of the religiousfestivals there is a distinct break between February andMarch, and the operations both of nature and of man takea fresh turn at that point. Between the festivals of Decemberand those of January there is no such break. No doubtJanuary i , just after the winter solstice, was even at an early timeconsidered, in some sense as a beginning ; but it is going too

far to assume, as some have done, that an ancient religiousor priestly year began at that point \ It was not on January i,but on March i, that the sacred fire in the Aedes Vestae wasrenewed and fresh laurels fixed up on the Regia, the twobuildings which were the central points of the oldest Romanreligion '. March i, which in later times at least was consideredthe birthday of the special protecting deity of the Romans,continued to be the Roman New Year's Day long after theofficial beginning of the year had been changed to January i\It was probably not till 153 b. c, when the consuls began



to enter on office on January i, that this official change tookplace; and the date was then adopted, not so much forreligious reasons as because it was convenient, when thebusiness of administration was increasing, to have the consulsin Rome for some time before they left for their provincesat the opening of the war season in March.

No rational account can in my opinion be given of theRoman religious calendar of the Republic unless it be takenas beginning with March ; and in this work I have thereforerestored the old order of months. With the Julian calendarI am not concerned ; though it is unfortunate that all the

* Mommên, Chron. 220. In no other Italian calendar of which we haveany knowledge is March the first month (ib. 218 foil.) : but there cannotbe much doubt that these too had undergone changes. Festus (150),representing VeiTius Flaccus, says, ' Martins mensis initium fuit anni etin Latio et post Romam conditam,' &c.

' Huschke, Bom. Jahr^ 11 foil.

* See below, under March i.

* Mommsen, Chtvn. 103 foil.


Koman calendars we possess, including the Fasti of Ovid,date from after the Julian era, and therefore present us witha distorted view of the true course of the old Roman worship.

Next after March came Aprilis, the month of opening orunfolding vegetation ; then Mains, the month of growing, andJunius, that of ripening and perfecting. After this the namescease to be descriptive of the operations of nature ; the six

months that follow were called, as four of them still are, onlyby their positions relative to March, on which the whole systemof the year thus turned as on a pivot.

The last two months of the twelve were January andFebruary. They stand alone among the later months inbearing names instead of mere numbers, and this is sufficientto suggest their religious importance. That they were notmere appendages to a year of ten months is almost certainfrom the antique character of the rites and festivals whichoccur in them — Agonia, Carmentalia, Lupercalia, &c. ; andit is safer to consider them as marking an ancient periodof religious importance preparatory to the beginning of the

year, and itself coinciding with the opening of the natural yearafter the winter solstice. This latter point seems to be in-dicated in the name Januarius, which, whether derived fromjanua, *a gate,' or Janus, * the god of entrances,' is appropriateto the first lengthening of the days, or the entrance of the sunon a new course ; while February, the month of purifying orregenerative agencies (februa), was, like the Lent of theChristian calendar, the period in which the living were madeready for the civil and religious work of the coming year, andin which also the yearly duties to the dead were paid.



It is as well here to refer to a passage of Ovid {Fastis ii.47 foil.), itself probably based on a statement of Varro, whichhas led to a controversy about the relative position of these twomonths :

Sed tamen antiqui ne nescius ordinis erres,

Primus, ut est, lani mensis et ante fuit.Qui sequitur lanum, veteris fait ultimus anni,

Tu quoque sacrorum, Termine, finis eras.Primus enim lani mensis, quia ianua prima est;

Qui sacer est imis manibus, imus erat.Postmodo creduntur spatio distantia longo

Tempera bis quini continuasse viri.

INTRODUCTION 7

This plainly means that from the time when March ceased

to be the first month, the year always began with January andended with February ; in other words the order was January,March, April, and so on, ending with February ; until the timeof the Decemvirate, when February became the second month,and. December the last, as at present, January still retainingits place. A little consideration of Ovid's lines will, however,suggest the conclusion that he, and his authority, whoever thatmay have been, were arguing aetiologically rather than ondefinite knowledge. January, they thought, must always have* been the first month, because janua, * a door,' is the first thing,the entrance, through which you pass into a new year as intoa house or a temple. How, they would argue, could a monththus named have ever been the eleventh month? This once

supposed impossible, it was necessary to infer that the placeof January was the first, from the time of its introduction,and that it was followed by March, April, &c., February cominglast of all, immediately after December ; and finally that at thetime of the Decemvirs, who are known to have made somealterations in the calendar, the positions of January andFebruary were reversed, January remaining the first month,but February becoming the second.

III. The Divisions op the Month.

The Eomans, with their usual conservatism, preserved theshell of the lunar system of reckoning long after the reality

had disappeared. The month was at all times divided by thereal or imaginary phases of the moon, though a week of eightdays was introduced at an early period, and though the monthwas no longer a lunar one.

The two certain points in a lunar month are the first appear-ance of the crescent ' and the full moon ; between these is thepoint when the moon reaches the fii-st quarter, which is a lesscertain one. Owing to this uncertainty of the reckoning of thefirst days of the month there were no festivals in the calendars



on the days before the first quarter (Nones), with a singleexception of the obscure Pqplifugia on July 5. The day of

^ Not the real new moon, which is invisible. The period between theêw moon and the first quarter varies.


the new moon was called Kalendae, as Varro tells us, *quodhis diebus calantur eius mensis nonae a pontificibus, quintanaean septimanae sint futurae, in Capitolio in curia Calabra sic :Dies te quinque calo, luno Covella. Septem dies te calo lunoCovella". All the Kalends were sacred to Juno, whose con-nexion with the moon is certain though not easy to explain.

With the Nones, which were sacred to no deity, all uncer-tainty ceased. The Ides, or day of the full moon, was alwaysthe eighth after the first quarter. This day was sacred toJupiter; a fact which is now genemlly explained as a recog-nition of the continuous light of the two great heavenly bodiesduring the whole twenty-four hours ^. On the Nones the Bexsacromm (and therefore before him the king himself) announced

the dates of the festivals for the month.

There was another internal division of the month, withwhich we ai'e not here specially concerned, that of the Eomanweek or nundinal period of eight days, which is indicated in allthe calendars by the letters A to H. The nundinae weremarket days, on which the rustic population came into Rome ;whether they were also feast days (feriae) was a disputedquestion even in antiquity.

IV. The Days.

Every day in the Roman calendar has a certain mark

attached to it, viz. the letters F, C, N, W, EN, Q.R.C.F.,Q.StD.F., or FP. All of these have a religious significance,positive or negative.

F, i. e. fas or faslus, means that on the day so marked civiland especially judicial business might be transacted withoutfear of divine displeasure^. Correctness in the time as well asplace of all human actions was in the mind of the early Romanof the most vital importance ; and the floating traditional ideaswhich governed his life before the formation of the State were

* Varro, i. L. 6. 27. This was the method before the publicntion of thecalendar by Flavius : Macr. i. 15. 9. The meaning of Covella is doubtful ;

it has generally been connected with catyus and koiKi s, and explained ofthe * hollow* crescent of the new moon. See Roscher, Lex, s.v. luno 586.

^ Aust, s.v. luppiter, in Reseller's Lexicon^ p. 655.

^ Varro, L, L. 6. 29 * Dies fasti, per quos praetoribus omnia verba(i.e. do, dice, addico) sine piaculo licet fari.'



INTRODUCTION 9

systematized and kept secret by kings and priests, as a part,so to speak, of the science of government. Not till b.c. 304was the calendar published, with its permissive and prohibitiveregulations \

C (comitidlis) means that the day ^.o marked was one onwhich the comitia might meet^, and on which also legalbusiness might be transacted^ as on the days marked F, if therewere no other hindrance. The total number of days thusavailable for secular business, i. e. days marked F and C, was inthe Julian calendar 239 out of 365.

N, i. e. nefastuSj meant that the day so marked was religiosus,vitiosus, or ater; as Gellius has it*, *tristi omine et infamesimpeditique, in quibus et res divinas facere et rem quampiamnovam exordiri temperandum est.' Some of these days receivedthe mark in historical times for a special reason, e. g. a disasterto the State ; among these were the postriduani or days followingthe Kalends, Nones and Ides, because two terrible defeats hadoccurred on such days*. But most of them (in all they are57) were probably so marked as being devoted to lustrations, orworship of the dead or of the powers of the earth, and therefore

unsuitable for worldly business. One long series of such diesnefasti occurs Feb. 1-14, tha time of purification; another,April 5-22, in the month occupied by the rites of deities ofgrowing vegetation ; a third, June 5-14, when the rites of theVestals preparatory to harvQst were taking place ; and a fourth,July 1-9, for reasons which are unfortunately by no meansclear to us.

NP was not a mark in the pre-Julian calendars, for it wasapparently unknown to Varro and Ovid. Verrius Flaccusseems to have distinguished it from N, but his explanationis mutilated, even as it survives in Festus**. No one has yetdetermined for certain the origin of the sign, and discuasion of

the various conjectures would be here superfluous*'. It appears

* Liv. 9. 46.

* Macr. I. 16. 14. Cp. the mutilated note of Verrius in Fasti Piaenestini(Jan. 3).

^ Gell. 4. 9. 5. Varro, L. L. 6 29. 30.

* Livy, 6. I. ir. Macrob. i. 16. 22.

* Festus 165. See Mommsen's restoration of the passage in C. J. L.290 B. ; another, less satisfactory, in Huschke, Rom. JakVy 240.

* Mommsen (C. I. L. 290, A) still holds to his view that N* is only anold form of N, brought into use for purposes of differentiation. His

lO THE ROMAN FESTIVALS

to distinguish, in the Julian calendars, those days on whichfell the festivals of deities who were not of an earthly and



therefore doubtful character from those marked N. Thus inthe series of dies nefasti in February and April the Ides ineach case have the mark NP as being sacred to Jupiter.

EN. We have a mutilated note in the calendar of Praenestewhich indicates what this abbreviation meant, viz. endotercisus= intercisus, i.e. *cut into parts'*. In morning and evening,as Varro tells us, the day was nefastus, but in the middle,between the slaying of the victim and the placing of the entrailsupon the altar, it was fastiis. But why eight days in thecalendar were thus marked we do not know, and have no datafor conjecturing. All the eight were days coming before somefestival, or before the Ides. Of the eight two occur in Januaryand two in February, the others in March, August, October andDecember. But on such facts no conjectures can be built.

Q.R.C.F. {Quando Bex Comitiavit Fas) will be explainedunder March 24 ; the only other day on which it occurs isMay 24. Q.St.D.F. (Qumido stercus delatum fas) only occui-son June 15, and will there be fully dealt with.

FP occurs thrice, but only in three calendars. Feb. 21(Feralia) is thus marked in Caer.-, bjiit is P in Maff. April 23{Vinalia) is FP in Caer. but NP in Mafif. and P in Praen.

Aug. 19 {Vinalia rustica) is FP in MaflP. and Amit, F in Antiat.and Allif., IP in Vail. Mommsen explains FP as fastus prin-cipio, i.e. the early part of the day was fastus, and suggests thatin the case of the Feralia, as the rites of the dead were per-formed at night, there was no reason why the earlier partof the day should be nefastus. But in the case of the twoVinalia we can hardly even guess at the meaning of the mark,and it does not seem to have been known to the Eomansthemselves.

criticism of other views makes it difficult to put faith in them ; butI cannot help thinking that the object of the mark was not only todistinguish the religious character of the days from those marked N, but

to show that civil business might be transacted on them after thesacrificial rites were over, owing to the rapid increase of legal business.Ovid may be alluding to this, though confusing IP with EN, in FasUi. 51, where the words, ' Nam simul exta deo data sunt, licet omniafari/ do not suit with Verrius* note on EN, but may really explain KP.

^ Fasti Praeti., Jan. 10. Varro, L, L, 6. 31. Macr. i. 16. 3.

' For the names of the fragments of FasH, see next section.

INTRODUCTION II

V. The Calendars still surviving.

The basis of our knowledge of the old Koman religious yearis to be found in the fragments of calendars which still sui'vive.None of these indeed is older than the Julian era ; and allbut one are mere fragments. But from the fragments andthe one almost perfect calendar we can infer the character



of the earlier calendar with tolerable certainty.

The calendar, as the Romans generally believed, was firstpublished by Cnaeus Flavins, curule aedile, in 304 b. c, whoplaced the fasti conspicuously in the Forum, in order thatevery one might know .on what days legal business mightbe transacted * ; in other words, a calendar was published withthe marks of the days and the indications of the festivals. Afterthis we hear nothing until 189 b. c, when a consul, M. FulviusNobilior, adorned his temple of Hercules and the Muses witha calendar which contained explanations or notes as wellas dates '*. These are the only indications we have of the wayin which the pre- Julian calendar was made known to thepeople.

But the rectification of the calendar by Julius, and thechanges then introduced, brought about a multiplication ofcopies of the original one issued under the dictator's edict \Not only in Eome, but in the municipalities round abouther, where the ancient religious usage of each city had sincethe enfranchisement of Italy been superseded, officially at least,by that of Rome, both public and private copies were madeand set up either on stone, or painted on the walls or ceilingof a building.

Of such calendars we have in all fragments of some thirty,and one which is all but complete. Fourteen of thesefragments were found in or near Eome, eleven in munici-

* *Fastos circa forum in albo proposuit, ut quando lege agi possetsciretur,* Liv. 9. 46. 5 ; Cic. Att, 6. i. 8. On the latter passage Mommsenhas based a reasonable conjecture that the Fasti had been already pub-lished in one of the last two of the Twelve Tables, and subsequently againwithdrawn. {Chron. 31 and note.)

* Macrob. i. 12. 16.

* C. I. L. 207 B. Petronius (Cena 30) suggests the way in which copiesmight be set up in private houses. In municipia copies might be madeand given to the town by private persons (so probably were Maff. andPraen.) or put up by order of the decuriones.


palities such as Praeneste, Caere, Amiternum, and others asfar away as Allifae and Venusia ; four are of uncertain origin ' ;and one is a curious fragment from Cisalpine Gaul^ Mostof them are still extant on stone, but for a few we have

to depend on written copies of an original now lost ^ No dayin the Eoman year is without its annotation in one or moreof these ; the year is almost complete, as I have said, in theFasti Maifeiani ; and several others contain three or four monthsnearly perfect \ Two, though in a fragmentary condition,are of special interests One of these, that of the ancientbrotherhood of the Fratres Arvales, discovered in 1867 andfollowing years in the grove of the brethren near Rome,contains some valuable additional notes in the fragments whichsurvive of the months from August to November. The other,



that of Praeneste, containing Januaiy, March, April and partsof February and December; is still more valuable from thecomments it contains, most of which we can believe withconfidence to have come from the hand of the great Augustanscholar Vemus Flaccus. We are told by Suetonius thatVerrius put up a calendar in the forum at Praeneste , drawnup by his own hand ; and the date® and matter of thesefragments found at Praeneste agree with what we know of thelife and writings of Verrius. It is unlucky that recentattempts to find additional fragments should have been entirelywithout result ; for the whole annotated calendar, if wepossessed it, would probably throw light on many dark cornersof our subject.

To these fragments of Julian calendars, all drawn upbetween B.C. 31 and a. d. 46, there remain to be addedtwo in MSS. : (i) that of Philocalus, a. d. 354, (ii) that ofPolemius Silvius, a. d. 448 ; neither of which are of muchvalue for our present purpose, though they will be occasionallyreferred to. Lastly, we have two farmer's almanacs on cubes

* Including the Fasti Maffeiani, which is almost complete.

^ No. 20 in C. J. i. (Guidizzolenses), found at Guidizzolo between

Mantua and Verona.

* Maffeiani, Tusculani, Pinciani, Venusini.

* Those of Caere, Praeneste, Amiternum, and Antium.' Suet, de QrammcUicis, 19.

* Circ. A.D. 10: cf. C. I. L. 206. There are a few additional notesapparently by a later hnnd.

INTRODUCTION 1 3

of bronze, which omit the individual days, but are of useas showing the course of agricultural operations under the laterEmpire'.

All these calendars, some of which had been printed whollyor in part long ago, while a few have only been discoveredof late, have been brought together for the first time in thefirst volume of the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, editedby Mommsen with all his incomparable skill and learning,and furnished with ample elucidations and commentaries. Andwe now have the benefit of a second edition of this by thesame editor, to whose labours in this as in every other

department of Eoman history it is almost impossible toexpress our debt in adequate words. All references to thecalendars in the following pages will be made to this secondedition.

A word remains to be said about the Fasti of Ovid ^, whichis a poetical and often fanciful commentary on the calendarof the first half of the Julian year, i.e. January to Juneinclusive ; each month being contained in one book. Ovidtells us himself ' that he completed the year in twelve books ;



but the last six were probably never published, for they arenever quoted by later writers. The first six were written butnot published before the poet's exile, and taken in hand againafter the death of Augustus, but only the first book had beenrevised when the work was cut short by Ovid's death.

Ovid's work merits all praise as a literary performance, forthe neatness and felicity of its versification and diction ; butas a source of knowledge it is too much of a medley to be usedwithout careful criticism. There is, however, a great deal init that helps us to understand the views about the gods andtheir worship, not only of the scholars who pleased themselvesand Augustus by investigating these subjects, but also of thecommon people both in Eome and in the country. But thevalue varies greatly throughout the work. Where the poetdescribes some bit of ritual which he has himself seen, or tells

^ Menologium rusticum Colotianum, and Men. rusticum Vallense inC. I. L. 280, 281.

* Merkel's edition (1841), with its valuable Prolegomena, is indispens-able ; very useful too is that by H. Peter, Leipzig, 1889.

• Tristia, it 549.


some Italian story he has himself heard, he is invaluable ;but as a substitute for the work of Varro on which he drew,he only increases our thirst for the oiiginal. No great scholarhimself, he aimed at producing a popular account of the resultsof the work of scholars, picking and choosing here and thereas suited his purpose, and not troubling himself to write withscientific accuracy. Moreover, he probably made free useof Alexandrine poets, and especially of Callimachus, whose

Aetia is in some degree his model for the whole poem ; andthus it is that the work contains a large proportion of Greekmyth, which is often hard to distinguish from the fragmentsof genuine Italian legend which are here and there imbeddedin it. Still, when all is said, a student of the Eoman religionshould be grateful to Ovid ; and when after the month of Junewe lose him as a companion, we may well feel that the subjectnot only loses with him what little literary interest it canboast of, but becomes for the most part a mere investigationof fossil rites, from which all life and meaning have departedfor ever.

VI. The Calendar op the Republic and its Eeligious

Festivals.

All the calendars still surviving belong, as we saw, to theearly Empire, and represent the Fasti as revised by Julius.But what we have to do with is the calendar of the Republic.Can it be recovered from those we still possess? Fortunatelythis is quite an easy task, as Mommsen himself has pointedout ' ; we can reconstruct for certain the so-called calendarof Numa as it existed throughout the Republican era. The



following considerations must be borne in mind :

I. It is certain that Caesar and his advisers would alterthe familiar calendar as little as possible, acting in the spiritof persistent conservatism from which no true Roman wasever free. They added lo days to the old normal year of355 days, i. e. two at the end of Januaiy, August, and December,and one at the end of April, June, September, and November ;but they retained the names of the months, and their divisionby Kalends, Nones, and Ides, and also the signs of the days,

* C. I. L, 297 foil, (de feriis).

INTRODUCTION I5

and the names of all festivals throughout the year. Lateron further additions were made, chiefly in the way of glorifica-tion of the Emperors and their families; but the skeletonremained as it had been under the Eepublic.

2. It is almost certain that the Eepublican calendar itselfhad never been changed from its first publication down to the

time of Caesar. There is no historical record of any alteration,either by the introduction of new festivals or in any otherway. The origin of no festival is recorded in the history ofthe Eepublic, except the second Carmentalia, the Saturnalia,and the Cerealia ^ ; and in these three cases we can be morallycertain that the record, if such it can be called, is erroneous.

3. If Julius and his successors altered only by slightadditions, and if the calendar which they had to work on wasof great antiquity and unchanged during the Eepublic, how,in the next place, are we to distinguish the skeleton of thatancient calendar from the Julian and post-Julian additions?Nothing is easier ; in Mommsen's words, it is not a matter

of calculation : a glance at the Fasti is sufficient. In allthese it will be seen that the numbers, names, and signsof the days were cut or painted in large capital letters ; whileludi, E(^3rifices, and all additional notes and comments appearin small capital letters. It cannot be demonstrated that thelarge capital letters represent the Eepublican calendar; butthe circumstantial evidence, so to speak, is convincing. Forinscribed in these large capitals is all the information whichthe Eoman of the Eepublic would need ; the dies fasti,comitiales, nefasti, &c. ; the number of the days in the month ;the position of the Nones and the Ides and the names of thosedays on which fixed festivals took place; all this in an ab-breviated but no doubt familiar form. The minor sacrificial

rites, which concerned the priests and magistrates rather thanthe people, he did not find there ; they would only haveconfused him. The moveable festivals, too, he did not findthere, as they changed their date from year to year and werefixed by the priesthood as the time for each came round. Theludi, or public games, were also absent from the old calendar,for they were, originally at least, only adjuncts to certain

^ To these we may perhaps add the Poplifugia and Lucaria in July, thelegends about which we can neither accept nor refute.



1 6 THE ROMAN FESTIVALS

festivals out of which they had grown in course of time.Lastly, all lites which did not technically concern the Stateas a whole, but only its paiis and divisions \ i. e. of gentes andcuriae, of pagi (jpaganalia), montes ^ Septimontium) and sacella(Sacra Argeorum)^ could not be included in the public calendarof the Roman people.

But the Boman of the Republic, even if his calendar wereconfined to the indications given by the lai-ge capital lettersin the Julian calendar, could find in these the essential outlineof the yearly round of his religious life. This outline we toocan reconstruct, though the detail is often wholly beyond ourreach. For this detail we have to fall back upon other sourcesof information, which are often most unsatisfactory and difficultto interpret. What are these other sources, of what value arethey, and how can that value be tested ?

Apart from the surviving Fasti, we have to depend, both forthe completion of the religious calendar, and for the study and

interpretation of all its details, chiefly on the fragmentaryremains of the works of the two great scholars of the age ofJulius and Augustus, viz. Varro and Verrius Flaccus, and onthe later gi*ammarians, commentators, and other writers whodrew upon their voluminous writings. Varro's book de LinguaLatina, though not complete, is in great part preserved, andcontains much information taken from the books of the ponti-fices, which, did we but possess them, would doubtless constituteour one other most valuable record besides the Fasti them-selves \ Such, too, is the value of the dictionaiy of VemusFlaccus, which, though itself lost, survives in the form of twoseries of condensed excerpts, made by Festus probably in thesecond century, a.d., and by Paulus Diaconus as late as the

beginning of the ninths Much of the work of Varro andVerrius is also imbedded in the grammatical writings of Serviusthe commentator on Virgil, in Macrobius, Nonius, Gellius, and

^ See Festus, 245 ; and Diet. Ant. s. v. Sacra.

2 Varro's works, de Antiquitatibus humanis and diriniSj and many others,only survive in the fragments quoted by later authors.

^ Paul the deacon was one of the scholars who found encouragement atthe court of Charles the Great. His work is an abridgement of thatof Festus, not of Verrius himself. On Verrius and his epitomators, aswell as on the other writers who used his glosbes, see H. Nettleship's

valuable papers in Essays in Latin Liteya:ure, p. aoi foil.

INTRODUCTION 1 7

many others, and also in Pliny's Natural History, and in someof the Christian Fathers, especially St. Augustine and Ter-tullian ; but all these need to be used with care and caution,except where they quote directly from one or other of their two



great predecessors. The same may be said of LaurentiusLydus ', who wrote in Greek a work de Mensihus in the sixthcentury, which still sui-vives. To these materials must beadded the great historical writers of the Augustine age ; Livy,who, uncritical as he was, and incapable of distinguishing thegenuine Italian elements in religious tradition from theaccretions of Greek and Graeco-Etruscan myth, yet suppliesus with much material for criticism ; and Dionysius of Hali-carnassus, who as a foreigner resident for some time in Rome,occasionally describes ritual of which he was himself a witness.The Roman lives of Pluiarch, and his curious collection entitledRoman Questions, also contain much interesting matter, takenfrom several sources, e.g. Juba. the learned king of Mauritania,but as a rule ultimately referable to Varro. Beyond thesethere is no one author of real importance ; but the * plant 'of the investigator will include of course the whole of Romanliterature, an^ Greek literature so far as it touches Roman lifeand history. Of epigraphical evidence there is not much forthe period of the Republic, beyond the fragments of the Fasti ;by far the most valuable Italian religious inscription is notRoman but Umbrian ; and the Acta Fratrum Arvalium onlybegin with the Empire. Yet from these ^, and from a fewworks of art, however hard of interpretation, some light hasoccasionally been thrown upon the difficulties of our subject ;

and the study of early Italian culture is fast progressing underthe admirable system of excavation now being supervised bythe Italian government.

All this material has been collected, sifted, and built uponby modern scholars, and chiefly by Germans. The work ofcollecting was done to a great extent in the sixteenth andseventeenth centuries ; the rest of the process mainly in the

^ For more information about Lydus see Bury, Later Roman Empire, ii.183, and below under March 14.

' They will be found in Biicheler's Umbrica (containing the processionalinscription of Iguvium with commentary and translation), and Henzen'sActa Fratrum Aj-valium,

l8 THE ROMAN FESTIVALS

nineteenth. The chief writers will be quoted as occasiondemands; here can only be mentioned, honatis causa, thewritings of Ambrosch, Preller, Schwegler, Marquardt ', and ofsome of the writers in the Mythological Lexicon, edited by

Roscher. especially Professor Wissowa of Berlin, whose shortbut pithy articles, as well as his treatises de Feriis and deJ)is Indigetihus are models of scholarly investigation \ Of late,too. anthropologists and folk-lorists have had something to sayabout Eoman religious antiquities ; of these, the most con-spicuous is the late lamented Dr. Mannhardt, who applied a newmethod to certain problems both of the Greek and the Bomanreligion, and evolved a new theory for their interpretation.Among other works of this kind, which incidentally throwlight on our difficulties, the most useful to me have been those



of Professor Tylor, Mr. Frazer, Mr. Andrew Lang, and the lateProfessor Robertson Smith. In the Iteligion of the Semites,by the last named scholar, I seem to see a deeper insight intothe modes of religious thought of ancient peoples than in anyother work with which I am acquainted.

Yet in spite of all this accumulation of learning and acumen,it must be confessed that the study of the oldest Romanreligion is still one of insuperable difficulty, and apt to try thepatience of the student all the more as he slowly becomesaware of the conditions of the problem before him. There arefestivals in the calendar about which we really know nothingat all, and must frankly confess our ignorance ; there areothers about which we know just enough to be doubtful ;others again, in interpreting which the Romans themselvesplainly went astray, leaving us perhaps nothing but a baselesslegend to aid us in guessing their original nature. It must beborne in mind that the Roman religion was in ruins when theJulian calendar was drawn up, and that the archaeologicalresearch which was brought to bear upon it by Varro andVerrius was not of a strictly scientific character. And during

^ Preller*s RomiscJie Mythologie (ed. 3, by H. Jordan) and Marquardt'sthird volume of his Staatsverwaliung (ed. Wissowa) are both masterpieces,

not only in matter but in manner.

^ Among the others may especially be mentioned Aust, a pupil ofWissowa, to whom we owe the excellent and exhaustive article onJupiter ; and R. Peter, the author of the article Fortuna and others, wholargely reflects the views of the late Prof. Reifferscheid of Bi*eslau.

INTRODUCTION I9

the last two centuries of the Republic, as the once statelybuilding crumbled away, it became overlaid with growths of

foreign and especially of Greek origin, under which it now lieshopelessly buried. The ground-plan alone remains, in theform of the calendar as it has been explained above ; to this wemust hold fast if we would obtain any true conception of thereligion of the earliest Roman State \ Here and there someportion of the building of which it was the basis can howeverstill be conjecturally restored by the aid of Varro and Verriusand a few other ancient writers, tested by the criticism ofmodern scholars, and sometimes by the results of the scienceof comparative religion. Such particular restoration is whathas been attempted in this work, not without much misgivingand constant doubt. .

The fall of the Republic is in any case a convenient pointfrom which to survey the religious ideas and practice of theconquerors of the civilized world. It is not indeed a moresignificant epoch in the history of the Roman religion than theera of the Punic wars, when Rome ceased to be a peninsular,and began to be a cosmopolitan state ; but it is a turning-pointin the history of the calendar and of religious worship as wellas of the constitution. Henceforward, in spite of the strenuouseflPbrts of Augustus to revive the old forms of worship, allreligious rites have a tendency to become transformed or over-



shadowed, first by the cult of the Caesars "^ ; secondly, by thesteadily increasing influence of foreign and especially of Orientalcults ; and lastly, by Christianity itself 'C

Taking our stand, then, in the year 46 b.c., the last yearof the pre-Julian calendar, we are able in a small volume,by carefully working through that calendar, to lay a firmfoundation of material for the study of the religious life andthought of the Roman people while it was still in some sensereally Roman. The plan has indeed its disadvantages; itexcludes the introduction of a systematic account of certaindepartments of the subject, such as the development of thepriesthoods, the sacrificial ritual, the auspicia, and the domestic

^ 'Hoc paene unum superest sincerum documentum/ Wissowa, deFetiis, p. I.

* This is well illustrated in the Acta FrcUnim Arvalium referred to above.

' A succinct account of these tendencies will be found in Marquardt,p. 7a foil. There is a French translation of this invaluable volume.

2


practice of religious rites \ But if it is true, as it undoubtedlyis, that in dealing with the Roman religion we must beginwith the cult ^, and that for the cult the one ' sincerum docu-mentum ' is to be found in the surviving Fasti, these drawbacksmay fairly be deemed to be counterbalanced by distinctadvantages. And in order to neutralize any bewilderment thatmay be caused by the constant variety of the rites we shallmeet with, both in regard to their origin, history, and meaning,some attempt will be made, when we have completed the

round of the year, to sum up our results, to sketch in outlinethe history of Eoman religious ideas, and to estimate theinfluence of all this elaborate ceremonial on the life andcharacter of the Eoman people.

In order to fit the calendar of each month into a single pageof this work it has been necessaiy to print the names of thefestivals, and the indications of Kalends, Nones, &c. in smallcapital letters instead of the large capitals in which theyappear in the originals (see above, p. 1 5). In the headings tothe days as they occur throughout the book the method of theoriginals will be reproduced exactly, i. e. large capitals repre-sent in every case the most ancient calendar of the Republic,

and small capitals the additamenta ex fastis,

* A short account of these will be found in the author's articles in thenew edition of Smith's Dictionary of Antiquities, on * Sclera,* 'Sacerdos,' and* Sacrificium.* On the domestic rites, there is an excellent book in Italian,which might well be translated: II Culto privato di Roma antica, by Prof.De-Marchi of Milan, of which only Part I, La Religione nella vita domesiicayhas as yet appeared.

' Marqnardt, Staatsvenvaltungy iii. p. 2.



MENSIS MARTIUS

FasH antiquissimu

Additamentaex fastis.

Additamenta exBcriptonbus.

12

KAL. IP

F

I. Feriae Marti,lunoni Lucinae.

I. Matroualia (?).

3

C

4

C



5

C

6

w

7

KON. F

7. Vediovi.

8

F

9

C

9. Arma ancilia



10

C

movent.

11

C

12

C

13

EN

1415

IP

EID. W



EQUIBIOA

14 (or 15?). Feriue

Marti.15. Feriae Annae

14. Mamuralia (,?).

1617

F

IP

( LIBERALIA( AGOKIA

Perennae.

16 (and 1 7?). SacraArgeorum.

18

c

19

N

QUINQUATBUS

19. Feriae Marti.

20

C



21

c

22

N

23

IP

TUBILUSTmUM

24

<J.E.C. F

25



C

26

C

27

IP

28

c

29

c

3031



c

c

31. Lunae in Aven-tino.

21

MENSIS APRILIS

Fasti antigtnarifni.

Addifamenta€X fastis.

AddUatnenia exscriptorilms.

123

KAL. F

F

c

I. Veneralia (?).Fortunae viriliin balneis(Verr.Flacc).

456



c

KOK. NIP

4. Matri Magnae.4-10. Ludi Mega-

lesiaci.

5. Fortunae publicaeciteriori in eoUe.

7

N

8

N

91011

N

NN

9-10 or lo-ii. Ora-culum Fortunaepatet (at Prae-neste).



12

N

ia-19. LudiCereales

13

BID. IP

14

N

15

IP

FORDICIDIA

16

N



17

N

18

N

1920

NN

GEREALIA

19. Gereri LiberoLiberae.

2122

IP

N

PABILIA



91. Katalis urbis(PhUoc).

23242526

IPC

IPP

VINALIAROBIGALIA

23. VeneriErycinae.lovi.

25. Sacrificium etludi.

24. FeriaeLatinae(concoptivae)usually aboutthis time.

27

2829

IP

aS. Ludi Florae, toV. Non. Mai.



(May 3).

a8.FIoralia(PHn.).

22

MENSIS MAIUS

FasH antigutssimu


Additamenta exscriptoribus.

123

KAL. FPC

I. Laribus (praestlti-

bUB).

I. Dies natalis oftemple of BonaDea ;^0\rid).

4

C



5

c

6

c

7

NON. ^F

8

F

9

N

LEMURIA



10

C

11

N

LEMURIA

12

IP

13

N

LEMURTA

14

C



1516

EID. IP

F

15. Feriae lovi Mor-curio Maiae.

15. Sacra Argeo-rum(Ovid,&c.).

17

C

18

c

19

c

20



c

21

M>

AGONTA

ai. Vediovi.

22

N

23

IP

TUBILUSTRIUM

33. Volcano.

24

<).B.C^ F



252627

CCC

35. Fortunae publi-cae Fopuli Ro-mani.

28

C

29

C

29. Ambarvalla

3031

CC

(feriae concep-tivae).



^ N. Maffl Of. Mommsen, C. I. L. 394 b.

23

MENSIS JUNIUS

Fasti antiquissimi.

AdditamerUaex fastis.

AdditamerUa exscriptoribus.

12

KAL. NF

I. luDoni Monetae.

I. Kalendae faba-riae (Pliii.)Ludi.

3

c

3. Bellonae in circo.

4



c

5

NON. N

5. Dio Fidio in collo.

6

N

7

N

•

89

NN

VESTALIA

8. Mentl in Capi-tolio.



10

N

11

N

MATHALIA

12

N

13

14

EID. W

13. Feriae Ibvi.

13. Quinquatiusminusculae.

15



<j.sT.D. r

1

16

c

17

c

18

c

18. Annae sacrum.

19

c



20

c

20. Summano ad cir-

21

c

cum maximum.

22

c

23

c

24

c

24. Foxti Foilunae.



25

c

26

c

27

c

28

c

29

F



* F. Tusc. Cf. Mommsen, C. i. L. 294 b.

24

MENSIS QUINTILIS

Fasti antiquissimi.



1

KAL. N

2

N

3

N



4

IP

5

N>

POPLIPIfGIA

6

78

N

NON. N

N

6-13. Ludi Apollinares.

7. Nonae Capro-tinae (Varro).

9

10

NC



9. Vitulatio(Varro).

11

C

12

c

13

c

■

14

c

14-19. Meroatus.

15

EID. W



16

r

17

c

18

c

18. Dies Alliensis.

19

N>

LUCARTA

20



G

21

N>

LUCABIA

22

C

23

IP

NEPTUNALIA

24

N

25



IP

FUBBINALIA

26

C

27

C

28

c

29

c



3031

cc

50. Fortunae hiiius-que die! in carnpo.

i)

MENSIS SEXTILIS

FatH anUquissimi,

AdditamentaexfastU.

Additamenta exBcrip^bus,

1

2

KAL. FIP

I. Spei ad forumholitorium.

I. Laribus compi-talibus? (Ovid,

5. 147).

3

C



4

C

56»

NON. F

F

5. Saluti in eolloQuir.

7

c

8

9

C

F



8 (or 9?) Soli Indi-giti in coUe Quir.

10

C

11

C

1213141516

C

EID. IP

FCC

la. Herculi invicto

ad circ. max.13. Feriae lovi.Dianae in Aven-

tino.Vortumno inAventino, &c.(see p. 198;.



1718

IP

c

PORTUNALIA

17. lanoad tlieatrumMarcelii.

19«

FP

VINALIA

20

C

2122

EN

CONSUALIA

a I. Conso in Avon-tino.



232425

C

IP

VOLCANALIAOPICONSIVIA

23. Volcano in circoFlaminio, &c.

a4. Mundus jiatet(Featus).

26

c

27

JP

YOLTUBNALIA

28

c



29

F

^ N*. Antiat N. minores 6.

* F. Antiat AUif. ^P ValL

26

MENSIS SEPTEMBER

Fasti antiguiasimi.

Addiiameniaex fastis.

Additamenta ex

acriptorilms.

1

KAL. F

2

F



3

F

4

C

4-ia. Ludi Romani.

5

NON. F

6

F

7

C



8

C

9

C

10

C

11

12^

N



131415216

EID. IP

F

NC

13. IoyI epulum.Feriae lovi

14. Equorum pro-batio.

15-19. Ludi Somaniin circo.

17

c

18

c

19



c

20

c

ao-23. Mercatus.

21

c

22

c

23

F

24



C

25

C

26

C

27

C

28

29



F

* N> VaU. 0. Antiat. C. I. L, 294.

27

« C. Vail. Antiat

MENSIS OCTOBER

Fasti antiquissimu



1

23

KAL. NF

c

I. Tigillo sororio ad

compitum Acili.Fidei inCapitolio.

4

c



5

C

5. Mimdus patet.

G^

C

78

NON. r

F

7. lovi fulguri.lunoni Curriti in

9

c

caiupo.



10

c

11

IP

3IEDITRTNAIJA

12

c

13

IP

FOKTIlfALIA

13. Feriae FontL

14

EN



15IG17

EID. IPP

c

15. Feriae lovi

15. Sacrifice ofOctober horse

(Festus).

18

c

19

IP

ABUILUSIBIUM

20

c



21

c

•

22

c

23

c

24

c

25

c



26

c

27

c

28

c

29

c

30

c



31

c

* N. Autiiit Cf. C. I. L. 294.

28

MENSIS NOVEMBER

Fasti antiquissimi.

Additatnentaex fastis.

1

KAL. F

2

F

3



c

4

c

4-17. Ludi plebeii.

i>

F

6

NON. F

C

8

c

9



c

10

c

11

c

13. Ferine lovi.

12

c

lovi epulum.

13

EID. IP

i3(ori4?). Feroniae

14

F



in campo.Fortunae Primi-

1516

CC

geniae in colle.14. Equorum pro-batio.

17

c

18

c

1 8 -20. Mercatus.

19

c

20

c



21

c

22

c

23

c

1

24

c

25

c

26

c

,



27

c

28

c

29

F

1

1

Additametita ex

scriptoribits.

29

MENSIS DECEMBER

Fcuti antiquisaimi.

Additameniaex fastis.

Additamenia exscripioribus.



12

KAL. N

N

I . Neptuno ) ad circ.Pietati ( max.

I. Fortunae inu-liebri(Diony8.).

34

N

C

3. Sacra BonaeDeae (Plutarch,

&C.).

56

KON. F

F

5. Faunalia rus-tica (Horace).

7

C



89

C

C

8. Tiberino in in-sula.

10

c

1112

•

13

14

IP

EN

EID, IP

F

AGroNIA] IN.

*

12. Conso in Aven-



tino.

13. Telluri et Cereriin Carinis.

II. Septimontium(FestusjVarro).

15

IP

CONSUALIA

16

C

17

K>

SATURNALIA

18

C



19

IP

OPALIA

20

c

21

IP

DIVALIA

2223

c

LABEN lALIA

22. Laribus perma-rinis in porticu

Hinuuia.

24

c



25

c

26

c

27

c

28

c

29

F



30

MENSIS lANUARIUS

Fasti anliguissimU


Additamenia ex

scriptoribus.

12

KAL. FF

i.AescuIapio ) inin-Vediovi J sula.

3

4

cc

3-5 (circa). Com-pitialia or ludicompitales.



5

NON. F

6

F

7

c

8

C

9

[N>]

AGONIA



10

. EN

1112

C

CABMENTALIA

II. *Iuturnalia'Serviua.

13

EID. W

14

EN

15

:^p



CARMENTALIA

16

c

17

c

18

c

19

c

•

20

c



21

c

22

c

23

c

242526

c

cc

a^-aS. Sementi vaeor Faganalia



(Ovid) (feriaeconcept! vae).

2728

cc

27. Castor i et Pol-luci (dedication oftemple).

29

F

3'

MENSIS FEBRUARIUS

Fasti antiquisgimi.


AdditameiUa ex

scriptoribus.

1

2

KAL. N



N

I. lunoni Sospitae(Ovid).

3

N

4

N

5G

NON. IP

N

5. Concordiae in arce(Praen.).

•

7

N



8

N

9

N

10

N

11

N

12

N



1314

EID. IP

N

13. Fauno in insula(Esq.).

13 21. Parental ia.

15

M>

LUPERCALIA

16

EN

1718

1920

IPCC

c



QUIBINALIA

J J, Last day ofFomacalia (fe-riae concepti-vae). * St ul to-rum feriae '(Paulus, Ac).

21^

FP

FERALIA

22

C

23

w

TERMINALIA

24

N

REGIFUGIUM



25

C

26

EN

27

IP

EQUIRRIA

•

28

C

1



F. Maff.

\

32

MENSIS MARTIUS.

The mensis Martius stands alone among the Eoman months.Not only was it the first in matters both civil and religious downto the time of Julius Caesar, but it is more closely associatedwith a single deity than any other, and that deity the protector

and ancestor of the legendary founder of the city. It bears toothe name of the god, which is not the case with any othermonth except January ; and it is less certain that January wasnamed after Janus than that March was named after Mars.The cult of Janus is not specially obvious in Januaiy except ona single day : but the cult of Mars is paramount all throughMarch, and gives a peculiar character to the month's worship.

It follows on a period which we may call one of purification,or the performance of piacular duties towards dead ancestorsand towards the gods ; and this has itself succeeded a time ofgeneral festivity in the homestead, the group of homesteads,the market, and the cross-roads. The rites of December and

January are for the most part festive and social, those ofFebruary mystic and melancholy — characteristics which havetheir counterpart in the Christian Christmas, New Year, andLent. The rites of March are distinct from those of eitherperiod, as we shall see. They again are followed by thoseof April, the opening month, which are gay and apt to belicentious ; then comes the mensis Maius or m«)nth of growth,which is a time of peril for the crops, and has a certaincharacter of doubt and darkness in its rites ; lastly comes June,the month of maturity, when harvest is close at hand, and life

34 THE ROMAN YESTIYALS

begins to brighten up once more. After this the Bomahmonths cease to denote by their names those workings ofnature on which the husbandman's fortune for the yeardepends.

By a process of elimination we can make a guess at the kindof ideas which must have been associated with the monthwhich the Eomans called Martius, even before examining its



rites in detail. It is the time when the spring, whose firstbreath has been felt in February, begins to show its power uponthe land K Some great numen is at work, quickening vegeta-tion, and calling into life the powers of reproduction in manand the animals. The way in which this quickening Poweror Spirit was regarded by primitive man has been very care-fully investigated of recent years, and though the variation isendless both in myth and in ritual, we may now safely saythat he was looked on as coming to new life after a period ofdeath, or as returning after an absence in the winter, or asconquering the hostile powers that would hinder his activity.Among civilized peoples these ideas only survive in legend orpoetry, or in some quaint bit of rural custom, often semi-dramatic, which may or may not have found its way into theorganized cults of a city-state of Greece or Italy, or even intothe calendar of a Christian Church. But when these survivalshave been collected in vast numbers both from modern Europeand from classical antiquity, and compared with the existingideas and practices of savage peoples, they can leave no doubtin our minds as to the general character of the piimitive

^ See Nissen, Italienische Landeskunde^ L 404 ; Ovid, FaMi, 3. 235 —Quid, quod hiems adoperta gelu tunc denique cedit,Et pereunt victae sole tepente nives,

' Arboribus redeunt detonsae frigore frondes,Uvidaque in tenero pal mite gemma tumet :Quaeque diu latuit, nunc se qua tollat in auras,

Fertilis occultas invenit herba vias.Nunc fecundus ager : pecoris nunc liora creandi.

Nunc avis in ramo tecta laremquo parat.Tempera iure colunt Latiae fecunda parentesQuarum militiam votaque partus habet.Here we have the fertility of man, beast, and crop, all brought together :the poet is writing of March i. The Romans reckoned spring fromFavonius (Feb. 7) to about May 10 (Varro, R. R. i. 38) ; March i would

thei*efore usually be a day on which its first effects would be obvious toevery one.

MENSIS MARTIUS 35

husbandman's conception of the mysterious power at workin spring-time.

It was this Power, we can hardly doubt, that the Latinsknew by the name of Mars, the god whose cult is so prominentthroughout the critical period of the quickening processes. We.

know him in Eoman literature as a full-grown deity, withcharacteristics partly taken from the Greeks, partly extendedand developed by a state priesthood and the usage of a growingand cosmopolitan city. We cannot trace him back, step bystep, to his earliest vague form as an undefined Spirit, Power,or numen ; it is very doubtful whether we can identify him, asmythologists have often done, with anything so obvious anddefinite as the sun, which by itself does not seem to have beenheld responsible by primitive peoples for the workings of natureat this time of year. We do not even know for certain the



meaning of his name, and can get no sure help from com-parative philology. Nevertheless there is a good deal ofcumulative evidence which suggests a comparatively humbleorigin for this great god, some points of which we shall meetwith in studying his cult during the month. The wholesubject has been worked up by Roscher in the article on Marsin his Mythological Lexicon, which has the great advantageof being based on an entire re-examination of the Mars-cult,which he had handled in an earlier essay on Apollo and Mars.

Kal. Mart. (March i). N^.

febiae mabti. (praen.)

n mabtis. (philoc.)

iun[o]ni lucinae e|^s]quiliis quod eo die aedes EI [dedica]ta

EST PER MATRONAS QUAM VOVERAT ALBIUXOR ... SI PUERUM . . . [at]qUE IPSa'm

NIA] . . . VEL, . . . (pRAEN.)

This was the New Year's day of the Roman religious calendar.From Macrobius* we learn that in his day the sacred fire ofVesta was now renewed, and fresh laurels fixed on the Regia,the Curiae, and the houses of the flamens ; the custom thereforewas kept up long after the first of March had ceased to be the

* Sat. I. la. 6; Ovid, Fastiy 3. 135 folL

D 2


civil New Year. Ovid alludes to the same rites^ and adds theAedes Vestae as also freshly decomted ' :

Keu dubites, primae fuerint quin nnte Kalcndae

Martis, ad haec aiiimum signa referre poles.

Laurea flamiuibus quae toto perstiiit anuo

Tollitur, et frondes sunt in honore novae,lauua tunc regis posita viret arbore Phoebi ;

Ante tuas fit idem, curia prisca, fores.Vesta quoque ut folio niteat velata recent!,

Cedit ab Iliacis laurea cana focis.



The mention of these buildings cames us back to the veryearliest Kome, when the rex and his sons and daughters*(Flamines and Vestales, in their later form) performed betweenthem the whole religious duty of the community ; to these wemay perhaps add the warrior-priests of Mars (Salii). The con-nexion of the decoration with the Mars-cult is probable, if notcertain ; the laurel was sacred to Mars, for in front of hissacrarium in the regia there grew two laurels ^, and it has beenconjectured that they supplied the boughs used on this day \

March i is also marked in the calendar of Philocalus as thebirthday of Mars (N = natalis Martis). This appears in no othercalendar as yet discovered, and is conspicuously absent in theFasti Praenestini ; it is therefore very doubtful whether anyweight should be given to a fourth-century writer whosecalendar had certainly an urban and not a rustic basis ^ Thereis no trace of allusion to a birth of Mars on this day in Latinliterature, though the day is often mentioned. There wasindeed a pretty legend of such a birth, told by Ovid under

^ Ovid only mentions one * curia ' : in Macrobius the word is in theplural. Ovid must, I think, refer to the curia Saliorum on the Palatine

(Marq. 43 1^ as this was the day on which the Salii began their rites.Macrobius may be including the curia of the Quirinal Salii (Preller,

i. 357)-

" See below, on the Vestalia in June, p. 147.

^ Julius Obsequens, 19.

* Roscher, Myth, Lex. s.v. Mars, 2427. Roscher regards the use of laurelin the Mars-cult as parallel with that in the Apollo-cult and not derivedfrom it. The point is not however certain. The laurel was used as andiroTpoirouov at the Robigalia, which seems closely connected with the

Mars-cult (Plin. N, H. 18. 161) ; here it could hardly have been taken overfrom the worship of Apollo.

^ Mommsen, C. I. L. 254.

MENSIS MARTIUS 37

May 2 \ which has its parallels in other mythologies ; Junohecame pregnant of Mars by touching a certain flower of whichthe secret was told her by Flora :

Protinus haerentem decerpsi pollice florem ;

Tangitur et tacto concipit ilia sinu.lam que gravis Thracen et laeva Propontidis intrat

Fitque potens voti, Marsque creatus erat.

Of this tale Preller remarked long ago that it has a Greeksetting : it is in fact in its Ovidian form a reflex fromstories such as those of the birth of Athena and of Kora.



Yet it has been stoutly maintained"^ that it spi-ang froma real Italian germ, and is a fragment of the lost Italianmythology. Now, though it is certainly untrue that theItalians had no native mythology, and though there arefaint traces, as we shall see, of tales about Mars himself, yetthe Latins at least so rarely took these liberties with theirdeities ^, that every apparent case of a divine myth needs to becarefully examined and well supported. In this case we mustconclude that there is hardly any evidence for a general beliefthat March i was the birthday of Mars ; and that Ovid's storyof Juno and Mars must be looked on with suspicion so far asthese deities are concerned.

The idea that Mars was bom on March i might arise simply

' FasH, 5. 253. There is a good parallel in Celtic mytliology : the wifeof Llew the Sun-hero was born of flowers (Rhys, Celt Myth. 384), Themyth is found in many parts of the world {Lang, ii. 22, and note).

* By Usener, in his remarkable paper in Rhein, Museum, xxx. 215foil., on * Italische Mythen.' He unluckily made the mistake of supposingthat Ovid told this story under June i (i. e. nine montJis before the supposedbirthday of Mars). There is indeed a kind of conjunction of June andMars on June i, as both had temples dedicated on that day ; but neither

of these can well be earlier than the fourth century b. c, and no onewould have thought of them as haying any bearing on the birth of Marsbut for Usener's blunder (Aust, dc Aedibus sacris Pop. Rom. pp. 8 and 10,and his valuable note in Roscher's article on Mars, p. 2390). Usener alsoadduces the derivation of Gradivus in Fest. 97 ' quia gramine sit ortus.'

' The practical Roman mind applied the myth chiefly to the history ofits statef and in such a way that its true mythic character was lost, ornearly so. What became in Greece mythic literature became quasi -history at Rome. Thus it is that Romulus is so closely connected withMars in legend : the race-hero and the race-god have almost a mythicalidentity. The story of the she-wolf may be at least as much a myth ofthe birth of Mars as Ovid's story of Juno, in spite of the fatherhood of

Mars in that legend.


from the fact that the day was the fii'st of his month and alsothe first of the year. It is possible however to account for itin another way. It was the dies natdlis of the temple of JunoLucina on the Esquiline, as we learn from the note in the FastiPraenestini ; and this Juno had a special power in childbirth.The temple itself was not of very ancient date \ but Juno hadno doubt always been especially the matrons' deity, and in

a sense represented the female principle of life '. To her allkalends were sacred, and more especially the first kalendsof the year, on which we find that wives received presentsfrom their husbands', and entertained their slaves. Infact the day was sometimes called the Matronalia*, thoughthe name has no technical or religious sense. Surely, ifa mother was to be found for Mars, no one could be moresuitable that Juno Lucina ; and if a day were to be fixed forhis birth, no day could be better than the first kalends of theyear, which was also the dedication-day of the temple of the



goddess. At what date the mother and the birthday werefound for him it is impossible to discover. The latter may beas late as the Empire ; the former may have been an olderinvention, since Mars seems to have been apt to lend himself,under Greek or Etruscan influence, somewhat more easily tolegendary treatment than some other deities*. But we mayat any rate feel pretty sure that it was the Matronalia onMarch i that suggested the motherhood of Juno and the birthof Mars ; and we cannot, as Eoscher does, use the Matronaliato show that these myths were old and native '.

Yet another legend was attached to this day. It was saidthat the original a/ncile, or sacred shield of Mars, fell downfrom heaven^, or was found in the house of Numa*, onMarch i. This was the type from which were copied the other

^ Aust, as quoted above. The date was probably 379 u. c. (Plin. N, H.16. 235).

* Roscher in Lex. s. v. Juno, p. 576.

' Marq. 571, where is a list of passages referring to these gifts. Someare familiar, e.g Horace, Od, 3. 8, and Juyenal, 9. 53 (with the scholiastin each case).

* Sc?td. Cruq, on Horace, 1. c, and the scholiast on Juvenal, 1. c.

' See e.g. the mysterious scene on a cista from Praeneste given inRoscher, Lex. 2407, to which the clue seems entirely lost.

* Lex. s. V. Mars, a^gg ; s. v. Juno, 584.

^ Ovid, 3. 351 foil. ; Plut. Kuma, 13. • Dion. Hal. a. 71.

HEKSIS HABTIUS

I

39

eleven belonging to the collegium of Salii Palatini ; in thethe smith who did thia work was named Mamuriua,and was commo mora ted in tlie Salian hymn'. These are

simply fragments of a tangle of myth which gi-ew up out ofthe mystery attaching to the Salii, or dancing priests of Mars,and to the curious shields which they carried, and the hymnswhich they sang'; in the latter we know that the word Mamurioften occurred, which is now generally recognized as being onlya variant of the name Mars '. We shall meet with the wordagain later in the month. This ulso was the first day on whichthe shields were 'moved,' as it was called; i.e. taken by theSalii from the sacrarium Martia in tho Eegia', and carriedthrough the city in procession, Dionysiua (ii, 70) has left us



a valuable description uf these processions, which continuedtill the 24th of the month ; the Salii leaped and danced,reminding the writer of the Greek Curetes, and continuallystruck the shields with a short spear or stalT' as they sangtheir ancient hymns and performed their rhythmical dances.

The original object and meaning of all these strange per- .formanees is now fairly well made out, thanks to the researchesof Mullenhoff, Mannhai-dt, Koscher, Frazer and others. Roscher,in his comparison of Apollo and Mars', pointed out the like-ness in the spring festivitis of the two gods. At Delphi, at theTheophania (7th of Bysios=Mai-ch), there were decorations,sacrifices, dances, and songs ; and of these last, some were

' Ovid, I.e. 381 folt. ' Mnrq. 430, nnd note.

' Fostua, p. 131 ; Csener in Bliein. Mas. xxi. aog foil. Wordsworth,Fmgmiiils and Ffpecinens 0/ Early Lolin, p. 564 foil. Jordan (Preller, 1. 336Jhud however doubts about the idcutili cation of Wan and Mumurius.

* Tlie plixvi is not quite certain. Ainbro^ch (_filudien, 7), nho betieredthem to be pnrt of the armour of the god, plactd them in hia sai^rariiimin the king's house, with Serr, Aen. 7, 603, nnd ihia f^lls in wltliDionysiua' version of tlie myth, that the sliield wa<i found in Nnma'a

house. Witli tliis view Preller sgreed. Marqua.rdt, (431) however,believed they were part of the armour of the priests, and aa such wereIfpt in the Curia aalionim, which might alao be called sooarium Mortis.The question is not of the first importance.

' DionyfiiuB (9. 70. a) saya that each wrb girt with a sword, and carriedin his right hand, Xiyxw 4 ^Bôv Ij ri toioSB' fTipov. Apparently,assuming that he had seen the procession, he did not see or romembei'dearly what these objects were. A relief from Anagnia (Annali dd Inst.1B69, 70 foil.) shows llivm like a double drumstick, with a knob at

p. 8404 fliid Apollo, p. 425.


vfxvoi KkrjTLKoi, or invocations to the god to appear, some nma €s,or shouts of encouragement in his great fight with the dragon,or perhaps intended to scare the dragon away. For Apollowas believed to return in the spring, to. be born anew, and tostruggle in his infancy with the demon of evil. At otherplaces in Greece similar performances are found ; at Delos ',at Ortygia*'^ near Ephesus, at Tegyra, and elsewhere. At

Ortygia the k«v/>^t€? stood and clashed their arms to frightenaway Hera the enemy of Apollo's mothei* Leto, in the annualdramatic representation of the perilous labour of the motherand the birth of her son. These practices (and similar onesamong northern peoples) seem to be the result of the poeticalmythology of an imaginative race acting on still more primitiveideas. From all parts of the world Mr. Frazer has collectedexamples of rites of this kind occurring at some period of realor supposed peril, and often at the opening of a new year, inwhich dances, howling, the beating of pots and pans, brandish-



ing of arms, and even firing of guns are thought efficacious indriving out evil spirits which bring hurt of some kind to man-kind or to the crops which are the fruits of his labour \ Thisnotion of evil spirits and the possibility of expelling them is atthe root of the whole series of practices, which in the handsof the Greeks became adorned with a beautiful mythicalcolouring, while the Romans after their fashion embodiedthem in the cult of their city with a special priesthood toperform them, and connected them with the name of theirgreat priest king.

In an elaborate note* Mr. Frazer has attempted to explainthe rites of the Salii in the light of the material he has collected.He is inclined to see two objects in their performances: (i) therouting out of demons of all kinds in order to collect them fortransference to the human scapegoat, Mamurius Veturius (see

' Virg. Aen, 4. 143.

^ Strabo, 639 foil. The same also appear in the cult of Zeus ; Preller-Eobert, Greek Myth. i. 134.

' 0. B. ii. 157-182 ; Tylor, FHm. Cult i. 298 foil. We have survivals atEome, not only in the periodic Salian rites, but on particular occasions ;

Martial 12. 57. 15 (of an eclipse) ; Ovid, Fasti, 5. 441 ; Tibull. i. 8. 21 ;Tac. Ann. i. 28 (this was in Germany). I have known the church bellsrung at Zermatt in order to stop a continuous downpour of rain inhay-harvest.

* Q, B, ii. aio.

MENSIS MAETIUS 4!

below on Marcli 14), who was driven out a. fortnight later;and (a) to make the com grow, by n charm consisting in leaping

find dancing, which ia known in many parts of the world. Itwill perhaps be safer to keep to genei'alitiea in matters of whichwo have but slender knowledge ; and to conclude that the oldLatins believed that the Spirit which was beginning to makethe crops grow must at this time be pi-otected from hostiledemons, in order that he might be free to perform his ownfriendly functions for the community. Though the few woi'dspreserved of the Salian hymns are too obscure to be of muchuse ', we seem to see in them a trace of a deity of vegetation ;and the prayer to Mars, which is given in Cato's agriculturaltreatise, is most instructive on this point',

The Salii in these processions were clothed in a Irabca and

funka picfa ", the ' full dress ' of the warrior inspired bysome special religious zeal, wearing helmet, breastplate, andsword. They canied the andle on the left arm, and a staffor club of some kind to strike it with'. At certain sacredplaces they stopped and danced, their pi-nesul giving them thestep and rhythm ; and here we may suppose that they alsosang the song of which a few fragments have come down to ua,where the recurring word Mamurius seems beyond doubt tobe a variant of Ma^s^ Each evening they i-ested at a differentplace — mansiones Salioiiim, as they were called — and hei-e the



sacred arms were hung up till the next day, and the Saliifeasted. They were twenty-four in number, twelve Palatiniand twelve Collini (originally Agonalea or Agonenses), theformer specially devoted to the worahip of Mars Gradivus.the latter to that of Quirinus', The antiquity of the priest-

' Jordan, Krit Beitrage, p. 303 foil. ' Cato, R. R. 143.

' Lit. I. ao. Cp. 9. *[>, where tlie chnsen Somnite ■warriors wore tunicnavernailores. In eacli cnse the dresa is a religions one, of the same chnmcteraa that of the IriumpAofor, and woald have its ultiinate origin in thewar-paint of savages, wliich prubiililj also has a religious sigDification.Tha trabea was the old short cavahy coat.

' See Uarq. 433, and DM. qf Anlig. a. v. Salii for dutails.

* Feet. 131. The fragments m»y be seen in Wordsworth's Fi'o^nents nnilSpeeimau of Early Latin, pp. 564 foil. In the chief fragment the name ofJanus Beems alniiwt certainly to cocur (ef. Lydus, 4. al ; and in anotherLaoetina {■=Iupit«r?). Jiino and Minerva are also mentioned. See DkLitfAntCq.t.-^. Salii, It is curious that Hars ia more prominent in the aongof the Arval Brothers.


hood is proved by the fact that the Salii must be of patncianbirth, and patrimi and matrimi (i.e. with both parents living)according to the ancient rule which descended from the worshipof the household \

It has been suggested that the shields {ancilia) which theSalii carried, being twelve in number for each of the two guilds,represented the twelve months of the year, either as twelve

suns* (the sun being renewed each month), or as twelvemoons, which is a little more reasonable. This idea impliesthat the number of the Salii (which was the same as th.it ofthe Fratres Arvales) was based on the number of monthsin the year, which is very far from likely ; it would seem alsoto assume that the shape of the shields was round, like sun ormoon, which was almost certainly not the case. Accordingto the legend, the original shield fell on the first new moon ofthe year ; but it is quite unnecessary to jump to the conclusionthat the others represent eleven other new moons. It wouldrather seem probable to a cautious inquirer that though anincrustation of late myth may have grown upon the Salii andtheir carmen and their curious arms, no amount of ingenious

combination has as yet succeeded in proving that such mythshad their origin in any really ancient belief of the Komans.What we know for certain is that there were twelve warrior-priests of the old Palatine city, and that they carried twelveshields of an antique type, which Varro compares to theThracian peltae (L. L. 7. 43) ; shaped not unlike the bodyof a violin, with a curved indentation on each side \ which,

^ Dionysius, a, 71.



^ Usener in Rliein. Mus, xxx. 218 ; Roscher, Lex, s.v. Mars 2419, can onlyquote two very vague and doubtful passages from late writers in supportof the view that the shields were symbols of the months : Lydus 4. 2,who says that the Salii sang in praise of Janus, xarcL t6v tSjv 'ItoXikSjvfirjvSfv dpi6ft6v ; and Liber glossarum, Cod. Vat. Palat. 1773 f. 40 v. :Ancilia : scuta unius anni.

* For the evidence on this point, and others connected with the Salii,I must refer the reader to Mr. G. E. Marindin's excellent article * Salii *in the new edition of Smith's Diet qf An'iquiiies, the most complete and atthe same time sensible account that has appeared in recent years. (Thearticle * Ancilia* in the new edition of Pauly's Real-Encyd. is dis-appointing.) Dionysius, Varro, and Plutarch are all at one about theshape of the shields, and Mr. Marindin is quite right in insisting thatOvid does not contradict them. (See the passages quoted in the article.)The coins of Licinius Stole and of Antoninus Pius (Cohen, Med, Cons.

MENSIS MARTIUS 43

when the shield was slung on the back, would leave space forthe arms to move freely. In thii^ respect, as in the rest of hisequipment, the Salius simply represented the old Italian warrior

in his * war-paint.' In the examples of expulsion of evilsreferred to above as collected by Mr. Frazer, it is interestingto notice how often the expellers use military arms, or aredressed in military fashion. This may perhaps help us tounderstand how attributes apparently so distinct as themilitary and the agricultural should be found united in Marsand his cult.

NoN^ Mart. (March 7). F.

. . . [VEDIJOVI. ARTIS VEDIOVIS INTER DUOS LUCOS. (PRAEN.)

Various conjectures have been made for correcting this note.

We may take it that the first word is rightly completed : someletters seem to have preceded it, and/cmc has been suggested \but not generally accepted. The next word, Artis, must bea slip of the stone-cutter. That it was not Martis we are sure,as Ovid says that there was no note in the Fasti for this dayexcept on the cult of Vediovis ^. Even Mommsen is in despair,but suggests Aedis as a possibility, and that dedkata wasaccidentally omitted after it.

We do not know when the temple was dedicated \ Thecult of Vediovis seems to have no special connexion with otherMarch rites : and it seems as well to postpone consideration ofit till May 21, the dedication-day of the temple in arce. See

also on Jan. i.

VII Id. Mart. (March 9). C.

ARMA ANCILIA MOVENT. (PHILOC.)

As we have seen, the first ' moving ' of the ancilia was onthe 1st. This is the second mentioned in the calendars ;

plate zxiv. 9, 10, and Jli^d, Imp. ii, no. 467) give the same peculiar shape.



The bronze of Domitian, a.d. 88 (Cohen, Med. Imp. i. plate xyii), and thecoins of Sanquinius, b.o. 16 (both issued in connexion with ludi saeculares\on which are figures supposed to be Salii with round shields, havecertainly been misinterpreted (e. g. in Marq. 431). See note at end of thiswork.

^ Jordan, in Commentaiiones in hon. Momma, p. 365. There could not beferias on this day, as it was a dies/astus.

* Fast. 3. 429 *Una nota est Marti Nonis; sacrata quod illis Templaputant lucos Vediovis ante duos.' ^ Aust, de Aedihus sacriSy p. 33.


the third, according to Lydus (4. 42), was on the 23rd(Tubilustrium, q. v.). As the Salii seem to have dancedwith the shields all through the month up to the 24th \ it hasbeen supposed that these were the three principal days of'moving'; and Mr. Marindin suggests that they correspond tothe three most important mansiones Sdliorum, of which two wereprobably the Curia Saliorum on the Palatine and the SacrariumMartis in the Hegia'^

Prid. Id. Mart. (March 14). 2P.EQUIRR[IA]. (maff. vat. esq.)

FERIAE MARTI. (VAT.)

SACRUM MAMURIO. (RUSTIC CALENDARS \)

MAMURALIA. (PHILOC.)

These notes involve several difficulties. To begin with, this

day is an even number, and there is no other instance in thecalendar of a festival occurring on such a day. Wissowa*,usually a very cautious inquirer, here boldly cuts the knot byconjecturing that the Mars festival of this day had originallybeen on the next, i. e the Ides, but was put back one day toenable the people to frequent both the horse-races (Equirria) andthe festival of Anna Peronna \ The latter, he might have added,was obviously extremely popular with the lower classes, as weshall see from Ovid's description ; and though the scene of itwas close to that of the Equirria, or certainly not far away,it is not impossible that it may have diverted attention fromthe nobler and more manly amusement. Wissowa strengthens

* Polyb. 21. 10 (la'i ; Liv. 37. 33,

'^ See his article in Did. Ant. He further suggests that in Philocalus'note ancilia is an adjective, and that arma ancilia means the shieldsonly, as the spears of Mars do not seem to have been used by the Salii.

' The day is of course not given in these almanacs ; but the position isbetween Isidis navigium (March 5) and Liberalia (March 17).

* de Feriis, ix. foil. Cp. C. I. i. 311.



* The usual sacnfice to Jupiter on the Ides is also mentioned byWissowa in this connexion ; but I should hardly imagine that it wouldhave had a sufficiently popular character to cause any such alteration ashe is arguing for. But the first full moon of the year may have becomeover-crovrded with rites ; and it was the dxiy on which at one time theconsuls entered on office, b.c. S22 to 154 (Mommsen, Chron. 102 andnotes).

HEN3I8 HABTIUS

45

his argument by pointing out an apparent jiarallel between thefestivtkl dattiu uf Maicli and October. Here, as elsewhere, inthe calendar, we find an interval of three days between two^festivals, viz. between March 19 (Quinquati-us) and March 23(Tubilustriiini), and between Oct. 15 ("October horse'} and Oct. 19

(Armilustrium). Kow, as we shall see, the rites of March 19and Oct. 19 seem to correspond to each other' ; and if therewere a chariot-race on Marcli 15, it would also answer to therace on the day of the ' Octobei- hoi'se,' Oct. 1 5, with a three days'interval as in October. The argument is not a very strong one,but there is a good deal to be said for it.

A miich more serious diflSciiIty lies in the discrepancybetween the three older calendars in which we have notos forthis day and the almanacs of the later Empire, viz. that ofFhilocalus (a,i>. 3.54) and the rustic calendars. The formerfell us of a MarS' festival, with a hoise-race ; the latter knownothing of these, but note a, festival of Mamurius, a name

which, as we saw, occurred in the Saliai*e Carmen apparentlyas a variant of Mars, and came to be affixed to the legendaiysmith who made the eleven copies of the uncile. How are weto account for the change of Mars into Mamurius, and of feriaeMai'ti into Mamuralia ? And are we to suppose that the latercalendars here indicate a late growth of legend, bnsed on thename Mamuiius as occurring in the Carmen Saliare, or thatthey have preserved the shadow of an earlier and popular sideof the March lites, which the State-calendars left out ofaccount ?

Apparently Mommsen holds the former opinion*. In hisnote on this day he says that it is easy to understand how the

second Equinia came to be known to the vulgus as Mamui'alia(i. e, so distinguished from the first Equirria on Feb. 27), seeingthat Mamurius who made the ancilia belongs wholly to the cultof Mars, and that this day was one of those on which the Saliiand the ancilia were familiar sights in the streets of Kome. Inotherwords, the Salian songs gave rise to the legend of Mamurius,and this in its turn gave a new name to the second Equirriaor feriae Marti. And this I believe to be the most rational



lug sbaut Ihix day.

1, a r. L. 333i

46 THE BOMAN FESTIVALS

explanation of our difficulty, seeing that we have no mentionof a feast of Mamurius earlier than the calendar of Philocalusin the fourth century a.d., which cannot he regarded as inany sense representing learning or research \

But of recent years much has been written in favour of theother view, that the late calendars have here preserved for usa trace of very ancient Eoman belief and ritual -. This viewrests almost entirely on a statement of a still later writer,Laurentius Lydus of Apamea, who wrote a work, de MensibuSyin the first half of the sixth century a. d., preserved in part inthe form of two summaries or collections of extracts. Lydus

was no doubt a man of learning, as is shown by his other work,de Magisiratibus \ but he does not give us his authority forparticular statements, and his second- or third hand knowledgemust always be cautiously used.

Lydus tells us that on the Ides of March (a mistake, it issupposed ^, for the 1 4th — which, however, he should not havemade), a man clothed in skins was led out and driven with longpeeled wands (out of the city, as we may guess from whatfollows) and shouted at as * Mamurius.* Hence the saying, whenany one is beaten, that they are Splaying Mamurius with him.'For the legend runs that Mamurius the smith was beaten outof the city because misfortune fell on the Eomans when they

substituted the new shields (made by Mamurius) for those thathad fallen from heaven *.

This is clearly a late form of the Mamurius-myth : in all theearlier accounts'* only one ancile is said to have fallen fromheaven. Lydus seems rather to be thinking of twelve originalones •*, and twelve copies — perhaps of the Palatine and Collineancilia respectively. If the form of the myth, then, is of late

^ c I.L. 254.

* Cf. Usener's article on Italian Myths in Bhein. Mus. yo\. xxx — a mostinteresting and suggestive piece of work, which, however, needs to be

read with a critical mind, and has been too uncritically used by laterwriters, e.g. Roscher in his article on Mars. Frazer (G. B. ii. ao8) adoptshis conclusions about Mamurius, but, with his usual care, points out someof the difficulties in a footnote. * Usener, p. 211.

* Lydus, 3. 29 and 4. 36. The words are rather obscure, but the meaningis fairly obvious. See Usener's paraphrase, p. 210.

* See above, p. 38.



* Cp. what he says of the Salii singing of Janus Kara rbv rS/v 'ItoXikSwfATjvm api0fji6v (4. 2}.

MENSIS MAETIUS 47

growth, suspicion may well be aroused as to the antiquity ofthe rite it was meant to explain, for with the older type ofmyth the rite does not seem to suit. And this suspicion isstrengthened by the fact that in the whole of Latin literaturethere is no certain allusion to a rite so striking and peculiar,and only one that can possibly, even by forcible treatment, betaken as such. In Propeitius v (iv.) 2. 61, we have thefollowing lines, put into the mouth of the god Vortumnus :

At tibi, Mamuri, formae caelator aenae,Tellus artifices ne premat Osca manus,

Qui me tarn docilis potuisti fundere in usus.Unura opus est : operi non datur unus honos.

Usoner took this to mean, or to imply, that Mamurius wasdriven out of the city to its enemies the Oscans ; but how we

are to get this out of the words, which will bear very differentinterpretations, obscure as they are, it is not easy to see. Andcan we easily believe that, with this exception, no allusionshould be found to the rite in either Latin or Greek writers —not in Ovid, Dionysius, Servius, Plutarch ', or in the fragmentsof Van*o, Varrius, and othei-s — if that curious rite had reallybeen enacted year by year before the eyes of the Eoman people?It certainly is not impossible that it may have slipped theirnotice, or have been mentioned in works that are lost to us ;but it is so improbable as to justify us in hesitating to baseconclusions as to the antiquity of the rite on the statement ofLydus alone.

There are indeed one or two passages which seem to provethat skins were used by the Salii, and that these skins werebeaten, Servius * says of Mamurius that they consecrated a dayto him, on which * pellem virgis caedunt ad artis similitudinem,'i. e. on which they imitate the smith's art by beating a skin.So also Minucius Felix ^ : ' alii (we should probably read Salii)incedunt pileati, scuta Vetera* circumferunt, pelles caedunt.'If we may judge by these passages of writers of the secondcentury, there was something done by the Salii which involvedthe beating of skins ; but if it was a skin-clad Mamurius who

* e. g. in Numa 13.

^ Aen. 7. 188. Thilo and Hagen seem to think that Servius wrotepdtas (shields) on the evidence of one MS , wrongly, I think.

^ Octavius, 24. 3. * What is the meaning of Vetera here ?


was beaten, why is he not mentioned, and why did they, as



Servius says (and the confext shows that he is speaking of himwith all respect), set apart a day in his honour ?

Yet Lydus' account is so interesting from the point of viewof folk-lore, that Usener was led by it into very far-reachingconclusions. These have been so well condensed in Englishby Mr. Frazer that my labour will be lightened if I mayborrow his account ' :

* Every year on March 14 a man clad in skins was led inprocession through the streets of Eome, beaten with long whiterods, and driven out of the city. He was called MamuriusVeturius'*, that is, **the old Mai-s," and as the ceremony tookplace on the day preceding the first full moon of the old Eomanyear^ (which began on March 1), the skin-clad man must haverepresented the Mars of the past year, who was driven out atthe beginning of a now one. Now Mars was originally nota god of war, but of vegetation. For it was to Mars that theEoman husbandman prayed for the prosperity of his corn andvines, his fruit-trees and his copses ; it was to Mars that theArval Brothers, whose business it was to sacrifice for thegrowth of the crops, addressed their petitions almost ex-clusively. . . . Once more, the fact that the vernal month ofMarch was dedicated to Mars seems to point him out as the

deity of the sprouting vegetation. Thus the Koman customof expelling the old Mai-s at the beginning of the New Year inspring is identical with the Slavonic custom of "caiTying outDeath *," if the view here taken of the latter custom is correct

^ Golden Bough, ii. ao8.

^ Mr. Frazer is careful to point out in a note that Lydus only mentionsthe name Mamurius. But as we know that Mamurius was called Veturiusin the Salian hymn, and as Veturius may perhaps mean old, it is inferredthat the skin-clad man was Hhe old Mars.' The argument is shaky;its only strength lies in the Slavonic and other parallels.

^ Lydus is thought to have made a mistake in attributing it tothe 15th (Ides) ; if so, he may have confused other matters in thiscurious note. But he is certainly explicit enough here (4. 36), and refersto the usual sacrifice to Jupiter on the Ides, and to * public prayers forthe salubrity of the coming year,' which we may be sure would be on theIdes, and not on a day of even number. I do not feel at all sure thatLydus was wrong as to the date, the more so as the Ides of May (whichmonth has a certain parallelism with March) is the date of anothercurious ceremony of this primitive type, that of the Argei.

* This was first noticed by Grimm {Teutonic Mythology, Eng. Trans.,vol. ii. 764 foil.). Since then Mannhardt (JBaumktdtus, 410 foil.) and

HENSIS HABTIUS

49



I

The similarity of tlw Roman and Slavonic cuetoiuB has beenalready remarked by scholars, wbo appear, however, to havetaken Mamurius Vtiturius and the corresponding figures in theSlavonic ceremonies to be representatives of the old year ratherthan of the uiJ jôd of vegetation, It is possible that cere-monies of this kind may have come to be thus interpreted inliiter times even by tho people who practised them. But thepersonification of a period of time is too abstract an idea to beprimitive. However, in the Roman, as in the Slavonic cere-mony, the representative of tlie god appeai-s to have beentreated, not only as a deity of vegetation, but also us a scape-goat '. His expulsion implies this ; for there is no i-easou whythe god of vegetation, iis such, should be expelled the city.But it is otherwise if he is also a scape-goat ; it then becomesnecessary to drive him beyond the boundaries, that he maycarry bia sorrowful burden away to other lands. And, in fact,Mamurius Veturius appears to have been driven away to thelands of the Oscans, the enemies of Rome'.'

My examination of the evidence will, I hope, have made it

clear why I hesitate to endorse these conclusions in theirentirety (as I did for many years), interesting as they araI rather incline to believe that the whole Mamurius-legendgrew out of the Carmen Saliare, and that we may either havehere one of those comparatively rare examples of later ritualgrowing itself out of myth, or a point of ancient ritual,such as the \ise of skins— perhaps those of victims— mis-interpreted and possibly altered under the influence of tho

worked it out andilly believed tliat

u being or tiguru■egetation of theFrazer, as against Useiier and liuschorany abstmct conception of the year, or at

ind 364 Ml.) bav. 375). It is gene upplied to the hum:

Mr. Frazer {G.B. i. a5j foil.Biplained it (see eapBuiallyD^th, or -whatever bo the nexpcllud in tliosa ritea, eignipast year. I agree with Ml{Lex. B. V. Hars), that it is nolleast was not auch origin ally.

' This fusion of two apparently different ideas in a Binglo ceremonyhas previnusiy been expluined by Mr. Frazer, pp. 005 foil. On p. aiohe



iiotiees tbe curious and wdll-nuthentieatod rile of driving out hunger atOliaeronea (Plutarch, t)»aest. Contiv. 6 8), vriiicb would offer an interestingparallel to the Roman, if we could but be sure of the details of the latter.Another from Delphi (Plut. Q»uesJ. Gnue. la , mentioned by Uaener, doesnot aeem to me conolusiTe ; but thut of tlie ' man in cowhide ' from theHighlands {G. B. ii. 14s) is singularly like the Komaa rite as Lydidesoribes It, and took place on New Yeui'c ~~

' S«e above, p. 47.


myth. As to Lydus' statement, it is better to suspend ourjudgement; he may, for all we know, have confused someforeign custom, or that of some other Italian town where therewere Salii, with the ritual of a Eoman priesthood*. In anycase, his account is too much open to question to bear theweight of conjecture that has been piled upon it.

Id. Mart. (March 15). IP.

feriae' amnae peremnae via flam[ii9Ia] ad lapidemprim[um]. (vat.)

ANNAE PER. (fARN.)

This is a survival of an old popular festival, as is clearlyseen from Ovid's account of it ; but the absence of any mentionof it in the rustic calendars or in those of Philocalus and Silviusleads us to suppose that it had died out in the early Empire.This may be accounted for by the fact that the people came to

be more and more attracted by spectacles and games ; and alsoby the ever-increasing cosmopolitanism of the city populace,which would be continually losing interest in old Romancustoms which it could not undei'stand.. On this day, Ovid tells us '', the * plebs ' streamed out to the'festum geniale' of Anna Perenna, and taking up a positionin the Campus Martins, not far from the Tiber*, and lying

^ I am the more disposed to suspect Lydus' account, as in the same■entence he mentions a sacrifice which is conducted by priests of theI f^g Tift^ Mater Idaca : Updrevov tk Koi ravpov k^^rq vn\p rSfv li/ rots optaiv i-tpS/yf ôvfUvov Tov &pxi.tp€OJi Kol r&v Kcunj<p6poi}v rrjs firjrpSxov ijyero dl

kcuMpmwos K,r.\» For the difficulties of this passage, and suggested emenda-tionti see Mommsen, C. I, L. 31a, note on Id. Mart ; Marq. 394, note 5.What confusion of cults may not have taken place, either in Lydus' mindor in aetual fact ?

* Bolh these notes are additamentai Anna does not appear in the largellftlin of the Kuman calendar. We cannot, however, infer from this thatImt iMiival was not an ancient one ; for, as Wissowa points out, the sameilttil WM with the very primitive rite of the 'October horse' {de FeriiSj xii ).



ig^ ^^ |g ^nlj marked £ID in Maff. VaU, the two calendars in whichÎ^^Hgl^llie month is preserved ; i. e. the usual sacrifice to Jupiter onI^M WM indieated (cp. Lydus, 4. 36), and the Ides fixed for the 15th.ll notes, according to Wissowa, were for the use of the^miidering the popular character of the festival, I amtUs role holding good in the present instance.

foil.

UpI4em primum ' (Vat.) : this would be near theand close to the river.

HENSIS MABTIUS 5 1

about on the grass in pairs of men and women, passed the dayin revelry and drinking \ Some lay in the open ; some pitchedtents, and some constructed rude huts of stakes and branches,stretching their togas over them for shelter. As they drankthey prayed for as many years of life as they can swallow cups ofwine ; meanwhile singing snatches of song with much gesticu-

lation and dancing. The result of these performances wasnaturally that they returned to the city in a state of intoxica-tion. Ovid tells us that he had seen this spectacle himself ^

Whether there was any sacrificial rite in immediate connexionwith these revels we do not know. Macrobius indeed tellsus^ that sacrifice was offered in the month of March to AnnaPerenna * ut annare perannareque commode liceat * * ; andLydus, that on the Ides there were fvxai Brjfxoaiai vntp toC vymvovyeviadiu top fviavrou ; but we do not know what was the relationbetween these and the scene described by Ovid.

Who was the Anna Perenna in whose honour these revels,

sacrifices, and prayei*s took place, whatever their relation toeach other ? Ovid and Silius Italicus * tell legends about herwhich are hardly genuine Italian, and in which Anna Perennais confused with the other Anna whom they knew, the sister ofDido. Hidden under such stories may sometimes be foundtraces of a belief or a cult of which we have no other know-ledge ; but in this poetical medley there seems to be only onefeature that calls on us to pause. After her wanderings Annadisappears in the waters of the river Numicius :

Oomiger hanc cupidis rapuisse Numicius undisOreditur, et stagnis occuluisse suis.

* See Robertson Smith, Beligion of the Semites, p. 240, for tho jovialcharacter of some primitive forms of religion, and the absence of a senseof sin.

* Ov. 1. c. 541 *Occurri nuper : visa est mihi digna relatu Pompa.Senem pot am pota trahebat anus.

* Sat, I. la. 6. Cp. Lydus, deMens. 4. 36.

* Annare perennare is to complete the circle of the year: cp. Suet.



Vespas, 5 ^ puella nata non perennavit* Anna Perenna herself is probablya deity manufactured out of these words, and the idea they conveyed(cf. Janus Patulcius and Clusius, Carmenta Prorsa Postverta) ; not exactlya deity of the year, but one whom it would be desirable to propitiate at thebeginning of the year.

^ Ov. 1. c. 545 foil. Sil. Ital. 8. 50 foil. Ovid also says that some thoughtshe was the moon, 'quia mensibus impleat annum' (3. 657) : but thisnotion has no value, except as indicating the belief that she representedthe circle of the year.

£ 2


Her companions traced her footsteps to the bank : she seemedto tell them

Placid i sum nympha Numici,Amne perenne latens Anna Perenna vocor.

This tale led Eâusen * into some very strange fancies about

the goddess, whom he regarded as a water-nymph, thinkingthat all her other characteristics (e.g. the year) might beexplained symbolically ; the running water representing theflow of time, &c. But it is probable that she only came intoconnexion with the river Numicius because Aeneas was therealready. If Aeneas, as Jupiter Indiges, was buried on itsbanks ^, what could be more natural than that another figureof the Dido legend should be brought there too ? There doesnot indeed seem to be any reason for connecting the real AnnaPerenna with water '. All genuine Eoman tradition seems torepresent her, as we shall see directly, as an old woman ; andwhen she appears in another shape, she must have becomemixed up with other ideas and stories. It may perhaps be

just possible that on this day some kind of an image of hermay have been thrown into the Tiber, as was the case withthe straw puppets (Argei) on May 15, and that the ceremonydropped out of practice, but just survived in the Numiciuslegend *. But this is simply hypothesis.

The fact is that, whatever else Anna Perenna may havebeen, all that we can confidently say of her is that she repre-sented in some way the circle or ring of the year. This isindicated not only by the name, which can hardly be anythingbut a feminine form of annus, but by the time at which her

^ Aeneas und die Penatenj ii. 717 foil. The cautious Merkel long ago

repudiated such fancies ; preface to Ovid's Fasti, p. 177.

^ Liv. I. a. The Punic Anna is now thought to be a deity = Dido= Elissa : see Rossbach in the new edition of Pauly's Encyd, i. 2223.

' Her grove was not even on the Tiber-bank, but somewhere betweenthe Via Flaminia and the Via Salaria, i. e. in the neighbourhood of theVilla Borghese : as we see from the obscure lines of Martial, 4. 64. 17 (heis looking from the Janiculum) :



Et quod virgineo cruore gaudetAnnae pomiferum nemus Perennae.Illinc Flaminiae SalariaequeGestator patet essedo tacente, &c.

There is no explanation of virgineo cruore : but I would rather retain it thanadopt even H. A. J. Munro's virgine nequiore. See Friedl&nder, ad loc.^ This seems to be Usener's suggestion, p. 207.

MENSIS MARTIUS 53

festival took place, the first full moon of the new year. Theone legend preserved about her which is of undoubted Italianorigin is thought to point in the same direction. Ovid, wishingto explain *cur cantent obscena puellae' in that revel of the*plebs' on the Tiber-bank, tells us ^ how Mars, once in love withMinei-va ^, came to Anna and asked her aid. It was at lengthgranted, and Mars had the nuptial couch prepared : thithera bride was led, but not the desired one ; it was old Annawith her face veiled like a bride who was playing the passionategod such a trick as we may suppose not uncommon in the rudecountry life of old Latium.

There is no need to be startled at the rude handling of thegods in this story, which seems so unlike the stately andorderly ideas of Eoman theology. It must be borne in mindthat folk-tales like this need not originally have been appliedto the gods at all. They are probably only ancient countrystories of human beings, based on some rude marriage custom— stories such as delighted the lower farm folk and slaves onholiday evenings ; and they have survived simply becausethey became in course of time attached to the persons of thegods, as the conception of divinities grew to be more anthropo-morphic. Granted that Anna or Perenna^ was the old womanof the pcist year, that Mars was the god of the first month,

and that the story as applied to human beings was a favouriteone, we can easily understand how it came to attach itself tothe persons of the gods *.

Yet another story is told by Ovid of an Anna ", in writingof whom he does not add the name Perenna. The Plebs hadseceded to the Mons Sacer, and were beginning to suifer fromstarvation, when an old woman from Bovillae, named Anna,came to the rescue with a daily supply of rustica liha. Thismyth seems to me to have grown out of the custom, to bedescribed directly, of old women* selling liha on the 17th

* FasH, 3. 675.

• No doubt this should be Nerio : see below on March 17.

' There is some ground for believing that the two words implied twodeities on occasion or originally : Varro, Sat, Menipp. fr. 506 * Te Anna aoPeranna' (Riese, p. 219).

* Wissowa {de Feriis x) thinks Ovid's tale mere nugae : but this learnedscholar never seems to be able to comprehend the significance of folk-lore.



» FasH, 3 661 foil.

• Varro (X. X. 6. 14) calls them 'sacerdotes Liberi,' by courtesy, we may


(Liberalia), the custom having been transferred to that daythrough an etymological confusion between liha and lAberalia.Usener, however, saw here a connexion between Anna andAnnona'; and recently it has been suggested that a certainEgyptian Anna, who is said by Plutarch to have inventeda mould for bread-baking, may have found her way to Eomethrough Greek channels \

XVI Kal. Apr. (March 17). IP.LIB[ERALIA]. (maff. earn, rust.)

LIB. AG[OIÎA]. LIBERO LIB. (CAER.)

AG[ONIA]. (vat.)

LIBERO IN Ca[pITOLIo]. (pARN.)

This is one of the four days marked ag. or agon, in theFasti (Jan. 9, May 21, Dec. 11)^. It is curious that on thisday two of the old calendars should mark the Liberalia only,and one the Agonia only, and one both. The day was generallyknown as Liberalia^ ; the other name seems to have been knownto the priests only, and more especially to the Salii Collini orAgonenses % who must have had charge of the sacrifice.Wissowar seems to be right in thinking {de Feriis xii) thatthe conjunction of Liberalia and Agonia is purely accidental,and that the day took its common name from the former

simply because, as the latter occurred four times in the year,confusion would be likely to arise.

Liber is beyond doubt an old Italian deity, whose truenature, like that of so many others, came to be overgrownwith Greek ideas and rites. There is no sign of any connexionbetween this festival and the cult of Dionysus ; hence we

presume : and it is noticeable that Ovid describes this old Anna as wear-ing a mt^ra, which, in Propert. v. (iv.) a. 31, is characteristic of Bacchus :^Cinge caput mitra : speciem furabor lacchi.'

* Op. cit. 208.

* See Pauly, Encyd, vol. i. 2223. This is Wissowa's opinion.' See on Jan. 9.

* Cic. ad Fam. 12. 25. i ; Alt. 9. 9. 4 ; Auct. BeU, Hisp. 31.

' Yarro, L, L.6. 14 În libris Saliorum, quorum cognomen Agonensium,forsitan hie dies ideo appellatur potius Agonia.' So Masurius Sabinus (inMacrob. Sat. i. 4. 15), * Liberalium dies a pontificibus agonium Martialeappellatur.'



MENSIS MARTIUS 55

infer that there was an old Latin Liber before the arrival ofthe Greek god in' Italy. What this god was, howeverj canhardly be inferred from his cult, of which we only knowa single feature, recorded by Ovid \ He tells us that oldwomen, sacerdotes Liberia sat crowned with ivy all aboutthe streets on this day with cakes of oil and honey {Jiba\ anda small portable altar (foculus\ on which to sacrifice for thebenefit of the buyer of these cakes. This tells us nothingsubstantial, and we have to fall back on the name— alwaysan uncertain method. The best authorities seem now agi'eedin regarding the word Liber (whatever be its etymology) ashaving spmething of the same meaning as genius, formingan adjective liberalis as genius forms genialis, and meaninga creative, productive spirit, full of blessing, and so generous,free, &c.* If this were so it would not be unnatural that thecharacteristics and rites of Dionysus should find here a stemon which to engraft themselves, or that Liber should becomethe object of obscene ceremonies which need not be detailedhere, and also the god of the Italian vine-growers.

It is possible that Ijiber may have been an ancient cult-titleof Jupiter ; we do in fact find a Jupiter Liber in inscriptions,though the combination is uncommon'. In that case Libermay have been an emanation or off-shoot from Jupiter, asSilvanus probably was from Mars *. But I am disposed to thinkthat the characteristics of Liber, so far as we know them, arenot in keeping with those of Jupiter ; and that the process wasrather of the opposite kind, that is, the cult of Liber in itslater form became attached to that of Jupiter, who was alwaysthe presiding deity of vineyards and wine- making *.

^ See above, p. 53, where I have expressed a doubt whether this

custom originally belonged to the Liberalia. It is alluded to in Ovid,Fasti, 3. 725 foil., and Varro, L, L. 6. 14.

' This is the view of Wissowa in Myth. Lex, s. v. Liber, 2022. Cp. Aust,Lex, 8. V. luppiter, 662.

' It is only once attested of Roman worship, viz. in the calendar of theFratres Arvales (Sept. i * lovi Libero, lunoni Reginae in Aventino,*C. L X. i. 214) ; but is met with several times among the Osco-Sabellianpeoples.

* So Hehn, KvUurpflansen, &c., p. 70 foil. But Hehn is only thinkingof the later Liber, whom he considers an ^ emanation ' from Jupiter Liber

= Dionysus, introduced with the vine from Greece. See Aust, Lex. s. v.luppiter, 662.

' See on April 23.


Thii^ was also the usual day on which boys assumed the toga



virilis (toga recta, pura, Uhera) :

Restat ut inveniam qunre toga libera deturLucifero pueris, candide Bacche,. tuo.

Sive quod es Liber, vestis quoque libera per teSumitur et vitae liberioris iter^

We know indeed that in the late Republic and Empire otherdays were used for this ceremony: Virgil took his toga onOct. 15, Octavian on Oct. 18, Tiberius on April 24, Neroon July 7 * ; but it is likely that this day was in earlier timesthe regular one, in spite of the inconvenience of a disparity ofage thence resulting amongst the tirones. For whether or no thetoga libera has any real connexion with the Liberalia, this wasthe time when the army was called out for the year, andwhen the tirones would be required to. present themselves \Ovid tells us that on this day the rustic population flockedinto the city for the Liberalia, and the opportunity wasdoubtless taken to make known the list of tirones, as the boyswere called when the toga was assumed and. they were readyfor military service.

They sacrificed, it appears, before leaving home and again onthe Capitol, either to Pubertas or Liber, or both *.

On this day also, according to Ovid, and also on the previousone, some kind of a procession 'went to the Argei'*; by whichword is meant, we may be almost sure, the Argeorum sacella.There were in various parts of the four regions of the Serviancity a number of sacella or sacraria, which were called Argei,Argea, or Argeorum sacella *. What these were we never

^ Ovid, Fasti f 3. 771 foil. • Marq. Privatlehen, i. 122 do te a.

' Ovid, 1. c, 783 foil. ; Marq. 1. c and 123, 124. Military service begananciently at seventeen (Tubero, ap. QeW, 10. 28) : though even praetextatisometimes served voluntarily (Marq. op. cit. 131). Even if not called outat once, the boys would begin the practice of arms from the assumptionof the toga virilis.

* Marq. op. cit. 124. Libero in Ca[pitolio], Fam. For luventas, Dion.Hal. 3. 69, 4. 15.

* This result is obtained by comparing Ovid, Fcisti, 3. 791

Itur ad Argeos— qui sint, sua pagina dicet —Hac, si commemini, praeteritaque die.

(where he refers to his description of the rite of May 15, and appears toidentify the simulacra and sacella'^, with Gell. N. A, 10. 15, who says thatthe Flaminica Dialis, ' cum it ad Argeos ' was in mourning dress : also

MENSIS MARTIUS 57

shall know for certain^ ;: but we may bp fairly sure that their



number was twenty-four, six for each region ; the same numberas that of the rush puppets or simulacra also called Argei,which were thrown into the Tiber by the Vestal Virgins onMay 15. The identity of the name and number leads to thebelief that there was a connexion between these sacella and thesimulacra ; but the very difficult questions wliich arose aboutboth must be postponed till we have before us the whole of theceremonial, Le. that of May 15 as well as. that of March 17.About this last we know nothing and can at best attempt toinfer its character from the ceremony in May,, of which wefortunately have some particulars on which we can fully rely.

Kal. XIV Apr. (March 19); N^ Caj:r, Vat. N. Maff.QUINQ[VATRUS]. (caer. maff. praen. vat; farn.)

QUINQUATRIA. (rUST. PHIL. SILV.)

A note is appended in Praen., which is thus completed byMommsen with the help of a Vernan gloss (Fest 254).

[rECTIUS TAMEN ALII PUTARUNT PICTIJM AB EO QUOD HIC DIESEST POST DIEM V IDUS . QUo]d IN LAXIO POST [iDUS DIESSIMILI FERE RATIONE DECLiJnAREIKTUR,

FERIAE MARTI (VAT.)

[SALI] FACIUNT IN COMITIO SALTUS [aDSTANTIBUS POJNTIFICIBUS

ET trib[unis] celer[um]. Praen., in which we find yetanother note : artificum dies [quoD) minervae] aedis in

AVENTINO EO DIE EST [dEDICATa].

The original significance of this day is indicated by the noteFeriae Marti in Vat. ,. and also by that in Praen., which has beenamplified with tolerable certainty. The Salii were active thisday in the worship of Mars, and the scene of their activity

was the Comitium, With this agrees, as Mommsen has pointedout, the statement of Viarro ^ that the Comitium was the scene

with the fragments of the * Sacra Argeorum * in Varro, L. L, 5. 46-54.These have been shown by Jordan (Topogr. ii. 271 foil.) to be fragments ofan itinerary, meant for the guidance of a procession, an idea first suggestedby O. Miiller. The further questions- of the route taken, and the distri-bution of the sacella in the four Servian regiones, are very difficult, andneed not be discussed here.' See Mommsen, Staatsrecht, iii. 123 foil.

^ L, L. 5. 85 *• Salii a salitando, quod facere in comitio in sacris quot-annis et solent et debent.*


of some of their perfoimances, though he does not mentionwhich. More light is thrown on the matter by the grammarianCharisius \ who, in suggesting an explanation of the nameQuinquatrus by which this day was generally knowii, remarksthat it was derived from a verb quinguaref to purify, * quod eo diearma ancilia lustrari sint solita.' His etymology is undoubtedly



wrong, but the reason given for it is valuable \ The anciliawere purified on this day (perhaps by the Salii dancing aroundthem), and thus it exactly answers to the Armilustrium onOct. 19, just as the horse-races on the Ides of March, if thatindeed were the original day, correspond to the ceremony ofthe * October horse ' ^

The object and meaning of the lustratio in each case is not,however, quite clear. Since in March the season of war began,and ended, no doubt, originally in October*, and as the Saliiseem to be a kind of link between the religious and militarysides of the state's life, we are tempted to guess that thelustration of the ancilia represented in some way the lustrationof the arms of the entire host, or perhaps that the latter wereall lustrated so as to be ready for use, on this day, and onceagain on Oct. 19 before they were put away for the winter.In this latter case the Salii would be the leaders of, as well assharers in, a general purifying process. And that this is theright view seems to be indicated by Verrius' note in the Prae-nestine calendar, from which it is clear that the tribuni celerumwere .present, and took some part in the ceremony. Thesetribuni were almost certainly the three leaders of the originalcavalry force of the three ancient tribes, and they seem to haveunited both priestly and military characteristics '^ ; and from

their presence in the Comitium may perhaps also be inferredthat of the leaders of the infantry tribuni militum. In theearliest times, therefore, the arms of the whole host may havebeen lustrated in the presence of its leaders, the Salii, so to

M. p. 81 (Keil). Why the Comitium was the scene does not appear.Preller has suggested a reason (1. 364), which is hy no means convincing.

^ It was adopted by Usener (p. 222, note 6), but has obtained nofurther support. For another curious etymology of the latter part of theword -atrus^ which, however, does not assist us here, see Deecke, Falisker^p . 90 (Dies ater = dies after ^postridie),

' Wissowa,rfe FerOsy ix. * Mommsen, in C. L L. 312.

' Mommsen, R. H, i. 78, note i.

MENSIS MARTIUS 59

dpeak, performing the service ; but in later times the Saliialone were left, and their arms alone lustrated, though possiblyindividuals representing the ancient tribuni celerum may haveappeared as congregation.

But this day was generally known as Quinquatrus, simplybecause it was the fifth day after the Ides ' ; i. e. there wasa space of three days between the Ides and the festival. Suchintervals of three days, either between the Ides and the festivalor between one festival and another, occur several times in theEoman calendar^, though in this instance alone the day followingthe interval appears in the calendars as Quinquatrus. Theterm was no doubt a pontifical one, and the meaning wasunknown to the common people ; in any casj it came to bemisundei'stood, and was in later times popularly applied to the



four days following the festival as well as the festival itself ;its first syllable being taken to indicate a five-day period insteadof the fifth day after the Ides. This popular mistake led to stillfurther confusion owing to a curious change in the religiouscharacter of these days, about the nature of which there canbe no serious doubt.

The 19th came to be considered as sacred to Minerva \because a temple to that goddess was consecrated on this day,on the Caelian or the Aventine, or possibly both*. Thereis no obvious connexion between Mars and Minerva ; andit is now thought probable that Minerva has here simply taken

^ Festus, 254 * Quinquatrus appellari quidam putant a numero dierumqui fere his (^? feriis lis) celebrantur : qui scilicet errant tarn herculequam qui triduo Saturnalia, et totidem diebus Compitalia ; nam omnibushis singulis diebus fiunt sacra. Forma autem vocabuli eius exemplomultorum populorum Italicorum enuntiata est, quod post diem quintumIduum est is dies festus, ut apud Tusculanos Triatrus,' &c.

* Wissowa, op. cit viii. We find one in April, between the Fordicidia(April 15) and Cerialia (April 19).

^ Ovid, FasHj 3. 809 * Una dies media est, et fiunt sacra Minervae/ &c.

* Ovid, Fastiy 3. 835 foil.

Caelius ex alto qua mons descend it in aequum,Hie ubi non plana est sed prope plana via,

Farva licet videas Captae delubra MinervaeQuae dea natali coepit habere suo.

As from the note in Praen. we learn that March 19 was also the dedi-cation-day of Minerva on the Aventine, there must either be a confusionbetween the two, or both had the same foundation-day. About the day ofMinerva Capta there is no doubt ; for that of Minerva on the Aventine

see Aust, de Aedibus, p. 4a.

6o THE ROMAN FESTIVALS

the place of another goddess, Nerio — one almost lost to sightin historical times, but of whose early connexion with Marssome faint traces are to be found. Thus where we findMinerva brought into close relation with Mars, as in the mythof Anna Perenna, it is thought that we should read Nerioinstead of Minerva \ This conclusion is strengthened bya note of Porphyrion on Horace Epist ii. 2. 209 * Maio mense

religio est nubere, et etiam Martio, in quo de nuptiis habitocertamine a Minerva Mar& victus est : obtenta virginitateNeriene est appellata.' As Neriene must=Nerio^ this looksmuch like an attempt to explain the occurrence of two femalennmes, Minerva and Nerio, in the same story ; the originalheroine, Nerio, having been supplanted by the later Minerva '\

Of this Nerio much, perhaps too much, has been madein recent years by ingenious scholars. A complete love-storyhas been discovered, in which Mars, at first defeated in his



wooing, as Porphyrion tells us in the passage just quoted,eventually becomes victorious ; for Nerio is called wife of Marsin a fragment of an old comedy by Licinius Imbrex, ina passage of Plautus, and in a prayer put into the mouthof Hersilia by Gellius the annalist, when she asked for peaceat the hand of T. Tatius*. And this story has been fittedon, without sufficient warrant, to the Mars-festivals of thismonth. Mars is supposed to have been born on the Kalends,to have grown wondrously between Kalends and Ides, to havefallen then in love with Nerio, to have bên fooled as we sawby Anna Perenna, to have been rejected and defeated by hissweetheart, and finally to have won her as his wife on the1 9th *. Are we to find here a fragment of real Italianmythology, or an elaborate example of the Graecizing anthro-pomorphic tendencies of the third and second centuries b. c. ?

The question is a difficult one, and lies rather outside tliescope of this work. Those who have read Usener's brilliant

* Preller, i. 342 ; Usener, Rh. Ifus., xxx. 221 ; Roscher, Myth Lex. s. v.Mars, 2410 ; Lyd. de Mens, 4. 42 ; Gell. 13. 23 (from Gellii Annates) is thelocus cJassicus for Nerio.

* Nerio gen. Nerienis (Gell. 1. c, who compares Anio Anienis).

' Ovid, Fasti, 3. 850 : ^forti sacrificare deae,' though clearly meant torefer to Minerva, is thought to be a reminiscence of a characteristic ofNerio (* the strong one'), attached to her supplanter.

* Aul. Gell. I.e. * Usener, 1. cpa^ssim.

MENSIS MARTIU3

6r

paper will find it Jiiud to shake tLeniselvra free of tlieconviction that he has unearthed a real myth, unless theyuarefitlly study the chapter of Aulus Oellius which is itschief foundation. Such a study has brought mo back totiie conviction that Plautus and the others were writingin terms of the fdshionable modes of thought of their day,and were not appealing to popular ideas of the relationsof Italian, deities to each other'. Aulus Qellius begins byquoting a comprecatio from the book of the Libri sacerdolum

populi Somani. 'In his scriptum est : Luam Saturni, SalaciamNeptuni, Horam Quirini, Viritee Quirini, Maiam Volcani,Heriem lunonis. Moles Martis Nerienemque Martis,' A glanceat the names thus coupled together is enough to show thatMara is not here thought of as the husband of Neriene ; thenames Lua, Salacia, &c., seem rather to express some chai'acter-iatic of the deity with whose name they are joined or somemode of his operation'^ ; and Gellius himself, working ou anetymology of Nerio which has generally been accepted ascoi-reet, explains the name thus : ' Nerio igitur Martis vis



et potentia et maie^tos quaedam esse Martis demunstratur.'In the latter paii of bis chapter, after quoting Flautus, he sayuthat he has heard the poet blamed by an eniinent ciitic for thestrange and false notion that Nerio was the wife of Mats ;but he is inclined to think that thera wâs a real traditionto that effect, and cites his namesake the annalist and LiciuiusImbrex in support of bis view.

But neither annalist nor play-writer can stand against thatpassage from the sacred books with which he began hischapter; and if we give the latter its due weight, the valueof the others is relatively diminished. It appeal's to me that

' H. Jordan expi'sased a somewhat dlfTerent view in his Symbo/ae adkisi, Itai. religlonHni alltrac, p. 9. He thinks that ' volgari opiiiiuue liumi- num feminini numiniii oum musculo uoniuiictionem nun potutBAO iion proiDii.' But this would seem to impl; thut the opinioiBtaken one : and if bo, how should it have arisea but

1

eoniug&li

mlgarii was aunder Greek i

' Hommsen,

™'6liifte fli/fiiffaWiniic

I hare expressed li

1 the Feritile Cumanun (flermes, 17. 637), bbHh; and this is not far removed from the viewxt. Tlie other alternative, viz that wc haveBu old Italina anthropomorphio iige. witha mylliulogy, in in my view iuadmiasible. I oea in themB mode of tliought about the supernatural whiuh might easily lend itselfta a' {orelgD antbropamorphizing influence.

elf J

62 THE KOMAN FESTIVALS



the one represents the true primitive Italian idea of divinepowers, which with its abundance of names oflfered excellentopportunities to anthropomoi*phic tendencies of the Graecizingschool, while the others show those tendencies actuallyproducing their results. Any conclusion on the point mustbe of the nature of a guess ; but I am strongly disposedto think (i) that Nerio was not originally an independentdeity, but a name attached to Mars expressive of some aspectof his power, (2) that the name gradually became endowedwith personality, and (3) that out of the combination of Marsand Nerio the Graecizing school developed a myth of which thefragments have been taken by Usener and his followers aspui-e Roman.

Having once been displaced by Minerva, Nerio vanishedfrom the calendar, and with her that special aspect of Mars —whatever it may have been — which the name was intendedto express. The five days, 1 8th to 23rd, became permanentlyassociated with Minerva. The 19th was the dedication-dayof at least one of her temples, and counted as her birthday ^ :the 23rd was the Tubilustrium, with a sacrifice to *dea fortis,'who seems to have been taken * for Minerva, owing to anincorrect idea that the latter was specially the deity oftrumpet-players ^ She was no doubt an old Italian deity

of artificers and trade-guilds ; but the Tubilustrium was reallya Mars-festival, and Minerva had no immediate connexionwith it.

X Kal. Apr. (March 23). !^P.TUBILUST[RIUM]. (caer. mapf. vat. earn. min. hi.)

TUBILUSTRIUM. (PHILOC.)

Note in Praen. : [feriae] marti\ hic dies appellatur ita,

QUOD IN ATRIO SUTORIO TUBI LUSTRANTUR, QUIBUS IN SACRISUTUNTUR. liUTATIUS QUIDEM CLAVAH EAM AIT ESSE IN

BUINIS PALa[tI i]nCENSI A GALLIS BEPEBTAM, QUA ROMULUSUBBEM INAUGUBAVEBIT.

» Ovid, FasH, 3. 835 foil.

^ Wissowa ini«a:. s.v. Minerva 2986: a model article, to which thereader must be referred for further information about Minerva.

^ Ljdus, 4. 42, adds * Nerine,' and further tells us that this was the lastday on which the andlia were * moved* (jclvrjcis rSfv ovXofv), The Saliiwere also active on the 24th (Fest. 278).

MENSIS MARTIUS 63

IX Kal. Apr. (March 24). IP.

Q.K.C.F. (vat. caer.)Q.KEX.C.F. (mafp. praen.)

Note in Praen. : hunc diem plerique perperah interpre-



TANTES put ANT APPELLAr[i] QUOD EO DIE EX COMITIO FUGERIT[rex : n]aM NEQUE TARQUINIUS abut EX COMITIO [URBIS], ETALIO QUOQUE MENSE EADEM SUNT [iDEMQUE SJiGNIFICANT.Qu[aRE COMITIIS PERACTIS IUDICI]a FIERI INDICa[rI IIS MAGISPUTAMUSj '.

These two days must be taken in connexion with the23rd and 24th of May, which are marked in the calendarsin exactly the same way. The explanation suggested byMommsen is simple and satisfactory*; the 24th of March andof May were the two fixed days on which the comitia curlatamet for the sanctioning of wills * under the presidency of theKex. The 23rd in each month, called Tubilustrium, wouldbe the day of the lustration of the tubae or tuVi used insummoning the assembly. The letters Q. K. C. F. (quando rexcomitiavit fas) mean that on the days so marked proceedingsin the courts might only begin when the king had dissolvedthe Comitia.

The tuba^ as distinguished from the Wbia, which was thetypical Italian instrument, was a long straight tube of brasswith a bell mouth*. It was used chiefly in military* and

' The note is thus completed by Mommsen from Varro, L.L. 6. 31

*• Dies qui voeatur sic, Quando Eex Comitiavit Fas, is dictus ab eo quodeo die rex sacrificulus itat [we should probably read litaf] ad comitium, adquod tempus est nefas, ab eo fas' (see Marq. 323, note 8). The MS. has*■ dicat ad comitium/ If we adopt Wat with Hirsclifeld and Jordan, weare not on that account committed to the belief corrected in Praen.,that it was on this day and May 24 that the Rex fled after sacrificing incomitio (see Hartmann, Rom, Kul. i6a foil.). The question will be dis-cussed under Feb. 24.

* B'om. ChronoH, p. 241 ; Staatsrechty iii. 375.

' Gains, a. loi * Comitia culata quae bis in anno testamentis faciendisdestinata erant.' Cp. Maine, Ancient Law, 199.

* It may have been of Etruscan origin : Miiller-Deecke, Etrusker^ ii. 206.A special kind of tuba seems to have been used at funerals : Gell. N. A,20. 2 ; Marq. PrivaUehen, i. 341.

* For the military use, Liv. ii. 64. They were also used in sacrisSaliaribus Paul. 19, s. v. Armilustrium. 'Wissowa (ds Feriis xv) mentionsa relief in which the Salii are preceded by tubicines laureaU (published inSt. Petersburgh by £. Schulze, 1873).

MENSIS APKILIS.

Thebe can hardly be a doubt that this month takes its name,not from a deity, but from the verb aperio ; the etymology isas old as Varro and Verrius, and seems perfectly natural \The year was opening and the young corn and the youngcattle were growing. It was therefore a critical time for cropsand herds ; but there was not much to be done by man tosecure their safety. The crops might be hoed and cleaned ^but must for the most paii be left to the protection of the gods.The oldest festivals of the month, the Eobigalia and Fordicidia,



clearly had this object. So also with the cattle ; oves lustrantur,say the rustic calendars ^ ; and such a liistratio of the cattleof the ancient Eomans survived in the ceremonies of theParilia.

Thus, if we keep clear of fanciful notions, such as those ofHuschke*, about these early months of the year, which heseems to imagine was thought of as growing like an organiccreature, we need find no great difficulty in April. We neednot conclude too hastily that this was a month of purificationpreliminary to May, as February was to March. Like February,indeed, it has a large number of dies nefasti^y and its festivals

^ Varro, L. L. 6. 33 ; Censorinus, a. ao. Verrius Flaccus in the headingto April in Fasti Praen. : . . . ^ quia fruges flores animaliaque et maria etterras aperiuntur.* Moininsen, Chron. zza. Ovid quaintly forsakes thescholars to claim the month for Venus (Aphrodite), Fastis 4. 61 foil. I donot know why Mr. Granger should call it the boar-month (from aper),in his Worship qf the Romans, p. 294.

^ Segetes runcari, Varro, K R. i. 30. Columella's instructions are of thesame kind (11. a).

' C. I,L. 280. * Rom. Jahr, 216.

* February has thirteen, all but two between Kal. and Ides. The Nonesand Ides are N*. April has thirteen between Nones and aand ; or fourteenif we include the 19th, which is IP in Caer. The Ides are IP, Nones N.

MENSIS APEILIS 67

are of a cathartic character, while Murcli and May have somepoints in common ; but beyond this we cannot safely venture.The later Romans would hardly have connected April with

Venus ', bad it be^n a sinister month ; it was not in April, butin March and May, that weddings were ill-omened.

We may note the prevalence in this month of female deities,or of those which fluctuate between male and femaleâ suresign of antiquity. These are deities of the earth, or vegetation,or generation, such as Tellus, Pales, Ceres, Flora, and perhapsalso Fortuna. Hence the month became easily associated inlater times with Venus, who was originally, perhaps, a gardendeity", but was overlaid in course of time with ideas broughtfrom Sicily and Gi'eece, and possibly even from Cyprus and theEast. Lastly, we may note that the Magna Mater Idaea founda suitable position for her worship in this month towards the

end of the thii'd century b. c.

Kal. Apr. (Apbil i). F.veneraiia ; ittdi. (philoc)Note in Praen. : ' fbequentek mdliebes supplicamt foe-

TUSAE VIRILI, HUMILIOBES ETIAM IN BAUNEIS, (JUOD IN IISEA PARTE COEPOI{[l8] UTIQUE VIBI NUDA«TUR, QUA FEMIKAKDM



Lydus'seems to have been acquainted with this noteofVerriua

I in the Fasti of Praeneat« ; if so, we may guess that some words

have been omitted by the man who cut the inscription, and

ia (April I ,

'Quod tnmfiaut feriati

' See tlie tragmentary lieading to tlie montli in Fastiliydua, 4. 45 ; Tutela Veneris, in miitic calendars ; ViPhlJocalus,

' Varro, K. B.i. 1.6: 'Itam advenenr Mmervam etoniuB proouratio oliveti, alterius AorforHiB.' Cp. L. L.

[Aug. 19J dedi<:at>a aedes et horti ei deae dicaotur 1 c' Srftiom.' Cf. Preller, Jfj^fA. i. 434 foil. Tlie oldest VeiE the low ground of the Clrcua MaximuH ^b.o. 295). Venus, like Ceres, mayI bave been an old Roman deii j of the pl^ba, but alie nuver enterod inluI the State-warsbip in early times. Mncrob. i. la. la quotes CineioaI tie Faslis) and Vhito to prove that slie had originally nothing to do withL April, and that there was no dks/estua or insigne aaerificium in iier honourV- daring the month.

' 4. 45 TaTsTotvui' KokiySais infuXXlivs aS aifieal iu<aiiiSii' Mp i/ioveSas (ol ff^pom^ iTifiwi^ ttJk 'Aippo^Tijy- oi 51 tov tAÂdut yvvtuH'S iv r«V -ran'

Cp. Hacrob. i, 12. 15.

M


we should insert with Mommsen^ after 'supplicant/ the words* honestiores Veneri Verticordiae.' If we compare the passage ofLydus with the name Veneralia given to this day in the

calendar of Philocalus, we may guess that the cult of Venus onApril I came into fashion in late times among ladies of rank,while an old and gross custom was kept up by the humilioresin honour of Fortuna Virilis*. This seems to be the mostobvious explanation of the concurrence of the two goddesseson the same day ; they were probably identified or amalgamatedunder the Empire, for example by Lydus, who does not mentionFortuna by name, and seems to confuse her worship on thisday with that of Venua But the two are still distinct inOvid, though he seems to show some tendency to amal-



gamation ^

Fortuna Virilis, thus worshipped by the women whenbathing, would seem from Ovid to have been that Fortunawho gave women good luck in their relations with men\The custom of bathing in the men's baths may probably betaken as some kind of lustration, more especially as the womenwere adorned vdth myrtle, which had purifying virtues \ Howold this curious custom was we cannot guess. Plutarch*mentions a temple of this Fortuna dedicated by ServiusTullius ; but there was a strong tendency, as we shall see lateron, to attribute all Fortuna-cults to this king.

The Venus who eventually supplanted Fortuna is clearlyVenus Verticordia '', whose earliest temple was founded in114 B. c, in obedience to an injunction of the Sibylline books,after the discovery of incest on the part of three vestal virgins,' quo facilius virginum mulierumque mens a libidine ad pudici-

* CLL. 315.

' We shall find some reason for believing that in the early Republicanperiod new cults came in rather through plebeian than patrician agency(see below, on Cerenlia). But in the period of the new nobilitas the

lower classes seem rather to have held to their own cults, while the uppersocial stratum was more ready to accept new ones. See below, onApril 4, for the conditions of such acceptance. The tendency is to beexplained by the wide and increasing sphere of the foreign relations ofthe Senatorial government.

» Fasti, 4. 133-164.

* Ovid, 1. c. 149 foil.

* Bobertson Smith, Religion of the SenUteSf p. 456.

* Quaest, Rom, 74.

^ Ovid, 1. c, 4. 160 ' Inde Venus verso nomina corde tenet/

MENSIS APRILI3 09

tiam eonverteratur'.' Macrobius insists that Venus had originaJlyno sbnre in the worship of this day or month'; she mustthererore have been introduced into it aa a foreigner. Bobert-son Smith' has shown some gi'oimd for the eonjocture thatshe was the Cyprian Aphrodite (herself identical with theSemitic Astarte), who came to Eome by way of Sicily and

Latium. For if Lydus can be ti-uated, the Eoman ceremonyof April I was found also in Cyprus, on the same day, withvariations in detail. If that he so, the addition of the nameVeiiicordia is a curious example of the accietion of a Romancult^title expressive of domestic morality on a foreign deity ofquestionable I'eputation '.

Pbid. Non. Apr. {April 4), C.



matk[i] mag[ijae]. (maff.)

ludi megaiebiaci, (philoc.)

Sote in Praen. : ludi m[atri] d[eum] m[agnae] i[daeak].

MEGALESIA VOCANTUB QDOD EA DEA MEGALE APPELLATUK.SOBILIUM MUTITATIOSES CENARUSt SO LIT A E SUNT FRE-QUENTER FIERI, QUOn MATEK MAGNA EX LIBBIS BIBUILINISARCES8ITA LOCUM MUTAVIT EX PHKYOIA BOUAM,

The introduction of the Magna Mater Idaea into Some canonly be briefly mentioned here, as being more important forthe history of religion at Home than for that of the Bomaiireligion. In b, c. 204, in accordance with a Sibylline oraclewhich had previously prophesied that the presence of this deityalone could drive the enemy out of Italy, the sacred stonerepresenting the goddess arrived at Borne from Pessinus inPhrygia\ Attalus, King of Pergamus, had acquired thisterritoiy, and now, as a faithful friend to Eome, consented tothe transportation nf the stone, which was received at Komowith enthusiasm by an excited and now hopeful people".

' Aust, de Aedibiis aacria, p. 38. About a cenhirv purlier a statue of thisVanus WBH Baid to have bwn erected (Val. Max'. 8. 15. la ; Plin. H. N. 7.lao), as Wissows. pointed out in liis Eseay, 'de Veneria Simulacria,' p. la.

' See above, p. 67, note a.

' Seligian tfihe BemileB, p. 450 folL • Preller, i. 446.

■ Liyy, 39. 10 and 14 ; Ovid (Fas!(, 4. 359 foil.) has a fantiful editionof the story which well illu-tratos tlie character of his VJark, and that ofthe legend-mongerB; cp. Prcller, ii. 57.

' Preller, ii. 55.


Scipio was about to leave with his army for Afiica; a fineharvest followed ; Hannibal was forced to evacuate Italy thenext year ; and the goddess did everything that was expectedof her \

The stone was deposited in the temple of Victory on thePalatine on April 4 \ The day was made a festival ; thoughno Eoman festival occurs between the Kalends and Nones of

any month, the rule apparently did not hold good in the caseof a foreign worship '. Great care was taken to keep up theforeign character of the cult. The name of the festival wasa Greek one (Megalesia), as Cicero remarked * ; all Eomanswere forbidden by a senatus consultum to take any part in theservice of the goddess \ The temple dedicated thirteen yearslater on April 10* seems to have been frequented by thenobilitas only, and the custom of giving dinner-parties onApril 4, which is well attested, was confined to the upperclasses^, while the plebs waited for its festivities till the



ensuing Cei*ealia. The later and more extravagant develop-ments of the cult did not come in until the Empire ^

The story told by Livy of the introduction of the goddess isan interesting episode in Eoman history. It illustrates thefar-reaching policy of the Senate in enlisting Eastern kings,religions, and oracles in the service of the state at a criticaltime, and also the curious readiness of the Eoman people tobelieve in the eflBcacy of cults utterly foreign to their ownreligious practices. At the same time it shows how carefulthe government was then, as always, to keep such cults understrict supervision. But the long stress of the Hannibalic Warhad its natural effect on the Italian peoples; and less than

* Plin. H,N. 18. 16; Arnobius, 7. 49. * Livy, 29. 10, 14.' See above. Introduction, p. 7.

* de Harusp, Resp, 12. 24 * Qui uni ludi ne verbo quidem appellanturLatino, ut vocabulo ipso et appetita religio externa et Matris Magnaenomine suscepta declaretur/

^ Dion. Hal. 2. 19. A very interesting passage, in which, among othercomments, the historian points out that in receiving the goddess theRomans eliminated anaaav T€p$p€iav fihOiK^v,

* Aust, de Aedilms sacris, pp. 22 and 49.

' Gell. 18. 2. II (patricii) ; cp. 2. 24. 2 (principes civitatis). Cp. Lydus,4. 45 ; Veri'ius* note in Praen., * NobHium muHtationes cenarum solitaesunt frequenter fieri/ &c.

* See Marq. 370 foil. The Ludi eventually extended from the 4th tothe loth inclusive {C. I. L. 314).

HGXSQ AFRILIS 7I

twenty years later the inti-oduction of the Bacchic orgiesforced the senate to strain every nerve to counteract a seriousdanger to the national religion and morality.

xvn Kal. Mai. (Apbil 15). IP.

F0RD[1CIDIA]'. (CAEB. MAPF. VAT. PBAEN.)

This is beyond doubt one of the oldest sacrificial rites in theRoman religion. It consisted in the slaughter of pregnant

cows [luirdae or fordae), one in the Capitol and one in each of thethirty curiae*; i.e. one for the state and the rest for eachof its ancient divisions. This was the first festival of thecuriae; the other, the Fomacalia, will be treated of underFebruary 17. The cows were offered, as all authorities agree,to Tellus', who, as we shall see, may be an indigitation ofthe same earth power represented by Ceres, Bona Dea, Dea Dia,and other female deities. The unborn calves were torn byattendants of the virgo vestalis maxima from the womb of themother and burnt *, and their ashes were kept by the Vestals



for use at the Parilia a few days later \ This was the firstceremony in the year in which the Vestals took an active part,and it was the first of a series of acts all of which are connectedwith the fruits of the earth, their growth, ripening andharvesting. The object of burning the unborn calves seemsto have been to procure the fertility of the com now growingin the womb of mother earth, to whom the sacrifice was

Lydus4- 631.

' Ovid, 1. 0. 635 ' Pars uadit nroe lovia. Ter donas curia VBoeasAooipit, et largo aparsa cniore madet.' Cp. Varro, L.L. 6. 15. Preller,ii. 6, understands Ovid's ' pars ' as meaning more than one cow.

' Ovid, I. c. 633 ' Nunc graviduin pecus eat, gravidae nuno Bemineterrae ; Tellari plenae victima plena datur.'' Ovid, 1. o. 637

At>t ubi viateribuB vitulos repuero miniatri,

Sectaque fuuiosis exta dedere focis,

Igne cremat vituloB quae iintu maxima Virgo,Luce Polia populos purget ut illo cinls.' See below, p. 83.

■ This appears plainly in Ovid's account {Fasti, 4, 633 foil.), and also inthatof LyduB (4. 49J: vtfi riaa6piiut iinip titrtjiuat Updriiiav. Both doubtless drew oa Tairo. Lydua adds one or two particulars, Chat the ipx^'P*'' (^)

J i


Many charms of this sacrificial kind have been noticed byvarious writers ; one may be mentioned here which wasdescribed by Sir John Barrow, when British Ambassador inChina in 1804. In a spring festival in the temple of Earthya huge porcelain image of a cow was carried about and thenbroken in pieces, and a number of small cows taken from insideit and distributed among the people as earnests of a goodseason \ This must be regarded as a survival of a rite which

was no doubt originally one of the same kind as the Eoman.

Ill Id. Apr. (April ii). N.

On this day* the oracle of the great temple of FortunaPrimigenia at Praeneste was open to suppliants^ as we learnfrom a fragment of the Praenestine Fasti Though nota Eoman festival, the day deserves to be noticed here, as this



oracle was by far the most renowned in Italy. The cult ofFortuna will be discussed under June 25 and Sept 13. It doesnot seem to be known whether the oracle was open on thesedays only ; see R. Peter in Myth. Lex. s. v. Fortuna, 1545.

XIII Kal. Mai. (April 19). IP.

CER[IALIA]. (CAER. MAPF. PRAEN. ESQ.)CERERI LIBERO (lIBERAE) ESQ.

Note : All the days from 12th to 19th are marked ludi, ludiCer., or ludi Ceriales, in Tusc. MafP. Praen. Vat., takentogether: loid. Cereri in Esq., where the i8th only ispreserved : loedi C in Caer. Philocalus has Cerealici c. m.(circenses missus) xxiv on 12th and 19th.

The origin of the ludi Cereales, properly so called, cannot beproved to be earlier than the Second Punic War. The games

scattered flowers among the people in the theatre, and went in processionoutside the city, sacrificing to Demeter at particular stations ; but hemay be confusing this festival with the Ambarvalia.

^ See Mannhardt, Myth. Forsch, 190 ; cp. Frazer, Q. B. ii. 43.

' Fasti Praen. ; C. I. L. 235, and Mommsen's note (where Apr. is mis-printed Aug.). '[Hoc biduo sacrific]ium maximum Fortunae Prim[i]g.utro eorum die oraclum patot, Ilviri vitulum I.'

MENSIS APBILIS

first appear as fully established .that April ig is marked CEK iiwe may infer, with Mommsenhonour of Ceres as far back

: B.C. 202 ', But fi-om thelarge letters in the calendarsthat there was a festivalthe period of the monarchy.

fact

The question therefore arises whether this ancient Geres wasa native Italian deity, or the Greek Demeter afterwards knownto the Romans as Ceres,

That there was such an Italian deity is placed almost beyond



doubt by the name itself, which all authorities agree inconnecting with cerus = genius, and with the cerfus andrerfia of the great inscription of Iguvium'. The verbal formseems clearly to be creare'; and thus, strange to aay, weactually get some definite aid froni etymology, and can safelysea in the earliest Ceres, if we recollect her identification withthe Greek goddess of the earth and its fruits, a deity presidingover or representing the generative powers of nature. Wecannot, however, feel sure whether this deity was originallyfeminine only, or masculine also, as Arnobius seems to suggest".Judging from the occurrence of forma such as those quotedabove, it is quite likely, as in the case of Pales, Liber, andothers, that this iiumen was of both sexes, or of undeterminedsex. So anxious were the primitive Italians to catch the earof their deities by making no mistake in the ritual of addressingthem, that there was a distinct tendency to avoid marking their&ex too distinctly ; and phrases such as ' sive mas sive femina,''si deuB si dea,' are fiimiliar to all students of the Komanrehgion '.

We may be satisfied, th«i, that the oldest Ceres was notsimply an importation from Greece. It is curious, however,

' Liv. 3D. 39; Friedlander in Marq, 5™

I, UHneimsen, p. 64a,

' C. I. L. 398.

' In the Salian hjimn duonus teruS'^rreatoT Sowus {of Janus): cf. Van-o,L L. ^. a6; Mominseii, UnterilalUthe DMdtlen, 133. See flrtifileB cerus

(Wiraowa) and Ctrea (Birt) in JfsCA. Lex. ; BQcheler, UttArua, 80 and 99.

* ' Ceres a creando dicta,' Serv. Georg. i. 7. It is worth noting that inNonius Marcolliis, 44., osTrili^lamati, where cerus seams to mean a ghost.If so, we have a good example of a common origin of ghosts and gods inthe animistic ideas of early Iljily.

* Amob. 3. 4a. quoting one Caesius, who followed Etruscan teaching,and liold that Cei'es - Genius lovialis ct Pales. See Preller-Tordan, i. 81.

* Preller-Jordan, i.6a. Theywero not even certain whether the GeniusUrbia was maHCuline or feminine ; Serr. Aen. a, 351.

il

THE BOUAK FESTIVALS

that Cei-es is not found exactly where we should expect to Rnd



her. viz. in the ritual of the Frati-es Arvalea'. Yet this veryfact may throw further light on the primitive nature of Ceres.The central figure of the Arval ritual was the nameless DeaDia ; and in a ritual entirely relating to the fruits of the earthwe can fairly account for the absence of Ceres by supposingthat she is there represented by the Dea Dia — in fact, that thetwo are identical '. No one at all acquainted with Italian ideaaof the gods will be surprised at this, It is surely a morereasonable hj-pothesis than that of Biii, who thinks that anold name for seed and bread (i.e. Ceres) was transferred to theGret-k deity who dispensed seed and bread when she wasintroduwid in Rome '. It is, in fact, only the name Ceres that iswanting in the Arval ritual, not the numen itself; and thisis less surprising if we assume that the names given by theearliest fiomans to supernatural powers were not fixed butvariable, representing no distinctly conceived jwrsonalities ;in other words, that their religion was pandaemonic rather thanpolytheistic, though with a tendency to lend itaelf easily to theinfluence of polytheism. We may agree, then, with Preller',that Ceres, with Tellus, and perhaps Ops and Acca Larentia, aredifferent names for, and aspects of, the numen whom the Arvalbrothers called Dea Dia. At the same time we cannot entirelyexplain why the name Ceres was picked out fi-om among theseto represent the Greek Demeter. Some light may, however,

be thrown on this point by studying the early history of theCeres-cult.

The first temple of Ceres was founded, according to tradition,in consequence of a famine in the year 496 b. o., in obedienceto a Sibylline oracle \ It was at the foot of the Aventine,by the Circus Masimus", and was dedicated on April 19, 493,to Ceres, Liber and Libera, representing Demeter, Dionysus,

' Henzen, Ada Ft. Art. p. 48. In later tiroes Coroa took the place oFUari at the Ambanrslia, under Greek influeoce.

' 80 Heazen, I.e. and hia Introduction, p. ix.

' Mglh. Lei. tLV. Ce'es, E61. Jle does not, however, dogmatizp, and haslittle to nddure in Tavour of his upiniun, save the stntament of Serviua(Oeorg. I. 7) tliat ' Sabini Cererem Piinem appitllaDt.'

' Preller Jordan, ii. b6,

' Auat, de Aedibvs, pp. s and 40. Preller-Jordan, ii. 38.

* Birt (Mt/th. Lax. 86a) gives the authuritiei.

I

75

and Peraeplione '. Thus from the outset the systematized cultof Ceres in the city waa not Roman but Greek, The temple



itself was adorned in Greek style instead of the Etruscan usualat this period \ How ia all this to be accounted for ?

Let us notice in the tirat place that from the very foundationof the temple it ia in the closest way connected with the plebs.The year of its dedication ia thtit of the first secession of theplebs and of the establishment of the tribuni and aedilesplebia*. The two events are connected by the fact, repeatedlystated, that any one violating the sacrosanciilas of the tribunewas to be held saccr Cercri* ; we are also told that the finesimposed by tribunes were spent on this temple *. It was underthe care of the plebeian aediles, and was to them what thetemple of Saturnus waa to the quaestors". Its position was inthe plebeian quarter, and at the foot of the Aventine, whichin B.C. 456 ia said to have become the property of theplebs ''.

Now it can hardly be doubted that the choice of Ceres {withher fellow deities of the Mas), as the goddess whose templeshould serve aa a centre for the plebeian community, had somedefinite meaning. That meaning must be found in the tradi-tions of famine and distress which we read of as immediatelyfollowing the expulsion of Tarquinius. These traditions haveL been put aside as untrustworthy", and may indeed bo ao

in regard to details ; but there ia some reason for thinkingthem to have had a foundation of fact, if we can but accept theother tradition of the foundation of the temple and ita C'

' Ths trios at itself would prove the Greek origin : cf. Kuhfeldt, deQipilelUa, p. 77 foil.

■ Plln. B. N. 35. 154. TLe names of two Greek artisls wore inscribedon the temple.

' Mommsen, Slaatsreclii, ii.' 466, note.

* Dion. Hftl. 6. 89 ; 10. 43 ; Liv. 3. 55 Bdya lacer loti, but tlie propertywas to be Bold at the temple of Cures, Liber, and Libera. The corn-xtealer also was surer Ctreri.

284, note. Cp. Sohwegler, Rom. Oesch. ii. 375,I'lim jXehis there. Soe also i. 606 and ii. 278,55 senatnB eonaulto bad to be deposited in

e 3, who thinks

.0 3. According

' Bum, Rums and <he Caiapagna,

. ao4 ; Liv. 3, 31 and 3a fin.; op.



^6 THE ROMAN FESTIVALS

with the plebs. It is likely enough that under Tarquinius thepopulation was increased by * outsiders ' employed on his greatbuildings. Under pressure from the attack of enemies, andfrom a sudden aristocratic reaction, this population, we mayguess, was thrown out of work, deprived of a raison d'etre, andstarved * ; finally rescuing itself by a secession, which resultedin the institution of its officers, tribunes and aediles, the latterof whom seem to have been charged with the duty of lookingafter the corn-supply \

How the corn-supply was cared for we cannot tell for certain ;but here again is a tradition which fits in curiously with whatwe know of the temple and its worship, though it has beenrejected by the superfluous ingenuity of modern Germancriticism. Livy tells us that in b. c. 492, the year after thededication of the temple, corn was brought from Etruria,Cumae, and Sicily to relieve a famine ^. We are not obligedto believe in the purchase of com at Syracuse at so earlya date, though it is not impossible ; but if we rememberthat the decorations and ritual of the temple were Greekbeyond doubt, we get a singular confirmation of the traditionin outline which has not been sufficiently noticed. If it was

founded in 493^ placed under plebeian officers, and closelyconnected with the plebs; if its rites and decorations wereGreek from the beginning ; we cannot afford to discard a tradi-tion telling us of a commercial connexion with Greek cities,the object of which was to relieve a stalling plebeianpopulation.

And surely there is nothing strange in the supposition that

* Schwegler, R, G. i. 783 foil.

^ Mommsen, Staatsredtj iu^ 468, note a, is doubtful as to the date of thecura annonae of the plebeian aediles. But Plin. if. N. 18. 3. 15 attributes

it to an aedile of earlier date than Spurius Maelius (b.c. 438) ; and thoughthe Consuls may have had the general supervision, the immediate cura,as far as the plebs was concerned, would surely lie with their officers.Two points should be borne in mind here — (i) that the plebeian popula-tion to be relieved would be a surplus population tmthin the city, not thefarmer«popu1ation of the country ; (a) that it would probably be easierto transport corn by sea than by land, as roads were few, and enemies allaround.

' Dion. Hal. 7. i, exposes the absurdity of Roman annalists in attnbutingthe corn-supply to Dionysius ; but he himself talks of Gelo. Cp. Ihne,i. 160. . Ihne disbelieves the whole story, believing it to be copied fromevents which happened long afterwards.

HENSIS APBILIS

Greek influence gained ground, not bo much with the patricwho had their own outfit of religious ai-mour, but with thepiebs who had no share in the sacra of their bettei'a, and with



the Etruscan dynasty which favoured the plebs '. We niayhesitate to assent to Mommsen's curious assertion that themerchants of that day were none other than the great patricianlandholders"; we may rather be dispused to conjecture thatit was the more powerful plebeians, incapable of holding largeareas of public land, who turned their attentioa to commerce,and came in contact with the Greeks of Italy and Sicily. Theposition of the plebeian quarter along the Tiber bank, andnear the spot where the quays of Rome have always been, maypossibly jKjint in the same direction '.

To return to the Cerealia of April 19. We have still tonotice a relic of apparently genuine Italian nntiquity whichsurvived in it down to Ovid's time, and may be taken asevidence that there was a real Roman substi-atum on whichthe later Greek ritual was superimposed.

Every one who reads Ovid's account of the Cerealia will bestruck by his statement that on the 19th it was the practice tofasten burning brands to the tails of foxes and set them looseto run in the Circus Maximus * :

77 I

He tells a charming story to explain the custom, learnt froman old man of Carseoli, an Aeqnian town, where he wasseeking information while writing the Fasti. A boy of twelveyears' old caught a vixen fox which had done damage tothe farm, and tied it up in straw and hay. This he set onfire, but the fox escaped and burnt the crops. Hence a lawat Carseoli forbidding — something about foxes, which the

' Ambrosch, Sludien, p. 108, Tradition told that the Tarquinii had

stored up great quantitteB of corn in Bcme, i.e. hod fed their workmen.Cp. Liv. I. 56 and a. 9.

* UoniDiseii, K H , bk. i. ch. 13 fin.

' Sou under August 13 (below, p. i^S) for the parallel foundation of thetemple of Diana on the Aventine, which also had a Greek and plebeiancharacter.

' Fatli, 4. 6B[ foil. Ovid does not distinctly say that the foxes were letJoMB in the Circus, but seems to imply it.

tS the boman festivals

corruption of the MSS. has obscured for ua\ Then heconcludes :

Utque luat poenas gens haec, Cerialibus ardet ;Quoque modo segetes perdidit, ipsa perit.

We are, of course, reminded of Samson burning the corn of



the Philistines' ; and it is probable that the story in each caseis a myth explanatory of some old practice like the one Oviddescribes at Eome. But what the practice meant it is not veryeasy to see. Preller has his explanation ready ' ; it wasa * sinnbildliche Erinneiiing ' of the rohigo (i. e. * red fox '), whichwas to be feared and guarded against at this time of year.Mannhardt thinks rather of the corn-foxes or corn-spirits ofFrance and Germany, of which he gives many instances *. Ifthe foxes were com spirits, one does not quite see why theyshould have bf ands fastened to their tails ^. No exactly parallelpractice seems to be forthcoming, and the fox does not appearelsewhere in ancient Italian or Greek folk-tales, as far as I candiscover. All that can be said is that the fox's tail seems tohave been an object of interest, and possibly to have had somefertilizing power % and some curious relation to ears of corn.Prof. Gubernatis believes this tail to have been a phallicsymbol''. We need not accept his explanation, but we maybe grateful to him for a modern- Italian folk-tale, from theregion of Leghorn and the Maremma, in which a fox isfrightened away by chickens which carry each in its beak an

^ * Factum abiit, monimenta manent ; fnam vivere captamfNunc quoque lex volpem Carseolana vetat/

The best MSS. have ^nam dicere certam.' Bergk conjectured *naraqueicere captam/ The reading given above is adopted from some inferiorMSS. by H. Peter (Leipzig, 1889), following Heinsius and Riese. Mr. S G.Owen of Ch. Ch., our best authority on the text of Ovid, has kindlysent me the suggestion namque ire repertam^ comparing, for the use of zre,Ovid, Am. 3. 6. 20 'sic aeternus eas.' This conjecture, which occurredindependently to myself, suits the sense and is close to the reading ofthe best MSS.

'■^ J. Grimm, Reinhardt der FuchSj cclxix (quoted by Peter). Ovid's ex-planation is of course wrong ; the story is beyond doubt meant to explainthe ritual, or a law to which the ritual gave rise.

^ Preller- Jordan, ii. 43. See under Bobigalia.

* Myth. Forsch. 107 foil.

* Ovid's word is terga, but he must, I think, mean * tails.'

* Mannhardt, op. cit. 185. Cp. Frazer, Golden Bough, i. 408; ii. 3 and 28(for fertilizing power of tail).

' Zoological Mythology, ii. 138.

MEN'SIS APKILIS

79

ear of millet ; the fox is told that these ears are all foxee' tails,and runs for it.



Here we must leave this puzzle' ; but whoever cares to readOvid's lines about his journey towards his native Peligniancountry, his turning into the familiar lodging—

Hoapitis actiqui solitaa intravimus aedes,and the tales he heard there — among them that of the fox^will find them better worth reading than the greater part ofthe Faslt.

XI Kal. Mai. (Apb. si). IP.'

PAH(ILIAl (CAEB, MAFF. PRAEN.)

SOMA cohd'ita] feeiae coronatis om[nibus]. (caeb.)

N[ATAI.iaj DBMS. CIRCENSEB MISSUS XXIV. (pHILOG.)

[A note in Praen. is hopelessly mutilated, with theexception of the words iqkes and pbincifio a»[ni fah-TOBICII ' ?j

The Parilia', at once one of the oldest and best attestedfesliviila of the whole year, is at the same time the one whose

features have been most clearly explained by the investigationsof parallels among other raises.

The fli-st point to notice is that the festival was both publicand private, urban and laistie'. Ovid clearly distinguishes

' It mny bo as well to not« that the custom of tjing some Direct iustraw — wheel, pots with croaa-piece, ram who slips out ia time, &e. — andthen burning it and carrying it about the fielda, ia common in Europesod eUewhere (Frazer, li B. ii. 946 foil.)- At the aame time aniuiula areaumetimes butnt in a bonfire : e.g. squirrels, cats, foxe'i, &c. (8. BAi. 363).The ezp^snation of Hiinnhardt, adopted by Mr. Frozer, is tliai they wemcom^spirits burnt aa a charm to secure aunahine and vegetation. If the

fbzes were ever really let loose among the fielda, damage might oooa-aionally be done, and stories might arlae like that of Carseoli, or evenlaws forbidding a dangerous practice.' In CI.L, 315 this mark is confused with those of the a3rd.* The letters on also appear in a fragment of a lo^t nole in Ksq,Uommsen quotes Ovid, FasH, 4. 775, and Tibull. 3. 5. 61 for the idea of anIS paalomm beginning on this day. I can find no explanation of it,Astronomical or other. Dion. Hal. i. S8 callg the day the beginning ofI spring, which it cortiiinly was not.

' For the form of the word see Mommsen, C I. L. 315. (In Varro, I. L.I 6. 15, it is Palilia.) Preller-Jordan, i. 416.

' Palilia tarn privata quam publiea aunt.' Varro, ap Schol. in Fersium,IS. Sea on Compitalia, below, p. 379.


the two; lines 721-734 deal with the urban festival, 735-782with the rustic. The explanations which follow deal with



both. Pales, the deity (apparently both masculine andfeminine') whose name the festival bears, was, like Faunus,a common deity of Italian pasture land. A Palatium was saidby Varro to have been named after Pales at Eeate, in the heartof the Sabine hill- country* ; and though this may not go formuch, the character of the Parilia, and the fact that Palesis called rusticola, pastoricia, silvicola, &c., are sufficient toshow the original non-urban character of the deity. He(or she) was a shepherd's deity of the simplest kind, andsurvived in Home as little more than a name ^ from the oldesttimes, when the earliest invaders drove their cattle throughthe Sabine mountains. Here, then, we seem to have a clearexample of a rite which was originally a rustic one, andsurvived as such, while at the same time one local form of itwas kept up in the gr^t city, and had become entangledwith legend and probably altered in some points of ritual.We will take the rustic form first. ,

Here we may distinguish in Ovid's account* the followingritualistic acts.

I. The sheep-fold" was decked with green boughs anda great wreath was hung on the gate :

Frondibus et fiicis decorentur ovilia ramis,£t tegat ornatas longa corona fores.

With this Mannhardt * aptly compares the like concomitantsof the midsummer fires in North Germany, Scotland, andEngland. In Scotland, for example, before the bonfires werekindled on midsummer eve, the houses were decorated with

* Serv. Georg. 3. i : ' Pales . . . dea est pabuli. Hanc . . . alii, inter quosVarro, masculine genere vocant, ut hie Pales.' There can be no betterproof of the antiquity of the deity in Italy.

* L. L, 5. 53.

' There was a /lamen PaUUualis (Varro, Z. X. 7. 45, and Fest. 245"^ and anoffering Palaiuar (Fest. 348), connected with a Dita Palatua of the Palatine,who may have been the urban and pontifical form of Pales.

* Ovid is borne out or supplemented by TibuU. a. 5. 87 foil. ; Propert.4. 4. 75 foil. ; Probus on Virg. Qeorg. 3. i ; Dionys. i. 88, &c.

^ It is noticeable that sheep alone are mentioned in the ritual as Oviddescribes it

* A. W, F. p. 3ia Cp. Frazer, G. B. ii. 346 foil.

MENSB APBins

8l



I foliage brought from Ihe woods ', The custom of decoration» at special seasons, May-day, mid summer, harvest, and Christ-mas, is even now, with the exception of midsummer, universal,and is probably deacondod from these primitive rites, by whichour ancestors sought in some mysterious way to influence the■working of the powers of vegetation.

2, At the earliest glimmer of daybreak the shepherdpurified the sheep. This was done by sprinkling and sweepingthe fold ; then a fire was made of heaps of straw, olive-branches, and laurel, to give good omen by the crackling, andthrough this apparently the shepherds leapt, and the flockswere driven ''. For this we have, of course, numerous parallelsfrom all parts of the world. Burning sulphur was also used ;

Coei-ulei fiant vivo do sulfure fiiitiiTactoque fumanti sulfure bulet ovia'.

3. After this the shepherd brought offerings to Pales, ofwhom there may perhaps have been in the farmyard a rudeimage made of wood * ; among these were baskets of milletand cakes of the same, pails of milk, and other food of appro-priate kinds. The meal which followed the shephei-d himselfappears to have shared with Pales ^ Then he prays to the deity

to avert all evil from himself and his flocks ; whether he orthey have unwittingly trespassed on sacred ground and causedthe nymphs or fauni to fly from human eyes ; or have dis-turbed the sacred fountains, and nsed branches of a sacred treefur secular ends. In those petitions the genuine spii'it of Italian

and, Pop.

I medlis fucis might rsl1 Munuhiirdt tiikoa it.605) nea made later di

' Chambira' Jom-nal, July, 1843. For tlie tuaAnllqititiea, p. 307,

' So I understand Ovid : but in line 74aindioata a iire in the a'r um of the houao, and

that case tho fire over which they leaped (linthe ceremony.

' Cp, Hoin. 01, aa. 4B1 OiTt Biaav, yptii, xaiiSn- Sxos, b'ti'OfifH Biiianriu iiiyapoi:

' Tibull. a. 5. aB ' Et facta egresti lignea falcG Palee.' Tib. 1to be tranaferring a ruatic pructiiw of Ills oirn day to the e.irliiuf thu Palatine. But he may be simply indulging hia imnginine cannot safely concludti that we have here a rude Itnliun origin of



anthropomorphic ideas of the gods.

' 0»id, Jinsli, 4. 743-746, eap. 'dapjbns resect is.' We can hardly escapethe coDolusiun that the idea of the common meal shared with the goda~ ianonej it ia found here, in the Torminalia (Ovid,'. »■ 655)) """J ii tl"i worship of Jupiter. Soo on Sept. 13 and Feb, ag.

it Romans


religion — the awe of the unknown, the fear of committing

unwittingly some act that may bring down wrath upon you —

is most vividly brought out in spite of the Greek touches and

names which are introduced. He then goes on to his main

object^ :

Pellc procul morbos: valeant hominesque gregesque,£t valeant vigiles, provida turba, canes.

• • ■ • •

Absit iniqua fames. Herbae frondesque supcrsint,

Quaeque lavent artus, quaeque bibaniur, aquae,libera plena premam : referat mihi caseus aera,

Dentque viam liquido vimina rara sero.

Sitque salax arles, conceptaque semina conlunx

Reddat, et in stabulo multa sit agna meo.Lanaque proven iat nuUas laesura puellas,

Mollis et ad teneras quamlibet apta manus.Quae precor eveniant : et nos faciamus ad annum

Pastorum dominae grandia liba Pali.

This prayer must be said four times over*, the shepherdlooking to the east and wetting his hands with the morningdew^ The position, the holy water, and the prayer in its

substance, though now addressed to the Virgin, have alldescended to the Catholic shepherd of the Campagna.

4. Then a bowl is to be brought, a wooden antique bowlapparently *, from which milk and purple sajpa, i e. heatedwine, may be drunk, imtil the drinker feels the influence of thefumes, and when he is well set he may leap over the burningheaps:

Moxque per ardentes stipulae crepitantis acervos



Traiicias celeri strenua membra pede*.

The Parilia of the urbs was celebrated in much the sameway in its main features ; but the day was reckoned as the

* Fasti, 4. 763 foil.

' Four is unusual ; three is the common number in religious rites.

' * Conversus ad ortus Die quater, et vivo perlue rore manus.' Ovid mayperhaps be using ros for fresh water of any kind ; see H. Peter's note(Pt. II, p. 70). But the virtues of dew are great at this time of year (e. g.May-day). See Brand, Pop. Ant a 18, and Mannhardt, A. W,F. 312. Pepysrecords that his wife went out to gather May-dew ; Diary ^ Mmy 10. 1669.

* The word is camella in Ovid, Fastiy 4. 779 ; cp. Petron. Sat, 135, andGell. N, A. 16. 7.

* Or as Propertius has it (4. 4. 77) :

'Cumque super raros foeni flammantis acervosTraiicit immundos ebria turba pedes.'

MENSI8 APEILIS

I

birthday of Rome, and doubtless on this account it came underthe influence of priestly organization '. It ia connected withtwo other very ancient festivals: that of the Fordicidia and

that of the ' October horse.' The blood which streamed fromthe head of the horse sacrificed on the Ides of October waskept by the Vestals in the Penua Vestae, and mixed withthe ashes of the unborn calves burnt at the Fordicidia ; andthe mixture seems to have been thrown upon heaps of burningbean-straw to make it smoke, while over the smoke and flamesmen and women leaped on the Palatine Hill \ The objectwas of course purification ; Ovid calls the blood, ashes, andstraw februa casta, i. e. holy agents of purification, and addsin alluaioii to their having been kept by the Testals :Testa dabit : Yestae munere pvrus eris.Ovid bad himself taken part in the rite ; had fetched thesuffimen, and leaped three times through the flamesj his

hands sprinkled with dew from a laurel branch. Whetherthe febnta were considered to have individually any specialsignificance or power, it is hard to say. Hannhardt, whobelieved the ' October horse ' to be a corn-demon, thought thatthe burning of its blood symbolized the renewal of its lifein the spring, while the ashes thrown into the fire signifiedthe safe passage of the growing crops through the heat of thesummer"; but about this so judicious a writer is naturallynot disposed to dogmatize. We can, however, be pretty surethat the purification was supposed to carry with it protection



from evil influences both for man and beast, and also to aidthe growth of vegetation. The theory of Mannhardt, adoptedby Mr. Frazer, that the whole class of ceremonies to which the

' Ovid, Fa3li, 4. 801 foil. ; Prop, 4. 4. 73 ; Varro, B. E. a. I, 9. ManyoUier reroreucea are collected in Suhwegler, B. G. i. 444, note i. Thetradition was certaiuly an ancient one, and the pastoral chara Ler of therite is in keepiog with that of the legend. It la to he noted tl at the■aerificing priest was originallf the Rex Sacroriun (D onja I 88; a factwliich may well carry ub back to the earliest Honiaii age

* Ovid, Fasti, 4. 733 foil. 'Sanguis cqui tiuOimen ei t v tal que favilla,Tertia res durae oulmen inane fahae,' Whether the bonfire vaa burnton the Palatine itself does not aeem certaio, but it is a rea-unnble

* He points out (p. 316) tbnt the throwing of bones or burnt pieces ofn animal into the Hames is common in northern Europe : hence bonfire

— boueCre.

§4 THE*^ ROMAN FESTIVALS

Parilia clearly belongs, L e. the Easter and Midsummer firesand Need-fires of central and northern Europe, may best beexplained as charms to procure sunshine \ has much to besaid for it, but does not seem to find any special support in theBoman rite.

It may be noted in conclusion that a custom of the samekind, and one perhaps connected with a cult of the sun'*,took place not far from Bome, at Mount Soracte ; at what timeof year we do not know. On this hill there was a worshipof Apollo Soranus', a local deity, to which was attacheda kind of guild of worshippers called Hirpi Sorani, or wolves

of Soranus * ; and of these we may guess, from the legendtold of their origin, that in order to avert pestilence, ^c, theydressed or behfived themselves like wolves \ Also on a pai*ti-cular. day, perhaps the summer solstice, these .Hirpi. ranthrough the flames, ' super ambustam ligni struem ambulantesnon aduruntur',' and on this account were excused by a senatusconsultum from all military or other service. A strikingparallel with this last feature is quoted by Mannhardt, fromMysore, where the Harawara are degraded Brahmins whoact as priests in harvest-time, and make a living by runningthrough the flames unhurt with naked soles : but in this casethere seems to be no animal representation. Mannhardt triesto explain the Hirpi as dramatic representations of the Corn-

wolf or vegetation spirit '^. On the other hand, it is possibleto consider them as survivals of an original clan who worshipped

» A. W, F. 316 ; Frazer, G. B. ii. 274 foil.

^ Preller- Jordan, i. a68. Soranus is thought to be connected etymolo-gically with Sol. With this, however, Deecke disagrees {Falisker, 96).

' So called by Virg. Aen. 11. 785 and Serv. ad loc. Who the deity reallywas, we do not know. Apollo here had no doubt a Graeco-Etruscan



origin. Deecke {Falisker^ 93) thinks of Dis Pater or Vediovis; quotingServius' account and explanation of the cult. That the god was Sabine,not Etruscan, is shown by the word hirpi,

* Or of Soi-acte, if Soranus =^ Soractnus (Deecke).

* Serv. Lc. tells the aetiological legend. Cp. Plin. ^. fl. 7. ir. It hasbeen dealt with f4illy by Mannhardt, A. W, F. 318 foil.

* Plin. 1. c. ; Varro (ap. Serv. 1. c.) asserted that they used a salve fortheir feet which protected them. The same thing is said, I believe, of theHarawara in India.

^ According to Strabo, p. 226, this fire-ceremony took place in thegrove of Feronia, at the foot of the hill. Feronia may have been a corn-or harvest*deity, and of this Mannhardt makes all he can. We may atleast guess that the rite took place at Midsummer.

MENSIS : APRILIS 85

the wolf as a totem*; a view adopted by Mir. Lang V whocompares the &ear-maidens of Ai-temis at Brauron in Attica.

But the last word has yet to be said about these obscureanimalistic rites.

IX Kal. Mai. (Apr. 23). FP (Caer.) IP (Maff.)

F (Praen.)»

VEIN[ALIA] (caer.) VIN[ALIA1 (maff. praen. esq.)

Praen. has a mutilated note beginning io[vi]) and endingwith [cum latini bello premeJrentur a rutulis, quia

mezentius rex etrus[co]rum paciscebatur, si subsidioVENissET, omnium annorum vini fructum. (Cp. Festus,65 and 374, where it appears that libations of all newwine were made to Jupiter.)

TENERI (caer.)

[VJENERI ERUC. [exTr]a PORTAM COLLIn[am]. (aRV.)

This day was generally known as Vinalia Priora, as distin-guished from the Vinalia Eustica of August 19. Both dayswere believed to be sacred to Venus * ; the earlier one, accordingto Ovid, was the foundation-day of the temple of Venus Eryciria,

with which he connected the legend of Aeneas and Mezentius.But as both Varro and Verrius are agreed that the days weresacred, not to Venus but to Jupiter *, we may leave the legendalone and content oui*selves with asking how Venus came intothe connexion.

The most probable supposition is that this day being, as

^ Cp. the cult of Zeus Lykaios in Arcadia ; Farnell, Cults of the GreekStates, i. 41.



^ Myth., Ritualf and Religion, ii. aia.

' This peculiar notation is common to this day and Aug. 19 (the VinaliaRustica), and to the Feralia (Feb. 21). See Introduction^ p. 10.

* Ovid, Tasti, 4. 877, asks : * Cur igitur Veneris festum Vinalia dicant,Qiiaeritis?'

* Varro, L. L, 6. 16 ; Fest 65 and 374. The latter gloss is : * Vinaliadiem festum habebant, quo die vinum noyum lovi libabant.' Ovid, Fasti,4. 899, after telling the Mezentius story (alluded to in the note in Praen.),adds

Dicta dies hinc est Vinalia : luppiter illam. Vindicat, et festis gaudet inesse suis.


Ovid implies, the dies natalis of one of the temples of Venus Sthe Vinalia also came to be considered as sacred to the goddess.The date of the foundation was i8i b. c, exactly at a time when

many new worships, and especially Greek ones, were beingintroduced into Kome \ That of the Sicilian Aphrodite, underthe name of Venus, seems to have become at once popular withits Graecus ritus and lasdvia maior^ ; and the older connexionof the festival with Jupiter tended henceforward to disappear.It must be noted, however, that the day of the Vinalia Eustica inAugust was also the dies natalis of one if not two other templesof Venus*, and one of these was as old as the year B.C. 293.Thus we can hardly avoid the conclusion that there was, evenat an early date, some connexion in the popular mind betweenthe goddess and wine. The explanation is perhaps to be foundin the fact that Venus was specially a deity of gardens, andtherefore no doubt of vineyards ^. An interesting inscription

from Pompeii confirms this, and attests the connexion of Venuswith wine and gardens, as it is written on a wine-jar ® :

PBESTA MI SINCEBu[m] ITA TE AMET QUECUSTODIT ORTu[m] VENUS.

The Vinalia, then, both in April and August, was really andoriginally sacred to Jupiter. The legendary explanation isgiven by Ovid in 11. 877-900. Whatever the true explanationmay have been, the fact can be illustrated from the ritualemployed ; for it was the Flamen Dialis ^ who ' vindemiamauspicatus est,' i.e. after sacrificing plucked the first grapes.Whether this auspicatio took place on either of the Vinalia has

indeed been doubted, for even August 19 would hardly seem

* Ovid, Fasti, 4. 871

Templa frequentari Gollinae proxima portaeNuno decet; a Siculo nomina colle tenent.

He seems to have confused this temple with that on the Capitol (Aust,de AedtbuSf 23).



* Liv. 40. 34. 4.

' Aust, ib. p. 24. Varro wrote a satire * Vinalia ntpl &<l>podt(TiciJv.' Plutarch(Q. K 45) confuses Vinalia and Veneralia.

* Festus, 264 and 265 ; in the Vallis Murcia (or Circus maximus), andthe lucus Libitinae. (In 265, xiii Kal. Sept. should be xiv.) For thedate of the former temple, 293 b. c, Liv. 10. 31. 9.

* Varro, R. R, i. 1 ; Fost. 265 ; Preller-Jordan, i. 441.

* C. L L, iv. 2776.

^ Varro, L. L. 6. 16. See Myth. Lex. s. v. luppiter, 704 foil.

HEN3IS APBILIS

to suit the ceremony VaiTo describes' ; but the fact that it wasperformed by the priest of Jupiter ia sufficient for our purpose.

Of this day, April 23, we may guesa that it was the one onwhich the wine-skins were first opened, and libationa fromthem made to Jupiter. These are probably the libationa aboutwhich Plutarch' asks 'Why do they pour much wine from thetemple of Venus on the Veneralia ' (i.e. Vinalia)? The samelibations are attested by Verriua : ' Vinalia diem festiim habe-bant quo dievinum novum lovi libabant". After the libationthe wine was tasted, aa we learn from Pliny' ; and it seemsprobable that it was brought from the country into Eome for thispurpose only a few days before. Varro has preserved an in-teresting notice which he saw posted in vineyards atTusculum:'In Tusculania hoiiis (MSS. sortis) est scriptum : 'Vinum no-vum ne vehatur in urbem ante quam vinalia kalentur ' ' ; i. e,

wine-growers were warned that the new wine was not to be' brought into the city until the Vinalia had been proclaimed on' the Nones. It must, however, be added that this notice mayhave had reference to the Vinalia in August ; for Verriua,if he is rightly reported by Paulus', gives August 19 as theday on which the wine might be brought into Eome. Faulusmay be wrong, and have confused the two Vinalia ' ; but inI that case we remain in the dark as to what was done at the> Tinalia Kustica, unless indeed we explain it as a rite intendedto secure the vintage that was to follow against malignantinfluences. This would seem to bo indicated by Pliny [H. N,18, 384), where he classes this August festival with theBobigalia and Floralia \ and further on quotes Varro to prove

I ' Uommsen, C. I L. 336. Yindemia is tlis grape-harveat, Hartmanti,

[ B6m. KaL 13B, differs frutn Motnmsen on tbia poiut.

' ' 9. A 45- ' Foat. 65. < H, K. iB. 387.

' L. L. 6. 16. Horils is Mommson'fl very probable emendntion for sortis of



the MSS, O. Miiller has sucrts, which is preferred by Jordan (Pieller,

.96).

, 1 I. L. 326) thinks that thore is no mietake in the glosa ;but that the Vinalia Eustioa reproaent a later and luxurious faahion ofaUowiug a whole year to elapse before tuating the wine, instead of sixmonths. From the Tiittage, however (end of September or beginning ofOutobeO, to August 19 is not a whole ;ear. See under August 19.

* 'Triananique teaipora fructibus metuebant, propter quod inatituerunt^ feria« diesque festos, Robigalia, Floralia, Vinalia.' That the Vinalia hereI referred to ia the August one ia clear, not only from the order of the~rard(, but from what follows, down to the end of see. 389. Sees. 987

1


that its object was to appease the storms (L e. to be expected inSeptember).

As regards the connexion of the vine-culture with Jupiter,it should be observed that the god is not spoken of as JupiterLiber, but simply Jupiter ; and though the vine was certainly

introduced into Italy from Greece, we need not assume thatDionysus, coming with it, was from the beginning attachedto or identified with Jupiter. The gift of wine might naturallybe attributed to the great god of the air, light, and heat ; theFlamen Dialis who Windemiam auspicatus est' was not thepriest of Jupiter Liber; nor does the aetiological legend, inwhich the Latins avoid the necessity of yielding their first-fruits to the Etruscan tyrant Mezentius by dedicating themto Jupiter, point to any other than the protecting deity ofLatium \

VII Kal. Mai. (April 25). ]^.

[SOBjIGALIA. (CAEB. ESQ. MAFF. PBAEK.)

Note in Praen : febiae robigo via claudia ad milltarium v

NE BOBIOO FBUMENTIS NOCEAT. SACBIFIGIUM ET LUDI CUB-SOBIBUS MAIOBIBUS MINOBIBUSQUE FIUNT. FESTUS ESTPUEBOBUM LENONIOBUM, QUIA PBOXIMUS SUPEBIOB MEBE-TBICUM EST.

Eobigo means red rust or mildew which attacks cereals when



the ear is beginning to be formed % and which is better knownand more dreaded on the continent than with us. Thisdestructive disease is not caused by the sun's heat, as Pliny ^

to end of 288 deal with the Yinalia priora parenthetically ; in 289 Plinyreturns to €he Yinalia altera (or rustica), after thus clearing the groundby making it clear that the April Yinalia * nihil ad fructus attinent.' Hethen quotes Yarro to show that in August the object is to avert stormswhich might damage the vineyards. Mommsen, C. I. L. 326, seems tome to have misread this passage.

* Ovid, Fastif 877 foil. : the legend was an old one for it is quoted byMacrob. {Sat 3. 5. 10) from Gate's Origines. See also Hehn, KuUurpflanzen,65 foil., who is, however, in error as to the identification of Jupiter (Liber)with Zthi *E\€v04pios,

' See Ck)lumella, a. 12; Plin. ^.H.18.91; and article, ^Wiidew,* in Encyrl.Brit For the botanical character of this parasite see Worthington Smith'sDiseases of Field and Garden Crops, chs. ai and 23 ; and Hugh Macmillan'sBible Teachings from Nature, p. 120 foil.

^ N H, 18. 273 : cp. 154. Pliny thought it chiefly the result of dew(cf. mildeWf German mehlthau), and was not wholly wrong.

I

I

MENSIS APRILIS- " 89

tells ua wns the notion of some Italians, but by damp acting inconjunction with a certain height of temperature, as Pliny

himself in fact explains it,

Kobigus' is the spirit who works in the mildew ; and it hasbeen conjectured that he was a form or indigitation of Mars',Tertullian tells us that 'Marti et Eobigini Numa ludoainstituit ' '. This is quite consistent ivith all we know of theHars of the farm-woi-ship, who is invoked to avert evil simplybecause he can be the creator of it '. The same feature is foundin the worship of Apollo, who had at Rhodes the cult-titleI'pvSlSiot'; or Apollo of the blight, as elsewhere he is ApolloSmintheus, i.e. the power that can bring and also avert thepest of field-mice.

Bobigus had a grove of his own at the fifth milestone on theVia Claudia ; and Ovid relates in pi-etty verses how, as he wasreturning from Nomentura (doubtless by way of his owngardens, which were at the junction of the Via Claudia withthe Via Flaminia near the Milvian bridge"), he met theFlamen Quirinalis with the exta of a dog and a sheep to offerto the god '. He joined the procession, which was apparentlysomething quite new to him, and witnessed the ceremony,noting the ineri jiatem, the turis acerra, and the rough linennapkin', at the priest's right hand.. He versiiied the prayer



which he heard, and which is not unlike tliat which Catodirects the husbandman to address to Mars in the lustration ofthe farm ' :,

Aspera Hobigo, parcas Corialibus herbis,St treixiat in autuma leva cacumen liumo.

> The maac is no doubt correct,. Ovid, Fasli, 4. 907, uses the feminineHobigo,' but is alone umong tlie older nriteis in doing so : eee Freller-Jordan, ii. 44, note %.

' Indigitation is. tbe fixing of the local aclion of a god to be invoked, \>yXDeaUB of his name, if I understand rightly Beiffersoheid's view aa givenby B. Peter in Mylk. Lex. a. v. Indigitamenta, p. 137. The priest of tlieHobigalia was the flamen Qiiirianlis ; Qiiirinus is one form of Mars.

' dt êiaailis, 5.

• Cato, ii. R. 141 ; Proller- Jordan, i. 340.

• Strabo, 613; aee Kosoher, jlpoila and Jfurs, p. 6a. 'Epvnifit] m taildcw,of which IpiieiBi is the Ehodian form.

' See Mommsen'g ingenious explanation ia C I, L. 316,

' Faati, 4. 901 foil. The victims had ^>een slain at Rome and in thejnoming ; and were offered at the grove later in the ddy (see Marq. 184).■ Yillis mantele Eolutis (cp. Serv. Aen. la. 169).

• H.Ii. 141.

ii

go THE ROMAN FESTIVALS

Tu sata sideribus caeli nutrita secundiCrescere, dum fiant falcibus apta, sinas.

Parce, precor, scabrasque manus a messibus aufer,Neve noce cultis : posse noccre sat est, &;c.

Ovid then asked the flamen why a dog — nova vktima — wassacrificed, and was told that the dangerous Dog-star was in theascendant ^ :

Est CaniS) Icarium dicunt, quo sidere moto

Tosta sitit tellus, praecipiturque seges.Pro cane sidereo canis hie imponitur arae,

Et quare pereat, nil nisi nomen habet.

In this, however, both he and the priest were certainlymistaken. Sinus does not I'ise, but disappears on April 25, at



sunset ; and it is almost certain that the sacrifice of the doghad nothing to do with the star. The real meaning of thechoice of victim was unknown both to priest and poet : butmodern research has made a reasonable attempt to recover it ^.

We are told ' of a sacrifice of reddish sucking whelps, and ofaugury made from their eoda^ which must have been closelyconnected with the Eobigalia, if not (jn later times at least)identified with it. Originally it was not on a fixed day, asis proved by an extract from the commentarii pontificum quotedby Pliny * ; but it is quite possible that for convenience, as thereligio of the urbs got more and more dissociated from theagriculture in which it had its origin, the date was fixed forApril 25 — the rites of the Eobigalia being of the same kind,and the date suitable. The whelps were red or reddish ; andfrom the language of Festus, quoting Ateius Capito, we gather

^ So we may perhaps translate quo sidere moto: but Ovid certainlythought the star rose (cf. 904). Hartmann explains Ovid's blunder byreference to Serv. Oeorg. i. 218 {Rom. Kal. 193). See also H. Peter, ad loc.

* Mannhardt, My'K Forsch. 107 foil.

' Festus, 285 ; Paul. 45. It was outside the Porta Catularia, of which,

unluckily, nothing is known.

* N. H. 18. 14 * Ita est in commentariis pontificum : Augurio canarioagendo dies constituantur priusquam frumenta vaginis exeant et ante-quam in vaginas perveniant.' For ^ et antequam ' we should perhaps read* nee antequam.* The vagina is the sheath which protects the ear and fromwhich it eventually protrudes ; and it seems chat in this stage, which inItaly would occur at the end of April or beginning of May, the corn ispeculiarly liable to * rust.' (So Virg. Oeorg. i. 151 * Ut mala mlmos Essetrobigo ' : i. e. the stalks including the vagina.) See Hugh Macmillan,op. cit. p. lai.

MENSIS APBILI3 91

tliat this colour was supposed to resemble that of the corn whenripe: 'Eufae canea imraolabantur, ut fruges _fiavescenfes ad matu-ritatem perducerentur ' (p, 285). We should indeed naturallyhave expected that the rufous colour was thought to resemblethe red mildew, as Mannhardt explains it ' ; but we do not knowfor certain that these puppies were offered to Eobigug. In anycase, however, we may perhaps see ia them an animal represen-tation of the corn, and in the rite a piece of ' sympatheticmagic ' ', the object of which was to bring the com to itsgolden perfection, or to keep off the robigo, or both. If we

knew more about the dog-offering at the grove of Roblgus,we might find that it too, if not indeed identical with theaugurium, had a similar intention.

The red mildew was at times ao terrible a scourge that theRobigalia must in early Rome, when the population livedon the corn grown near the city, have been a festival of veryreal meaning. But later on it became obscured, and gave wayto the races mentioned in the note in the Praenestine calendar'',and under the later empire to the Christian litania maior, the



original object of which was also the safety of the crops*. The25th is at present St. Mark's day.

IV Km. Mai. (Apb. 28). TP.LOEDi ploe[ae] (caeb.) ludi flor[ae]. (maff. fraeit.)V NoN. Mai. (May 3), C.

FLOE A E (VEN.).

On the intervening days were also ludi (C /. L. 317).

Note in Praen. (Apr. 28): eomm die aedih piorab, <jnAE

' ifyth. Faneh. 106. Mr. Frazer (0. B. ii. 59 : cp, i. 306) tsbes the oUiorview cif this and similar aaurifices, but with some lieaitation.

' It must be confesaed that thecannot well be altroya expljiitied in . . „

IsraoliteB (Numbers lii], and the rod oxen of the Egyptians (Plut. lais andOaiHs, 31)- But in this rite, occurring bo close to the Carialia, where, a^wa have seen, fares were turned out in the cireus mmimus, the colour of

the puppies must have had some meaning in rolation to the growing crops.

' 'Ludi cursoribus maioribua minoribusque.' What these were is notknown ; Mommsen, C. I. L. 317.

' Csener, lUligiottagtscklclile, i. :

d

9S THE ROMAN FESTIVALS

This was not a very ancient festival and is not" marked inthe Calendars in those large letters which are believed toindicate extreme antiquity \ Its history seems to be as follows:in 238 B. c. in consequence of a dearth, the Sibylline Bookswere consulted, and games in honour of Flora were held forthe first time by plebeian aediles ^ ; also a temple was dedicatedto her ad circum maanmum on April 28 of that year'*. Thereseems to be a certain connexion between the accounts of theinstitution of the Floralia and the Cerialia. Dearth was thealleged cause in each case ; and the position of the temple ofFlora near that of Ceres : the foundation by plebeian magistrates,

in this case the two Publicii *, who as aediles were able to spendpart of the fines exacted from defaulting holders of ager publicuson this object * : and the coarse character of the games as Oviddescribes them, all seem to show that the foundation wasa plebeian one, like that of the Cerialia \

There may, however, have been something in the nature ofludi before this date and at the same time of year, but not ofa regular or public character. Flora was beyond doubt an oldItalian deity ^, probably closely related to Ceres and Venus.



There was a Flamen Floralis of very old standing ® ; and Florais one of the deities to whom piacula were offered by the Fratres

* See Introduction, p. 15.

* Plin. N.H. 18. 286; two years earlier, according to Velleius, i. 14.This is, I think, the only case in which a deity taken in hand by thedecemviri sdcris faciundis cannot be traced to a Greek origin ; but tliecharacteristics of Flora are so like those of Venus that in the former, asin the latter, Aphrodite may be concealed. The games as eventuallyorganized had points in conimoni with the cult of Aphrodite at Hierapolis(Luoian, Dea Syr, 49 ; Farnell, Ctdts, IL 643) ; and it is worth noting thattheir date (173 b. c.) is subsequent to the Sjrrian war. Up to that timethe games were not regular or annual (Ovid, Fasti, 5. 295).

' Tac Ann. 2. 49 ; Aust, p. 17.

* Plebis ad aediles : Ovid, ib. v. 287,; Festus, 238, probably in error, callsthe Publicii eurule aediles.

* Ovid, ib. 5. 277 foil., in which he draws a picture of the misdoings of thelandholders. Cp. Liv. 33. 42, for the temple of Faunus in insula, foundedby the same means.

* Ovid, ib. 5. 352.

* Steuding in Mytk. Lex, s. v. Flora. There was a Sabine month Flusalis(Momms. Chron. 219) = Floralis, and answering to July, Varro consideredFlora a Sabine deity (i. L. 5. 74).

' Varro, L. L. 7. 45. Flora had an ancient temple in coUe, nearthe so-called Capitoiium vetus (Steuding, Lc), i.e. in the * Sabinequarter.'

MENSIS APRILI3 93

Ai'valea'â list beginning with Jjinus nnd ending with Vesta.There is no doubt, then, that there was a Floni-cult iii Koniolong before the foundation of the temple and the games in238 ; and though, its character may have changed under theinfluence of the Sibylline books, we may bo able to glean someparticulars es to its original tendency.

In the account of Ovid and from other hints we gather —

1. That indecency was let loose' at any rate on the originalday of the ludi (April 28\ which were in later times extended

to May 3. The numen of Flora, says Ovid, was not stiict.Drunkenness was the order of the day, and the usual resultsfollowed ;

Ebriua ad durum formoBfie timen amicaoCautat: habtnt uncUa moUiu serta comne.

The prostitutes of Rome hailed this as their feast-day, as wellas the Vinaliu on the 23rd ; and if we may trust a story toldby Valerius Maxiniua ', Cato the younger withdrew from the



theatre rather than behold the mimae unclothe themselves,though he would not interfere with the custom. Flora herself,like Acca Lsrentia. was said by late writers to have beetia harlot whose gains enabled her to leave money for the ludi\These characteristics of the festival were no doubt developedunder the influence of luxury in a large city, and grew^ stillmore objectionable under the Empire". But it is difficult tobelieve that such practices would have grown up as they didat this particular time of year, had there not been some previouscustoms of the kind existing before the ludi were regularlyinstituted.

2. We find another curious custom belonging to the lastdays of the ludi, which became common enough under theEmpire", but may yet have had an origin in the cult of Flora.

' Ilen;[en, Aria Fratr, Arv, 14S.

' Ov. 5. 331 foil ' Volt sua plebeio sacra pnttre chore.'

' Val. Mux. a. lo. B. Steuding in Uyth. Lex, has oddly mtttiinderstoodthis pa^Hgp, makiug Val. Max. write of this custom an an nnrient one,wheresB be clearly implie* the opposite. It was no doubt the relicof some rude country praitice, degenerated under the

city life.

' Lictantiiis, De falsa TtUgione, i. ao.

" Aug. Cic. Dei, ii. a-j.

* Friedlilnder on MarliHl, 8, 67. 4.


Hares and goats were let loose in the Circus Maximus on thesedays. Ovid asks Flora :

Cur tibi pro Libycis clauduntur rete ^ leaenisImbelles capreae sollicitusque lepusf

and gets the answer :

Non sibi, respondit, silyas cessisse, sed hortosArvaque pugnaci non adeunda ferae.

If we take this answer as at least appropriate, we may add toit the reflection that hares and goats are prolific animals and

also that they are graminivorous. Flora as a goddess offertility and bloom could have nothing in common with fiercecamivora. But we are also reminded of the foxes that werelet loose in the Circus at the Cerialia^, and may see in thesebeasts as in the foxes am'mal representations of the spirit offertility.

3. Another custom is possibly significant in something thesame way. From a passage in Persius we learn that vetches,beans, and lupines were scattered among the people in the



circus \ The commentators explain this as meaning that theywere thrown simply to be scrambled for as food ; and we knowthat other objects besides eatables were thrown on similaroccasions, at any rate at a later time^. But it is noticeablethat among these objects were medals with obscene representa-tions on them ; and putting two and two together it is notunreasonable to guess that the original custom had a meaningconnected with fructification. Dr. Mannhardf^ has collecteda very large number of examples of the practice of sprinklingand throwing all kinds of grain, including rice, peas, beans, &c.,from all parts of the world, in the marriage rite and at thebirth of children ; amply sufficient to prove that the custom issymbolic of fertility. Bearing in mind the time of year, thenature of Flora, the character of the April rites generally, and

^ H. Peter takes this to mean that they were let loose from a net andhunted into it again. See note ad loc. 5. 371.

* See above, p. 77.

' Sat, 5. 177 : Yigila et cicer ingere large

Rixanti populo, nostra ut Floralia possintAprici meminisse senes. — Cp. Hor. Sat. a. 3. iSa.

* Friedl&nder, Sittengeschichte, ii. a86 ; and his note on Martial, 8. 78.

* Kind, u, Kom, 351 foil.

MENSIS APRILI3 95

the occurrence of the women's cult of the Bona Dea on May 1,

viz. one of the days of the ludi, we may perhaps conjecturethat the custom in question was a very old one — far older than

the organized gameaând had reference to the fertility both ofthe earth and of man himself ',

Fesiae LatiiTae.

A brief account may be here given of the great Latin festivalwhich usually in historical times took place in April. ThoughB not held at Kome, but on the Alban Mount, it was underthe direct supervision of the Homan state, and was in realitya Roman festival. The consuls on their entrance upon office onthe Ides of March had to fix and announce the date of it';

and when in 153 b. c. the day of entrance was changed toJanuary i, the date of the festivid does not seem to have beenchanged to suit it. The consuls must be present themselves,leaving apraefectus urbi at Rome ' ; or in case of the compulsoryabsence of both consuls a dictator might be appointed FeriarumJ^ttiinantm causa. Only when the festival was over could theyleave Rome for their provinces.

It was therefore a festival of the highest importance to theRoman state. But the ritual will show that it must in fact



have been much older than that state as we know it in histoiicaltimes ; it was a common festival of the most ancient Latincommunities', celebrated on the lofty hill which arose in theirmidst, where dwelt the gi'eat protecting deity of their race. Atwhat date Rome became the presiding city at the festival wedo not know. The foundation of the temple on the hill was

' Another point that may strike the render of Ovid is the wearing ofparti-colourud dress on these days (5. 355 : cp. Mnrtial, 5. 33) —Cur tamen ut duntur Testes CoHalibus olhao.Sic linec est uultu versicolors decens?

n doubtfutlj. Whs this a practice af comparatively latedate? See Friedlander, Eitlengesckichle ii. 275.

* Monimsen in C. I. L. vi. p. 455 [Tubuln for. Lat.). The day was March 15from B.C, aaa to 153; in earlier timea it had been frequently changed.See Uommaen, Clirvn. p. 83 foil.

' Oa this office and its connexion with the/eriae see Vigneaux, Essai surVkitloin di la pra^tctura urbis, p. 37 foil.

' PiiD. iT. A'. 3. 69; Dtoiiys.4. 49. The diffieiilt quostiona arising out ofthe numberB given by these authorities are d suUBsed by Bdoch, Ilaliiclter

" r, (78 foil, and Mommsen in Hennes, vol. xvii. 4a tolL

g6 THE ROMAt^ FESTIVALS

ascribed to the Tarquinii, and this tradition seems to be bonieout by the character of the foundations discovered there, whichresemble those of the Capitoline templet No doubd theTarquinii may have renovated the cult or even given it anextended significance ; but the 'Roman presidency must coii-jecturally be placed still further back. Perhaps no festival,

Greek or Boman, carries us over such a Vast period of time asthis ; its features betray its origin in the pastoral age, and itcontinued in almost uninterrupted grandeur till the end of thethird century a. d., or even later*.

The ritual as known to us was as follows'. When themagistrates or (their deputies) of all the Latin cities taking parthad assembled at the temple, the Eoman consul offered a libationof milk, while the deputies from th« other cities brought sheep,cheeses, or other such offeiings. But the characteristic ritewas the slaughter of a pure white heifer that had never feltthe yoke. This sacrifice was the duty of the consul, whoacted on behalf of the whole number of cities. When it was

concluded, the flesh of the victim was divided amongst all thedeputies and consumed by them. To be left out of thiscommon meal, or sacrament, would be equivalent to beingexcluded from communion with the god and the Latin league,^nd the desire to obtain the allotted flesh is more than oncoalluded to*. A general festivity followed the sacrifice, whileoscilla, or little puppets, were hung from the branches of treesas at the Paganalia \ As usual in Italy, the least oversight inthe ceremony or evil omen made it necessary to begin it allover again ; and this occasionally happened \ Lastly, during



the festival there was a truce between all the cities, and it

* Aust, In Myth. Lex, s. v. luppiter, p. 689.' C. I. L, vi. 2021.

' Condensed from the account given by Aust, 1. c See also Pi*ellcr-Jordan, i. aio foil. The chief authority is Dionys. 4. 49.

* e. g. Liv. 39. I, 37. 3, in which cases some one city had not receivedits portion. The result was an instaurcUioferiarum.

* See below, p. 294 (Feriae Sementivae). Tiie meaning of the oscillawas not really known to the later Romans, who freely indulged in con-jectures about them. Macrob. i. 7. 34; Serv. Georg. a. 389; Paul. 12 r.My own belief is that, like the bullae of children, they were only one ofthe many means of averting evil influences.

* See the passages of Livy quoted above, and add 40. 45 (on account ofa stoim) ; 41. 16 ;a failure on the part of Lanuvium).

MENSIS APRILIS 97

would seem that the alliance between Eome and the Latins wasyearly renewed on the day of the Feriae '.

Some of the leading characteristics of the Italian Jupiter willbe considered further on ^. But this festival may teach us thatwe are here in the presence of the oldest and finest religiousconception of the Latin race, which yearly acknowledges itscommon kinship of blood and seals it by partaking in thecommon meal of a sacied victim, thus entering into communionwith the god, the victim, and each other ^. The offerings arecharacteristic rather of a pastoral than an agricultural age, and

suggest an antiquity that is fully confirmed by the ancientutensils dug up on the Alban Mount \ As Helbig has pointedout, the absence of any mention of wine proves that the originof the festival must be dated earlier than the introduction ofthe grape into Italy. The white victim may be a reminiscenceof some primitive white breed of cattle. The common mealof the victim's flesh is a survival from the age when cattle weresacred animals, and were never slain except on the solemnannual occasions when the clan renewed its kinship and itsmutual obligations by a solemn sacrament \

As Kome absorbed Latium, so Jupiter Latiaris gave waybefore the gi'eat god of the Capitol, who is the symbol of the

later victorious and imperial Eome ; but the god of the Albanhill and his yearly festival continued to recall the early shareof the Latins in the rise of their leading city, long after thepopulation of their towns had been so terribly thinned thatsome of them could hardly find a surviving member to representthem at the festival and take their portion of the victim \

^ Macrob. i. i6. i6 * Cum Latiar, hoc est Latinarum solemne concipitur,nefas est proelium sumere : quia nee Latinarum tempoi*e, quo publicequondam indutiae inter populum Romanum Latinosque firmatae sunt,



inclioari bellum decebat.'

' See under Sept. 13.

' For the characteristics and meaning of the common sacrificial mealsee especially Robertson Smith, Religion qfihe SendicSg Lect. yili*

* Helbig, Die Italiker in der Poehenef 71,

* Robertson Smith, op. cit., 278 foil.

* Cic. pro Flancio, 9. 23.

H

MENSIS MAIUS.

Was the name of this month taken from a deity Mala,or had it originally only a signification of growing or increasing,such as we might expect in a word derived from the same root

as maior, maicstaSf &c.? The following passage of Macrobiuswill show how entirely the Eoman scholars were at sea intheir answer to this question ' :

'Maium Eomulus tertium posuit. De cuius nomine interauctores lata dissensio est. Nam Fulvius Nobilior in Fastisquos in aede Herculis Musarum posuit * Komulum dicit post-quam populum in maiores iunioresque diuisit, ut altera parsconsilio altera armis rem publicam tueretur, in honoremutriusque partis hunc Malum, sequentem lunium mensemuocasse^. Sunt qui hunc mensem ad nostros fastos a Tuscu-lanis transisse commemorent, apud quos nunc quoque uocaturdeus Maius, qui est luppiter, a magnitudine scilicet ac maiestate

dictus\ Cingius^ mensem nominatum putat a Maia quamYulcani dicit uxorem, argumentoque utitur quod flamenYulcanalis Kalendis Mails huic deae rem diuinam facit. SedPiso uxorem Yulcani Maiestam non Maiam dicit uocari.Contendunt alii Maiam Mercurii matrem mensi nomen dedisse,hinc maxime probantes quod hoc mense mercatores omnes

^ Sat. I. 12. i6. * See above, Introduction, p. ii.

' So Varro also (L. L, 6. 33). But Censorinus {De die naiali, 20. a) ex-pressly ascribes to Varro the derivation from Maia ; the great scholarapparently changed his view.

* For lup. Mains see Aust, in Myth, Lex. s. v. luppiter, p. 650.

* This was probably not the early historian Gincius Alimentus, buta contemporary of Augustus, Teuffel, Hisl. of Roman Literature, sec. 106.For the flamen Yolcanalls see on Aug 23.

UEKSIS KAIU8 99



-Iilaiae pariter Mercurloque sacrificant '. Adfirmant quidam.quibus Cornelius Labeo coiisentit, banc Uaiam cui nienee Maiures diuina celebratur terrain esse hoc adeptatn nomen a magni-tudice, sicut et Mater Magna in eacris uocatiir adsertionemqueaestimationis suae otiam hine coUJgunt quod sus praegnansei mactatur, quae hostia propria est terrae. Et Mercuriumideo illi in sacris adiungi dicunt quia uox nascent! hominiterrae con tact u datur, acimus autem Mercurium uocis etBermonis potentem, Auctor est Cornelius Labeo huic Maiaeid est terrae aedem Kalendia Maiis dedlcatam sub nomineBonae Deae et eandem esse Bonam Deam et terrain ex ipsoritu occultiore sacrorum doceri poase confirmat. Haiic eandemBonam deam Faunamque et Openi et Fatuam pontificum libnsI indigitari, &c.'

i clear from this passage that the Romans themselves

I were not agreed, either in the case of May or June, that the

name of the month was derived from a deity. No Boman

I scholar doubted that Martius was derived from Mara, the

I characteristic god of the Koman race ; but Maia was a deity

I known apparently only to the priests and tbe learned. Had

L popular one, what need could there have been

I to question so obvious an etymology ? And if she were an

obscure one, bow could she have given her name to a month ?

As a matter of fact March is the only month of which we can

be sure that it was named after a god. Even January ia

doubtful, June still more so. The natural assumption about

this latter word would be that it comes from Juno, more

especially as wo find in Latium the words Junonius and

Junonalis as names of months'. But if Junius came from

Juno, it must have come by tbe dropping out of a syllable ;

and this, in the case of a long and accented 0, would be at least

unlikely to happen'. Nor can we discover any sufBeient

reason why the month of June should be called after Juno ;

I none at any rate such as accounts for the connexion of Mara

I with the initial month of the year. This ia enough to show

nthelilea: Bdebulow. p. iso. The conneition between MercuriUBI and Maja fioems to arise simply from the tiict that the dedication of tlie■ templa of the former was on the Idea of this month.



' Ovid, FaiH, 6. 59 foil. ; Mommeeiti Chon, siS.

* The etymology was defended by Itosclier in Fleckoiaon's Jahrbuch for^875, and in his Juno und Kara, p. 105.

lOO THE ROMAN FESTIVALS

that the derivation of June from Juno must be left doubtful ;and if so, certainly that of May from Maia. In the case of thismonth, not only does the natural meaning of mensis Mainssuit well as following the mensis Aprilis, but there is nocuU of a deity Maia which is found throughout the month.

Any one who reads the passage of Macrobius with someknowledge of the Koman theological system will hardly failto conclude that Maia is only a priestly indigitation of anotherdeity, and that the name thus invented was simply taken fromthe name of the month as explained above. This deity wasmore generally known, as Macrobius implies, by the name BonaDea, and her temple was dedicated on the Kalends of May.

It is difficult to characterize the position of the monthof May in the religious calendar. It was to some extent nodoubt a month of purification. At the Lemuria the house waspurified of hostile ghosts ; the curious ceremony of the Argeion the Ides is called by Plutarch the greatest of the purifica-tions ; and at the end of the month took place the lustratioof the growing crops. We note too that it was consideredill-omened to marry in May, as it still is in many parts ofEurope. The agricultural operations of the month were notof a marked character. Much work had indeed to be donein oliveyards and vineyards ; some crops had to be hoed andcleaned, and the hay-harvest probably began in the latter partof the month. In the main it was a time of somewhat anxious

expectation and preparation for the harvest to follow ; and thisfalls in fairly well with the general character of its religiousrites.

Kal. Mai. (May i.) F.lar[ibus]. (ven.) l , (esq.)

This was the day on which, according to Ovid^, an altarand 'parva signa' had been erected to the Lares praestites.They were originally of great antiquity, but had fallen intodecay in Ovid's time :

Bina gemellorum quêbam signa deonun,

Yiribus annosae facta caduca morae*.

^ Fasti, 5. 129 foil. For the doubtful reading Curibw in 131 see Peter,ad loc ; Preller-Jordan, iL 114.^ FasHj 5. 143 ; Plutarch, Quaesi. Rom. 51.

MEN8IS MATOS lOI



Ovitlhimself had apparently not seen the sf'iTMO, though he loked

[ for them ; and no doubt he took from Yarro the description he

I gives. They had the figure of a dog at their feet', and, according

I to Plutarch, were clothed in dogs' skins. Both Ovid and Plutarch

explained the dog as symbolizing their watch over the city ;

though Plutarch, following, as he says, cei-tain Romans, preferred

to think of them rather as evil demons searching out and

punishing guilt like dogs. The mention of the skins is very

curious, and we can, hardly separate it from the numerous

\ other instances in which the images of deities are known

to have been clothed in the skins of victims sacrificed to them".

, We may indeed fairly conclude that the Lares were chthonic

deities, and as such were originally appeased, like Hekate in

Greece^, by the sacrifice of dogs. We have already had one

example of the dog used as a victim ■*. Two others are

' mentioned by Plutarch " ; in one case the deity was the

! obscure Genita Mana, and in the other the unknown god of

the Lupercalia, both of which belong in all probability to the

same stratum of Italian religious antiquity as the Lares.

Whether we should go fuiiher, and infer from the use of the

skins that the Lares were originally worshipped in the form of

dogs ', is a question I must leave undecided ; the evidence

is very scanty. There is no trace of any connexion with the

dog in the cult of the Lares domestici ^, or Compitales.

This is also the traditional day of the dedication of a templeto the Bona Dea, on the slopes of the Aventine, under a big

1 sacred rock. It is thus described by Ovid * :

Est molea nativa loco. Res nomina fecit:Appellant S.nium. Pars bona aiontis ea est

Huio Remus inatiterat fmstra, quo tempore frutriFrima Palatinae aigna dodiatis area.

' This appeaca on coins of the gens C.iesia : Cohen, Med. Omi. pi. viii.Wissowa, in Myth. Lfx., s.y. I^rea, gives a cut of the coin, on whifh the



Idrea are represented sitting with a dog between them. See Dote at theend of this work (Note B) on the further interpretation of these coins.

• See Robertson Smith, Religion r^the Semites, 414 foil.

' Famell, CuUs, ii. 515. Hekate was oei-tainly a deity of the earth, Ct.f FIuL Q. n. 68. * See on Robigalia, April 95.

' Quouf. ifoiR, 53 and iii ; cf. Rumufiu 21.

* So Jtwons. Roman flueshons, Introduction, ili.' De-Harohi, La Rdigiotit tieUa tita domesliiyt, 48. Wissowa {Myih. Lex ,

Iiares, p. iSâj prefers the old interpretiition, much as Plutarch givts' ' FaeH, 5. 149 foil.

J

T02 THE BOMAN FESTIVALS

Templa Patres iUic ocolos ezosa viriles

Leniter acclivi constituere iago.Dedicat haec veteris Clausomm nominis hereS|

Yirgineo nullum corpore passa Tirum.Livia reatituit, ne non imitata maritum

Esset et ex omni parte secuta Yirum.

The allusion to Ecmus fixes the site on the Aventine. Thedate is uncertain ^ ; so too the alleged foundation by Claudia,which may be only a reflection from the story of the part

played by a Claudia in the introduction of the Moffna MaterIdaea to Kome*. The temple, as Ovid says, was restoredby Livia, in accordance with the policy of her husband, alsoat an unknown date.

Of the cult belonging to this temple we have certain traces,which also help us to some vague conception of the natureof the deity. It should be observed that though in oneessential particular, viz. the exclusion of men, this cult wassimilar to that of December, it must have been quite distinctfrom it, as the latter took place, not in a temple, but in thehouse of a magistrate cum imperio \

I. The temple was cared for, and the cult celebrated, bywomen only *. There was an old story that Hercules, whendriving the cattle of Geryon, asked for water by the caveof Cacus of the women celebrating the festival of the goddess,and was refused, because the women's festival was goingon, and men were not allowed to use their drinking-vessels ;and that this led to the corresponding exclusion of women fromthe worship of Hercules*. The myth obviously arose outof the practice. The exclusion of men points to the earth-



* Aust, De Aedihu8 sctcriSj p. 27. It was apparently before 123 b. 0., whena Vestal Virgin, Licinia, added an aedicula, puivinar, and ara to it (Cic. deDomOy 136).

'' Wissowa, in Pauly's Real-Encyclqpddie, s. v. Bona Dea, 690. See above,p. 69.

' See below, under Dec. 3. There can be hardly a doubt that thisDecember rite was the one famous for the sacrilegium of Clodius in 69 b. c,though Prof. Beesly rashly assumed the contrary in his essay on Clodius{Catiline^ Clodius^ and Tiberius^ p. 45 note). Plutarch, Cic, 19 and ao; DioCass. 37. 35.

* Ovid, 1. c. * oculos exosa viriles.' Cp. Ars Amat. 3. 637. On this andother points in the cult see B. Peter in Myth. Lex., and Wissowa, 1. c. Thelatter seems to refer most of them to the December rit-e ; but Ovid andMacrobius expressly connect them with the temple, Macr. i. la. 25 folL

^ Propert. 4. 9 ; Macr. i. la. a8.

MENSI3 MAinS I03

nature of the Bona Dea ; the same was the case in the worshipof the Athenian Demeter Theamophoros, The earth seemsalways to be spiritualized as feminine even among savagepeoples', and the reason of the exclusion of men is not dJfBcultto conjecture, just as the exclusion of women from the worshipof Hercules is explained by the fact that Hercules represents themale principle in the ancient Roman religion ',

2. Macrobiua" tells ua that wine could not be brought intothe temple siio nomine, but only under the name of milk, andthat the vase in which it was carried was called mellnrium,i.e. a vaae for honey. A legend grew up to account for thecustom, to which we shall refer again, that Faunus had beaten

his daughter Fauna (i.e. Bona Dea) with a rod of myrtlebecause she would not yield to his incestuous love or drinkthe wine he pressed on her '. This may indicate a sui-vivalfrom the time when the herdsman used no wine in sacred rites,but milk and honey only ; Pliny tells us of such a time \ andhis evidence is confirmed by the poeta. In any case milkwould be the appropriate offering to the Earth-mother, andit is hard to see why it should have been changed to wine,unless it were that life in the city and Greek influence alteredthe character both of tiie Bona Dea and her worshippers. Thereally rustic deities had milk offered them, e. g. Silvanus,Pales, and Ceres, The general inference from this survivalis that the Bona Dea was originally of the same nature with

these deities, but lost her rusticity when she became partof an organized city worship.

3. Myrtle was not allowed in this temple ; hence the myththat Faunus beat his daughter with a myrtle rod ', But could

' Tylor, Primitive Culture, ji. 345 toll.

* Bee below, p. 143. Lex. Myth. a. v, Hercules, 3358.



' UhCt. 1. a. Plutarch also knew of this (Quocsl. Rom. ao).

* Otherwise in LnctBntiils, i. aa. it, and Arnob. $. 18, where Fauna Issaid tohavebeeB beaten becnuee she drank wine ; no doubt a later version.IiactHiitiQH quotea Sexb. Glodiu?, a cantemporary of Cicero.

' U.S.H.hS. SaaBbOTeonferineLatiiiBe,p.97. Virg. Erl, 5.66; Georg. i.344 ; Aen. 5. 77. In tlie last pHEsage milk is offered to the inferiae ofAnchises : we mity note the Bimiliiritj of the oult of Earth- del ties andof the dead.

' Plut. 9. Ji. ao ; Macrob. 1, c. ; Lactant. I. c. The myth iias been ex-plained as Greek (Widows, in Paulj, 688), but its peculiar feature, thewhipping, could hardly have become attached to a Romnn cult unless therewere aometbing tn the cult to attach it to, or unless the cult itself were

I04 THE BOMAN FESTIVALS

the exclusion of myrtle by itself have suggested the beating?Dr. Mannhardt answers in the negative, and conjectures thatthere must have been some kind of beating in the cult itself,which gave rise to the story \ Dr. Mannhardt never made

a conjecture without a large collection of facts on which to baseit; and here he depends upon a number of instances fromGreece and Northern Europe, in which man or woman, orsome object such as the image of a deity, is whipped with rods,nettles, strips of leather, &c., in order, as it would seem,to produce fertility and drive away hostile influences. Weshall see the same peculiarity occurring at the Lupercalia inFebruary ^ where its object and meaning are almost beyonddoubt. Many of these practices occur, it is worth noting,on May-day. If the Bona Dea was a representative in anysense of the fertiHty of women, as well as of the fructifyingpowers of the earth — ând the two ideas seem naturally tohave run together in the primitive mind— we may provisionally

accept Dr. Mannhardt's ingenious suggestion. If it be objectedthat as myrtle was excluded from the cult it could not havebeen used therem for the purpose of whipping, the answeris simply that as being invested with some mysterious powerit was tabooed from ordinary use, but, like certain kinds ofvictims, was introduced on special and momentous occasions.

4. The temple was a kind of herbarium in which herbs werekept with healing properties \ A group of interesting in-scriptions shows that the Bona Dea did not confine her healingpowers to cases of women, but cured the ailments of bothsexes ^ This attribute of the goddess is borne out by thepresence of snakes in her temple, the usual symbol of the

medicinal art, and at the same time appropriate to the BonaDea as an Earth-goddess '^. It is possible that this featureis a Greek importation ; but on the whole I see no reason why

borrowed from the Greek. That the latter was the case it is impossibleto prove ; and I prefer to believe that both cult and myth were Roman.^ Mythohgische Forachungen^ 115 foil. Cp. Frazer, Golden Boughy ii. 213 foil.

* Below, p. 320. See also on July 7 (Nonae Caprotinae).



' Macrob. 1. c. * Quidam Medeam putant, quod in aede eius omne genusherbarum sit ex quibus antistites dant plerumque medicinas.'

* a I. i. vi. 54 foil.

* This no doubt gave rise to the myth that Faunus 'coisse cum filia*in the form of a snake. Here again the myth may possibly be Greek,but we have no right to deny that it may have bad a Roman basis.

I

I

I

MENSIS HAIUS IO5

the female ministi'ants of the ieraple should not have exercisedBuch healing powers, or have sold or given herhs at lequeat,even at a very early period. No doubt Greek medicinal learn-

ing became associated with it, but that the knowledge of simpleswas indigenous in Italy we have abundant proof ' ; and that itshould have been connected with no cult of a deity until Aescu-lapius was introduced from Greece, is most improbable.

5. The sacrifice mentioned is that of aporeo'. The pig isalso the victim in the worship of Cares, of Juno Lucina'(as alternative for a lamb), and as a piacular sacrifice in theritual of the deity of the Fi'atres Arvales (Dea Dia) ; it seemsin fact, as in Greece, to be appropriate to deities of the earthand of women. There is no reason to suppose that whereverit is found it had a Greek origin ; even in the cult of Ceres,which, as we saw, became early overlaid with Greek practice',

the pig may have been the victim before that change tookplace. But it is a singular fact that in the worship of theBona Dea, either at the temple of the Aventine, or in theDecember rite— more probably perhaps in the la tter^the victimwas called by a name which looks suspiciously Greek, viz.Damium\ It seems that there was a deity Damia who wasworshipped here and there in Greece, and also in SouthernItaly, e. g. at Tarentum, where she had a festival called Dameia*.It looks as if this Greek deity had at one time migrated fromTarentum to Kome, and become engrafted upon the indigenousBona Dea ; for we are expressly told that Damia was identicalwith the Bona Dea, and that the priestess of the latter was calledDamiatrix^. Much has been written about these very obscure

names, without any very definite result ; but it seems to be

Snakea were kept in gi'eat numbers both in temples and houses in ItuI;(Prel]flr-Jord:in, i. B7, 385).

' Plin, S. iV. 39 passiMy espoolallf if, &a,, where Cnto ia quoted asdetesting the cow Qreek art^ and urging Ilia son to atick to the oldaimples ; some of which, with their absurd chnrms, ftre given in Cato,S. S. 156 foil. ' Macrob. I. e. ; Juv. Bat. a. 86.



' Marq. 173. Gilbert (Gcsch. vnd Topogr. ii. 159, note) faaa some im-posBible comblnatioua on thia aubject, and conctiideg that the Bona Dea■was a moon-Boddesa. ' See above, p. â foil.

' Paulua, 68 ' Damium sJicriEcium, quod Sehat in operto in lionoremBonae deae, . . . dea quoque ip^ D.imia et sacerdos eius douiiatrlxappellabntur.'

' R. Peter in MijOi. Leu., a, v. Damia ; Wissi^wa, 1.0.

' PauluB, I c.

I06 THE ROMAN FESTIVALS

generally agreed that the form of the word damiatrix indicatesa high antiquity for the Graecized form of the cult, and mayindeed possibly suggest an Italian origin for the whole groupof names. In this uncertainty conjectures are almost useless.

We have, seen enough of the cult to gain some idea of thenature of this mysterious deity, whose real name was not

known, even if she had one '. We need not identify her withVesta, as some have done*, nor with Juno Lucina, nor with anyother female deity of the class to which she seems to havebelonged. She must at one time have been, whatever sheafterwards became, a protective deity of .the female sex, theEarth-mother ^ a kindly and helpful, but shy and unknowabledeity of fertility. The name Bona Dea is probably to beregarded as one indigitation of the Earth-spirit known bya variety of other names and appearing in a^number of differentphases. There is indeed a remarkable indefiniteness about theItalian female deities of this class ; they never gained what wemay call complete specific distinctness, but are rather half-formed species developed from a common type. They form,

in fact, an excellent illustration of the nature of that earlieststratum of Boman religious belief which has been called pan-daemonism — a belief in a world of spiritual powers not yetgrown into the forms of individual deities, but ready at anymoment, under influences either native or foreign, to take amore definite shape.

VII. Id. Mao[. (Ma^ 9.). N.

LEM[VEIA]. (VEN. MAFF.)

V. Id. Mai. (May ii). N.LEM[VRIA]. (tusc. ven. haff.)

III. Id. Mai. (Mat 13). N.LEM[VRIA]. (tusc. ven. maff.)

The word Lemuria indicates clearly enough some kind ofworship of the dead ; but we know of no such public cult on

^ Lactantius, i. 2a ; Serv. Aen. 8. 314.

* Preuner, Hestia-Vesta, 407 foil. For Lucina, Gilbert, 1. c.



' The combination of the idea of female fecundity with that of theearth is of course common enough. Here is a good example fromAbyssinia : ' She (Atetie) is the goddess of fecundity, and women are her

I

MEN8IS MAIUS I07

dnys except from the cnlendara. What Oviddescribes as taking place at this time ia a private and domesticrite performed by the head of the household ' ; and Ovid ia ouronly informant in regard to details. In historical times thepublic festival of the dead was that of the dies paren tales inFebruary, ending with the Feralia on the ziat. How, then,is it that the thi-ee days of the Lemuria appear in thoseJarge letters in the ancient calendars, which, as we have seen ',indicate the public festivals of the religious system of theRepublic? There is no certain answer to this question. We

can but guess that the Lemuria was at one time, like theFerah'a, a public festival, but descended from a more ancientdeposit of auporetition which in historical times was burieddeep beneath the civilization of a developed city life '. Ovidhimself implies that the Lemuria was an older festival thanthe Feralia', and we may suppose him to he following Varroas a guide. And if we compare his account of the grotesquedomestic rites of the Lomuria with those of February, whichwere of a systematic, cheerful, and even beautiful character.we may feel fairly sure that the latter represents the organizedlife of a city state, the former the ideas of an age when life waswilder and less secure, and the tear of the dead and of demonsgenerally was a powerful factor in the minds of the people.

If we may argue from Ovid's account, to be described directly,it is not impossible that the Lemuria may have been one ofthose periodical expulsions of demons of which Mr, Frazer hastold us 80 much in his Golden Bough \ and which are performedon behalf of the community as well as in the domestic cii-cloamongst savage peoples. It is noticeable that the offeringof food to the demons is a feature common to those practices,and that it also appears in those described by Ovid.

The difference of character in the two Koman festivals of thedead is perhaps also indicated by the fact that the days ofthe Lemui'ia are marked in the calendars with the letter N,

prineipal Totaries ; but, ns iilie can ntso make the anrth proliflo, ofTeriiigaare made to her for that purpose' (Macdonuld, Religion and MyHi, p. 43).' fash', 5. 431 foil. ' See Introduetion, p. 15,

' Haschka (RSm. Jahr, 17I tried to prove that tlie LemnriB was the■Todtenfest' of the Sabina city, the Feralia that of the Latin: but hUarguraentH have coiiTincfd no one. • Fasti, 5. 433.

' 8. B. ii. 157 foil. ; Maedonald, Bdigim aitd Myllt. eh. vi.



Io8 THE ROMAN FESTIVALS

while the Feralia is marked F or FP \ This may perhapspoint to two different views of the attitude of the dead to theKving, affecting the character of the festival days; they arefriendly or hostile, as they have been buried with due ritesand carefully looked after, or as they have failed of these duesand are consequently angry and jealous ^ The latter of theseattitudes is more in keeping with the notions of uncivilizedman, and of a life not as yet wholly brought under the influ-ence of the civilization of the city-state. To be more certain,however, on this point, we must try and discover the realmeaning of the word lemur.

The definition given by Porphyrio is * Umbras vaganteshominum ante diem mortuorum atque ideo metuendas^.'Nonius has the following : * Lemures larvae noctumae et terrifi-cationes imaginum et bestiarum*.' From these passages itwould seem that lemures and larvae mean much the samething; on the other hand Appuleius® implies that lemures isa general word for spirits after they have left the body, whilethose that haunt houses are especially called larvae. But on a

question of this kind, the philosophical and uncritical Appuleiusis not to be weighed as an authority against either Nonius orPorphyrio, who may quite possibly be here representing thelearning of the Augustan age ; and a perusal of the whole ofhis passage will show that he is simply trying to classify ghostsby the light of his own imagination. Judging from the hintsof the two other scholars> we may perhaps conclude that lemuresand larvae are to be distinguished as hostile ghosts from manes^the good people (as the word is generally explained), i. e. thoseduly buried in the city of the dead, and whom their livingdescendants have no need to fear so long as they pay themtheir due rites at the proper seasons as members of the family.And this conclusion is confirmed by the curious etymology of

Ovid ®, reproduced by Porphyrio, deriving Lemuria from Remus,

* Introduction, p. lo.

^ Tylor, Prim. Cult. ii. 24. The friendly attitude is well illustrated inF. de Coulanges' La die antique, ch. ii. ^ On Hor. Ep. 2. 2. 209.

* Non. p. 135 Cp. Festus, s. v. faba : * Lemuralibus iacitur larvis,* i. e.* the bean is thrown to larvae at the Lemuralia.' Serv. Aen. 3. 63.

* de Oenio Socratipj 15. The passage is interesting, but historically-worthless, as is that of Martianus Capella, 2. 162.

* Fastij 5. 451 foil. ; Porph. I.e. Remus, as one dead before his time,would not lie quiet : 'Umbra cruenta Bemi visa est adsistere lecto,' &c.

I09

■whoae violent death was supposed to have been expiated bythe institution of the festivaL The difficulty is to see why,if the Icmures were unburied, evil, or hostile spirits, a special



festival of three days should have been necessary to appeaseor quiet them ; and I can only account for this by supposingthat Buch spirits were especially Qumerous in an age of un-civilized life and (Constant war and violence, and that theyformed a large part of the whole world of evil demons whoseejfpulsion was periodically demanded. It may have been thecase that at this particular time in May, when the days werenefasti and marriages were ill-omened, these spirits becameparticularly restless and needed to be Wd.

Such an explanation as this of the Lemuria is on the wholepreferable to that which would regard it as the original Romanfestival of all the dead ; for there is nothat even in the earliest ages of Italiaorderly burial in necropoleis was unia practice that seems inconsistent with adead as hostile and haunting spirits.

The following is Ovid's description of the way in which theghosts were laid at the Lemuria by the father of a family. Atmidnight he rises, and with bare feet' and washed hands,making a peculiar sign with his iingei's and thumbs to keepoff the ghosts, he walks through the house. He has blackbeans in his mouth, and these he spits out as he walks, looking

the other way, and saying, 'With these I redeem me andmine.' Nine times he says this without looking round ;then come the ghosts behind him, and gather up the beansunseen. He proceeds to wash again and to make a noisewith brass vessels ; and after nine times repeating the form-ula 'manes' exite paterni,' he at last looks round, and the, ceremony is over.

f abundant evideri the practice ofI ', and this is

t belief in the

' See e, g. Von Duho's paper on Italian excav.ntions, translated in IhaI Jounuddf Bdknic Studies fvri&gT.

'Habent vincula aullapedea' [Faaii, 5. 439). In performiajjeacred rites

lan must be free ; p. g. tbe Flnmen Dialia mighl: not near B ring, or any-

I thing binding, and a fettered prisoner had ta be looked in his house (Plut.

f) A. iii\ Cp. Niimninhis interrie-wwith Fnunu^ (,0v. J'a3't,4. 656), 'Nee

' djgicis anaulus uIIub inuat.' Sci*v. Ash. 4. 518 ; Hor. Sal. i. 8. a^.

' liOMa must be hei-o used, eillier loosely Ly the poet, or euphemiatitaltyI by the houte-fathor.

_ii



no THE KOMAN FESTTVAIS

The only point in tliis quaint bit of ritual which need detainus 18 the use of beana. We have had bean-straw used at the}'arilia, and we shall find that beans were also used at thefestival of the dead in February. Assuredly it is not easy tosee what could have made them into such valuable 'medicine.'Beans were not a newly discovered vegetable. Their esclusionfrom the rites of Demeter must have been of great antiquity,and the notions of the Pythagoreans about them were probablybased on vei-y ancient popular superstitious '. No one, as far asI know, haa as yet successfully solved the problem why beanshad so strange a religious character about them ' ; they probablywere an ancient symbol of fertility, but it is impossible now todiscover how or why the ideas grouped themselves aroundthem, which we so constantly find both in Greece and Italy.If we ask why the ghosts picked them up, or were supposed todo ao, there is some reason for believing that by eating themthey might possibly hope to get a new lease of life ', Whateverwas the real basis of the superstition, it was a widely spreadone, and ramified in more than one direction ; the Eoman priest

of Jupiter, for example, might not touch beans nor evenmention them '. In his case the taboo was no doubt veiy old,but might have grown out of some such praetite as that justdescribed, all things ill-omened and mysterious being carefullykept out of his reach.

The days from May 7 to 1 4 were occupied by the Vestal Virginsin preparing the mola salsa, or saered salt-cake, for use at theVestalia in June, on the Ides of September, and at the Luper-calia*. This was made from the first ears of standing com in

' It is curioua to find them used for the very Bums purpose of ghoat-rldding aa fur anay aa Japan (Fnizei-, Oolden Boagh, ii. 176;. For their

antiquity aa foud, Hehn, KvItur[ifla>neH, 459 ; Schradar, Spi-athttergUichung,36a.

" A. Lang, J/j/iA, ftc, ii. 265 ; Jevons, Soman Ifuestiom, Introd. p. Ixiivi ;O. CrusiuB, Sftein. 3fus. xixix. 164 foil. ; and especially Lobeek, Aglaiph.flSi foU, For superstitionB of a simUar kind attached to the mandrakeand other plants aee Sir T. Browne's Vulgar Errors, bk. ii. ch. 6 ; Khys,Cellie Jiylhologii, p. 356 (the berries of the rowan).

' Tliere waa a notion that beans sown in a manure-heap produced men.Cp. P!in. H. K iB. uB ' quoniam mort.uonim animae aint in ea.'

• GeU. 10. 15. 3 [from Fabius Pictor).

• Serv. Ed. 8. 8a ; Marq. 343 note. Mannhardt. A. W. F. afig, attempts■n eiplanation of the difUculty arieing here from the fact that in historical

■nes the calendar was some weoka in advance of the seasons, but without



I

MEN8I8 MAIU8 III

a primitive fashion by the three senior Vestals, and is no doubt,like most of their ritual, a relic of the domestic functions ofthe daughtera of the family. But we must postpone furtherconsideration of the Vestals and their dutiea till we come to theypatalia in June.

Id. Mai. (May 15). TP.feb[iae] lovi. mekcub[io] maiab. (venus '.)UAiAE AD cihc[dm] m[axikum]. (caeb.) mekc[urio]. (tusc.)

The very curious rite which took place on this day is notmentioned in the calendars ; it belonged to those which, likethe Paganalio, were publica indeed and pro popuh, but repre-sented the people as divided in certain groups rather than theState as a whole =, But its obvious antiquity, and the interestingquestions which arise out of it, tempt me to treat it in detail,

at the risk of becoming tedious.

I have already mentioned' that there was a pi-ocession inMarch, as we infer from the sacra Argeorum quoted by Varro,which went round the sacoUa Argeorum, or twenty-four chapelssituated in the four Servian regions of the city '. What wasdone at these sucdta wo do not know ; the procession and itsdoings had become so obscure in Ovid's time that he coulddispose of it in two lines of his Fasti, and express a. doubt asto whether it took place on one day or two \ Nor do we knowwhat the saeella really vtere. The best conjecture is that ofJoi-dan, who baa brought some evidence together to show thatthey were small chapels or sacred places where holy things

' This note ia wrongly entered iu tlie Fmsti Venusini, under Mny 16.

' Festus, 245, B, V. FublicR aaci'n. Cp. Uummsen, UlaaCsreclU, iii. IS3.FestuB distinguishes jiogi, monies, aaceSa, of wliich the festivals would aeemto be the Pugannlia, Septlniontlum, and sacra Argeorum, respectively.

' Ses under March 17. We nrrive at the procesaiaa by comparing tli9TorroniaQ extracts from the sacra Argeorum [CZ. 545) with Gellios, 10.15. 30, and Ovid, Fasti, 3. 791. See a restoration of the itinerary of theprocesBioQ in Jordan, Topagr, ii. 603.

* Sacella in Varro (L. L. 545) ; sacraria, ib. 548 ; Argta in Festua, 334,

vbere tlie word teems to be an adjective ; Argei in Liv. 1. 34 ' loca sacria&uiendiB, quae Argeos pontiGcea vouant,' The number depends on thereading of Varro, 7, 44, xsiv or ixvli ; Jordan decided for niv ; bat seeMommsfn, Slaaisrecht, iii. 123.

1




were deposited until the time came round for them to be usedin some religious ceremony \

But on May 15 there was another rite in which the wordArgei plays a prominent part ; and here the details have in partat least survived. The Argei in this case are not chapels, buta number of puppets or bundles of rushes, resembling (asDionysius has recorded) men bound hand and foot, whichwere taken down to the pons suhlicitis by the Pontifices andmagistrates, and cast into the river by the Vestal Virgins*.The Flaminica Dialis, the priestess of Jupiter, was present atthe ceremony in mourning. The number of the puppets wasprobably the same as that of the sacella of the same name ^

Explanations of these rites were invented by Roman scholars.The sacella were the graves of Greeks who had come to Italywith Hercules ; and the puppets represented the followers ofHercules who had died on their journey and were to returnhome as it were by proxy*. Apart from the theories of the

learned, it was the fact that the common people at Eomebelieved the puppets to be substitutes for old men, who at onetime used to be thrown into the Tiber as victims. Sexagenariosde pofUe was a well-known proverb which in Cicero's time wasexplained by supposing that the bridges alluded to were thoseover which the voters passed in the Comitia ® ; but this viewmay at once be put aside. Those bridges were certainly acomparatively late invention, while the proverb was of remoteantiquity.

But, given the details of the rite, and the popular beliefabout the old men as victims, what explanation can we hopeto aiTive at ? We may freely admit that no satisfactory etymo-

logy of the word Argei is forthcoming ; but this is perhaps, in

* Jordan, Topogr. ii. 271 foil.

^ Dionysius, i. 38 ; Ovid, FasH, 5. 621 foil. ; Festus, p. 334, s. v. Seza-ênarii ; Plutarch, Q. R. 32 and 86.

^ Dionysius says there were thirty ; he had probably seen the ceremony,but may have only made a rough guess at the number or have thought ofthe thirty Curiae. Ovid writes of two : * Falcifero libata seni duo corporagentis Mittite,' &c. (Jordan proposed to read * senilia ' for * seni duo/)

* Festus, 334.

* Festus, 1. c. ; Cicero, pro Roscio AmerinOy 35. 100. Sexagenarios deponte was apparently an old saying (cp. * depontani,' Festus, 75) ; theearliest notice we have of it, which comes from the poet Afranius, seemsto connect it with the pons sublicius.

I



a negative sense, an advantage to our iiiqiiiiy'. Tlie Romansderived it from the Greek 'Apytloi ; and to thia etymologyMommseii is now diapoaed to return. The writer of the article'Argei'in the Myihologkal Lexicon deiived it from var'ka-s='wolf'; others have believed it to come from a root Qtv7=;' white'or 'shining,' and though the ternsination eus is hardlya Latinone, it may bo that this is the true basis of the word ".

Instead of prejudging the case by liinciful etymologies, or byattempting to decide the question wliether the Romans everpractised the rites of human sacrifice, we will take tbe leadingfeatures of the ceremony, and see in what direction they mayon the whole direct us. That done, it miiy be possible to sumup the debate, though a final and decisive verdict is not to beexpected.

The features which demand attention are (i) the processionaltharacter of the rites ; (2) the presence of the Pontifices andthe Vestals ; (3) the mourning of the Flaminica Dialis ; (4) therush-puppets and thoir immersion in the Tiber.

I. We can hardly doubt that tliere was a procession to tbe

pons sublkius, though the fact is not expressly stated. We aretempted to believe that it visited each sacdtum, and therefound, or possibly made, the puppet [simulacmm), which thusrepresented the district of which the sacdlum was the sacredcentre ; and that it then proceeded, bearing the puppets,probably by the Forum and Vicus Tuscus to the bridge '. Nowif this feature can help us at all — if we accept the connexion ofthe March and Mayceremonies and their processional character —it must point in the direction of the purification of land or city,on the analogy of other Italian ceremonies of the same kind.

' ' TliB etymology will of uourse explai

to be riglit ; the Matory of the word is i

Be we hava not even the history.

■ Sea SEhwegler, i 383, note ; Marq. 183. Mommsen IStaatsrechf, iii. 133)

verta to tha opiuion thst Argei is simply 'Ap-itioi, and praserYBS $,

I remlaiscence of Greek captives. Nettleship, in his Koles in Latin Lexico-

L traphu, p. 371, is inclined 10 couneot the word with ' Riceie,' in the sonaa

L of confining prison el's. More fanoiful devolopmetita in. a paper by O. Keller,

■ . Fleckeiaan's JahTbuch, c«xiii. B45 foil.

* Tbe puppets may have been made in Unrch, and then hung in the

t Moella till Uay : au Jordan, Topagr. I. c. The writer in Mytk, Lex. thinks



" it hnmui viotima were oi'iginally kept in thuiû aucclla, for wliuui the

I pnppeta weia aunogates.

114 T^Ê ROMAN FESTIVALS

At the end of this mouth took place the Ambarvalia, when thepriests went round the land with prayer and sacrifice to ensurethe good growth of the crops ; and we have a remarkableinstance of the same kind of practice in the celebrated in-scription of Iguvium. Not only each city, but each pagus, andeven each farmer, duly purified his land in some such way,cleansing it from the powers of evil and sterility, while at thesame time the boundanes were renewed in the memories of allconcerned. Bearing this in mind, and also the season of theyear, we may fairly guess that the Argean processions had. somerelation to agriculture, and to the welfare of the precariousstock of wealth of an agricultural community.

2. TJie presence of the Pontifices and Vestals. — The formerwould be present, partly as the representative sacred collegeof the united city*, partly as having under their special care

the sacred bridge from which the puppets were thrown.Whether or no the word pontifex be directly derived frompons\ it is certain that the ancient bridge, with its strongreligious associations, was under their care, and that the riverwas an object of their constant liturgical attention'. It hasbeen suggested that the whole ceremony was one of bridge-worship * ; but this view, as we shall see, will hardly explainall the facts. It leaves the March rites unexplained, and alsothe presence of the Vestals; nor does it seem to suit theseason of the year.

The presence of the Vestals is more significant ; and it wasthey, as it seems, who performed the act of throwing the

puppets from the bridge \ In all the public duties performedby them (as we shall see more fully in dealing with theVestalia^) a reference can be traced to one leading idea, viz.that the food and nourishment of the State, of which thesacred fire was the symbol, depended for its maintenance on

* There is an interesting modern parallel in Mannhaidt, A. W. F. 178.^ Varro, L, L, 5. 83, and Jordan, Topogr. 1. 398. The general opinion

seems now to favour the view that there was an original connexion betweenthe pontifices and the pons sublicius,

* Varro, L. L. 5. 83 ; Dionys. 2. 73, 3. 45.

* This was the suggestion of Mr. Frazer in a note in the JourncU ofPhilology, vol. xiv. p. 156. The late Prof. Nettleship once expressed thisview to me.

* Paulus, p. 15 *per Virgines Vestales* ; Ovid, Fastij 5. 621.

* See below, p. 149.



HENSIS HAIU8

"5

til

Blfoi-lll

a of t

We ba-s

just a

accurate j:that they spent tpreparing their sacred cakes from the first ripening ears ofcorn. We shall see them using these cakes in June, Sep-tember, and at the Lupercalia. At the Parilia and the Fordi-

cidia they also take a prominent part, both of them festivalsrelating to the fruitfulnesa of herds and flocks ; bo also at theharvest foativala in August of Ops Consiva and Consits. Andwe con hardly suppose that their presence at the rite underdiscussion should have a different significance from that oftheir public service on all other occasions. Even if we had noother evidence to go upon, we might on the facts just adducedbasa a fair inference that this ceremony too had some relationto the processes and perils awaiting the ripening crops.

3. The Flaminica Dialis had on this day to lay aside herusual bridal dress, and to appear in mourning'. The samerule was laid down for her during the 'moving' of the ancilla

in March, and during the Yestalia up to the completion of thepurification of the temple of Vesta. It is not easy to seewhat the nieanjng of this rule may have been. On the othertwo occasions there is nothing to lead us to suppose that it wassome such terrible rite as human sacrifice which caused thechange of costume ; we need not therefore suppose that it wasso on May 15. But if all three occasions are times of puri-fication and the averting of evil influences : if they each markthe conclusion of an old season, and the necessity of greateore in entering on a new one, we can better understand it.



This was the case, as we saw, when in Mareh the Salii werepervading the city, and it was so also at th^ Vestalia, whichwas preparatory to the ingathering of the crops. Some suchcritical moment, I think, the day we are discussing must alsohave been. Some light may be thrown on this aspect ofthe question by practices which have been collected byDr. Mannhardt from Northern Europe", some of which still

' Hut. QaatA Rom. 66 ; Gell. 10. 13 ; Marq. 318. Her usual head-dressasthe/Cammeuia, or bride's veil. No mention is made of the Flamen herI hOBband; the prominence of women in all these rites is noticeable.

' BaumkvUus, 155, 411, 416. The cult of Adonis has some featuroE like[' that of the Argei : e.g. the pqppet, the immersion in water and thening (see Lex. s. v. Adonis, p. 73 ; Mannlioi'dt, A. 11'. F. 3^6).

Il6 THE ROMAN FESTIVALS

survive. I will give a single instance from Eussia. AtMurom on June 29 a figure of straw, dressed in female

clothing, is laid on a bier and carried to the edge of a lake orriver ; it is eventually torn up and thrown into the river, whilethe spectators hide their faces and behave as though theybewailed the death of Kostroma. In another district on thesame day an old man carried out of the town a puppet repre-sentmg the spring, and was followed by the women singingmournful songs and expressing by their gestures grief anddespair.

4. The Puppets and their immersion in the Tiber,— There aretwo possible explanations of this curious practice.

(i) The puppets were substitutes for human victims, and

probably for old men. The evidence for this view is— first,the Boman tradition expressed in the saying sexagenarios deponte^, and supported by the fact that the puppets appeared,to Dionysius at least, like men bound hand and foot*; secondly,the fact that human sacrifice was not entirely unknown atHome, though there is no trace of any such custom regularlyrecurring. We may allow that Italy could not have beenentirely free from a practice which existed even in Greece, andalso that the habit of substituting some object for the originalvictim is common and well attested in religious history ; butwhether either the Ai*gei, or the oscilla or maniae, which areoften compared with the Argei, really had this origin, maywell indeed be doubted \ Thirdly, there is evidence that not

only human sacrifice, but the sacrifice of old men, was by nomeans unknown in primitive times. Passing over the generalevidence as to human sacrifice, we know that the old and weak

' i. e. ' old men must go over the bridge.' See Cic. pro Roscio Amerino,35, where the old edition of OsenbrOggen has a useful note. Also Varro,apud Lactant. Inst i. 21. 6. Ovid alludes to the proverb (5. 623 foil.)^Corpora post decies senos qui credidit annos Missa neci, sceleris criminedamnat avos.'



* Dionys. i. 38. But he may have been deceived simply by the appear-ance of the bindings of the sheaves or bundles, especially if he had beentold beforehand of the proverb.

' The best known instances of human sacrifice at Rome are collected ina note to Merivale's History (vol. iii. 35) ; and by Sachse, J>ie ArgeeVy p. 17. O. Miiller thought that it came to Rome from Etruria {Etruskery ii. 20).For Greece, see Hermann, Griech. Alt ii. sec. 27 ; Stiabo. 10. 8. See alsosome valuable remarks in Tylor, Frim, Cult ii. 362, on substitution insacrifice.

HENSIS UAIUS

117

I

\

were sometimes put to death '. Being of no further use in thestruggle for existence, they were got rid of in various ways —an act perhaps not so much of cruelty as of kindness, andunder certain circumatancoa not incompatible with filial piety".The chief objections to this explanation are— first, that itobliges ua to ascribe to the early Homang a habit which seemsquite incompatible with then- well-known respect for old age

and their hoiTor of parricide ; secondly, timt it does not explainwhy a practice, which can hardly have ever been a regularlyrecurring one, should have passed into a yearly ceremony'.

{2) The rite was of a dramatic rather than a sacrificialcharacter ^, and belongs to a class of which we have numerousexamples both from Greek, Teutonic, and Slavonic peoples.In Greece, or rather in Egypt, wo have the cult of Adonis, inwhich a puppet is immersed in the water amid wailings andlamentations. In Greece proper semi-dramatic rites are foundat Chaeronea and Athens'', though somewhat different incharacter to those of the Argei and Adonis. Tacitus describesthe immersion in water of the image of the German goddess

Nerthii3 '. But most significant are the many examples, ofwhich Mannhardt formed an ample collection, in which puppetsare found, made as a rule of straw, carried along in processionand thrown into a river or water of some kind, oft«n from'. Sometimes the place of these puppets is taken bya aheaf, a small tree, or a man or boy dressed up in foliage or

Caesnr, B, G. 6. 16 ; Tac. Germ, g and 39. Stmbo, 10. 8, is iDterasting,



giving an example of the dropping out of tlie aotual killing, while thetoim survived. See belovf on Luperoalia, p. 315.

A point siiggcetuil to me some years ago by Hr. A. J. Evans.

Sir A. Lyîll {Asiatic S/Klita, p. 19) writes of human baci-ilice iJs having

a common in India as a. last resort for appeasing divine wrath wheninDnifested in some strange manner; i.e. it waa never regular. SoFrocopius, BiV. Ooth. 3. 13. Tocilua, indeed, writes of 'certis diebua'

SGenn. 9), but it is not clear that he meant &xed recurring days. As a rulen human sacrifice and canniballsia the victims aio captives, who wouldnot be alway 4 at hand.

' DIonyaiiis (i. 38) speaks of sacrifice bôr^the immersion of the puppets :

UowTii Itpi ri Kard Tuiis ri/ious.' The poiiAi/nt and •papia«6s, Mannhardt, J/^fR. Forsch, lag foil,' Oermania, 40 ; Mannliardt, Baumlniltus, 567 foil. The evidence iaperhaps hardly adequate an to detail.

' BaumkuUus, ehaptera 3, 4, and 5, which should be used by all whowiflh to form sojne idea of liie amount of evidence collected on this one

Il8 THE ROMAN FESTIVALS

fastened in the sheaf ^ : but in almost all cases the object isduck d in water or at least sprinkled with it, though now andthen it is burnt or buried. The best known example is thatof the Bavarian *Wasservogel,' which is either a boy ora puppet, as the custom may be in difP: rent places ; he or itwas decorated, carried round the fields at Whitsuntide*, andthrown from the bridge into the stream. So constant andinconvenient was this kind of custom in the Middle Ages that

a law of 1 35 1, still extant, forbade the ducking of people atErfurt in the water at Easter and Whitsuntide ^ In manyof these cases the simulacrtim may have been substituted fora human being * ; but I find none where the notion of sacrificesurvived, or where there was any trace of a popular belief thatthe object was a substitute for an actual victim. What thesecurious customs, according to Dr. Mann hard t, do really repre-sent, is the departure of winter and the arrival of the fruitfulseason, or possibly the exhaustion of the vernal Power ofvegetation after its work is done*.

Two features in these old customs may strike us as interest-ing in connexion with the Argei — (i) The fact that the central

object is often either actually an old man, or is at least called*the old one.' A Whitsuntide custom at Halle shows us, forexample, a straw puppet called Ber alte ®. (2) The constant occur-rence of white objects in these customs ; the puppet is calledHhe white man with the white hair, the snow-white husband,'or is dressed in a white shirt ^ In these expressions it is per-haps not impossible that we may find a clue to the long-lostmeaning of the word Argei. Can it be that the Eoman puppetswere originally called * the white ones,' i. e. old ones, from a root



* Our J»ck-in-the-Green is probably a survival of this kind of rite.

* Nearly all these customs occur either at Whitsuntide or harvest.Mannhardt conjectured that the Argei-rite was originally a harvestcustom {A. W, F, 269) ; quite needlessly, I think.

' BaumkuUvSj 331.

^ Mannhardt allows this, BaumkultuSy 336 note.

• Baumkultus, 358 foil. His theory is expressed in judicious and by nomeans dogmatic language. It may bo that he runs his Vegetation-spiritsomewhat too hard — and no mythologist is free from the error of seeinghis own discovery exemplified wherever he turns. But the spirit ofvegetation had been found at Rome long before Mannhardt's time ^^8ee e.g.Preller's account of Mars and the deities related to him).

• Bawnkultusj 359, 420 ; Komddmonen, 24.^ Baumkultus, 349 foil., 365, 414.

II

HENSIS MAIUS II9

arg-=^ 'white ' ' ; and that from a natural mistake as to the mean-ing of the word there arose not only the story about the Greekvictims, but also the common belief about se.xagenarii beingthrown over the bridge?

We have to choose between the two explanations given above.I am, on the whole, disposed to agree with Dr. Mannhardt, andin the absence of convincing evidence as to the i-egular and

periodical occurrence of human sacrifice in ancient Italy, toregard these strange survivals as semi- dramatic performancesrather than sacrificial rites. This view, however, need notexclude the possibility of the union of both drama and sacrifice

at a very remote period, probably bethe district.

The immersion in water, whether oof a victim, is reasonably explained,tive evidence, to have been a rain-sî

mentioned of Adonis, Nerthus, &c..

foi-e the Latins settled in

» no it involved the deathon the basis of compara-U ''. In the caees alreadythis idea seems the pro-



minent one. I am inclined to think, however, that the notion ofpurification was also present — the two uniting in the idea ofregeneration. Plutarch calls the Argean rite ' the greatest ofthe purifications,' and he is here most probably reproducing theopinion of Varro ■'. This is indicated by the presence of thepriests and the Vestals, by the processions, and by the mourn-ing of the Flaminica Dialis, as we have already seen. We mayregard the rite as in fact a casting out of old things, and in thatsense a purification ; and also at the same time as a spell orearnest of rain and fertility in the ensuing year. The puppets

' Cp. the root COS; which (a<MM}rdEng to Corsaen, Atiiaprathe, t 6<|a note,appears bolh in conus and casaii, and alao in the Obcao casnar- 'an oldman." The word comar is used by Varro (ap. NQnium,a6i for snagenariiu,or possibly anjaus : 'Vix ecfatoaerat earn more maiorum caruales C-caBnales)arripinnt eb de ponte deturUant.* Cf. Vnrro, L. L. 7. 73 ; Mommsoo, Unter-ilaliKhe DialMen, p. a68. The root aiy may perhaps have mesnt AoJi/aswell■a old or whibi, like the Welah gaen (Rhys, Cellic MyOviogy. 537 note).

' BoumdiBM, ai+-i6, 355, Sc. On p. 356 is a valunble note givingexamples from Anieriea, India, Ac For a remarkable CB!:e from ancientEgypt, of which the object is not ruin, but iuundalion, see Tylor, Brim.Cult. ii. 368. See also Grimm, Teutonic Mylhology (E, T.), p. 593 foil.

* QiMtst Sam. 66. Thin work is nndoubtedly drawn chiefly from Varro'swritinga, but largely through the medium of thosB of Juba tho king ofMaaretanis, who wrote in Greek (Barth de Jubae 'OiuxiTijaiv in Plutarcho•zpressii; QDttingen, 1876).


were perhaps hung in the sacella in the course of the processionin March, as a symbol of the fertility then beginning, and castinto the river as * the old ones ' when that fertility had reachedits height ^

In the last place, it might be asked in honour of what deitythe rite was performed. It is hardly necessary, and certainlyis not possible,, to answer a question about which the Eomansthemselves were not agreed. Ovid and Dionysius^ believed itwas Satumus, probably following an old Greek oracle whichwas known to Varro^. Verrius Flaccus thought it was DisPater *. Modern writers have concluded on the general evidenceof the rite that it was the river-god Tiberinus ; Jordan, how-ever, regarded the question as irrelevant \ We may agree withhim, and at least return a verdict of non liquet If it wasa sacrificial act, the ancient river- god is indeed likely enough ;if it was a quasi-dramatic one, it does not follow that any deity

was specially concerned in it. But we may go so far as to guessthat it was connected with the worship of those vaguely-con-ceived deities of vegetation whose influence on the calendar wehave been tracing since March i .

This same day is marked in one calendar as Feriae lovi,Mercurio, Maiae. The conjunction of these deities is to someextent accidental. In the first place the Ides of every monthwere sacred to Jupiter ; and the addition of Mercurius is pro-bably to be explained simply by the adaptation of a Greek myth



which made Hermes the son of Jupiter, suggesting the selectionof the Ides as an appropriate day for the cult of the Latinrepresentative of Hermes \ Mercurius, again, was associatedwith Maia, perhaps simply because the dedication-day of hisoldest temple in Bome {ad circum maximum) was the Ides

* Parallels in Baumktilhis, pp. 170, 178, 211. 409. These are examplesof May-trees and other objects, sometimes decked out as human beings,which are hung up in the homestead for a certain time — e. g. in Austriafrom May-day to St. John Baptist's day, a period closely coiTespondingboth in length and season to that at Bome, from March 15 to May 15. Inthe church of Gharlton-on-Otmoor, near Oxford, it is hung on the rood-screen from May i onwards.

* Ovid, Fastiy 5. 627 ; Dionys. i. 38.

■ See Macrob. i. 7. 28. In Dionysius* version, however, of the line it is"Aidrjs to whom the sacrifice is offered.

* Festus, 334. * Topogr, ii. 285.

* Lex, a. V. Mercurius, p. 2804.

HENSIS KAIUS

121

I

of the Mensis MaiuB'. The Eoman Mevciimis was con-sidered especially as the gvd of trade, and dated, like Ceres,fi'om the time when an extensive corn trade firat began inRome". It is highly probable that the Tarquinian dynasty hadencouraged Koman ti'ade, and that the increase of populationwhich was the result, togetlier with the wars which followedtheir expulsion, had occasioned a series of severe famines. Tothis we trace the Roman knowledge of the Greek or Graoco- Etrus-can Hermes, through a trade in corn with Sicilian Greeks orEtruscans, and the appearance of the god at Rome as Mercurius,the god of trade. His first temple was dedicated in b.c. 495, andas in other cases, the dedication was celebrated each year bythose specially interested in the worship, in this case the merca-

toits, who were ah-eady, at this eai-ly period, formed into anorganized guild '.

XII KiL. IcH. (Mat 21). IP.AGONlIA] \ (esq. caeb. ven. mait.}

VEDIOVI. (ven.)

The other days sacred to Vediovis were January i and the Noneaof March, fi-om which latter day we postponed the consideration



of this mysterious deity, in hopes of futni-e enlightenment.Hut Yediovis is wrapped still, and always will be, in at least asprofound an obscurity for ua as he was for Varro and Ovid.

We have but his name to go upon, and two or three indis-tinct traces of his cult. The name seems certainly to be Vediovis,ie apparently 'the opposite of,' or 'separated from,' Jupiter(=Diovis); or, asPrellerhaa it", eom paring, like Ovid, vegrandiafarra ('com that hua gi-own badly'), vesctts, &c., Jupiter in a-sinister sense. But this l^t explanation must, on the whole, berejected. It is true that each deity has a sinister or threatening

' Aust, de Aedilius aaaia, p. 5.

' It Be^ma to me probable that there m» a Uercarius at Rome before theI introduction of Hei'mas ; but this cnnnot be proved. It Beemn likelyt that the temple-cult established in. 495 B.C. niia roallj that of HermesI under an Italian name, an in the parallel com of Ceres. Thia vaa oneK yekr Inter than the date of the Cerea-tt>mp!e (above, p. 74I.I * Hercariales, or Hercatorea (Jordan, Topogr. i. i. 378;. They belungoilI to the collegia of the pagi.

See on March 17 and January 9.

L 36a foil. ; OWd, Fasti, 3. 445 ; Cell. }/. A. 5. la.


aspect as well as a smiling one ; but in no other case was thisseparately personified, and the name, if its origin be rightly-given as above (which is not indeed certain), might be explainedby the well-known Roman habit of calling deities by theirqualities and their business rather than by substantival names.In this case the name would be negatively deduced from that ofone of the few gods who really had a name.

What we know of the cult is only this. First, it was pecu-liar, so far as we know, to Rome and Bovillae ^ ; secondly, thetemples in Rome were ia the space between the arx andGapitolium, * inter duos lucos''^, and another in the Tiberisland ^ — two places outside the Servian wall, and of importancefor the security of the city ; thirdly, the god was representedas young, holding arrows, and having a goat standing besidehim, on account of which characteristics he was usually, accord-ing to Gellius, identified with Apollo*; fourthly, the usualvictim was a goat which was sacrificed humano ritu \

On such faint traces it will be obvious that no sound con-

clusion can be based. The connexion with Bovillae and thegens Julia points to a genuine Latin origin. The sites onthe Capitol and the island do not lead to any definite conclusion;in the former the god seems to have been connected withthe so-called Asylum, in the latter with Aesculapius ; but boththese connexions may be accidental or later developments.Preller conjectured cleverly that Vediovis was a god of criminalswho might take refuge in Rome and there find purification ;but the idea of an Asylum, on which this is based, is Greek,and of much later date than any age which could have given



a definite meaning to such a deity. We must here, as occasion-•ally elsewhere, give up the attempt to discover the originalnature of this god.

* C. J. L. i. 807 ; the dedication of an altar (Vediovei Patrei genteilesluliei) found at Bovillae.

^ Ovid, Fa8ti\ 3. 439 ; Gell. 5. i-a. It was this temple which hadMay a I as its *dies natalis.'

* Liv. 31. ai. I a (reading Vediovi for deo lovi, with Merkel and Jordan).

* Gell. 1. c. ; Preller, i. a64, and Jordan's note.

' Gell. 5. I a. The meaning of the expression is not clear. Paulus (165)writes : * Humanum sacrificium dicebant quod mortui causa fiebat ' — whichdoes not greatly help us. Preller reasonably suggested that the goat mightbe a substitutory victim in place of a ^homo sacer ' or criminal (i. 365).

MENSIS MAIUS

: Kal. Iun. (May 33). K".

TUBIL[UaTEIUMl.pee[iae] volcano, (vi

'■)

1. YEN. MAFF.)

I have already explained ' the view taken by 'of the two pairs of days, March 23 and 24 and May 23 and 24,accepting his theory that the 24th in each month was the dayon which wills could be made and witnessed in tlie Comitiacalata, and that the 23rd in each month waa the day onwhich the hihae were lustrated by which the assembly wassummoned.

But May 23 is also marked in two calendars as fmaeVolcano ; and Ovid has noticed this in a single couplet ':

The difficult question of the original character of Volcanusmust be postponed until we cooie to his festival in August.We only need here to aak whether Ovid was right in regardingVolcanus as the smith who made the trumpets. This has beenstrenuously denied by Wiaaowa^, who goes so far as to believe



that the deity originally invoked on this day was not Volcanusbut Mara^since the corresponding day in March was a festivalof that deity— and that Volcanus was at an early period thrustinto his place under the influence of Greek notions ofHephit&stus as a smith who made armour and also trumpets,Wissowa has, however, to throw over the two calendars quotedabove (Ven. Amit.) in order to support his argument — and aofar we are hardly entitled to go.

It is safer to take Volcanus aa an ancient Roman deity whosecult was closely connected with that of Haia, or the Bona Dea,and was prominent in this month as well as in August. TheFlamen Volcanalia sacrificed to the Boua Dea on May i ; andMaia was addressed in invocations as Maia Volcani *. Thecoincidence of this festival of his with the Tubilustrium I taketo have been accidental ; but it led naturally, as the Romans

i


became acquainted with Greek mythology, to the erroneousview represented by Ovid that Volcanus was himself a smith \

VIII Kal. Iun. (May 25), C.

FORTUNAE p[uBLICAE] p[oPULI] k[oMANi] q[uIRITIUm] IN COLLE

quirin[ali]. (gaer.)

fortun[ae] public[ae] p[opuli] r[omani] nr coll[e]. (esq.)fortun[ae] prim[igeniae] in ool[le]. (ven.)

This was the dedication-day of one of three temples ofFortuna on the Quirinal ; the place was known as * tres For-tunae'^.' The goddess in this ease was Fortuna Primigenia,imported from Praeneste — of whom something ^vill be said lateron '. The temple was vowed after the Second Punic War inB. c. 204, and dedicated ten years later *. Our consideration ofFortuna may be postponed till the festival of Fors Fortuna,an older Eoman form of the cult, on June 24.

rv Kal. Iun. (May 29). C.

The Ambarvalia, originally a religious procession round theland of the early Boman community, the object of which was

to purify the crops from evil influences, does not appear inthe Julian calendars^ not being j^w stativae ; but it is indicatedin the later rustic calendars by the words, Segetes lustrantur.Its date may be taken as May 29^: and this fixity will notappear incompatible with its character as a sacrum conceptivumîf we accept Mommsen's explanation of the way in which somefeasts might be fixed to a day according to the usage of theItalian farmer, but of vaiying date according to the civilcalendar '\



There has been much discussion whether the Ambarvalia

^ The Hephaestus-myth has been treated on the comparative method byF. von Schroder {Qriech. Ootter u. Heroen^ i. 79 foil.), and by Rapp in Myth,lex. It is of course possible that it may have been known to the earlyItalians, but what we know of Volcanus does not favour this.

* Vitnivius, 3. a. a ; it was * proximo portam Collinam/■ See below, pp. 165, 323.

* Liv. 34. 53 ; Aust, de AedibuSf p. 20.

' This seems to have been the date among the Anauni of N. Italy as late88 393 ^ ^« * 8^6 the Acta Martyrum, p. 536 (Verona, 1731). (For the Anauni,Rushforth, LaMn Historical Inscriptions, p. 99 foil.)

' Chron, 70 foil. : a difficult bit of calculation.

"5

was idontica) with the almilar festival of the Fratrea Arvales.

n the ground that the acta frafiitm ArvaUum seemed to provu& general BiDiilarity of the two in time and place, and at leastin somo points of ritual, Mommsen, Henzen, and Jordananswer in the afGrmative '. On the other side there is noauthority of any real weight. The judicious Marquardt ' founda difficulty in the ahaence of any mention in the ada fratfumArvaUum of a lustratio in the form of a procession ; but itshould be remembered (i) that we have not the whole of theacta ; (2) that it ia almost certain that, as the Soman territorycontinued to increase, the brethren must have dropped the dutyof driving victinia round it, for obvious reasons. A passagein Paulua' places the matter beyond doubt if we can be sure ofthe reading: 'AmbarvaJes hostiae dictbantur quae pro arvis a duo-

dtcim {MSS. duobus)^MiW6Ms sacrijicantur.' As no dttofralres areknown, the old emendation duodectm seema certain, but will ofcourse not convince those who disbelieve in the identity ofthe Ambarvaiia and the sacra fratrum Arvalium. The questionis, however, for us of no great importance, as the acta do notadd to our knowledge of what was done at the Ambarvaliu.

The best description we have of such lustrations as theAmbarvaiia ia that of Virgil ; it is not indeed to be taken asan exact description of the Roman rite, but rather as ref'eii'ingto Italian customs generally ;

In primiH venerare deos, nlqiie annua mugiine

Stiora refer Cereri laetis oporatua in herbis,

Extremae sub aaHum hiemis, iam vers soreno.

Turn piogues ngni, et turn mollisEima vina;

Turn Bomni dulces dtnaêque in montibus umbrae.

Caneta tibi Cererem pufaes agrcstis adoret,



u lacte Civos et miti dilue Baccho,I' Jerque novas circum felix ea( hostia fru^s,k.Omnis qoum chorus et Boci! comilentur ovantea,' £t Gererem c}amere vocent in tecta ; neque anla3 matui'iH quieqiiiiin sii;>ponat aristie,

Quam Coreri torta redimituB (empora quercu

Det motus inconpoaltos et uiirmina dicat'.

* Hammaen, 1. c. Henzen, Acta1. 490, and Topogr. i. 269, ij. 336, 1ralia and Amburbium ; but the twt-EA 3- 77).

' p. S. Sea Jordan on Preller, i.

* Omrg. I. 338 foil.

re. xivi-xlviii ; Jordan on Preller,

atter would also idenlifj Ambar-m clearly distinguislied by Serviua). aoo. HuHchke, Rdm. Jalir, 63.note a ; Marq. aoo, nole 3.


It is not clear to what festival or festivals Virgil is alludingin the first few of these lines ^ ; probably to certain rustic riteswhich did not exactly correspond to those in the city of Eome.But from line 343 onwards the reference is certainly to Ambar-

valia of some kind, perhaps to the private lustratio of thefarmer before harvest began, of which the Eoman festival wasa magnified copy. His description answers closely to the well-known directions of Cato ' ; and if it is Ceres who appears inVirgil's lines, and not Mara, the deity most prominent in Gate'saccount, this may be explained by the undoubted extension ofthe worahip of Ceres, and the corresponding contraction of thatof Mara, as the latter became more and more converted intoa god of war '.

The leading feature in the original rite was the processionof victims— bull, sheep, and pig— all round the fields, drivenby a garlanded crowd, carrying olive branches and chanting.

These victims represent all the farmer's most valuable stock,thus devoted to the appeasing of the god. The time was thatwhen the crops were ripening, and were in greatest peril fromstorms and diseases ; before the harvest was begun, and beforethe Vestalia took place in the early part of June, which was, aswe shall see, a festival preliminary to harvest. Three times theprocession went round the land ; at the end of the third roundthe victims were sacrificed, and a solemn prayer was offered inantique language, which ran, in Cato's formula of the farmer'slustration, as follows : * Father Mars, I pray and beseech thee



to be willing and propitious to me, my household, and myslaves; for the which object I have caused this threefoldsacrifice to be driven round my farm and land. I pray theekeep, avei-t, and turn from us all disease, seen or unseen, alldesolation, ruin, damage, and unseasonable influence ; I praythee give increase to the fruits, the corn, the vines, and the

^ * Extremae sub casum hiemis ' might possibly suit the Italian April,but certainly not the Italian May. May i is the earliest date we have foran agri lustratio, i. e. in Campania (C. 2. L, x. 379a). ' Tunc mollissimavina ' may contain a reference to the Vinalia of April 23, when the newwine was first drunk ; and if that wore so, the general reference might beto the Cerialia or its rustic equivalent.

' R. R, 141. Cp. Siculus Flaccus in Gromatici Veteres, p. 164. The lustratioshould be celebrated before even the earliest crops (e.g. beans) were cut.

' Henzen, Acta Fr, Arv, xlviii.

MENSIS MAIUS

127

I

plantations, and bring them to< a prosperous issue. Keep alsoin safety the shepherds and their flocks, and give good health

and vigour to me, my house, and household. To this end itis, as I bflYO said— namely, for the purification and making duelustration of my farm, my land cultivated and uncultivated —that I pray thee to bless this threefold Bacnfii^ of suiiklings.Father Mars, to this same end I pray thee bless this threefoldsacrihce of sucklings '.'

Kot only in this prayer, but in the ritual that follows, as alsoin other religious directions given in the preceding chapters,we may no doubt see examples of the oldest agricultui'al typeof the genuine Italian worahip. They are simple rusticspecimens of the same type as the elaborate urban ritual ofIguvium, fortunately preserved to us ' ; and we may fairly

assume that they stood in much the same relation to the Bomanritual of the Ambarvalia.

Of all the Roman festivals this is the only one which canbe said with any truth to be still surviving. When the Italianpriest leads his flock round the fields with the ritual of theLitania major in Eogation week he is doing very much whatthe Fratres Arvales did in the infancy of Kome, and with thesame object. In other countries, England among them, thesame custom was taken up by the Church, which rightly



appreciated its utility, both spiritual and material ; the boundsof the parish were fixed in the memory of the young, and thewrath of God was averted by an act of duty from man, cattle,and crops. 'It was a general custom foimerly, and is stillobserved in some country parishes, to go round the bounds andlimits of the parish on one of the three days before Ascension-day ; when the Minister, accompanied by his Churchwardensand Pai'ishioners, was wont to deprecate the vengeance ofGod, beg a blessing on the fruits of the earth, and preserve therights and properties of the pariah \'

At Oxford, and it is to be hoped in some other places, thislaudable custom still survives. But the modem clergy, fiom

' Cflto, B. R. 141. I hnve availed myaelf of the Itnlian translationcommentar; of Prof. De-Marclii in bia work ou the domestic religiothe Komana, p. ia8 foil.

' BQcheler, Uniinca ; Br^fll, Les Tables h'ugubiaes.

' Brand, PopuiiiT- Anltquitics, p. 99a.


want of interest in ritual, except such as is carried on withintheir churches, or from some strong distrust of any merry-making not initiated hy their own zeal, are apt to drop theceremonies; and there is some danger that even in Oxfordthe processions and peeled wands may soon be things of thepast. To all such ministers I would recommend the practiceof the judicious Hooker, as described by his biographer, Isaak

Walton :

* He would by no means omit the customary time of pro-cession, persuading all, both rich and poor, if they desired thepreservation of Love, and their Parish rights and liberties, toaccompany him in his Perambulation— and most did so; inwhich Perambulation he would usually express more pleasantDiscourse than at other times, and would then always dropsome loving and facetious Observations, to be rememberedagainst the next year, especially by the Boys and young people ;still inclining them, and all his present Parishioners, to meek-ness and mutual Kindnesses and Love.*

At Charlton-on-Otmoor, near Oxford, there was a survival ofthe * agii lustratio ' until recent years. On the beautiful rood-screen of the parish church there is a cross, which was cai'riedin procession thiough the parish *, freshly decorated withflowers, on May-day ; it was then restored to its place on thescreen, and remained there until the May-day of the next year.It may still be seen there, but it is no longer carried round,and its decoration seems to have been transferred from May-day to the harvestfestival *.



' I am informed that it visited one hamlet, Horton, which is not atpresent in the parish of Charlton ; of this there should be some topogra-phical explanation.

^ The cross is very commonly carried about on the continent^ and inHolland the week is called cross-week for this reason. But at Charltonthere seems to have been a confusion between this cross and the May-queen or May-doll ; for on May-day, 1898, the old woman who decked itcalled it *my lady,* and spoke of *her waist,' &c. I am indebted to theRev. C. E. Prior, the present incumbent^ for infoimalion about thisinteresting suivival.

MENSIS JUNIUS.

Kal Iun. (June i). N.

lUNONI MONETAE (VEN.)

FABABICI C[IBCENSES] m[iSSUS]. (pHILOC.)

On the name of the mensis Junius some remarks havealready been made under May i. There is no sure ground

for connecting it with Juno'. The first day of June wassacred to her, but so were all Kalends ; and if this was alsothe dies natalis of the temple of Juno Moneta in arce, wehave no reason to suppose the choice of day to be speciallysignificant '. We know the date of this dedication ; it wasin 344 B. c and in consequence of a vow made by L. FuiiusCamillus Dictator in a war against the Aurunci \ Of a JunoMoneta of earlier date we have no knowledge ; and, in spiteof much that has been said to the contrary, I imagine thatthe title was only given to a Juno of the arx in consequenceof the popular belief that the Capitol was saved from theattack of the Gauls (390 b. c.) by the warning voices of hersacred geese. What truth there was in that story may be

a matter of doubt, but it seems easier to believe that it hada basis of fact than to account for it aetiologically \ There may

^ What can be said for this view may be read in Roscher's articlein Lex. s. v. luno, p. 575, note.

^ Roscher's treatment of Juno Moneta {Lex. s. v. luno, 593) seems to mepure fancy ; this writer is apt to twist his facts and his inferences to suita prepossession — in this case the notion of a ifpds yd/xos of Jupiter andJuno.

* Liv. 7. fl8; Ovid, Fctsti, 6. 183 ; Macrob. r. la. 30.

* On this point see Lewis, OredibUity o/Ear>y Roman Hist vol. ii. 345.

K


well have been an altar or saccUum ^ of Juno on the arx, nearwhich her noisy birds were kept * ; and when a temple was



eventually built here in 344 b.c, it was appropriatey dedicatedto Juno of the warning voice. From the fact that part of thistemple was used as a mint \ the word Moneta gradually passedinto another sense, which has found its way into our modernlanguages *.

One tradition connected the name of the month withM. Junius Brutus, who is said to have pei'formed a sacrumon this day after the flight of Tarquinius, on the Gaelian Hill \This sacruni had no connexion with Juno, and the traditionwhich thus absurdly brings Brutus into the question showsplainly that the derivation from Juno was not universallyaccepted*. The real deity of the Kalends of June was notJuno, but an antique goddess whose antiquity is attested bothby the meagreness of our knowledge of her, and the strangeconfusion about her which Ovid displays. Had Cama beenmore successful in the struggle for existence of Roman deities,we might not have been so sure of her extreme antiquity ;but no foreign cult grafted on her gave her a new lease of life,and by the end of the Republic &ê was all but dead.

What little we do- know of her savours of the agriculturallife and folk-lore of the old Latins. Her sacrifices wereof bean-meal and lard ^ ; and this day went by the name of

of Kalendae fabariae ^ * quia hoc mense adultae fabae divinisrebus adhibentur.' The fact was that it was the time of bean-harvest'; and beans, as we have already seen, were muchin request for sacred purposes. * Maxim us honos fabae,' says

* Dionys., 13. 7, says, Xrjvts Upol vtpi rhv vt$w t$; "Hpas; but this is noevidence for an early temple of Juno Moneta.

^ Apparently she was fond of such birds : crows also were * in tutelalunonis ' at a certain spot north of the Tiber (PauL 64), and at Lanuvium(Preller, i. 283). ' Li v. 6. ao.

* I have assumed that Moneta is connected with moiieo ; but there are other

views (Boscher, Lex, 593). Livius Andronicus (ap. Priscian, p. 679) helpsus to the meaning by translating MmjfAoavvrf (of the Odyssey) by Moneta.

* Macrob. Sot i. la. aa and 31. There was no temple of Garna there,but TertuUianus {ad Nat, a. 9) mentions a/anum.

* Gp. also the explanation from iuniores (e.g. in Ovid, Fastij 6. 83 foil.).

* Macrob. i. la. 33 'Gui pulte fabacia et larido sacrificatur.'

' Even in the fourth century a.d. this was so: see the calendar ofPhilocalua.

* Golum. II. a. ao ; Pallad. 7. 3 ; Hartmann, Das RSm. Kal, 135.

131

Pliny', alluding to the value of the bean as food, to itssupposed narcotic power, and its use in religious ritual. Wehave already found beans used in the cult of the dead and theejection of ghosts from the house ' ; and Prof. Wissowa has



of late ingeniously conjectured that this day (June i) was con-cerned with rites of the same kind '. He quotes an inscription,a will in which a legacy is left ' ut rosas Carnar[iis] ducant ' '■Undoubtedly the reference here is to rites of the dead {cf.Hosalia), and Monimsen may be right in suggesting that byCamar[iis] is meant the Kalends of June. But it is goinga little too far to argue on this slender evidence, even if weadd to it the fact that tlie day was nef(islus, tliat the festivalof Carna was of the same kind as the Parentaha, Rosalia, &c ;a cai'efnl reading of Ovid's uonimeiLts seems to show that therewere curious survivals of folk-lore coimected with the dayand with Carna which cannot all be explained by referenceto rites of the dead.

Ovid does indeed at once mislead his readers by identifyingCarna and Cardea, and thus making the former the deityof door-hinges, and bringing bor into connexion with Janus ''.But we may guess that he does this simply because he wantsto squeeze in a pretty folk-tale of Janus and Cardea, for whichhis readers may be grateful, and which need not deceive them.When he writes of the ritual of Carna"— our only safe guide^he makes it quite plain tliat he is mixing up the attributesof two distinct deities. He brings the two together by con-triving that Janus, as a rewai'd to Cardea for yielding to his

' H.N. i8. 117. ' See above 011 Lemuria, p. 110.

• it Feriia, xiii. ' C. i. L. iii. 3893.' There is reilly nothing in common between the two ; eee Wis-'owa ina. B.T. Cnrna, following Merkei, cIiLV. What tiie real etymology of

<!!ariia maj be ia undecided ; Curtius and otbei-s have connecti^d it withcar, and on this 0. Gilbert lias built much foolish conjecture (ii. ig foil.).1 would rather compare it with the words Qaranua or BeenranuB of theHoroulea legend ^Br^l, Here et Cactia, pp. 59, 60), and peihaps withQrodlvua, GrnboviUE. The name of the ' nymph ' Cranae in Ovid'H' ' ' 3 MSS. Qrane or Crane. H. Peter (Fasti, pt. ii. p 89)

adopts the connexion with caro : she is 'die das Fleisch krSfdgendeOOttin' (cp. OBsipago).

* Faali, 6. 169-183. Lines 101-130 are concerned with Cardea ; 130 to168, or the middle section of the cumment, seem, as Marquurdt suggested

x), to be referable to Carna (as the nverter of singes), thoughIS fixed on the paalea show that Ovid i^ etill confounding her with


advances, should bestow on her not only the charge of cardines,but also that of protecting infants from the striges\ creaturesof the nature of vampires, but described by Ovid as owls,who were wont to suck their blood and devour their vitals.But this last duty surely belonged to Carna, of whomMacrobius says 'Hanc deam vitalibus humanis praeesse credunt':and thus Carna's attribute is conjoined with Cardea's. Thelines are worth quoting in which Ovid describes the charms



which are to keep off the striges, for as preserving a remnantof old Italian folk-lore they are more interesting than thedoubtful nature of an obscure deity * :

Protinus arbutea' postes ter in ordine tangit

Fronde, ter arbutea limina fronde no tat:Spargit aquis aditus — et aquae medicamen habebant —

Extaque de porca cruda bimenstre tenet \Atque ita 'noctis aves, extis puerilibus' inquit

*Parcite: pro parvo victima parva cadit.Cor pro corde, precor, pro fibris sumite fibi-as.

Hanc animam vobis pro meliore damns.'Sic ubi libavit, prosecta sub aethere ponit,

Quique adsint sacris, respicere ilia vetat^Yirgaque lanalis de spina ponitur alba*

Qua lumen thalamis parva fenestra dabat.Post ilhid nee aves cunas violasse feruntur,

Et rediit puero qui fuit ante color.

Having told his folk-tale and described his charms, Ovidreturns to Carna, and asks why people eat bean-gruel on theEâlends of June, with the rich fat of pigs. The answer

^ The word strix is Greek, or at least identical with the Greek word.But the belief in vampires is so widely spread (cf. Tylor, Prim, OuU, ii.175 foil.) that we must not conclude hastily that it came to Italy withthe Greeks: it is met with as early as Plautus {Pseud. 3. a. 20). Cf. Pliny,H, N. II. 333.

« Fasti, 6. 155 foil.

^ The arbutus does not seem to be mentioned in connexion with charmsexcept in this passage ; we might have expected the laurel. BOttichor,BaumkultuSf 324.

^ The sucking-pig is sacrificed, as wo gather from prosecta below ; i.e. toCarna : cp. the cakes otlard eaten this day (169 foil.).

* Cp. in the process of ghost-laying (above, p. 109) the prohibition tolook at the beans scattered.

• For the blackthorn (^Germ. Weissdorn) see B6tticher, Baumkultusy 361.Yarro, ap. Charisium, p. 117 'fax ex spinu alba praefertur, quod purga-

tionis causa adhibetur.'

MENSI8 lUIfroS 133

is tlmt the cult of Carna is of ftnclent date, and that thehealthy foi>d of man in early times is retained in it'.

Sus urtLt in protio ; caesa sue feeta oolebant.



KderU, hnic IneiH vieoc

This was undoubtedly the real popular belief — that by eatingthis food on Cama's day your digestion was secured for theyear, Macrobius' makes the practice into a much moredefinite piece of ritual, 'Prayers axe offered to this goddess,'he says, ' for the good preservation of liver, heart, and theother internal organs of our bodies. Her sacrifices ore bean-meal and lard, because this is the best food for the nourishmentof the body,' Ovid is here the genuine Italian, Macrobius thescholar and theologian : both may be right.

Whatever, then, may be the meaning or etymology of thename Carna, we may at least be sure that the cult belongsto the age of ancient Latin agriculture ', since it was inconnexion with her name that the popular belief survivedin Ovid's time of the virtue of bean-eating on the Kalendsof June.

We learn from Ovid (line 191) that this same day was thedieanataiis of the temple of Mara extra porlam Capenam, i.e. on the

Via Appia — a favourite spot for the mustering of armies, andthe starting-point for the yearly transvettio equitum', I havealready alluded to the baseless fabric of conjecture built

' ThiB is tlie pnssage that must have iaopii'ed 0. CruBiuB in hia paper onbenns in Rhtin. JIfus. sxxix. 164 foil. ' Beans,' he says, ' were the oldestl[Hn food, und liku stone knives, Ac, survived in ritiiul.' We want,indeed, some more definite proof tlint the; were really the oldest Toad ;and anyhow their use had not died out like that of stnne implementB,{They were a common article of food at Atlirns : Ariatoph. Kuighls, 41 ;Lytial, 537 and 69c. ) But it is not unlikely that their use in the cult ofthe dead roay be a survival, upon which odd bUperstitiona grafted theiu-selvea. For a parallel argument see Koscher, Neklar und Ambroeia, 36 ;

Shyx, Cellic Mythology, 356,

' SaL

' Ho safe conclusioni 9) of the fanvm of Ci[ O. Gilbert has lately tried to maken Etruscan origin for Carna : but

^- outside the pomoerium (de Acdibus sai

' Uv. 7. a3 ; Dionya. 6. 13.

be drawn from Tertullian's inclusion (ad Sal. a.

Coelian among those of di adientieii.



jch of this (ii. 49 foil.), and to find

■e Auat on the potation of temples

'. 47)-


OR the conjunction of Mars and Juno on this day ^ ; and needhere only repeat that in no well-attested Eoman myth is Marsthe son of Juno, or Juno the wife of Jupiter, And it is evendoubtful whether June i was the original dedication-dayof this temple of Mars: the Venusian calendar does notmention it, and Ovid may be referring to a i-e-dedication byAugustus*. There is absolutely no ground for the myth-making of Usener and Boscher about Mars and Juno : butit is to the credit of the latter that he has inserted in hisarticle on Mars a valuable note by Aust, in which his ownconclusions are cogently controverted.

III. NoN. luN. (June 3). C.

bellon[ae] in circ[o] plam[inio]. (ven.)

This temple was vowed by the Consul Ap. Claudius in anEtruscan war' (296 b.c): the date of dedication is unknown.In front of the temple was an area of which the truly Romanstoiy is told *, that being unable to declare war with Pyrrhuswith the orthodox ritual of the fetialeSj as he had no landin Italy into which they could throw the challenging spear*,they caught a Pyrrhan soldier and made him buy this spot tosuit their purpose. Here stood the ' columella ' from whichhenceforward the spear was thrown ®.

The temple became well known as a suitable meeting-place forthe Senate outside the pomoeritf/m^ when it was necessary to dobusiness with generals and ambassadors who could not legallyenter the city^. But of the goddess very little is known.There is no sujfficient reason to identify her with that Nerio

* See on March i, above, p. 37.

' Aust, de Aedibus sacris, p. 8. The Fasti Venusini are ' omnium accuratis-simi ' ; ib. p. 43. Anst goes so far as to doubt the true Roman character ofthis Mars, and believes him to be the Greek god Ares. See his note inLex. 3391. The date of foundation is not certain, but was probably not

earlier than the Gallic war, 388 b. c, if it is this to which Livy alludesin 6. 5. 8.

^ Liv. 10. 19. There was a tradition that Ap. Claudius, Cos. 495 b.c.,had dedicated statues of his ancestors in a temple of Bellona (Pliny, N. H,35. I a). * Serv. Aen, ix. 53.

^ Liv. I. 32. la ; Marq. 42a. * Ovid, Fasli^ 6. ao5 foil. ; Paulus, 33.

^ Willems, Le Senai de la BipvMiqêf ii. 161.



I

^^B with whom we made acquaintance in March, as is done too^^M confidently by the writer of the article in Boscher's Lexicon \

I

MENSIS 1UNIU3 I35

Prtd. Nok. Ius. (June 4), C.

herc[dli] magn[o] cu8to[di]. (ven.)

This temple also was near the Circus Flaminiufoundation of Sulla's, 8z b. c, and the cult

ing to that of 'HpiiicX^t nXcgiVaitoi '.

NoN. IL-N (Juke 5). N.'

FIDIO IN OOLLE. (VEK.)

The temple on the Quirinal of which this was the dies natalisby Dionyaius " to have been vowed by TarquiniuaSuperbua, and dedicated by Sp. Postumius in b. 0. 466. Butthat there was a/anwm or saceVum of this deity on or near thesame site at a much eai-lier time is almost certain ; sucha saceUum ' ad portam Sasqualem ' is mentioned, also by

Dionysina", as lepiv Aiic nirrriuu, and we know that in manycases the final aedes or femplum was a development from anuncovered altar or sacred place.

Dius Fidius, as the adjectival character of his name shows,was a gonnine old Itahan religious conception, but one that inhistorical times was buried almost out of sight. Among godsand heroes there has been a struggle for existence, as amonganimals and plants ; with some peoples a struggle betwei?iiindigenous and exotic deities, in which the latter usually win

' This WAa origindlly Buggested by Bellius (13. 33), 'perhaps not with-out some reaHtn,' eayB Hiirqunrdt (75'). Thia suggestion baa grown almoxt

into a eertointy for the writ*r in the Lexican, in a manner very charaoter-istio of the present age of researoh. There would be some reason to thinkthat Bellona (or Duellona] waa an nnuient goddess of central Itiily. if werould be sure that the inscription on an antitnt aup, in the muHeum atFlorence, which may be read ■ Belolae poculum ' {C I, L. I. 44), refers tothia deity. See lex. a.v. Belola.

' Ovid, Fasli, 6. 909. See Ck}tnmentarii in himorBm Th, ttommsenl, a6a falLiKliigmsDnS and R. Peter in Lez. a. v. Hart!, p. 3979.



" Prelter- Jordan, ii. 396. ' See below, p. 146.

' 9. 60, where Zeit niariniT Diiis Fidius.

' 4. 58 : cp. L!r. B. ao; Aust, de Aedibut socru;, p. 51. Of the portaSunqiialia I aliall have a word to itay presently.

J36 THE BOMAN FESTIVALS

the day, and displace or modify the native species'. Whatlaws, if any, govern this struggle for existence it is not possibleto discern clearly ; the result is doubtless the survival of thefittest, if by the fittest we understand those which flourish bestunder the existing conditions of society and thought ; but itwould hardly seem to be the survival of those which are mostbeneficial to the worshipping race. Among the Eomans thefashionable exotic deities of the later Eepublic and Empire hadno such ethical influence on the character of the people as thoseolder ones of the type of Dius Fidius, who in historical timeswas known to the ordinary Eoman only through the medium ofan old-fashioned oath.

Ovid knows very little about Dius Fidius '^ :

Quaerebam Nonas Sanco Fidione referrem,An tibi, Semo pater: cum mihi Sancus ait* Guicunque ex illis dederis, ego munus habebo ;Nomina trina fero, sic voluere Cures.'

He finds three names for the deity, but two would havesufficed ; the only individual Semo known to us is Sancushimself. The Semones, so far as we can guess, were spirits ofthe ' pandaemonic ' age, nameless like the Lares with whomthey are associated in the hymn of the Fratres Arvales ' ; butone only, Semo Sancus, seems to have taken a name and

survived into a later age, and this one was identified with DiusFidius. Aelius Stilo, the Varro of the seventh century a. u.c,seems to have started this identification*. Varro does notcomment on it ; but Verrius accepted it : he writes of an * aedesSancus, qui deus Dius Fidius vocatur * '. The evidence of in-scriptions is explicit for a later period ; an altar, for example,found near the supposed site of his temple on the Quirinal,bears the inscription * Sanco Sancto Semon[i] deo fidio sacrum '^

^ Mr. Lang {Myih^ Ritucdy &c., ii. 191) has some excellent remarks on thissubject. ' Fasti, 6. 213.

^ See Wordsworth's Fragments and Specimens of Early Latin, p. 157 ^Semunes

alternos advocapit cunctos.' I follow Jordan's explanation of * Semune:^,*in KriL Beitrage, 204 folL

* Aelius Dium Fidium dicobat Diovis filium, ut Graeci Atoaxopov Casto-rem, ct putabat hunc esse Sancum ab Sabina lingua et Herculem a Graeca '(Varro, L. L, 5. 66).

^ Festus, 241. This is probably the saceUum of Livy, 8. 22.

• C. /. L. vi. 568 : again (ib. 567), ^Semoni Sanco deo fidio.' Sancus is,



of course, a name, not an adjective : we find Sangus in some MSS. of

MENSIS lUNIUS 137 .

And there is nothing in the woi'ds Sancus and Fidius to forbidthe identification, for both point to the same class of ideas—that of the bond whieh religious feeling placea on men in theirduties to, and contracts with, each other. They are in facttwo different names for the same religious conception. It isinteresting to find them both occiuring in the great processionalinscription of Iguvium in XJmbria : Fisns or Fisovius Saneius,who is there invoked next after Jupiter, seems to unite the twodeities in a single name '. This conjunction would seem tosave us from the necessity of discussing the question whetherSancus, as hiia often been insisted on by scholars both ancientand modem ', was really the Sabine form of Diua Fidius ; forif in Umbiia the two are found together, as at Eome, there isno reason why the same should not have been the case through-out central Italy. The question would never have been askedhad the fluid nature of the eailiest Italian deities and theadjectival character of their names been duly taken account of.We are all of us too apt to speak of this primitive spirit-world

in terms of a later polytheistic theology, and to suppose thatthe doubling of a name implies some distinction of origin

Dius Fidius, then, and Semo Sancus are both Latin names forthe same religious conception, the impersonality of whichcaused it to lose vitality as new and anthropomoi'phio ideasof the divine came- into vogue at Boni«. But there is at leastsome probability that it survived in a fashion under the nameof an intruder, Hercules ; and the connexion with Herculeswill show, what we might ab-eady have guessed, that the

livy, 3a. I. For tbs well-known curious confuBion with Simiui Uagus,EiMBb. S. E. a. 13.

' Brtal. Tableit EugiOiines, 71 ; Buolieler, Uinlrica, 65 foil. Aa Prellerremarks, Fisus staiid? to Fidius as Clausus to Claudius (ii. 371). AtIguvium there was a hill, important In the rit«s, wliich bore this name —acria fieiua.

' AeliuH Stilo ap. Tarro, 1, 0. ; Ovid, 1. c ; Propert. 4. 9. 14 ; LactantiOB,I. 15. 6 ; Schnegler. Ji. Q, i. 364 ; Preller, ii. 373 ; 0, Gilbert, 1. 375, note ;Ambrosch. Shidien, i;a. Jcrdan, however, in a note oa Preller (373')omphaticallj says that the Sabine oi^g'n of the god is a fable ; and forIbeillUBOiydistiaetion between Latins und Sabinesin Borne see Mommsen,B. H, i. 67, note, and Brâl, Hercule et Qicus, p, 56. Sancus was no

doubt a Sabine doity and reputed ani^stor of the race (CbI« ap. Dionya. a.

^■^ 49: cp, 4. sS) I t>ut it does not fallow that he came to itome as a Sabiou J

^^K importation. I




religious conception we are speaking of was very near akin tothat of Jupiter himself.

There is clear evidence that the best Roman scholars identifiednot only Dius Fidius with Semo Sancus, but both of these witliHercules. Yarro, in a passage already quoted, tells us that Stilobelieved Dius Fidius to be the Sabine Sancus and the GreekHercules; Verrius Flaccus, if his excerptors represent himrightly, in two separate glosses identified all these three \

Again, the Boman oaths me dius fidius and me hercule aresynonymous ; that the former was the older can hardly bedoubted, and the latter must have come into vogue when theGreek oath by Heracles became familiar. Thus the origin of mehercule must be found in a union of the characteristics of Herculeswith those of the native Dius Fidius. It is worth noting thatin pronouncing both these oaths it was the custom to go outinto the open air \ Here is a point at which both Herculesand Dius Fidius seem to come into line with Jupiter ; for themost solemn oath of all was per lovem {lapidem), also takenunder the light of heaven ', as was the -case with the oath atthe altar of Zcits 'EpKuos in Greece \ Yet another point of con-junction is the qra maxima at the entrance to the Circus Maximus,

which was also a place where oaths were taken and treatiesi*atified ^ ; this was the altar of Hercules Victor, to whom thetithes of spoil were offered ; and this was also associated withthe legend of Hercules and Cacus. In the deity by whomoaths were sworn, and in the deity of the tithes and the legend,it is now acknowledged on all hands that we should recognizea great Power whom we may call Dius Fidius, or Semo Sancus,or the Genius lovius, or even Jupiter himself". Tithes, oaths.

* Varro, L. L. 5. 66 ; Festus, 229 (Propter viam) ; and Paulus, 147(medius fidius^.

" Cp. Plutarch, Quaest Rom. 28 (* Why are boys made to go out of thehouse when they wish to swear by Hercules?*) with Varro, ap. Nonium,s. V. rituiSy and X. L, 5. 66,

^ See below on Sept. 13, p. 231. The silex was taken out of the templeof Jupiter Feretrius (Paulus, 92).

* Eustath. ad Od, 22. 335 ; Hermann, Or, Ant. ii. 74. Cp. A. Lang,Myth, &c. ii. 54 : ' the sky hears us/ said the Indian when taking an oath.

* Dionys. i. 40.

* See the opinions of Hartung, Schwegler, and Preller, summed up byBrtol, Hercule et CacuSf 51 foil. ; and B. Peter in Lex, s.v. Hercules,2255 foil.

KEN3IS lUNnjS



139

mid the myth of the struggle of light with Jarltness, cannot beassociated with such a figure as the Hercules who came toItaly from Greece; tithea are the due of some great god,or lord of the land ', oaths are taken in the presence of the godof heaven, and the great nature myth only descends by degreesto attach itself to semi-human figures.

We are here indeed in the presence of very ancient Italianreligious ideas, which we can only veiy dimly apprehend, andfor the explanation of which^so far as explanation is possible —there is not space in this work. But before we leave DiusFidius, I will briefly indicate the evidence on which we mayrest our belief {1} that as Seme Sancua, he ia connected withJupiter as the god of the heaven and thunder ; and (2) that asHercules he ia closely related to the same god as seen ina different aspect.

t. In the Iguvian inscription referred to above Saneiua inone place appears in conjunction with loviua = ; and, as we haveseen, it is also found in the same ritual with Fisu or Fisovius.

In this same passage of the inscription (which is a manual ofritual for the Fratres Attidii, an ancient religious brotherhoodof Iguvium), the priest is directed to have in. his hand an urfila(orhita), i. e. either disk or globe ; and this urfila has been com-pared ', not mthout reason, with the orhes mentioned by Livy 'as having been made of brass after the capture of Privemumand placed in the temple of Semo Sancus. If we may aafelye that such symbols occur chiefly in the worship of deitiesof sun and heaven, as seema probable, we have here someevidence, however imperfect, for the common origin of Sancusand Jupiter.

Again, thei'e was In licman augural lore a bird called

sanâ}is avis, which can hardly be dissociated from the cult of

' Hobertaon Smith, Be'igion nftht SemOea, p, 333,

' Biloheler, Vmbrica, 7 ; BriSal, ToHes Eug«bines, 370.

' Freller, ii. 373, and JorduD'e note. Tn M. Gaidoz'a Etudes ie MylholoyleGtaHoiat, i. 64, will be found fignres of a hand holding a wheel, from Bar-le-Duc (the Vfrist thrust through one of the holes), which may possiblyezplBiD the vrfila, and which ha eonneots with the Celtic sun-god. Inthis connexion we may notice the large aeries of Umbriiin and Etruactuiooins with the six-rayed wheel.BjmboI (Mommsen, MiimwcseH, aaa foll,)iwhich, as ProfessDr Gardner tells me, is more pmbubly a aiin-symbot than

merely the ohariot'wheel convenient for imekilful uoinera.


Sancus; for there was also an ancient city gate, the portaSanqualiSy near the sacellum Sancus on the Quirinal \ Pliny'slanguage about this bird shows that this bit of ancient lorewas almost lost in his time ; but at the same time he makes it



clear that it was believed to belong to the eagle family, whichplayed such an important part in the science of augury. Theonly concrete fact that seems to be told us about this bird isthat in e. c. 177 one struck with its beak a sacred stone atCrustumerium — a stone, it would seem, that had fallen fromheaven, i e. a thunder-stone or a meteorite '.

Bearing this in mind, we are not surprised to find furthertraces of a connexion between Sancus and thunderbolts. Therewas at Eome a decuria of sacerdotes bidentales, in close associa-tion with the cult of Sancus. Three votive altars are extant,dedicated to the god by this decuria ^ ; two of them were foundon the Quirinal, close to the site of the sacellum Sancus. Nowthe meaning of the word hidental shows that the decuria hadas its duty the care of the sacred spots which had been struckby thunderbolts ; such a spot, which was also called putealfrom its resemblance to a well fenced with a circular wall,bore the name hidental^ presumably because two-year-old sheep(bidentes) were sacrificed there *. Consequently we again haveSancus brought into connexion with the augural lore of lightning,which made it a religious duty to bury the bolt, and fence oifthe spot from profane intrusion. Yet another step forward inthis dim light. A hidental was one kind of tern/plum^ as weare expressly told ^ ; and the temple of Sancus itself seems to

have had this peculiarity. Varro says that its roof was per-

* For the bird, Plin. A", i/. 10. ao; Festus, 197 s. v. oscines, and 317{sanquaHs avis), Bouch^-Loclercq, Hist, de la JHvincUionj iv. 200. For thegate cp. Paulus, 345, with Liv. 8. 20 ; Jordan, Topogr. ii. 264.

' Liv. 41. 13, with Weissenborn's note. The stone was perhaps tliesame as one which had shortly before fallen into the grove of Mars atCrustumerium (41. 9).

> ai. L. vi. 567, 568 ; and BuU. deU* Inst,, i88i, p. 38 foil. (This last with

a statue, which, however, may not belong to it : Jordan's note on Preller,ii. 273.) Wilmanns, Exenipla Inscr. Lat. 1300.

* Marq. 263 ; B.-liclercq, iv. 51 foil. The Scholiast on Persius, 2. 27,is explicit on the point. But Deecke, in a note to Miiller's Etrusker (ii. 275)doubts the connexion of the decuria with hidental =puieal,

* Fostus, 8. V. Scribonianum (p. 333 : the restoration can hardly be wrorg)' [quia ne^faa est integi, semper ibi forami[ne aper]to caelum patet.'

_ .TH._

UENSI8 IUmU3 141

foralum, bo that the sky might be seen through it '. In afragment of augural lore, apparently genuine though preservedby a writer of late date, the vaeli leniplum seems to liave beenconceived as a dome, or a ball (orbis) cut in half, tcilh a hole inthe top^. We may allow that we are here getting out of ourdepth ; but the general result of what has been put forward isthat Sancus = Dius Fidius was originally a spirit or numen of



the heaven, and a wielder of the lightning, closely allied to thegreat Jupiter, whose cult, combined with that of Hercules, hadalmost obliterated him in historical times.

Finally, it would seem that those moral attributes of Jupiterwhich give him a unique position in the Roman theology asthe god of truth, order, and concord, belonged at one periodalso to Sancua as Dius Fidius ; for in his temple was kept themost ancient treaty of which the Romans know, that said tohave been made by Tarquinius Superbus with Gabii, whichDionysius must himself have seen. ", and which he describes asconsisting of a wooden dypeus, bound with the hide ofa sacrificed os, and bearing ancient letters. Here also wasthe reputed statue of Gaia Caecilia or Tanaquil, the idealRoman matron ; of which it has been conjectured, rashlyperhaps, but by an authority of weight, that it really repre-sented a humanized female foi-m of Dius Fidiua, standing tohim as the Junones of women stood to the Genii of men, or asJuno ia the abstiact to Genius in the abstract',

' t. L. 5. 66 'ut ea videatur divum, id eat caaluin.' He conneots theword diivm with J)iu» Fidiua. See Jordan in the collection of Sflsays ' iuhoQorem Th. Uommseoi,' p. 369.

' UartiBDua Capet la, 1.43 (p. 47 in Eyssenhardt'a edition). See Missea'sfliplanation in Das Tinfitim, p. 184, and plate iv. In this account Jupiteroccupies the chief placo : Sancua is there, alone in the lath regii. Butdoubt luB been cast on Nisaen's view by the discovery of nn actual repre-sentation of the eadi Itmplum (see Auat, in Ltx. s. v. lupiter, 668).

' Dionya. 4, 58. In g. 60 he snya that thia temple waa only von'ed byTarquinius, and not dedicated till 466 B. 0. (Anal, de AedibiiasfKTis, p. 6) ; butthere muat bare been a still earlier sanctuary of some kind (Livy writesof a »aall«m. 8, ao. 8). Dlonyeiua ia interesting and oxpliait ; he callsDius Fidius Ztm nia-rto^, and adds the nnmo ^yicos. The treaties neXtin date, those with Carthage, were kept in the aedilium thesaunis, close to

the temple of Jupiter Capitoltnus (Palyb. 3. sa ; Mommsen, Slaalsrecht, ii.X (ed. 3 ) 481 note). Hero we seem to see the authority of the ancientDius Fidius already losing ground.

• Plut. Quaesl. Ram. 30 ; Varro, ap. Piin. K.ll. 8. 194; Festas, 338. ItWM Beifferscheid's cunjecture that the was a female Dius Fidius [see

142 THE ROlfAN FESTIVALS

2. The last sentence of the preceding paragraph may aptlyhring ns to our second point, viz. the rehition to Jupiter of

Dius Fidius as = Hercules. Those who read the article 'DiusFidius ' in Roscher's Lexicon will be struck by the fact that socautious a writer as Professor Wissowa should boldly identifythis deity, at the very outset of his account, with the ' Geniuslovis ' ; and this conjecture, which is not his own, but ratherthat of the late Professor Reifferscheid of Breslau ', calls fora word of explanation.

More than thirty years ago Reifferscheid published a paperin which he compared certain points in the cults of Juno and.



Hercules, of which we have a meagre knowledge from Romanliterature, with some works of art of Etruscan or ancientItalian origin (i.e. not Greek), and found that they seemedto throw new and unexpected light on each other.

The Roman women, we are told *, did not swear by Hercules,but by * their Juno ' ; the men swore by Hercules, Dius Fidius,or by their Genius'. Women were excluded from the cultof Hercules at the ara maxima * ; men were excluded, notindeed from the cult of Juno, but (as Reifferscheid puts it) ' fromthat of Bona Dea, who was not far removed from Juno ^/ Atthe birth of a child, a couch (lectus) was spread in the atriumfor Juno, a mensa for Hercules *. The bride's girdle {cingulum)seems to have given rise to a cult-title of Juno, viz. Cinxia,while the knot in it which was loosed by the bridegroom at thelecttis genialis was called the nodus herculaneu8\

Wissowa, Lex. 1190). Feat. 241 adds ' cuius ex zona periditantes ramentaBumunt.'

^ BuU. deW Inst., 1867, 35a foil. Beifferscheid was prevented by deathfrom working his view out more fully ; but R Peter (see Lex, s. v. Hercules,

9267) preserved notes of his lectures.

* Gellius, II. 6. I. For Juno as female equivalent of Genius see article'lunones' in Lex. But it does not seem proved that this was the old name,and not an idea of comparatively late times.

* Seneca, Ep. la. a. * See below, on Aug. la, p. 194.

^ This seems a weak point. Bona Dea was not more closely related toJuno than some others. I do not feel sure that the name Juno is not asmuch an intrusion here as Hercules, and that the real female counter-part of Genius, &c., was not a nameless numen like the Bona Dea. Therise of the cult of Juno Lucina may have produced this intrusion. It is

worth noting that in Etruria Minerva takes the place of Juno {Lex. ^266,and the illustration on 3267).

* Serv. Ed, 4. 6a. ' Paulus, 63.

II

MEirStS lUNIDS 143

Now Bei£Ferscheid believed that he found the same con-junction of Juno and Hercules in several works of art, whichmay be 8up[>osed to be reflections from the same set of ideaswhich produced the usages just indicated. In the moat im-portant of those there ia indeed no doubt about it ; this isa mirror of Etruscan workmanship ', in which three figuresare marked with the Latin names Iovei (Jupiter), Iuno andHercele. Jupiter sits on an altar in the middle, and with bisright band is touching Juno, who has her left hand on lii^^



shoulder ; Hercules stands with his club, apparently expectant,on the left. From certain indications in the mirror (for whichI must refer the reader to the illustration on p. 2259 ofBoscher's Lexicon) Keifferscheid concluded that Jupiter washere giving Juno in marriage to Hercules ; and, in spite ofsome cnticism, this interpretation has been genei-ally accepted^.In other works of art he found the same conjunction, thoughno names mark the figures ; in these Hercules and Juno, ifBuch they be, appear to be contending for the mastery, ratherthan uniting peacefully in wedlock '. This conjunction, oropposition, of Juno and Hercules, is thus explained by Eeiffer-Bcheid. The name Juno represents the female principle inhuman nature* ; the 'genius' of a woman was called by thisname, and the cult of Juno as a developed goddess shows manyfeatures that bear out the proposition '. If these facts be so,then the inference to be drawn fi-om the conjunction or oppositionof Juno and Hercules is that the name Hercules indicates theittale principle in human nature. But the male principle is&lso espressed in the word Genius, as we see e. g. in the termlectus genialis ; Hei-cules therefore and Genius mean the samething— the former name having encroached upon the domainof the latter, as a Latinized form of Heracles, of all Greekheroes or divinities the most virile. And if Hercules, Semo

' Gerhard, EfruaftimJe Spiegel, 1+7. It is also Ggared in Ltx. h,v.Hercules, aaS9-

' ag. by every writer iu Euaoher"8 Lexicon who hna touohect on thi;Bul'ject. Jordan seems to have diasented (Preller, ii. 284).

' The opposition or conflict of tlie two is paralleled by the supposedmjtli of the contention of Mars and Hinerva (Nerio; (see above, p. 60 ;

' " B article ' luuonea ' in Lex. ; and De-Mnrchi, La Sdigiont nella vita

i

144 ^^^ ROMAN FESTIVALS

Sancus and Dius Fidius are all different names for the sameidea, then the word Genius may be taken as equivalent to thetwo last of these as well as to Hercules \

But why does Beififerscheid go on to tell us that this Genius,L e. Hercules = Sancus = Dius Fidius, is the Genius lovis ? How

does he connect this many-titled conception with the gi-eatfather of the sky? As a matter of fact, he has but slenderevidence for this ; he relies on the mirror in which he foundJupiter giving Juno to Hercules, and on the conjecture thatthe Greek Hercules, the son of Zeus, would easily come tooccupy in Italy the position of Genius, if the latter were, in anabstract form and apart from individual human life, regardedas the Genius of Jupiter ^ And in this he is followed byWissowa and other writers in Boscher's Lexicon,



It would perhaps have been wiser not to go so far as this.He has already carried us back to a world of ideas older thanthese varying names which so often bewilder us in the Bomanworship — to a world of spirits, Semones, Lares, Ceni, ghostsof deceased ancestors, vegetation demons, and men's ^ othersouls.' When he talks of a Genius lovis \ he is surely usingthe language of later polytheism to express an idea whichbelonged, not to a polytheistic age, but to that older world ofreligious thought. He is doing, in fact, the very thing whichthe Bomans themselves were doing all through the period ofthe Bepublic— the one thing which above all others has made

* I cannot agree with Mr. Jevons {Introduction to Histoty of Religion, p. i86folL) when he makes the Roman genius a relic of totemism, simplybecause genii were often represented by serpents. The snake was toouniversally worshipped and domesticated to be easily explained as atotem. Mr. Frazer has an interesting example from Zululand, which issingularly suggestive in connexion with the doctrine of Genius (seeQolden Bough, ii. 33a), which can hardly be explained on a totemistic basis.The doctrine of Genius may certainly have had its roots in a totemisticage ; but by the time it reaches us in Roman literature it has passedthrough so many stages that its origin is not to be dogmatized about.

' I cannot attach much weight to the argument (see Lex, aa68) that

because Aelius Stilo explained Dius Fidius as Diovis Filius he thereforehad in his head some such relation of Genius to Jupiter.

' If he had written Genius lovius, after the manner of the Igiivlaninscription, with its adjectival forms which preserve a reminiscence ofthe older spirit-world, he might have been nearer the mark. It may bethat we get back to Jupiter himself as the Genius par excellence, but thereis no direct proof of this. The genius of a god is a late idea, as Mr. Jevonspoints out in a note to Boman QuestionSf p. liii.

MENSIS lUNIUS 145

the study of their religious ideas such a treacherous quagmirefor the modern student

VI Id. Iun. (June 8). N.

MENTI IN CAPITOLIO. (VEN. MAFF. VI MINORES.)

The temple of Mens was vowed by T. Otacilius (praetor) in217 B. c, after the battle of Trasimenus * propter neglegentiamcaerimoniarum auspiciorumque V and dedicated in 215 b.c, bythe same man as duumvir aedilus dedicandis^. The vow was theresult of an inspection of the Sibylline books, from which we

might infer that the goddess was a stranger '. If so, who wasshe, and whence ? Eeasoning from the fact that in the sameyear, in the same place, and by the same man, a temple wasdedicated to Venus Erycina% Preller guessed that this Menswas not a mere abstraction, but another form of the sameVenus ; for a Venus Mimnermia or Meminia is mentioned byServius*, * quod meminerit omnium.'

However this may be, the foundation of a cult of Mens at socritical a moment of their fortunes is very characteristic of the



Eoman spirit of that age ; it was an appeal to -'something notthemselves which made for righteousness' to help them toremember their caerimoniae, and not to neglect their auspicia.It is remarkable that this temple of Mens was restored byM. Aemilius Scaurus probably amid the disasters of the Cimbrianwar a century later \

VII Id. Iun. (Juije 7). N.

VESTA APERIT. (PHILOC.)

V Id. Iun. (June 9). N.VESTALIA. (tusc. ven. maff.)

XVII Kal. Quinct. (June 15). N.

VESTA CLUDITUR. (PHILOC.)

XVII Kal. Quinct. (June 15). Q. St. D. F.It would seem from these notes in the calendars, and from

^ Livy, 22. 9 ; Ovid, Fasti^ 6. 241 foil. ; Aust, de Aedibtna sacriSf p. 19.

* Livy, 23. 31 and 32 ; M irq. 270.

» Marq. 358 foil. ; Article *Sibyilini libri' in Diet of Antiquities, ed 2.

* Livy, 22. 9, 10 ; 23 30, 31. * Ad Aen. i. 720.

* Plut. de Fort Rom, 5. 10 ; Cic. Nat. Deor. 2. 61, Aust (de AedibiM aacris,p. 19' puts it in B.C. 115, in Sjaurus' consulship.

146 TUE BOM AN FESTTVALiS

passages in Ovid and Festus \ that both before and after the

day of the time Vestalia there were days set apart for the cultof the goddess, which were nefasti and also religiosi\ Ovid'slines are wor|;h quoting; he consults the Maminica Dialis'about the marriage of his daughter :

Turn mihi post sacras monstratur lunius idus

Utilis et nuptis, utilis esse viris,Primaque pars huius thalamis aliena repeita est.

Nam mihi sic coniunx sancta Dialis ait ;'Donee ab Iliaca placidus purgnmina Vesta

Detiilerit flavis in mare Thybris aquis,Non mihi detonsos crines depectere buxo,

Non ungues ferro subsecuisse licet,Non tetigisse virum, quamvis lovis ille sacerdos,

Quamvis perpetua sit mihi lege datus.Tu quoque ne propera. Melius tua filia nubet

Ignea cum pura Vesta nitebit humo/



What is the meaning of this singular aspect of the Vesta-cult?Why should these days be so ill-omened or so sacred that duringthem marriages might not be celebrated, and the priestess ofJupiter might not hold any intercourse with her husband, cuther hair, or pare her nails ? And what is the explanation ofthe annotation Q[uando] St'ercus] D[e]atum] F[as]*, which onthe 15th indicated the breaking of the spell, and a return toordinary ways of life? Before attempting to answer thesequestions, it will be as well to say a few words about thenature and probable origin of the worship of Vesta. Owing tothe remarkable vitality and purity of this cult throughout thewhole of Koman history, we do not meet here with thosebaffling obscurities which so often beset us in dealing withdeities that had lost all life and shape when Boman scholarsbegan to investigate them. And yet we know that we arehere in the presence of rites and ideas of immemorialantiquity.

* Ovid, Fasti, 6. 219 foil. ; Festus, 250, s. v. Penus : * [Penus vo'Jcatur locusintimus in aede Vestae, tegetibus saeptus, qui certis diebus circa Vestaliaaperitur. li dies leligiosi habentur.'

- For the meanings of nkfnstus and religiosus see Introduction, p. 9 ;Marq. 291.

* No doubt this was done, and the lines composed, in order to pleaseAugustus and reflect the reyival of the old religio,

* Varro, L, L. 6. 3a.

MENSIS rUNlUS 147

In an article of gi-ent interest in tlie Journal of Philologyfor 1885', Mr. J, G. Frazer first placed the origin of the cultin a clear light for Engliah scholars. By comparing it withsimilar practices of existing peoples still in a primitive con-dition of life, he made apparent the real germ of the institutionof the Vestal Virgins. Helbig, in hia ItalUxr in der Poebene ',bad already recognized that germ in the tKcessity of keepingone fire always alight in each settlement, so that its memberscould at any time supply themselves 'with the flame, thenso hard to procure at a moment's notice ; and Mr. Frazerhad only to go one step further, and show that the taskof keeping this fire alight was that of the daughters of thechief. This step he was able to take, supported by evidence

from Damaraland in South Africa, where the priestess of theperpetual fire is the chiers daughter ; quoting also the followingexample from Calabria in Southern Italy : ' At the present daythe fire in a Calabrian peasant's house is never (except aftera death) allowed to die qiiit« out, even in the heat of summer îtia a bad omen If it should chance to be estiagtiUhed, andthe girls of the house, whose special care it Is to keep at leasta single brand burning on the hearth, are sadly dismayedat such a mishap.' The evidence of the Soman ias sacrumquite confirms this modern evidence ;/the Vestals wei'e under



the patria potestas of the pontifex masimus, who representedin republican times the legal powers of the Rex, and from thisfact we may safely argue that they had once been the daughtersof the primitive chief. The fiamines too, or kindlers, as beingunder the potestas of the pontifex, may be taken as i-epresentingthe sons of the primitive household'. But from various' the duties of the fiamines became obsolete or obscure ;while those of the Vestals remained to give us an almostperfect picture of life in the household of the oldest Latins.

From the first, no doubt, the tending of the fire was in somesense a religious service, and the flame a sacred flame ', There

' Vol. xiv. No. a8 ' P- 53-

* Uarq. 350. In the Andamiin Islands both sonB and daughtei-B takepart in the work of mamta[ning the firos (Man's Andaman Islands, quotedby Mr. Frazer. op. cit. p. IS3I.

' See m}' article 'Sacerdos' in Did. of Antigtiilies, ed. 3.

' Verta Jieraelf was originally aimply the Bre on tlie hearth tfrawr,op. oit. 15a). Note that thp flame was obtained afresh each year od Haroh i.

148 THE ROMAN FESTIVAUS

must haye been many stages of growth from this b^^ningto the fully developed Testa of the Republic and Empire ;yet we can see that the lines of development were singularlysimple and consistent. The sacred fire for example wasmaintained in the aedes Yestae, adjoining the king^s house ^(regia) ; and the penus Yestae, which must originally havecontained the stores on which the family depended for theirsustenance, was always believed to preserve the most sacredand valuable objects possessed by the State \

We return to the Yestalia, of which the ritual was as follows.On June 7, the penus Yestae, which was shut all the restof the year, and to which no man but the pontifex maxim ushad at any time right of entry, was thrown open to allmatrons. Puring the seven following days they crowded to itbarefoot '. Ovid relates his own experienc3 * :

Forte revertebar festis Yestalibus ilia

Qua nova Bomano nunc via iuncta foro est.

Hue pede matronam vidi descendere nudo :

Obatipui taciius sustinuique gradum.

The object of this was perhaps to pray for a blessing on thehousehold. On plain and old-fashioned ware offerings of foodwere carried into the temple : the Yestals themselves oflFeredthe sacred cakes made of the first ears of corn plucked, as wesaw, in the early days of May ^ ; bakers and millers keptholiday, all mills were garlanded, and donkeys decorated withwreaths and cakes ^



£cce coronatis panis dependet asellisEt velant scabras florida serta molas.

On June 15 the temple (aedes, not templum) was sweptand the refuse taken away and either thrown into the Tiber

even in historical times, by the primitive method of the friction of thewood of a Mucky' tree (Festus, 106), or from the sun's rays. We arenot told which priest performed this rite.

* Middleton, Rome in i88j, p. 181 foil.

* This belief, and the nature of the treasures, are fully discussed byMarquardt, p. 251, with additions by Wissowa.

* Op. PetroniuR, S(xL 44 (of the aquaelicium).

* Fa««, 6. 395 foil. * Above, p. no.

* As the beast that usually worked in mills? There is a Pompeianpainting of this scene (Gerhard, AnU BUd. pi. 6a).

149

or deposited in some partjpiilar spot'. Then the dies nc/asiicome to ftn end; and the 15th itself became fastus as soonas the last act of cleansing had been'duly performed : ' Quandoatercua delatum fua.'

In thia account of the ritual of these days, two featurpsclaim special attention: (1) the duties of the Vestals inconnexion with the provision of food ; (2) the fact that thedays were religios'i, as is illustrated by the prohibition ofmarriage and the mourning of the Flaminica Dialis. Thatthese two features were in some way connected seems proved

by the cessation of the mourning when the penus Vestas wasonce more closed,

I. It needs but little investigation to discover that, thoughthe germ of the eult was doubtless the perpetual fire in theking's house, the cult itself was by no means confined toattendance on the fire ; and this was so probably from thevery first. The king's daughters fetched the water fromthe spring, both for sacred and domestic purposes ; and thisduty was kept up throughout Eoman history, for waterwas never ' laid on ' to the house of the Veatala, but carriedfrom a sacred fountain ". They also crushed the corn withpestle and mortar, and prepared the cakes for the use of the

family — duties which survived in all their pristine simplicityin the preparation of the mola salsa in the early days of May^ ;and they swept the house, as the Vestals afterwards continuedto cleanse the penus Vestae, on June 1 g. The penus, or store-closet of the house, was under their charge ; on the state

' Varro, L. L. 6. 3a 'Dies qui vocatur Q. St. D. P. ah eo appellitturquod ao die ex aede Vestae etercua everritur et per Capitoliniim clivum iolocam defei'tur ccrtuDi.' It is Ovid who tells us it was thrown into theTiber (Fiit«, 6. 713).



' Jordan, Tempd der Fesfa, p. 63.

' The cmsliiiig of the grnin nn doubt comes down from a time whenthere were no mills (Helbig, IlaWser in dar Poebene, 17 and ^3). The pre-parationof the cokes was JilsQ peculiar, and even that of the aalt which WHBniied in them (Festua, 159 1 op. Serv. Ed. 8. 83). The latter passage is theloots daasiBua for ail those duties: 'Virginea Vestujoa ties maximse exnonis Uaiis adpridie Idus Meiss nlternis diebus (i.e. on 7th, 9th, nth?)■picaa adoreas in uorbibus messuariis ponunt, essque spicas ipane virginestorrent, pinsunt, molunt, atque ita moljtum condunt. Ex eo furrevit^gfnea tor in enno mnlam faciunt, Lupercalibua, Veatalibus, IdibusSBptemhribua, adieoto sale coeto et side duro." For examples of the, primitiTe method of cooking see Hiss Kingsley's Travels in West A/r'r p. aoB ; and Sir Joseph Banks's Journal (ed. Hooker), p. 137.

y


of its contents the family depended for its comfort and pros-perity, and from the very outset it must have had a kindof sacred character \ Th^ close connexion of Vesta and herministrants with the simple materials and processes of thehouse and the farm is thus quite plain ; and we may trace it inevery rite in which they took any part. The Fordicidia andthe Parilia in April were directly concerned with the flocksand herds of the community ; in May the festival of the BonaDea and the mysterious ceremony of the Argei point to the8eason of peril during the ripening of the crops. After theYestalia the Vestals were present at the Consualia andthe festival of Ops Consiva in August, which, as we shall see,were probably harvest festivals ; and on the Ides of October

the blood of the * October horse ' was deposited in their carefor use at the Fordicidia as a charm for fertility. So constantis the connexion of Vesta with the fruits of the earth, thatit is not surprising that some Boman scholars " should haveconsidered her an earth goddess ; especially as, in a volcanicregion, the proper home of lire would be thought to be beneaththe earth. But such explanations, and also the views ofmodem scholars who have sought to find in Vesta a deityof abstract ideas, such as ' the nourishing element in the fire \are really superfluous. The associations which grew uparound the sacred hearth-fire can all be traced to the originalgerm, if it be borne in mind that the fire, the provisionnstore,and the protecting deities of that store, were all placed together

in the centre of the house, and that all domestic operations,sacrificial or culinary, took place at . or by means of, thenecessary fire. * What is home but another word for cooking?'

' Penus means, in the first instance, food. Gic. Nat Deorunij a. 68 * Estorane quo vescuntur homines penus/ Hence it came to mean the store-closet in the centre of the house, of which the Penates were the guardianspirits. Its sacred character is indicated in a passafê of Columella(R. R. 12. 4 ; and see my paper on the toga praetexta of Roman children,in Classical RsvieWy Oct. 1896).



' Varro, ap. S. Aug. de Civ. 7. 24 ; cp. 7. 16. Ovid, Fasti^ 6. 267, writes,' Vesta eadem quae terra,' but more correctly in 291, < Nee tu aliud Vostamquam vivam intellige flammam.' Some moderns derive Vesta from rootWIS = ' dwelling,' and mnke her the earth in special relation to thedwelling ; e. g. O. Gilbert, i. 348 note.

* Preuner, Hestia-Vasta^ p. 221 *Gottheit des Feuers, sofern religiose,ethische Ideen sich in demselben abspiegeln, nicht des Feuers als blossenElements.' This is surely turning the question upside down.

I

HEMSis nnrans

or rtiiist we forget that the living fire was for primitive man

iiiyst«rious tiling, and Invested fiom the first with divineI »ttributes'.

2. The fact that from the 5 th to the 15th the days were not onlynefasli but also i-cligiosi is not easy to explain. It is true thatin two other months, February and April, we find a parallelaeries of dies nc/usti in the first half of the month : in Februaryit extended from the Kalends to the Lupeiculia (i.'.th), andin April fi-om the Nones to the Vinalia (a.ird)". But thesedays in February and April were nefaiti in the oi'dinaiy senseof the word, i. e. the cessation of judicial business, and we arenot told of them that they were also religiosi, or that theFlamiuica DJalis lay during them under any special restrictions,fis in the days we are speaking of. On the other hand, we findto our surprise that the other days on which this priestesswas forbidden to comb hair or cut nails were not even nefasti

in the ordinary sense, vi;i. those of the 'moving' of the anciliaand of the ceremony of the Argei '' : so that we are bafQedat every point in looking for a solution to the calendar.

But there is one fact that is quite clear, namely, that theleti^s nefasium was in some way or otlier the result of thepurification of the aedes Yestae, since it ceased at the momentthe last act of cleansing was completed. Now it does seem tobe the case that among some peoples living by agriculture butK9 yet comparatively uncivilized, special importance is attachedto the days immediately before harvest and the gathering of thefirst-fruits — at which time there ia a general cleaning out ofhouse, bams, and all receptacles and utensils, and following

upon this a period of rejoicing. Mr. Frazer, in his GoldenBough has collected some examples of this practice, thoughhe has not brought them together under one head or giventhem a single explanation. The most striking, and at the■ame time the best attested, example is as follows * :

Otrman Uj/Uuy'ogn (Eog. traiu.),a the Kaleniia to the gth ; bat to



" ' Tylor, Prim. Cult. ii. 351 j (p. £oi foil

' In July also the days were 1tha meflning of this wo have no■ See above, p. 115.

' S. B. U. 75. Ia BO nppendil (p, 373 foil, and eap. sBa) will be foimd

a other exnmploa of the same type of ritual. Cp. also ii. 176 (froni

I' Fnojanb), which example, however, does not seem in any wuy coaneotad

152 THE BOMAN FEdnVALS

'Among the Creek Indians of North America, the hmk,or festival of firstfruits, was the chief ceremony of the year.It was held in July or August, when the com was ripe, and

marked the end of the old year and the beginning of the newone. Before it took place none of the Indians would eat oreven handle any of the new harvest. . . . Before celebratingthe Busk, the people provided themselves with new clothesand new household utensils and furniture ; they collectedtheir old clothes and rubbish, together with all the remaininggrain and other old provisions, cast them together in onecommon heap and consumed them with fire. As a preparationfor the ceremony all the fires in the village were extinguished,and the ashes swept clean away. In particular the hearth oraltar of the temple was dug up, and the ashes carried out. . . .Meanwhile the women at home were cleaning out their houses,renewing the old hearths, and scouring all the cooking vessels

that they might be ready to receive the new fire and the newfruits. The public or sacred square was carefully swept ofeven the smallest crumbs of previous feasts, for fear of pollutingthe first-fruit offerings. Also every vessel that had containedany food during the expiring year was removed from thetemple before sunset.' A general fast followed, we are told ;^ and when the sun was declining from the meridian, all thepeople were commanded by the voice of a crier to stay withindooi*s, to do no bad act, and to be sure to extinguish and throwaway every spark of the old fire. Universal silence nowreigned. Then the high priest made the new fire by thefriction of two pieces of wood, and placed it on the altar underthe green arbour. This new fire was believed to atone for

all past crimes except murder. Then a basket of new fruitswas brought ; the high priest took out a little of each sortof fruit, rubbed it with bear s oil, and offered it together withsome flesh to the bountiful spirit of fire as a first-fruit offeringand an annual oblation for sin. . . . Finally the chief priest madea speech, exhorting the people to observe their old rites andcustoms, announcing that the new divine fire had purged awaythe sins of the past year, and earnestly warning the women

with harve&t. But the practice of the Creek Indians is so unusually well



attested that it deserves special attention. It is described by no less thanfour independent authorities (see Mr. Frazer's note on p. 76;.

HENSIS lUNins

153

that if any of them had not extlnguisheJ the old fire, or bad

contracted any impurity, they must forthwith depart lestthe divine fire should spoil both them and the people.'

The four chief points in this very interesting account are,(1) the extremely solemn and critical character of the whole, ceremonial, as indicated in the general fast ; (a) the idea ofthe necessity of purification preparatory to the reception ofI first-fmite, a purification which seema to extend to humanbeings as well as to houses, receptacles, and utensils ; (3) the

renewal of the sacred fire, which was coincident with thebeginning of a new year; (4) the solemn reception of the firat-fruits. Comparing these with Koman usage, we notice thatthe first two are fully represented at the Vestalia, the one bythe religious character of the days, and the mourning of theFlaminica Dialis, the other by the tleansing of the penusVestae, and the careful removal of all its refuse. The third isrepresented, not at the Vestalia, but at the beginning of the' year on March i, when the sacred fire was renewed, as we saw,in the primitive fashion by the friction of two pieces of wood,and the temple of Vesta was adorned with fresh laurels, as waethe case also with the altar in the American example justquoted. The fourth point is represented neither in March nor

June, biit rather by the plucking of the first eara of corn by theVestals before the Ides of May, from which they made thesaci'ed salt-cakes of sacrifice.

Now we need not go the length of assuming that the Boman

I ceremonies of March, May and June were three parts of one

' and the same rite which in course of lime bad been separated

and attached to diffei-ent periods of the year; though this

indeed may not be wholly impossibla But we may at least

profitably notice that all the four striking features of the Indian

ceremony are found in the cult of Vesta, and descended no

t doubt to the later Eomans from an age in which both the crops,

I the fire and the store-houses were regarded as having much

■' the same sacred character as they had for the Creek Indians.



To me indeed it had seemed probable, even before the

t publication of Mr. Frazer'a Golden Bough, that the cleansing of

I the penus Vestae was nothing but a suiTival of a general

mrification of store-houses, barns, utensils, and probably of all

the apparatus of farming, including perhaps human beings,


before the completion of the harvest which was now close athand. The date of the Vestalia is indeed too early to let ussuppose it to have been a real harvest festival, nor had it anyof the joyous character found in such rites ; and, as we shallsee, the true harvest festivals are to be found in the month ofAugust. The com harvest in middle Italy took place in thelatter half of June and in July^; and, as is everywhere stillthe practice, the festivals proper did not occur until the whole

work of harvesting was done. But at the time of the Vestaliathe crops were certainly ripening; in May we have already hadthe plucking of the first ears by the Vestals, and the lustratiosegetum which has been described under the head of Ambarvaliaon May 28.

I must leave to anthropologists the further investigation ofthe ideas underlying the ritual we have been examining ; it issomething to have been able to co-ordinate it with rites whichare so well attested as those of the Creek Indians, a,nd whichadmit without difficulty of a reasonable interpretation ^

MAT[RALIA

MATb[i] HATX7T

in Id. Iun. (June 11). N.

. (tusc. yes. maff.)ae], (vek.)

MATBALIA. (PHILOC.)

The temple of which this day was apparently the dies natalisdated from the Veientine War, 396 b. c, and was the result ofa vow made by L. Furius Camillus''. An earlier temple wasattributed to Servius Tullius ; but it is extremely improbablethat anything more than a sacellum or altar existed at such anearly date \ The cult of Mater Matuta was widely extended inItaly, and clearly of genuine and ancient Italian origin ; she



can be separated with certainty from the Greek goddessLeucothea with whom Ovid mixes her up, and from whom shederived a connexion with harbours which did not originally

^ Nissen, Landeskunde^ 399.

' The whole of Mr. Frazer^s section on the sacramental eating of newcrops should be read in connexion with the Vestalia.

' Aust, de Aedibus sacris^ p. 7 ; Liv. 5. 19 and 23. The temple was inthe Forum boarium, near the Circus maximus.

* Wissowa in Myth, Lex, s. v. Mater Matuta, 2463.

KENSJ8 lUHIUS

belong to her'. The evidence for the wido spread of her cultconaiats of {i) two extremely old inscriptions from Piaaurum inUmbria, of which Mommaen observes, 'lingua meramvetustatemspirat"; (i) certain inscriptions and passages of Li vy whichprove that her worship esiatod among the Volsci, in Campania,and at Praeneafe \ At Satricuni shes was apparently the chief

deity of the place and probably also at Pyrgi, the port of Caerein Etniria'. The cult seems to have had some markedpeculiarities, of which one or two fragments liave come downto us. Only the wife of a first marriage could deck the imageof the goddess' ; no female slaves were allowed in the templeescept one, who was also driven out of it with & box on theear, apparently as a yearly recurring memorial of the rule' ;the sacred cakea offered were cooked in old-fashioned earthen-ware' ; and, lastly, the women are said to have prayed to thisgoddess for their nephews and nieces in the first place, and fortheir own children only in the second*. All that can hededuced from these fragments is that the Mater Matuta was anancient deity of matrons, and perhaps of the same type as other

1 such as Cormento, Fortuna, and Bona Dea ^

■ Ovid, Fosfi, 6. 4i3foll.; Ck:. Nal. Dear. 3. 4^; Tuse. t. sB. Plularch iflumisi. Biitn. 16. 1) noted B likeness between lier cult and that of Letleatliea in hisuwn city of Chaeronein ; an interesting paaaage, tlioiigh quite inconclusiveBM to t\\e Greek origin of Mater Uatuta. Plutnrcb, like Sarviua (în. 5.B41) and others, has adapted Ovid'a legend of loo b; way of eiplunationof the identity of Lencotliea and Matuta. Herkel {Fasti, clxxxiv) belie.edthe cult to be wholly Greek ; Bouchd-Leolercq (Hiit. de i>icinaIiDn, iT. 147)foliowB Klauacn in idatitifying Mater Matuta with Tetliys lof. Plut.

Jbm. al and with the deity of the nraele at Pyrgi. But (*e WotiseliDg onDiod. Sie. ig, p. 337 ; and Strabo, Bk. 5, p. 34S

' C. I. L, i. 176, 177. ' LiT. 6. 33. 4 ; Wissowa, Lex. 3469.

* Diod. Sic. 15. 14, p. 337, and Wessoling's note. The templu at Pyrgiwas an important one, and rich enoagh to be plundered by Dionyuus Iof SyniouBe. But It must be admitted that the identification of the deityof E^rgi with Mater Matuta is not absolutely certain. SIrabo, 1. a., calUher EUxitLyia, Aristotlo (Oean. 1349b) Leucotliea ; and il; is thought that



Hater Matuta alone oombinea tlie characteristics of thtse two. If,however, the goddess of Pyigi was the deity of the oracle, hhe mightalmost as well have been a Fuctuna, like those of Antium and Praoneste.

* Tortullian, dt tfmtogam. 17.

■ Ovid, FaaU, 6. 481, with Plut Q. R. l6 ; Camlll. 5.

' Varro, L. L. 5. 106. Orid (483) wi'ites of Hba tasta, i. e. cakes oooked inpajiB rather than baked, like the mola salsa. See above, p. 149 ; and cp.■ Ovid, 533 ' in subito oocta foco." " Plut. II. co. ; Ovid, 559 foil.

* See below on Jan. 11. I cannot explain the rule that a womanprayed for nephews and nieces before her own children, which is peculiarto this cult.


The best modern authorities explain her as a goddess of thedawn's light and of child-birth, and see a parallel in JunoLucina ^ ; and Mommsen has pointed out that the dawn wasthought to be the lucky time for birth, and that the Roman

names Lucius and Manius have their origin in this belief-.Lucretius shows us that in his day Mater Matuta was certainlyassociated with the dawn ^ :

roseam Matuta per orasAetheris auroram differt et lumina pandit.

We should, however, be glad to be more certain that Matutawas originally a substantive meaning dawn or morning. VerriusFlaccus * seems to have believed that the words mane, maturus,matuta, manes, and mdnus, all had the meaning of 'good'contained in them ; so that Mater Matuta might after all beonly another form of the Bona Dea, who is also specially

a woman's deity. But this cult was not preserved, like thatof Vesta, by being taken up into the essential life of the State,and we are no longer able to discern its meaning with anyapproach to certainty..

It is noticeable that this day was, according to Ovid *, thededication of a temple of Fortuna, also in foro boario : but noimmediate connexion can be discovered between this deity andMater Matuta. This temple was remarkable as containinga wooden statue, veiled in drapery, which was popularlybelieved to represent Servius Tullius ", of whose connexion withFortuna we shall have more to say further on. No one, how-ever, really knew what the statue was ; Varro and Pliny ^ write

of one of Fortuna herself which was heavily draped, and mayhave been the one in this temple. Pliny says that the statueof Fortuna was covered with the togae praetextae of ServiusTullius, which lasted intact down to the death of Seianus ; and

* Preller, i. 322 ; Wissowa in Lex,

* R. H. (Eng. trans.) i. 162. * Lucr. 5. 654.

* Paulus, 122 ' Matrem Matutam antiqui ob bonitatem appellabant, et



maturum idoneum usui/ &c. See also Curtius, Ok, Etym, i. 408.

* Fasti, 6. 569 foil. ; 625 foil. : cp. Bionysius, 4. 40. Ovid has threefanciful explanations of the draping.

* Ovid, I. c. ; Dionys. 4. 40.

' Varro ap. Nonium, p. 189; Plin. N.H, 8. 194, 197. See Schwegler,R. 0. i. 712, note 3, and a full discussion in Lex, by R. Peter, s. v. Fortuna,p. 1509.

MENSIS lUNlUS 157

it is singular that Seianus himself is said to have possesseda statue of Fortuna which dated from the time of Servius\and which turned its face away from him just before his fall.Seianus was of Etruscan descent, we may remember ; ServiusTullius, . or Mastama, was certainly Etruscan ; and amongEtruscan deities we find certain shrouded gods \ These factsseem to suggest that the statue (or statues, if we cannot referall the passages above quoted to one statue) came from Etruria,and was on that account a mystery both to the learned and the

ignorant at Eome. To us it must also remain unexplained ^

Id. Iun. (JtJNJE 13). N*.

FERIAE lOVI. (VEN.)

lovi. (tusc.)

To these notes in the calendars we may add a few linesfrom Ovid :

Idibus Inyicto sunt data templa lovi.Et iam Quinquatrus iubeor narrare minores:

Nunc ades o coeptis, flaya Minerva, meis.Cur vagus incedit tola tibicen in urbo?

Quid sibi personae, quid stola longa volunt ?

All Ides, as we have seen, were sacred to Jupiter ; they areso noted in the surviving calendars in May, June, August,September, October and November, and were probably origin-ally so noted in all the months \ On this day the collegiumor guild of the tibicines feasted in the temple of Jupiter

* Dio Cassius, 58. 7.

• Seneca, Q.N,z, 41 ; Muller-Deecke, Elmsker, ii. 83 ; Dennis, Etruria, i,Introduction Ivi. The passage of Seneca is a very curious one about theEtruscan lightning-lore. O. Miiller guesses that the di mvoluti were Fates(^Schicksalsgottheiten)j which would suit Fortuna (cp. Hor. Od, i. 35).

^ There is just a possibility that it was confused with a statue ofPudicitia, also in foro boariOf and also said to have been veiled (Festus,242). Yarro, 1. c, calls the goddess of the statue, Fortuna Virgo, andPreller suggested that she was identical with Pudicitia. The lines of



Ovid seem to favour this view {Fastij 6. 617 foil.) :

Yesto data tegitur. Yetat banc Fortuna mover!Et sic o templo est ipsa locuta suo ;* Ore revelato qua primum luce patebitServiuR, haec positi prima pudoris erit.Parcite, matronae, vetitas attingere vestes :Sollemni satis est voce movere preces.'' Mommsen in C. I. L, i.' 298.


Capitolinus\ The temple referred to by Ovid of JupiterInvictus as having been dedicated on this day may possiblyhave been one of two mentioned by Livy as dedicated on theCapitol in B. c. 192 ' ; but the coincidence of a dedication-daywith the Ides may perhaps suggest a higher antiquity \

For the right meaning and derivation of the word Quin-quatrus the reader is referred to what has been already saidunder March 19. June 13 was usually called Quinquatrusminusculae, not because it was really Quinquatrus (i. a five

days after the Ides), but because through the feast of thetlbicines it was associated with their patron Minerva*, inwhose temple on the Aventine they met, apparently beforethey set out on the revelling procession to which Ovid refers *.Varro makes this clear when he writes ' Quinquatinis minus-culae dictae luniae Idus ah similiiudine maiorum '*, i. e. it wasnot really Quinquatrus, but was popularly so called becausethe other festival of Minerva and her followers bore thatname. Verrius Flaccus was equally explicit on the point:'Mlnusculae Quinquatrus appellantur quod is dies festus esttibicinum, qui colunt Miner vam cuius deae proprie festus diesest Quinquatrus mense Martio ' ^.

The revelry of the tibicines, during which they wore themasks and long robes mentioned by Ovid, was explained bya story which the poet goes on to tell, and which is toldalso by Livy and by Plutarch with some variations ' ; howthey fled to Tibur in anger at being deprived by Appius

' Livy, 9. 30 ; Val. Max. a. 5. 4 ; Varro, L. L. 6. 17. Cp. C. 1. L. vi. 3696[Magistri] quinq(ueDnales) [collegi] teib(icinum) ^m(anorum) qui 8(acris)p(ublici8) p(rae8to) 8(unt) lov(i) EpuI(,oni) s(acruin).

* So Preller, i. 198.

' Aust, in Lex. s. y. luppitor, 680. Both here and in his work de

Aedibus sacris, this scholar declines to distinguish between lup. Invictusand lup. Victor.

* For Minerva as the patron of all such guilds see Wissowa in Leoca. V. Minerva, 2984 foil.

• Van*o, L.L. 6. 17. There were three days of revelry, according toLivy (9. 30^ : did they meet in this temple on each day ? The 13th wasthe day of the eptdum ; which the other days were wo do not know.



• i. L. 6. 17.

' Festus, 149, s. V. minusculae. Cf Ovid, Fasti f 6. 695.

■ Livy, 1. c. Plutarch, Quaest Rom, 55, who confUses two Appii Claudii,and refers the story to the Decemvir instead of to the Censor of 311 b.c.Livy omits the very Roman trait (Ov, 673 foil.) of the lihertus feigning tobe surprised by his pcUronus,

159

Claudius the censor of their feast in the Capitol : how theywere bad)y missed at Kome, tricked and made drunk by afreedmon at Tibur, and sent home unconscious on a big waggon.The story is genuinely Roman in its rudeness and in the roughhumour which Ovid fully appreciates ; the favourite featureof a secession is seen in it, and also the peaceful settlementof difficulties by compromise and contract. I see no reasonwhy it should not be tlie echo of an actual event, thoughin detail it is obviously intended to explain the masks andthe long rohes. These are to be seen represented on a coinof the gens Plautia ', to which the fierce censor's milder col-

league belonged, who negotiated the return of the truants,Plutarch calls the ' stolae longae ' women's clothes ; but it ismore natural to suppose that they were simply the dress ofEtruscan pipe-players of the olden time '.

The story well shows the universal use of the tibia in allsacred rites ; the tibicines were indispensable, and had tobe got back from Tibur by fair means or foul. As Ovid says :

\

The instrunient was probably indigenous in Italy, and theonly indigenous one of which we know. 'The word tibia,'says Professor Nettleship", 'is purely Italian, and has, so faras I can find, no parallel in the cognate languages.' Mtiller,in his work on the Etruscans, does indeed assume that theSoman tibicines were of Etruscan origin, which would leavethe Romans without any musical instrument of their own.The probability may rather be that it was the general instru-ment of old Italy, specially cultivated by the one Italian raceendowed with anything like an artistic temperament.

I Cohen. Mid. ft 33 ; "Borghesi, Op. i. 201 (quoted bj Marq. 577'

< HQIIer-Deecke, nrusker, ii. aoa.

* Journal (jf PkiMogy, voL ij. p. 189. It was> reed, and no doubt almost tbe same tbingwhich are still favourites in Italy, and whichtwo at a liuie in tlio mouth on of old. Their >



short pipe played withthe short rough oboesi atill sometimes playediquity is vouched for by

i

l60 THE BOMAN FESTIVALS

XII Ka.l. Iun. (June 20). G.

8UMMAn[o] ad CIRg[um] MAXIm[um]. (yen. ESq. AMIT.)

To this note may be added that of Ovid ' :

Beddita, quisquis is est, Summano templa £erumtur,Turn cum Roxnanis, F^rrhe, timendus era&

The date of the foundation of the temple of Summanuswas probably between 278 and 275 b. c. * ; the foundationwas the result of the destruction by lightning, no doubt atnight, of a figure of Jupiter on the Capitol*. Who wasthis Summanus ? Ovid's language, quisquis is est, shows thateven in his time this god, like Semo Sancus, Soranus, andothers, had been fairly shouldered out of the course by moreimportant or pushing deities. In the fourth century a. d.S. Augustine *, well read in the works of Varro and the Bomanantiquarians, could write as follows : ^ Sicut enim apud ipsoslegitur, Komani veteres nescio quem Summanum, cui nocturnafulmina tribuebant, coluerunt magis quam lovem— sed post-

quam lovi templum insigne ac sublime constructum est,propter aedis dignitatem sic ad eum multitude confiuxit, ut vixinveniatur, qui Summani nomen, quod audire iam non potest,se saltem legisse meminerit.' In spite of the decay and dis-appearance of this god we may believe that the ChristianFather has preserved the correct tradition as to his naturewhen he tells us that he was the wielder of the lightningof the night, or in other words a nocturnal Jupiter. Wedo in fact find a much earlier statement to the same effecttraceable to Verrius Flaccus *. Varro also mentions him andclasses him with Yeiovis, and with the Sabine deities whomhe believed to have been brought to Eome by Tatius ^ Thereis, however, no need to suppose with Varro that he was Sabine,

or with Muller that he was Etruscan "^ ; the name is Latin

* Fasti, 6. 731. * Aust, de Aedihus sacris, p. 13.

' Not to be confused, as in Livy, Epit. 14, with a statue of Summanushimself on the same temple (in fastigio lovis : Cicero, Div, i. 10).

* de Civ, Dei, 4. 23.

* Festus, 229, s.v. Proversum fulgor: 'Quod diuma lovis, nocturna



Summani fulgura habentur.* (Cp. Pliny, N, H, 2. 52.) An interestinginscription (C. /. i. vi. 206) runs, 'Summanium fulgus conditum,' i.e. *abolt which fell before dawn was buried here.*

' L.L.$. 74. * Muller- Deecke, Etrusker, ii. 60.

MENSIS lUNIUS l6l

and probably= Submanus. i. e. the god who sends the lig-htningbefore the dawn.

It is interesting to find the wheel symbol here again, as isnoticed by Gaidoz in his Studies of GaUic Mythology^ . We canhardly doubt that the Summanalia which Festus oxplaiDSas 'liba farinacea in modum rotae ficta ,' were caJtes offeredor eaten on this day : it is havA to see what other connexionthey could have had. Mr. Arthur Evana has some interestingremarks ^ on what seem to be moulds for making religiouscakes of this kind, found at Tarentuui ; tl j are d t d n t

only with the ivîeel or ci-nss. hut with n j ml 1

' It is characteristic,' he writes, ' in a wh 1 I s> f rel g uoikes that they are impressed with a nh 1 oss and n

other cases divided into segments as if to ta 1 tat d t but nTJiia symbolical division seems to connect t If w (A f/ ft

n/(7ie ttwces/raijire rather than with any a lar ult In an 1tied foiTtt they are still familiar to us as "hot-cross buns."'Summanus, however, does not seem to have hud anything to dowith the anoesLral fire.

vin Kal. QuitfCT, (June 24). C.

FOKTI FORTUNAE THANS TIBEEÎm] ad MILLIARIUU] PRIMlI

bextJum]. (am it.}fobtis fortunae. (ven. philoc.)sacrum fortis fortunae. (nust.)

Ovid writes of this day as follows ' :

Ite, deani laeti Fortem calebmte, Qulrites 1In TlbsiiB ripa miiaera regia babet.

Para pede, para etiam celari decurrite cymbn,Neo pudeat potoa iude redire domum.

Multaque per mediaa viaa bibantur aquas.Plebs colit ]ianc, quâ, qui posuit, da plebe faiase

Fertur, el ex. humlli Eceptra tatlHsa looo,ConTenit Bt itcrvla -, Eorva quia Tullius ortua

Conatitoit dubiae templa propinquii deae.



' Etuda de Mifihoiogie OaaloLie, i, p.caksG as ' emblematic of Sammanua' FeatuB, p. 34B, Tho MS. has ' t' Journal ^Hellenic Sladiee, vol. vii* FaM, 6, 175 foil.

1 62 THE ROMAN FESTIVALS

H. Peter, in his additional notes to Ovid's Fasti ', has one solucid on the subject of the temples of Fors Fortuna mentionedin this passage that I cannot do better than reproduce it.* We find three temples of the goddess mentioned, all of whichlay on the further side of the Tiber. The first was that ofServius TuUius mentioned by Varro in the following passage * :"Dies Fortis Fortunae appellatus ab Servio Tullio rege, quodis fanum Fortis Fortunae secundum Tiberim extra urbemEomam dedicavit lunio mense." The second is one stated byLivy * to have been built by the consul Spurius Carvilius in460 B. c. near the temple of Servius. The third is mentionedby Tacitus * as having been dedicated at the end of the year17 A. D. by Tiberius, also on the further side of the Tiber in

the gardens of Caesar. Of these three temples the third doesnot concern us in dealing with Ovid*s lines, because it wascompleted and dedicated long after the composition of thesixth book of the Fasti, perhaps at a time when Ovid wasalready dead ; we have to do only with the first two. Now wefind in the Fasti of Amiternum ^ the following note on the 24thof June : * * Forti Fortunae trans Tiberim ad milliarium primumet sextum " ; and this taken together with Ovid suggests thateither besides the temple of Cai-vilius there were two templesof Fors Fortuna attributed to Servius, or (and this appears tome more probable) the temple of Carvilius itself was taken fora foundation of Servius as it had the same dedication-day andwas in the same locality. In this way the difficulties may be

solved.' I am disposed to accept the second suggestion ofPeter's ; for, as Mommsen has remarked V It is quite accordingto Eoman usage that Carvilius should have placed his templeclose to a much more ancient fanum of the same deity ; i, e.the principle of the locality of cults often held good throughmany centuries.

Many cults of Fortuna were referred to Servius TuUius, butespecially this one, because, as Ovid says, it was particularlya festival of the plebs of which he was the traditional hero ;and also because it was open to slaves, a fact which wasnaturally connected with the supposed servile birth of this

* p. 104. * L. i. 61. 7.

' Livy, 10. 46. 17. * Ann. 2. 41.

* See above, the headiDg of this section. • C I. L, 320.

MEK8IS nJMIDS



I&

king, The jollity and perhaps looseness of the occasion SGemeilto indicate a connexion between the lower stratum of populationand the worship of Fortuna : ' On foot and in boats,' saya Ovid,' the people enjoyed theniselvea even to the extent of gettingdrunk.' We are reminded in feet of tbe plebeian license of thefestival of Anna Pei'enna in Manih'. It is perhaps worthnoting that on June iS the calendar of Philocalus has the noteAnnac Saovm, which unluckily finda no corroboration from anyother source. Whether it was an early popular cult, whethermected in any way with that of Fora Fortuna, andwhether both or either of them bad any immediate relation tor solstice, are questions admitting apparently of nosolution.

It has rarely happened that any Roman cult has been dis-cussed at length in the English language, especially by scholarsof unquestionable learning and resoui-ce. But on the subjectof Fortuna, and Fors Fortuna, an interesting paper appeared

s years ago by Prof, Max Mijller in his volume entitledgrapkies of Words', which I have been at great pains toweigh carefully. The skill and lucidity with which the

ProfeBsor'a argumentsunusually pleasant task.

He starts, we must note,with Italian deities has bidemned"; he begins with )

isual, presented, make this an

dth a method which in dealing1 justly and emphatically con-etymology in order to discoverthe nature of the deity, and goes on to support this by selectinga few features from the various forma of the cult. This methodwill not of course be dangerous, if the etymology be absolutelycertain ; and absolute certainty, so far as our present knowledge

reaches, is indeed what the Professor claims for his. Thoughwe may doubt whether the science of Comparative Philologyis as yet old and sure enough to justify us in violating a usefulprinciple in order to pay our first attentions to its results, wemay waive this scruple for the present and take the etymologyin this case at the outset

The Professor alludes to the well-known and universallyaccepted derivation of Fois and Fortuna from ferre, but rejects




it: 'I appeal to those who have studied the biographies ofsimilar Latin words, whether they do not feel some misgivingabout so vague and abstract a goddess as ^^Dea quae fert/' thegoddess who brings.' But feeling the difficulty that Fortunamay not indeed have been originally a deity at all, but anabstract noun which became a deity, like Fides, Spes, &c., inwhich case his objection to the derivation from ferre would notapply, he hastens to remove it by trying to show from theearly credentials of Fortuna, that she did not belong to thislatter class, but has characteristics which were undoubtedlyheaven-bom. The process therefore was this: the ordinaryetymology, though quite possible, is vague and does not seemto lead to anything ; is there another to be discovered, whichwill fulfil philological requirements and also tell us somethingnew about Fortuna ? And are there any features to be foundin the cult which will bear out the new etymology when it isdiscovered ?

He then goes on to derive the word from the Sanskrit rootHAEB, * to glow,' from which many names expressive of the light

of day have come : * From this too comes the Greek Xopts withthe XapiTfff, the goddess of morning; and from this we maysafely derive fors^ fortis, taking it either as a mere contraction,or a new derivative, corresponding to what in Sanskrit wouldbe Har-ti, and would mean the brightness of the day, theFortuna huiusce dieL'

So much for the etymological argument ; on which we needonly remark, (i) that while it may be perfectly possible initself, it does not impugn the possibility of the older derivation ;(2) that it introduces an idea * bright,' hardly less vague andunsubstantial than that conveyed by * the thin and unmeaningname' she who brings or carries away. When, indeed, the

Professor goes on, by means of this etymology, to traceFoi^tuna to a concrete thing, viz. the dawn, he is really makinga jump which the etymology does not specifically justify. Allhe can say is that it would be *a most natural name for thebrightest of all goddesses, the dawn, the morning, the day.'

He looks, however, for further justification of the etymologyto the cult and mythology of Fortuna. From among her manycult-names he selects two or three which seem suitable. Thefirst of these is Fortuna huiusce diet. This Fortuna was, he

MENSrs lUNIUS 165

tells us, like the Ushas of the "Veda, ' the bright light of eachday, very much like what we might call " Good morning." ' BuLas a matter of fact all we know of this Fortuna is tliat AumitiusPaulliis, the victor of Pydna, vowed a temple to her in whichhe dedicated certain statues' ; that Catulus, the hero of Vereellae,may have repaired ot rebuilt it, and that on July 30, the dayof the latter battle, there was a sacrifice at this temple ". "What-ever therefore was the origin of this cult (and it may date no



further hack than Pydna) it seems to have been speciallyconcerned, as its name implies, with the events of particularfamous days. It is pure guesswork to imagine that itsconnexion with such days may have ai'isen from an oldermeaning, viz. the hriffht light of each day. Nothing is morenatural than the humsce diet, if we believe that this Fortunasimply represented chance, that inexplicable power whichappealed ao strongly to the later sceptical and Graecized Koman,and wliich we see in the majority of cult-namea by whichFortuna was known in the later Eepublie. The advocate ofthe dawn-theory, on the other hand, has to account for the totalloss in the popular belief of the nature-meaning of the epithetand eultâ loss which is indeed quite possible, but one whichmust necessaiily make the theory loss obvious and acceptablethan the ordinary one.

Secondly, the Professor points out, that on June 11, the dayof the Matralia, Fortuna was woi-sbipped coiiicidently withMater Matuta — the latter being, as he assumes beyond doubt,a dawo-goddesa. But we hAve already seen that this as-sumption is not a very certain one ' ; and we may now addthat the coincident worship must simply mean that twotemples had the same dedication-day, which may be merelyaccidental *.

But the chief argument is baaed on the cult of FortunaPrimigenia, 'the first-born of the gods,' as he translates the^vord, in accoi-dance with a recent elaborate investigation of its

' Ovid 1b the only nuthority for the worsliip of Fortuna on June 11(FtuH, 6. 569) ; it is not mentioned in the culendarH (TuBC.Ven. Msfi.) whiclihave notes bUrviving for this day.

l66 THE ROMAN FESTIVALS

meaning^. This cult does indeed show very curious andinteresting characters. It belonged originally to Praeneste,where Fortuna was the presiding deity of an ancient andfamous oracle. Here have been found inscriptions to Fortuna,*Diovo[s] pilea[i] PRiMOGENiAfi]/ the first-bom daughter ofJupiter "^ Here also, strange to say, Cicero describes'' anenclosure sacred to Jupiter Puer, who was represented therewith Juno as sitting in the lap of Fortuna ' mammam appetens.'This very naturally attracted Prof. Max MttUer's keenestattention, and he had no difficulty in finding his explanation :

Fortuna is * the first-born of all the bright powers of the sky,and the daughter of the sky ; but likewise from another pointof view the mother of the daily sun who is the bright child shecarries in her arms.' This is charming ; but it is the languageand thought, not of ancient Italians, but of Vedic poets. Thegreat Latin scholar, who had for years been soaking his mindin Italian antiquities, will hardly venture on an explanation atall : ' hand ignarus quid deceat eum qui Aboriginum regionesattingat^'



I shall have occasion later on * to say something of this veryinteresting and mysterious cult at Praeneste. At presentI must be content with pointing out that it is altogether unsafeto regard it as representative of any general ideas of ancientItalian religion. As Italian archaeologists are aware, Praenestewas a city in which Etruscan and Greek influences are mostdistinctly traceable, and in which foreign deities and mythsseem to have become mixed up with native ones, to the extremebewilderment of the careful inquirer®. We may accept theProfessor's explanation of it with all respect as a most interest-ing hypothesis, but as no more than a hypothesis which needsmuch more information than we as yet possess to render iteven a probable one.

By his own account the Professor would not have been ledso far afield for an explanation of Fortuna if he had not beenstruck by the apparent difficulty involved in such a goddess

^ By H. Jordan, Symbolae ad historiam religionum Italicarum alterae(KOnigsberg, 1885). See also R. Peter, in Lex, s. v. Fortuna, 1542, andAust, Lex. s.v. luppiter, 647.

^ a I. L, xiv. 2863. » de Div. 2. 41. 85.

* Jordan, op. cit. p. 12. ' See below, p. 223 foil., under Sept. 13.

® Fernique, ttude sur Pr^neste, pp. 8 and 139 foil.

HENSIS IDNIDS

as 'she who brings.' Towards the removal of this difficulty.however, the late Mr. Vigfusaon did soniething in a letter tothe Academe/ of tSarch 17, 1888'. He equated Fora and Fortunuwith the Icelandic buror, from n verb having quite as wide andgeneral a meaning as/ero, and being its etymological equivalent.

'There ia a department of it3 meanings,' he tella ua, 'throughwhich runs the notion of an invisible, passive, sudden,involuntaty, chance agency' ; and another, in which bet'ameans to give birth, and produces a noun meaning birth, andao lucky birth, honour, &c. The two ideas come togetherin the Norse notion of the Norns who preaided at the birthof each child, ahaping at that hour the child's fortune '.

It is rather to the ideas of peoples like the early Teutons andCelts that we must look for mental conditions resemblingthose of the early Italians, than to the highly developedpoetical mythology of the Vedas ; and it ia in the directionwhich Mr. Vigfusaon pointed out that I think we ahould search

for the oldest Italian ideas of Fortuna and for the causes whichled to her popularity and development. In a valuable paper,to which I shall have occasion to refer again, Prof, Nettleahip ■'auggeated that Carmenta (or Carmentes) may be explainedwith S. Augustine' as the goddess or prophetess who tellsthe fortunes of the children, and that this was the reasonwhy she was especially worshipped by matrons, like MaterMatuta, Fortuna and others. The Carmentes were in factthe Norns of Italy. Such a practical need as the desire toknow your child's fortunes would he quite in harmony wifh



what we know of the old Italian character ; and I think it far^m impossible that Fortuna, as an oracular deity in Italy,may have been originally a conception of the same kind,jwrhaps not only a prophetess as regards the children, but alsoof the good luck of the mother in childbirth. ~~most striking fact in her multifarious cults is the predorin them of women as worshippers. Of the very FortunaPrinaogenia of whom we have been speaking Cicero tella ua

' See also his previoua letter of March 3.

" He held 'hirth' and 'fortuna' to be words etymologically relnted.Cp. a commimiciilioQ from Prof. Kluge in the same number of the Amdemy.' Jmmial qf Philology, vol. zt. 176 ; Studies m Latin Lileraiure, p. 60.' d« Cm. Dei, 4- i'. Cp, Serv. Aen. 8. 336,


that her ancient home at Praeneste was the object of the specialdevotion of mothers \ The same was the case with FortunaYiriliS; Muliebris, Mammosa, and others.

If we look at her in this light, there is really no difficultyin understanding why what seems to us at first sight a veryvague conception, 'the goddess who brings,' should not havemeant something very real and concrete to the early Italianmind. And again, if that be so, if Fortuna be once recognizedas a great power in ways which touched these essential andpractical needs of human nature, we may feel less astonishmentat finding her represented either as the daughter or the motherof Jupiter. Such representation could indeed hardly have beenthe work of really primitive Italians ; it arose, one mayconjecture, if not from some confusion which we cannot nowunravel, from the fame of the oracle— one of the very fewin Italy — and the consequent fame of the goddess whose name

came to be attached to that oracle. Or, as Jordan seemsto think, it may have been the vicinity of the rock-oracle to thetemple of Jupiter which gave rise to the connexion betweenthe two in popular belief ; a belief which was expressed interms of relationship, perhaps under Greek influence, butcertainly in a manner for the most part absent from theunmythological Italian religion. Why indeed in the sameplace she should be mother as well as daughter of Jupiter(if Cicero be accurate in his account, which is perhaps not quitecertain) may well puzzle us all Those who cannot do withoutan explanation may accept that of Prof. Max Mtiller, if theycan also accept his etymology. Those who have acquired whatMommsen has called the ^difficillima ars nesciendi,' will be

content with Jordan's cautious remark, *Non desunt vestigiadivinum numen Italis notum fuisse deis deabusve omnibus ethoc ipso in quo vivimus mundo antiquius*.'

But Foi*tuna has not only been conjectured to be a deityof the dawn ; she has been made out to be both a moon-goddess and a sun-goddess. For her origin in the moon there

' 1. c. ^ Oastissime colitur a matribus.' One of the ancient inscriptionsfrom Praeneste (C. I, L. xi. 2863) is a dedication ^nationu cratia * = no^tonts



gratia, which may surely mean ^ in gratitude for childbirth/ thoughMommsen would refer it to cattle, on the ground of a gloss of FestusiP. 167).

^ Jordan, op. cit. p. la.

MEKSIS lUNinS

is really nothing of any weight to bo urged ; the advocateof this view is one of the least judicioua of German epecialists,and his arguments need not detain us'. But for her connexionwith the sun there is something more to be said.

The dedication day of the temple of Fora Fortuna wasexactly at the summer solstica It is now St. John theBaptist's day, and one on which a great variety of curious localcustoms, some of which still survive, regularly occur ; andespecially the midsummer fires which were until recentlyso common in our own islands. Attention has often beendrawn to the fondness for parallelism which prompted theearly Christians to place the birth of Christ at the wintersolstice, when the days begin to grow longer, and that of the

Baptist— for June 24 is his reputed' birthday as well as festivalât the summer solstice when they begin to shorten ; followingthe text, ' He must increase and I must decrease'.' Certainlythe sun is an object of special regard at all midsummerfestivals, and is supposed to be often symbolized in themby a wheel, which is set on fire and in many casM rolled downa hill ^ Now the wheel is of course a symbol in the cultof Fortuna, and is sometimes found in Italian representationsof her, though not so' regularly as the cornucopia and theship's rudder which almost invariably accompany her'.Putting this in conjunction with the date of the festivalof Fors Fortuna, the Celtic scholar Oaidoz has concluded thatFortuna was ultimately a solar deity °, The solar origin of

the symbol was, he thinks, quite forgotten ; but the wheel,or the globe which sometimes replaces it, was certainly at onetime solar, and perhaps came from Assyria. If so (heconcludes), the earliest form of Fortuna must have beena female double of the sun.

' O. Gilbert, 6axh. u. Topagr. der Stadt Ram, ii. 360 foil.

' St. John, iii. 30 ; St. Augustine, Sermo ili in Nativitate Domini : ' Inlutivitato Chriati dies crescit, in JoIisnaiH nativitate denresoit. Profectumplana tacit dies, quum mundi Sulrator oritar ; defectum patitur quuni□ItimuB prophetanim nascitar,'

'' See many ezomplea in The Golden Bough, ii. 358 foil., and Brand'Papular Anliqvlties, p. 306.

' See R. Peter, ia Lex., b.v. Fortuna, 1506.

* ituiles de Mylk. OavL i. 56 foil. On p. 58 we find, ' La Fortuneparalt done sortir, par rintei'mediaire d'une image, d'uua divinity



du j


All hints are useful in Eoraan antiquities, and somethingmay yet be made of this. But it cannot be accepted untilwe are sure of the history and descent of this sjrmbol in therepresentations of Fortuna ; it is far from impossible that thewheel or globe may in this case have nothing more to do withthe sun than the rudder which always accompanies it. Inany case it can hardly be doubted that it is not of Italianorigin ; it is found, e. g. also in the cult of Nemesis, who, likeTyche, Eilithyia, and Leucothoa, is probably responsible formuch variation and confusion in the worship. of Italian femaledeities \ As to the other fact adduced by Gaidoz, viz. the dateof the festival, it is certainly striking, and must be given itsfull weight. It is surprising that Prof. Max Mtiller has madeno use of it. But we must be on our guard. It is remarkablethat we find in the Boman calendars no other evidence thatthe Bomans attached the same importance to the summersolstice as some other peoples ; the Boman -summer festivalsare concerned, in accordance with the true Italian ^spirit, much

more with the operations of man in dealing with nature thanwith the phenomena of nature taken by themselves. It isperhaps better to avoid a hasty conclusion that this festivalof Fors Fortuna was on the 24th because the 24th was theend of the solstice, and rather to allow the equal probabilitythat it was fixed then because harvest was going on. Colu-mella seems to be alluding to it in the following lines ^:

Bed cum maturis flavebit messis arlstisAllia cum cepis, cereale papaver anetholungite, dumque virent, nexos deferte maniplos,Et celebres Fortis Fortunae dicite laudesMerqibus exactis, hilarepque recurrite in hortos.

The power of Fortuna as a deity of chance would be as im-portant for the perils of harvest as for those of childbii*th ;and it is in this connexion that the Italians understood the

* For the history of these symbols in Greek cults, and especially thatof Tyche, see a paper by Prof. Gardner in Journal of Hellenic Studies, vol. ix.p. 78, on * Countries and Cities in ancient art.' The rudder seems to connectFortuna with sea-faring ; it is often accompanied by a ship's prow (R. Peter,Lex, 1507) ; in connexion with which we may notice that even in Italy hercult is rarely found far from the sea. Cp. Horace, Od. i. 35, 6 ^ dominamaequoris/

■ 10. 311 foil. ; Marq. 578.

MENSIS inNIDS 171

meaning of lliat cornuco|)ia which is perhaps her most constantsymbol in art '.

Lastly, there is a formidable question, which may easily lead



the unwary into endless complications, and on which I shallonly touch very briefly. How are we to explain the legendaryconnexion between the cult of Fortuna and Serving TuUius?That king, the so-called second founder of Kome, was said, as wehave seen, to hare erected more than one sanctuary to Fortuna,and was even believed to have had illicit dealings with thegoddess herself. The dedication-day of Fors Fortuna wassaid to have been selected by him, and, as Ovid describes it, wasa festival of the poorer kind of people, who thus kept up thecustom initiated by the popular friend of the plebs.

Since the Etruscan origin of Serviua Tullius has been placedbeyond a doubt by the discovery of the famous tomb at Viilci,with the paintings of Cales Vibenna released from his bondsby Mastarna ', which has thus confirmed the Etruscan traditionof the identity of Mastarna and Servius preserved by theemperor Claudius in his famous speech ', it would seem thatwe may consider it as highly probable that if Servius did reallyinstitute the cult of Fortuna at Rome, that cult came with himfrom Etruria. This by no means compels us to look onFortuna as an Etruscan deity only ; but it seems to be a factthat there was an Etruscan goddess who was recognized by theRomans as the equivalent of their Fortuna''. This was Nortia,a great deity at Volsinii, as is fully proved by the remains

found there " ; and we may note that the city was near to and inclose alliance with Vulci, whore the tomb was found containingthe paintings just alluded to. Seianus, a native of Volsinii',was supposed to be under the protection of tliis deity, and,as we have already seen, to possess an ancient statue of her.

' B. Peter, Lex. 1505. She ia also often represented with a tnarfius, andwith ean of eorn. Cp. Eoruce. I.e. (of the FortuDa of Antium) : 'Tupauper ambit sollicita proce RurU oolonua.'

' Ovid, Fasti. 6. 573 foil. Schwegler, R. 0. i. û foil, ; Preller, ii, 180.

' Dennis. Cities and Cemeleries qf Ebitria, vol, ii. p, 506 ; Gardthausen,

'Hastamo,' figurea the painting (plaCe i),

' Too, Arm. ■ i. 94 ; the fraemeniB of the oHginnl speech are printed fromthe inscription at Lyons in Mr. ¥a,TiietiaT.'i Anna's ^ Tai:iiua,yo\. ii. p. ata.

* JuTsnvl. 10. 74, nnd note of the Scholia''t

* Mflller-Deeclu, Etntsksr,

M


In her temple a nail was driven every year as in the templeof Jupiter Capitolinus \ and hence some have concluded thatshe was a goddess of time. It cannot, however, be regarded ascertain whether this nail-driving was originaUy symbolicalonly, or at all, of time ; it may quite as well remind us of the



famous Fortuna of Antium and the 'clavos trabales' ofHorace's Ode \ However this may be, it is a fair guess, thoughit must be made with hesitation, that the Fortuna of Serviuswas the equivalent of this Kortia, to whom the Eoman plebsgave a name with which they were in some way alreadyfamiliar. Mastarna continued to worship his native deity afterhe was settled in Eome ; and the plebs continued to revereher, not because of his luck, which was indeed imperfect,but simply because she was his protectress ^ If we try to getbeyond this we lose our footing ; and even this is onlyconjecture, though based upon evidence which is not entirelywithout weight.

' See below on Sept 13, p. 234.

' MuUer-Deecke, ii. 308. Gaidoz, op. cit. p. 56, on the connexionbetween Fortuna, Kecessitas, and Nemesis.

' Gerhardj AgcUhodaemonj p. 30, has other explanations.

MENSIS QUINCTILIS.

The festivals of this month are bo excoedingly obscure thatit aeems hopeless to try to connect them in any definite waywith the operations either of nature or of man, We know thatthis was the time when the sun'a heat heeame oppressive anddangerous ; statistics show at the present day that the rateof mortality rises at Rome to its greatest height in July andAugust, as indeed is the case in southern latitudes generally.We know also that harvest of various kinds was going on inthis month : ' Quarto intervalio inter solstitium et canicalaml>Ieri(]ue niessem faciunt,' writes Varro (JR. J?, i. 33). Weshould have expected that the unhealthy season and theharvest would have left their mark on the calendar ; hut in thescantiness of our information we can find very few traces of

their inttuenco. We here lose the company of Ovid, whomight, in spite of his inevitable ignorance, have incidentallythrown some ray of light upon the darkness ; but it is clearthat even Varro and Verrius knew hardly anything of thealmost obsolete festivals of this month. The Poplifugia, theLucaria, the Neptunalia, and the Furrinalia, had all at one timebeen great festivals, for they are marked in large capitals inthe ancient calendars ; but they had no more meaning for theRoman of Varro's time than the lesser saiuts'-days of ourcalendar have for the ordinary Englishman of to-day. Theludi Apollinares, of much later date, which always maintainedtheir interest, did not I'all upon the days of any of these festivals,or obliterate them in the minds of the people ; they must have

decayed from pure inanition — want of practical correlationttith the life and interests of a great city.

J




in NoN. QuiNCT. (July 5). IP.P0PLIF:UGIA]. (maff. amit. ant.)

FERIAE lOYI. (amit.)

The note 'fenae lovi' in the calendar of Amiternum isconfirmed in a curious way, by a statement of Dio Cassius\who says that in B.C. 42 the Senate passed a decree that Caesar'sbirthday should be celebrated on this day *, and that any onewho refused to take part in the celebration should be 'sacerlovi et Divo lulio.' But we know far too little of the rites ofthis day to enable us to make even a guess at the meaningof its connexion with Jupiter. It is just worth noting that twodays later we find a festival of Juno, the Nonae Caprotinae ;the two days may have had some connexion with each other,being separated by an interval of one day, as is the case withthe three days of the Lemuria, the two days of the Lucariain this month, and in other instances ^ ; and their rites wereexplained by two parts of the same aetiological story — viz.that the Bomans fled before the Fidenates on the 5th, andin turn defeated them on the 7th*. But we are quite in thedark as to the meaning of such a connexion, if such there was.Nor can we explain the singular fact that this is the only festival

in the whole year, marked in large capitals in the calendars,which falls "before the Nones^.

There is hai'dly a word in the whole calendar the meaningof which is so entirely unknown to us as this word Poplifugia.Of the parallel one, the Begifugium in February, somethingcan be made out, as we shall see ^ ; and it is not unlikely thatthe ritualistic meaning concealed in both may be much thesame. But all attempts to find a definite explanation forPoplifugia have so far been fruitless, with the single exception

^ Bk. 47. 18. Wc owe the reference to Merkel, Fraef. in Ooidii Fastos, clix.^ His real birthday seems to have been the lath, which was already

occupied by the ludi Apollinares.' Mommsen in C. L L. 321 (on July 7).

* Varro, Z. i. 6. 18 ; Marq. 325.

^ See Introduction, p. 7. This anomaly led Buschke to the inadmis-sible supposition that this was the single addition made to the calendar ofKuma in the republican period. He accepts Varro's explanatory story,B^m, Jahr, p. 224.

* See below, p. 327.

MENSIS^ QtTINCTILIS

175



perhaps of that of Schwegler ', who himself made the seriousblunder of confounding this day with the Nonae Caprotinae.It is true that the two daya and their rites were confused evenin antiquity, but only by late writers ' ; the calendars, on theother hand, are perfectly plain, and so la Varro \ who proceedsirom the one to the other m a way that can leave no doubt thathe understood them as distinct.

The simple fact is that the meaning of the word Poplif jgiahad wholly vanished when the calendar began to be studied.Ingenuity and fancy, as usual, took the place of knowledge,and two legends were the result — the one connecting the wordwith the flight of the Romans from an army of their neighboursof Fideuae, after the i-etiremeut of the Gnuls from the city' ;the other interpreting it as a memorial of the flight of thepeople after the disappearance of Komulus in the darknessof an eclipse or sudden tempest °. The first of these legendsmay be dismissed at once ; the large capitals in which thename Poplifugia ajipeare in the fragments of the three calendarswhich preserve it, are sufficient evidence that it must havebeen far older than the GaUic invasion". The second legendmight suggest that the story itself of the death of Romulus hadgrown out of some religious rite performed at this time ofyeai- ; and it was indeed traditionally connected with the

Nones of this month ', But that day is unluckily not the dayof the Poplifugia, which it is hardly possible to connect withthe disappearance of Romulus. There may, however, have1 between the rites of the two days, as hasbeen pointed out above ; and this being ao, it is worth whileto notice a suggestion made by Schwegler, in spite of the factthat he confused the two days together. He saw that thedisappearance of Romulus was said to have occurred while hewas holding a luslratio of the citizens ", and concluded that

e Mommsen's crit[ciam in C. I. L 331 f.36 i Plat. Som. ag, CamHi. 33. See aire 0. Miiller's:. 6. iB, ' L.L 6. 18.

account ; the Etruscans are a variant in Macrobius, 1. c.' Dionys. a. 56 ; Plut. Ham. ag. Bee Lewis, CredibiUly (if Early SomanHistory, L 430,

' Introduelion, p. 15, ' Cic. de Rep. i. 16 ; Plut. Bom. 37.

' Liv. I, 16 ' Ad exercitiim recenaendum.' Lustratio came to be the

word for a review of troops becauBe this vraa preceded hj a religious iusfraiio

mm

176 THE BOMAK FESTIVALS

the Poplifugia may have been an ancient rite of lustration —an idea which other writers have been content to follow withoutalways giving him the credit of it \



Such a rite may very well be indicated by the followingsentence of Varro* — the only one which gives us any solidinformation on the question : Aliquot huius diei vestigia fugae insacris apparent, de quihus rebus antiquitatum libri plura refenmt.It seems not unreasonable to guess that the rite was one ofthose in which the priest, or in this case, as it would seem, thepeople also, fled from the spot after the sacrifice had beenconcluded. As the slayer of the ox at the Athenian Bouphonia(which curiously enough took place just at this same timeof year) fled as one guilty of blood, so it may possibly havebeen that priest and people at Bome fled after some similarsacrifice, and for the same reason ''. Or it may have been thatthey fled from the victim as a scapegoat which was destined tocarry away from the city some pollution or pestilence. It isinteresting to find at Iguvium in Umbria some * vestigia fugae, 'not of the people, indeed, but of victims, at a lustratio populiwhich seems to have had some object of this kind \ Heiferswere put to flight, then caught and killed, apparently in orderto carry off evils from the city ^ as well as to represent andsecure the defeat of its enemies. Such performances seemespecially apt to occur at sickly seasons ^ ; and as the unhealthyseason began at Bome in July'', it is just possible that thePoplifugia was a ceremony of this class.

NoN. QuiNCT. (July 7). N.

This day does not appear as a festival in the old calendars ;but the late one of Silvius® notes it as Ancillarum Feriae, or

* e. g. Gilbert, i. 290 ; Marq. 325.

' L, L. 6. 18. Details have vanished with the great work here quoted,the Antiquitates divinae,

^ Schwegler suggested the parallel, i. 534, note 20. For the Bouphoniasee especially Mannhardt, Myth, Forsch. 68. For other such rites, Lobeck,Aglaophamusy 679, 680. * Biicheler, Umbrica, 114.

* The idea of the scapegoat was certainly not unknown in Italy ;Bucheler quotes Serv. {Aen, 2. 140) * Ludos Taureos a Sabinis propter pesti-lentiam institutes dicunt, tU lues publica in has hostias verteretur.\ See onthe Regifugium, below, p. 328.

« See examples in Frazer, Golden Bough, ii. 160 foil. The one from theKey Islands is interesting as including a flight of the people.

^ Nissen, Latideskunde, 406. * C. I. L. p. 269.

MENSIS QUINCTILIS I77

Feast of Handmaids, and adds the explanatory story whicliis found also in Plutarch and Macrobiua'. The victoriousFidenates having demanded the surrender of the wives of theBomans, the latter made over to them their aTKitlae, dressed intheir mistresaes' robes, by the advice of a certain Philotia, orTutula', one of the handmaids. Ausonius alludes to thecustom that gave rise to the story :



Fe-ila Caprotinia memorabo Celebris NonisCum Btola matronjs dempta tpget famulaa'.

Plutarch also tella ua that on this day the ancUlae not onlywore the matron's dveaa, but had UcRDse for what may bedescribed aa a game of romps ; they beat each other, threwstones at each other, and scoffed at the passers by '.

This last point supplies us with a possible clue both to theorigin of the custom and the explanatory legend. One of themoat frequent customs at harvest-time used to be, and still isin some places, for the harvesters to mock at, and even to useroughly, any stranger who appears on the field ; frequentlyhe 13 tied up with straw, even by the women binding thesheaves, and only released on promise of money, brandy, &c, ;or he is ducked in water, or half-buried, or in pretencebeheaded °. The stranger in such cases is explained as repre-senting the spirit of the corn ; tlie examples collected byMannhardt and Mr, Frazer seem fairly conclusive on thispoint '. The wearing of the matron's dress also seems to bea combination of the familiar practices of the winter Saturnahawith harvest customs, which in various forms is by no meansuncommon'', though I have not found a case of exchange ofdress after harvest.

' Maorob. i. 11. 36 ; Plut. CamiS. 33.

' Aug. de Civ. Dei, 4. 8. ' de Feriis, g.

' The last point is i[i CamilL 33-6 : op. Som. ag. 5,

' Tlie benriiig of thLtee customs on the Nonae Caprotioae, and on tlieGreek story of Lityersea, was Buggested by Mannhardt, Mylli. Forech. 3a,Mr. Frazur givea a useful oolleetion of eiamplea, ff, B. H. 363 foil. Thecustom survives in Derbyshire {aa I am told by Mr. S. B. Smith, Scholarof Uncela Collego], but onlj in the form of making the sti-aiigar 'pay hisfooting.' ' a. B. i. 381.

' It naa the custom, aays Macrobiua (L to) ■ ut patres familiarum, fnigi-bua et fructibua iam coactis, passim cum servis veacerentur, cum quibuspatieotiara laboris in colcndo rurB toleraverant.' The old English harveat-or mell-supper, had all the characteristics of Saturnalia (^Brand, Pop. Antii-337^011.).


Thus it would seem possible that we have here a relic

of Italian harvest-custom ; and this is confirmed by the state-ment of Tertullian that there was on this day a sacrifice to theharvest-god Census \ at his underground altar in the CircusMaximus, of which we shall have more to say under Aug. 21(Consualia). It is worth noting here that just as the legend ofthe Bape of the Sabines was connected with the Consualia ^so the analogous story of the demand of the Fidenates forKoman women is associated with the Ancillarum Feriae, andthe day of the sacrifice to Census. This not only serves toconnect together the two days of Census- worship, but suggests



that harvest was a favourable opportunity for the practiceof capturing wives in primitive Italy, when the women wereout in the fields, and might be carried off by a sudden in-cursion.

This day was also known as Nonae Caprotinae, because thewomen, presumably those who had been helping at the harvest,both bond and free % sacrificed to Juno Caprotina under a wildfig-tree (caprificus) in the Campus Martius*. Juno Caprotinawas a Latin goddess, of great renown at Falerii^, where thegoat from which she took her name appears in the legend ofher cult. The character of Juno as the representative of thefemale principle of human life® suits well enough withthe prominence of women both in the customs and legendsconnected with the day ; and the fig-tree with its milky juice,which was used, according to Macrobius, in the sacrifice toJuno instead of milk, has also its significance ^ Varro addsthat a rod (virga) was also cut from this tree ®, without telling

^ Tertullian, de Sped. 5. ' * See below, p. ao8.

' This point-— the union of free- and bond-women in the sacrifice — seemsto prove that Nonae Caprotinae and ancillarum feriae were only twonames for the same thing. Macrobius connects the legend of the latter

with the rite of the former (i. ir. 36).

* Plut. Eom, 29. Varro, £. L. 6. 18 writes * in Latio.'

' Deecke, Die Falisker, 89 ; Roscher, in Lex. s. v. Juno, p. 599.

• See above, p. 143.

^ One naturally compai'es the ficus Ruminalis and the foundation-legendof Rome.

" It is curious that the practice in husbandry called caprificatiOj or theintroduction of branches of the wild tree among those of the culti-

vated fig to make it ripen (Plin. N. H. 15. 79; Colum. 11. a) took placein July ; and it strikes me as just possible that there may have beena connexion between it and the Nonae Caprotinae.

MENSIS qUINCTILlS

U8 for what purpose it was used ; and it has been ingeniouslyconjectured that it was with this that the handmaids beat each

other, as Plutarch describes, to produce fertility, juatLupercalia the women were beatan with strips cut fromthe skins of the victims (amiculum Jiinonis). But this ismere conjecture, and Vurro's statement is too indefinite to be

Yiii Id. QuiKcT. (JuiT 8). N.

'Piao ait vitulam victoriam nominari, cuius rei hoc argu-mentuni profert, quod postridie nonas Julias re bene gesta.a pridie populus a Tuscis in fiigam versus sit {unde Populi-



fugia voeantur), post victoriam certis sacrificiis fiat vitulatio'.'

I must be content with quoting this passage, and withoutcomment ; it will suffice to show that the meaning of the word'vitulatio' was entirely unknown to Eomon scholars, Whythey should not have connected it with vilulus I know not:wa may remem.ber that in the Iguvian ritual vituU seem to haveperformed the function of scapegoats^. If the vitulatio is inany way to be connected with the Poplifugia, as it was indeedin the legend as given by Macrobius above, it may be worthwhile to remember that that day is marked in one calendar as' feriae lovi,' and that the vilulus (heifer) was the special victimof Jupiter *,

usly I

tthe 1

Peid, TSos. Quinct. ~

LUDI

[ Id. Qm

{July 6-13).

All thê days are marked 'ludi' in MafT. Amit. Ant. ; the

6th ' ludi Apolliini],' and the 13th ' ludi in circo.'

These games" were instituted in 212 b. c, for a singleI only, at the most dangerous period of the war withHannibal, when he had taken Tarentuta and invaded Cam-pania. Kecourse was had to the Sibylline books and to theItalian oracles of Marcius, and the latter answered as follows " :

' Mannhardt, tfytk. Forsch. I.e.

' Mntrob, 3. a. 11 iind 14. Macrobius also quotes Varro in the 15th boohof hia Res Dhinae ' Quod pontifex in sacria quibusdam vitalari solsat, quodOnieci ■navifdi' vocant.' Perhaps we may compare viKxrallo ; Serv. Aea.

l8o THE ROMAN FESTIVALS

* Hostes Eomani si expellere voltis, vomicamque quae gentiumvenit longe, ApoUini vovendos censeo ludos, qui quotannisApoUini fiant/ &c. The games were held, as we may supposeôn the analogy of the ludi plebeii, originally on the 13th dayof the month \ and were, in course of time, extended back-



wards till in the Julian calendar we find them lasting from the6th to the 1 3th. They had a Greek character from the first ;they were superintended by the Decemviri saci-is faciundis, whoconsulted the Sibylline books and organized the ritual of foreigncults ; and they included scenic shows, after the Greek fashion,as well as chariot races \

It was matter of dispute whether in this year, 212, Apollowas expected to show his favour to Bome as a conqueror ofher foe or as an averter of pestilence in the summer heats ;both functions were within his range. But in 208 we are toldthat the ludi were renewed by a lex, made permanent, andfixed for July 1 3 in consequence of a pestilence ^ ; .and we mayfairly assume that this was, in part at least, the cause of theirinstitution four years earlier. What little we know of thetraditions of Apollo-worship at Bome points in the samedirection. His oldest temple in the Flaminian fields, where,according to Livy, a still more ancient shrine once stood \ wasvowed in 432 b. c. in consequence of a pestilence ; and the godhad also the cult-title Medicus \ The next occasion on whichwe meet with the cult is that of the first institution of a lecti-stemium in 397 b. c, Livy's account of which is worthcondensing '• That year was remai'kable for an extremely cold

^ The MSS. of Livy (27. 23) have a. d. iii NonaSj no doubt in error fora. d. iii Idus. Merkel, Proe/. xxviii. ; Mommsen, C, I. £.331.

■ Liv. 35. la ; a6. 33 ; Festus, 326 ; Cic. Bnttus, 20, 78, whence it appearsthat Ennius produced his Thyestes at these ludi, Cp. the story in Macrob.

I. 17- 25'

* Liv. 27. 23.

* Liv. 3. 63. This older shrine Livy calls ApoUinar. The temple thatfollowed it was the only Apollo-temple in Home till Augustus built oneon the Palatine after Actium; this is clear from Asconius, p. 81 (ad Cic.

in toga Candida), quoted by Aust, de Aedibus sacriSj 7. It was outsidethe Porta Carmentalis, near the Circus Flaminius. A still more ancientApoUinar is assumed by some to have existed on the Quirinal ; but itrests on an uncertain emendation of O. Miiller in Varro, L, L, 5. 52.

' Liv. 40. 51. The Eomans seem originally to have called the godApeiUo, and connected the name yiiih peUere, Paulus, 22 ; Macrob. 1. 17. 15.

* Liv. 5. 13.

MKNSIS QUINCnLIS

l8l

I



winter, which was followed by an equally unhealthy summer,destructive to all kinda of animals. As the cause of thispestilence could not be discovered, the Sibylline books wereconsulted ; the result of which was the introduction of a kcti-slcrnium, at which three couches were laid out with greatmagnificence, on which reposed Apollo and Latona, Diana andHercules, Mercurius and Neptunus, whose favour the peoplebesought for eight days.

The cult of Apollo, though thus introduced in its full magni-ficence at Kome in historical times, was ' so old in Italy asalmost to give the impression of being indigenous'.' Traditionascribed to Tarquinius Superbus the introduction from Cumaeof the Sibylline oracles, which were intimately connected withApollo-worehip ; and that Etruscan king may well have beenfamiliar with the Greek god, who was well known in Etruriaaa Aplu\ and who was worshipped at Caere, the home of theTorquinian family, which city had a ' treasury ' at Delphi '.The Komans themselves, according to a tradition which is byno means improbable, had very early dealings with the Delphicoracle.

It does not seem certain that Apollo displaced any other

deity when transplanted to Bonte. It has been thought thatthe obscure Veiovis became clothed with some of Apollo'scharacteristics, but this is extremelydoubtful'. Themysteriouadeity of Soracte, Sorantis, is called Apollo by Virgil ' ; this,however, is not a true displacement, like that, e. g., of theancient Ceres by the characteristics of Demeter, but merelya poetical substitution of a familiar name for an unfamiliar onewhich was unquestionably old Italian.

It does not seem probable that in the Republican period thecult of Apollo had any special influence, either religious orethical, foe the Homan people generally. It was a priestlyexperiment — a new physician was called in at perilous times,

according to the fashion of the Boman oligarchy, either to giveadvice by his oracles, or to receive honours for his benefits as(iXfJiKajitor, It is in the age of Augustus that the cult begins to

' Lex. s.T. Apollo, 4^6. ' MQller-DBPeke, Etnaker, iL 69.

' Strnbo, p. 314 ; Herodotal, i. 167.

' Jordan on Preller, i. 36$.

' Am. 1 1. 785 ' Summe duum, Banoti custos SoracUa Apollo,' to.

i


be important ; the family of the Caesars was said to have hAdan ancient connexion with it \ and after the victory at Actium,where a temple of Apollo stood on the promontory, Augustus



not only enlarged and adorned this one, but built another onthe Palatine, near his own house, to Apollo Palatinus. Butfor the ' ApoUinism ' of Augustus, and for the important partplayed by the god in the ludi saeculares of b. o. 17, I must referthe reader to other works \

XIV Kal. Sext. (July 19). JP.LUCAK[IA]. (mafp. amit.)

XII Kal. Sext. (July 21). IP.LUCAK[IA]. (mafp. amit.)

Here, as in the next two festivals we have to consider, weare but * dipping buckets into empty wells.' The ritual, andtherefore the original meaning of this festival, is wholly lostto us, as indeed it was to the Eomans of Varro's time. Varro,in his list of festivals, does not even mention this one ; but itis possible that some words have here dropped out of his text '.The only light we have comes at second-hand from VerriusFlaccus *. * Lucaria fosta in luco colebant Eomani, qui per-magnus inter viam Salariam et Tiberim fuit, pro eo, quod victia Gallis fugientes * e praelio ibi se occultaverint.' This passage

* Serv. Aen. 10. 316 'Omnes qui secto matris ventre procreantur, ideosunt Apollini consecrati, quia deus medicinae est, per quam lucem sorti-untur. Unde Aesculapius eius fingitur filius : ita enim oum [esse] pro-creatum supra (7. 761) diximus. Caesarum etiam familia ideo sacraretinebat Apollinis, quia qui primus de eorum familia fuit, exsecto matrisventre natus est. Unde etiam Caesar dictus est.'

' A concise account by Roscher, Lex, s. v. Apollo 448 ; Boissier, ReligionRomainej i. 96 foil. ; Gardthausen, AugusttiSf vol. ii, p. 873. For the litdisaeculares see especially Mommsen's edition of the great but mutilatedinscription recently discovered in the Campus Martins {Eph, Epigr, viii.I foil.) ; Diels, Sibyllin, Blatter^ P- 109 foil.; and the Carmen SaeciUare of

Horace, with the commentaries of Orelli and Wickham.

' L, L. 6. 18 fin. and 19 init.

* Festus, 119. s. V. Lucaria.

' The battle of the Allia was fought on the i8th, the day before the firstLucaria. This no doubt suggested the legend connecting the two, especi-ally as the Via Salaria, near which was the grove of the festival, crossedthe battle-field some ten miles north of Borne.

HESSI8 qUINCTlLIS 1O3

reminds ua of the story explanatory of the Foplifiigia, andmight suggest, as in that case, aa expiatory sacrilice and flightof the people from a scapegoat destined to carry away disease.But here we know of no vestigia fugae in the cult, auch as Varrotells ua were apparent at the Poplifugla.

The only possible guess we can niake must rest on the nameitself, taken together with what Festus tells ua of the great



wood once existing between the Via Salaria and the Tiber, inwhich the festival was held— a wood which no doubt occupiedthe Fincian hill, and the region afterwards laid out in gardensby Lucullua, Pompeius, and Sallust the historian. Lucaria isformed from lucar as Lemuria fiom lemur; and iucar, thougliin later times it meaut 'the sum disbursed from the aurarium fortho games',' drawn probably from tlie receipts of the sacredgroves, may also at one time itself have meant a grove. Aninsciiption from the Latin colony of Luceria shows us lucarin this sense " :

IN ■ HOCE ■ LUCABID ■ STlliCUS ■ NE ■ IS ■ FU«DATII>, &c.

Now there can be no doubt about the great importance ofwoods, or rather of clearings in them, in tlie ancient Italianreligion, 'êmusand lucus,' says Freller', 'like so many otherwords, remind us of the old Italian life of woodland andclearing. Nemus is a pasturage, Itieus a " light " or clearing *, inthe forest, where men settled and immediately began to look tothe interests of the spirits of the woodland, and especially ofSilvanus, who is at once the god of the wild life of the wood-land and of the settler in the forest — the backwoodsman.'The woods left standing as civilization and agriculture advancedcontinued to be the abodes of numina, not only of the great

Jupiter, who, as we shall see, was worshipped in groves allover Italy', and of Diana, who at Arieia bore the title ofNemorensis, but of innumerable spirits of the old worship,

' Soe Fripdlandar in Mnrq. 487 ; PlutHriOi, Q. R. 88.

* jHommsea in Ephemeris Epigraphica, ii. 305.

' i. HI ; Liv. 34. 3 ; Cato, ap. Priscian, 69(). Much useful mtitter bearingon luriasueed for bouudaries, asÎo, markets, &c., will be found in Rudorff,Qromatiei Yettres, ii. a6o.

' 'Light' is not uucommoa in England for a 'ride' or clearing in

' Below, pp. aaa, and aaS.


Fauni, Silvani, and other manifestations of the idea mostdefinitely conceived in the great god Mars \ But men couldnot of course know for certain what spirits dwelt in a wood,whose anger might be roused by intrusion or tree-felling ; andold Cato, among his many prescriptions, material and religious,gives one in the form of an invocation to such unknown deities

if an intrusion had to be made. It is worth quoting, and runsas follows ' : * Lucum conlucare Bomano more sic oportet. Porcopiaculo facito. Sic verba concipito : Si Deus, si Dea es, quoiumillud sacrum est, uti tibi ius siet porco piaculo facere, illiuscesacri coercendi ergo. Harumce rerum ergo, sive ego, sive quisiussu meo fecerit, uti id recte factum siet. Eius rei ergo tehoc porco piaculo immolando bonas preces precor, uti siesvolens propitius mihi, domo familiaeque meae, liberisquemeis. Harumce rerum ergo macte hoc porco piaculo im-molando esto.'



Applying these facts to the problem of the Lucaria, thoughnecessarily with hesitation, and remembering the position ofthe wood and the date of the festival, we may j>erhaps arriveat the following conclusion ; that this was a propitiatorywoi-ship offered to the deities inhabiting the woods whichbordered on the cultivated Roman ager. The time when thecom was being gathered in, and the men and women were inthe fields, would be by no means unsuitable for such propitia-tion. It need not have been addressed to any special deity,any more than that of Cato, or as I believe, the ritual of theLupercalia ^ ; it belonged to the most primitive of Eoman rites,and partly for that reason, partly also from the absorption ofland by large private owners*, it fell into desuetude. Thegrove of the Fratres Arvales and the decay of their cult (also

^ On the whole subject of the religious ideas arising from the first culti-vation of land in a wild district I know nothing more instructive thanRobertson Smith's remarks in Religion of the Semites, Lecture iii. ; I haveoften thought that they throw some light on the oiigin of Mars and kindi'ednumina. The most ancient settlements in central Italy are now found tobe on the tops of hills, probably once forest-clad (see Von Duhn's paper onrecent excavations, JoumcU of Hellenic Studies, 1896, p. 125). For a curioussurvival of the feeling about woods and hill-tops in Bengal, see Crooke,

Religion, Ac, in India, ii. 87.

' R. R. 139. For picKula of this kind see also Henzen, Acta Frabr, Arv.136 foil. ; Marq. 456. » See below, p. 312.

* See a passage in Frontinus (Qrom. Vet. i. 56 : cp. a. 263).

METT8I3 QUINCTILIS

185

addressed to a nameless deity) offei-s an analogyside of Kome, towards Ostia.

Such a hypothesis seems not unreasonahle, though it is basedrather on general than particular evidence. It is at any ratebetter than the wild guessing of one German inquirer, who is

always at homo when there is no information. Huschke'believes that the words Lucaria and Lureres {the ancient Komantribe name) are both derived from lucws because the Lucariatake place in July, which is the auspi cation-mo nth of theLuceres. And there are two days of this festival, because theLueeres owed pi'otection both to the Bomani and Quirites(Rhamnes and Titles) and therefore worshipped both Janus andQuirinus.



s Kal. Sbxt. (July 23).NEPT[UNALIA]. (pinc. mafp.)

FEBIAE NEPTUNO. (pINC. ALLIP.)

IP.

The early history of Neptunus is a mystery, and we learnhardly anything about him from his festival. We knowthat it took place in the heat of summer, and that booths orhuts made of the foliage of trees were used at it, to keep thesun off the worehippera— and that is all'. Neither of thesefacts suggests a sea-god, such as we are aceustomod to see iaNeptune ; yet they are hardly strong enough to enable us tobuild on them any other hypothesis as to his character orfunctions. Nor does his name help ua. Though it constantlyappears in Etruscan art as the name of a god who has thecharacteristics of the Greek Poseidon, it is said not to be ofgenuine Etruscan origin '. If this be bo, the Etruscans must

> RSrn, Jahr, p. aai, and note 81 on p. 33

' Foatus, 377 'Umbrae vocontur Neptui

nacuIiB.' Wiaaowa {Lex. s.v. Heptunu?, i

Spartan Camala (also in the liciiC of sui

H4i!

ilibus CAsae froudeae pro taber-la) compai^B the anidSn of themer), described in Athenaeua,

• Miiller-Deaelta, BtruaAer, ii. S4p with Deeeke'a note 51 b. The Etruscanforms are KeDiunas and Nethuna. The form of the word is adjectival likePortunua, &a, ; but what is the etymology of tho drat uyllable ? Wo are

reminded of couraa of Nepe or Nppote, iin inland town near Falerii ; andto this district tho cult seems specially to have btlonged. Messapua,'Maptunia proles,' leads the Faliaci and others to war in Virg. Aen. 7. 691,and Halesus, Neptuni Slius, was eponymoiia bero of Falerii (Dcecko,


have boiTOwed it from some people who already used it of



a sea-god when the loan was made ; but one does not see whythis great seafaring people should have gone outside thelanguage of their own religion for a name for their deity ofthe sea.

In the ancient cult-formulae preserved by Gellius \ Neptunusis coupled with a female name Salacia ; and of this Varro writes' Salacia Neptuni a salo ' — an etymology no doubt suggested bythe later identification of Neptunus with Poseidon. Salacia isin my opinion rather to be referred to salax (' lustful,' &c.), and,like Nerio Martis ^, to be taken as indicating the virile force ofNeptunus as the divine progenitor of a stock \ This seems tobe confirmed by the fact that this god was known as Neptunuspater, like Mars, Janus, Saturnus, and Jupiter himself^ ; allof whom are associated in cult or legend with the early historyof Latin stocks.

When Neptunus first meets us in Koman history, he hasalready put on the attributes of the Greek Poseidon ; this wasin B. c. 399, at the first lectisternium, where he is in companywith Apollo and Latona, Diana and Hercules, and is speciallycoupled with Mercurius (= Hermes)". What characteristics ofhis suggested the identification, either liere or in Etruria, wecannot tell. We find no trace of any evidence connecting him

with the sea ; and the coupling with Hermes need mean nomore than that both this god and Poseidon found their way toBome through the medium of Greek trade.

It has recently been conjectured * that the object of boththe Lucaria and Neptunalia was to avert the heat and drought

FaliskeVf 103). There is no known connexion of Neptunus with any coasttown.

* 13. 23. 2 : cp. Varro, L. L. 5. 72.^ See above, p. 60.

' Cp. Serv. Aen. 5. 724 * (Venus) dicitur et Salacia, quae proprie mere-tricum dea appellata est a yoteribus.'

* Gell. 5. 12 ; Henzen, Act, Fratr. Aro, 124. Wissowa, in his article' Neptunus/ goes too far, as it seems to me, when he asserts that the^ pater' belonged to all deities of the oldest religion. See below, p. 220.

* Liv. 5. 13. 6 ; Dionys. 12. 9. Wissowa, Lex. s. v. Nept. 203, for hisfurther history as Poseidon.

* Wissowa in Lex. 1. c. I doubt if much can be made of the argumentthat the Neptunalia on the 23rd is necessarily connected with the Lucariaon the 17th and 19th— i. e. three alternate days, like the three days of

the Lemuria in May.

MENSI8 QUIHCTILIS 187

of July, and to propitiate the deities of water and springs, ofwhom Neptiinu8(jiidglngfrom his identification witli Poseidon)may possibly have been one ; but this is no more than a vagueguess, which ita author only puta forward ' with all reserve.'



VIII Kal. Sext. {July 25). IP.FUEEINALIA]. (pinc. allif. mafp.)

TERIAE FURRINAE, (piNC. ALLIF.)

It seems to be the lesson of the festivals of July that therewas an early stage of the Eonian religion which had lost allineaningfoi'the Romans themselves when they began to inquireinto the history of their own religion. Of this last festival ofthe month we know no single item inthe cult, and thereforehave nothing substantial to guide us. It seems almost certainthat even Vairo and Verrius Flaccus' knew nothing of thefestival but its name as it stood in the calendar. Nor did theyknow anything of the goddess Funina or Furina. Varix) isexplicit; lie says that she was celebrated 'apud antiques,' forthey gave her an annual festival and a fiamen, but that inhis day there were hardly a dozen Romans who knew eitherher name or anything about iier.

Varro is no doubt right in arguing from the festival and thefiamen to the ancient honour in which she was held ; and these

facts also tend to prove that she was a single deity, and quitedistinct from the Furiue with whom the later Romans as wellas the Greeks naturally confounded her — an inference whichis confirmed by the long « indicated by the double r in thecêndars '.

There is therefore nothing but the etymology to tell usanything about the goddess, and from this source we cannotexpect to learn anything certain. Freller plausibly suggesteda connexion with fur, furvus, and fuscus, from a root meaning

' Varro, L. £. 5. 84 ' Furinulia (flamen) a Furina quoins etinm in fastUFurinalea feriae sunt ' : Cp. 6. 19 ' Ei sacra instituta annua et flamea attii-

butos : Duna rix uomeii notuixi paiicia,'

' See Wisson&'d sliort nnd attnaible note in L»i. a. t. Fiirrina. For theoonfusion with Furiae, Cic. de Nai. Dear. 3. 46 ; Plut. C. Gracch. 17 ; Lei.B. V. Furiaa. Jordan, in Preller, ii. 70, ia duubtful on the etyraologicaf

1

l88 THE BOMAN FESnVALS

dark or secret ; and if this were correct she might be a deityof the under-world or of the darkness. Bttcheler in hisUmhrica * suggested a comparison with the Umbrian furfare—februare (*to purify'), which will at least serve to show thedifficulty of basing conclusions on etymological reasoning.Joi*dan conjectured that the festival had to do with the avertingof dangerous summer heat* — a conclusion that is naturalenough, but does not seem to rest on any evidence but its date.



Lastly, Huschke ', again in his element, boldly asserts that theFurrinalia served to appease the deities of revenge who hailedfrom the black region of Yediovis — wrongly confusing Furrinaand the Furiae. It will be quite obvious from these instancesthat it is as hopeless as it is useless to attempt to discover thenature of either goddess or festival by means of etymologicalreasoning.

' p. 71. 'In Pi-eller, ii. lai. » JKJm. Jckr^ aai.

MENSIS SEXTILIS.

I

August ia with us the month when the corn-harvest iabegun ; in Italy it is usually completed in July, and the finalhai'vestfeativals, when all the operations of housing, &c., havebeen brought to a close, would naturally have fallen for the

primitive Roman farmer in the sixth mouth. The Kalends ofQuinctilis would be too early a date for notice to be given ofthese } some farmers might be behindhand, and so cut off fromparticipation. The Kalends of Sestilis would do well enough ;for by the Nones, before which no festival could be held, therewould be a general cessation from labour. No other agri-cultural operations would then for a time be specially incumbenton the farmer '.

Before the Ides we find no great festival in the old calendar,though the sacrifice on the i zth at the ara maxima was withoutdoubt of great antiquity. The list begins with the Portunaliuon the 17th; and then follow, with a day's interval between

each, the Vinalia Kustica, Consualia, Volcanalia, Opeconsivia,and Volturnalia. The Vinalia had of coui-se nothing to do withharvest, and the character of the Portunalia and YolturnoUa isalmost unknown ; but all the rest may probably have hadsome relation to the harvesting and safe-keeping of crops, andthe one or two scraps of information wo possess about thePortunalia bear in the same direction. Deities of fire andwater seem to be propitiated at this time, in order to preservethe harvest from disaster by either element. The rites are

' Vam>, H. R. 1. 33, has only the following : ' Quinto intervallo, ii

OBDiculBm et aequinoctiiim Buctumuale oportet stramenta doEooariAcerroa construl, aratro offiingi, frondem coedi, prata uriûa itei

J



IQO THE SOMAN FESTIVALS

secret and mysterious, the places of worship not familiartemples, but the ara maximay the uuderground altar of Consus,or the Begia ; which may perhaps account for the comparativelyearly neglect and decadence of some of these feasts. We mayalso note two other points : first, the rites gather for the mostpart in the vicinity of the Aventine, the Circus Maximus, andthe bank of the Tiber ; which in the earliest days must havebeen the part of the cultivated land nearest the city \ or at anyrate that part of it where the crops were stored. Secondly,there is a faint trace of commerce and connexion betweenBorne and her neighbours — Latins and Sabines — both in therites and legends of this month, which may perhaps point toan intercourse, whether friendly or hostile, brought about bythe freedom and festivities of harvest time.

NoN. Sext. (Aug. 5). F. (IP. ant.)

SALUTI IN COLLE QUIRINALE SACRIFICIUM PUBLICUM. (VALI..)SALUTI IN COLLE. (aHIT. ANT.)NATALIS SALUTIS. (PHILOC.)

The date of the foundation of the temple of Salus was 302 b.c.,

during the Samnite wars \ The cult was probably not whollynew. The Augurium SalutiSy which we know through iterevival by Augustus, was an ancient religious performance atthe beginning of each year, or at the accession of new consuls,which involved, first the ascertaining whether prayers wouldbe acceptable to the gods, and secondly the ofifering of suchprayers on an auspicious day \ Two very old inscriptions alsosuggest that the cult was well distributed in Italy at an earlyperiod *. Such impersonations of abstmct ideas as Salus, Con-cordia, Pax, Spes, &c., do not belong to the oldest stage ofreligion, but were no doubt of pontifical origin, i. e. belongedto the later monarchy or early republic ^ We need not suppose

^ This is the natural position for the ager of the oldest community onthe Palatine. The Campus Martius was helieved to have been * king'sland' of the later developed city (Liv. fl. 5).

^ Liy. 10. I. 9 ; Aust, de Aedibus sacriSf p. lo.

' Marq. 377 ; Dio Cass. 37. 24 and 25 ; Tac. Ann, 12. 23.

* C.I.L. i. 49 and 179.

' See Preller, ii. 228; and article 'Sacerdos' in Diet, qfAniiquiUeSj newedition.

UENSIS SGXTILIS

191



that they were due to the importation of Greek cults and iJeaa,though in some cases they hecame eventually overlaid withthese. They were generated by the same process as the godaof the Indigitamenta'— being in fact an application to the lifeof the state of that peculiarly Roman type of religious thoughtwhich conceived a distinct numen as presiding over every actand sufFering of the individual. This again, as I believe, inits product the Indigitamenta, was an artificial priestly ex-aggeration of a very primitive tendency to see a world ofnameless spirits surrounding and influencing alt human life.

The history of the temple is interesting". Not long after itsdedication its walls were painted by Graiua Fabius, consul in269 B.C., whose descendants, among them the historian, borethe name of Pictor, in commemoration of a feat so singular fora Roman of that age'. It was struck by lightning no less thanfour times, and burnt down in the reign of Claudius. Livy 'tells us that in 1 80 b. c, by order of the decemviri a supplicatiowas held, in consequence of a severe pestilence, in honour ofApollo, Aesculapius, and Salus ; which shows plainly that thegoddess was already being transformed into the likeness ofthe Greek 'Yyina, and associated rather with public Jiealththan with public wealth in the most general sense of theword.

VI Id. Sext. (Aug. 9}, F. (allif.) JP. (akit, mafp, etc.)

IIQITI IN COILE QtriRINALE. (aMIT. AI.LIP.)K)l[1s] INDialTIS IN COLLE QUIRINALE SACRIFICIUM PUBLICDM.(TAIL.)

There was an ancient worship of Sol on the Quirinal, whichwas believed to be of Sabine origin. A Solis puloinar close tothe temple of Qumnus is mentioned, and the Gens Aureliawas said to have had charge of the cult ".

' On this difficult snhject see Sid. of Atitiquilia, n.r. Indigitanienta ;andtiia long and eiliaustivti article b; R. Petar in RuBclier'a£eiicen(wliiohis, hnnever, bailly written, and in »ome reapecta, I think, miBleadiiig).

' See the valuable summary of Auat (in ten lines).

' P!in. «-. tf. 35. 19. ' 40. 19.

' Paiilua, 23 ; Quiiitil. 1. 7. 13 ; Varro, L L. 5. 3a (from tArgeorum'), if we read ' adveraum Solia jiulvinar cia aedem Salatis.' Tlie


But the Sol of August 9 is called in the calendars Sol Indiges.What are we to understand by this word, which appears inthe names Di Indigetes, Jupiter Indiges, or Indigetes simply ?The Boman scholars themselves were not agreed on the point ;the general opinion was that it meant ' of or belonging toa certain place/ L e. fixed there by origin and protecting it \This view has also been generally adopted, on etymological or



other grounds, by modem writers, including Preller^ Eecentlya somewhat different explanation has been put forward in theMythological Lexicon, suggested by Beifferscheid in his lecturesat Breslau. According to this view, Indiges (from indu androot ag in agere) was a deity working in a particular act, busi-ness, place, &c., of men's activity, and in no other; it is ofpontifical origin, like its cognate indigitamenta, and is thereforenot a survival from the oldest religious forms \

The second of these explanations does not seem to help usto understand what was meant by Sol Indiges ; and its exponentin the LcxicoUy in order to explain this, falls back on an in-genious suggestion made long ago by Preller. In dealing withSol Indiges, Preller explained Indiges &a^ index, and con-jectured that the name was not given to Sol until after theeclipse which foretold the death of Caesar, comparing the linesof Virgil {Georg. i. 463 foil.) :

Sol tibi signa dabit. Solem quia dicere falsumAudeat? ille etiam caecos instare tumultusSaepe monet, fraudemque et operta tumescere bella.lUti etiam exstincto miseratus Caesare Romam :Gum caput obscura nitidum ferrugine texit,Impiaque aetemam timuerunt saecula noctem.

Preller may be right ; and if he were, we should have nofurther trouble in this case. In the pre-Julian calendar, onthis hypothesis, the word Indiges was absent. This is also theopinion of the last scholar who, so far as I know, has touched

name is said to be connected with the Umbrian and Etruscan god of light,Usil, a word thought to be recognizable in Aurelius (ÂuHelius, Varro,1. c), and in the Ozeul of the Salian hymn (^Wordsworth, Fragments andSpecimens 0/ Early Latin, p. 564 foil.).

' So e. g. Virgil, Qeorg. i. 498 * Di patrii indigites et Romule VestaqueMater.' Peter, in Lex, s. v. Indigitamenta, 132.

* i 325. * Lex, 8. y. Indigitamenta, 137.

the question ; but Wissowa ', with reastto tbe first esplanatiun given above ofor belonging to & certain place '), andwhen added to Sol in the Julian calendar,

a I think, reverts

word Indiges ('of

that the word,

simply meant

to distinguish the real indigenous Sun-god from foreign solar



deities.

12).

Peid, Id. Sext. (Aug.

[ iNvicTo AD cmcuM maxim[dm]. (allip. amit.)[heeculi magno custodi im circo plamis'io] (tall.) iggenei-ally taken as a confusion with June 4'.]

This is the only day to which we can ascribe, on the evidenceof the calendars, the yearly rites of the ara maxima, and of theaedes Herculis in the Forum boarium. These two shrines wereclose together; the former just at the entrance of the Circusniaximus, the latter, as has been made clear by a long series ofresearches, a little to the north-east of it'. We are led tosuppose that the two must have been closely connected inthe cult, though w-e are not explicitly informed on the point.

The round temple indicates a very ancient worship, as in the

ease of the aedes Vestae, and the legends confirm this. Thestory of Hel^cules and Cacus, the foundation-legend of the cult,whatever be its origin, shows a priesthood of two ancientpatrician families, the Potitii and PJnarii *. Appius Claudius,the censor of 312 b. c, is said to have bribed the Potitu, thechief celebrants, to hand over their duties to public slaves ' ;but in the yearly rites, consisting chiefly in the sacrifice ofa heifer, these were presided over by the praetor urbanus,whose connexion with the cult is attested by inscriptions'.That there was at one time a reconstruction of the cult,

' Wissowa, de Rrmtanomm IndigeiibMS el Notensidibua (Marbarg, 1892).' Merkel, Pri^f, in On. Fastos, vzzxv ; Momm»en, C I. L. 334.

' Lex. s. V. Hercules, 2903 foil., wliare R. Peter baa BUinmarized andcritioized all the yarioua opinioUB,

' DionTfi. I. 40, who sayB that tlie duties were pet-rarmed bj slaveB inhis day. See Lex. 3925 for a long list of conjectureB about this part of tbelegend. The Potitii never occur in instrjptions ; and I thint with Jordan(Preller, 11. sgi) that the namu in imaginary, invented to uouount for thefuaetii'HS of tbe slaves.

' C. 1. L. vi. 31a 319, found on tbe site of the aedes.


especially in the direction of Greek usage, seems indeed probable;for the praetor wore a laurel wreath and sacrificed with hishead uncovered after the Greek fashion \ But there is enoughabout it that was genuine Boman to prove that the foundation-legend had some of its roots in an ancient cult ; e. g. at thesacred meal which followed the previous sacrifice in the evening,the worshippers did not lie down but sat, as was the most



ancient practice both in Greece and Italy*. Women wereexcluded, which is in keeping with the Italian conception ofHercules as Genius, or the deity of masculine activity '• Thesacrifice was followed by a meal on the remainder, which wasperhaps an old practice in Italy, as in Greece. In this feature, asin two others, we have a very interesting parallel with this cult,which does not seem to have been noticed, in the prescriptiongiven by Cato for the invocation of Mars on behalf of thefarmer's cattle \ After prescribing the material of the offeringto Mars Silvanus, he goes on as follows : ' Eam rem divinamvel senuSy vel liber Ucehit fadat. Ubi res divina facta erit, statimibidem consumito. Mulkr ad eam rem divinam ne adsit, nevevideat quomodo fiat. Hoc votum in annos singulos, si voles,licebit vovere.' Here we have the eating of the remainder*,the exclusion of women, and the participation in the cult byslaves ; the exclusion of women is very curious in this case,and seems to show that such a practice was not confined toworships of a sexual character. li is also worth noting thatjust as Cato's formula invokes Mars Silvanus, so in Virgil'sdescription of the cult of the ara maxima % we find one specialfeature of Mars-worship, namely the presence of the Salii ^. Itis hardly possible to suppose that Virgil here was guilty ofa wilful confusion : is it possible, then, that in this cult some

' Macrob. 3. 12. a ; Varro, L. L 6. 15: The uncovered head also occursin the cult of Saturnus ; and B. Peter argues that the custom may after allbe old-Italian (Xeat. 2928).

^ Marquardt, PrivatcUterthUmer, vol. i, p. 291;

^ See above, p. 142 foil. Plut. Qu. Rom, 60 ; Macrob. i. 12. 38. InQ. R. 90 Plutarch notes that no other god might be mentioned at thesacrifice, and no dog might be admitted.

* de Re Ruslica, 83.

* The word was pro/ana/um, ■ opposed to |)o27ucfum (see Marq. 149).

^ Aen. 8. a8i foil.

^ Salii are found in the cult of Hercules also at Tibur : Macrob. 3. la. 7.See a note of Jordan in Preller, i. 352^

HENSI8 SKXTIUS I95

form of Mars is hidden behind Hercules, and that the Herculeaof the ara maxima is not the Oeniua after all, as modernseholara have persuaded themselves ?

But what marks out this curious cult more especially fromallotherais the practice ot offeriEg on the ara maxima 'decumae'or tithes, of booty, commercial gains, sudden windfalls, and soon'. The custom seems to be peculiar to this cult, though itis proved by inscriptions of Hercules-cults elsewhere in Italy —e. g, at Sora near Arpinum, at Reate, Tibur, Capua and else-where '. But these inscriptions, old as some of them are,cannot prove that the pi'actice they attest waa not ultimatelyderived from Eome. At Rome, indeed, there ia no questionabout it ; it ia abundantly proved by literary allusions, as well



as by fragments of divine law". Was it an urban survivalfrom an old Italian rural custom, or was it an importation from

In favour of the first of these explanations ia the fact thatthe offering of first-fruits waa common, if not universal, inrural Italy*. They ai-o not, indeed, known to have beenoffered specially to Hercules ; but the date, Aug. 1 2, of thesacrifice at Rome might suggest an original offering of the first-fruits of the Roman ager, before the growth of the city hadpushed agriculture to some distance away. Now first-fruitsare the oldest form of tribute to a god as ' the lord of the land,"developing in due time into fixed tithes as temple-ritual becomesmore elaborate and expensive ". In their primitive form theyare found in all parts of the world, as Mr. Frazer has shownus in an appendix to the second volume of his Golden Bough".It ia certainly possible that in this way the August cult of theara maxima may be connected with the general character ofthe August festivals ; that the offering of the first-fruitsof hai'veat gave way to a regulated system of tithea'', of which

< Lex. sgai fall. ; C. I. L. L 149 folL

< The examplea are collected hj It. Peter in Lex, 2935.I i.„..,. — - ,, poiiucere merces ; Plut. Qa. Eom. 18; Vita SuHae, 35;

folL

* Mnrq. 469 ; i'estus, p. 318, a-V- Bacrimo.

' Eobertson Smith, Betigion of the Semites, p. 333.

• a. B. a. 373 foil.' In the legend Hercules gave a tontb part of hia booty to the

inhabitante of the place (Dionya i. 40)-

I


we find a. survival in the offerings of the tenth part of theirbooty by great generals like Sulla and Crasaua. Aa the citygrew, and agriculture became less prominent than military and

mercantile pursuits, the practice passed into a form adaptedto these — i, e. the rfecwmae of military booty or mercantilegain'.

But there is another possibility which must at least besuggested. The myth attached to the ara maxima and theAventine, that of Hercules aud Cacus, stands aloue amongItalian stories, as the system of tithe-giving does among Italianpractices. We may be certain that the practice did not springfrom the myth; rather that an addition was made to the



myth, when Hercules was described aa giving the tenth of hisbooty, in order to explain an unusual practice. Yet myth andpractice stand in th& closest relation to each other, and thestrange thing about each is that It is unlike its Italian kindred.Of late years it has become the fashion to claim the myth asgenuine Italian, in spite of its Graeco-Oriental character, onthe evidence of comparative mythology": but no explanationis forthcoming of its unique character among Italian myths, allof which have a marked practical tendency, and a relation tosome human institution such as the foundation of a city. Theyare legends of human beings and practices : this is an elementalmyth familiar in different forms to the Eastern mind. Again,the Hercules of the myth has nothing in common with thegenuine Italian Hercules, whom we may now accept as= geniu8, or the masculine principle— as may be seen from thesorry lameness of the attempt to harmonise the two'. Beyonddoubt there was an Italian spirit or deity lo whom the nameHercules was attached : but there is no need to force all theforms of Hercules that meet us into exact connexion withthe genuine one. We have seen above that the Herculesof the ara maxima may possibly have concealed Mars himself,in his original form of a deity of cattle, pasture, and clearings.But there ia yet another possible explanation of this tangledproblem.

The Roman form of the Cacus-myth, in which Cacus steals

' Sae Hommseu la C I. L. i, 150.

' e. g. in Briial, Hercule et OacU3.

' See Lex. xaSS (,R. Puter, quoting KeilTarscheid).

MENBIS 8ESTI1IS I97

the cattle from Hercules, and tries to conceal his theft bydragging them backwards into his cave by their tails, hasrecently been found in Sicily depicted on a painted vase,whither, as Professor Gardner baa suggested, it may have beenbrought by way of Cyprus by Phoenician traders ' ; and theinference of so cautious an archaeologist is, apparently, thatthe myth may have found its way from Sicily to the Tiber.Nothing can be more probable ; for it is certain that evenbefore the eighth century b, c. the whole western coast ofItaly was open first to Plioenician trade and then to Greek.And we are interested to find that the only other ti'acea of themyth to be found in Italy are located in places which wouldbe open to the same influence. From Capua we have a bronze

vase on which is depicted what aeema to be the punishment ofCacus by Hercules"; and a fragment of the annalist Gelljusgives a stury connecting Cacus with Campania, Etruria, andthe East ". At Tibur also, which claimed a Greek origin,there ia a faint trace of the myth in an inscription '.

Now assuming for a moment that the myth was thusimported, is it impossible that the anomalies of the cult shouldbo foreign also? That one of them at least which stands outmost prominently is a peculiarly Semitic institution ; tithe-



giving in its systematized form is found in the sei-vice of thatMelcarth who so often appears in Hellas as Herakles K Thecoincidence at the Aventine of the name, the myth, and thepractice, is too striking to be entirely passed over — especiallyif we cannot find certain evidence of a pure Italian origin, andif we do find traces of all three where Phoenicians and Greeksare known to have been. We may take it as not impossiblethat the ara maxima was older than the traditional foundationof Rome, and that its cult was originally not that of thecharacteristic Italian Hercules, but of an adventitious deityestablished there by foreign adventurers,

' Journal tif HeSmic Studies, vol. xiii. 73. Professor Gardner is inelined t(oonaider the mjth as Phnenicisn ratier than Greek, and attnched to thePhoenician Melearlh • HerakleH. The vase Is in the Ashmoleaji Huseum.and waa found by (ho Keeper, Mr. Arthur Evnns.

' Man. deU' Iml, v. 95. But the character of the vase is archaic Ionian,as Prof. Gardner tells me ; Lex. 2275.

» H. Peter, Fragnenta Hist Rom. p. 166 ( = Solinns, i. ■;).

' C. I. L. liv. 3555 ; Lex. 3278.

* BobertBon Smith, op. cit. pp. a^8 Coll., and addit[onal note F.


Id. Sext. (Aug. 13). IP.fer'iae] iovi. (amit. allif.)

DIANAE IN AVENTINO. (aHIT. VALL. ANT. ALLIF.)SACBUH DEANAE. (bUST.) NATALIS DIANES. (PHILOa)V0RTT7MN0 IN AVENTINO. (aHIT. ALLIF.)HEB€[ULI: INVICTO AD POBTAH TBIGEHINAM. (aLLIF.)

CASTOBI POLLUCI IN CIBGO FLAMINIO. (aMIT. ALLIF.)FLORAE AD c[lBCUMJ MAXIMUM. (aLLIF.)

All IdeSy as we have seen, were sacred to Jupiter ; and itdoes not seem that there is here any further significance in thenote *feriae Iovi.' Though there was a conjunction here ofmany cults, this day was best known as that of the dedicationof the temple of Diana on the Aventine, which was traditionallyascribed to Servius TuUius. There are interesting features inthis cult, and indeed in the worship of this goddess throughoutLatium and Italy. For the most famous of all her cults, thatof Aricia *, I need only refer to Mr. Frazer's Golden Bough — themost elaborate and convincing examination of any ancient

worship that has yet appeared. Of the goddess in general itwill be sufficient to say here that whatever be the etjnnologyof her name or the earliest conception of her nature — and bothare very far from certain— she was for the old Latins second onlyto Jupiter Latiaris in the power she exercised of uniting com-munities together and so working in the cause of civilization.This was the case with the cult on the Aventine, as it was alsowith that at Aricia '.

About the political origin of the temple on the Aventine



tradition was explicit'. Livy says that Servius Tullius per-suaded the chiefs of the Latins to build a temple of Diana inconjunction with the Eomans; and Varro calls it 'communeLatinorum Dianae templum.' The ' lex templi,' or ordinancefor the common worship of Eomans and Latins, was seen byDionysius — so he declares — written in Greek characters and

^ The day of the festival at Aricia is thought to have been also Aug. 13(Lex. a. V. Diana, ioo6\

* Beloch, Italischer Bund, 180 ; Cato (ap. Prisoian, 7. 337, ed. Jordan, p. 41)gives the names of the towns united in and by the Arician cult — Aricia,Tusculum, Lanuvium, Laureutum, Cora, Tibur, Pometia, Ardea.

' Liv. 1. 45 Dionys. 4. a6 ; Varro, £. £. 5. 43.

HENSIS SEXTILIS I99

preserved in the temple'. The horns of a cow', hung up infi-ont of this temple, gave rise to legends, one of which ispreserved by Livy, and seems to bring the Sabines also intothe connexion. This temple was, then, from the beginning in

some sense extra-Boman, i. e. did not belong to the purelyKoman gentile worship. And it had other churacteri sties oftiie same kind ; it was specially connected with the Plebs andwith slaves, and as, in the case of the neighbouring templeat Ceres, there was a Greek character in the cult from thebeginning.

I. The Connexion with ike Plehs. The position on the Aventinewould of itself be some evidence of a non-patrician origin ; soalso the traditional ascription to Servius Tullius as the founder.More direct evidence seems wanting', but it is not impossiblethat the temple marks a settlement of Latins in this part ofthe city.

II. The Connexion Kith Slaves. The day was a holiday forslaves *, perhaps after the work of harvest. There was oneother Latin goddess, Feronia, who was especially beloved byemancipated slaves' ; and as Feronia was a deity both ofmarkets and harvests, there is something to be said for thesuggestion " that both slave holidays and slave emancipationwould find a natural place on occasions of this kind. It wouldseem also that this temple was an asylum for runaway orcriminal slaves — a fact which slips out in Festus' curiousreproduction of a gloss of Verrius Flaccus': 'Servorum diesfestus vulgo exist imatur Idus Aug., quod eo die ServiusTullius, natus servus, aedem Dianae dedicaverit in Aventino,

cuius tutelae sint cervi, a quo celeritate fugitives vocentservos.' The stag, as the favourite beast of Diana, may

' Dionys. I. 0. See Jordnn, KtH. BeibUge, 353.

' So Liv. 1. c. : other temples of Diana had deors' horns, aconrdiiig toPlutarch, <}. H. 4. The cow was Diann'B favourite viclim (Marq. gfit) ;but ne oannot bo sure that thia was not a feature borroned from the cult



of ArtemlH (Farnell, Greek Cults, ii, 59a}.

' The passBges from L[vy quoted by Steading (Lex, 1008) are hardly tothe point, aa the cult is not mentioned in them.

' Plut. Q. R. 100.

* Serr. Am. 8. 364 : ep. Liv. aa. i, s& 11.

• Haonhardt, A. W. F. 398 foil.' Featua, 343, ' Servorum dies.'


perhaps have a Greek origin ; but the inference from thefalse etymology remains the same.

III. The Greek Character in the Cult. As in the case ofCeres, the temple-foundations of this age might naturally havea Greek character, owing to the foreign relations of theEtruscan dynasty in Eome \ We have already noticed the lex

templi, said to have been written in Greek characters. Itis a still more striking fact that there was in this templea ôavovj or wooden statue of Diana, closely resembling thatof Artemis at Massilia, which was itself derived from thefamous temple at Ephesus*. The transference to Diana ofthe characteristics of Artemis was no doubt quite natural andeasy ; for, hard as it is to distinguish the Greek and Italianelements in the cult, we know enough of some at least of thelatter to be sure that they would easily lend themselves toa Greek transformation. This transformation must havebegun at a very early period, for in b. c. 398 we find Dianaalready associated with Apollo and Latona, in the first lecti-sternium celebrated at Eome, where she certainly represented

Artemis \

On the whole this temple and its cult seem a kind of anti-cipation of the great temple on the Capitol, in marking anadvance in the progress of Eome from the narrow life ofa small city-state to a position of influence in Western Italy.The advance of the Plebs, the emancipation of slaves, the newrelations with Latin cities, and the introduction of Greekreligious ideas are all reflected here. New threads are beingwoven into the tissue of Eoman social and political life.

The close relation of Diana to human life is not very difficultto explain. Like Fortuna, Juno Lucina, Bona Dea, and others,

she was a special object of the worship of women ; she assistedthe married woman at childbirth * ; and on this day the Eoman

* See above, p. 75.

' Strabo, Bk. 4, p. 180 ; Farnell, Greek Cults^ ii. 529 and 592.' Liv. 5. 13 : Apollo and Latona, Diana and Hercules, Mercurius andNeptunus.

* Lex, 1007. The excavations at Nemi have produced several votive



offerings in terra-cotta of women with children in their arms. Cp. Ovid,Fastiy 3. 269. Plutarch tells us {Q. E. 3) that men were excluded froma shrine of Diana in the Vicus Patricius ; but of this nothing further isknown.

MENSIS SEXTILIS 201

ide a. special point of washing tlieir heads ' — ânunusual performance, perhaps, which has been explained byreference to the sanctity of the head among primitive peoples '.But Diana, like Silvanus, with whom she is found in con-nexion \ was no doubt originally a spirit of holy trees andwoods, i. e. of wild life generally, who became graduallyreclaimed and brought into friendly and useful relations withthe Italian farmer, his wife, and his cattle *.

This was also the dies nalalis of another temple on theAventine, that of Vortumnus, which was dedicated in b. c. 264by the consul M, Fulvius Flaccua \ About the character ofthis god there is fortunately no doubt. Literature here comesto our aid, as it too rarely does: Propertius* describes himelaborately as presiding over gardens and fruit, and Ovid ' tells

a picturesque story of hia love for Pomona the fruit-goddess,whose antiquity at Rome ia proved by the fact that she hada flamen of her own ". The date, AugTist 13, when the fruitwould be ripe, suits well enough with all we know of Vor-tumnus.

The god had a bronze statue in the Yicus Tuscus, and perhapsfor that i-eason was believed to have come to Home fromEtmria'. But his name, like Picumnus, is beyond doubtLatin, and may be supposed to' indicate the turn or change inthe year at the fruit-season '" ; and if he really was an immi-grant, which is possible, his original cult in Etruria was notEtruscan proper, but old Italian.

Three other dedications are mentioned in the calendars asoccurring on Aug. 13: to Hercules invictus ad portam trige-

• Plut, C- B. 100 ; Jovons, Intnductim, p. Ixviii,' Frazer, Oolden BoUf/A, i. 187.

' C. I. i. vi. 656, 658.

* Fmzer, O. B. i. 105 : tp. RobertBon Smith, Seligion of the Sfmi'is, p. laSfoU. Serv. Osnrg. 3, 33a 'Ut omnia quercua lovi eat conaeorata, et omnialufua Diaose.' (Hor. Oi/. 1. ai.) The rsclaiming of Diana from the woodlandto the homestead is cuvioualj jlluatrated b; an inavriptiou from Aricia

CWilmanoa, £«mpfei, 1767) in which she is identified with Vesta.

* Auat, dt Aedibua sacrii, p. 15. ■ 5. (4,) a.' ifttap*. 14. 6a3 foil. ; Preller, J. 451.

' Varro. L. L. 7. 45. A god Pomouus [gen. Puemonea) occura in theIgiivian ritual ^BGoheler, Dmtn'ca, is8j who may have baen idautical withVortumnus.

• Varro, Z. L 5. 46.



" Preller, i. 45a, and Jordan's notB.


minam ; to Castor and Pollax in circo Flaminio ; and to Floraad circum maximum. Of these cults nothing of special interestis known, and the deities are treated of in other parts of thiswork.

XVI Kal. Sept. (Aug. 17). IP.PORT[UNALIA]. (mafp. amit. vall.)

TIBEBINALIA. (PHIIX>€.)

FEBIAE FOBTUNO. (aMIT. ANT.)

POBTUNO AD FONTEH AEMILIUH. (aMIT. YALL. ALUF.)

lANO AD THEATBUM HABGELLI. (yALL. ALUF.)

Who was Portunus, and why was his festival in August ?Why was it at the Pons Aemilius, and where was that bridge ?Can any connexion be found between this and the other Augustrites ? These questions cannot be answered satisfactorily ; thescraps of evidence are too few and too doubtful. We havehere to do with another ancient deity, who survives in thecalendars only, and in the solitary record that he had a specialflamen. This flamen might be a plebeian \ which seems tosuit with the character of other cults in the district by theTiber, and may perhaps point to a somewhat later origin thanthat of the most ancient city worships.

There are but two or three texts which help us to make anuncei'tain guess at the nature of Portunus. Varro* wrote* Portunalia et Portuno, quoi eo die aedes in portu Tiberinofacta et feriae institutae.' Mommsen takes the porttts here asmeaning Ostia at the mouth of the Tiber, and imagines a yearlyprocession thither from Eome on this day '. This of course ispure hypothesis ; but if, as he insists, partus is rarely or neverused for a city wharf on a river such as that at Eome, we may

^ Festus, aiTy s.y. persillum. All we know of his duties is that ho' iinguit arma Quirini ' ; the word for the oil or grease he used was ' per-sillum/ Quirinus had his own flamen, who might be supposed to do thisoffice for him ; hence Marq. (328 note) inferred that the god in this case

was a form of Janus, Janus Quirinus. But there is no other sound evi-dence for a Janus Quirinus, though Janus and Portunus may be closelyconnected.

• L, L. 6. 19.

' C I. L. 395. He thinks that the atria Tiberina mentioned by Ovid{Fastiy 4. 329) were a station on the route of the procession.



HEITSIS SEXTILIS

203

I

perhaps accept it provisionally ; but in doing so wo have toyield another point to Mommaen, viz. the identity of Portunuaand Tiberinus. In the very late calendar of Philocalns thisday is called Tiberinalia, and from this Mommsen infers theidentity of the two deities '.

But it may be that the original Portunus had 110 immediateconnexion either with river or harbour. We find a curioushut mutilated note in the Veronese commentary on Virgil':' Portunus, ut Varro ait, deus port uum porta rumque praesea.Quai'e huius dies festua Portunalia, qua apud veteres claves in

focum add. . . . mare institutum.' Huschke* here conjectured' addere et infumai'e,' and inferred that we should see inPortunus the god of the gates and keys which secured thestock of corn, &c., in storehouses. Wild aa this writer's con-jectures usually are, in this case it seems to me possible thathe has hit the mark. If the words ' claves in focum ' aregenuine, as they seem to he, we can hardly avoid the conclusionthat something was done to keys on this day ; perhaps the oldkeys of voiy hard wood wero held in the iire to harden tlieniafresh*. It ia worth noting that according to Verrius' Portunuswas supposed ' clavim manu tenere et deus esse portarum.'This would suit very well with harvest-time, when barns andstorehouses would be i-epaired and their gates and fastenings

looked to — more especially as it ia not unlikely that the wordpartus originally meant a safe place. of any kind, and only aacivilization advanced became specially appropriated to harbours".This appropriation may have come .about through the mediumof storehouses near the Tiber ; and it was long ago suggestedby Jordan that these were under the pai'ticular care ofPortunus '.

■ Mommsen has not oonvinced other Bcholars, e. g. Jordan on Preller,ii. 133, and Marq. 338, who points ont that if Volturnua ia nn old namefor the Tiber, that rlTargod was already provided with a flamen {Voltur-nalU', and a festival in this month leee below ou Volturmilia'). I amdisposed to think that Hommaon's critics have the beat of the argument.

' On Am. 5. 341.

' Mom. Jahr, p. 350. Jordan reatored the passage thua ; ' Quo apadveterea aedea in portu et foriae institutae' (Preller, i. 178 cote).* See Mavquardt, PrivalalttrUiiimer, p. aaS,' Paulna, 56.

■ In FestuB, 333, parlus ia said to have been uaed for a. house in tbaTwelve Tables.



' T(qiiigr. i. 430 ; Hnrq. agrees (327 note).

204 ^^^ ROMAN FESTIVALS

If Portunus were really a god of keys and doors and store-houses, it would be natural to look for some close relationbetween' him and Janus. But what can be adduced in favourof such a relation does not amount to much ^ ; and it may havebeen merely by accident that this was the dedication-day ofa temple of Janus ' ad theatrum Marcelli ' \

XIV KaIj. Sept. (Aug. 19). FP. (maff. amit.) P.

(ant. ALLIF.) IP. (VALL.')

VIN[ALIA]. (maff. vall. amit. etc.)

FERIAE lOVI. (aLLIF.)

VENERI AD CIRGUM MAXIMUM. (VALL.)

The * Aedes Veneris ad Circum Maximum ' alluded to in theFasti Vallcnses was dedicated in 295 b. c, and the buildingwas begun at the expense of certain matrons who were finedfor adult eiy*. As has been already explained, no early con-nexion can be proved between Venus and wine or the vintage*;though both August 19 and April 23, the days of the twoVinalia, were dedication-days of temples of the goddess.

The difficult question of the two festivals called Vinalia hasbeen touched upon under April 23. The one in August wasknown as Vinalia Kustica'', and might naturally be supposed

to be concerned with the ripening grapes. It has been con-jectured '^ that it was on this day, which one calendar marks asa festival of Jupiter, that the Flamen Dialis performed theauspicatio vindemiae, i. e. plucked the first grapes, and prayedand sacrificed for the safety of the whole crop*. If it be

* Preller, i. 177.

^ It was a late foundation, vowed by C. Duilius in the First Punic War(b. c. 260). When rebuilt by Tiberius (Tac. Ann. 2. 49) the dedication-day became Oct. 18. See Aust, de Aedibus sacriSf p. 18.

^ See above on April 23, p. 85.

* Livy, 10. 31 ; Aust, de Aedibus sacriSj p. la.

* See above, p. 86. • Paulus, 264.' Preller, i. 196 ; Marq. 333 note.

* Varro, X. i. 6. 16 * Vinalia a vino ; Hie dies lovis, non Veneris ; huiusrei cura non levis in Latio ; nam aliquot locis vindemiae primum a sacer-dotibus publicae fiebant, ut Bomae etiam nunc ; nam flamen Dialis auspi-catur vindemiam, et ut iussit vinum legere, agna lovi facit, inter quoius



exta caesa et porrecta flamen primus vinum legit.' But this note, comingbetween others on the CeriaHa and Bobigalia, clearly refers to April 23^

HENSIS 8KXTILIS

205

argued that August 23 was too early a date for such a rite,8mce the vintage was never earlier than the middle ofSeptember, we may remember that the Vestal Virgins pluckedthe fii'st ears of corn as early as the first half of May for thepurpose of making sacred cakes, some weeks before the actualharvest '.

But it is certainly possible that both Vinalia have to do withwine, and not with the vintage, Festua says that this daywas a festival because the new wine was then first broughtinfo the city'; and this does not conflict with Varro^, who

tells us that on this day Jiunt feriali dlitores—iov it wouldnaturally be a day of rejoicing for the growera, Mommsen,with some reason, refers these passages to the later custom ofnot opening the wine of the last vintage for a year*, in whichease the year must be understood roughly as from October toAugust. He would, in fact, explain this second Vinalia asinstituted when this later and more luxurious custom arose, theold rule of a six months' period surviving in the April cere-mony. If we ask why the August Vinalia are called Eustica,llomm sen answers that thecountrygioweis were now at libertyto bring in their wine.

It is difficult to decide between these conflicting views.

When an authority like Mommsen bids us beware of connectingthe Vinalia Eustica with the auspicatio vindcmiae, we feelthat it is at our peril that we differ from him. He is evidentlyquite unable to look upon such a date as August 19 as in anyway associated with the vintage which followed some weekslater. Yet I cannot help thinking that this association is byno means impossible ; for the grapes would by this time befully formed on the vines, and the next few weeks would bean anxious time for the growers \ Ceremonies like that of the

and the latter part of it must be taken as eimply explaining ' buiua rei

cura ooD levis' without reference to U pacticului- da;.

' See above, p. tio. " p. 864.

' L. L,6. ao. The passage in 6, 16, quoted above, eiida thus : ' In Tua-culania hortis (sortis in MS.) est acriptiim : Vinum novum ne vehatur inurbem antequam Vinalia falentur,' wliith may teler to a notice put up inthe vineyards. Another reading is ' anuria.'

• a I. L. 316 and 326 ; Varro, E. B. 1. 65.



> Cf. Piioy, X. H. 18. B84 'Tria namqne tempora fructibus metiiebant,

ropter quod in&tituerunt feriasdjesque testos, Bobigalii),Florolia, Vinalia.'

a why the Vinalia here ahouid not Iwi the Vinalia Ruatioa.

pr-ipliI do

nt, J

206 THE BOMAK FESTIVALS

Auspicatio, intended to avert from crops the perils of storm ordisease, are known sometimes to take place when the crops arestill unripe. I have already alluded to the proceedings of theVestals in May. Mr. Frazer, in an Appendix to his Golden

Bough ^, gives a curious instance of this kind from Tonga in thePacific Ocean^ where what we may call the auspicatio of theYam-crop took place hefore the whole crop was fit for gathering.It was celebrated 'just before the yams in general are arrivedat a state of maturity ; those which are used in this ceremonybeing planted sooner than others, and consequently they arethe firstfruits of the yam season. The object of this offeringis to ensure the protection of the gods, that their favour maybe extended to the welfare of the nation generally and inparticular to the productions of the earth, of which yams arethe most important'

XII Kal. Sept. (Aug. 21). IP.

CONS[UALIA]. (piNc. XAFF. vall. etc.)

CONSO IN AVENTINO SACBIFICIUM. (VALL.)

There was a second festival of Census on Dec 15 ; but thenote 'Conso in Aventino' there appears three days earlier,Dec. 12. The temple on the Aventine was a comparativelylate foundation^; but as the cult of this old god becamegradually obscured, it seems to have been confused with themost ancient centre of Consus-worship, the underground altarin the Circus maximus, * ad primas metas ". It is with thislatter that we must connect the two Consualia. What thealtar was like we do not exactly know ; it was only uncovered

on the festival days. Dionysius calls it a r^fifpos, Serviusa 'templum sub tecto'; and TertuUian, who explicitly saysthat it was * sub terra,' asserts that there was engraved on itthe following inscription : * Consus consilio, Mars duello, Larescoillo* potentes.' Wissowa remarks that this statement 4s not

Cp. Virg. Oeorg. a. 419 *Et iam maturis metuendus luppiter uvis.' Hart-mann, Riim. Kal. 137 foil.

* Vol. ii. 379. ' B. 0. 373 (Festus, 209 ; Aust, p. 14).



' For this altar, TertuU. Sped, 5 and 8 ; Dionys. i. 33 ; Tac. Ann, la. 24 ;Serv. Aen, 8. 636.

* No correction of this word seems satisfactory : see Mommsen, CI I. X.326.

I

I

KENSIS SEXTILIS 207

free from suspicion ' ; and we may take it as pretty certain thatif it WH8 really there it wa3 not very ancient. The falseetymology of Consus, and the connexion of Mare with war,both show the hand of some comparatively late interpreter ofreligion ; and the fomi of the inscription, nominative anddescriptive, ia most suspiciously abnormal.

For the true etymology of Consus we are, strange to say,hardly in doubt ; and it helps us to conjectnre the i-eal originof this curious altar. Consus is connected with ' condeio ' ',and may be interpreted as the god of the stored-np harvtst;the buried altar will thus be a reminiscence of the very ancientpractice— sometimes of late suggested as worth reviving forhay — of storing the corn underground'. Or if this practicecannot be proved of ancient Italy, we may aptly remember thatsacrifices to chthonic deities were sometimes buried ; a practicewhich may in earliest times have given rise to the connexionof such gods with wealth^when agi'icultural produce ratherthan the precious motals was the common form of wealth ^

Or again we may combine the two interpretations, and guessthat the com stored up underground was conceived as in somesense sacrificed to the chthonic deities.

If these views of the altar are correct, we might naturallyinfer that the Consualia in August was a harvest festival ofsome kind. Plutarch' asks why at the Consualia horses andasses have a holiday and are decked out with flowers ; and sucha custom would suit excellently with harvest-home. Unluckilyin the only trace of this custom preserved in the calendars, itis attributed to the December festival, and is so mutilated asto be useless for deta^ K

' Wisaowa, Lex. a. t. Codsub, 936.

' Suggested by Moinmseu, C, I. L. 336, ftnd accepted by Wissowa. Un-luckily Columella (i. 6), in alluding to the practice, says nothing of itaooeuiTeace in Italy. The altpmative explanation was suggeslad to moby Bobei'tiion Smith {Rîgion t^ths Semites, 107) : aee alao a note in Miiller.Deecke, Etrusker, ii. Jcxj ; and below on Terminalia (p. 335),

' The underground altar at Dis Fnter in the Campus Martius, at whichthe ludi eaeculares were in part celebrated (Zosimua, si. i), may have bad



igin.

' Qu. Rom. 40 ; ef. Dionys. i. 33.* Fast Praen. ; C I. L. 337.

k

2o8 THE B03CAN FESTIVALS

FEBIAE C0N80 EQUI ET [mULI FLOBIBUS COBOVAHTUB].QUOD IK EIUS Tn[TELA BUKt].[iTAJQUE BEX EQUO [yECTUs].

The amplifications here are Mommsen's, the first two basedon Plutarch's statement. It is a difficulty, bs regards the first,that the middle of December would be a bad time for flowers :perhaps this did not occur to the great scholar. I wouldsuggest that either Yerrius' note is here accidentally misplaced,or that the lacunae must be filled up differently. In any caseI do not think we need fear to refer Plutarch's passage to theConsualia of August, and therefore to harvest rejoicings onthat day.

The connexion of the Consus-cult with horses was soobvious as to give rise eventually to the identification of the

god with Poseidon Hippios. It is certain that there werehorse-races in the Circus maximus at one of the two Consualia,and as Dionysius ^ connects them with the day of the Eape ofthe Sabines, which Plutarch puts in August, we may be fairlysure that they took place at the August festival. Mules alsoraced — according to Festus *, because they were said to be themost ancient beasts of burden. This looks like a harvestfestival, and may carry us back to the most primitive agii-cultural society and explain the origin of the Circus maximus ;for the only other horse-races known to us from the old calendarwere those of Mars in the Campus Martius on Feb. 27 andMarch 13', We may suppose that when the work of harvestwas done, the farmers and labourers enjoyed themselves in

this way and laid the foundation for a great Eoman socialinstitution *.

Once more, it is not impossible that in the legendary con-nexion of the Eape of the Sabine women with the Consualia "we may see a reflection of the jollity and license which accom-panies the completion of harvest among so many peoples.

* a. 31, where he says that they were kept up in his own day : cf. Strabo,Bk. 5. 3. a. ^ p. 148.



^ Friedlftnder in Marq. 48a. For the connexion of games with harvestsee Mannhardt, Myth. Forsch, 17a foil.

* Varro (ap. Non. p. 13) quotes an old verse which seems to the pointhere : * Sibi pastores ludo faciunt coriis consualia.'

^ Varro, X. L. 6. 20; Serv. Aen. 8. 636; Dionys. a. 31 ; Cic. Rep. a. la.

UENSIS S&XTILIS

209

Eomulus was said to have attracted the Sabines by the firstcelebration of the Cousualia. Is it not possible that the meetingof neighbouring commnnities on a fes'iive occasion of this kindmay have been a favourable opportunity for capturing new%vive3'? The sexual license common on such occasions has

been abundantly illustrated by Mr. Frazer in his GoldenBough '.

Before leaving the Conaualia we may just remark thatConsus had no Sanien of his own, in spite of his undoubtedantiquity ; doubtless because his altar was underground, andonly opened once or perhaps twice a year. On August zihis sacrifice was performed, eaya Tertullian ■', by the FlamenQuirinalis in the presence of the Vestals. This flanien seemsto have had a special relation to the corn-crops, for it was hewho also sacrificed a dog to Eobigus on April 25 *, to avert themildew from them; and thus we get one more confirmationfrom the cult of the view taken as to the agriealtural origin of

the Consualia.

X Kai. Sep]

(An.

^Z)- IP-

VOLCANALIA. (pinc. maff. vall. etc.)

VOLCANO IN CIKCO FLAMINtO, (VALL^

VOLCANO, (pinc.)

(A mutilated fragment of the calendar of the Fratres Arvalea



gives Quis[iNo] IN COLLE, volk[ano] in coaiiT[io], opi opi-

fdkâk] in , , . , [nxmPjHIs{?) in camihiJ.

Of the cult of this day, apart from the extracts from thecalendars, we know nothing, except that the heads of Komanfamilies threw into the fire ceiiain small fish with scales,which were to be had from the Tiber fishermen at the 'areaVolcnni'". We cannot explain this; but it reminds us ofthe fish colled maena, with magical propei'fcies, which the old

« above, p. [78. ' Vol. ii. 171 foil., 37a foil.

~ ■ " 'See BboTe. p. 89 ; Ovid, Fasti, 4. 908.

\, p. 210, B, T. piHCfliorii ludi jVarro, L. L. 6. ao*. The latter ussb

' nDiinalia,' and Anon not mention fish. The fish were upparesCly

nt the domeBtie hearth ; bat it ia doubtful whether Voleanus

ity of the hearth-fire (see Suhwegler, K. Q. i. 714 ; WisaowB,

,v).

2IO THE ROMAN FESTIVALS

woman offered to Tacita and the ghost-world at the Parentalia\Fish-sacrifices were rare ; and if in one rite fish are used topropitiate the inhabitants of the underworld, they seem notinappropriate in another of which the object is apparently to

propitiate the fire-god, who in a volcanic country like that ofRome must surely be a chthonic deity.

The antiquity of the cult of Volcanus is shown by the factthat there was a Flamen Volcanalis ^, who on May i sacrificedto Maia, the equivalent, as we saw, of Bona Dea, Terra, &c.With Volcanus we may remember that Maia was coupled in theold prayer formula preserved by Gellius (13. 23) — Maia VolcanLFrom these faint indications Preller' conjectured that theoriginal notion of Volcanus was that of a favouring nature-spirit, perhaps of the warmth and fertilizing power of theearth. However this may be, in later times, under influenceswhich can only be guessed at, he became a hostile fire-god,

hard to keep under control. Of ihia aspect of him Wissowahas written concisely at the conclusion of his little treatise deFeriis. He suggests that the appearance of the nymphs^ inthe rites of this day indicates the use of water in conflagrations,and that Ops Opifera was perhaps invoked to protect her ownstorehouses. The name Volcanus became a poetical word fordevouring fire as early as the time of Ennius, and is familiar tous in this sense in Virgil \ After the great fire at Rome inNero's time a new altar was erected to Volcanus by Domitian,at which (and at all Volcanalia) on this day a red calf and a boar



were offered for sacrifice \ At Ostia the cult became celebrated ;there was an 'aedes' and a 'pontifex Volc^mi' and a 'praetorsacris Volcani faciundis.' In August the storehouses at Ostiawould be full of new grain araved from Sicily, Africa, andEgypt, and in that hot month would be especially in dangerfrom fire ; an elaborate cult of Volcanus the fire-god was there-fore at this place particularly desirable.

* See below, p. 309 ; Ovid, FasHy a. 571 foU.

' See above on May 33, p. 193 ; Varro, L, L, 5. 84 ; Macrob. i. la. 18 ;a L L. vi. i6a8.

* ii. 149.

* In the mutilated note in Fast. Praen. given above. For Wissowa'sviews as to the mistake of supposing Volcanus to have been a god of smiths,fiee above, p. 123 (May 23).

* Ennius, Fragm. 5. 477 ; Virg. Aen. 5. 66a. * C. I. L, vi. 8a6.

MEKSIS SEXTILIS 2IZ

The aedea Volcani in circo Flarainio was dodicated before215 B.C.; the exact date is not known'. Its position wasexplained by Vitruviiia' as having the object of keeping con-flagrations away from the city. Mr. Jevona, in bia Intro-duction to a translation of Plutarch's Quacstiones Romatuie',has argued from this position, outside the pomoeriuin, andfrom a doubtful etymology, that the cult of Volcanua wasa foreign introduction ; but the position of the temple is noargument, as has been well shown by Aust', and the chiefarea Volcani, or Volcanal, was in the Comitium, in the heartof the city ■''.

IX Kai. Sept, (Aug. 24). Mundus Patkt.

This does not appear in the calendars. We learn fromPestus ' that on this day, on Oct. 5, and Nov, 8, the ' mundus 'was open. This mundus was a i-ound pit on the Palatine, thecentre of Homa quadrata'' — the concave hollow being perhapssupposed to correspond to the concave sky above'. It wasclosed, so it was popularly believed, by a 'lapis maoalis'(Festus 8. v.). When this was removed, on the three daysthere was supposed to be free egi'ess for the denizens of theunderworld '.

I am much inclined to soe in this last idea a later Graeco-

Etruacan accretion upon a very simple original fact. O. Mollerlong ago suggested this — pointing out that in Plutarch'sdescription of the foundation of Boma quadrata the castinginto the trench of first-fruits of all necessaries of life gives u3a clue to the original meaning of the mundus. If we suppose

' Lly. 34, 10. 9, ' Vitruv. i. •;. i.

' Soman Questiom, zviii. * de Aedibus sacria, p. 47 foil.



' What this was ne do not really know : there were MTeraJ of them(Preller, ii. 150).

' FaaL 154, from Ateiua Capito ; Mucrob. i. 16. 17.

' Plat, Born. 11 ; Ovid, Fasti, 4. Bsi. Plutarch wroDgl; deecribâ it aabeing in the Comiliiun.

' TLia aeems to bo meant by Cato's words quoted by Featus, L c. * Hondonomen impoaitum eat ab eo mundo quod supra nos est. . , eiua inferiorempartem veluti cons^cratam dia Manibua ulausam omoi tempore niai hisdiebua (i, e. the three above mentioned) maiorea c[eQ3uerunt habendam],quoa diaa etiam teliglostoa iudicaverunt.'

' Faat. 138. So Varro, ap. Macrob. 1. 16. 18 ' Mundus cum patst, deonim

iatiiun atque iuferum iaumi paMt.' Z«,(. a. v. Dia Pator, 1184; Preller,1L68.

r 2


that it was the pentis of the new city — a sacred place, of course —used for storing grain, we can see why it should be open onAug. 24 \ Nor is it difficult to understand why, when theoriginal use and meaning had vanished, the Graeco-Etruscandoctrine of the underworld should be engrafted on this simpleRoman stem. Dis and Proserpina claim the mundus: it is* ianua Orci,' 'faux Plutonis'' — ideas familiar to Eomans whohad come under the spell of Etruscan religious beliefs.

vin Kal. Sept. (Aug. 25). K*.

OPIC[ONSIVIA]. (allip. mapp. vall.)

OPIOID. (piNC.) The last two letters must be a cutter's

error.FEBiAE opi; opi coNsrv. IN BEoiA. (arv.) The last four

words seem to belong to Aug. 26 (see Mommsen ad loc.).

This festival follows that of Consus after an interval of threedays; and Wissowa^ has pointed out that in December thesame interval occurs between the Consualia (15th) and theOpalia (19th). This and the epithet or cognomen Consiva,

which is fully attested *, led him to fancy that Ops was thewife of Consus, and not the wife of Satumus, as has beengenerally supposed both in ancient and modern times \ Wemay agree with him that there is no real evidence for anyprimitive connexion of Satumus and Ops of this kind ; as faras we can tell the idea was adopted from the relation of Cronosand Bhea. But there was no need to find any husband forOps ; the name Consiva need imply no such relation, any morethan Lua Satm*ni, Moles Martis, Maia Volcani, and the rest*, orthe Tursa lovia of the Iguvian inscription so often quoted.



Both adjectival and genitive forms are in my view no more

* Miiller-Deecke, Etrusker, ii. 100. Plutarch is explicit : dirapxai t« voptohv,0(70(5 v6fjiqf fji^v ws Ka\ots kxpSfVfOy (pvati ik qjs dvaynaioif, dirtTi^rjaaykvravSa.See above on the Consualia for the practice of burying grain, &c.

^ Macrob. i. 16. 17. For similar ideas in Greece see A. Mommsen,Heortoloffief 345 foil.

' de Feriis, vi. * Varro, L. L, 6. 21 ; Festus, 187.

* Varro, L. L. 5. 57 and 64 ; Festus, 186 ; Macrob. i. 10. 19. So Preller,ii. 20. The keen-sighted Ambrosch had, I think, a doubt about it {Studien^149), and about the conjugal tie generally among Italian deities. See hisnote on p. 149.

* Gell. 13. 23. Ops Toitesia (if the reading be right) of the Esquiline vase(Jordan in Preller, ii. 22) may be a combination of this kind (toitesia, conn,tutus ?) : cf. Ops opifera.

HEKSIS SEXTILIS

than examples of the old Italian instinct for covering as mutliground aa possible in invoking supernatural powers'; andthis ia again a result of the indistinctness with which thosepowers were conceived, in regard both to theiv nature andfunction. A distinct specialization of function was, I amconvinced, the later work of the pontifices. Opa and Censusare obviously closely related ; and Wissowa is probably rightin treating the one as a deity 'mesais condendae,'and the othei-as representing the ' opima frugum copia quae horreis conditur.'But when he goes further than this, his arguments ring

hollow \

Of the ritual of the Opiconsivia we know only what Varrotella ua " : ' Opeconsiva dies ab dea Ope Consiva, quoiua in Eegiasacrarium, quod ideo actum (so MSS.) ut eo praeter Virgin eaVeatalea et saoerdotem publicum introeat nemo.' Many con-jectures have been made for the correction of ' quod ideoactum ' ' ; but the real value of the passage does not depend onthese words. The Eegia is the king's house, and representsthat of the ancient head of the family : the sacrarium Opis wassurely then the sacred _penMS of that house— the treasury of thefruits of the earth on which the family subsisted. It suitsadmirably with this view that, aa VaiTo says, only the Vestals

and a 'publicus sacerdos' were allowed to enter it— i.e. theform was retained from remote antiquity that the daughters ofthe house were in charge of it ^ — the master of the house beinghere represented by the sacerdos— the rex sacrorum or apontifex. In this connexion it is worth while to quotea passage of Columella ' which seems to be derived from someancient practice of the rural household : ' Ne contractenturpocula vel dbi nisi aut ab impuhe aut certe abatinentissimorebua venereis, quibus si fuerit operatus vel vir vel femina



' WisBowa himself goes K

ere joined together ' nou per luatutn matrimomum sed iadfinitate,' op. cit. Ti.

■ Op, cit. Tii. ; MommseQ, C. I. L. 307 declines to follow lii

* £. Z. 6. ao. The MS3, read Ope ConsiTa: so Uommsun itWisaona adopts tlie other form.

* Bee Mommspn, 1. c., and Marquai-dl, aia.a Veatalia above, p. 147, and Marq. 051.

' Coinni. la 4. Cited in De-Marehi, It CuUa priralo diRoma ,596^ p. 56. See my paper in CIos«icui fiecicio for Oct. ip. 317 foil.

214 '^^^ B03CAX FESTIVALS

debere eos flumine aut perenni aqua priusquam penora con-

tingant ablui. Propter quod his necefisarium esse pueri yelvirginis ministerium, per quoB promantur quae usus postula-verit'

VI Kal. Sept. (Aug. 27). IP.VOLTURNALIAl (allif. mafp. vall.)

FERIAE YOLTUmrO. (aBY. nTTER ADDITA F08TEBI0RA.)YOLTURKO FLUKIHI SACBIFICIXJM. (yALL.)

Of this Yery ancient and perhaps obsolete rite nothing seemsto have been known to the later Latin scholars, or they didnot think it worth comment Varro mentions a ilamen

Voltumalis, but tells us nothing about him. From the occur-rence of the name for a river in Campania it may be guessedthat the god in this case was a river also ; and if so, it mustbe the Tiber. This is Mommsen's conclusion, and the onlydifficulty he finds in it is that (in his view) Portunus is also theTiber \ Why did he not see that the same river-god, even ifbearing different names, could hardly have two flamines?I am content to see in Voltumus an old name for the Tiber,signifying the winding snake-like river', and in Portunusa god of storehouses, as I have explained above.

Here, then, we perhaps have a trace of the lost cult of theTiber, which assuredly must have existed in the earliest times —

and the flamen is the proof of its permanent importance.When the name was changed to Tiber we do not know, norwhether ^ Albula ' marks an intermediate stage between thetwo ; but that this was the work of the pontifices seems likelyfrom Servius ', who writes * Tiberinus ... a pontificibus in-digitari solet.' Of a god Tiberinus there is no single earlyrecord.

It should just be mentioned that Jordan*, relying onLucretius, 5. 745, thought it probable that Volturnus might



be a god of whirlwinds ; and Huschke '^ has an even wildersuggestion, which need not here be mentioned.

* C. I, L, 327. " Preller, ii. 142, ' Aen. 8. 33a

* In Preller, ii. 143. In the passage of Lucretius Volturnus is coupledwith Auster : * Inde aliae tempestates ventique secuntur, Altitonam Vol-turnus et Auster fulmine pollens.* Columella (11. 2. 65) says that somepeople use the name lor the east wind (cp. Liv. 22. 43).

* Rbnh JahVy 251.

MENSIS SEPTEMBEE.

The Calendar of this month is almost a blank. Only theKalends, Nones and Ides are marked in the large letters 'withwhich we have become familiar ; no other festival is hereassociated with a special deity. But the greater part of themonth is occupied with the ludi Eomani (5th to 19th)', andthe 1 3th (Ides), as we know from two Calendars, was notonly, like all Idea, sacred to Jupiter, but was distinguished

as the day of the famous 'epulum Jovis,' and also as the diesnatalis of the great Capitoline temple.

The explanation of the absence of great festivals in thismonth is comparatively simple. September was for theItalian farmer, and therefore for the primitive fioman agri-cultural community, a period of comparative rest from urgentlabour and from religious duties ; for no operations were thengoing on which called for the invocation of special deities tofavour and protect. A glance at the rustic calendars willshow this well enough *. The messes which figure in July andAugust have come to an end, and the vintage does not appearuntil October. There is of course work to be done, as always,

but it ia the easy work of the garden and orchard. ' Deliapicantur: poma legunt : arborum oblaqupatio.' Varro, whodivides the year for agricultural purposes into eight irregularperiods, has little to say of the fifth of these, i. e. that whichpreceded the autumn equinox. ' Quinto intervallo inter cani-

' This raprcsentB the length which the ludi had attained in Cicero'time (Ffir. i. 10. 31). Septpmber 4 wns probably added after Cmsht'edeath (Hommseu in C. I. L. zaS).

' C I. L. aSi.

■0 1

J

2l6 THE ROMAN FESTIVALS



culam et aequinoctium autumnale oportet stramenta desecari,et acervos construi, aratro offringi, frondem caedi, praia irriguaiterumsecari^'

This was also the time when military work would be coiningto an end. In early times there were of course no lengthycampaigns ; and such fighting as there was, the object of whichwould be to destroy your enemies' crops and harvest, wouldas a rule be over in August. Even in later times, when cam-paigns were longer, the same would usually be the case ; andthe |)erformance of vows made by the generals in the field,and also their vacation of office, would naturally fall in thismonth. We find, in fact, that the ludi which occupied solarge a number of September days, had their origin in theperformance of the vota of kings or consuls after the close ofthe wars * ; and we have evidence that the Ides of Septemberwas the day on which the earliest consuls laid down theiroffice '. There was, in fact, every opportunity for a lengthenedtime of ease ; the people were at leisure and in good temperafter harvest and victory ; even the horses which took part inthe games were home from war service or resting from theirlabours on the farm*.

It is not strictly within the scope of this work to describethe ludi Eomani, which in their fully organized form were ofcomparatively late date ; but their close connexion with thecult of Jupiter affords an opportunity for some remarks onthat most imposing of all the Eoman worships.

The ludi Eomani came in course of time, as has been saidabove, to extend from the 5th to the 19th ; they spread out infact on each side of the Ides ^ the day on which took place the* epulum Jovis * in the Capitoline temple. As this day was also

' JR. B, I. 33.

' See Mommsen's masterly essay in his BSmiache ForschungeHf vol. ii.p. 4a foil. Aust, in MytK Lex. s.y. luppiter, 73a.

* Mommsen, Eom, ChronoL 86 folL

* The * equorum probatio/ preliminary to the races in the circus, tookplace on the day after the Ides : see above, p. 27.

^ Mommsen (C. J. L. 328, and Rom, Forsch, ii. 43 foil.) points oat thatthe real centre*point and original day of the ludi proper was the day of thegreat procession (pompa) from the Oapitol to the Circus mazimus ; andthat this was probably the 15th, two days after the epulum, becausethe 14th, being postriduanuSf was unlucky, and that day was also occupied

by the 'equorum probatio.' {See Fasti Sab., Mafif.,yall., Amit. and Antiat.)

I

MENSIS SEPTEMBEH 217



the dies nalfîs of the same temple, and that on which the nnilwas driven into the wall of the cella Jovia ', we have a very-close connexion between the ludi and the cult of Jupiter. Thelink ia to be found in the fact that in the ludi voCivi, whichwere developed into ludi Komani, the vows were made andpaid to the aupreme god of the State'. We have from a latertime the formula of such a vow preserved by Livy \ 'Siduellum quod cum rege Antiocho sumi populus iussit id exsententia senatus popuUque Eomani confectum erit, turn tihi,luppiter, populua Romanus ludos magnos diea decern continuesfaciet, donaque ad omnia pulvinaria dabuntur de pecunia,quantam aenatus decreverit : quisquis magistratus eoa ludoaquando ubique faxit, hi ludi recte facti donaque data recte

The epulum Jovia, thu3 occurring in the middle of the ludi,ia believed by some writera to have originally belonged tothe Ides of November and to the ludi plebeii, as it does nothappen to be alluded to by Livy in connexion with the ludiBomani, and our first notice of lb in September is in theAugustan calendars'. But it is surely earlier than B.C.230, the received date of the ludi plebeii, and of the circusFlaminius in which they took place. We may agree with thelatest investigator of the Jupiter-cult that the origin of theepulum is to be looked for in a form of thanksgiving to

Jupiter for the preservation of the state from the perils of thewar season, and that no better day could be found for it thanthe foundation- day of the Capitohne temple". This epulumwas one of the most singular and striking scenes in Komanpublic life. It began with a sacrifice ; the victim is notmentioned, but was no doubt a heifer, and probably a white

' See lielow, p. 234. For the diea nalalis, see Auat, in Lax, s.v. luppiter.p. 707 ; Plutarcb, Fojilic 14.

' Momnisea, Edm. Forach. I.e.

' Livy, 36. a. 3. The pnssage rerers to bidi magni, i. e. jperfol votive

gamea, vowed after the flied organization of the ludi Romanl ; but it isnone the less illuatrotive of the latter, hb thoy originated in votlvo gamea,

• So Marq. 349 and note ; Mominsen io C. I. L. 339, 335. I followAnst, Lex, a. v, luppiter, 73a. The 'epulum Minorvae' of the rusticcalendarH ia but aleador evidence for an anciont nnd special coDneiionof Ihe [[addess with this day ; but Uommaen thinlu that the epulum<maâ Uinervae quam lovia fuisse,'

" Aust, 1. 0.

d


one\ Then took place the epulum proper', which the threedeities of the Capitol seem to have shared in visible form withthe magistrates and senate. The images of the gods weredecked out as for a feast, and the face of Jupiter painted red



with minium^ like that of the triumphator. Jupiter hada couch, and Juno and Minerva each a sella, and the mealwent on in their presence \

Now an investigator of the Boman religious system is hereconfronted with a difficult problem. Was this simply a Greekpractice like that of the lectistemium, and one which beganwith the Etruscan dynasty and the foundation of the Capitolinetemple with its triad of deities? Or is it possible that in thecult of the Boman Jupiter there was of old a common feast ofsome kind, shared by gods and worshippers, on which thisgorgeous ritual was eventually grafted ?

Marquardt has gone so fai* as to separate the epulum Jovisaltogether from the lectistemia, and apparently also from theinundation of Greek influence*.. It answers rather, he says,to such domestic rites as the offering to Jupiter Dapalisdescribed thus by Cato in the De Be Eustica * : * Dapem hocmodo fieri oportet. lovi dapali culignam vini quantum vispolluceto. Eo die feriae bubus et bubulcis, et qui dapemfacient. Cum pollucere oportebit, sic facies. lupiter dapalis,quod tibi fieri oportet, in domo familia mea culignam vinidapi, eius rei ergo macte hac illace dape poUucenda esto.Manus interluito. Postea vinum sumito. lupiter dapalis,

macte istace dape poUucenda esto. Macte vino inferio esto.Vestae, si voles, dato®. Daps lovi assaria pecuina, uma vinilovis caste.'

' Aust, Lex. s. V. luppiter, 670, 735.

' In Capitolio (Gellius, 12. 8. 2 ; Liv. 38. 57. 5). For the collegium ofeptdones, -which from 196 b.c. had charge of this and other public feasts,see Marq. 347 foil.

' Val. Max. 2. i. a ; Plin. N. H. 33 in ; Aust, 1. c. ; Preller, i. 120.

* Marq. 348.

' R, R, 132. Festus (68) explains daps as ' res divina quae fiebat authiberna semente aut yerna,' and Cato directs the farmer to begin to sowafter the ceremony he descnbes. I do not clearly understand whetherMarquardt intended also to connect the epulum Jovis of Nov. 13 with theautumn sowing.

« I am unable to offer any explanation of these words, though halfinclined to suspect that Vesta was the original deity of this rite of thefarm, and that Jupiter and the wine- offering are later intrusions.

MENSIS SEPTEMBEB 219

I confess that I do not see wherein lies the point of thecompariaon of this passage with the ceremony of the epulum ;and Jtfarquardt himself does not attempt to elahorate it. Thereis no mention here of a visible presence of Jupiter in the formof an image, which is the one sti'iking featiu-e of the epulum.Marquardt, as it seems to nie, might better have adduced someexample from old Italian usage of the helief that the goda werespiritually present at a common religious mealâ belief on



which might easily he engrafted the practice of presentingthem there in actual iconic form. Ovid, for example, writesthus of the cult of the Sabine Vacuna ' ;

Ante Coarn olim scanims considore longia

Moa erat, st mensae creders adease dean.Nunc qiinqna cum fiunC antiquae sacra Yaninae,

Anto Vacunalea stantquc Gsdentqua focos.

Or again in the sacra of the curiae, if Dionysius reports themrightiy', we find a clear case of a common meal in which thegods took part. He tells us that he saw tables in the 'sacredhouses' of the curiae spread for the gods with simple food inTery primitive earthenware dishes. He does not mention thepresence of any images of the gods, but it is probable from hiainteresting description that each curia partook \vilh its gods ofa common meal of a religious character, and one not likely tohave come under Greek influence^.

This last example may suggest a hypothesis which is atleast not likely to do any serious harm. Let it bo rememberedthat each curia was a constituent part of the whole Roman

community. We might naturally expect to find a commonreligious meal of the same kind in which the whole state tookpart through its magistrates and senate. This is just what wedo find in the epulum Jovis, though the character of its cere-monial is different ; and it is certainly possible that thisepulum had its origin in a feast like that which Dionysiussaw, bat one which afterwards underwent vital changes at the

' TokH, 6. 307. For Vacuna see Prellor, L 408.

' Bk. a. 93 (cp. a. 50) ; Marq. 195 foil. For a uomparisan of Greek andRoman usage of this kind Me de Goalangea, La Cileantiqve, p, 13a folt.

' He compares this common meal with those of Che vpuravtia of Greekcities, nod also with the i;ii8iria at Sparta. But it is vaont unlikely thatthe praoliee of the curiae should hove had any but a native origin.


hands of the Etruscan dynasty of Roman kings. I am stronglyinclined to behove that it was under the influence of thesekings that the meal came to take place on the Capitol, and inthe temple of Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva, which they intendedto be the new centre of the Roman dominion ' ; and to them

also I would ascribe the presence at the feast of the threedeities in iconic form. It may be that before that critical erain Boman history the epulum. took place not on the Capitolbut in the Regia, wluch with the temple of Vesta hard byformed the oldest centre of the united Rome ; and that thepresence of Jupiter' or any other god was there a matter ofbelief, like that of Vacuna with the Sahines, and not of theactual evidence of eyesight.

But this conjecture ia a somewhat bold one; and it seems



worth while to take this opportunity of examining moreclosely into the cult of Jupiter, with the object of determiningwhether the great god was apt, in any part of Italy butEtruria, to lend himself easily to anthropomorphic ideas and

The cult of Jupiter is found throughout Italy under severalforms of the same name, with or without the suflBx -piter= pater, which, so far as we can guess, points to a conceptionof the god as protector, if not originator, of a stock. Thispaternal title, which was applied to other deities also, does notnecessarily imply an early advance beyond the ' daemonistic 'conception of divine beings ; it rather suggests that some onesuch being had been brought into peculiarly close relationswith a particular stock, and does no more than indicatea possibility of further individual development in the future ',

' See cap. 7 of Ambrosch'a Sdnjim ; and cp. cap. 1 on the Regia as theolder centre.

' I may relegate to a footnote the further conjecture thiit the originaldeity of the epulum was Vesta. We know that thi? Sept. 13 waa one ofthe three days on which the Yestala prepared the ino'a aalsa [Serv. Ed,8. 32). We cannot connect this niola salsa with the cult of Jupiter on thisday, for the Vestals have no direct conneiion with that cult at any period

of the year ; but it in possible that it was a survival from the time whenthe common meal took place in the Regia." See Aust'a admirahle and eibaustive article on Jupiter in Eoscher'a

Lexiio

' Robertson Smith {Religion <ifihfbatik to an actual physical fnthe{CMS of the Greek Stalls, i, 49), boli

a foil.) s<

■hood. Mr. Far

ma to trace the ideaon the other handol Zeus it expresaea

HEN8IS SEPTEHBER 231

The ' father ' in this cnse has no wife, though we find the word'm&ter' applied to goddesses' ; Juno is undoubtedly thefemale principle, but she is not, aa has ao often been imagined,the wife of Jupiter. The attempt to prove this by arguingfrom the Flamen Dialia and his wife the Flaminica cannot



succeed : the former was the priest of Jupiter, but hia wifewas not the pviestess of Juno I There is indeed a certainmysterious dualism of male and female among the old Italiandivinities, as we know from the locus classicus in Qelliua{K A. 13. 23. a); but we are not entitled to say that therelation was a conjugal one ".

Before we proceed to examine traces of the oldest Jupiter inBome and Latium let us see what survivals are to be found inother parts of Italy.

In Umbria we find Jovis holding the first place among thegods of tile great inscription of Iguvium, which beyond doubtretains the primitive features of the cult, though it dateaprobably from the last century B. c, and records rites whichindicate a fully developed city-life'. His cult-titles hei-e areGrabovJus, of which the meaning is still uncertain, and Sancius,which brings him into connexion with the Semo Sancus andDius Fidius of the Bomans. The sacrifices and prayers areelaborately recorded, but there ia no trace in the ritual ofanything approaching to an anthropomorphic conceptionof the god, unless it be the apparent mention of a temple \No image is mentioned, and there is no sign of ameal. The titles of tbe deities too have the c

Italian fluidity, i.e. the same title bel6ngs to more than onedeity'. Everything points to a stage of religious thought inwhich the personality of goda bad no distinct place. The

'rather s moral or spiritual idea tlian any real theological belief concern-ing phjsical or human origins.' In Italy, I thinli, the eufQi paterindicates a speoial eonnaiion with a particular stock, and one ratliar ofguardianship timn of actual fatherhood. Sue above oa Neptunalia,

' See Jordan's nole on PrelleF, L 56.

' See my paper in C'.assical Hepieic, vol. ii. 474 foil.

' Wissowa, de Ftriis, p. 6, in tlie true epirit of Italian worship, concludesthat it was ' non per iuatum matrimonium, sed ex officionim. affinitate.'

* Biicheler, UiHbrica ; Breal, Lss Tatlea Eugubinea,

' Tab, I B. (BBcbeler, p. 3, takes it as a temple or sncellimi of JutW.

' Qraboviua is an epithet of Mars ; Sancius of Fisius ; Jovius or Juviuaof mote than one deity.


centre-point of the cult seems to be a hill, the ocris fisius,withm the town of Iguyium, which reminds us of the habitsof the Greek Zeus and the physical or elemental character —unanthropomorphized — which seems to belong to that earlierstage in his worship *.

It is on a hill also that we find the cult among theSabelliana An inscription from Bapino in the land of theMarrucini tells us of a festal procession in honour of ^lovia



loves patres ocris Tarincris,' ie. Jovia (Juno?) belonging tothe Jupiter of the hill Tarincris \

Among the Oscan peoples the cult-title Lucetius is the moststriking fact. Servius ' says : * Sane lingua Osca Lucetius estluppiter dictus a luce quam praestare hominibus dicitur.'The same title is found in the hymn of the Boman Salii^,and is evidently connected with lux; Jupiter being beyonddoubt the giver of light, whether that of sun or moon. SoMacrobius*^: 'Nam cum lovem accipiamus lucis auctoren:i,unde et Lucetium Salii in carminibus canunt et Cretenses Marfju fifiipap vocant, ipsi quoque Bomani Diespitrem appellant utdiei patrem. lure hie dies lovis fiducia vocatur, cuius luxnon finitur cum solis occasu, sed splendorem diei et noctemcontinuat inlustrante luna,' &c. The Ides of all months, Le.the days of full moon, were sacred to Jupiter. But in allceremonies known to us in which the god appears in thiscapacity of his, there is, as we might expect, no trace whateverof a personal or anthropomorphic conception.

The Etruscan Tina, or Tinia, is now generally identified,even etymologically, with Jupiter*. The attributes of thetwo are essentially the same, though one particular side ofthe Etruscan god's activity, that of the lightning-wielder, is

specially developed. But Tina is also the protector of cities,along with Juno and Minerva (Cupra and Menvra) ; and it isin connexion with this function of his that we first meetwith a decided tendency towards an anthropomorphic con-

^ Famell, op. cit. 1. 50 and notes.

^ Mommsen, Vnteritcdische Dtalekten^ 341 ; Lex, 637. The Jupiter Oacunusof C. L L, 6. 371 and 9. 4876 also points to high placeSj and there are otherexamples.

^ Aen, 9. 567. * Wordsworth, Fragments and SpecimenSf p. 564.

* Sat I. 15. 14.

* T)eecke; Etmskische Forschungenj iv. 79 foil.

II

i

UBNSIS 5EFTEUBEB S23

reption. Even here, however, the stimulus can hardly be saidto have come from Italy. 'The one fact,' says Aust', 'whichis at present quit« clear is that the oldest Etruscan repre-sentations of goda can he traced back to Greek models. Tiniawas completely identified in costume and attributes with theGreek Zeus by Etruscan artists.' The insignia of Etruscanmagistrates were again copied from these, and have survivedfor us in the costume of the Roman triumphator', and in part



in the insignia of the ourule magistrate, i.e. in sceptrum, sella,toga palmata, &c., and in the smearing of the face of thetriumphator with «imi!i»i.

Coming nearer to Rome we find at Falerii, a town subject toKoman and 3abellian aa well as Graeco-Etrusean influence, thecurious rite of the i<piit ^.duot described by Ovid [Amores,3. 13), and found also in many parts of Greece'. In thiselaborate procession Juno is apparently the bride, but thebridegroom ia not mentioned. At Argos, Zeus was the bride-groom, and the inforence is an obvious one that Jupiter wasthe bridegroom at FaleriL But this cannot be proved, and iain fact suppoiied by no real evidence as to the old-Italianrelation of the god and goddess. The rite is extremelyinteresting as pointing to what seems to be an early pene-tration of Greek religious ideas and practices into the townsof Western Italy; but it has no other bearing on the Jupiter-question, nor are we enlightened by the little else we know of. the Falerian Jupiter *.

But at Fraeneste, that remarkable town perched high uponthe hills which enclose the Latin Campagna to the north, wefind a very remarkable form of the Jupiter-cult, and onewhich must be mentioned here, puzzling and even inexplicable

as it certainly is. The great goddess of Praeneste was FortunaFrimigenia— a cnlt^title which cannot well mean anything butfirst-hoj-n ^ ; and that she was, or came to be thought of aa, thefii-at>born daughter of Jupiter is placed beyond a doubt by an

' Lex. «. y. luppiter, p. 624.

' ServiuB Ed, 10. 37 ; Did. qf AntiqaiHes led. a), s.v.Triumphus.

' Farnell, i. 184 folt. See also Dion. Hal. i. 91. a; Deecke, Die Faliaker,

88 ; Lex. B.v. Juiio, 591 ; BoBcher, Juno tind Heia, 76.

* Lex. 643.

" H. Joidan, Sj/mMae ad hialoriam reliîoimm Italicarum allerae. Kftnigsberg,

224 ^^^ BOMAN FESTIVALS

inscription of great antiquity first published in 1882 \ Butthis is not the only anomaly in the Jupiter-worship ofPraeneste. There was another cult of Fortuna, distinct,apparently y from that of Fortuna Primigenia, in which shetook the form not of a daughter but of a mother, and, strange

as it may seem, of the mother both of Jupiter and Juno. Onthis point we have the explicit •evidence of Cicero {de Divina-tione, 2. 85), who says, when speaking of the place where thefamous 'sortes' of Praeneste weiê first found by a certainNumerius Suffustius : * Is est hodie locus saeptus religiosepropter lovis pueri (sacellum?) qui lactens cum lunone Fortunaein gremio sedens, castissime colitur a matribus.' Thus wehave Fortuna worshipped in the same place as the daughterand as the mother of Jupiter ; and nowhere else in Italy canwe find a trace of a similar conception of the relations either



of these or any other deities. We cannot well reject theevidence of Cicero, utterly unsuppoii^d though it be : wemust face the difficulty that we have here to account for theoccurrence of a Jupiter who is the child of Fortuna and alsoapparently the brother of Juno, as well as of a Jupiter who isthe father of Fortuna.

As regards this last feature, the fatherhood of Jupiter,Jordan says emphatically ^ — and no scholar was more careful inhis judgements — that in the whole range of Italian religions* libeiorum procreatio nulla -est unquam ' : and he wouldunderstand *filia' in the inscription quoted above in a meta-phorical rather than a physical sense. Yet however wechoose to think of it, Mommsen is justified in remarking'' onthe peculiarly anthropomorphic idea of Fortuna (and we mayadd of Jupiter) at which the Latins of Praeneste must havearrived, in comparison with the character of Italian religiongenerally.

* * Orceria • Numeri . nationu . cratia . Fortuna . Diovo • filei • primocenia •donom dedi * (C. I. L. xiv. 2863). There are later inpcriptious in whichshe appears as * lovis (or lovi) puero/ in the sense of female child (C. I,L.xiv. 2862, 2868). The subjecft is discussed by Mommsen in Hermes for1884, p. 455, and by Jordan op. cit. See also Lex. s. v. Fortuna, 1542 foil.,

and s. y. luppiter, 648.

''' Symholae^ i. p. 8, and cp. 12. For the apparent parallel in the myth ofthe birth of Mars see on March i.

* Hermes f 1884, p. 455 foil.

I

HESSIS SEFTEMBEB 225

Even more singular than this is the sonahip of Jupiter andthe fact that he appeared together with Juno in the lap ofFortuna 'mammae appetens.' Cicero's language leaves nodouht that there was some work of art at Praeneate in whichthe three were 80 represented, or helieved to he represented.Yet there are considerations which may suggest that we shouldliesitate before hastily concluding that all this is a genuineItalian development of genuine Italian ideas.

1, Italy presents us with no real parallel to this child-Jupiter, though in Greece we find many. Jordan has mentioned

three possible Italian parallels, but rejected them all: CaeculusVolcani, the legendary founder of Praeneste, Hercules bullatus,and the beardless Veiovis, The attributes of the last-namedare esplained by a late identification with Apollo ' ; Herculesbullatus is undoubtedly Greek : the story of the birth ofCaeculus is a foundation-legend, truly Italian in character, butbelonging to a different class of religious ideas from thatwe are discussing. To these we may add that the boy-Marsfound on a Praenastine cista is clearly of Etruscan origin,as is shown by Deecke in the Lexicon, b. v. Maris.



2, Cicero's statament is not confirmed by any inscriptionfrom Praeneste. Those Tvhich were formerly thought to referto Tupiter Puer^ are now proved to belong to Fortuna asloms puer {^ Jilia). It is most singular that Fortuna shouldbe thus styled Iov!s puer in the same place where Jupiterhimself was worshipped as ptter; still more so that in oneinscription (2868) the cutter should have dropped out the' s ' in lovis, so that we actually read lovi pmro. It mayseem tempting to guess that the name Jupiter Puer arosefrom a misunderstanding of the word puer as applied toFortuna; but the evidence as it stands supplies no safe groundfor this.

3, The iiict that Cicero describes a statue is itself suspicious,in the absence of corroborative evidence of any other kind ' :

' Gelliufl, !f. A. 5. IH ; Ovid, Fasti, 3. 439 foil, ; and MB above on May ai.For Hereulos, Jordan 1. c. and hU note on Preller, ii. ag8. For Caeoulua,Wiasowa, in Lex. s. v. " C. I. L. liv. a863 sod 3868.

' Tha Irid eifpta of Liv. 33. 19. placed ' in ncda Fortuuae' by M. Aniciusafter his oscape from Hannibal, with a dedioatiun, mny possibly bnvo been"■ ■ ■ a i,Preller, ii, 19a, noto I) : but this -"-

J

226 THE BOMAN FESmVALS

for it suggests that the cult may have arisen, and have takenits peculiar form, as a result of the introduction of Greekor Graeco-Etruscan works of art In Praeneste itself andin other parts of Latium and of Campania, innumerable terra-

cottas have been found *, of the type of the Greek KovporpeKposîe. a mother, sitting or standing, with a child, and occasionallytwo children' in her lap. These may, indeed, be simplyvotive ofiferings, to Fortuna and other deities of childbirth:but such objects may quite well have served as the foundationfrom which the idea of Fortuna and her infants arose. Thereis a passage in Servius which seems to me to show a trace ofa similar confusion elsewhere in this region of Italy. * Circahimc tractum Campaniae colebatur puer luppiter qui Anxyrusdicebatur quasi aptv fvpov, id est sine novacula : quia barbamnunquam rasisset : et luno virgo quae Feronia dicebatur'/True, the Jupiter of Anxur is a boy or youth *, not an infant :but the passage serves well to show the fluidity of Italian

deities, at any rate in regard to the names attached to them.That this puer luppiter was originally some other deity,and very possibly a Greek one, I have little doubt : whileJuno Virgo, Feronia, Fortuna, Proserpina, all seem to slideinto each other in a way which is very bewildering to theinvestigator \ This is no doubt owing to two chief causes —the daemonistic character of the early Italian religion, inwhich many of the spiritual conceptions were even unnamed ;and, secondly, the confusion which arose when Greek artistictypes were first introduced into Italy. Two currents of



religious thought met at this point, perhaps in the eighthand following centuries b. c. ; and the result was a whirlpool,in which the deities were tossed about, lost such shape asthey possessed, or got inextricably entangled with each other.The French student of Praenestine antiquities writes withreason of ^the negligence with which the Praenestine artists

^ Jordan, Symholaef lo ; Lex, s. v. Fortunae, 1543 ; Fernique, jfeude surPr^nestef 78.

* Gerhard, Antike Bildioerke, Tab. iv. no. i, gives an example : the childrenhere, however, are not babes, and the mother has her arms round theirnecks. It seems more to resemble the types of Leto with Apollo andArtemis as infants {Lex. a. v. Leto, 1973), as Prof. Gardner suggests to me.

' Ad Aen, 7. 799. * Lex, s. v. luppiter, 640.

* See Fernique, Etude sur Preneste, pp. 79-81.

UENSI8 SEPTEMBER 227

placed the names of divinities and heroes on designs borrowed

from Greek models, and oftea represontiDg a subject whichthey did not understand'.'

4. And lastly, there ia no doubt that Praeneste, in spiteof its lofty position on the hills, was at an early stage of itsexistence subject to foreign influences, like so many othertowns on or near the western coast of central Italy. Thishas been made certain by works of art found in its oldesttombs \ Whether these objects came from Greece, Phoenicia,Carthage, or Etruria, the etory they tell is for us the same.and may well make us careful in accepting a statement likethat of Cicero's without some hesitation. There was evena Greek foundation-legend of Praeneste, as well as the pure

Italian one of Caeculus'. Evidence ia slowly gathering whichpoints to a certain basis of fact in these foundation-stories—of fact, at least, in so far as they seem to indicate that thetransformation of the early Italian community into a cityand a centre of civilization was coincident with the era ofthe introduction of foreign trade.

While, then, we cannot hope as yet to account for thesingular anomaly in the Jupiter-cult, which is presented tous at Praeneste, we may at least hesitate to make use of itin answering the main question with which we set out— viz.how far we can find in the cult of the genuine Italian Jupiterany tendency towards an anthropomorphic conception of the

god. Before we return to Rome a word is needed about theLatin Jupiter. The Latin festival has already been described ' ;it will be sufficient here to point out that none of its featuresshow any advance towards an anthropomorphic conception ofJupiter Latiaris. The god here is of the same type as atIguvium, one whose sanctuary — whatever it may originallyhave been— ia in a grove on a hill-top', the conspicuousreligious centre of the whole Latin stock inhabiting the plainbelow. Of this stock be is the uniting and protecting deity ;



' Femlque, op. cit, p. 79,

* Fernique, 139 foil. WisBowa writes of Piacneste aa 'a spotinl pointof connexion butween Latiu and Etruscun vulture ' {Lex, a. v. Uenmrius,a8i3).

' Plutarch, Porol'ela, 41. * See at end of April, p. 95.

228 THE ROHAN FESTIVALS

and when once a year his sacred victim is slain, after offeringshave been made to him by the representatives of each memberof the league, it is essential that each should also receive (andprobably consume through its deputies) a portion of the sacri-ficial flesh {camem petere). This, the main feature, and otherdetails of the ritual, point to a survival from a very early stageof religious culture, and one that we may fairly call aniconic.The victim, a white heifer, the absence of wine in the libations,and the mention of milk and cheese among the offerings, allsuggest an origin in the pastoral age ; and it would seemthat foreign ideas never really penetrated into this worship ofa pastoral race. The objects that have been foimd during

excavations near the site of the ancient temple ^ show that,as in the worship of the Fratres Arvales and in that of thecuriae, so here, the most antique type of sacred vessels remainedin use. Undoubtedly there was in later times a temple, andalso a statue of the god': and it is just possible that, asNiebuhr supposed^, these were the goal of an ancient Albantriumphal procession, older than the later magnificent rite ofthe GapitoL But we know for certain that the ancient culthere suggests neither gorgeous ritual nor iconic usage. Wesee nothing but the unadorned practices of a simple cattle-breeding people.

Coming now once more to Home itself, where of course we

have fuller information, fragmentary though it be, we findsufficiently clear indications of an ancient cult of Jupitershowing characteristics of much the same kind as those wehave already noticed as being genuine Italian.

In the first place the cult is associated with hills and alsowith trees. It is found on that part of the Esquiline whichwas known as lucus Fagutalis or Fagutal : here there wasa sacellum lovis * in quo fuit fagus arbor quae lovis (so MSS.)sacra habebatur^' : and the god himself was called Fagutalis.

* e. g. the vases of veiy primitive make (Henzen, Acta Fratr. Arv. 30).' Liv. 27. II (B.C. 209).

- Niebuhr, Hist, of Rome, ii. 37. Strong arguments are urged againstthis view by Aust, Lex. 696.

* Paul. Diac. 87. The lucus is mentioned in the corrupt fragments of theArgean itinerary (see on May 15) in Varro, L. L. 5. 50 (see Jordan, Topogr,ii. 242) : where I am inclined to think the real reading is ' Esquiliis cislovis lucum fagutalem'; *Iuppiter Fagutalis' in Plin. N. H. 16. 37;a ^ vicus lovis Fagutalis/ C. I. it, vi. 452 (no 4. d,)«



HEN8I9 SEPTEUBER 229

Not far off on the Viminal, or hill of the osiers, there was alsoan altar of Jupiter Viminius, which we may suppose to havebeen ancient'. The mysterious Capitolium vetus on theQuirinal may be assumed as telling the same tale, though inhistorical times the memory of the cult there included Minervaand Juno with Jupiter, i.e. the Etruscan 'Trias.' Lastly, onthe Capitol itself was the temple of Jupiter Feretrius, reputedto be the oldest in Eome^ It was attributed to Eomulus,who, after slaying the king of the Caeninenses, dedicated thefirst spolia opima on an ancient oak 'pastoribus sacram,' andat the same time ' designavit tempio lovia fines cognomenqueaddidit deo.' The oak, we may assume, was the originaldwelhng of the god, and upon it were fixed the arms takenfrom the conquered enemy as a thank-offering for his aid '.In this case we seem to be able to guess the development ofthe cult from this beginning Jn the tree-worship of primitive'pastores.' The next step would be the erection of an altarbelow the tree, in a small enclosure, i.e. a eacellum of thesame kind as those of the Argei or the Sacelluni Larum \ Thethird stage would be the building of the aedes known to us in

history, which Corneh'us Nepos says had fallen into decay inhis time, and was rebuilt by Augustus on the suggestion ofAtticus. Even this was a very small building, for Dionyaiuasaw the foundations of it and found them only fifteen feet wide.This oldest cult of Jupiter was completely overshadowed bythe later one of the Etruscan Trias — the anieonic by the iconic,the pure Italian by the mongrel ritual from Etruria.

That this Jupiter Feretrius' was the great Jupiter of pre-Etruscan Kome seems to be proved by his connexion withoaths and treaties, in which he resembles the god of the Latin

' For Iiippiter Viminiua and hia sfr, Fest. 376.

• Liv. I. 10 ; Dionya. a. 31 ; Propert. 5. (4 ) 10.

' For otlier eiAmples of this practice see BOtlicIier, Baumfngha, pp. 73and 134 ; Virgil, Aen. 10. 433, and Servius, ad lou, ; Statius, Theb, a, 707.

' Corn. Sep. Attiau!, ao ; cf. Hommsen. Ses Gestae Diei Augaa'i, p. 53 ; Dion.Hal. a. 34. 4. This ia apparently what Livy alludes to in r. 10, attributingit, after Boman fashion, to Romulus: ' Tempi um his regionibus, quas modoanimo metatus aura, dedico aedem opimis epoliis.' For a discussion of theshape of this temple aee Auat, in Lex. a. v. luppiter, 673. He is inclined toattribute it (6791 to the A. Cornelius Cosfcus who dedicated the secondapalia epima in b.o. 428 (Liv. 4. ao'.

* The meaning of the cult-title is obscure ; Lex. b. v. luppiter, 673.

ago

THE HOMAN FESTIVALS



festival. To him apparently belonged the priestly college ofthe Fetialea, who played so important a part in the declaringof war and the making of treaties : at any rate it was from histemple that the lapis sikx and the sceplrutn were taken whichaccompanied them on their official journeys'. It has beensupposed that this lapis silex was a symbol of the god himself,like the spear of Mars in the Regia, and other such objects ofcult^. 'We recognize here the primitive forms of a nature-worship, in which the simple flint was sufficient to bring upin men's minds the idea of the heavenly power of lightningand thunder,' i.e. the flint if struck would emit sparks andremind the beholder of lightning. Unluckily the existence ofa stone in this temple as an object of worship is not clearlyattested. Servius (Aen. 8. 641} says that the Fetials took toiising a stone instead of a sword to slay their victims with,' quod antiquum lovis signum Inpidem silicem ^taveruntesse,' The learned commentator makes a mistake here whichmil he obvious to all archaeologists, in putting the age of ironl>efore that of stoue ; but it has not been equally clear toscholars that he by no means implies his belief that Jupiterwas ever worshipped under the form of a stone. He only says

that the Fetials fancied that this was so : and the wholepassage has an aetiological colouring which should put us onour guard'. It is not supported by any other statement ortradition, except an allusion in S, Augustine ' to a ' lapis Capito-

' Paul. Diao, 93 ; Ser». Aen. la. ao6.

■ Aiut, in Lex. 676 . . The iden is that of Helbig in bis naliltcr in derFotbene, 91 foil. Cp. Scbwegler, Rim. Qesch. i. 681, sjid Preller, i. 248 fall.H, Nettleehip, Essays in Latin Littratme, p. 35, and Strachan-DBvidHon(Polybiue, FrdUgnmena, viii) disouBs the oath per lorern }apiitm asefallf.NetUeship saw that (he passage of Serrius is the only one which 'givâny real support ' to the notion that the god was reprosented bj a atone ;

and Straohn a- Davidson notes the aetiolngiiâl method of Sei-rius,

' Cp. his note on the ' sceptrum ' {Aen. la, ao6), nliich he explains aabeiogthe substitute for a 'simulacrum' of Jupiter. Whs this 'simutsorum'a Btone 1 If so he would liave said bo. Obviously he knew little ornothing about these cult-objects.

* de Civ. Sti a. ag. S. Augustine couples it with the focus Veafne, assomething well known : and this could not be said at that time of anyobject in the temple of Jupiter Feretiius. The epithet Capitolinua wouldsuit the stone of Terminus far bettor ; and this is, in fact, made almostcertain by Servius' language when speaking of yirgil'B ' Capitol! iinmobitesaxum ' (_Aen, 9. 448), which he idt^ntifies with the ' lapidcm ipeum Ter-

mini,' Doubtless if we could be sure that such a atone existed, we mightgue9stliRtitwa3anaerolite(Strachan-DavidBon,p, 76, whoquotes examples).

MENSIS SEPTEMBER

limis,' wMch ia surely the stone of Terminua (see below) : andby the oath ' per lovem lapidem,' which has been interpreted



by some as meaning 'Jupiter in the form of a stone.' Butthis interpretation is at least open to grave doubt ; and in theabsence of clearer evidence for the 'luppiter lapis 'of the templeit is better to understand the oath as being sworn by the godand also by the stone. ' two distinct aspects of the transactionbeing run together,' in a way not uncommon in Latinformulae '.

It only remains to conjecture what the 'silex' or 'lapis'was which the Fetials took from the temple together with thesceptrum. Helbjg has attempted to prove that it was nota survival of the stone age, e,g. an axe of stone. Had thatbeen so, he argues, the Roman antiquaries, who were acquaintedwith such implements', would have noticed it: and thosewho describe the rites of the Fetiala would have stated that thestone was artificially sharpened. But this negative argumentis not a strong one ; and I am rather inclined to agree withthe suggestion of Dr. Tylor', that it was a stone celt believedto have been a thunder-bolt. There may indeed have beenmore than one of these kept in the temple, for in b. c. zoi theFetials who went to Africa took with them each a slone * (privoslapides silicos) along with their ' sagmina,' &c. This fact seemsto me to prove that the silices, like the sagmina and sceptrum,were only part of the ritualistic apparatus of the Fetials ", and

not objects in which the god was supposed to be manifested.The idea that he was originally worshipped in the form ofa stone may well have arisen from this use of stones in theritual, especially if those stones wei'e believed to be in someway his handiwork". We may think then of the cult of

' So Nottleiihtp, 1. c : and Sti-achHn- Davidson, 1, c.

' He quotes Plin. N. U. 37. 135 ' oarauuiaB nigrae rubentesque et Bimilassecuribus.'

^ CoEnmunicated to Mr. St rachnn- Davidson, nnd mentioned by him Ina note (op. oit. p. ^^'K An instance in Ket/el, Hislory iif JfanAind, vol. i.

p. 175. The other Buggcstion, that it was a meteoric stono, is also qnitopossible : For Qreek examples, see Schamann, Gntth. AlterOi^mer, ii. 171 foil.

' Liv. 30, 43.

* We may compare the 'orbita' of the cult of Jupiter SancioE atIguvium : BQoheler, Vm'yrica, 141. See above, p. 139.

* It may l)s as well to say, before leaving the subjeot, that I certainly■^r«e with Mr. Strachan- Davidson that the ordinal? oath, •pec lovem

i


Jupiter Feretrius as an example of piimitiye tree- worship, butwe are not justified in going further and finding him also inthe form of a stone.



There is yet another stone that may have belonged to theearliest Boman cult of Jupiter, but the connexion is notvery certain. *The (rite of) Aquaelicium/ says Festus', 'iswhen rain is procured (eUcitur) by certain methods, as forexample when the lapis manalis is carried into the city.' Thisstone lay by the temple of Mars, outside the Porta Capena ; welearn from other passages that it was carried by the ponti-fices ", but we are not told what they did with it within thewalls. It has been ingeniously suggested that this rain-spell,as we may call it, was a part of the cult of Jupiter Elicius, towhom there was an altar close by under the Aventine', thecult-title being identical with the latter part of the word'aquaelicium\' We may agree that the stone had nothing todo with the temple of Mars, which happened to be near it, andalso that any such rain-spell as this would be more likely tobelong to the cult of Jupiter than of any other deity. Theheaven-god, who launches the thunder-bolt, is naturally andalmost everywhere also the rain-giver '^ : and that this wasone of the functions of Jupiter is fully attested, for later timesat leasts

But it must be confessed that the evidence is very slight ' :and it is as well here to remember that the fui*ther we probe

back into old Italian rites, the less distinctly can we expect tobe able to connect them with particular deities. The formula

lapidem/ where the swearer throws the stone away from him (describedby Polybius, 3. 25), has nothing to do with the ritual of the Fetlals.

' Festus, p. a. Gp. 128, where this stone is distinguished from theother, which was the * ostium Orci.* Serv. Aen. 3. 175.

' Serv. 1. c. Marquardt, and Aust following him, add the matrons withbare feet and the magistrates without their praetexta : but this rests onthe authority of Petronius {Sat 44), who surely is not writing of Home,where the ceremony was only a tradition, to judge by Fest. p. a.

• Varro, L, L. 6. 94.

* 0. Gilbert, ii. 154: adopted by Aust, 658, who adds some slightadditional evidence : e. g. the ' lovem aquam exorabant ' of the passagefrom Petronius.

* Tylor, Prim. Cult. ii. 235-7 * for t^© Greek Zeus, Farnell, Cults, i. 44 foil.

• Pi*eller, i. 190. I cannot say that I find evidence earlier than thepassage of Tibullus, i. 7. 26 (Jupiter Pluylus).

^ Note that the Flamen Dialis is not mentioned along with the Ponti-

fices by Servius, 1. c.

MENSIS SEPTEMBER 235

'si deu3, si dea es' should always be bome in mind in attempt-ing to connect gods and ceremonies. And this ceremony, liliethat of the Argei ' (which also Tcanta a clearly-conceived deityas its object), is obviously a survival from a veiy priraitiye



class of perforaaancea which Mr. Frazer has called acta of'sympathetic magic'.' I am indebted to the Golden Bough for& striking parallel to the rite of the lapis manalis, amongmany others which more or less resemble it. ' In a SamoanviUage a certain atone was carefully housed aa the repre-sentative of the rain-making god : and in time of droughthis priests carried the stone in procession and dipped it ina stream'.' What was done with the lapis manolis we arenot told, but it is pretty plain from the word 'manalia,' andfrom the fragments of explanation which have come down tous from Eoman scholars, that it was either the object of somesplashing or pouring, or was itself hollow and was iilled withwater which was to be poured out in imitation of the desiredrain'. Such rites need not necessarily be connected by uswith the name of a god : and the Jupiter Elicius, with whomit is sought to connect this one, was always associated by theRomans not with this obsolete rite, but with the elaboratedscience of augury which was in the main Etruscan',

But this discussion has already been carried on as far asthe scope of this work permits. It may be completed by anyone who has the patience to work through Aust's exhaustivearticle, examining his conclusions with the aid of his abundantreferences ; but I doubt if anything will be found, beyond what

I have mentioned, which bears closely on the question withwhich we set out. That question was, whether the distinctlyanthropomorphic treatment of Jupiter in the 'epulum lovia'could be explained by any native Italian practice in hia cult (as

' See on May 15,

' Qtldsn Sough, i, 11 foil. ; Grimm, Teulonk jrytMogy, 595 foil. ; abuudflntexamples in the works of UannhardC, see indices.

' From Samoa, by G. Turner, p. 145.

* Compare together Noniua, 547. 10; 359. ig (a.T. trulleum), from

Varro ! Festus, ia8, s. v. 'manalis lapia,' from Verrius Flaeoua. TheBUggeatioa tliat the stone was hollow is 0. Qilberb's.

' Anst, Lex. 657, who believes the Romans to hare been mistaken. The'dcus clmeictts is Ovid, Fasti, 3. aSj foil. ; a more rational account in Liv.I. 3o ; Plin. K. 3. 2. 140. Note the position of the altar of this Jupiter,i.e. the Arentjne,


Marquardt tried to explain it), or must be referred with Atist

to foreign, i. e. Graeco-Etruscan, influence. I am diiven tothe conclusion that Anst is probably right. There is no realtrace in Italy of sa indigenous iooaio representation of Jupiter.Trees and hills are apparently eacrod to him, and possiblystones, though this last is doubtful : we find a sacrificial mealat the Latin festival, but no sign that he takes part in it as animage or statue. Elsewhere, as at Praeneste, peculiar repre-sentations of him arouse strong suspicions of foreign Iconioinfluence. I thinic, on the whole, that the Italian peoplesowed the sacred image to foreign works of art ; and that the



' epulum lovis ' was introduced from Etruria by the Etruscandynasty which built the Capitoline temple. It may, indeed,have been engrafted upon an earlier sacrificial meal like thatof the feriae Latinae, or that of the curiae, or the rustic one ofJupiter dapalis : but, if so, the meal was one at which theancient Bomans were content to telieve, as Ovid says, that thegods were present, and did not need, like the Greeks, the evidenceof their eyes to help out their belief. Their gods were stillaniconic when the wave of foreign ideas broke over them.We may say of the earliest Homan cult of Jupiter whatTacitus asserts of the Germans of his day ' : ' nee cohiberoparietibus deos neque in ullam humani oris speciem adsimulareex m^nitudine caelestium arbitrantur : lucus ac nemora con-secrant, deorumque nominibus appellant secretum illud quodsola reverentia vident.'

September 13 was also the day on which, according to Livy'and Verrius Flaecus', a nail {davus)was driven annuall}/ by the' Praetor maximus ' into the wall of the cella of Minerva in theCapitoline temple, in obedience to an old lex which was fixedup on the wall of the temple adjoining this same cella. ButMommaen'a trenchant criticism ' of the tocMS classicus for thissubject in Livy has made it almost certain that the Bomanscholars were here in error : that the ceremony was not an

annual one, but took place once in a century, in commemora-

' Gemiania, 9. ' 7- 3. ' Festas, 55.

' In Ram. Oirotulogie, p. I7S foil. Preller [i. 358) had already seen thatthe ceremony wasu religious one, bat belisTed it to bennnuBl, and used forthe recfconiDg of time.

MENSIS SEPTEMBER 235

tion of a vow made in 463 b. c, to commomorate the greatpestilence of that year, which carried oflf both the consuls andseveral other magistrates': that it had no special connexionwith the cult of Jupit«r, and was not intended, aa is generallysupposed, to mark the years as they passed. The nail is reallythe symbol of Fortuna or Necessitaa ; the rite was Etruscan, j,and was also celebrated at Volsinii in the temple of theEtruscan deity of Fate; when brought to Eome it was very 'T-tfg^naturally loeat-ed in the great temple of the Etruscan Trias, thereligious centie of the Roman state. Originally a dictatorwas chosen (i. e. Praetor masimus) davi figendi causa ; andwhen the dictatorahip was dropped after the Second Punic

War, the ceremony was allowed to fall into oblivion. Lateron the Eoman antiquarians unearthed and misinterpreted it,believing it to have been a yearly rite of which the objectwas to mark the succession of years. This brief accountof Mommsen's view may suffice for the purpose of thiswork : but the subject is one that might with advantagebe reinvestigated.

' 'An sich hut derlfage! gewiss mit dem Jatii-e niehts zu thun, sonilernsteht in seiner naturlichen und wohlbekannten Bedeutung der Sthickasla-



fu^tung, ID walcher er als Attribut der grausea Nothwendigkeit (saevaNecessiboB), der Fortuna, der Atropos bei rSmischen Schriftstellern undauf iUlischea Bildwerken begegnat.' Homm&en, op. cit. 179. He alludes,of eouree, to Horace, fti. I. 35, and 3. 34, and to the Etcnacan mirrormentioned by Preller (p. 359! : see Gei'hard, Etr. Spiegel, i. 176. But theinterpretation of thia mirror, cs given by Preller, seems to uie verydoubtful.

MENSIS OCTOBER

In the Italy of historical times, the one agricultural featureof this month was the vintage. The rustic calendars markthis with the single word vindemiae\ The vintage mightbegin during the last few days of September, but October wasits natural time, though it is now somewhat earlier : this pointis clear both from Varro and Pliny ^. But the old calendarshave preserved hardly a trace of this ; and in fact the onlyfeast which we can in any way connect with wine making (theMeditrinalia on the nth) is obscure in name and its ritualunknown to us. We may infer that the practice of viticulturewas a comparatively late introduction ; and this is borne outby such facts as the absence of wine in the ritual of the Latin

festival', and the words of a lex regia (ascribed to Numa)which forbade wine to be sprinkled on a funeral pile *. Plinyalso expressed a decided opinion that viticulture was multoserior : and lately Hehn '^ has traced it to the Italian Greeks onetymological grounds. It can hardly have become a commonoccupation in Latium before the seventh or possibly even theeighth century b. c.

Probably if Ovid had continued his Fasti to the end of theyear we might have learnt much of interest about this month :as it is, we have only scraps of information about a very few

> C. 1. L, i\ saSi.

' Varro, R. R, i. 34. Pliny, N. H. 18. 315 : *Vindemiam antiqui nunquamexistimavere maturam ante aequinoctium, iam passim rapi cemo.' Sec.319 ' lustum yindemiae tempus ab aequinoctio ad Yergiliarum occasumdies xliii.'

' See above, p. 97.

* Pliny, N, H, 14. 88 *"Vino rogum ne respargito.' Cp. 18. 24.

' KuUurpflamenf &o., p. 65.

MEN3IS OCTOBER

priDiitive ritea, only one of which can be said to be known toUB in any detail ; and the interpretation of that one is extremelydoubtfuL

Kal. Oct. (Octobek i). N.[fidei] ln capitouo. tigillJo] 80Ror[io] ad compitum



ACILI. (aRV.)

The sacrifice here indicated to Fides in the Capitol ia clearlythe one which Livy ascribes to Numa": 'Et soli Fidei aol-leinne instituit. Ad id sacraiium fla mines bigis, curruarcuato (i.e. 'covered') vehi iussit, manuque ad digitos iisquoinvoluta rem divinam facere : aignificantes fidem tutandam.sedemque eius etiam in destris sacratam esse.' Dionyaiua alsomentions the foundation, without alluding to the peculiarritual, but dwelling on the moral influence of the cult both inpublic and privat* life \

The personification of a moral idea would hardly seem likelyto be as old as Numa ; yet there are points in the ritual whichsuggest a high antiquity, apart from tradition. It was thethree chief flamines who thus drove to the Capitol — i.e. thoseof Jupiter, Mars, and Quirinus ; these at least were the threewho had been juat inatitut«d by Kuma (Liv. i. 20), and to themLivy must be referring. As has been often pointed out, thepresence of flamines at a rite is always evidence of its antiquity ;and in this case they may have represented the um'on of thetwo communities of Septimontium and Quirinal in a commonworship on the Capitol, this central point being represented bythe Flamen Dialis, The curious fact that the right hands of

these flamena were wrapped up to the lingers in white clothis another obvious sign of antiquity, and is explained as meaningthat the right hand, which was given to another in pledgingone's word, then as now ', was pure and clean, as was the mindof the pledger '. A sacred object, statue or victim, was often

' I. 31. Dion. Hal. 3. 75- The aigaiGcaoee of thia coveted vehicle Beemsto be uokuDwn,

* Many poaarges might be collected to bear out Diouysiua' remarks : thereader may refer to Proller, i. 350 folL

' Pliuy, K. H. xi. 350. So 'deitram fidemque dare.'

' Wisbowa, in Lex. a, v. Fides, Preller. i. aiir. Serv. Ai636: butServ, in the latter iiole bays 'Qui


thus wrapped or tied with fillets {vittae); and the tivtrrM in theEleusinian mysteries seem to have worn a crocus-coloured bandon the right hand and right foot \ The statue of the goddessin her temple had probably the right hand so covered, if atleast we are at liberty so to interpret the words of Horace,

' albo Fides velata panno ' \

A word about the tigillum sororium\ What this was, andwhere it was, can be made out with some certainty ; beyond thatall is obscure. It was a beam, renewed from time to time, letinto the opposite walls of a street which led down from theCarinae to the Vicus Cyprius, now the via del Colosseo *. Itremained till at least the fourth century a. d. It is now generallyexplained as a primitive Janus-arch, apparently on the groundthat one of the altars below it was to Janus Curiatius \ As it



seems, however, to have been a single beam, without supportsexcept the street walls ^ I am unable to understand this con-clusion ; and as the Koman antiquaries never supposed it to besuch, we can hardly do so safely. They believed it to be amemorial of the expiation undergone by the legendary Horatiusfor the murder of his sister. Acquitted by the people onappeal, he had to make religious expiation, and this he didby the erection of an altar to Janus Curiatius, and anotherto Juno Sororia^, and by passing under a yoke, which wasafterwards represented by the tigillum.

We may leave the tigiUum as really inexplicable, unless weare to accept the suggestion of Eoscher^, that the germ of thelegend is to be found in the practice of creeping through a split

^ Libanius, Ded. 19 ; Photius, s. v. HpoKovv (Botticher, Baumkuttus, p. 43)ol fAvarai &s ipcurl Kpdicy r^v Scîdv X^^P^ ^^ ^^'^ voda dvaSovvrcu,

* Hon Od. I. 35. ai.

' The authorities for this and the altars connected with it are Livy, i.26 ; Dion. HaL 3. S2 ; Festus, 297 and Paul. 307 ; Aur. Vict. 4. 9 ; SckoL

Boh, ad Cic. p. 277 Orelli ; Lydus de MensibuSy 4. i.

* Kiepert u. HueUen, Formae urbis Bomae antiguae, p. 92 and map i ;Jordan, Topogr, ii. 100.

^ So Boscher, in Lex. s. y. lanus, 21 ; Gilbert, Topogr, i. 180, who wouldmake it the < porta lanualis' of Macrob. i. 19. 17, wrongly.

^ It is always in the singular, e.g. ' Transmisso per viam tigillo/ Livy,1. c. Dionys. writes as if it were originally a iugum, i e. two uprights anda cross-beam, but does not imply that it was so in his day.

^ The altars are mentioned by Festus, Dionys., and Schd. Bob,

' Lex. s.y. Janus, 21 ; quoting Grimm, Deutsche Myth. (E. T. 11571 withquotation from White's Selbonui).

HENSIS OCTOBER 239

tree to get rid of spell or disease. The two altura demanda word.

Livy'e language seems to suggest that these were in the careof the gena Horatia'; ' Quibusdam piacularibus aacrificiis factis,

quae deinde genti Horatiae tradita aunt.' If so, perhaps thewhole legend of Horatius, or at any rate its connexion withthis spot, arose out of this gentile worship of two deities, ofwhom the cult-titles were respectively Curiatius and Sororia.The coincidence of Janus and Juno is natural enough ; bothwere associated with the Kalends', But the original meaningof their cult-titles at the Tigillum remains unknown. All wecan say is that the Janus of the curiae and the Juno of a sistermay certainly have given point to a legend of which the herowas acquitted by the Comitia Curiata for the murder of



a sister'.

3 Nos, Oct. (October 5), C.

This was one of the three days on which the mundus wasopen: see on August 24.

NoK, Oct. {October 7). F.

lOVI FULGUKI, lUNONI OURBITI* Df CAMPO. (abT. PAUL.)

Of these worships in Eome nothing else is known, lunoCuritis is the goddess of Falerii, whose supposed Upos yd/ios wasreferi'ed to above \

V Id. Oct. (October ii). IP.MEDITEllNALIA]. (sab. jhaff. amit.)

FEKIAE lOVI. (amit.)

This was the day on which the new wine was tasted. Thereis no real evidence of a goddess Meditrina. The account in

' Marquai'dt, 5B4.

' Hacrob. i. 9. 16 ' [lannml lunonium quis non solDm mensis lanunriiBed nienaiuiu omniiun ingressum tenentem : in dicione autem lunonissunt omnea Kalendae.'

= Tliis Juno may be the 'Weibliche Genius einer Frau,' aa Roschersuggests {B.V. Jauus, 29 ; a. v. Juno, 598, he seeuia to thiuli otherwise^Buc aa she is connected wilh Janus, I should doubt it. For an eiplauii-tion of 'lainuB CwiatiuB" op. Lydus, l.o. (ôpot tiftrwi'.

' Curriti Att, : Q_uliiti] Paul. ' p. 333.


Paulus is as follows : ' Mos erat Latinis populis, quo die quisprimum gustaret mustum, dicere ominis gratia ^'Vetus novumvinum bibo, veteri novo morbo medeor.'* A quibus verbisetiam Meditrinae deae nomen conceptum, eiusque sacra Medi-trinalia dicta sunt^' Varro had already given the sameaccount : ' Octobri mense Meditrinalia dies, dictus a medendo,quod Flaccus flamen Martialis dicebat hoc die solitum vinumnovum et vetus libari et gustari medicamenti causa: quodfacere solent etiam nunc multi quom dicunt: Novum vetusvinum bibo, novo veteri vino morbo medeor.'

Note a. A parallel practice of tasting both old and newcrops is to be found in the ritual of the Fratres Arvales, whoin May ' fruges aiidas et virides contigerunt,' i. e. the old grainand the new '\

Note 6. The belief that the new wine {mustum) was whole-some and non-inebriating is discussed charmingly by Plutarch(Quaest Conv. viL i).



Note c. Mommsen, C I, L, i\ 332, points out that thereal deity here concerned was doubtless Jupiter: see underVinaHa, p. 86.

m Id. Oct. (October 13). IP.FONT[INALIA]. (sab. mafp. amit. min. ix.)

FEBIAE FONTI. (aMIT.)

All we know of this very ancient festival is contained ina few words of Varro': *Fontinalia a Fonte, quod is diesferiae eius ; ab eo tum et in fontes coronas iaciunt et puteoscoronant.'

The holiness of wells and springs is too familiar to needillustration here. The original object of the garlanding wasprobably to secure abundant water.

It is generally assumed that there was a god Fons or Fontus,to whom this day was sacred. There was a delubrum Fontis * ;an ara Fonti on the Janiculum * ; and a porta Fontinalis in theCampus Martius. Fons also appears with Flora, Mater Lamm,

* Paulu8, 123 ; Varro, L, L. 6. ai. * Cic. N, D. iii. 20.

' Henzen, Act Fr, Arc. pp. 11, i a, 14. * Preller, i. 176.

' L, i. vi. 22, Cp. Festus, 85.

MENSI3 OCTOBER 24I

Summanua, &c., in the ritual of tlie Fratrea Arvalea'. Thecase seems to be one of those in which multiplicity passes inton quasi- unity : but Fona did not survive long in the latter

Id. Oct. (Oct. 15). IP.

EQCOS AD NIXAS FIT. (PUILOC.)

No calendar but the late one of Philoc.alus m.entiona theundoubtedly primitive rite of horse-sacrifice which took placeon this day, Wissowa has tried to explain this difliculty,which meets us elsewhere in the Calendar, e. g. on the Ideaof May (Argej), June i (festival of Cama) '. Where two festivalsfell on the same day, 6o(A would not be found in calendarswhich vrere meant for the use, not of the pontilices themselves,but of the unlearned vulgar ; for the latter would not be ableto distinguish, or to get one clear name for the day, and

confusion would result. Now all Kalends and Idps were sacredto Juno and Jupit«r respectively ; all other rites falling ontbese days would stand a chance of being omitted, unlessindeed they were noticed in later annotiitions such as we lindcut in smaller letters in the Fasti Praenestini and others.

Luckily the entry in Philocalua' calendar is supplementedsufBtiently from other sources. The earliest hint we get come.-it'TOui the Greek historian Tima?us, and is pi-eserved in afragment of the twelfth book of Polybius^ Timaeus after



the Greek fashion connects the horse-sacrilice with the legendof Troy and the wooden horse : but he also tells us theinjportant. detail that on a certain day a war-horse teas killedwith a spear in the Campus Martius\ The passage is no doubtcharacteristic of Timaeus, both in regard to the detail, and the

' Henzen, Ada fV. Ant. 146. The deities to whom piacida are liei'e to beSHorifieed are deities of the grove of the BrethreQ : honca I should con-clude that thia Fona simply represented a particular spring there.

' rli Faiia, ftc, p. xL To me this explanatioQ does nut i>eem quiteKBtiafuctory, though it seems to be Eanctioned by Mommaen \C. I. L. i'.33a, note on Id. Oct. sub fin.). It is however undoubtedly preremble lothe view I had taken before reading WiSEwwa's tract, that the omissionwas due to an aristocratic neglect of usages which only survived amongthe comuion people and had ceased to couceru the whole community.

■ Polyb. lii. 4". _ _

' 'EiV 4(it/J? Tifi KaTaxoyTi(iiv inor toXi/uoTi^v irpu rÎ irÂliut f» Ty xanvifi Ka^Ml|lh^, This in quoted from "tA vepi ni'pfir."

i

24a THE ROMAN FESTIVALS

mythology which Polybius despised. But though we do notknow that Timaeus was ever at Borne, we may hope thathe was correct in the one particular which we do not learnfrom other sources, viz. the slaughter of the horse with thesacred weapon of Mars.

Fuller information comes from Verrius Flaccus, as representedin the epitomes of Festus and Paulus Diaconus \ On this daythere was a two-horse chariot race in the Campus Martins ;and the near horse of the winning pair was sacrificed toMars— killed with a spear, if we may believe Timaeus. Theplace is indicated in Philocalus' calendar as ^ ad nixas,' L e. thedconiae nixae, which seem to have been three storks carved instone with bills crossing each other': this however was non-existent under the Eepublic The real scene of the sacrifice musthave been an old âra Martis,' and that there was such analtar in the Campus we know for certain, though we cannotdefinitely fix its position '. The tail of the horse was cut offand carried with speed to the Eegia so that the warm blood

might drip upon the focus or sacred hearth there. The headalso was cut off and decked with cakes ; and at one time therewas a hard fight for its possession between the men of the twoneighbouring quarters of the Via Sacra and the Subura. Ifthe former carried off the prize, they fixed it on the wall of theEegia ; if the latter, on the turris Mamilia *.

* Fest. 178 * October equus appellatur, qui in campo Martio mense Oct.immolatur quotannis Marti, bigarum victricam dexterior. De cuius capitenon levis contentio solebat esse inter Suburanenses et Sacravienses, ut hi



in regiae pariete, ill! ad turrim Mamiliam id figerent ; eiusdemque codatanta celeritate perfertur in regiam, ut ex ea sanguis distillet in focumparticipandae rei divinae gratia, quern hostiae loco quidam Marti bellicodeo sacrari dicunt,' &c Tlien follow three examples of horse-sacrifices.Paul. 179 adds no fresh information. Paul, aao ^Panibus redimibantcaput equi immolati idibus Octobribus in campo Martio, quia id sacri-ficium fiebat ob frugum eventum, et equus potius quam bos immolabatur,quod hie bello, bos frugibus pariendis est aptus.' (,The meaning of these^st words will be considered presently.) Cp. Plutarch, Qu, Rom. 97 ;probably from Verrius, perhaps indirectly through Juba. Plut. by amistake puts the rite on the Ides of December.

* See note in Preller's Regionen der Siadi Ronij p. 174. They are placedby Kiepert and Hulsen (map a) close to the Tiber and near the Mausoleumof Augustus, and a long way from the old ara Martis. Perhaps the posi-tion of the latter had changed as the Campus came to be built over.

' Livy, 35. 10 ; 40. 45 (the censors alter their election sat in Campo ontheir curule chairs * ad aram Martis '). Koscher, Lex. s. v. Mars, 3389.

* What this was is not known : some think a kind of peel-tower.

MENSIS OCTOBER 243

It is probable', though not quite certain, that the congealedblood from the tail was used, together with the ashes of theunborn calves sacrificed on the Fordicidia, as 'mediciue' to bedistributed to the people at the Parilia on April 21.

The rite of the ' October-horse ' had been adequatelydescribed and in some degree explained by Preller, Marquardt,Schwegler, and others^, before the late Dr. Mannhardt tookit in hand not long before hia death'. Mannhardt studiedit in the light of hia far-reaching researches in folk-lore, andsucceeded in treating it as all such survivals should be treated,

i. e. in bringing it into relation with the practices of otherpeoples — not so much by way of explaining its original meaningprecisely, as in order to make some progress by its helptowards an understanding of the attitude of primitive manto the supernatural. His conclusions have been generallyaccepted, and, with very slight modifications, are to be foundin Mr. Frazer's Golden Bough {iL 64), and in Koecher's article' Mars' in the Mythological Lexicon (2416), Eeoently, howrever,they have been called in question by no less a x>er3on thanProf, Wissowa ' of Berlin, who seems to take a different viewof the Mara-cuit from that at which we thought we had at lastsafely arrived : it may be as well therefore to give yet anotheraccount of Manuhardt's treatment of the question, and to

follow hia track somewhat more elaborately than Mr. Frazer.It does not of course follow that he has said the last word ; butit is as well to begin by making clear what he has said.

r. This is the last of the series 0/ harvest festwak, as we maycall them generically. We have had the Ambarvalia andthe plucking of the first ears by the Vestals in May : theVestalia in June '' ; the festivals of Consus and Ops Conaivain August ; and lastly wo find this one coming after all thefruits of the land have been gathered in. In this respect it



is parallel to the Pyanepsia and Oschophoria of tlie Greeks,

Possibly a tower in juadriiiis : of. definition of compihan in ScM. Pert.

AjioBo vtid Mars, 64 foil' Mythologiidix Farschungen, 156-aoi .* di Feriis, iz.° I add this (lee on Vestalia'}. Uaniiltu'dt had not handled it.

J

244 ^^^ BOMAN FESTIVALS

to the Jewish feast of Tabernacles*, and to the trueMichaelmas harvest-festivals of modern Europe, which followat an interval the great variety of quaint harvest customswhich occur at the actual in-gathering. Even now in theKoman Campagna there is a lively festival of this kind in

October.

It should be noticed that the harvest character of the ritewas suggested to Mannhardt by the passage from Paulus (220),from which we learn that the head of the sacrificed horse wasdecked with cakes, like those of the live draught-animals at theVestalia and Consualia and feriae Sementivae [q. v.]. This,Paulus adds, was done 'quia id sacrum fiebat ob frugumeventum,' which last words can hardly mean anything but*on account of the past harvest '\' There are, I may add, twopoints open to doubt here, which Mannhardt does not point out :(i) the reason here given may be only a guess of Verrius*,and not one generally understood at Kome^ (2) The con-

cluding words ef the gloss seem to make no sense, a fact whichthrows some doubt on the whole passage. The rite is *obfrugum eventum,* yet *a horse, and not an ox, is the victim,because a hoi-se is suited for war, and an ox is not *.' Howeverthis may be understood, we need not quarrel with the con-clusion '\ that the real meaning of the adornment was to showthat the head was an object possessed of power to procurefertility — an inference confirmed by the eagerness of therival city-quarters to get possession of it.

2. The sacrificed horse represented a Corn-spirit. The Corn-spirit was Mannhardt's chief discovery, and its various formsare now familiar to English readers of Frazer's Golden Bought

and of Fameirs Cults of the Greek States, Almost every commonanimal, wild or tame, may be found to represent the Corn- spiritat harvest-time in one locality or another, where the nomadic

^ Levit. 23 fin.

^ Had tbey referred to the crops of the next season we might haveexpected ' ob bonum frugum eventum.*

^ So Wissowa, de Feriis, ix. He thinks that it was only an attempt to



explain the panes : but he is wrong in insisting that the Vestalia (where,as we saw, the same decoration occui's) had nothitig to do with ^ frugumeventus.*

* To me it looks as if some words had dropped out of the text, perhapsafter the word eventum ; see the passage quoted above, p. 24a, note i.

^ Given in Mannhardt's next section, p. 169.

MENSIS OCTOBER 245

age has given place to an agricultural one ; or a man, woman,boy or puppet repreaenfa the animal, and so indirectly the Corn-epiiit '. Mannhardt produces from his stores of folk-lore manyinstances in which the horse thus figures, including the hobby-horse which in old England used to pianee round the May-pole.Those examples, however, are not strong enough to conrinceus that the October horse was a Corn-spirit, though they provewell enough that the Corn-spirit often took this shape ■'.But we must remember that he is only suggesting an originin the simple rites of the farm, indicating a class of ideasto which this suiTival may be traceable K

He does, however, produce an example which has one or twofeatures in common with the Roman rite, only in this case theanimal is a goat instead of a horse. In Dauphin^ a goat isdecked with ribbona and flowera and let loose in the haxvest-field. The reapers run after it, and finally the farmer cutsoff its head *, white his wife holds it. Parts of its body (weare not told whether the head is among them) are kept as'medicine' till the next harvest. So too the head, and alsothe tail and the blood, of the October horae were the seat o£some great Power ; hut whether this was a vegetation- spiritdoea not seem satisfactorily shown;

3. The cft(im(-mce teas an elaborated and perhaps Graecizedform or survival of the simple race of men and tcomen so oftenmet with in the harvest-field, often in pursuit of a representative ofthe Corn^pirit.

Mannhardt gives examples from France and Germany ofraces in purauit of cock, calf, kid, sheep, or whatever shapemay be the one in vogue for the Corn-spirit ; often the animalis in some way decorated for the occasion. Two of a ratherditferent kind may be mentioned here, though they occur, noton the harvest-field, but at Whitsuntide and Easter respectively ;

' Se« under May 15 f Argeil.

' Munnhatdt hns not suggested wlint Eeems not impoasiblo, tliat thehorae represented Mam himself — in which case ne might aliaw that Mamwas, among other things, a vegelatiou deity.

' See his language at the top of p. 164.

* He ingeniously suggests that these eases of decapitation may beexplained by the old custom of cutting off the coru-eartt so ss to leavealmost the whole of the stalk. (.See his Kom^SmoHen, p. 33.) That this



method existed in Lntium Beems proved by a passage in Livy, 23. i ' Antijmetontibus oraentos in corbem spicaa cecidiBSO.'


but they show how horse-races may originate in the customsof the farm. In the Hartz the farm-horses, gaily decorated,are raced by the labourers for possession of a wreath, whichis hung on the neck of the winning horse. In Silesia thefinest near horse of the team, decorated by the girls, is ridden(raced?) round the boundary of the farm, and then rounda neighbouring village, while Easter hymns are sung. Wehave already noticed the racing of horses and mules at theConsualia in August : according to Dionysius, these too weredecked out with flowers \ Mannhardt makes also a somewhatlengthy digression to point out the possibility that in theoriginal form of the Passover (on which was afterwards en-grafted the Jahvistic worship and the history of the escapefrom Egypt) a race or something of the kind may be indicatedby the custom of eating the victim with the loins girt.

There is undoubtedly a possible origin for the horse-racingof Greeks and Eomans in the customs of the farm at differentseasons of the year, and I accept Mannhardt's view so far, witha probability, not certainty, as to the Corn-spirit. We mayperhaps be able to trace the development of the custom a littlefurther in this case.

4. The horse's heady fixed on the Begia or the turris MamUia,is the effigy of the Corn-spirit, which is to bring fertility and to keepoff evil influences for the year to come *.

Examples of this practice of fixing up some object afterharvest in a prominent place in farm or village are so numerous

as almost to defy selection, and are now familiar to allstudents of folk-lore ^ Sometimes it is a bunch of cornor flowers, as in the Greek Eiresione^ and to this day atCharlton-on-Otmoor, where it is placed over the beautiful rood-screen in the church. Such bunches are often called bythe name of some animal ; occasionally their place is takenby the effigy of an animal's head, e. g. that of a horse ^ whichin course of time becomes a permanency.

5. The cutting off the tail is complained by the idea that a remnant

^ Dion. Hal. i. 33, who compares an Arcadian Hlppokrateia.

* Op. cit. p. 18a.

' See Golden Bough, i. 68 foil., and Mannhardt, A, W, F, 3x4 folL

* Mannhardt, A.W.F. 1. c.

* Mannhardt, BaumkuitiLs, 167.



HENSIS OCTOBER 247

of (fte "boAy of the representative of the Coni-spirit is sufficient foptvdifce this spirit afresh in the vegetation of the coming pear.

The examples Mannhardt quotes are numeroua, and only gainforce when brought together: I must-refer the reader to hiawork for them '. The word tail not only occurs frequently inharvest customs {e, g, the cutter of the last sheaf is called thewheat-tail or barley-tail ), but there is little doubt that virtuewas believed to reside in a tail'. Who knows but that thepreservation of the fox's brush by fos-huntera has some originof this kind?

6. The uae made of the blood, which was kept and mixedwith the ashes of the unborn calves of the Fordieidia, and withsulphur and bean-straw as a medicine to be distributed to thepeople at the Parilia, tolls its own story without need ofillustration {see on April 15 and 21). The blood was the life';the fire and sulphur-fumea were to purify and avert evih Bothmen and beasts leapt over the fire into which this mixturewas thrown at the Parilia, to gain new life and strength, andto avert the influences which might retard them.

Finally, Mannhardt has some remarks on the origin of therite, which were suggested by Schwegler and Ambrosch".The Campus Martius, the scene of the eacrifice, was originallyfeira regis, cultivated for him by the people ". When the kingwas the chief farmer, the horse's head was carried to his housefregia) and fixed thereon, and the tail allowed to drip on to hishearth. When the neighbouring community of the Subura wasunited with that of the Palatine,the seat of the oldest community,the remembrance of their duality survived in the contest forthe head : if the men of the Subura won it, they fixed it on theturris Mamilia, which may have been the dwelling of their ownchief. Such contests are even now well known, or have ' but

' p. iSs foil. The tail in Roman ritual was ' offa penita.' Mnrq. 335,

' In Silesia, &e., the word is Zdl, ZS, tvhich I suppose^ tail.

' SoWen Bough, ii. 65, Jevons, Introduction to Plut. Q. B. p. liin. Hequotes an einniple from Africa.

< Robertson Smith, Religion i^ ths Stmites, Lect. ix. In this case, aeaordingto M., it waa the life of the Com -spirit — so of generation in general-

' SohwoglBr, R. 6. i. 739 ; Ambrosch. SfuSien, 200 folL

* Evidence for this in Liv. i 3 ; Sew. Aen. g. 374.

' See e.g. Crooko's FolklBrt of Norlhtm India, vol. ii. pp. 176 and 321.Crooke looks on these fights (,ha ahould have aaid, the posavsaion of (he


lately disappeared ; and some of them may owe their origin toa fight for the Corn-spirit. Mannhardt gives some examples —



one very curious one from Granada^ and one from Brittany.At Derby, Hawick, Ludlow, and other places in this country,they or the recollection of them may still be found.

On the whole we may agree with him that the rite was inits origin one of the type to which he has referred it — a finalharvest festival of the Latin farm. There is yet, however,a word to be said. He does not treat it from the point of viewof the Boman calendar, and thus fails to note the turn it tookwhen Latin farmers became Boman citizens. Wissowa, on theother hand, takes the calendar as his sole basis for judging ofit, and with a strange perversity, as it seems to me, brurfiesMannhardt's conclusions aside, and would explain the rite simplyas a sacrifice to the god of war \ Now doubtless it had come tobe this in the organized city-calendar, as Mars himself beganto be brought into prominence in a new light, as the iuvenesof the community came to be more and more employed in waras well as agriculture^ and as the Campus Martins came to beused as an exercising-ground for the armed host. The Calendarsshow us a curious correspondence between the beginning andthe end of the season of arms, i. e. the middle of March and themiddle of October, which leaves little doubt of the change whichhad taken place in the accepted character of the rites of the twoperiods by the time the Numan calendar was drawn up. This

correspondence has already been noted '^ ; it may be here brieflyreferred to again.

On March 14 * there was a horse-race in the Campus Martins ;on the 19th (Quinquatrus) was the lustratio armorum for thecoming war-season, as is seen from the fact that the ancilia ofthe Salii at least — if not all arms— were lustrata on that day*.

object which is the cause of the fight) as charms for rain or fertility.So in the plains of N.-W. India, * plenty is supposed to follow the sidewhich is victorious.*

* Veram huius sacri rationem inter veteres ii viderunt quorum senten-

tiam ita refert Festus 'equum hostiae loco Marti bellico deo sacrari'{de Feriis, p. x\ * See under March 14 and 19.

^ Wissowa thinks it was originally the 15th (Ides) ; but Mommsendissents in his note on Oct. 15 (C. 7^ L, 332). It is the only feast-day inthe calendar which is an even number. Perhaps it was changed because ofthe popularity of the revels, &c., on the Ides.

* Charisius, p. 81 ; Marq. 435.

So too OD October 15 there was a horse-race, as we have a

iti the Campus Martius, and on the 19th we find the Ann!-Iu3tidum in the oldest calendars ', a name which tells its owntale. The inference is that the horse-races on Oct, 15 aiiUMarch 14 had much the same origin, and it is just this whichinduces Wissowa to slight Mannhai-dt's explanation of theformer. He thinks that on each day the horses, like the arms,were lustrated (p. x.), i. e, before the war-season began, and afterit was over. This is likely enough ; but might not the samehave been the case with the horses of the farm ? The Romanfarmer's year began with March, and the heavy work of



carrying, &c,, would be over in October. I am disposed tothink that we must look on organized war-material as a develop-ment later than the primitive times to which Mannhardt wouldcarry us back, a side of Roman life which only in course oftime became highly specialized.

We must never forget that the oldest Roman calendar is therecord of the life of an agricultural people. So much is clearon the face of it ; and in some instances, as in the Ambarvalin,Vestalia, Consualia, and in the October rite we have beendiscussing, something of the original intent can be made outfrom researches into modem folk-lore or savage custom. Yetthis calendar is at the same time the table of feasts of a fullydeveloped city-state, and in the process of its development theoriginal meaning, of the feasts was often lost, or they wereexplained by some mythical or historical event, or again theythemselves may have changed character as the life of the peoplechanged from an agricultural to a political one. In the rite ofthe October horse we may see an agricultural harvest customtaking a new shape and meaning as the State grew to beacousiomed to war, just as Mars, originally perhaps the protectorof man, herds, and crops alike, becomes — it may be even beforeGreek influence is brought to bear upon him— the deity ofwarriora and war-horses, of the yearly renewed strength of

a struggling eonmiunity'. It is looking with modern eyes at

' This point of the pamllel was firal; noticed by Wiaaowa, who, as justnoted, bolioven tlie day of Equirrin to have been in each case the Ides,

' All apt illustration of this Bspeot of Mars, in cninbination with theolder" primitive form of ritual, is nupplied by the strange secrifice byJuliuH Caesar of two mucinous uldiera, recorded by Dio Caaaiu!, 43. 24.

i


the institution of an old world if we try to separate the Romanwarrior from the Roman husbandman, or the warlike aspect ofhis god from his universal care for his people.

xrv Kal. Nov. (October 19). IP.ARMpELUSTRIUM]. (arv. sab. maff. amit. ant.)

The first three letters of this word, which alone appear in thecalendars, are explained by Varro and Vqrrius : * Armilustriumab eo quod in armilustrio armati sacra faciunt . • . ab ludendoaut lustro, quod circumibant ludentes ancilibus armati \' Thispassage may be taken as referring both to March 19 and Oct. 19,and as showing that the Salii with the sacred shields wereactive on both days. This can also be inferred from the factthat in 190 B. G. a Roman army, on its march into Asia, had tohalt at the Hellespont, 'quia dies forte, quibus ancilia moventur,religiosi ad iter inciderant ' ^ — its commander Scipio being one



of the Salii. It can be shown that this was in the autumn, asthe army did not leave Italy till July 15'. It may be takenas certain, then, that this was the last day on which the Saliiappeared, and that arma and ancilia were now purified \ andput away for the winter.

There are no festivals in any way connected with Mars fromthis day to the Roman new year, March i. As Roscher hasremarked, his activity, like that of Apollo, is all in the warmseason— the season of vegetation and of arms. His priests,who seem in their dances, their song, and their equipment, toform a connecting link between his fertilizing powers and hiswarlike activity, are seen no more from this day till his poweris felt again on the threshold of spring.

They were offered to Mars in the Campus Martius by the Flamen Martialisin the presence of the Pontifices, and their heMs were. nailed up on the Regia.(Hence Marq. infers that it was this flamen who sacrificed the Octoberhorse.) Caesar was in Rome in October of the year )to which D. C.attributes this deed, B.a 46.

^ L, L, 6. 6a. Cp. Festus, 19 'Armilustrium festumerat apud Romanes,quo res divinas armati faciebant ac dum sacrificarent tubis canebant.'See on March 19 and 23.

- Liv. 37. 33. 7. Cp. Polyb. ai. 10. la.

' Marq. 437, note i. The suggestion was Buschke's, Ridm, Jcthr^ 363.

* Charisius, pp. 81. 20 (Keil), for lustraHo in March. The word Ai'mi-lustrium, used for this day, speaks for itself.

MENSIS OCTOBER 25 1

We learn from Varro ' that the place of lustratio on this day

was the Aventine 'ad circum maximum.' I can find no explana-tion of this : we know of no Mars-altar in that part of Kome,which was the seat of the cults of Hercules and Consus. Itwas probably the last point in a procession of the Salii \

1 L. L, 5. 153.

^ We have a faint indication that they reached the pons svbliciusj whichwas quite near to the Circus maximus. See Marq. 433, note 8.

MENSIS NOVEMBER.

Op all the months in the Eoman year November is the leastimportant from a religious point of view. It was the monthof ploughing and sowing — not of holiday-time ^ ; then, as now,it was a quiet month, and in the calendars, with the exceptionof the ludi plebeii, not a festival appeal's of any importance.Later on, the worship of Isis gained a hold upon the month %which remained open to intruders long after city-life had takenthe place of November agricultural operations.



The ludi plebeii, as a public festival, date from 220 b. c. ; theytook place in the Circus Flaminius, which was built in thatyear ^ ; they and the epulum lovis (Nov. 13) are first mentionedby Livy four years later. The epulum has already been dis-cussed in connexion with the ludi EomanL The plebeiangames were probably at first on a single day (Nov. 13), andwere gradually extended, like the ludi Eomani ; finally, theylasted from Nov. 4 to Nov. 17*.

The 8th was one of the three days on which the mundus wasopen : see under Oct. 5.

Id. Nov. (Nov. 13). N*.

FEBONiAE IN CAMPO '. (arv., a later addition to the original.)FOBTUNAE PBiMiGENiAE IN coLLE. (abv., a later addition tothe original)

This is the only mention we have of Feronia in Bome. Shewas a goddess of renown in Latium and central Italy, but

^ Hustio calendars : ' Sementes triticariae et hordiar[iae].' Varro, R. R.

X. 34.

* Mommsen in C, I, L, i.' 333.

' Friediander in Marq. 499 ; Liv. 23. 30.

* See the table in C. i. i. i.* 335.

* Probably these notes belong to the Ides. In the Arval calendar the

MENSIS NOVEMBER

25^^^

never made her mark at Roiue, as did others of her kind^Diana, Fortuno, Ceres, Floraâll of whom appear there withplebeian associations about them, as not belonging to theearliest patrician community '. It is curious to find this Feroniatoo in the calendar only in the middle of the ludi plebeii, andprobably on the day which was the original nucleus of thegames. We may either date the cult from the establishment

of the iudi or guess that it was there before them, and wassubsequently eclipsed by the cult of Jupiter.

The latter is perhaps the more probable conjecture ; for thelittle that we know of the cult elsewhere points to a possibleorigin of the games which has not, so far as I know, beennoticed. They took place, he it remembered, in the CircusFlaminius, which was in the Campus Martiue ; where also wasthis cult of Feronia. Now the most famous shrine of Feroniain Italy, that of Trebula Mutusca, was the centre of a great



fair or market held on the feast-days of the goddess^, and onthe whole her attributes seem to he those of a deity of fertilityand plenty''. Is it impossible that she had also some share hia fair in the Campus Mai'tius long before the establishment ofthe ludi ?

The connexion of Feronia with the plebs seems suggested notonly by her position in the calendar, but by the devotion oflibertmi ', In the year 217 b. c. the Boman /reedwomencollected a sum of money aa_a gift to Feronia^; though thisoffering need not be taken as destined for "the Boman goddess,but rather for her of Soracte, to whom first-fruits and othergifts were frequently offered. The temple of Feronia atTtrracina was specially devoted to the manumission of slaves,of which the process, as described by Servius, presents at leastuue feature of special interest '. Manumissions would take

entry ia opposite the i4th| but from ita position may bo really mount aa anaiiditional nolo to tho Ides. Thore ia no other example of religious ritt-rion a day after Idea. (Henzcn, Arv. 840 i CI. L. i." 096.) The aaniB wasthe case with al I 'dies postriduanl.'

' See under Curinlia ajid Floralia.

' Liy. I. go. Koman merchantB were seized by the Sabtnes In thismarket (Dion. HaL 3. 32).

* Steudiiig in Lex. a, v. Feronia; Liv.s6 11. I cannot sen any reasonto connect her with November eoieing, as Sttiuding does, p. 1480.

' Sarv. Aea. 8. 564. ' Liv. 23. i.

' Tbo cutting of the hair, and putting on of the pilous. See RobertsonSmith, Melisien of SemUes, p, 307.

J


place on public occasions, such as markets, when the necessaryauthorities and witnesses wer^ to be easily found, and thetemple of the market-goddess was at hand ; and this may bethe original point of relation between this cult and the Bomanplebs, which was beyond doubt by the third century b. c.largely composed of descendants of manumitted slaves.

The conjunction of Feronia on this day with Fortuna Primi-genia (in colle) is curious, as both were goddesses of Praeneste,where Feronia in legend was the mother of Erulus, a daemonwith threefold body and soul, who had to be killed three timesby £yander\ The date of the introduction of this cult ofFoituna at Kome is 204 b. c. *

^ Serv. Aen. 1. c. The myth must be Graeco* Etruscan.' Liv. 29. 36. The dedication was 194 b. 0. (Liv. 34* 53).



MENSIS DECEMBER

In the middle of winter, until well on in January, theRoman husbandman had comparatively little to do, Varro 'writes of sowing lilies, crocuaea, &c., and of cleaning outditches and pruning vines, and such light operations of thefarm. Columella ' tells us that the autumn sowing should beended by Iho beginning of December, though some sow beansin this month ; and in this he agi-ees with the rustic calendarswhich mention, besides this operation, only the manuring ofvineyards and the gathering of olives.

It is not unnatural, then, that we should find in this 'alacktime ' ' several festivals which are at once antique and obscure,and almost all of which seem to oari-y ua back to husbandryand the primitive ideas of a country life. On the night of the3rd or thereabouts was the women's sacrifice to the Bona Dea ;on the 5th the rustic Faunalia in some parts of Italy, 1probably not in Borne ; on the 15th the winter Consualia ;the i7tli the Saturnalia ; and on the 19th the Opalia ; and soon to the Compitalia and Paganalia, All this is in curiouscontrast with the absence of festivals in the busy month of

November.

Women's Sacrifice to the Bona Dea.

This fell, in the year 63 b. c, on the night between Dec. 3

and 4, if we may trust Plutarch and Dio ' ; but the date does

' S. E. I. 35. a ; Colura. 3. 8. a. ' li, a,

' Cp. Hor. Od. 3. 18, 9-ia. Ovid (Fasti, 3. 57) aaya of Leoember —Veatar (i.e. Faustuli et LarentiaB) honos veniet, oumLarentalia dicam ;êceplus Oeniis ilia December habet.

Ib this only an alluBion to Larentia and Fauatulus, or also to the generalcharacter uf the maalh and its festivals ?' Piut. Ck. 19; Dio Caas, 37. 35.

J

256 THE BOMAX FESTIVALS

not seem to have been a fixed one \ The rite does not appear

in the calendars, and, though attended by the Vestals, did nottake place in the temple of the goddess, but in the house ofa consul or praetor, *in ea domo quae est in imperio'.' Itseems to have been in some sense a State sacrifice, L e. it was* pro populo Bomano * (according to Cicero) ; but it was not * pub-lico sumptu ", and it was never woven into the calendar by thepontifices, or it could hardly have occurred between the Kalendsand the Nones. Its very nature would exclude the interferenceof the pontifical college, and there would be no need to givepublic notice of it.



The character of the goddess and her rites have already beendiscussed under May 1. All that need be said of the Decembersacrifice is that it was clearly a survival from the time whenthe wife of the chief of the community — himself its priest —together with her daughters (represented in later times by theVestals), and the other matrons, made sacrifice of a young pigor pigs ** to the deity of fertility, from all share in which menwere rigorously excluded. It must have been originallya perfectly decorous rite, and so have continued to the famoussacrilege of Clodius ; it was only under the empire that itbecame the scene of such orgies as Juvenal describes in hissecond and sixth satires \

NoN. Dec. pEC. 5). P.

Here we have another festival unknown to the calendars,the Faunalia rustica, as it has been called. Our knowledge ofit comes from the familiar ode of Horace (iiL 1 8), and from thecomments of the scholiasts thereon :

Faune, Nympharum fuglentum amator,Per meos fines et aprica ruraLenis incedas abeasque par vis

Aequus alumnis,

* Cic. ad Att. 1, la, and 15. 25.

* Cic. de Harusp. resp, 17. 37 * fit per Virgines Vestales, fit pro populoRomano, fit in ea domo quae est in imperio.' In 6a b.c. it was inCaesar's house, and apparently in the Regia, if as pontifcx maximus heI'esided there. See Marq. 346, note i ; 250, note a.

' Fest. a45 publica sacra are ^ quae publico sumptu pro populo fiunt.' Seemy article ^ Sacra ' in Diet of Antiquities.

* Juvenal, a. 86. * a. 83 foU. ; 6. 314 foIL

HENSIS DECEMBER

Si tener pleno radit hnedus anno,Larga nee desunt Veneris sodaliViDa craterae, vetus ara multo

Fumat odore.Ludit lierboso pecua omne campnCum tibi Nonae redeunt DeiembresFestuB in pratis vacat otioso

Cum bove pagus jInter sudacea lupua etrat agnos ;Spargit agrestes tibi silva frondes;Oaudet invisam pepuliaae fusaor

Ter pede terrain.

No picture eould be choicer or neater than this ; for once it isa treat to have our hest evidence in the form of a perfect work



of art. We are for a moment let int-o the heart and mind ofancient Italy, as they showed themselves on a winter holiday.There is an ancient altar— not a templo — to a supernaturalheing who is not yet fully god, who can play pranka like the■ Brownies ' and do harm, but is capable of doing good if dulypropitiated. On the Nones of December, possibly of othermonths too ', he is coaxed with tender kid, libations of wine,and incense'; the little rural community of fanners (â^Ms),with their labourers, take part in the rite, and bring their cattleinto the common pasture, plough-oxen and all. Then, afterthe sacrifice, they dance ia triple measure, like the Salii inMarch.

Horace is of course describing a rite which was entirelyrural, as the word pagus would indicate sufBciently, apart fromother features. Unless he were the god of the Lupercalia,which is open to much doubt", Paunus was not introducedinto the city of Eome till 196 b. c, when the aedilea veiyappropriately built him a temple in the I'iber-island with moneytaken as fines from defaulting pecuarii', or holders of publicland used for cattle-runs. We may assume that his settlementin the city was suggested by the pontificee, and that we havehei-e a case of the transformation of a purely rustic cult into anurban one by priestly manipulation. It is not impossible that

' Probns on Virg. Georg. iquidam mentttruum celebrant.

' The word is 'odore,' i.e. 1note).

' See on Lupercalia, p.


the idea that Faunus was the deity of the Lupercalia came inabout the same time \ Both priests and annalists got hold ofhim, and did their best to rob him of his true character asan intelligible and useful god of woodland and pasture. Hebecame a Bex Aboriginum^, and the third on the list ofmythical kings of Latium'. He became identified with theGreek Pan. But, in spite of all their efforts, Faunus wouldnot tamely accept his new position. We hear no more of theaedes in the island : the Eoman vulgus do not seem to haverecognized him at the Lupercalia, and his insertion in the legendshad no political effect. The fact that not a single inscriptionfrom Rome or its vicinity records his name shows plainly that

he never took the popular fancy as a deity with city functions :and the absence of inscriptions in the countiy districts also,in most singular contrast to the ubiquitous stone records ofSilvanus-worship, seems to show that he remained alwaysmuch as wild as he was before the age of inscriptions began,while the kindred deity was adopted into the organized life andculture of the Italian and provincial farmer *.

It may be as well, before leaving the subject of this singularbeing, to sum up under a very few heads what is really known



about him. But so little is known about the cult of Faunus —and indeed it can hardly be said that any elaborate cult evergrew up around him— that it may be legitimate for once first toglance at the etymological explanations of his name which havebeen suggested by scholars.

(i) Faunus is connected with favere, and means *the kind orpropitious one,* like Faustus and Faustulus, and as some think,Favonius " and Fons. This derivation was known to Servius ^ :^quidam Faunos putant dictos ab eo quod frugibus faveant.'

' The earliest hint of the connexion of Faunus with Evander and thePalatine legend is found in a fragment of Cincius Alimentus, who wroteat this time (H. Peter, Fragm. Hist. Lat 41, from Servius, Qewg. i. 10).

^ Dion. Hal. i. 31 ; Suet. VitelL i. Cp. for a more truly Italian view,Virgil, Aen, 8. 314 foil.

' Aen, 7. 45 foil. The order was SaturnuS; Picus, Faunus, Latinus.

* Wissowa in Lex. s. v. Faunus, 1458 : who, however, does not sufficientlyexplain the contrast. Silvanus became tutor finiumf and custos hortuli(cp. Oroniatici Veteres. p. 302). It was probably this turn given to his cultwhich saved him from the fate of Faunus. He takes over definite duties

to tbe cultivator, while Faunus is still roaming the country in a wild state.

^ Bouch^-Leclercq, Hist, de la Divination, iv. 12a.

• Ad Oeorg. i. 10.

MENSIS DECEMBER 259

It is not in itself inconsistent with what we know of the ruralFaunuB, or with analogous supernatural beings, like the ' goodpeople.' It was accepted by Preller and Schwegler, and has

affected their conclusions about Faunus ; e.g. Schwegler basedon it the view, now generally held, that Evander is a Greektranslation of Faunus '.

(s) FaunuB is fi'om fari, \. e. the speaker, or foreteller. Thistoo was known to Latin scholars: thus Isidorus (perhaps fromVarro"), 'fauni a fando, "iro tî ût^t dieti, quod voce nonsignis ostendere viderentur futura.' It was revived not longago by the late Prof. Nettleship: 'Once imagine Faunus asa "speaker," and all becomes clear. He is not only thecomposer and reciter of verses'', but generally the seer or wiseman, whose superior knowledge entitles him to the adnjirationand dread of the country folk %vho consult him. But as hia

real nature and functions are superseded, his character is mis-conceived : he becomes a divinity, the earliest king of Latium,the god of pi'ophecy, the god of agriculture.' We may comparewith this Scaliger's note on Van-o, L. L. 7. 36: 'The Fauniwere a class of men who exercised, at a very remote period, thesame functions which belonged to the Magi in Persia, and tothe Bards in Gaul.'

(3) Faunus may=Favomua, which itself may come from thesame root as Pan (i.e. pM = purify). Thus Faunus, like Pan,



might he taken as a mythological expression of the 'purifyingbreeze,' the god of the gentler winds'. The characteristics ofFaunus are of course very like those of Pan ; but as it is noeasy matter to determine bow far those of the Italian weretaken over by the Roman litterati from the Greek deity, andas the etymology itself is confessedly a questionable one, thisconjecture must be left to take its chance.

But the firet two are worth attending to, and each finds somesupport in what we know of Faunus from other sources. Letus see in the next place what this amounts to.

(i) There is faii'ly strong evidence that Faunus was not

' Sahwegler, JMm. Gexh. i. 331.

• Vftrro, £. L. 7. 36 'Faunos in ailvestribUB loois tradituni est solitosfuri tiitura.' Servius ideiitifiea FaunvB and Fstuus ; sd Aen. 6, 775,

' 'Veraibua qu(» olim Fuuni vatoRque canebaut.' Eriniua in Tsrrn,L. L 7. 36. See Nettle^hip, Ei;s"ys in Latin Lileraiure, p. 50 fulL

* Maiuihardt, A. w. F. 113 foil.

e 2

d


originally conceived as a single deity, but as multiplex, Yarroquotes the line of Ennius :

Yersibus quos olim Fauni yatesque canebant,

and comments thus ^ : ^ Fauni dii Latinorum, ita ut Faunus etFauna sit.' The evidence of Virgil, always valuable for ruralantiquities, is equally clear :

Et Yos agre^tum praesentia numina, Fauni,

Ferte siinul Faunique pedem Dryadesque puellae'.

Servius has an interesting note on these lines : why, he asks,does the poet put Faunus in the plural, when there is but one ?We might be tempted to think Virgil wrong and his com-

mentator right, the poet representing Greek ideas and thescholar Italian, but for a still more curious note of Probuson the same passage : ^ Plures (Fauni) existimantur esse etiampraesentes: idcirco rusticis persuasum est incolentibus earnpartem Italiae quae suburbana est, saepe eos in agris conspicL'My belief is that these words give us the genuine idea of Faunusin the rustic mind, surviving in centml Italy long after he hadbeen appropriated as a conventional Eoman deity. We seemin the case of Faunus to be able to catch a deity in the pro-cess of manufacture — of elevation from a lower, multiplex,



daemonistic form, to a higher and more uniform and morerigid one. Yet so excellent a scholar as Wissowa holdsexactly the opposite view, that there was but one Faunus, andthat his multiplication is simply the result of Eoman acquain-tance with Pan and the Satyrs^. It would have been moresatisfactory if he had given us an explanation from his point ofview of the passage of Probus just quoted, or had shown ushow these Greek notions could have penetrated into the ruralparts of Italy.

(2) Another point which comes out distinctly — unless ourEoman authorities were wholly misled — is the woodland characterof the Fauni. A passage of Varro, of which I quoted the first

* L. L. 7. 36.

* Georg. i. 10. The introduction of the Greek Dryads may be thoughtto throw suspicion upon the Latinity of these Fauni of Virgil. But inAen. 8. 314, the similar conjunction of Fauni and Nymphae U followedby words which seem to mark a true Italian conception.

' Lex. s.y. Faunus, 1454.

HENSIS DECEMBER 261

words just now, goes on thus: 'hos veraibus qiios yocantSatarnioa jti silsestribus locis traditum est solitos fan futura,a quo fando Faunoa dictoa.' This seems to be a genuineItalian tradition. Virgil was not talking Greek when he wrote '

Haea nemora iniligenac Fauni Nymphaeque teaebantGonaque virum tnincis et diiro robore uata,Queia Deque moB neqlie cultus erat, Ac.

The poet imagines an ancient race, sprung from the treea them-

selves : a 'genus indocile et dispersum moutibus altis,' livingon the forest-clad hills', to whom foreign invadera broughtthe meana of civilization. Why should not this tradition bea native one ? It is singularly in accord with the most recentresults of Italian excavation; for it is now absolutely certainthat the oldest inhabitants of central Italy dwelt on tlie hill-tops,and that the first traces of foreign influence only occur in lowerand later settlements'. The valleys were still undrained andmalarious. These earliest inhabitanta who have left theirtraces for the excavator, or a still older race scattered on thehills after their invasion, may have been the traditional repi-e-sentatives of what Preller has called 'the period of Faunus','regarded by the later civilization, from their wild and woodland

habits, as half demons and half men. The name of the kindredSilvanus tells its own tale ; and his actual connexion with treeswas even closer than that of Faunus \

(3) A third well-attested point is the attribution to FnunuBor the Fauni of power for good or evil over the cropa and herds,aa we have seen it already implied in Horace'a ode. Por-phyrion ' in his commentary on tbia ode tells us that Faunus,on the Nones of December, wishes the cattle, which are underhis protection, to be free from danger. Just before this passage



he had spoken of him as 'deum infeiiim et pestilent em,' thus

■ Jtn. S. 314,

' Cp. Ovid, FatH, 3. 315 ' Di aumua agreslea et qui (lominemur in altisMoofibuB," 4c Cp. Preller, i. 3B6,

' Monumenli Aniichi, vol. v. (Barnebet). Tod Duhn, translated inJounal tifllel-mit Stutliea, 1896, p. lao foil.

• HBm. Jfyi*. i. 104 Ml.

' Virg. Am. 8. 6ot, and Spit.'b note! ' Priidentiores dionntb\iKbr Siir, boa est deum vAiji.' Silvanus may have been a true tree-spiritHannhardt, A. W.F. iiefoll.; Preller, 1.393.

' Vol. i, 335, ed. Hauthal.

'J

2^2 THE ROMAN FESTIVALS

giving us the dark and hurtful side of his power as well as thebright and gracious. The same combination of the powers ofdoing and averting harm is seen in Mars, as we have alreadylearnt from the hymn of the Arval Brethren and the formulaof prayers preserved by Cato '.

Under this head may be mentioned the belief that bothFaunus and Silvanus were d&ngerous for women, an idea whichfinds expression in the significant word incubus^ so often appliedto them \ We may perhaps find a reason for the identificationof Faunus as god of the Lupercalia in the most striking feature

of the festival — the pursuit of the women by the crejRpi, whostruck them with thongs in order to render them productive \

(4) The last characteristic of the Fauni to be noticed is thatthey had the power of foretelling the future. The verse ofEnnius already quoted is the earliest literary evidence we haveof this ; but the quaint story of the capture of Picus andFaunus by Numa *, who caught them by making them drunkwith wine at the fountain where they came to drink, andcompelled them as the price of their liberty to reveal the art ofstaying a disaster, has an unmistakeable old-Italian ring. Theidea seems to have been, not that Faunus was a *god ofprophecy,' as Preller seems to fancy, but that there was an

ancient race of Fauni, who might be coaxed or compelled toI'eveal secrets. Sometimes indeed they * spoke ' of their ownaccord ; when a Koman army needed to be warned or encouragedon its march, their voice was heard by all as it issued fromthicket or forest. Cicero and Livy ** write of these voices witha distinctness which (as it seems to me) admits of no suspicionthat they are inserting Greek ideas into Eoman annals.

There are also traces to be found of a belief in the existenceof local woodland oracles of Faunus and his kind. It was in



a grove sacred to Faunus that Numa, in Ovid's vivid description •,

* See above, p. 126. It may be noticed that the Bona Dea, whose solemnrite occurs also at the beginning of this month, was identified with Fauna,the female form of Faunus (B. Peter, in Lex, s.v. Fauna) ; i.e. theirpowers for good and evil were thought to be much alike.

* Preller, i. 381 and reff. • See under Lupercalia, p. 320.

* Ovid, Fdsti, 3. 291 foil. I am glad to see that Wissowa accepts thisstory as genuine Italian {Lex. s.v. 1456).

* Cic. de Div. i. loi ; Livy, 2. 7 (Silvanus), and Dion. Hal. 5. 16 (Faunus)of the battle by the wood of Arsia.

* Fasti, 4. 649 foil.

HEIfSIS DECEMBER 263

slaw two sheep, the one to Pnunua, the other to Sleep, and aftertwice spriDkling water on his head, and twice wreathing itwith beecb-leaves, stretched himself on the fleeces to receive

the prophetic inspiration as he slumbered. Almost every toiicliin this story seems to me to be genuine; and especially the condi-tions necessary to success — the continence of the devotee, and theremoval of the metal ring from the finger, Virgil, with some-thing more of foreign adornment, tells in exquisite verse whatis really the same story as Ovid's '. And a later poet writes ofa sacred beech-grove, where under like conditions of temperance,Ac, the shepherds might find the oracles of Faurnia inscribedon the bark of a beech-tree ". All this reminds us of Dodonaand the oldest Gieek oracles : we have here the quaint methodsof primitive shepherds, appealing to prophetic powers localizedin particular woodland spots. Bomau exigencies of state drewby degrees the whole of the secrets of fore-knowledge into the

hands of a priestly aristocracy, with its fixed doctrine andmethods of divination ; but the country folk long retained theirfaith in the existence of an ancient race, possessed of propheticpower, which haunted forest and mountain.

These four points, taken together, i. e. the multiplicity ofthe Fauni, their woodland character, and their supposed powersof productivity and prophecy, seem by no means to exclude thepossibility of the human origin suggested long ago by Scaliger,and recently by Prof. Nettleship, though I would shape theexplanation somewhat differently. Wild men from the hillsand woods, for example, might well be supposed to be possessedof supernatural powers, like the gipsies of modern times '. And

the striking absence of any epigraphical survivals of a definitecult may possibly be explained by a persistence of the belief inthe Italian mind that Faunus was never really and ti-uly a god,but one of a race with some superhuman attributes— a link inthe chain that always in antiquity connected together thehuman and the divine. Horace's ode shows the divine elementpredominating ; some local Faunus has, so to speak, been caughtand half deiiied ; and yet, even then, tlie process is hardlycomplete.




There is, however, another explanation of conceptions of thiskind to which I must briefly allude, which was based byDr. Mannhardt on an exhaustive examination of the attributesof creatures like the Fauni, as they occur in various parts ofEurope and elsewhere \ The general result of his investigationmay be stated thus. Spirits which seem to have their origin inwoods and mountains find outward expression for their beingin the wind ; so also do those which seem to have their originin com and vegetation generally. We thus find three in-gi-edients in their composition : (i) trees, (2) com, (3) wind.We have only to think how the invisible wind moves thebranches of the trees, or bows the com before it, to see howclosely, in the eyes of men used to attribute life to inanimatethings, the idea of the wind might run together with that ofobjects to which it seems to give motion and life. The resultof its mysterious agency is the growth of a variety of creaturesof the imagination, often half bestial, like Pan and the EussianLjeschi, sometimes entirely animal, like the Eye -wolf andmany another animal corn-spirit now familiar to readers ofFrazer's Golden Bough ; sometimes entirely human, like Silvanus,

perhaps Faunus himself ^ or the Teutonic 'wild man of thewoods.' Mannhardt endeavours, not wholly without success,to bring the attributes of Faunus into harmony with this theory.His prophetic vox comes from the forest in which the windraises strange noises ; his relation to crops and flocks is parallelto that of many other spirits who can be traced to a woodlandorigin ; and the word Favonius, used for the western moistand fertilizing breeze, is kindred, if not identical, with Faunus ;and so on.

This theory, resting as it does on a very wide induction fromunquestionable facts, beyond doubt explains many of theconceptions of primitive agricultural man ; whether it can be

applied satisfactorily to the Italian Faunus is perhaps lessevident. At present I rather prefer to think of the Fauni asarising from the contact of the first clearers and cultivators of

* Antike Wdfd- und Fetdhultey p. 152.

' See the cuts of two bronze statuettes which Wissowa, followingReifferscheid, believed to repi*esent the un-Graecized Italian Faunus, atthe end of the article ^Faunus' in Lex. 1460. But it is at least verydoubtful whether Reifferscheid was right in his opinion.

MEHSIS DECEMBEH 265

Italian soil with a wild aboriginal race of the hills and woods.But on such questions certainty is impossible, and dogmatismentirely out of place.



Ill Id, Dec. (Dec. 11). W.AG. IN. . . . (ahit.). AGfONIA] (maff. praes. ant.)

SEPTIMOMTIA (PUILOC). BBPTIMOtfTinii, HUID. BILV.'

For Agonia soe on Jan. 9.. This (Deo. 11) is the third dayon which this mysterious word appears in the calendars. TheAfl. IN. of the Amiterniao calendar was conjectured by Momniscnin the fii-st edition of C. I. L., vol. i, to indicate 'AgoniumInui ''; but in the new edition he withdraws this; 'ab ineertiseoniecturisabstinebimus.' This is done in deference to Wissowa,who has pointed out that there is no other cose in the calendarsof a festival-name inscribed in large letters being followedimmediately by the name of a deity', "We must fall back onthe supposition that AG, in. . . . ia simply a cutter's error forthe AGON, of three other calendars.

It is impossible to determine what was the relation betweenthis agonium, or solemn sacrifice, and the Septimontium orSoptimontiftle sacrum, which appears only in very late calendars,or whether indeed there waa any relation at all. It is notabscJutely certain that the so-called Septimontium took placeon this dry. It was only a conjecture of Sciiliger's (thougha clever one) that completed tha gloss in Festus on the word

'Septimontium" [S^lhnontium dies ap]peUalur mense [Decemhriqui dicilur in/'aslis agonaUa. The word Soptimonttum suggesteditself, as the gloss occurred under letter S. Other support forthe conjecture is found in the two late calendars, and ina fragment of Lydu3\ who connects the two ceremonies.

But even if Scaliger's conjecture be right, it does not followtiiat the Agonium was identical with or was part of the Septimon-tiale eacrum. The latter does not appear in the old caleud!ars,

' Bj an error Silviua Iiss entered it on the rath.

* For laiiua i-ea on Lupercalis, and Lity, i. 5,

' de Feriit, lii. Ilia otIiQr argument, that Iniiua la not a nomeu, buta cognomen, is lesB aatlîfiuitory. Cun wa always be sure whicb is which ?(e.g. Salurnui, Janas).

' Festua, p, 340.

' do JfennftHj, p. ii8, ed. Bukk. ; quoted by MommBen, a /. L. i'. 336.


as it was not ' pro populo,' but only 'pro montibus ' (see below) ;and if it was there represented by the word Agonium, it is noteasy to see how the latter should have found its way into thecalendar. It seems better to conclude that the two were distinct.

About the Septimontium itself we have just enough informa-tion to divine its nature, but without details. The word isused by Varro both in a topographical and a religious sense :'Ubi nunc est Soma, erat olim Septimontium ; nominatum abtot montibus, quos postea urbs muris comprehendit V Here



he implies that the old name for Home was Septimontium ; butthis is only a guess based on the name of the festival : * DiesSeptimontium nominatur ab his septem montibus, in quis sitaurbs est ; feriae nonpopuli sed montanorum modo, ut Paganalia,quae sunt aliquoius pagi ^.'

The monies here meant are the three divisions of the Palatine,viz. Palatium, Cermalus, Velia ; the three of the Esquiline, viz.Mens Oppius, Mens Cispius, and the Fagutal, together with thelower ground of the Subura\ I believe that Mommsen isright in thinking that these were never political divisions — inother words, that they were not originally distinct communities^,but probably religious divisions of a city which began on thePalatine, and gradually took in new ground on the Esquiline.The same process can be traced at Falerii, and at Narce a fewmiles above it ; what we seem to see is not the accretion ofvillages — not a-vvoiKia-fxoi — but the extension of a city from onestrong position to another ^ This is especially clear at Narce,where it is distinctly proved by the pottery found in theexcavations, that the hill (Monte li Santi) subsequently addedto the original city was not co-eval with the latter as a settle-

* L, L. V. 41. ' Ibid. vi. 24.

' Antistius Labeo, ap. Pestum, 348 : ' Septimontio, ut ait Antistlus Labeo,hisce montibus feriae. Palatio, cui sacrificium quod fit Palatuar dicitur.Veliae, cui item sacrificium, Fagutali, Suburae, Cermalo, Oppio, Cispiomonti.' Before * Cispio* the MS. has * Caelio monti,* which must bea copyist's blunder. The Subura is by courtesy a mons ; also a pagvs(Festus, 309), a regio (ib.), and a irihus (ib.).

* Staatsrechtj iii. 1 12. O. Gilbert has made a great to-do about the develop-ment of these communities; Qesch. u. Topogr, i. 39 foil. But where elsewill he find three distinct settlements in a space as small as that of thePalatine ? The discoveries at Falerii and Narce would have saved him thelabour of much web-spinning. Plutarch, Q. B. 69, has (accidentallyperhaps) expressed the matter rightly.

* Monumenti Antichij vol. v. p. 15 foil.

HENSIS DECEMBER 267

ment ; i. e. tliat it wns the absorption by an older settlementof a probably uniubabited position which here took place, audnot the synoecizing of distinct political communities '. In thelater Rome the monlant of the seven districts, together withthe pagani, or inhabitants of what had originally been thefarm-country around Eomo, formed the united city^. It is

most interesting to find that the earliest divisions, i. e. of themonfes, were imitated in the foundation of some colonies —we should find them probably in many if we had the necessaryinformation ',

All we know of the cult of the montani on this day is asfollows: (i) There was a sacrifice on the Palatium (whichseems to have been the first in dignity of the monies) by theFlamen Palatualis ' ; but we do not know to what deity, andcan only guess that it was Pales, or Palatua '. {?] On this



day no carts or other vehicles drawn by beasts of burden wereallowed in the city, as we learn f m PI t h, who asks thereason of this, and gives some q t rs ', But the

explanations are useless to ns, and t n guess whence

Plutarch drew his knowledge of th f t I ss it was frompersonal observation. Let us rem b h w ■, that this wasa feast of montani : is it not likely th t th a survival from

a time when the farm-waggons of the âgani really neverascended to the 'hills'?

Prid. Id. Dec. (Dec. 12). EN.CoKso IN At£ntin[o], (Amit.)

sviii (Ante Caes. xvi') Kal. Jam. (Dec. 15). IP.CONS;UALIA]. {mafp. phaen. amit. ant.) i,-£riae conso

For these see on Aug. ai. If the conclusions there arrivedat are sound we might guess thatT;tKie&,Hiet^ ritea of Consua

' Mm, Ant. p. 110 fol]. (Bamabei!. ' Cio. rfe Jtomo, aS. 74.

' At Ariminutn, and Aiitioch in Fisldia (Mommsen, Stualsrtcht, iii. 113,

' Festua, 348, np. =45. ' Prellcr, i. 414,

' Q. R. 6g. Plutarch doea not say in what parta of the eity tlie vehicleswore forbidden. The feast eiialed in hia diiy, and indetid long afli^rwaids(Tertull. Idololulr, 10). It aeeins to have become a genoi al feaat of the nliolepeople. ' Macrob. i, 10. a.


arose from the habit of inspecting the condition of the corn-stores in mid-winter ^. It is this day that has the note attachedto it in the Fasti Praenestini, *Equi et [muli floribus coronantur]quod in eius tu[tela] . . . itaque rex equo [vectus?],' which wascommented on under Aug. 21. See also under Aug. 25(Opeconsivia) ; Wissowa, s. v. Consus, in Lex, Myth, ; and deFeriiSf vi foil.

XVI (Ante Caes. xiv^) Kal. Iak. (Dec. 17). IP.SATURNALIA, (maff. amit. quid. bust. PHiLoa)

FEBIAE SATURNO. (mAFF. AMIT )

satukn[o] ad fo[rum]. (amit.)

FEBIAE 8EBV0RUM. (siLV.)

This was the original day of the Saturnalia ', and, in a strictlyreligious sense, it was the only day. The festival, in the senseof a popular holiday, was extended by common usage to asmuch as seven days * : Augustus limited it to three in respectof legal business, and the three were later increased to five *.



Probably no Eoman festival is so well known to the generalreader as this, which has left its traces and found its parallelsin great numbers of mediaeval and modern customs®, occur-ring about the time of the winter solstice. Unfortunately,it is here once more a matter of difficulty to determine whatfeatures in the festival were really of old Latin origia, in spiteof information as to detail, which is unusually full ; for bothSatumus himself and his cult came to be very heavily overlaidwith Greek ideas and practice.

* See below on Saturnalia, p. 271.

' Macrob. i. 10. 2. Macr. tells us that after the change some people inerror held the festlTal on the 19th, i. e. on the day which was now xivK. Ian.

• Hartmann, Ber Rom. Kalender, p. 203 foil., thinks it was originally oneof the feriae conceptivas, like the Compitalia, Paganalia, &c., and onlybecame fixed {stativm) when it was reorganized in 217 b. o. But if so,why is it marked in the calendai*s in large letters? And Hartmannhimself points out (p. 208) that Dec. 17 is the first day of Capricornus, i.e.the coldest season, which in the oldest natural reckoning would be likelyto fix the day (Colum. 11. a. 94).

* Macr. I.e. ; Cic. AU. 13. 52. ' Mommsen, C. I, L. i. 337.

• Frazer, Qdden Bough, ii. 172 ; Brandy Popular AniiquUies, ch. 13 ; Usener,BdigionsgeschichUichA XJntersuchungen^ i. 214 foil. See for Italy, Academy ^ Jan.20, 1888.

MENSIS DECEMBER 269

That Saturnus was an old agricultural god admits, however,

of no doubt ; the old form of the word was probably Saeturnus,which is found on an inscription on an ancient vase ', and thisleads us to connect him with serere and satio ; and popular tradi-tion attributed to him the discovery of agricultural processes-.But the Roman of the historical age knew very little about him,and cared only for his Graecized festival ; like Faunua, he isthe object of no votive inscriptions in Rome and its neighbour-hood ■ ; and this conclusively proves that he was never whatmay be called popular as a deity. As the first king of Latiumthere were plenty of legends about him, or as the first civilizerof his people, the representative of a Golden Age'; but noone has aa yet thoroughly investigated these ^, with a view todistinguish any Italian precipitate in the mixture of elements

of which they certainly consist. We are still without theinvaluable aid of the contributors to Eoscher'a Lexicon.

More pi-omising at first sight is the tradition which connectshim in Rome itself with the Capitoline hill. Varro tells uspositively that this hill was originally called Mons Saturnius ;and that there was once an (qi^dum there called Saturnia, ofwhich certain vestiges survived to his own time, includinga ' fanum Saturn! in faucibus,' i. e. apparently the ara Saturniof which Dionysius records that it was at the ' root of the hill, '



by the road leading to the summit % in fact on the same spotwhere stood later the temple of whith eight columns are stillstanding. Close to this, it may be noted, was a sacellum ofDis Pater ', the Latinized form of Plutus ; in the temple wasthe aerarium of later Rome ', and built into the rock behind, thechambers of records [tabularia). But it would be idle to foundupon these facts or traditions any serious hypothesis as tothe original natui'e of the Boman cult of Saturn ; all attempts

■ C. I. L. i. 4S. But Prat. Gardner tells me that Oxb reading Saet. is

' Macrob. i. 10. 19 foil. ; i. ^. 34 and 25 ; Marq. p. 1 1 note 3. The con-junction of Ops with liim in this funetiou in rejectuij [rightl;, I think) byWisHOWH, di Fiiiis. iv. But see below Ou Opuliu.

' Jordan's note on Preller, ii. 10. ' e.g. Virg. Am. 8. 3ai.

' Sea, however, Sohwegler, B. G. i. 223 foil.

' Tarro, L. i.. 5. 4a ; Dion. Hal. i. 34 (cp. 6. i') ; Fest. 322 ; Solinua, i.13; Serriue, AeH. 2. 115 ; Hiddleton. Some in jSSj, p. 166.

' E. Petor, s. v. Dis in Lex, 1181 ; Macr. 1. it. 48.

' Ludan, 3. 153 ; Middleton, op. eit. 167.


must fail in the bewildering fog of ancient fancy and ancientlearning. Saturnus belongs, like Janus, with whom he wasclosely connected in legend \ to an age into whose religiousideas we cannot penetrate, and survived into Boman worshiponly through Greek resuscitation*, and in the feast of theSaturnalia. All we seem to see is that he is somehow con-nected with things that are put in the earth ' — seed, treasui*e,

perhaps stores of produce ; to which may just be added thatthe one spot in Home at all times associated with him is closeto the market, and that market-days (nundinae) were said to besacred to him *. The temple of Janus is also close by, and it isnot impossible that both these ancient gods had some closerrelation to the Forum and the business done there than we canat present understand with our limited knowledge. Neitherof them, it may be noted, had a fiamen attached to his cult ;from which we may infer that they did not descend from theprimitive household or the earliest form of community, butrather represented some place or process common to severalcommunities, such as a forum and the business transactedthere*. It is precisely such gods who figure in tradition as

kings, not of a single city, but of Latium.

But to turn to the festival; if the god was obscure anduninteresting, this was not the case with his feast. It seemssteadily to have gained in popularity down to the time of theempire, and still maintained it when Macrobius wrote thedialogue supposed to have taken place on the three days of theSaturnalia, and called by that name. Seneca tells us that inhis day all Bome seemed to go mad on this holiday •. Probablyits vogue was largely due merely to the accident of fashion,



^ Preller, ii. 13 ; i. i8a.

' The temple was traditionally dated b. a 497 (Livy, a. ai) ; cp. Aust,de Aedihus sacris, p. 4 : so too the festival, though both had an olderorigin ( Ambrosch. Stud. 149). The latter was reorganized in Greek fashionin obedience to a Sibylline oracle in B.a 317 (Livy, aa. i).

' Plut. Q. B. 34 notes the cult of such gods when all fruits have beengathered.

* Macr. I. 8. 3 and i. 16. 30 (also, but probably in error, attributed toJupiter). Plut. Q. R. 4a, and Poplic. la, states it distinctly ; but there isno indication of the source from which he drew.

^ Cp. the legendary connexion of both with ship-building and thecoining of money ; though it is of course possible that this was simplysuggested by the Janus-head and the ship of early Roman coins.

' Seneca, Ep, 18. i. Martial is full of Saturnalian allusions ; e. g. la. 6a.

^B paiily perh;

H reign of Sal

MENSIS DECEMBER

271

partly perhaps to misty ideas about the Golden Age and thereign of Saturn ' ; but it seems to be almost a general humaninstinct to rest and enjoy oneself about the time of the winter

solstice, and to show one's good-will towards all one's neigh-hours'. In Latium, as elsewhere, this was the time when theautumn sowing had oome to an end, and when all farm-labourerscould enjoy a rest \ Macrobius alludes also to tho completionof all in-gathering by this date : ' Itaque omni iam fetu agrorumcoacto ab bominibus hos Ueos (Saturnus and Ops) coli quasivitas cultioris auetores '.' The close concurrence of Consualia,Opalia, and Saturnalia at this time seems to show that somefinal inspection of the harvest work of the autumn may in realityhave been coincident with, or have immediately preceded, therejoicings of the winter solstice.

There are several well-attested features of the Saturnalia as

it was in historical times ". On Dec 1 7 there was a publicsacrifice at the temple (formerly the ara) of Saturn by theForum ', followed by a public feast, in breaking up from whichthe feasters shouted 'lo Saturnalia". During the sacrificeSenators and Equit«s wore the toga, but laid it aside for theconvivium, which reminds us of the ritual of the Fratres Arvales,escept that the toga was in the latter case the praetesta'. Theseproceedings of the first and original day of the festival mightseem pretty clearly to descend from the i-eligion of the farm,yet the convivium is said by Livy to have been introduced as



late as Z17 B.O.*.

' Fopulnrized, of coui35, &o-

S Waa thlH one of thisolntice? Cp. John ChryBostoiop. oit. p. an-

' Vftrro, R. R. i. 35. a ' Dum in iv 1pleraque ne Tacia^' ColumeJIa, a. 8. sGeurg. i. an extends tbe time 'usque buIinibrent' (ep. Serr. ad lac).

' Sat. i. 10. 19 and aa, and Dion. Hal.

' See Mai'quardt's excellent suinmaryPreller, ii. 15 foil.

* Dion. Hal. 6. r. Fasti Amit. Bev. 17.BacriBcing prieab ; perhaps the Rei Sacro

poets : Virg. Georg. ii. 538 ; Tihnll. i, 3.why Chriatmas waa fised at tho winter

.e et post bnimaiQ utQ follow Vdrro. Vir|;.□ iirumao iutraelabilis

' Uartial, 14.IS dum guudet

it least this seeniB to be the inference from ' Sjnthesi-os dominusque senator.' Gp 6. 24. "*

lectiBtemium imperutum ot oonviviun

'

274 ^HE ROMAN FESTIVALS

temple — or whatever it was — is that it was * ad forum.* Theconjunction of Saturnus and Ops at this place and time mustsurely indicate some connexion of function between the two.But what it was is not discoverable ; under Saturnalia I havemerely suggested the direction in which we may look for it.



XII (Ante Caes. x). Kal. Ian. (Dec. 21). IP.

DIVA[LIA]. (maff. pbaen.)

Praen. adds a terribly mutilated note, which Mommsen thusfills up from stray hints in Varro, Pliny (following Verrius), andMacrobius ^ :

FERIAE DIVa[e AN6EB0NAE, QUAE AB ANOINAE MOBBo] APPELL-[aTUB, QUOD BEMEDIA EIUS QUONDAm] PBAe[cEPIT. STATUE-BUNT EAM OBE OBLIGATO] IN Ab[a VOLUTIAE, UT QUI No]sSET

n[omen] occul[tum ubbis, tacebet. S]unt tamen, [qui fiebi

ID SACBu]m AIUNT OB An[nUM novum ; MANIJFESTUM ESSE

[enim pbincipiu]m [a]nni Novfi].

The date given by Pliny and Macrobius proves that Angeronawas the deity of the Divalia ; but the etymology of the latter isuseless, and the statement of Pliny as to the statue with the

mouth gagged and sealed fails to give us any clue to the natureor function of the goddess^. Angerona is, in fact, the NorthPole of our exploration: no one has ever reached her, andprobably no one ever will. The mention of Volupia by Macro-bius gives no help ; she is only elsewhere mentioned as oneof the numina of the Indigitamenta by Augustine '. The onlypossible clue is that of which Mommsen has taken advantage inthe veiy clever completion of Verrius' last words, viz. the factthat this day (21st) is the centre one of the winter solstice.

* Varro, L. L. 6. 23 * Angeronalia ab Angerona, cui sacrifieium fit incuria Acculeia et cuius feriae publicae is dies.' Pliny, N. H, 3. 5. 65*Nomen alterum dicere [nisi] arcanis caerimoniarum nefas liabetur ; . . .

non alienum vldetur hoc loco exemplum religionis antiquae ob hocmaxime silentium institutae ; namque diva Angerona, cui sacrificatura.d. xii Kal. Jan., ore obligate obsignatoque simulacrum habet.' Macr.Sat. i. 10 * xii (Kal. Ian.) feriae sunt divae Angeroniae, cui pontifices insacello Volupiae sacrum faciimt ; quam Verrius Flaccus Angeroniam diciait, quod angores ac sollicitudines animorum propitiata depellat.'

^ See Wissowa, s. v. Angerona, Lex, 350.

* Civ. Dei, 4. 8.

UEXSIS DEOEUBEB 275

He here even allows himself an etymology, and derives Angero-iialia 'abangerendo, id eat ana tou avaîimrBai t'uv ^\iav' ; quotingPlutarch (de Jsidc, ch. 52) for similar Egyptian ideaa of thesun "a birth at this time. Though the etymology may be doub(>fill, the inference from the date of the festival is certainlyacceptable, in the absence of anything more definite : and the■ Praeneatine fragments ' dearly suggest the word ' annus. '



X (AsTE Caeb. vni) Kal. Ian. (Dec. 23). IP.LAR[ENTALIA]. {haxv. praen.)

Here again Praen. has a valuable note, which, in this case, isfairly well preserved ; teriae iovt. accae labebtiae.

. . . HAIfC ALII KEMI ET EOm[tJLI NUTEICEM AUi] MEKETR]-CEM, HEHCUU8 SCORTUM [fuISSE DIc]nKT: FAREHIABI EI

PUBLICE, QUOD pfopuLim] R[oMAmiM] heJeedem fecbJkit

UAONAE PECUNIAE, IjirAM ACCEPEÊAT TESIAUEJHTO TABUTILI

As regards the feriae lovi we are utterly in the dark.Macrobius explains it thus : ' lovique feriae conaecratae, quodaestimaverunt antiqui animas a love dari et mrsus post mortemeidem reddi,' which is obviously a late invention. I can seeno possiblecoimexionof Jupiter with the Larentalia, and believethe conjunction to be accidental.

Mommsen writes : ' De origine Larentalium ipsiusque Laren-tinae indole ac natura parum constat.' He himself has investi-gated the myth of Acca Larentia in a memorable essay ', andwe may take bis opinion on the Larentalia as at present con-clusive. It is to be noted, however, that the view he formerlyheld as to the impossibility of connecting Larentia and Lares 'is not re-aaserted in the new edition of the Corpus (vol i) ; theconnexion, he says, may be right, but does not help us toexplain the ' feriae lovi ' or the parentatio (performance offuneral rites) at the grave of Larentina (or Larentia).

This parentatio seems to me the one thing known to us about

Larentalia.' lt6m. Faraiiaaigm, vol, il, [» Cp, Ovid, FasU, 3. 55.

; Feat. 119 ; and Laat ImL i.

1 [oil. See also Roscher, b.t.

4 mention the

Lex. 5.

d




the Larentalia which can possibly aid ua We are told by Yarrothat it took place in the Yelabrum, ' qua in Novam viam exitur,ut aiunt quidam, ad sepulcrum Accae \* The Flamen Quiii-nalis took part in it, and the Pontifices \ Now the Parentaliatook place in February. Is it possible that this is a survivalfrom a time when it was in December — a surviyal, because itwas at the tomb of a semi- deity, and was a public function^ ?It is very curious that we have a record of a private parentatiowilfully transferred from February to December, and probablyto this day. Cicero, in a mutilated passage from which Plutarchhas apparently drawn one of his ' Eoman Questions,' seems tohave stated that Dec. Brutus (consul 138 b.g.) used to do hisparentatio in December *. Whether Cicero was here alluding tothe LarentaUa we do not know ; but Plutarch notes the fact ofthe parentatio of Larentia in December, and is led thereby towrite the quaestio next in order on the story of Larentia *. Wasthe learned Brutus simply a pedant, changing his parentatio toa date which he believed to be the real original one, or had hesome special reason for connecting his family with Decemberand Larentia ?

However we may answer this question, there is, perhaps,a bare possibility that the Larentalia was originally a feast ofthe dead of the old Rome on the Palatine, preserved in thecalendar of the completed city only through the reputed sur-vival of the tomb of Larentia in the Yelabrum at the footof the rock.

^ L. L, 6. 23. The passage is in part hopelessly corrupt.

> Gellius, N. ^. 7. 7 ; for the Flamen Quir. cl Gilbert, i. 88. Cic Ep.ad Brut. i. 15. 8. Yarro, l.c says vaguely 'saoerdotes nostri.' Plut.i2omt4Zu5, 4, gives <J rov "kpeps Uptm^ wrongly.

* * Sacerdotes nostri publice parentant ' ;Varro> I.e.),^ Cic. de Legibus, 2. 21. 54 ; Plut. Q. B. 34.

* Plutarch is often led on in this work from one question to another bysomething he finds in the book he is consulting for the first.

MENSIS lANUAWUS.

Thb period of winter leisure whicli began for the agriculturistin December continued into January. From the solstice toFavoniua (i. e. Feb. 7) is Varro's eighth and last division of the

agricultural year, in which there is no hard work to be doneout of doors (i{. Ji, L 36 : cf. Virg. Gearg. 1.313 ; Colum. xi. a).So too the rustic calendars; 'palus aquitur, salix harundocaedetur.' Columella tells us, however, that if the weather befavourable, it may be possible from the Ides of January ' aus-picari culturarum officia.' We have seen that in December thiseasy time was occupied with a series of religious rites of suchextreme antiquity that their meaning was almost entirely lostfor the Goman of later ages. After the solstice this seriescannot be said to continue : the calendars have only three



festivals in January marked with large letters, the Agonia onthe 9th, and the two Carmentalia on the nth and 15th. Onthe other hand, there were two feriae conceptivae in this monthwhich do not appear in the calendars ; the Compitalia (whichmight, however, fall before the beginning of the month), andthe Paganalia towards the end of it. Both these were originallyfestive meetings in which rural folk took part together, and seemto indicate that agricultural labours had not yet really begun.

Kax. Iah. (Jan. i). F.

[aebcpJlapio, vediovi in insula, (pkabn.)

This temple of Vediovia was vowed by the praetor L. Furiua

Purpureo in zoo b. c-, and dedicated six years later '. For this


obscure deity see on May 21. The connexion between him andAesculapius (if there were any) is unexplained. The latter wasa much older inhabitant of the Tiber island (291 b. c), and

became in time the special deity of that spot \ which is calledby Dionys. (5. 13) vrjaos tvfxfyfOrjs ÂffKkrjTTiov Upd, Is it possiblethat an identification of Vediovis with Apollo ' — so often a god ofpestilence — brought the former to the island seat of the healingdeity ? The connexion between Apollo and Aesculapius is wellknown.

Another invasion of the island took place almost at the sametime. In 194 b. c. a temple of Faunus was dedicated therewhich had been vowed two years earlier ^ ; and it may beworth noting that Faunus also had power to avert pestilenceand unfruitfulness, as is seen in the story of Numa and theFaunus-oracle. (Ovid, Fasti, 4. 641 foil.)

On Jan. i, under the later Eepublic, i.e. after the year153 B. c, in and after which the consuls began their year ofoffice on this day, it was the custom to give New Year presentsby way of good omen, called strenae * ; a word which survivesin the French etrennes. It is likely enough that the customwas much older than 153 b. c. : the word was said to bederived from a Sabine goddess Strenia, whose sacellum at thehead of the Via Sacra is mentioned by Varro (L. L, v. 47 *),and from whose grove certain sacred twigs were carried to thearx (in procession along the Sacred Way ?) at the beginning ofeach year \ But we are not told whether this latter rite alwaystook place on Jan. i, or was transferred to that day from some

other in 153 B. a

deity referred to. See Mommsen in C. I, L. i\ 305 for the confusion inthese passages, and in Livy, 35. 41. (Cp. Ovid, Fastis i. 391-3.)

^ Livy, Epit, 11, and 10. 47 ; Preller, ii. 241 ; Plut. Q, JR. 94 ; Jordan,in Comm. in hon, Momms, p. 349 foil.

^ See under May ai. Deeeke, Fdlisker, 96.



» Livy, 33. 42, 34. 53 ; Jordan, 1. c.

* These and their later history are the suhject of a most exhaustivetreatise by Martin Lipenius, in Graevius' Thesaurus, vol. xii, p. 405. Seealso Marq. Privatlebenf i'^, 245. For the sentiment implied in the strenaesee Ovid, Fastif i. 71 foil, and 175.

' Cp. Fest. 290.

* Symmachus, ep. 10. 35 'Ab exortu paene iirbis Martiae strenarumusus adolevifc. auctoritate Tatii regis, qui verbenas felicis arboris ex lucoStrenuae anni novi auspices primus accepit.'

MENSIS IANUABIU8

III NoN. Ian.-Non. Ian. (Jan. 3-5), C.

4 LUDI !■ (PHILOO.) LUDI COMPITALES I

The Compitalia were not feriae slativae until late in theEmpire, and then perhaps only bo by tradition'. They tookplace at some date between the Saturnalia (Dee. 17) and Jan. g;

and we may infer from Philocalus and Silviua as quoted abovetliat the tendency was to put them late in that period. Notbeing a great state-festival, they could be put between Kalendsand Nones.

The original meaning of compitttm is explained by theScholiast on Peraius, 4. 2S" 'Compita sunt loca in quadriviis,quasi tuiTes, ubi sacrificia, finita agiicultura, rustici celebra-bant. . . . Compita sunt non solum in urbe loca, sed etiamviae publicae ac diverticulae aliquomm confiuiuni, ubi aediculaeconsecrantur patentes. In his fracta iuga ab agricolis ponuntur,velut emeriti et elnborati operis indicium'.' From this wegather; that where country cross-roads met, or where in the

parcelling out of agricultural allotments one semita, crossedanother', some kind of altar was erected and the spot heldsacred. This is quite in keeping with the usage of otherpeoples : the ' holiness ' of cross-roads is a well-known fact infolk-lore \ It may be doubted, however, whether the Scholiastis right in his explanation of the 'fracta iuga,' which may ratherhave been used as a apell of some kind, than as ' emeriti opensindicium.' Thus Crooke ■■' mentions an Indian practice of fixing

' Varro, L.L. 6, 35 'quotnniiis is dies concipilur" (for the right readinj!of the reat nf the posiuige see Motnmsen, C. I. L. 305'. Mitcrobiua (i. 16.6) reckanE them as oonceptivae, in the fourth neulurj ; Phitoir. and Silv.may bo representing a IraiiilioTud date for a, feast which was ture concepliBus,

So UomniB. Cp. Oell. 10.34. 3. where the formula, for fixing the date isgiven ; and Oic in Pis, 4. 8. It was the praetor (urbanuB ?) who in thiscase made the announcement.

' Cp. PhilargyriUB, Gearg. a. 38a ' [compita] ubi pagani agrostes bucclnaiconvocati solenC certa inire consilia' ; no doubt diseusaion about agi'icul-tural tnattera.

' Cp. Ovid, Fasti, 1



suBpendat aratium.'common to all these nutio winter rejoiuiDgH.

' Grom. Fet. 30a. so foil.

' For Qreeee see Farnell, CvUs, ii. 561 and 598.

* Folklon in KorOtem India, i 77.


up a harrow perpendicularly where four roads met, apparentlywith the object of appeasing the rain-god.

In the city of Eome the compita were the meeting-places ofvki (streets with houses), where sacella were erected to theLares compitales' — two in each case. For the inhabitantsof the vici which thus crossed each other, the compitum wasthe religious centre ; and thus arose a quasi-religious organiza-tion, which, as including the lowest of the population and evenslaves ', became of much importance in the revolutionary periodin connexion with the machinery of electioneering. The

* collegia compitalicia ' were abolished by the Senate in b. c. 64,and reconstituted in b. c. 58 by a bill of Clodius de coUegiis.Caesar again prohibited them, and the ludi compitalicii withthem ; but the latter were once more revived by Augustus andmade part of his general reorganization of the city and itsworship '.

The Compitalia, which the Komans ascribed to ServiusTullius or Tarquinius Superbus \ was probably first organizedas part of the religious system of the united city in the Etruscanperiod, though it doubtless had its origin in the rustic ideasand practice of which we get a glimpse in the passage quotedfrom the Scholiast on Persius. Two features of it seem to fit

in conveniently with this conjecture: (i) that already mentioned,that even the slaves had a part in it, as well as the plebs;(2) the fact that the magistri vicorum, who were responsible forthe festival, wore the toga praeteocta on the day of its celebra-tion^ — which looks like a Tarquinian innovation in an anti-aristocratic sense.

V Id. Ian. (Jan. 9). IP?

AGON. (maff. praen.) A mutilated note in Praen. givesthe word Agonium.

It may be doubted whether the Boman scholars themselves

* Marq. 203 ; Dion. Hal. 4. 14 ; Ovid, Fastis 2. 615 and 5. 14a Wissowa{Myth, Lex, s:y. Lares, p. 1874) would limit them in origin to the pagi out-side the septem montes, as the latter had their own sacra.

^ Dion. Hal. 4. 14 oh rohs i\€v0ipovs dWcL tovs dov\ovs iraê (i.e. Serv.Tull.) vaptival re teal avvi€povpy€iv, ojs tcexapiafiivrjs rots ijpojai r^s raiv 0tpa~vovTMV vinjpeaias (Cic. pro Sesiio, 15. 34).



' Marq. 204 ; Rushforth, Latin Historical InscripiionSf p. 59 folL

* Pliny, N. H. 36. 204 ; Macrob. i. 7. 34 ; Dion. I.e." Asconius, p. 6, K. Sch. Livy, 34. 7. 2.

MENSIS IANUAHIU8

knew for certain what wns mennt by aoon, and whether theexplanations they give are anything better than gueases basedon analogy '. Ovid calls the day 'dies agonalis '

No]

and gives a number of amusing derivations which prove hisentire ignorance. Festus^ gives Agonium as the name of the day(which agrees with VeiTiua in Fast, Praen,), und says thatugonia was an old word for hostia. Varro culls the day'agonalis'"; Ovid in another place Agonalia\ A god Agoniusmentioned by St. Augustine" is probably only an inventionof the pontifices. The fact is that the Romans knew neitherwhat the real form of the word was, nor what it meant. TheHttempt to explain it by the apparitor's word at a sacrifice,

agonc ? (shall I slay ?) is still approved by some, but is c|uit«uncertain °.

The original meaning of the word, if it ever were in commonuse, must have vanished long before Latin was a writtenlanguage. The only traces of it, besides its appearance in thecalendars, are in the traditional name for the Quirinal hill,Collis Agonus, in its gats, ' porta agonensis,' and its college ofSalii agonenseB'. It would seem thus to have had some specialconnexion with the Golline city.

The same word appears in. the calendars for three other days,Mareh 17 (Liberalia), May 2t (Agon. Vediovi), Deo. 11 (Septi-

montium) ; but it is impossible to make out any connexionbetween these and Jan. 9. Nor can we be sure that thesacrifice (if such it was), indicated by Agon, had any relationto the other ceremonies of the days thus marked \ On Jan. 9

' So WisGOWB, de Ftriis, xii note. Cp. his article 'Agonium' in the newedition of Fauly's II<.id-EncycL

' p. 10. Cp. Ovid, Fasli, i. 331 'fit petue antiquus dicebat ngonia scrmo.'

' Houaea the plural; 'Agonales (dies) per quoB roi in regia arietemimmolat' (£. L. 6. 13) But onl; Jan. 9 ncema to be alluded Co.

> FatH, I. 335: cf. Haorob. I. 16. 5.

' Cii.IW,4.ii.l& Ambrosch(SfuEfisn,i4g) thinkaitposaiblethat Agouiuamay have been a god of the Collina city.

' BQchelor, IJmbriai, p. 30. B. Hpparent]}? eacs in the Umbrian ' aakreu]»rakneu' an equivalent to 'hostiaa agonnlea.' The Iguvian ritual istertflioly the moat likely doaumaDt to be useful j it at least shows howlarge was the utore of saerificial vocabalary.



' Feat p. 10, For the Salii, Yarro, L. L, 6. 14.

' WisBowa, de Feriis, lii.


Ovid does indeed say that Janus was 'agonali luce piandiis/andon May 2 1 the Fasti Venusini add a note * Vediovi ' to the lettersagon; but there is no distinct proof that the agonium wasa sacrifice to Janus or to Vediovis. We are utt-erly in thedark \

On this day the Hex sacrorum offered a ram (to Janus?)in the Regia. Ovid says ^ that though the meaning of Agonis doubtful,

ita rex placare sacrorumNumina lanigerae coniuge debet ovis.

It is provokingly uncertain whether this ram was actuallysacrificed to Janus : Varro does not say so, and Ovid onlyimplies it '. But we may perhaps assume it on the ground that

once at least in the ritual of the Fratres Arvales * the ram ismentioned as Janus' victim.

If this be so, we are carried back by this sacrifice to the verybeginnings of Eome, and get a useful clue to the nature of thegod Janus. The Rex sacrorum was the special representative inlater times of the king ; the king, living in the Regia, was theequivalent in the State of the head of the household. The twomost important and sacred parts of the house are the door(ianua, ianus), and the hearth (vesta) \ and the numina inhabit-ing and guarding these are Janus and Vesta, who, as is wellknown, were respectively the first and the last deities to beinvoked at all times in Roman religious custom. The whole

house certainly had a religious importance, like everything elsein intimate relation to man ; and Macrobius is not romancingwhen he says (quoting mythici) ^ Regnante lano omnium domos

^ When Van'O writes (L, i. 6. .12) that the dies agonales are those in whichthe Eex sacrorum sacrifices a ram in theHegia, he may be including all thefour days, and not only Jan. 9. I think this is likely ; but we only knowit of Jan. 9.

* Fastij i. 333. Varro L. i. 6. la * Agonales (dies) per quos rex in regiaarietem immolat.'

" Cp. lines 318 and 333.

* Henzen, 144. An * agna ' is the only other animal sacrifice we knowof to Janus (Hoscher, in Lex, 49).

* Roscher. in Lex. s. v. Ianus, 29 foil. (cp. for much interesting kindredmatter, De-Marchi, II Giilto privato, p. ao foil.). Boscher's attempt to findan analogy between the Forum and the house is interesting, but unluckilythe positions 'ad Forum' of the 'Ianus geminus' and tlie 'aedes Yestae' donot exactly answer to those of the door and hearth of a Roman house.



MENSIS IANUARIU8 283

religione et sanctitate fuisso miinitas '.' But the door and theheaj-th were of special importance, as the folk-lore of everypeople fully attests ; and it ia hardly possible to avoid the con-clusion that we must look for the origin of iTanus in the iJeasconnected with the house-door, just as we have always foundVesta in the fire on the hearth. Whatever he the true ety-mology of Janus, and however wild the interpretations of hisnature and cult both in ancient and modern times, we shallalways have firm ground to stand on if we view him in relationto the primitive worship of the house ^ There ia hardly anattribute or a cultrtitle of Janus that cannot be deduced withreason from this root-idea.

The old Roman scholars, who knew as little about Janus aswe do, started several explanations of a cosmical kind, whichmust have been quite strange to the average Roman worshipper.He was a sun-god ^, and his name ia the masculine form ofDiana (— moon) ; he was the mundiis, i. e, the heaven, or theatmosphere'. These were, of course, mei-e guesses character-

istic of a pedantic age which knew nothing of the old Eomanreligious mind. If Janus ever had been a nature-deity, hisattributes as such were completely worn away in historicaltimes, or had lost their essential character in the process ofconstant application to practical matters hy a prosaic people,Hov? far the Soman of the Augustan age understood hia greatdeorum deus may be gathered from Ovid's treatment of thesubject, itself no doubt a poetical version of the learned specu-lation of Van-o and others. The poet 'interviews' the deitywith the object of finding out the lost and hidden meaning ofhis most obvious peculiarities, and the old god condescends toanswer with a promptness and good temper that would docredit to the victims of the modern journalist. The curious

thing ia that the real origin, humble, simple, and truly Latin,

' Sal. i. g. a ; Procnpiiia, B. G. r, 35, who says that ' JsDua belonged tothe gods whom the Komans in their toague called Fenatea,' «eeias to bealluding to the uime connexion of this god and the hoiiae.

* We owe this explanation of JannB chiefly to Rosohor's article, andRoBcher himaelf owed it to the fact that his study of Janus for the articlewas a second and not a first attempt. In Bennss der Windgott (Leipzig,1878) he had arrived at a very different and a far leas rational uoncluaion.The influence of Hannhardt and the folk-Ioriata set him on the right track.

' Nigidiua Figulus in Macrob. L g. 3.

' See Koacher, Lex. 44.

1




escaped the observation both of the intemewer and thedeity.

Before I state more definitely the grounds on which thissimple explanation of Janus is based, it will be as woll to dealshortly with the more ambitious ones.

1. The theory that Janus was a sun-god has the support ofRoman antiquarians \ and was probably suggested by them tothe modems. Nigidius Figulus, the Pythagorean mystic, seemsto have been the first to broach the idea : we have no evidencethat Yarro gave his sanction to it It was Nigidius who firstsuggested the idea of the relation of Janus to Diana (Dianus,Diana = Janus, Jana), which found much favour with Prellerand Schwegler * at a time when neither comparative philologynor comparative mythology were as well understood as now.But the common argument, both in ancient and modern times,has been that which Macrobius quotes from certain speculatorswhom he does not name : ' lanum quidam solem demonstrarivolunt, et ideo geminum quasi utriusque ianuae coelestis poten-tem, qui exoriens aperiat diem, occidens claudat,' &c. It isobvious that this is pure sx>eculation by a Eoman of the cosmo-

politan age : it is an attempt to explain the Janus geminus asthe representation of one of the great forces of nature. But ithas nothing to do with the ideas of the early Italian farmer.

2. The theory that Janus was a god of the ' vault of heaven 'was also started by the ancients, as may be seen from thechapter of Macrobius quoted above. Recently it has beenadopted by Professor Deecke in his Etruscan researches \ Heseems to hold that Janus in Etruria, as a god of the arch of

' Macrob. z. 9. 9 ; Lydus, de Mensibus, 4. 6 (who quotes Lutatius).

^ Schwegler, R, 0. i. ai8 foil. ; Preller, i. 168 foil. The etymology is

weak ; the god and goddess have nothing common in cult or myth ; it isnot certain that Diana was originally the inoon ; and the great Italiandeities are not coupled together in this way.

» iL 135 folL Cf. MuUer's Eirusker (ed. Deecke), ii. 58 foil. MQller, withhis usual good sense, concluded from the evidence that the Latin Januswas a god of gates ; but he thought that an Etiniscan deity of the vault orarch of heaven had been amalgamated with him. This is not impossible, ifthere was really such an Etruscan god ; and Deecke finds him in Ani,who in EtruHcan theology seems to have had his seat in the northern partof the heaven (Mart. Gapell. z. 45) where Janus was also represented in thetemplum of Piacenza (Lex, s. v. .Tanus, p. 28). But this must remaina doubtful point, even though Lydus (4. a) tells us that Varro said that

the god vapoL Qovaicois oipavbv \€y€<r$ai»

MENSIS lASUAEIUa 285

heaven, was represented on arches and gates in that country,and came to Bome when the Bomans learnt the secret of thearch from the Etruscans. That the Eomatis were the pupils ofthe Eti'uscans in this pai'ticular seems to be true ; hut if Janus



only came to Rome with the arch (Deecke says in Numa's time)it is hard to see how he could have so quickly gained his pecu-liar place in Roman worship and legend. I cannot think thatDeecke has here improved on the conclusions of his predecessor.

Speculations about Janus as a heaven-god have been pushedstill further. Here is a passage from a book which is almosta work of genius ', yet embodies many theories of which itsauthor may by this time have repented : ' He who prayed(in ancient Italy) began his prayer looking to the East, butended it looking to the West Herein we find expressed theconception of the unity and indivisibility of Nature ; whosesymbol is the most characteiistic figure of the Italian religion,the double-headed Janus, the highest god, and the god of allthings, all times, and all gods. He unites the dualistic oppositeswhich complete the world — beginning and end, morning andevening, outgoing and ingoing. He is the god of the year,which finds its completion in its own orbit, and as he is thegod of time, so he is the god of the Kosmos, which like a circledisplays both beginning and end at once.' He then quotesa passage from Messalla, which Hacrobius has preserved, insupport of this astonishing product of the rude mind of theprimitive Roman'. Of this Messalla we only know that hewas consul in 53 b.c, and that (as Macrobius tells us) he was

augur for fifty-five year's, in the course of which period, afterthe fashion of his day, he wrote works of which the objectwas to find a philosophic basis for the quaint phenomenaof the Roman religion. His speculations on the double head ofJanus cannot help us to discover the primitive nature of ourdeity ; Janus may have been the ancient heaven-god of theLatins, but these guesses are the product of a spui'ious andeclectic Greek philosophy,

3. There is another possible explanation of Janus, whichis not mentioned in Koscher's article, but is perhaps worlhas much consideration as the two last Professor Ehys, in

1


his Hibbert Lectures on Celtic Mytlidlogy^, somewhat casuallyidentified Janus with the Celtic god Cemunnos, whom heconsiders to be the Gallic deity called by Caesar Dis Pater.The one striking fact in favour of this equation is that Cer-nunnos was represented as having three faces, and like Janus,-

as a head without a body — the lower portion of the blockbeing utilized for other purposes'. He seems to have beena chthonic deity, and is compared to and even identified byRhys with Heimdal of the Norsemen and Teutons, who wasthe warder or porter of the gods, and of the underworld ', whosits as the ' wind-listening ' god, whose ears are of miraculoussharpness, who is the father of man, and the sire of kings.Both Cernunnos and Heimdal are thought further to have been,like Janus, the fons et origo of all things. According to Caesarthe Gauls believed themselves to be descended from their



deity ; and both the Celtic and Scandinavian gods seem to havehad, like the Eoman, some connexion with the divisions oftime.

It must be allowed that these two gods taken together supplyparallels to Janus' most salient characteristics ; and even to oneor two of the less prominent and more puzzling ones, such asthe connexion with springs*. It is not impossible that allthree may have grown out of a common root ; but in the casesof Cernunnos and Heimdal it does not seem any longer possibleto trace this, owing to heavy incrustations of poetical mythology.In the case of the Eoman, the chance is a better one, in spite ofphilosophical speculation, ancient and modern.

We return from philosophers and mythologists to earlyRome. The one fact on which we must fix our attention isthat on the north-east of the forum Eomanum was the famousJanus geminus, which from representations on coins ^ we cansee was not a temple, but a gateway, with entrance and exitconnected by walls, within which was, we may suppose, thedouble-headed figure of Janus which is familiar on Romancoins. The same word janus is applied to the gate and to the

* p. 93 folL ; Caes. B, G. 6. i8.

^ M. Mowat thought that this was Janus naturalized in Qaul; but withProf. Rhys (p. 8i note) I cannot but think this unlikely.

* See Corpus Poeticum Boredle, ii. 465.

* Boscher, in Lex, 18 ; Bhys, L c. 88.

' Boscher, Lex, 17 ; Jordan, Topogr, 1, a. 35x«

MENSI8 lANTJAHIUS 287

numen who guarded it, lived in it, and was aa inseparable fromit aa Veata from the fire on the hearth '. The word does notseem to have been used for the gate of a city, but for the pointof passage into a apace within a city, such as a market, ora street. At Rome there were several auch jani'; probablytwo or more leading into the forum, as well as the more famousone, which alone appears to have had a strictly rehgious signi-fication'. The connexion of the god with entrances is thusa certainty, though we are puzzled by hia apparent absence fromthe gates of the city *. The double head would signify nothingtranscendental, but simply that the nunien of the entranceto house or market was concerned both with entrance and exit.

It ia not peculiar to Italy, or to Janus, but is found on coinsin every part of the Mediterranean (Eoscher, Lex. 51 foil.); inno case, it is worth noting, does the double head representany of the great goda of heaven, such aa Zeus, Apollo, &c., butDionysus, Boreas, Argos, unknown female heads", &c. Itshistory does not seem to have been worked out ; but we can bealmost sure that it does not represent the sun, and has norelation to the arch of heaven.

Now keeping in mind the fact that Janus is the guardian



spirit of entrances, let us i*ecall again the fact that he was theiirst deity in all invocations both public and private ", and thatVesta was the last '. Vesta in the house was, as Cicero expressesit, 'rerum custos intimarum'; she presided over the pene-tralia — the last part of the house to which any stranger couldbe admitted ; exactly the opposite position to that of Janus

' Cia. Be 'Sai. Heorum, a. 97. 67 ' Transition oa pervioe iani, foreûe inliminibua proLmarum uedium ianiiuo nomiDantur.' Cp. Macrob. i. 9: 7.

' On tho whole question me Jordan, Tapogr. 1. a. a 15 foil. Ovid {Faati,I, 357) asks the god ' Cujn tot sint inni, oar ataa sacratuB in nno?"

' From Falerii came anolher jamis, with a four-headed simulscrum,whiuh wax aet up in the Forum tranaitorium (Macr. i. 9. 13 ; Jordan,Top. r. a. 3431.

' Preller mnde an attempt, whicli Eoseher approves, to jdentily Portu-nua with Janua, Portunus beine, according to Varro, 'Deus portuumportarumquo praeses ' (.Intorpr. Veran. Aen. y. a\i). But sea on Aug. 17.

^ Tlie nearest approach to Janus is the Hermes Sv/xuas or atpaifaTos(single head onlj?) and Hermea with two, three, or four heads at themeeting-points of streets. These are points which suggested to Biisther

in his older work aa elaborate comparison of Hermes and Janua(p. 119 foil.).

' See Miirq as, 36 and notea.

' Cic. N. D. a. a7 ; Preller, ii. 17a,


at the entrance \ Both deities retained at all times the essentialmark of primitive ideas of the supernatural : they resided in,

and in a sense were, the doorway and the hearth respectively.What we know of the priests who served them tells the sametale of an origin in the house, and the family — the foundationof all Italian civilization. Vesta was served by her sacredvirgins, and these, we can no longer doubt, were the laterrepresentatives of the daughters of the head of the family,or the headman of the community ^ ; the innermost part of thehouse was theirs, the care of the fire, the stores (penus), and thecooking. To the father, the defender of the family, belongednaturally the care of the entrance, the dangerous point, whereboth eidl men and evil spirits might find a way in. Andsurely this must be the explanation of the fact that no priest isto be found for Janus in the Boman system but the Rex

sacrorum ^ the lineal representative of the ancient religiousduties of the king, and therefore, we may infer with certainty,of those of the primitive chief, and of the head of the house-hold \ In the most ancient order of the priesthoods, the Bexsacrorum came first, just as Janus was the first of all the gods ^ :then came the three great Flamines, and then the Pontifexmaximus, in whose care and power were the Vestals. Translatingthe order into terms of the primitive family, we have first thehead of the house, next the sons, and lastly (as women do notappear in these lists), the daughters represented by the later



priesthood, to which they were legally subordinated. Theorder of the gods, the order of the priests, and the naturalposition of the entrance to the house, all seem to lead us to thesame conclusion, that the beginning of Janus and his cult are

^ For the evidence of this position of Janus in the cults of the house seeKoscher, Lex, 32 ; it is indirect, but suflRciently convincing.

' See my article * Vestales ' in Diet, of Antiquities, ed. a.

' Marq. 321 foil. Besides the sacrifice in the Begia on Jan. 9, the Bexand his wife, the Begina sacrorum, sacrificed to Juno in the Begia on theKalends of every month, and apparently also to Janus (Junonius) to whomthere were twelve altars (in the Begia ?) one for each month. Macr. i. 9.16 and I. 15. 19.

* For the father as the natural defender of the family, see Westermarck,Hist of Human Manriouge, ch. 3.

* Festus, 185 * Maximus videtur Bex, dein Dialis, post hunc Martialis,quarto loco Quirinalis, quinto pontifex maximus.' For the correspondingplace of Janus, Liv. 8. 9. 6 ; Cato, 22. R, 134 ; Marq. 26.

MENSIS lANITARIUS 289

to be Bought, and may be found, in the early Italian familydwelling.

We may agree with Eoscher, wlio has worked out thia partof the subject with skill, that this position of Janus in theworship of the family and the state is the origin of all thepractices in which ha appears as a god of beginnings. Forthese the reader must be referred to Eoacher'a article ', or toPreller, or to Mommsen, who sees in this aspect of the god, andrightly no doubt, that which chiefly reflects the notion of him

held by the ordinary R(»naQ. He was himself the oldest god,the beginner of all things, and of all acta' ; to him in legendis ascribed the introduction of the arts, of agriculture, ship-building, <S:c.'. He is an object of woi-ship at the beginningof the year, the month, and the day'. All this sprang, notfrom an abstract idea of beginnings — an idea which has noKoman parallel in being sanctified by a presiding deity, butfrom the concrete fact that the entrance of the house was theinitittm, or beginning of the house, and at the same time thepoint from which you started on all undertakings.

Such developments of the original Janua were no doubtas old as the State itself. In the Salian hymn he is already

'deorum deus", and 'duonus cerua'°,whichFestua tells us meantcreator bonus. But even in the State there are, as we have seen,suihciently clear tracea of hia original nature to forbid us toattribute these titles to any lofty and abstract philosophicîdeas of rehgion.

The known cult-titles of Janus are for the most part explicablein the same way. Geminua, Patulciua, Cluaius, and Matutinus,speak for themselves. Junonius probably arose from the con-currence of the culta of Janus and Juno on the Kalends of each



month, as Macrobiua tells US'*. CoDSiviua" ie explained byKoscher as connected with serere, and used of Janua as creator(beginner of life: cf. duonus cerus). Curiatius, Patriciua, and

' Lrx. 37 toll. ; Proller, 1. 166 foil. ;' 'E^/»t iroBiji irpaf (an, 8»J8 Lydus,I. 165 foil.

^ Plut. 0. B. 33.

* Uuc^rob. I. 9. 16 ; Horace, Sal. ii. (

' Varro, L.L. 7. a6; Peat. laa.' Uacr. L c. Wissowa (de fsiiis, vibut the etymology holdu.


Quirinus ^ are titles arising from the worship of the god ingenteSy curiae, and the completed state, and have no significancein regard to his natura

ni Id. Ian. (Jan. i i). TP.KAEM[ENTALIA]. (praen. maff.)

xvm Kal. Feb. (Jan. 15). TP.KAR[MENTALIA]. (praen. maff. phil. caeb.)

The full name of the festival is supplied by Philoc and Silv.There is a much mutilated note in Praen. on Jan. 11 whichis completed by Mommsen thus^: *' [Fenae Carmenti . . . quaepartus curat omniaque] futura ; ob quam ca[usam in aede eiuscavetur ab scorteis tanquam] omine morticino.'

The first point to be noticed here is that the same deity hastwo festival days, with an interval of three days between them.There is no exact parallel to this in the calendar, though thereare several instances of something analogous^. The Lemuriaare on May 9, 11, 13 ; but here are three days, and no specialdeity. Ejndred deities have their festivals separated by threedays, as Census and Ops (Aug. 21, 25) ; and we may comparethe Fordicidia and Cerealia on April 15 and 19, and theQuinquatrus and Tubilustiium, both apparently sacred to Mars,on March 19 and 23. All festivals occur on days of unevennumber ; and if there was an extension to two or more days,the even numbers were passed over *. But the Komans did not

apparently consider the two Carmentalia to be two parts of thesame festival, but two diflPerent festivals, or they would nothave tried to account as they did for the origin of the secondday. It was said to have been added by a victorious generalwho left Kome by the Porta Carmentalis to attack Fidenae *, orby the matrons who had refused to perform the function ofwomen, in anger at being deprived by the Senate of the right of

^ Roscher, Lex, 21, a6, 40.



* C. L L, I. 307, on the evidence of Ovid, Fast. i. 629 and Varro, L. L,

7. 84.

' Wissowa, de Feriis, viii. * Mommsen, C. /. L. i. a88.

^ Fast. Praen. on Jan. 15 (mutilate!). Cp. Ovid, Fast. i. 619, and Plut.Q, R, 56. Festus, 245.

MENSIS IABUARID8 291

ridisg in carpenla ; and who, when the decree was withdrawn,testified their satisfaction in this curious way.

It does not seem possible t^ discover the real meaning of thedouble festival. It has been Buggested ' that the two days re-present the so-called Eoman and Sabine cities, like the two bodiesof Salii and Luperci. This guess is h&rdly an impossible one,but it is only a guess, and has nothing to support it but a casualstatement by Plutarch that the Carmentalia were instituted attlie time of the sffnoiJcist)ios of Latin and Sabine cities \

Tlicre is fortunately little doubt about the nature of Carmentaand the general meaning of the cult. In all the legends intowhich she was woven' her most prominent characteristic isthe gift of prophecy ; she is the 'vates fatidica,' &c.,Ce«iQit quae prima futurosAeneadas magnoB et Dobile Paltanteum.

So Ovid, at the end of his account of her :

At felii rates, ut dis gratiaaima viiit,Possidet butic lani Bio dea mense diem.

The power is expressed in her very name, for carmen signifies

a spell, a charm, a prophecy, as well as a poem. Now thereis clear evidence that either women alone had access to thetemple at the Porta Carmentalis, or that they were the chieffrequenters of it ; and they are even said to have built a templethemselves*. Where we find women worshipping a deity ofprophecy we may be fairly sure that that deity also has someinfluence on childbirth. 'The reason,' writes the late Prof.Nettleship ", 'why the Carmentes are worshipped by matronsis because they tell the fortunes of the children'— and also,

' By HuHchte, Rom. Ji^r, igg. There wna probably more than oneCarmontu (6ell. 16. 16. 4), if we coD»ider Pnrrinia and PoHtverts aa Lnof'irmB of tbe goddess; and (he two daya may have HOiiie relation to this

duality. Perhnpa there were two altars in the temple. Ovid, Fasti, i. 6a].

' Flut. Bomulas, ai.

■ See Wisaowa in Lee. Mylh. J. 851 ; Orid. Fasti, i. 461 foil. ; Virg. Aei%.8. 336. The eighth Aeueid, it may be remarked, should be learnt by hexrtby all investigators into Roman antiquity.

' Plut. Q.R, 56! ep. Dion. Hnl. r. 31. i-g, from whom Plutarch mayhare drawn hia information, directly or perhaps through Juba. For the



temple they built cp. Ctell. 18. 7. a. If this temple be a different onefrom that under the Capitol, it may suggest an explanation of the doublefentival.

^ Studies in Latin Literaiure, p. 48 foil. ; Journal of PkiMugy^ li. 178.ua


surely, because they tell the fortunes of the women in child-birth '.

I am inclined to agree with my old tutor that the Garmentesmay originally have been wise women whose skill and spellsassisted the operation of birth. I do not think we can look foran explanation of the titles Porrima and Postverta elsewherethan in the two positions in which the child may issue from thewomb, over each of which a Carmen tis watched ^ ; and thereis in fact no doubt that Carmenta was a birth-goddess \ Theargument then would be that the spiritual origin attributedto superior knowledge transforms the owner of the knowledgeinto a divine person. As Sir A. Lyall says* (of the genesis

of local deities in Berar), *The immediate motive (of deifica-tion) is nothing but a vague inference from great naturalgifts or from strange fortunes to supernatural visitation, orfrom power during life to power prolonged beyond it.'

Of the cult of Carmenta we know hardly anything. She

had a flamen of her own '^^ like other ancient goddesses, Palatua,

Furrina, Flora. His sacrificial duties must have been confined

to the preparing of cereal offerings, for there was a taboo in

this cult excluding all skins of animals — all leather — from the

temple.

Scortea non illi fas est inferre sacello'^Ne violent puros ezanimata focos.

Yarro writes ' In aliquot sacris et sacellis scriptum habemus:Ne quid scorteum adhibeatur ideo ne morticinum quid adsit.'We could wish that he had told us what these sacra and sacellawere '' ; as it is we must be content to suppose that a goddess

* See on Fortuna, above, p. 167.

^ Ovid, Fast. i. 633 ; Yarro in Gell. 16. 6. 4. Nettleship takes a di£ferentview of these word?. But see Wissowa in Lex, i. 853 ; Preller, i. 406.

^ St. Augustine, C. 2>. 4. 11 ' In illis deabus quae fata nascentibus canuntet vocantur Carmen tes.'

* Asiatic StudieSj p. 20.

* Cic. Brut. 14. 56 ; C L L. vi. 3720 ; and Epk, Ep. iv. 759. The rite of



Jan. 1 1 is called * sacrum pontificale' by Ovid {Fast, i. 462), whence wo infer that the pontifices had a part in it as well as the flamen.

* Ovid, Fast. 1, 629. Cp. Varro, L. L, 7. 84. This passage of Varro maypossibly raise a doubt whether the taboo did not arise from a mistakeninterpretation of the words scortum and peUicula, as Carmenta was especiallyworshipped by matrons.

' The more so as we have no inscriptions relating to Carmenta. Thoughher flaminium continued to exist under the Empire, she herself

of birth could have nothing to do with tlie slaughter oflinimals.

The position of the t«mple was at the foot of the southernend of the Capitol, near the Porta Cannentalis ', where, accord-ing to Serviua, she was said to have been buried (cp. AccaLarentia, Dec. 23), It is noticeable that the festivals of thiswinter period are connected with sites near the Capitol andForum ; we have already had Saturaus, Opa, and Janua,

If the reader should ask why a goddess of birth should bespecially worshipped in the depth of winter, he may perhapsfind a reason for it after reading the third chapter of Westor-marck's History of Human Marriage. As far as we can judgefrom the calendar, April was the month at Rome whenmarriages and less legal unions wei-e especially frequent';during May and the firat days of June marriages were notdesirable ^ In Januaiy therefore births might naturally beexpected,

Ovid tells U8(i. 463) that JutumaytoR also worshipped onJan. II*; but whether in any close connexion with Carmentawe do not know. They are both called Nymphs; but from

this we can hardlymake any inference. Juturna was certainlya fountain- deity : I can find no good evidence that this was oneof Carmenta's attributes. The fount of Juturna was near theVesta-temple ', and therefore close to the Forum ; its water wasused, says Servius, for all kinds of sacrifices, and itself was theobject of sacrifice in a drought. All took part in the festivalwho used water in their daily work (' qui artificium aquaesercent"). But the Juturnalia appears in no calendar, andAust is no doubt right in explaining it only as the dedication-festival of the temple built by Augustus in b. c 2 '.

praoticalty disappeared. I am inclined to guess that her attributes wereto seine extent usurped hj the more popular and plebeian Fortuna.

' SolinuH, I. 13 ; Serv. Am. 8. 336 and 337.

' See especially under April i and aG, the days of Fortuna virilis andFlora.

' Ovid, Fiati, 6. 333 foil.

* Juturnalia, Serv. A,m. 13. 139.' Jordan, Topogr. i. a. 370 ; Wisaowa in ttx. s. v. luturna.



* Aust, d> Aedibya UKru, p. 45.


FEBIAE SEMENTIYAe\ PAGANALIA.

Under date of Jan. 24-26, Ovid' writes in charming verseof iheferiae conceptivae called Sementivae (or -tinae), which fromhis account would seem to be identical with the so-calledPaganalia \ Just as the Compitalia of the city probably hadits origin in the country (see on Jan. 3-5), though the rusticcompita were almost unknown to the later Eomans, so thefestival of sowing was kept up in the city ('a pontificibus dictus/Yarro, L, L, 6. 26) as Sementinae, long after the Bomanpopulation had ceased to sow. In the country it was known —so we may guess — by the less technical name of Paganalia^,as being celebrated by the rural group of homesteads known asthe pagus.

As to the object and nature of the festival, let Ovid speak for

himself:

State coronati plenum ad praesaepe iurenci:

Cum tepido yestrum vere redibit opus.Rusticus emeritum palo suspendat aratrum':

Omne reformidat frigida volnus humus.Vilioe, da requiem terrae, semente peracta :

Da requiem terram qui coluere yiris.Pagus a gat festum : pa gum lustrate, colon!,

£t date paganis annua liba focis.Placentur frugum matres, Tellusque Ceresque,

Farre suo, gravidae yisceribusque suis.Officium commune Ceres et Terra tuentur:

Haec praebet causam frugibus, ilia locum.

Ceres and Tellus, * consortes opens,' are to be invoked to bringto maturity the seed sown in the autumn, by preserving it fromall pests and hurtful things ; and also to assist the sower in his

^ Sementinae, according to Jordan in Prell. a. 5, note a.

^ Fastij I. 658 foil.

' Paganicae (feriae), Yarro, L. L. 6. a6. Yarro seems to separate thetwo : after mentioning the Sementinae, which he says was ' sationis causasusceptae/ he goes on ' Paganicae eiusdem agrlculturae susceptae, uthaberent in agris omnes pagi/ &c. But the distinction is perhaps only ofplace ; or if of time also, yet not of object and meaning.



* So Marq. 199, and Hartmann, Kom, Kal, 303. Preller thinks theSementinae were in September, before the autumn sowing; and it ispossible that there were two feasts of the name, one before the autumn,another before the spring, sowing. Lydus (de Mens. 3. 3) speaks of twodays separated by seven others ; on the former they iâcrificed to Tellus(Demeter), on the latter to Ceres (JS.6pr)) ; two successive nundinae (market-days) are here meant.

^ Cp. Scholiast on Persius, 4. a8 ; and see under Compitalia, Jan. 3-5.

MENSIS lANUAHIUS

work in the spring that is at hand. This at least iI understand the lines (68i, 682):

Or if it be argued that both these lines may very well referto the spring, it is at least certain that the poet understood tliefestival to cover the past autumn sowing :

Varro tells ua ' that the time of the autumn sowing extendedfrom the equinox to the winter solstice ; after which, aa wehave seen, the husbandmen rested from their labours in thefields, and enjoyed the festivals we have been discussing sinceDec. 17 (Consualia). The last of these is the Pagan alia, i.e. theone nearest in date, if we may go by Ovid, to the tinie forsetting to work at the spring sowing, which began on orabout Feb. 7 (Favonius) ', It would thus be quite natural thatthis festival should have reference not only to the seed alreadyin the ground, but also to that which was still to be sown.If Ovid lays stress on the former, Varro and Lydus seem to bethinking chieily of the latter',

Ovid has told us what was the nature of the rites. Accordingto him, Ceres and Tellus were the deities concerned, and withthis Lydus agrees. We need not be too certain about thenames", considering the 'fluidity' and impersonality of earlyRoman numina of this type ; but the type itself is obvious.There wove offerings of cake, and a sacrifice of a pregnant sow ;the oxen which had served in the ploughing were decoratedwith garlands ; prayera were offered for the protection of theseed from bird and beast and disease. If we may believe

' Ovid, I. 661. ' R. S. J. 34 ; Plln. W. H. 18. 204.

' Cp. Varro, H. R. i. ag, 36. Cp. tlie Rustic Calendars for Fabmary.

* Varro, L.L, 6. 96'sationis cnusn'; and Lydua says that the feast couldnot lie 'atativae,' because the ipx^ avipoii cannnt he fixed to a day. Lydus'reason is not a good one, if the sowing did not begin till Feb. 7 ; but it iaplain that he understands the rites aa prophj/ladic. I may note thatColumella seems to know little about spring aoving (11. 3 : cp. a. 8),Mommeen, K. B. ii. 364, saya that spring sowing was exceptional.

* Sae under Cerinlia, April 19.




a note of Probus' \ osciUa were hung from the trees, as at theLatin festival, &c., doubtless as a charm against evil influences.

VI Kal. Feb. (Jan. 27). C.

AEDIS [CASTOBIS ET Po]lLUCIS DEDICa[tA EST . . .]. (PBAEN.)

Mommsen's restoration of this note in the Fasti of Praenesteis based on Ov. Fast. i. 705-8:

At quae venturas praecedet sezta Kalendas,

Hac sunt Ledaeis templa dicata dels.Fratribus ilia dels fratres de gente deorum

Circa lutumae composuere lacus.

But Livy ' gives the Ides of July as the day of dedication,and a difference of learned opinion has arisen ^ July 15,

B.C. 496, is the traditional date of the battle of Lake Eegillus,and the temple was dedicated b. c. 484 — the result of theConsul's vow in that battle*. Mommsen infers that Livyconfused the date of the dedication with that of the battle, andthat Jan. 27 is right. Aust and others differ, and refer thelatter date to a restoration by Tiberius, probably in a. d. 6 ^The mistake in Livy is easy to explain, and Mommsen'sexplanation seems sufficient^. Three beautiful columns ofTiberius' temple are still to be seen at the south-eastern endof the Forum, near the temple of Vesta, and close to thelacus Juturnae, where the Twins watered their steeds afterthe battled

The very early introduction of the Dioscuri into the Eomanworship is interesting as being capable of unusually distinctproof. They must have been known long before the battle

' Ad Virg. Qeorg. a, 385 ; Marq. 200 and 19a, whore the old explanation(Macr. I. 7. 34) seems to be adopted, that these were substitutes forhuman or other victims (cp. BOtticher, BaunikiUtus, 80 foil.). We haveno clear evidence for this, and I am not disposed to accept it.

' a. 4a. So Plut. Cariol. 3.

' Momms. C. I. L, i. 308 ; Jordan, Eph, Ep, i. 336 ; Aust, de AedibussacriSf 43.

* Dion. Hal. 6. 13 ; Liv. a. ao.

* Suetonius, Tib. ao ; Aust, op. cit. p. 6.

* Weight must, however, be given to the fact that the transvectioequitum took place on July 15. Aust, 43, and Furtw&ngler in Lex. s. v.Dioscuri.

^ Middleton, Ancient Rome, p. 174 ; Lanciani, Ruins and EaxawUiona qf



Ancient Rome, p. 271 foil.

MENSIS lANUAEIUS 297

of the Eegillus ; and they took a peculiarly firm hold on theEoman mind, as we see from the common oaths Edepol,Mecastor, from their representation on the earliest denarii ^^from their connexion with the equites throughout Eomanhistory, and from the great popularity of their legend, whichwas reproduced in connexion with later battles \ The spreadof the cult through Southern Italy to Latium and Etruria(where it was also a favourite) is the subject of a Frenchmonograph '.

^ Mommsen, MUnzwesmf 30T, 559.

' Pydna, Cic. N. i). 3. 5. 11 ; Verona (loi B.C.), Plut. Mar, a6. Themost famous application of the story is in the accounts of the great fightbetween Locri and Kroton at the river Sagra : this was probably theorigin of the Italian legends. See Preller, ii. 301.

^ Albert, le CuUe de Castor et PoUitx en Italief 1883. Cp. Furtwftngler, 1. c.

MENSIS FEBRUAEIUS

The name of the last month of the old Eoman year is derivedfrom the word februum, usually understood as an instrumentof purification \ This word, and its derivatives were, as weshall see, best known in connexion with the Lupercalia, themost prominent of the festivals of the month. Now theritual of the Lupercalia seems to suggest that our word * purifi-cation ' does not cover all the ground occupied by the * religio 'of that festival ; nor does it precisely suit some of the other

rites of Februaiy. We are indeed here on difficult anddangerous ground. Certainly we must not assume that therewas any general lustration of the whole people, or any periodcorresponding in religious intent to the Christian Lent,which in time only is descended from the Eoman February.Assuredly there were no such ideas as penitence or forgivenessof sins involved in the ritual of the month. Let so muchbe said for the benefit of those who are only acquainted withJewish or Christian history.

What at least is certain is that at this time the characterof the festivals changes. Since the middle of December wehave had a series of jojrful gatherings of an agricultural people

in homestead, market-place, cross-roads ; now we find themfulfilling their duties to their dead ancestors at the common

^ Paulus, 85 'Quaecumque purgamenti causa in quibusque fsacrificiisadhibentur, febi*ua appellantur. Id vero quod purgatur, dicitur /e&nicrfum/The verb februare also occurs. Van o {L. L, 6. 13) says that fehruum wasthe Sabine equivalent for purgamenlum : Îâm et Lupercalia februatio, utin Antiquitatum libris demonstravi * (cp. 6. 34), Ovid renders the wordby *piamen' [FasH, 2. 19). Februus, a divinity, is mentioned in Macr. i.13. 3 ; he is almost certainly a later invention (see Lex. Myth, s. v.). The



etymology of the word is uncertain.

MENSIS FEBEUAEIUS 299

necropolis, or engaged in a mysterious piacular rite under thewalls of the oldest Borne. The Parentalia and the Lupercaliaare the characteristic rites of February ; we shall see laterOQ whether any of the others can be brought into the samecategory. If pleasure is the object of the mid-winter festivals,the fulfilment of duties towards the gods and the manes wouldseem to be that of the succeeding period.

From an agricultural point of view February was a somewhatbusy month ; but in the time of Varro the work was chieflythe preparatory operations in the culture of olives, vines andfruit-trees '. The one great operation in the oldest and simplestagricultural system was the spring sowing. Spring was under-stood to begin on Feb. 7 (Favonius) ', and it is precisely at thispoint that the rites change their character. We are in factclose upon the new year, when the powers of vegetation awakeand put on strength ; but the Bomans approached it as it werewith hesitation, preparing for it carefully by steady devotion to

work and duty, the whole community endeavouring to placeitself in a proper position toward the numina of the land'sfertility, and the dead reposing in the land's embrace.

Before taking the rites one by one, it will perhaps be as wellto say a word in general about the nature of Eoman expiatoryrites, in order to determine in. what sense we are to understandthose of February.

The first point to notice is that these rites were applicableonly to involuntary acts of commission or omission— an offenceagainst the gods (nefas) if wittingly committed, was inexpiable.In this case the offender was impiiis, i. e. had wilfully failed in

his duty ; and him no rites could absolve ', But by ordinaryoffences against the gods we are not to understand sin, in theChristian sense of the word ; they were rather mistakes in

' Varro, R. R. i. ag. Cp. Colum. iL a ; and the nutio calentlan.

' Varro, R, B. 1. aB. See above, p. 295.

' Thia is very disticctly ttaled by Ciceio (de Legibua, 1. t^. 40 ' In deosimpietatum nulla expintio esC: cp. a. 9. aa 'Sacrum commiasum quodnequo expiari potent, impie commiBsum eof]. Even tho tailor iaHorace's ode (i. aS), whose duty does not seem exactly binding, is told.If he ouiita it, 'teque piacula nulla resolvent.' On the general question,

cp. De-M»rchi, La Religions irrila rita ganieeUca, 346 ; and Marq. 357. Thepontifex Scaevola ' osseversbiit prudentem expiari non ponbo' (Macrob. i.16. 10}. Ovid'a account (fosff, a. 35 fell.) is that of a layman and a modern,but not less interesting for that reaaon.


ritual, or involuntary omissions — în fact any real or supposed or



possible errors in any of a man's relations to the numina aroundhim. He might always be putting himself in the wrong inregard to these relations, and he must as sedulously endeavourto right himself. In the life of the ' privatus ' these trespasses insacred law would chiefly be in matters of marriages and funeralsand the regular sacrifices of the household ; in the life of themagistrate they would be mistakes or omissions in his duties onbehalf of the Stated Whether in private or public life, theymust be duly expiated. It is needless to point out how power-ful a factor this belief must have been in the growth of a con-science and of the sense of duty ; or how stringent a ' religio 'was that which, assuming that a man could hardly commit anoffence except unwittingly, made the possible exceptional casefatal to his position as a member of a community whichdepended for its wholesome existence on the good will of thegods.

Eemembering that among the divine beings to whom it wasmost essential for each family to fulfil its duties, were thedi manes, or dead ancestors and members of the family, we seeat once that February with its Parentalia was an importantmonth in the matter of expiatoiy rites. Ovid, though suggest-ing a fancy derivation for the name of the month, expressesthis idea clearly enough :

Aut quia placatis sunt tempora pura sepulcrisTurn cum ferales praeteriere dies^

But the other etymology given by the poet is, as we haveseen, the right one, and may bring us to another class ofpiaculttf of which we find an example this month in theLupercalia.

Mensis ab his dictus, secta quia pelle LuperciOmne solum lustrant, idque piamen habent'.

Not only was the Eoman most careful to expiate involuntary

offences, and also to appease the wrath of the gods, if shown inany special active way, e. g. by lightning and many otherprodigia% but he also sought to avert evil influences he/ore-

^ Yarro, L.L, 6. 30 'Praetor qui tum (i.e. die nefasto) fatus est, siimprudens fecit, piaculari hostia facta piatur ; si prudens dixit, Q. Mucinsambigebat eum expiari ut impium non posse.*

* Fastif a. 33. » lb. 31.

* See Marq. 259 ; Bouch^-Leclercq, Lea Pontifes, loi foil.

MENSIS FEBKUAKIUS 301

hand, which might possibly emanate from hostile or offendednumina. This religious object is well illustrated in the sacrificeof the hostia praeddanea, which was offered beforehand to makeup for afly involuntary errors in the ritual that followed '. Butit is also seen in numerous other rites of which we have hadmany examples ; all those, for instance, which included a lus-truth. We generally translate thia word by 'purification'; but



it also involves the ideas of intercession, and of the removal ofunseen hostile influences which may he likely to interfere withthe health and prosperity of man, beast, or crop. At such ritesspecial victims were sonaetimes offered, or the victim was treatedin a pecuhar manner ; we find, perhaps, some part of it used as» charm or potent spell, as the strips of skin at the Lupercalia,or the ashes of the unborn calves at the Fordicidia, or the tailand blood of the October horse '. To the first of these, at least,if not to the other two, the word februutn was applied, and wemay assume it of the others : also to many other objects whichhad some magical power, and carry us back to a very remotereligious antiquity. Ovid gives a catalogue of them ' ;

Februa Eomaiii dixere piamiua patres.

Nunc quoque dant verbo plurima signa fideiu.

PoDtilices Bb rege petunt ot flntuiue lanas,Quia reterum lingua februa noinen erat.

Qiiaeque oapit lictor domibus purgamina -tterniat *Torrida cum mica fairs, vocaiitur idem.

Komen idem raino, qui caesua ab arbore pure

Casta sacerdotum tempora frondB tegit.

Ipse ego flamiDictim poacentem februa vidi:Pabrua poaoenti pinea virga data est.

Denique quodcunque ast, quo corpora nostra piantur,HoQ apud iutouHoa nomen habebat avoa.

Objects such aa these, called by a name which ia explained bypiameti, or purganwntum, must have been understood as charmspotent to keep off evil influences, and so to enable nature totake its ordinary course unhindered. Only in this-sense can wecall them instruments ui purification.

' Marq. 180, Bouchd-Leolercq, 178.

' See BabertE,on Smith, Rdigian o/tke Saniiee, p. 406.

> Fosii, 3. ig toll.

' Thia difflcutt line has occasioned much conjecture, and seems atillinexplicable. See Merkel, Fasti, clxvi foil. ; and De-Marchi, op. cit.p. 346.


The use of the fehrtM in the Lupercalia was, as we shall see,to procure fertility in the women of the community. Herethen, as well as in the rites of the Fomacalia and Parentalia,is some reason for calling the month a period of purification ;but only if we bear in mind that at the Parentalia the processconsisted simply in the performance of duties towards the dead,which freed or purified a man from their possible hostility ;while at the Lupercalia the women were freed or purified from



influences which might hinder them in the fulfilment of theirnatural duties to their families and the State. Beyond thisit is not safe to go in thinking of February as a month ofexpiation.

Ejll. Feb. Iunoni Sospitae. N.

This was the dedication-day of a temple of the great Lanuviangoddess, Juno Sospita, in the Forum oHtorium *. It was vowedin the year 197 b. c. by the consul Cornelius Cethegus, buthad fallen into decay in Ovid's time \ For the famous cult ofthis deity at Lanuvium, see Koscher, in Lex. s. v. luno, 595.

Id. Feb. Fauno [i]n insul[a]. C. L L. vi. 2302. IP.

This temple was vowed almost at the same time as the last,296 B. c, by plebeian aediles ; it was built by fines exacted fromholders of ager publicus who had not paid their rents \ Seeunder Dec. 5, p. 257.

FoRNACALiA : FERiAE coNCEPTiVAE, ending Feb. 1 7.

I have drawn attention to the change in the chai-acter of thefestivals at this season. But before we go on to the Parentalia

and Lupercalia, which chiefly mark this change, we have toconsider one festival which seems to belong rather to the classwhich we found in December and January. This was the

^ Aust, D0 Aedibus sacriSj pp. ai, 45, 48. On this last page are someuseful remarks on the danger of drawing conclusions as to the indig|enousor foreign origin of deities from the position of their temples inside oroutside the pomoerium.

* Fastif a. 55 foil.

' Livj, 33. 4a ; 34. 53. Jordan, in CommmtoHones in hon. Momma. sSQfolL ;Aust, op. cit. p. 20.

MEN3IS FEBEUARIUS 303

Fornacalia, or feast of ovens; one which does not appear in thecalendars, as it was a moveable feast (conceptivae) ; and onuwhich was a sacrum publicum only in the sense of being procuriis, as the Pânalia were pro pagia, the Septimontium promontibuB, an.d the Argean rite pro sacellis'. Each curia con-ducted its own rites, under the supervision of its curio and (forthe last day) of the Curio Maximus^: the great priests ofthe State had no official part in it. In this it differs in some

degree from the Fordicidia (April 15), the other feast of thecuriae, which appears in three of our oalendai-s, and in whichthe Pontifices and Vestals took some part'.

This is not the place to investigate the difficult question ofwhat the curiae really were. So much at least is clear, thatwhile, like the monies, pagi, and sacella (argea), they weredivisions of the people and the land, they were more importantthan the othere, in that they formed the basis of the earliestpolitical and military organization '. It need hardly be said that



each curia had also itself a religious organization : their placesof assembly, though not temples, were quasi-religious buildings',used for sacred purposes, but furnished with hearth and eating-room like an ordinary house '. We hear also of tables (mensae,TpantC'ii) 'in quibus immolabatur lunoni quae Curia appellateest',' There is no need to assume any etymological connexionbetween Curis and Curia' ; but the cult of the goddess of thespear is interesting here, as seeming at once to illustrate themilitary importance of the curiae, the power of the pater-familias ', and the necessity of continuing the family through

' Sea Diet, of Antiy. a v. sacra. Feat. 045 a ■ Publics sacra, quae publkosumptu pro populo fiunt : quaeqae pro moutibub, pagi^ curiia, sacellia.'

' Ovid, Fasli, a. 537. See under Quirinalia.

' See on April 15. There laaai have bean at one time a tendenc; toamnlgamBte Ihe two kinds of sacra pvbliai. The argei were iilao attendedby PontiGcofl and VeBtuls. I should conjecture thut the PontiBcea clnimcdBuperviaion over rites in which they had originally no official [ocua staivii,and brought tlje VestaU with them.

* MomniEen, Staalsrechl. iii. i. 89 foil.

' 'lipai ol»'», Dion, Hal. a. 33 ; Fest. 174 b ; Marq. 195.

' Dion. Hal, a. aa.

' lb. a. 5a The Latin words are from Paul, 64.

' Jordan, on Preller, t. a^8 note. Koscber, in Lex. s. v, lutio, 596, Curis= hftata in Sabine ; Feat. 49 ; Boscher, I. e. ; Ovid, Fasli, 3. 477.

' Cp. tlie parting of the bride's hair with a spear, Harq. vii. 44 and note5 ; PluL Q. R. B^ ; BOtticher, Baurnkuitus, 485 ; Sthwegler, H. O. i. 469.


the fertiliiy of woman, an idea which we shall come upon againat the Lupercalia '. Lastly, each curia had its own curio, orreligious superintendent, and its own flamen, and at the headof all the curiae was the Curio Maximus ; officers who coincidewith the general character of the curiae in being (like the headsof families) not strictly priests, but capable of religious duties,for the performance of which they are said to have beeninstituted ^

The ritual of the Fomacalia has been evolved with difficulty,

and without much certainty, from a few passages in Ovid,Dionysius, Varro, Festus, and Pliny '. We seem to see — i. Anoffering in each private house in each curia : it consisted oifar,i. e. meal of the oldest kind of Italian wheat, roasted in antiquefashion in the oven which was to be found in the pistrina ofeach house, and made into cakes by crushing in the mannerstill common in India and elsewhere \ 2. A rite in whicheach curia took part as a whole. This is deduced from the factthat on the 17th (Quirinalia) any one who by forgetfulness orignorance had omitted to perform his sacra on the day fixed by



the curio for the meeting of his own curia, might do so thenat a general assembly of all the thirty curiae \ This was thereason why the Quirinalia was called ^ stultorum feriae.' It hasalso been conjectured that the bounds of each curia were beatenon this day, on which its members thus met : for Pliny says'Numa et Fomacalia instituit f^ris torrondi ferias et aegue

^ The same connexion between curiae and the armed deity of thefemale principle is found at Tibur (Serv. Aen. i. 17), * in sacris Tibur-tibus sic precantur : luno curritis (sic) tuo curru clipeoque tuere meoscuriae yemulas,* Jordan, in HetTneSf 8. 217 foil. Possibly also at Lanuvium{Lex. S.V. luno, 595).

* Varro, L, L, 5. 83 and 155 ; Marq. 195.

' This has been done by 0. Gilbert \^Qesch, und Topogr, a. 129 foil.); anauthor who is not often so helpful. He is followed by Steuding, in Lex.Myth, S.V. Fornax.

* Paul. 93 (cp. 83), * Fomacalia feriae institutae sunt farris torrendigratia quod ad fornacem quae in pistrinis erat sacrificium fieri solebat.'Dionysius was probably referring to this when he wrote (a. 33) that hehad himself seen ancient wooden tables spread with rude cakes of primitiyefashion in baskets and dishes of primitive make. He also mentions

KapvSjv rivajv (irapxds (cp. Ovid, I.e. 520), which might indeed suggesta feast of curiae at a different time of year. For the far^ see Marq. yii.399 foil. The cakes were /eftraa, according to Ovid ; see above, p. 301.

' Comp. Ovid, 1. c. with Fest. 354 ; Paul. 316 ; Varro, L. L. 6. 13 ; Plut.g. 2?. 89.

MENSIS FEBBUAKIUS

tvligiosas lerminis agrorum'.' 3. What hnppened 011 the Quiiialia Ovid sball tell us himself :

Curio legitimU nunc Fomaoalia verbisMiiximuB iudicit, nee stata ancra fadt ;

InquB foro, multa ciicuro pundenle tabella,S'gnatur oerta purin quaeque nota :

EtuUBque para populi, quae ait eiia curia, oescit,Sed fsoit eitrema nacra relata die.

Tt should be noted tiiat no certain connexion can be made outbetween Quirinus and curia, and I imagine it was only accidentor convenience that made this day the last of the Fornacalia ".

Ovld'a words ' nee stata sacra facit ' seem to me to imply thatthe Cui'io Masimus carefully abstained from using a formulaof announcement likely to confuse the ' stultorum ferine ' withtiie Quirinalia, which was always on the same day. But it maywell have heen the case that by usage the two coincid d.

Ovid's lines make it clear that on the [7th (as a rule) theForum was the scene of a general meeting of curiae, each ofwhich had a certain space assigned it, indicated by a placard.Is it possible that this was merely a survival of the assembly of



the armed host in comitia curiato, now used ouly for religiouspurposes? if so, the tendency to fix it on the festival of(Juirinus might find a natural explanation.

The meaning and object of the Fornacalia are very far frombeing clear. Preller ' fancied it was the occasion of the firsteating of the fruits of the last harvest : hut it is hardly possibleto imagine this postponed as late hs Februaiy. On the otherhand Dionysius' description '', already quoted, of what he sawin the curiae, would suit this well enough if it could he set downto a suitjible time of year : it suêsts a common meal, in whichthe fii'st'fruits are ofi'ered to the god, while the worahipperi eatof the new grain. But this cannot have heen in February.Steuding (in the Lex.) suggests that the object was to thankthe gods for preserving the corn through the winter, and to

' H.S. 18. 8; Lnnge, flflm. All. i'. 045. ' Faiti, a. 537 foil.

' That it was so is proved bj Fest. 354, and Varro, L. L. 6. 13. Itmunthave been a tiiatam fairly well fixed.* ii. 9.' 3. 33, 'Eyui Yoiv ISiaaatojv iv !ipaTs dIk'hi; tiirva rpoKiliicva ttoTs M

3o6 THE ROMAN FESTIVALS

pray for the welfare of the seed still in the ground (i. e. in alustratio). Ovid says (though Steuding does not quote him)

Facta dea est Fornax : laeti Fornace coloni* Orant, ut fruges temperet ilia suas'.

But neither Steuding's conjecture, nor the German parallels heappeals to, seem convincing. I am rather inclined to thinkthat the making of cakes in each household was simply a pre-liminary to the sacra that followed in the curia, i. e. each family

brought its contribution to a common religious meal. Theroasting was naturally accompanied by an offering to the spiritof the oven ^ (fornax) ; hence the name Fornacalia. The objectof the sacra in the curia is doubtful ; but they probably hadsome relation to the land and its fertility, in view of the newyear about to begin. Of the final meeting of all the curiae inthe forum I have already suggested an explanation : the phrase* stultorum feriae ' was, in my opinion, of late origin, and illus-trates the diminisliing importance of the curiate organizationafter the admission of plebeians ^

Id. Feb. (Feb. 13). IP.

VIRGO VESTALIS PARENTAT. (PHIL.)PARENTATIO TUMULOBUM INCIPIT. (SILV.)

The dies parentdles, or days of worshipping the dead (placandisManibus), began at the sixth hour on this day, and continuedeither to the 21st (Feralia), or the 22nd (cara cognatio)*. Theparentatio of the Vestal was at the tomb of Taipeia, herselfa Vestal ^ Undoubtedly, the Feralia (21st) was the oldest



and the best known of these days, and the only one which wasa public festival: it appears in three calendars (Caer. Maff.Farn.) in large letters. Yet there is reason for believing thateven the Feralia was not the oldest day for worshipping the

^ Fastif 2. 525. What does Ovid mean hj fruges ?

* Paul. 93, quoted above ; Ovid, I.e. 525. Fornax as a spirit may be atleast as old as those of other parts of the house, Janus, Vesta, Limentinus,&c.

' Mommsen, Rom. Forschungenf i. 149 foil.

* Lydus, de Mens. 4. 24. Lydus gives the 22nd as the final day ; Ovid,Fasti, a. 569, gives the aist (Feralia;.

'^ Dion. Hal. a. 40.

MENSIS FEBKUAHIUS

manea : it waa in part at least a dies fastus, and none of tlie

dies parentalea are marked N in the calendars; and tbia,according to Mommsen', shows that the rites of thoae dayswere of lateT origin than those of the Leniuria (May 9-13),which are all marked N. This seems also to have been theopinion of Latin scholars ".

Whatever the Leniuria may have been, it is certain that tht:Parentalia were not days of terror or ill-omen ; but rather dayson which the performance of duty was the leading idea in men'sminds. Nor was the duty an unpleasant one. There wasa general holiday : the dead to be propitiated had been dulyburied in tho family tomb in the great necropolis, had beenwell cared for since their departure, and were still members of

the family. There was nothing to fear from them, so longas the living members performed their duties towards themunder the supervision of the State and its Pontifices '. Theyhad their jwa, and the relations between them and their livingi-elations were all regulated by a ius saci-um : they lived on intheir city outside the walls of the oity of the living ', eachfamily in their own dwelling : they did not interfere with thecomfort of the living, or in any way show themselves hostileor spitefuL Such ideas as these are of course the result of

' C. I. L. i'. 309 L of. a97 (Introduction, p. 5). The Lupptealia (15th) ia anBjception ; but for reasona ooniieot«d with tbat teatiTil. The aist (Feralia)is F P (Caer.) F (Maff.), Sea Iiitcoduttion, p. 10. F P, nocording to

Mommnen, = fastus priiLoiplo.

' If Ovid refleetfl It rightly in Fasti, $. 419 foil. Cp. Pocph. on Hor.Ep. a. 3. aot). See on Lemuria, above, p. 107.

' On the vast subject of the jus Mitnium and the worship of the dead,the followiog are some of the works that may be conaulted : Harq. 307foil., and vii. 350 foil.; De-Marchi, Ji n<:(oPriraio, p, 1 Bo foil. ; Boacher,itt.articles Manaj and Inferi ; BouohiS-Leclercq, PoHfifea, 147 foil.; Kohde,



Psyche, p. 630 foil. Two old treatises atiil form the basis of our know-ledjje : Gutherius, de iure Maniwm, in GrraeTius' Theaauruf, vol. xii. ; andKirdimann, de Faaerihas ^1605). Talunble matter Imi HtlU to be collected(for later times) from the Corpus InacriptioHiim.

' This wua the universal practice In Italy from the earliest times, sofar as we haTO as yet learnt from exotvationa. For the question wbethei'burial in or close to tho house, or within the city walla, preceded burialin necropoleis, see CltasictU £ni<e>», for Feliruary, 1897, p. 33 foil. ServiuE<(Ad Am. 5. 64 ; 6. 15a ; cp, laidorua, 15. 11. i) tells ua that they onceburied in the house, and there were facta that might suggest this in thecult of the Lares, and in the private ghoabdriving of the Lemuria ; butwe cannot prove it, nnd it ia not true of the Romans at any period. N'otewn the well-knowu law of the Xlt Tables can prtva that burial everregularly loot place within the existing walls of a city.


a well developed city life ; experience has taught the citizenhow his conduct towards the Di Manes can best be regulatedand organized for the benefit of both pai*ties. The Parentaliabelong to a later stage of development than the Lemuria,

though both have the same original basis of thought. TheParentalia was practically a yearly renewal of the rite of burial.As sacra privata they took place on the anniversary of the deathof a deceased member of the family, and it was a special chargeon the heir that he should keep up their observance \ On thatday the family would go in procession to the grave, not only tosee that all was well with him who abode there, but to presenthim with offerings of water, wine, milk, honey, oil, and theblood of black victims * : to deck the tomb with flowers '^to utter once more the solemn greeting and farewell (Salve,sancte parens), to partake of a meal with the dead, and topetition them for good fortune and all things needful. Thislast point comes out clearly in Virgil's picture :

Poscamus ventos, atque haec me sacra quotannisUrbe yelit posita templis sibi ferre dicatis.

The true meaning of these lines is, as Henry quaintly putsit *, ' Let us try if we cannot kill two birds with one stone, andnot only pay my sire the honours due to him, but at the sametime help ourselves forward on our journey by getting himto give us fair winds for our voyage.'

As we have seen, the dies parentales began on the 13th ;from that day till the 21st all temples were closed, marriageswere forbidden, and magistrates appeared without their in-

signia^. On the 22 nd was the family festival of the Garistia,or cara cognatio : the date of its origin is imknown, but Ovid *

' Cic. jDe Legg, a. 48. Cp. Virg. Aen. 5. 49 :

lamque dies, ni fallor, adest, quern semper acerbum,Semper honoratum — sic di voluistis — habebo.

' Marq. 311 foil.



' Purpureosque iacit flores, Virg. Aen, 5. 79. Cp. Cio. pro FlaccOf 38. 95.

* Aeneidea, 3. 15. He well compares Lucan, 9. 990. Tyler, Prim, Cult,ii. 33a. Aeneas is here, as always, the true type of the practical Roman.

^ Marq. 311 and refif.

' Fasti, a. 617 foil. Among the calendars it is only mentioned in thoseof Philocalus and Silvius, and in the rustic calendars. Valerius Maximusis the next writer after Ovid who mentions it : a. i. 8. Cp. C, L L. vi.10234. Martial calls it * lux propicquorum ' (9. 55, cp. 54). For an inter-

MENSIS FEBRUAKTUS 309

writes of it as well estttblished in his time, and it may be veiymuch older. He describes it ns a reunion of the livingmembers of the family after they have paid their duties tothe dead :

Scilicet a tumulis et qui periuro, propiuquia

ProtinuB ad ^voa ora referre iuvat ;

Postqiie tot ainisHos quicquid da sanguine restut,

Aepicere, et generia dinumsrare gradus.

It was a kind of love-feast of (he family, and gives a momen-tary glimpse of the gentler side of Eoman family life. Allquarrels were to be forgotten ' in a general harmony : ho guiltyor cruel member may be present'. The centre of the worshipwas the Lores of the family, who were 'incincti,' and sharedin the sacred meal'.

We might naturally expect that, especially in Italy — aotenacious of old ideas and superstitions —we should find

some survival of primitive folk-lore, even in the midst of thisliighly organized civic cult of the dead. Ovid supplies us witha curious conti-ast to the ethical beauty of the Caristia, indescribing the spells w^hich an old woman works, apparently onthe day of the Feralia '. ' An old hag sitting among the girlsperforms rites to Tacita : with three fingers she places threebita of incense at the entrance of a mouse-hola Mutteringa spell, she weaves woollen threads on a web of dark colour,and mumbles seven black beans in her mouth. Then shetakes a fish, the maena, smears its head with pitch, sews itsmouth up, drops wine upon it, and roasts it before the fire : therest of the wine she drinks with the girls. Mow, quoth she,we have bound the mouth of the enemy ;

Hoatiirs linguos iniraicaque vjnximus ora,Bicit diacedena, ebriaque exit anua.'

In spite of the names of deities we find here, Tacita and Dea

«Bting coujectare as to the special meaning of ainin, see Lattes quoted in *De-Marchi, op. eit. 314. note a.

' Val. Kbjl, I.e. and Silvius' CattTidar.



' Ovid, IîsU, 3. 623,

Innocui reniant : prooul hine, procul irapius oaloFrater, et in partus mater acerba suoa.

' Ovid, Fasli, 3. 633-634. On such oeoBHions the Lares wore clothedin tunics girt at the loins ; see a figure of u Lar on an uKar from Caere inBftumeieter, DmlmSler, vol. i. p. 77.

* Fiati, a, 571 toll.

3fO THE ROMAN FESTIVALS

Muta\ and of the pretty story of the mother of the Lareswhich the poet^s fancy has added to it, it is plain that this is nomore than one of a thousand savage spells for counteractinghostile spirits^. The picture is interesting, as showing thesurvival of witchcmft in the civilized Eome of Ovid's time, andreminds us of the horrible hags in Horace's fifth epode ; but itmay be doubted whether it has any real connexion with theFeralia. Doubtless its parallel could be found even in the

Italy of to-day \

XV. Kal. Mart. (Feb. 15). IP.LUPER(CALIA). (caee. mapf. fabn. philoc. silv. and

BUSTIC CALENDARS.)

There is hardly another festival in the calendar so interestingand so well know^ as this. Owing to the singular interestattaching to its celebration in b. c. 44, only a month beforeCaesar's death, we are unusually well informed as to its details ;but these present great difficulties in interpretation, which thelatest research has not altogether overcome'. I shall content

myself with describing it, and pointing out such explanations ofritual as seem to be fairly well established.

On Feb. 1 5 the celebrants of this ancient rite met at the cavecalled the Lupercal, at the foot of the steep south-westerncorner of the Palatine Hill — the spot where, according to thetradition, the flooded Tiber had deposited the twin childrenat the foot of the sacred fig-tree \ and where they werenourished by the she-wolf. The name of the cave is almost

* Line 583. See Wissowa in Lex. s. v. Dea Muta.

* See e. g. Crooke, Folklore of Northern India, ch. 5 (the Black Art), and

especially pp. 264 foil.

* See e.g. Leland, Etruscan Roman remains in popular legend, pp. 3 and 195foil.

* The chief attempts are those of Unger, in Rhein. Mus,, 1881, p. 50, andMannhardt in his Myihologische Forschungen, pp. 72-155. The former isingenious, but unsatisfactory in many ways; the latter conscientious, andvaluable as a study in folk-lore, whether its immediate conclusions beright or wrong. See also Schwegler, 2?. G. i. 356 foil. ; Preller, i. 387 foil.



;and article s.v. in Diet, of Antiqxiities (2nd edition) ; Marq. 442 foil. Theancient authorities are Dion. Hal. i. 32. 5, 79, 80; Ovid, Fasti, 2. 267foil. ; Plutarch, Caes. 61, Rom. 21 ; Val. Max. 2. 2. 9 ; Propert. 5. (4.) i. 26;and many other pa^-sages which will be referred to when necessary.

* Dion. Hal. i. 32. 5.

MENSIS FEBRUARIUS

without doubt built up from lujms, 'a wolf ' ; but we cannot be*!qually sure whether the name of the festival is derived directlyfrom Lupei-cal, or on the analogy of Quirinalia, Volcanalia,and otliers, from Luperciis, the alleged name of the deityconcerned in the rites, and also of the celebrants themselves '.In any case we are fairly justified in calling this the wolf-festival ; the more so as the wolf was the sacred animal ofMars, who was in a special sense the god of the earliest settlerson the Palatine '.

The' first act of the festival seems to have been the sacrifice

of goats (we are not told how many), and of a dog ' ; and atthe same time weie offered sacred cakes made by the Vestals,from the first ears of last year's harvest. This was the lastbatch of the mola saisa, some of which had been used at theVestalia in June, and some on the Ides of September''.

Next, two youths of high rank, belonging, we may suppose,one to each of the two collegia of Luperci (of which moredirectly), were brought forward; these had their foreheadssmeared with the knife bloody from the slaughter of thevictims, and then wiped with wool dipped in milk. As soonlis this was done they were obliged to laugh. Then they girtthemselves with the skins of the slaughtered goats, and feasted

luxuriously"; after which they ran round the base of thePalatine Hill, or at least a large part of its circuit, apparentlyin two companies, one led by each of the two youths. AsIhey ran they struck at all the women who came near themor offered themselves to their blows, with strips of skin cutfrom the hides of the same victims ; which strips, as we haveseen, were among the objects which were called by the priestsfebiua.

' Jordan, Krilische Beitr&ê, 164 foil. Uiigtr'a sttempt, afler Ssrv. Am.8. 343- t" ilerive the word from (no t^' to purify') is generallj rejested,

' Wissowa, Lex. (s. v. Lupercus) takes the latter view, but tightly, an

I think, rejects the deity.

' Virg. Asa. 8. 63D ' MaVDrtiB in antro.' RoBcher, in Lex. b, v. tiara,3388 ; Prellar, i, 334.

* Plut. Rom. 91. After montioning the goats, be says, iiio* 3i t^c JiîtîTi) sol Kvra ft/Hi- Toit AoxjvipKout (cp. g. B. 1 1 r).

' Marq. 165. Seenbove, p. no.



' So Val. Mai. I.e. From Ovid's version of the aetiolqgiiail atoiy nfKomuliia and Rumus {Fa»ti, a. 371 folL) we might infer that thu feastingtook place aft«r the rimaing.


Here, in what at first sight looks like a grotesque jumble,there are two clearly distinguishable elements; (i)an extremely-primitive ritual, probably descended from the pastoral stageof society ; (2) a certain co-ordination of this with definite localsettlements. The sacrifices, the smearing and wiping, thewearing of the skins, and the striking with the februa, all seemto be survivals from a very early stage of religious conceptions ;but the two companies of runners, and their course round thePidatine, which apparently followed the most ancient lineof the pomoerium, bring us into touch with the beginningand with the development of urban life. Surviving throughthe whole Kepublican period, with a tenacity which the Eomantalent for organization alone could give it, the Lupercalia wasstill further developed for his own purposes by the dictatorCaesar, and thenceforward lived on for centuries under his

successors into the age of imperial Christianity.

Let us now examine the several acts of the festival, to seehow far they admit of explanation under the light of modernresearch into primitive ideas and ritual.

It began, as we saw, with the sacrifice of goats and a dog.Unluckily we cannot be sure of the god to whom they wereoflPered, nor of the sacrificing priest. According to Ovid * thedeity was Faunus ; according to Livy it was a certain mysteriousInuus, of whom hardly anything else is known ^, though muchhas been written. There was no Lupercus, as some have vainlyimagined ; much less any such combination as Faunus Lupercus,

which has been needlessly created out of a passage of Justin \Liber is suggested by Servius * ; who adds that others fanded itwas a *bellicosus deus.' Kecently Juno has been suggested,because the strips which the runners carried were called' lunonis amiculum ' '\ Thus it is quite plain that the Eomanof the literary age did not know who the god was. The

^ * Cornipedi Fauno caesa de more capella' {Fastif a. 361). Cp. 5. loi.So Plut. Bom. 1. c.

* Livy, I. 5. Unger (p. 71 foil.) has much to say about Inuus in theworst style of German pseudo-research. See Lex. s.v. (Steuding).

' Schwegler, i. 351 foil. ; Justin, 43. i. I had long ago arrived at thisconclusion, and was glad to see it sanctioned by Wissowa in Lex, s.v.Lupercus.

* Aen, 8. 343 : the only reason given is that the goat was Libersvictim.

^ Arnobius, a. 33. See Mannhardt, 85 ; Buschke, Bom. Jahr, la.



MENSIS PEEETJAEHI9 313

common idon that he was Fminua is discredited by Livy'aaccount and his mention of Inuus, and also by the fact thatFaunus is not associated with urban settlements : and mayeasily be accounted for by the myth of Evander and theAi-cadians, whose Pan Lycaeua was of course identified withFaunus ', or by the girding of the Luperci with ekins, whichmade them resemble tie popular conception of the Fauni'.Poaaibly the name was a secret ; for theie was a tendency toavoid fixing a god's name in ritual, in order to escape makingmiatakeg, and bo offending him. 'lure pontificum cautum estne suis nominibus dU Romani appellarentur. ne exauguraripoasinf.' We must also remomber that the Lupercalia un-doubtedly descends from the very earliest period of the Romanreligion, when the individuality of deities was not clearlvconceived, and when their namea were unknown, doubtful, oradjectival only. In fact, we need not greatly trouble ourselvesabout the name of the god : his nature is deducible to someextent from the ritual. The connexion with the Palatine, withthe wolf, and with fructification, seems to me to point veryclearly in the direction of Mars and his characteristics.

It would be almost more profitable if we could be sure of thesacrificing priest ; but here again we are in the dark. Ovidsays, ' Flamen ad haee priseo more Dialis erat ' ' ; but it is im-possible that this priest could have been the sacrificer (thoughMarquardt committed himself to this), for he was expresslyforbidden to touch either goat or dog', which seem to havebeen excluded from the cult of Jupiter. Even in the caseof such exceptional piacuta as this no doubt was, we can hai-dlyventure without further evidence to ascribe the slaughter of thesacred animal to the great priest of the heavenly deity in whosecult it was tabooed, Plutarch sAys that the Luperci them-selves sacrificed"; and this is more probable, and is borne out

' Schnegler, !. 354 foil, : tlio genoi*Hl result is given in Lex. b.v. Ernndtr,vol. i. 1395. EvsndBr himself =FnunUH. It is possible that tlieie maybesome bnsia of tnil^h in the Aroadiaa legend ; we await further arthau'j-logical inquiry.

' See on Dec 5 ; and Lex. a. v. Faunus, p. 1458.

^ Sei-v. Aen. 2. 351. The whole pHbsjge is very interesting. Soc onDec. ai ; ajid Bouche-Leclercq, FOnliJiii, aS and 49,

' Fasti, a, aSa ; Marq. 443.

' Plut. Q. E. Ill ; Gell. 10. 15; Ainob. 7. ai.

* Hum. ai : quoted above, p. 311. Vol. Max. I.e. seeme also to imply it :


by comparison with other cases in which the priest clotheshimself, as the Luperci did, in the skin of the victim. It doesnot indeed seem certain that the two youths who thus girt



themselves had also performed the sacrifice ; but they representthe two collegia of Luperci, and lead the race \ as Romulus andRemus did in the explanatory legend.

As regards the victims, there is here at least no doubt thatboth goat and dog were exceptional animals in sacrifice '\ andthat their use here betokens a piacular rite of unusual 'holiness.'Thus their offering is a mystic sacrifice, and belongs to that

* small class of exceptional rites in which the victim was drawnfrom some species of animals that retained even in moderntimes their ancient repute of natural holiness ^' It is exactlyin this kind of sacrifice that we find such peculiar points ofritual as meet us in the Lupercalia. * The victim is sacrosanct,and the peculiar value of the ceremony lies in the operationperformed on its life, whether that life is merely conveyed tothe god on the altar (i. e. as in burnt-sacrifices) or is alsoapplied to the worshippers by the sprinkling of the blood, orsome other lustra! ceremony*.* The writer might very wellhave been thinking of the Lupercalia when he wrote theselines. The meaning of these rites was originally, as he statesit, that the holiness of the victim means kinship to the wor-shippers and their god, ' that all sacred relations and all moralobligations depend on physical unity of life, and that physical

unity of life can be created or reinforced by common participa-tion in living flesh and blood.' We may postpone considerationof this view as applied to the Lupercalia till we have examinedthe remaining features of the ceremony.

After the saciifice was completed, Plutarch ° tells us that the

«

* Facto sacrificio caesisque capris, epularum liilaritate ac vino largioreprovecti, divisa pastoral! turba, cincti pellibus immolatarum hostiarum,iocantes obvios petiverunt.'

* Even this point is not quite certain ; but see Hartung, Ed, der Bomer,ii. 178, and Mannhardt, 78.

^ Ox, sheep and pig were the usual victims ; the dog was only offeredto Robigus (see on April 25), to the Lares Praestites and to Mana Geneta ;the goat only to Bacchus and Aesculapius, foreign deities (Marq. 17a). Thegoat-skin of Juno Sospita is certainly Greek : Lex, s. v. luno, 595. Thegoat was a special Hebrew piaculum (^Robertson Smith, 448 ; of. 453 ^

' Robertson Smith, 379. * lb. 381.

* Bxym, a I ol ia\v 'ifMyfJiivjf yaxaipt^ rov iitrinrov Btyy^vovatv, trtpoi 8'

MENSra FEBRXJARIUS 315

foreheads of the two youths were touched with the bloodyknife that had slain the victims, and tlie atain was then wipedoff with wool dipped in milk, after which the youths had tolaugh. This has often been supposed to indicate an origiDalhuman sacrifice ', the he-goats being substituted for humanvictims, and the death of the latter symbolized by the smearing



with their hlood. This explanation might be admissible ifthis were the only feature of the ceremony ; but it is ao entirelyout of keeping with those that follow— the wearing of theskins and the running-^that it is preferable to look for anotherbefore adopting it. At the same time it may be observed thatno reasonable hypothesis can be ruled out of court where ourknowledge of the rite is so meagre and so hard to bringsatisfactorily into harmony with others occurring among other

There is a curious passage in ApoUoniua Rhodiua', when?purification from a murder is effected by smearing tiie handsof the murderer with the blood of a young: pigi and thenwiping it off I'XXoit jûrXmo-i ; and the Scholiast on the linesdescribes a somewhat similar method of purification which waspractised in Greece. This would raise a presumption that theyouths were not originally the victims at the Lupercalia, butrather the slayers ; and that they had to he purified from theguilt of the blood of the sacrosanct victim*. When this wasdone they became one with the victim and the god by thegirding on of the skins, and were able to communicate the newlife thus acquired in the course of their lustratio of the city bymeans of the strips of skin to the women who met them. Thisexplanation is open to one or two objections ; for example, ithardly accounts for the laughter of the youths, unless we arc

oBo/uiirowoii' tiSit I/!io>i B'Ppfyi'ii'or yaXaxn vfoaipipoints. tt\Sv i\ Sil tA latfii-Kta piTd it,v iTiiixaiiv.

' So Sohwegler. I.e. and reff. in Harq. 443 notea 11-13. Dion. Hal. fi.3a) compmad the human ancrifite in the cult at Zbqb LyoaeUB in Areadis.See Farnell, CuUs, i. 40 foil.

' We ought to hnve the whole history of the Luperciilin if we are toexplain it rightly ; it is imposaible to gueaa through what stages andI'hnngcB it may hsTo passed.

' 4. 478 (quoted in a valuable section (23^ of Hermann's BoUiailiatallitlieAllerihliina- der Oritchtn).

' For eiampli a of this idea see under Feb. 34 (Regifugimn) ; RobertsonSmith, ae6 ; Hanuhardt. Xyth. Fmxh. 58 foil.


to suppose that it was an expression of joy at their release fromblood-guiltiness \ And we have indeed no direct evidence thatthe youths were ever themselves the sacrificei*s, though the

coUateral evidence on this point, as I have already said, seemsto be fairly strong ^ Yet I cannot but think that the truesignificance of the essential features of the ceremony is to belooked for somewhere in the direction thus indicated.

There is, however, another explanation of the application ofthe bloody knife, the wiping, and the laughing, which Mann-hardt proposed, not without some modest hesitation, in hisposthumous work '. In his view these were symbolic or quasi-dramatic acts, signifying death and renewed life. The youths



were never actually killed, but they were the figures in a kindof acted parable. The smearing with blood denoted that theypartook of the death of the victim ^ ; the wiping with milkywool signified the revival to a new life, for milk is the source oflife. The laughing is the outward sign of such revival : the deadare silent, cannot laugh '. And the meaning of all this was thedeath and the revival of the Vegetation-spirit. I have alreadymore than once profited by Mannhardt's researches into thistype of European custom, and they are now familiar to English-men in the works of Mr. Frazer, Mr. Farnell, and others.Undoubtedly there are many bits of grotesque custom whichcan best be explained if we suppose them to mean the death ofthe Power of growth at harvest-time, or its resuscitation in thespring, perhaps after the death of the powers of winter anddarkness. But whether the Lupercalia is one of these I cannotbe so sure. These rites do not seem to have any obviousreference to crops, but rather to have come down from the

* It may indeed be misrepresented by Plutarch (who is the only writerwho mentions it), and may have been originally an 6\o\vyiq, For theconfusion of mournful and joyful cries at a sacrifice see RobertsonSmith, 411.

* Robertson Smith notes (p. 396) that young men, or rather lads, occur

as sacrificers in Exodus xxiy. 5.

^ p. 91 foil.

* Mannhardt is not lucid on this point ; he was evidently in difiSculties(pp. 97-99). He seems clear that the application of the blood producesan identity between victim and youths ; but in similar cases it is notthrough death that victim, god, and priest become identical, but througlithe life-giving virtue of the blood. The blood-application must surelymean the acquisition of new life ; but he makes it symbolic of death.

* Frazer, O, B, ii. 243.

MEN8I8 FEBRUARIUS 317

il stage of society : and it is not in tbia case the faJdswhicli are lustrated by the runners, but the urbs and itawomen '. And the earlier parts of the ritual bear the marksof a piaeulum so distinctly that it seems unnecessary andconfusing to introduce into it a difTerent set of ideas.

There is a similar divergence of opinion in osplaining thenext feature, the wearing of the skins of the victims'.Dr. Hannhardt believed that this was one of the innumerable

instances in which, at cei-tain times of the year, animals ai-epersonated by human beings, e, g. at Christmas, al tlie beginningof Lent (Carnival), and at harvest. These he explained asrepresentations of the Vegetation -spirit, wliich was conceivedto be dead in winter, to come to life in spring, and at liarvestto die again, and which was believed to assume nil kinds ofanimal forms. This has been generally accepted as explainingseveral curious rites botli in Greece and Italy, e. g. that of theHii-pi 3orani at Soracte not far from Bome'. But it isa question whether it will equally well explain the Luperci



and their goatîns. In this caso Manuhardt is driven tosomewhat far-fetched hypotheses ; he derives Lupercus fromJupus-hircus} fp. 1,0), and suggests that the two collegia repn.-sented respectively wolves and goats, according to the view ofthe Vegetation-spirit taken by the two communities of Palatineand Quii-inal". But this solution, the result of a bias in tavourof bis favourite Vegetation-spirit, does not strike ua as happy,and Dr. Mannhardt himself does not seem well pleastfdwith it ".

It would seem safer to take this as one of the many well-

' Mannhardt seema to have felt thia dilBuult; (p. 86), and to hare tried

to ovenioma it, but without Huoreas.■ I here omit the feuating, db it ia hj no menne

lime it took place. If the vialims themaulvea

piu-t of the ancriGczial act and would precede the

(loinmoii iu the case of anch piaciAta^ and one vict

was A dog. It is more likely that VaL Max. in

p. 311, note 6).' See Mannhnrdt, An

examples, Frazor, S.B. i:

festival on Pelion).* After Schwcgler, i. 361 ; rejected by Marq. (439, note' p. 10 1. The ' wolves' represent of conrsa the Rilatin' See his eminently modest and aenaible remarka at th

1

sib ■


known piamla in which the worshipper wears the skin ofa very holy victim, thereby entering sacramentally into thevery nature of the god to whom the victim is sacrificed \Whether or no we are to look for the origin of these practicesin a totemistic age, is a question that cannot be discussed

here; and there is no sign of totemism in the Lupercaliasave this one*.

But if this be the right explanation, what, we may ask, wasmeant by the name Luperci ? If it meant wolves, are we notrather thrown back on Mannhardt's theory ? To this it maybe answered ; (i) that no classical author suggests that therunners were looked upon as representing wolves; by thecommon people we are told that they were called creppi\the meaning of which is quite uncertain, though it has been



explained as = cap/ i, and as simply arising from the fact thatthe runners were clad in goat-skins ^ There is in fact nonecessary connexion at all between the skins and the nameLuperci. If that name originally meant wolf-priests, itsexplanation is to be found rather in connexion with the wolfof Mars, and the cave of the she-wolf, than in the skins of thesacrificed goats, which were worn by only two members ofthe two collegia bearing the name.

We must now turn our attention to the last features of thefestival ; the course taken by the runners round the PalatineHill, and the whipping of women with the strips of sacredskin. The two youths, having girded on the skins (thoughotherwise naked) and also cut strips from them, proceeded torun a course which seems almost certainly to have followedthat of the pomoerium at the foot of the Palatine. The starting-point was the Lupercal, or a point near it, and Tacitus * has

^ Robertson Smitli, Rdigion of the Semites^ 416 foil. ; Encyd, Brit art.* Sacrifice'; and for the Lupercalia, Academy^ Feb. 11, 1888, where a tote-mistic origin is suggested.

^ See also Lobeck, Aglaoph, pp. 183 6 ; Lang, Myth^ Ritual and Religion,vol. ii. 177 (cp. 106) and reff., 213 ; Diet of Antiquities, art. *Sacrificium,'

p. 584.

* Festus, p. 57 *Creppos, id est lupercos, dicebant a crepitu pellicu-larum,' &c.

* Preller, i. 389. On this Jordan has added no comment.

* Ann. la. 24 ; Jordan, Topogr. i. 163 foil., has examined Tacitus's accountwith great care. Tacitus starts the pomoerium from the Forum boarium,while Dionysius and Plutarch start the runners from the Lupercal ; butthe two are close together.

MENSie PEBRUAKinS 319

described the course of the pomoerlum as far as the 'sacollumLamm forumque Romanum ' : in his day it was marked out bystones (' cippi '). We are concerned vrith it here only so far asit affects tlie question ■whether the ranniiig was a luslratio ofthe Palatine city. The last points mentioned by Tacitus, the'sacellum Larum, furumque Romanum',' show plainly thatt ho course was round the Pal itine from south-west to north-east, but they do not bring the runners back to the point fromwhich they started, and complete the circle ', Varro is, however,

(juite clear that the running was a luslratio : ' Lupercis nudislustratur antiquum oppidum Palalinum grîbus humanisciuctum.' The passage is obscure, and attempts have beenmade to amend it ; but there can be no doubt that it points toa religious ceremony '.

This lustratio, then, as we may safely call it, was at the sametime a beating of the bounds and a rite of purification andfertilization. Just as the peelod wands of our Oxford bound-beaters on Ascension Day' may perhaps have originally had



a use parallel to that of the februa, so the parish boundariescorrespond to the Roman pomoerium. We have already hadexamples of processional bound-beating in the rites of theArgei and the Ambarvalia ; in all there is the same double ,object— tho combination of a religious with a juristic act;but the Lupercalia stands alone in the quaintness of its ritual,and may probably be the oldest of all.

Before we go on to the febrwa and their use, mention mustbe made of a difficulty in regard to the duality of the collegiaof Luperci and the runners. These have been supposed tohave originated from two gentile priesthoods of the Fabii and

' The reading U not quite eertaio ; the MSS. have ' Larum de

' The Sacellum liarum has gsnersUy been Huppoeed to be th&t in«umina eaera via (Jonlsn, op. cit. ii. aSg). Kiepert aiid HunUea iDHlieit tlie tjsaelluin or ara Larum pvaedtitiim at tbe head of the Yicos Tuhcus.

' L, L. 6. 34. HommBeii proposed 'a regihus Koinanis mdeuitius cinc-tum.' But it IB safer to keep to the HS. reading and muku the bent of it,Jordan sees in the words a ' scurrilous ' iilluaion to the luperci.

* For modern prsotlcea of the kind in England see Brand, Popular

Aniiquiliea, ch. 36 ; and for Oxford, p. 909. As Brand puts it, the beaters(i. e. mioistera, churrhwardenE, Ac), ' beg a blessing on the fruits of lh» tatA,arid preserve the rights and boundaries of their pariah.' The analogy withthe old Italian proce^Bions is very close.


Quinctii ^ ; and as we know that the gens Fabia had a cult onthe Quirinal*, it is conjectured that the Luperci Fabianirepresented the Sabine city, and the Quinctiales the Eomans

of the Palatine, just as we also find two collegia of Salii, viz.Palatini and Collini '. If, however, the running of the Luperciwas really a lustratio of the Palatine, we must suppose that thelustratio of the Quirinal city by its own Luperci was given upand merged in that of the older settlement * ; and such anabandonment of a local rite would be most surprising inEoman antiquity. It is true that there is no other explanationof the existence of the two guilds ; but we may hesitate toaccept this one, if we have to pay for it by so bold ahypothesis **.

The last point to be noticed, the whipping with the stripsof skin*, might have attracted little notice as a relic of

antiquity in the late Eepublic but for the famous incident inthe life of Caesar, when Antonius was one of the runners. Wehave it on excellent evidence, not only that the runners struckwomen who met them with the strips, but that they did soin order to produce fertility*^. Such an explanation of theobject would hardly have been invented, and it tallies closelywith some at least of a great number of practices of the kind,which have been investigated by Mannhardt^ £Us parallels

* So C. I. L. 6. 1933 * lupercus Qaiuctialis vetus.* See Mommsen, Forsch,



i. 117. Unger, however (p. 56 foll.)» argues for the form Quintilianus,as it appears in Fest. 87, and Ovid, Fasti, a. 378 ; and also denies that thenames indicate gentile priesthoods. But his arguments depend on adoubtful etymology. See Marq. 440, note.

^ Liv. 5. 46. Mommsen connects the name KaesOf which is foundin both gentes, with the cutting of the strips at the Lupercalia. TheFabii in Ovid's story (361 foil.) are led by Kemus, and the Quintilii byRomulus.

' See under March i, p. 41.

* So Mannhardt, 10 1, who tries to explain it as we have seen.

* Gilbert, Qesch. und Topogr. i. 86, note, tries to make out that the Fabiibelonged to the Palatine proper ; and the other guild, not to the Quirinal,but to the Cermalus, and thus also to account for the fact that in Ovid'sstory the Fabii come first to the feast ; but all this is pure guesswork.

* Plut. Eom. a I and Caes. 61 ; Ovid, Fasti, a. 4a5 foil. ; Paul. 57 ; Liv.fragm. la (Madvig) ; Serv. Acn. 8. 343. All these passages make it clearthat the object was to procure fertility in women. Nic. Damasc., VitaCaesaris ai, does not specify women (cp. Dion. Hal. i. 80).

^ Liv. 1. c. and Serv. 1. c. are expl cit on this point.

* Op. cit. 113 foil, and his BaumkuUuSf p. a$i foil, (see alsoFrazer, G, B. ii.ai4 and a3a foil.). An example of the same kind of practice in India is in

MENSIS PEBBtJARIUS 321

nre not indeed all either complete or convincing; but thecollection is valuable for many purposes, and the generalresult is to show that whipping certain parts of the body withsome instrument supposed to possess magic power is efficacious

in driving away the powers of evil that interfere with fertiliza-tion. Whether the thing beaten be man, woman, image, orhuman or animal I'opresentative of the Vegetation-apirit, theobject is always more or less directly to quicken or restorethe natural powers of reproduction ; the notion being that thehostile or hindering spirit was thus driven out, or thatthe beating actually woke up and energized the power. Thelatter is perhaps a lat«r idea, rationalized fi'om the earlier.lu any case the thongs, as part of the sacrosanct victim, weresupposed to possess a special magical power' ; and the wordapplied to them, fehrua, though not meaning strictly instru-ments of purification in our sense of the word, may be translatedcathartic objects, since thoy had power to free from hostile

influences and quicken natural forces. And those who wieldedthem were regarded in some at least as priests or magicians ;they were naked but for the goat-skins, and probably hadwreaths on their heads". Their wild aud lascivious behaviouras they ran is paralleled in many ceremonies of the kind ".

It is singular that a festival of a character so i-ude and rusticshould have lived on in the great city for centuries after it hadbecome cosmopolitan and even Christian, This is one of themany results due to the religious enterprise of Augustus, who



rebuilt the decayed Lupercal, and set the feast on a newfooting'. It continued to exist down to the year 494 a. d,when the Pope, Gelasius I, changed the day (Feb. 15) to thatof the Purification of the Virgin Mary ',Crooks, RiiUgion nnd Folklore, vol. i. p. 100, See under Ma; i (Buna Dea).

' They were also called ' amiculum luoonia ' (Feat. B5 : cp. Ovid, Fadi. a.497 foil.); Junohere,a9 HO often, representing tliefem:ilepriQcip!o. Farnell(Clifs, L 100) aptly compni'ea with this the Athenian custom of oarryingAthena'a aîa round Athena, and taking It into the houses of married

' Luctaatius, Jtiet, I, ai. 45, describes them as 'iiudi, uncti, coronati,personati, aut luto obliti cuirunt '; but we have no certain conSrmatiunfiiim earlier aources except as to the uuktdnesa (Ovid, Fasli, x. 367).

' > locantes obvioa petiveniut' i,Val, Max.). Munnhurdt, My.h. Forsch.140 toll.

' Ilou. Ancyr. iv. a ; Marq. 446. ' Baroniua, Aimal. Ecdes. viii.6ofoll.


XIII Kal. Mabt. (Feb. 17), M*.QUIR[INALIA]. (cAER. maff. fabn. philoc.)

QUIBINO in COLLE, (fabn. CAEB.)

How the festival of Quirinus came to bo placed at this timeI caimot explain : we know nothing of it, and cannot assumethat it was of an expiatory character, like the Lupercaliapreceding it, and the Feralia following. Of the temple *incolle' we also know nothing* that can help us. We havealready learnt that this day was called ^ stultorum feriae/ and

why ; but the conjunction of the last day of the sacra of thecuriae with those of Quirinus is probably accidental ;^ wecannot safely assume any connexion through the word * curia.'The name Quirinalia was familiar enough ^ ; but it may be thatit only survived through the stuLtorum feriae.

The Boman of the later Eepublic identified Quirinus withEomulus ; Virgil, e.g. in the ^xsiAeneid (292) speaks of * Eemocum fratre Quirinus'.' We have no clue to the origin of thisidentification. It may have been suggested by the use of thename Quirites ; but neither do we know when or why thatname came to signify the Eoman people in theii* civil capacity,and the etymology of these words and their relation to each

other still entirely baffles research *.

There is, however, a general agreement that Quiiinus wasanother form of Mars, having his abode on the hill which stillgoes by his name. That Mars and Quirinus were ever thesame deities was indeed denied by so acute an inquirer asAmbrosch * ; but he denied it partly on the ground thatno trace of the worship of Mars had been found on theQuirinal ; and since his time two inscriptions have beenfound ther^ on the same spot, one at least of great antiquity,



^ Aust, de Aedibus sacris, p> 11 ; Jordan, Eph, Epigr, iii. 238.

' e. g. Cic. ad, Quint Frair, a. 3. a.

' See other references in Preller, i. 374, note. Ambrosch (Siudien, 169,note 50) observes that Cicero {de Off, 3. 10) writes with a trace of scepticism:' Romulus fratre interempto sine controversia peccavit, pace yel Quirinivel Romuli dixerim/

* See Jordan on Pi*eller, i. 369. The article 'Quirinus' in Myth, Lex.has not yet appeared as I write.

^ Studien, 169.

BENSIS FEBHnARHTS 323

which iudtcate votive oGFerioga to Mars and Quirinua respec-tively'. From th636 Mommaea concludes that Qtiirinus wasat one time worshipped there under the nanie of Mai's ;■which involves also the converse, that Mars was once wor-

shipped under the adjectival cult-title Quirinus. UnJuckilyMars Quirinus is a combination as yet undiscovered ; andas the existence of a patrician Flamen Qutrinalis distinctfrom the Flamen Martialis points at least to a very earlydifferentiation of the two, it may be safer to think of the two,not as identical deities, but rather as equivalent cult-expresaionsof the same religious conception in two closely allied com-munities \

That the Quirinal was the seat of the cult of Quirinus admitsof no doubt ; and the name of the hill, ivhich we are told waaoriginally Agonus or Agonalis ', arose no doubt from the cult '.Heie were probably two temples of the god, the one dating

from B. G. 293, and having June 29 as its day of dedication ;the other of unknown date, which celebrated its bii-thday onthe Quirinalia°. A 'sacellum Quirini in coUe' is also men-tioned at the time of the Oallic invasion' (this was perhaps thepredecessor of the temple of June a 9}, and also the house of theFlamen Quirinalis which adjoined it. To the Quirinal alsobelong the Salii Agonensea, Collini, or Quiriuules, who cor-respond to the Salii of the Palatine and of Mais^. And here,

' C. I, t. 1. ^^ — y^. 475 anA i. 630 — vi. 565. The older one is attributed"by Hommsen to the codbuI P. Corneliua of B. 0, 336 ; < P. Cornêlioti] L. t.coso[n problttvit] Mar^te B»crom].' TJie other, ' Quirino L. AimiliuHL. f. pniitor,' must be aet down to an AemiliuB prsetur in aa^, 191, or 190.

The inference ia that Mars beciiine known as Quitinus in that spot at theCLid of the third centui-; b c. It ia worth noting that tlie legeiidai7 smilli,Mumurius, had a statue on the Quirinal (Jord. T<ip. ii. laj).

' This ia much what Dion. HaL a. ^8 fays was one view held in hi*time : ouk ^x**"" iliiur ri djtjiifli! sXtt 'A/j^s ta-rir tlrt iTp6s TU ifielas'Apti

■ See on Jan. g. Fest 354, _ ' Gilbert, i. aBg, pointa out that in the Argean itinerary (Jord. Top.



ii- 337 foil.) one of the diGinE»u of Iho Quirinal bears the name, and infers thegradual sprcud of the cutt of Quirinua over the whole hill ; but lie inaiststhat it waa introduced from tho Palatine. Tlie general leault of his wildbut ingenioua combinations is to infer a religious conquest of the Quirinalfrom the Palatine.

* Aust, op, cit. pp. II and 33. Mommaen, C l.L. i. 310, takes the onecf unknown date as tho older.

• AuHt, op. olt. 51, where for Liv. 4. 31 read Liv. 5. 40.' PreUer, i. 356.

Y 2


lastly, seems to belong the mysterious Flora or Horta Quirini/whose temple, according to Plutarch \ was * formerly ' alwaysopen. About the cult of Quirinus on his hill we know, however,nothing, except that there were two myrtles growing in frontof his temple, one called the patrician and the other theplebeian ^, and to which a curious story is attached. Preller '

noted that these correspond to the two laurels in the sacrariumMariis in the Eegia, and conjectured that each pair symbolizedthe union of the state in the cults of the two conmi unities.

Of the duties of the Flamen Quirinalis we have already seensomething * : unluckily they throw little or no new light on thecult of Quiriiius. He was concerned in the worship of Bobigus,of Census, and of Acca Larentia, all of them ancient cults ofagricultural Bome ; and he seems to have been in close con*noxion with the Vestal Virgins \ These are just such dutiesas we might have expected would fall to the Flamen of Mars ;and probably the two cults were much alike in character.

VII Kal. Mabt. (Feb. 23.) M*.

TER[MINALIA]. (caeb. mafp. bust. PHiLoa silv.)

Was there any connexion between the Terminalia and theend of the year? The Eoman scholars thought so; Varro*?writes, ^ Terminalia quod is dies anni extremus constitutus ;duodecimus enim fuit Februarius, et quum intercalatur, in*feriores quinque dies duodecimo demuntur mense.' So Ovid,

Tu quoque sacroriim, Termine, finis eras.

But Terminus is the god of the boundaries of land, and hasnothing to do with time ; and the Terminalia is not the lastfestival of the year in the oldest calendars. The Bomans musthave been misled by the coincidence of the day of Terminuswith the last day before intercalation. The position in the

^ Q. R, 46 ; Ennius ap. Nonium 120 ; Gell. 13. 33.

« Plin. H, N. 15. 120. * i. 373.



* See under April 25, Aug. 21, Dec. 23. Marq. 335 ; Schweglor, i. 334.

* Liv. 5. 40, 7 and 8.

* L. L. 6. 13. According to Macrob. (i. 13. 15) the five last days ofFebruary wei'e added after the intercalation, in order that March mightfollow on Feb., and not on the intercalated days.

MEN8I8 FEBEUAraUS 325

year of the rites to be described seems parallel to that ofthe Compitalia and Paganalia, which were concerned withmatters of common interest to a society of farmers: and wemay remember that Pliny ' said of the Fornacalia that itW88 ' farris torrendi ferijie et deque rdtgiosae tcrminis agrorum.'

The ritual of the Terminalia in the country districts isdescribed by Ovid '. The two landowners garlanded each hisside of the boundary-stone, and all offerings were double'. Analtar is made ; and fire ia carried from the hearth by thefarmer's wife, while the old man cuts up sticks and builds

them in a framework of atoiit stakes. Then with dry bark thefire is kindled ; from a basket, held ready by a boy ', the littledaughter of the family thrice shakes the fruits of the earth intothe fire, and offers cakes of honey. Others stand by withwine ; and the neighbours (or dependants) look on in silenc«and clothed in white. A lamb is slain, and a sucking-pig,and the boundary- atone sprinkled with their blood ; and theceremony ends with a feast and songs m praise of holyTerminus.

This rite was, no doubt, practically a yearly renewal of thatby which the stone waa originally fixed in its place. The latteris described by the gromatic writer Siculus Flaecua\ Fruits

of the earth, and the bones, ashes, and blood of a victim whichhad been oifered were put into a hole by the two (or three)owners whose land converged at the point, and the stone wasrammed down on the top and carefully fixed. The reasongiven for this was of courae that the stone might be identifiedin the future, e. g. by an arbiter, if one should be called in ' ;but it also reminds us of the practice of burying the remains

' If. N. 18. 8. See shove, p. 304. ' Fai^ti, a. 643 folL

' Tu duQ diversa douiini pro parte eoronant,

Binaqiiti sertu tibi binnque liba ffniiit.

' This must be a. hod of tho family. Wo have, therefora. in thin(^linmiing picture tbe predecessors of tba Eex, tbe Regin11am ines, and the Vesial Virgins.

Stat puer et manibus lata

Inde ubi 1



ignes,

s fill a parva favos.De-Harchi, p. 331, gives a cot of a piiinttng at Heruulaneiim wbich miritpresent a sceae of tbia kind.

"* velerts, i. 141. See Rudorff in vol. ii. 236 for an interesliiif thoreligio terminorum and its ethical ajid legal results.


of a victim \ and the use of the blood shows the extremesanctity of the operation.

That the stone was regarded as the dwelling-place of a vumenis proved by the fact that it was sprinkled with blood and gar-landed ' ; and the development of a god Terminus is perfectlyin keeping with Eoman religious ideas. It is more diJO&cult to

determine what was the relation of this Terminus to the greatJupiter who was so intimately associated, as we have seen ^with the idea of keeping faith with your neighbours. Was hethe numen originally thought to occupy the stone, and is thename Terminus, as marking a distinct deity, a later growth?I am disposed to think that this was so ; for we saw that thereis some reason to believe that Jupiter did not disdain todwell in objects such as trees and stones, and there is no needto look to Greece for the origin of his connexion with boundaries*.But Jupiter and Terminus remained on the whole distinct ; anda Jupiter Terminus or Terminalis is first found on the coins ofVaiTO the great scholar, probably in b. c. 76 *.

The close connexion of the two is seen in the legend thatwhen Jupiter was to be introduced into the great Capitolinetemple, from the Capitolium vetus on the Quirinal, all the godsmade way for him but Terminus * :

Quid nova cum fierent Capitolia? nempe deorumGuncta lovi cessit turba, locumque dedit.

Terminus, ut yeteres memorant, inventus in aedeRestitit, et magno cum love templa tenet.

This, as Preller truly observes, is only a poetical way ofexpressing his stubbornness, and his close relation to Jupiter,

with whom he continued to share the great temple. It seemscertain that there was in that temple a stone supposed to be

* Jevons, IniroducHon to the History (^Bdigion, 149.

* Robertson Smith, Beligion of the Semites j 187 foil.

' See under September, p. 229 foil. I may here notice the very curious



* oraculum ' in Qrom. Vet. p. 350 (ex libris Vegoiae) which connects Jupiterwith the introduction of termini in Etruria.

* Ztifs l^pioi he is called by Dion. Hal. (2. 74), where the cult is ascribedto Numa. Farnell, Cults of the Greek StateSf i. 159.

* Aust, in Myth, Lex. s. v. luppiter, 668.

« Fastij 2. 667 ; Li v. i. 55 ; Serv. Aen. 9. 448. Augustine, C. D. 4. 23, addsMars, and Dion. Hal. 3. 69 Inventus to Terminus, who could not be^ exauguratus.'

MENalS PEBBUAKItJS 327

tlrnt of Terminus, over which there was a hole in the roof :for all sacrifice to Terminus must be made in the open air.

Nunc quoque, se supra nc quid nisi aidi^ra cernat,Eziguum templi tccla foramou haboot '.

Precisely the same feature is found in the culfc of SemoSancus or Dins Fidius*, who was concerned with oaths and

treaties ; and of Hercules we are told that the oath takenin his name must be taken out of dooia*.

Of the stone itself we know nothing. It is open to us toguesa that it was originally a boundary-stone, perhaps betweenthe ager of the Palatine city and that of the Quirinal, Themens Capitolinus seems to have been neutral ground, as wemay guess by the tradition of the asylum there ; it wasoutside the pomoerium, and in the early Republic was theproperty of the priestly collegia". It was, therefore, a veryappropriate place for a terminus between two communities'.

From Ovid (679 foil.) we gather that there was a terminus-

atone at the sixth milestone on the via Laurentina, at whichpublic sacrifices were made, perhaps on the day of the Termi-nalia: this was probably at one time the limit of the ogerRoman us in that direction.

VI Kal. Mart. (Feb. 24). N.EEGIF[UGIUM]. (oaer. maff. philoc.) BEoiruaiDM, cum

TARQUINIUa SDPERBUa TEKTUR AB UBBE EXPULSUS. (SILV.)

This note of Silvins is based on a very old and naturalmisapprehension. Ovid '', and probably most Eomans, believed

' Serv. Aen, g. 448 ' Uiide in C»pil;alio prnna pars fecti pHlet, quaelapidem ipaum TKimini spectat.' This is the ' Capitoli immobile aaiuin 'of Virgil ; see above, p. S30.

' Ovid, 1. 0. 671. ' See above, p. 140. Varro, Z. L. 5. 6l5.

• Plut. q.R. xS. ' Ambroseh, Studien, 199 foil.

' It would exactly correspond to the spot of snored grfund on whichthe tarminiiB-stone stood between two properties (Rudorff, I. c). In the



latter case, it ia worth noting, the aacriScea and sacriGcers are doubles,■a with theSalii, Luperci,&c., of thatwo Koroan settlements. Mr. Granger(FToraAlp i)flhe flomans, 163I auggeate that this stone wus 'a relic from theoriginal dwelteis by the Tiber,'!, e. pre- Roman. But theqaestion ia, Howdid Ihe Romans come to associate it with TerminuH ?

' Btsfi, 3. 685 foil. He is prnbably following Varro and onntmon opinion,which latter Verrius mriira to ^Paul. 379) ' Itegifugium sacrum diaebant,


that the expulsion of Tarquin was commemorated on this day.There is, however, strong indirect evidence to show that the'flight of the king' on Feb. 24 was something very different.

1. We have already had a * flight of the people ' (Poplifugia)on July 5 ; and we saw that this was probably a purificatoryrite of which the meaning had been lost — the sacrifice perhapsof a sacred animal followed by the flight of the crowd asfrom a murder. It seems impossible, at any rate unwise, toseparate Poplifugia and Eegifugium in general meaning, forthere is no other parallel to them in the calendar. Both

were explained historically by the Eomans, because in both theobscure (and perhaps obsolete) religious rite was inexplicableotherwise ; and we must also endeavour to treat both on thesame principle.

2. It seems pretty clear that Verrius Flaccus did not believein the historical explanation of the Regifugium. In Festus,page 278, we find a mutilated gloss which evidently refersto this day, and is thus completed by Mommsen * : —

[Regifugium notatur in fastis dies a,d,] vi Ml, [Mart, quicreditur sic dict]us quia [eo die Tarquinius rex fugerit ex urhe].Quod fdf[Sum est; nam e castris in exilium dbisse eum rjettuê-

runt annales. Eectius explicahit qui regem e]t Salios^ [hoc die . . .facere sacri]ficium in [comitio eoque perfecto ilium inde fugeren]overit. . .

It may be said that this is all guesswork, and no evidence ;but it is borne out by the following passage in Plutarch's sixty-third Roman question :

"Eari yovp tis iv dyopa Bvala irphs ra ^tyofievc^ Kofirjrie^ TrdrptoSf ^v6v(ras 6 ffaaiKfVS Kara rdxos (hr€iari (fyivyuv i^ dyopdf.

Whence Plutarch drew this statement we cannot telL Hedoes not give the day on which the saciifice and flight took

quo die rex Tarquinius fugerit e Eoma.' The word dicehani seems to showthat this was not Verrius' own opinion.

^ C. I. L. i. 289. This gloss is no doubt the equivalent in Festus to thatof Paulus just quoted ; but the leading word Hegifugium is lost. I haveonly quoted so much as is needed for our purpose. For other completionsof the gloss see Miiller, FestuSf 1. c, and Huschke, Rom, Jahr, p. 166.

^ If this gloss really refers to Feb. 24, the presence of the Salii is diffi-



cult to account for, as their period of activity begins in March. Frazer inan interesting note (G. B. ii. a 10) suggests that the use of the Salii was todrive away evil demons ; if the Regifugium was a solemn piaculum, andthe victim a scapegoat, this explanation might serve for Feb. 24.

MENSIS FEBKUARIUS 329

place; and Huschke' has denied that he refers to theBegifugium at all. He beluwes that Plutarch is thinkiogof the days marked Q. R. C. F. (March 24 and May 2^), onwhich Varro says, or setms to say, that the Egx sacrorumsaciificed in the Comitiura ' ; and this may have been ao, forthe note in the Fasti Praeneetini on March 24 showB thatthere was a popular misinterpretation of Q. R. C, F, whichtook the letters to mean, ' quod eo die ex coiiitio fugerit res.'In this confuaion we can but appeal to the word Eegifugiiim,which is attached to Feb. 24 only. Taking this together withPlutarch's atatenaent, and remembering the great improbabilityof the historical explanation being the true one, we are justifiedin accepting Mommaen'a completion of the passage in Festus,and in concluding that there was really on Feb. 24 a flightof the Rex after a sacriflca

And this view is strengthened by the frequent occun-ence ofsacerdotal flights in ancient and primitive religions. Thesewere first collected by Lobeck', and have of late beentreated of and variously explained by Mannhardt. Frazer, andRobertson Smith*. The best known examples are those of theBouphonia ('ox murder') at Athens, in which every featureshows that the slain ox was regarded, ' not merely as a victimoffered to a god, but in itself a sacred creature, the slaughter ofivhich was sacrilege or murder''; and the sacrifice of a bull-ealfto Dionysus at Tenedos, where the priest was attacked withstones, and had to flee for his life '. We do not yet know forcertain whether the origin of these ideas ia to be found in

totemiam, or in the sanctity of cattle in the pastoral age, orin the representation of the spirit of vegetation in animal form.The second of these explanations, as elucidated by RobertsonSmith, would seem most applicable to the Athenian rite ; butin the case of the Ruman one, we do not know what the victim

' Eom. Jakr, 166 foil,

" L. L. 6. 31, wheie Hirsuhfelcl hus conjectured ' litat ad comitium 'for the MS. ' dicat.'

' Aglaophamtis, 6^6.

' Mannhardt, Myth. Farsch. 58 fall. ; Finzer, Golden Bovyh, ii. 35 foil. ;RribertsoQ Sm[th, Bdigion of the Semites, a86 foil. Cp. LiLng. Mvlk, RiYuoland Religion, ii. 333 foil. Sea also FjLmell, Cidlaqfihe Greel! Slain, i. S8 foil.,tcIio agreea in the main with Robertson Smith.

' Fruzer, I. 0, • Aelian, K. A. la. 34.




was. It is also just possible, as HartuDg loDg ago suggested \that the victim was a scapegoat carrying away pollution, andtherefore to be avoided ; but I do not find any example offlight from a scapegoat, among the many instances collectedby Mr, Frazer {Golden Bough, ii. 182 foil.).

Ill Kal. Mart. (Feb. 27). IP.eq[uibria]. (maff. gaeb. : cp. Varro, X. L. 6. 13).

We have no data whatever for guessing why a horse-raceshould take place on the last day of February, or why thereshould be two days of racing, the second being March 14.This has not, however, prevented Huschke ^ from making somemarvellous conjectures, in which ingenuity and learning havebeen utterly thrown away.

We saw * that the oldest races of this kind were connected

with harvest rejoicings ; and Mannhardt* suggested that theyoriginated in the desire to catch the spirit of vegetation inthe last sheaf or in some animal form. Baces also occur invarious parts of Europe in the spring— e.g. at the Carnival,at Easter, and at Whitsuntide ; and of these he says that theycorrespond with the others, and that the idea at the bottomof them is * die Vorstellung des wetteifemden Frtlhlingsein-zuges der Vegetationsdamonen.* However this may be, wecannot but be puzzled by the doubling of the Equirria, and aretempted to refer it to the same cause as that of the Saliiand Luperci*.

That both were connected with the cult of Mars is almost

beyond question. They were held in the Campus Martins,and were supposed to have been established by Eomulus inhonour of Mars * ; and we have already had an example of theoccurrence of horses in the Mars-cult. It would seem, then,

* Relig. der Romer, ii, 35. Cp. Gilbert, i. 343, note. The presence of theSalii (see above, p. 328), if a fact, would be in favour of this explanation.

* Rom. Jahr^ 199. ^ See on Aug. ai (Consualia).

* Myth. Forsch. 170 foil. ; Baumkuttus, 382 foil.

* This, though with impossible combinations, is what Huschke does

(199, note 53). Feb. 27 is the Roman, March 14 the Quirinal Equirria, inhis view. That the Quirinalia falls in February may perhaps give somesupport to the view.

* Yarro, L. L, 6. 13 ; Fest. Sx. See under Oct. 15.

MENSIS FEBRUARIUS 331



that the peculiar features of the worship of Mars began evenbefore March i. Preller noticed this long ago\ and suggestedthat even the Lupercalia and the Quirinalia have some relationto the Mars-cult, and that these fall at the time when the firstbeginnings of spring are felt — e.g. when the first swallowsarrived We may perhaps add the appearance of the Saliiat the Eegifugium to these foreshadowings of the March rites.Ovid seems to bear out Preller in his lines on this day ' :

lamqae duae restant noctes de mense secundo,Mursque citos iunctis curribus uiget equos:

Ex yero positum permansit Equirria nomen.Quae deus in Gampo prospicit ipse sue.

lure yenis, Gradiye. liocum tua iempora poscant»Siguatusque tuo nomine mensis adest.

I may aptly add Ovid's next couplet, now that we hayeat last reached the end of the Eoman year: —

Venimus in portum, libro cum mense peracto.Naviget hinc alia lam mlhi linter aqua.

» i. 361.

* So Ovid, on Feb. 26, writes (a. 853") :

Fallimur, an yeris praenuntia venit liirundO|Et metuit ne qua versa recurrat hiems?This would be early now for central Italy; but Columellai 11. 2, givesFeb. 23 as the date.» FasU, a. 857 folU

CONCLUSION

At the end of the introductory chapter a promise was madethat when we had completed the round of the year, we wouldsum up our results, sketch in outline the history of Bomanreligious ideas, and estimate the influence of all this elaborateceremonial on the life and character of the Eoman people.This imdertaking I must now endeavour to fulfil, though withdoubt and diffidence ; for even after the most careful examina-tion of the Calendar, both the character and the history of theBoman religious system must still in great degree remaina mystery. With such knowledge however as may have beengleaned in the preceding pages, the reader may be able toappreciate or criticize a few conclusions of a more general

character.

The Boman religion has been ably discussed in generalterms by several writers of note in the century just closing.Mommsen*s chapters in the early books of his Boman Historyare familiar to every one. The introduction to Marquardt'svolume on our subject is indispensable ; and Preller, lessexact perhaps, but more sympathetic and inspiring, still holdsthe field with the opening chapters of his work on BomanMythology. To these classical works may be added the



section on the Boman religion in the second volume of theJleligionsgeschichte of Chantepie de la Saussaye, and the firstchapter of Boissier's work on the Boman religion fromAugustus onwards. Professor Granger's Worship of the Eomansalso contains here and there some suggestive remarks, though asa rule these are not based upon any elaborate investigation ofthe cult. Lastly I may mention a small but valuable treatise^

CONCLUSION 333

publiehed aa long ago as 1837 by Leopold Krahner, on thistory of the decay of the Koman religion down to the ti:of Augustus, which felJ into my hands many yeai-s ago, andis in almost every sentence of value to the student of Bomanhistory.

In all these works the one point insisted on at the outsetis this : that the Eomans were more interested in the cult oftheir deities, that is, in the ritual and routine hy which theycould be rightly and successfully propitiated, than in thecharacter and personality of the deities themselves. This isindeed a truth which has been abundantly home out in our

examination of the Calendar, and might be further illustratedin almost every public act of procedure in the Eoman State,Cicero himself espressos it well in the second book of hisX)c Natura Seonim [t, 3. 8) ' Si conterre volumus nostra cumestemis, ceteris rebus aut pares aut etiam inferjores reperiemur,reljgione, id est oultu deorum, midto superiores.' The secondbook of his work Zte Legibws is also an invaluable witness tothe conviction, lasting on even in an age of scepticism andindifTerence among the educated, that the due performanceof sacred rites was a necessary function of the State, on whichits very existence depended. The Christian Fathers, some ofwhom, like St. Augustine and TertuUian, were men of learningwho had studied the voluminous works of Varro, were well

aware of this character ; and Tertullian in a curious passagewent 80 far aa to suggest that the Devil had here perpetratedan imitation or parody of the minute ritual of Leviticus '■ Sofar as externals go, the comparison he suggested is a usefulone ; but there is an essential difference in the religious spiritwhich lay at the root of the two ceremonial systems— a dif-ference that makes it impossible that any work should bewritten on the Koman religion as inspiring for the studentof religious history as The Jteligion of the Semites so oftenquoted in these pês.

This elaborate Boman ceremonial consisted in the main ofsacrifices of different kinds, conducted with an endless but

ordered variety of detail, of prayers, processions, and festivities,the object of which was either to obtain certain practicalresults, to discover the will of the gods, or to rejoice with the

' TertulliaD, di Praeaciiplionibvii Haercliconim, 40.

h» ■



id I


divine inhabitants of the city over the prosperous event ofsome undertaking. When we survey it in the Calendar asH whole, it seems to fall naturally into three divisions, whichcorrespond with and illustrate the development of the Statefrom its constituent materials. The Calendar contains in factin a fossilized condition the remains of three different strataof religious or social development.

(i) Here and there we find survivals of what we can onlyregard as the most primitive condition of human life inancient Latium : that of men dwelling on forest-clad hill-tops,surroimded by a world of spirits, some of which have takenhabitation in, or are in some sort represented by, objects suchas trees, animals, or stones. Examples of such objects are theoak of Jupiter Feretrius, the sacred fig-tree of Eumina, the stoneof Terminus with its buried sacrifice, and the wolf, the wood-pecker, and spear of Mars. To this earliest stratum may alsobelong in their ultimate origin those quaint sacrificial or semi-

dramatic rites of which we have had examples in the Lupercalia,the Fordicidia, and the Parilia. The casting of the Argei intothe Tiber may perhaps also be reckoned here, though connectedlater on with certain divisions of the developed city of whichthe meaning and origin are lost to us. This primitive popula-tion knew also of charms and spells and omens, not reducedindeed as yet to a definite system, of which the Calendarnaturally supplies hardly any indications, while in Ovid andCato not a few survivals meet us. But the investigation ofthe oldest culture of central Italy is more especially theprovince of archaeology, and to the archaeologists, who arenow in Italy doing excellent and elaborate work, I must becentent to leave it.

(2) We next come conjecturally to clearly- defined evidenceof a period in which the ordered processes of agriculture, andthe settled life of the farm-house, are the distinctive features.We have the beginnings of a calendar in the observation ofthe quarters of the moon and their connexion with the deitiesof light. We have the discipline of the house, represented inthe cult of Vesta the hearth-spirit, imder the care of thedaughters of the family, while the sons as flamines have theirspecial sacrificial duties, the head of the house presiding overall, and having as his own special department the worship of

00NCLU3I0S 335

the spirit of the door-way (Janus). The occupations of thefamily are reflected in the series of festivals which representthe processes and perils of pastoral and agricultural industry :e, g, the Robigalia, Ambarvalio, Veatjilia, Consualia, Opicon-sivia, Yinalia, Saturnalia, and Terminalia : this last indicatingalso the idea of property, whether of the community or theindividual. We have also clear traces of the union of farms



in a group (pagus); for the Paganalia still survived in thefiill-gi-own city, and both at the Saturnalia and Compitaliathe households met together at the winter period of ease andrejoicing.

(3) The further development of social life is also reflectedin the annual rites we have been investigating. We see theaggregation of small communities in the Septimontium, inthe Fomacalia or feast of the Curiae, possibly also in theritual of the twenty-four or twenty-seven Sacella Argeorum,round which a procession seems to have gone in March andMay. The Parentaiia again is the systematized cult of thedead in their own city, outside the walls of the city ofthe living. The Lares Praestites, worshipped on May 1, arethe guardian spirits of the whole community. The Eegia, thedwelling of the king, is its political and religious centre, withits saci-arium of Mars, the peculiar deity of the stock, and withthe house and hearth of Vesta close by, now grown to be thesymbol of the State's vitality. The Vestals and Plamines havebecome priests of special worships in an organized state, andat the head of all is the Ees, still specially concerned with thecult of Janus, but representing in his priestly capacity thewhole community. The steadilyincreasing tendency to organize,a tendency rooted in the very fibre of this people, is producing

colleges of pontifices and augurs, to assist by associated effortin making sure of the laws of intercoui'se with the unseenworld, and of the best methods of divining its will andintontion. And lastly, not only have we found in the festivalstraces of the growth and systematization of the life of the city,but in the great Latin festival we have also religious evidenceof the early tendency of the cities of Latin blood to combine insome sort with each other.

We have thus reached what has been called by Preller theperiod of Numa, the king with whose name and personality

336

THE ROMAN FESTIVALS

the Eomans always associated the redaction of the Fasti andthe state-organization of their religion : a personality so clearlyconceived by them as to bear witness at once to its ownhistorical reality, and to their conviction of the vital importance

of his work. Before we go • further, let us pause hei-e tointerrogate the Calendar as to the nature of the divine beingswho in these same stages of development were the objects ofpopular worship. The simplest way to do this will be topresent a table showing the list of the most ancient festivals,with the deities concerned in them, so far as they can beidentified, in a parallel column : —



FesHvcUs,

KALENDS

IDES

EQUIRRIA

LIBERALIA

FORDIOIDIA

CERIALIA

PARILIA

ROBIGALIA

LEMURIA

ARGEORUM SACRA

AGONIA

VESTAUA

MATRALIA

POPLIFUGIA

LUCARIA

NEPTUNALIA

FURRINALIA

PORTUNALIA

VINALIA

CONSUAUA

VOLOANALIA

OPICONSIVIA

MEDITRINALIA

FONTINALIA

AGONIA

CONSUALIA

SATURNALIA

OPALIA

DIVALIA



LARENTALIA

AGONIA

CARMENTALIA

LUPERCALIA

QUIRINALIA

FERALIA

TERMINALIA

REGIFUGIUM

Deities.

JUKO.JUPITEB.

Mars.

LiBEB.

Tellus?

Gebes.

Pales?

ROBIGUS.

Ghosts (unburied).

Unknowii.

Vediovis ?

Vesta.

Mateb Matuta*

Unknown.

IfNeptunus.

FUBRINA ?

portunus*Jupiter.

CONSUS.

volcanus.Ops ConsiyaUnknown.



FOKS?

Unknown*

CONSUS.

Saturnus.

Ops.

Anoerona ?

Larentia ?

Janus?

Garhenta.

Unknown.

quirinus.

Buried Akcesfobs.

Terminus.

Unknown.

COaCLUSIOH

337

Here it wOI be noticed that in those festivals which seem tobe survivals from the oldest stratum of civilization (the periodof Faunus, as Preller has named it), viz. the Lupercalia, Parilia,Fordicidia, Argeorum Sacra, the deities concerned are eitheraltogether doubtful, or so wanting in clearness and prominenceaa to he altogether subordinate in interest to the details of theceremony. The Parilia and Fordicidia were telieved in latertimes to have belonged to Pales and Tellus ; but our authorityfor the grounds of such belief is not strong, and as a matterof fact these two, together with the sacrifice of the Octoberhorse, were interconnected by details of antique ceremonial,

rather than eeparately defined by their relation to particularnumina. In other festivals which may have possibly comedown from the oldest period, the deity is almost entirely lostHere is good evidence of the indistinctness of the JRoman con-ception of the divine ; the cult appealed to this people as thepractical method of obtaining their desires, but the unseectpowers with whom they dealt in this cult were beyond theirken, often unnamed, and only visible in the sense of beingseated in, or in some sort symbolized by, tree or atone oranimal. They are often multiplex, like the Fauni, Silvani,



Lares, Penates, Semones, Cannent«s ; or they run into eachother, like Bona Dea. Maia, Tellus, Ceres, Dea Dia, and others.Only the great deity of the stock stands out at all clearly ;Father Mars of the Romans ; Father Diovis of the whole Latinrace ; to these we may perhaps add the Hercules or Genius,and Juno, representing respectively the male and femaleprinciples of human life.

In the second and third of the strata which the Calendaroffers to the excavator, representing the ordered life of thehousehold and afterwards of the city, we atill find much of thesame indistinctness. Yesta indeed, the spirit of the hearth-fire,becomes clearly though not personally delineated ; so too, butin a less degree, does Janus the spirit of the doorway. Twoother groups of spirits also occupy the house ; the Lares, whomay have been the spirits of dead ancestors duly buried, andthe Penates or spirits of the store chamber ; both of thembecoming sufficiently clear in the popular conception to berepresented by images at a very early period. But in theround of ancient festivals, some at least of the so-called g


so far as we can guess at their original nature, hardly deservethat name. Liber and Ceres seem to have been originallygeneral names for an ill-defined class of spirits ; Eobig^s is thespirit of the mildew ; Census and Ops are not personalities,but numina protecting the gathered harvest, as Satumus pro-bably protected the sown seed. The Compitalia was concernedonly with the Lares Compitales, spirits of the crossways ; inthe Paganalia we have but very indistinct information as to theobject of worship. The Yinalia, marking a later and moreskilled agricultural process, seems on the other hand alwaysto have been clearly connected with Jupiter himsel£

Thus in the so-called period of Numa, the period of theearlier monarchy and the first organization of the city-state,the religious life of the community had become highlysystematized in respect of the cult, of the priest in charge ofit, and the ius which governed all the citizens in their relationto the world of divinities. Of any real change however in thecharacter of these divinities, of any approach to polytheism inthe way of an increased individuality of conception, of iconicrepresentation, or definite temple-worship, the Calendar thendrawn up supplies no certain evidence. There may indeedhave been a tendency towards a clearer definition of numinaârising from the very fact of the definite organization of prayerand sacrifice, and of the allotment of cults to particular priest-

hoods or families. There may, even at that early stage inEoman history, have been an influence at work on the Eomanmind, coming from Etruria and Greece, where polytheismfound its nourishment in works of art and mythological fancy.These are possibilities of which we must take account, but theCalendar has nothing positive to tell us of them.

It is when we advance to the later monarchy, which wemay speak of without hesitation as an Etruscan dynasty, thatwe find a change beginning, both in the forms and objects of



the cult, which marks an epoch in Eoman religious history.The oldest Calendar, that of the large letters in the Fasti, tellsus of course nothing of this. But in the additamenta ex fastis,and in later literary allusions, we have a considerable body ofmaterial to help us in following out the character and conse-quences of this change. It is at this point, or rather at theend of the monarchy, that we begin to hear of the building

CONCLUSIOIT 339

of real temples, as distinct frooi luci, Bacella, arae, or fana ; ofthe introduction into these of statues of the gods, of the Graecusrilus in sacrifice, and of the appearance of new deities, some ofthfim apparently connected with new elements of population.

This epoch is most clearly marked by the building of thegreat temple on the Capitol of Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva,an Etruscan Trias, perhaps ultimately of Greek origin, whoseetatues, a,s we have seen, were invited in true polytheiaticfashion to partake of a feast every year on the Idea ofSeptember, the dies natalis of the temple. This temple wasdedicated in b. c. 509, directly after the expulsion of Tarquinius

Buperbus, The next of which we hear is that of the oldBoman Saturnus (b.c. 497), now strangely represented by afettered statue, and worshipped henceforward Graeco rilv, withthe head uncovered. Nest cornea Mercurius (b.c. 495)1 a godunknown to the most ancient Fasti ; then Ceres, the GreekSemeter under a familiar Italian name (b.c. 493); next For-tuna with a statue (b.c. 486), an imported goddess, to whomServius Tullius, if tradition can be trusted, had already erectedtemples. To this same age belongs probably the temple ofDiana on the Aventine, wîth a Oi'eek ^ôv; and the intro-duction of A polio -worship as a popular cult. If we follow thecatalogue of dedications during the two centuries following theabolition of the monarchy ', we find that out of fourteen of

which the dates are known to us, six are Greek or Oraeco-Etruscan, three more admit before long a non-Koman ritualunder the influence of the duoviri sacris fachindis, and five areknown to have contained statues from an early period. Onlythree, those of DiusFidius, of Juno Lucina, and of Mater Matuta,can be said to have been genuine Boman foundations. Withoutdoubt a great change is here indicated which has come overIhe Boman religion, both in cult and theology. New elementsof population, new relations with conquerors or conquered,new commercial enterprise, new experiences of war, famine,and pestilence, bring in new deities, suggest recourse to newdivine aids. The old Bome is almost a thing of the past ; thecults and deities of the Numan period no longer suffice, and

are perhaps already beginning to be forgotten; the oldest

> Collected by Au«t in his work iTi Aerlibus aaeri', pp. 4 folL


priesthoods begin to give place in all except empty externalsto the semi-political colleges of pontifices and augurs, and to



the important new foundation of duoviri sacris faciundis ; theold Italian ritual of simple apparatus and detailed ceremonyis becoming overshadowed by the showy ceremonial of lecti-stemia and supplicationes.

Was there no reaction, we may well ask, against a tendencyso expansive and denationalizing ? I answer this question withhesitation, for so far as I am aware it has never yet been fullyinvestigated. But I am strongly disposed to believe that therewas such a reaction in the third century b. c, in the period, thatis, between the Samnite wars and ifiannibars invasion of Italy.This, unlike the preceding century, was a period of almostuniform success of the Eoman arms, and one in which theState was at no time in serious peril ; and the temptation tohave recourse to strange divinities, as a patient betakes himselfto new physicians, would not present itself to the minds of thesenate or the priesthoods. If we pursue the history of thetemple-foundations of this period, under Aust's invaluablyguidance, the result is very remarkable. Between 304 and217 B.C. we know the dates of twenty-five foimdations; andof these no less than twenty are in honour of indigenous, orat least what I may perhaps call, home-made deities. Nodoubt there is a growing tendency to identify Eoman godswith Greek ; but this does not show itself plainly till the end

of the century, and the only genuine Greek foundation is thatof Aesculapius, the consequence of a severe pestilence in 293 b.c.Three or four, e.g. those of Fors Fortuna, Minerva Capta, andFeronia, were probably of non-Roman origin ; but they weretransplanted from the near neighbourhood of Eome and mayalmost count as indigenous.

In contemplating the Eoman foundations of this period weare struck by certain indications of the activity of the pontifices,as distinguished from the dvmiri sacris faciundis ] i.e. theactivity of that college of priests whose special charge wasthe Eoman religion proper, and who were only indirectly con-cerned with foreign introductions. For example, we may note

with interest a group of four agricultural deities, to whomtemples were dedicated in the eight years between 272 and264 B.C., the years, that is, of the pacification and settlement

CONCLUSION

of Italy aft«r the invasion of Pyrrhua'. These deities wereCensus, Tellus, Pales, and Vortumnus. Owing to the loss ofLivy's second decade ive cannot be very certain of tlie imme-diate object of these foundations ; but we may guess that theyhad a definite meaning in connexion with the events of the

time, and that they were chiefly the work of the pontificalcollege. Less distinct perhaps, but still worth noticing, isa group of foundations in honour of deities connected withwater', i.e. to Tempeatatea, Juturna and Fons, which seemto have had some i-eference to the naval operations of the FirstPunic War. The temple of Juturna was vowed by LutatiusCatulus in the battle at the Aegates Insulae in 241 b.c, ; thatto the Tempestates by Cornelius Scipio, when the fleet wasalmost destroyed near Coiîca in 2598,0.; and that of Fonsin the Corsican war in 231 B.C. It was characteristic of the



Koman mind, and of the pontifical methods, thus to connectthe spirits of the springs in Kome with those of the sea andits tempests.

It is at this time also that we notice the appearance ofabstractions resolved into deities, such as Salus, Spes, Fides,Honos et Virtus, Concordia, and Mens. These, as I have saidelsewhere ', are not genuine old Homan cults, but pontificalcreations in the spirit of the old Roman impersonal anddaemonic ideas of divine agency. In connexion with theseI may mention the conviction which has grown upon me inthe course of these investigations, that it was in this 'reactionaryperiod, as we may call it, that the pontifices drew up thatextraordinary list of deities, classified according to theirfunctions in relation to man and his activity and suffering,which we know as the Indigitamenta. This seems to mecharacteristic of the period, inasmuch as it was probably basedon the old Roman ideas of divine agency, now systematizedby something like scientific terminology and ordered classifica-tion. It is the old national belief in the ubiquity of the worldof spirits, now edited and organized by skDIed legal theologians.But it would be beyond the province of this work to venturefurther into this tangled question.

From the Hannibalio war to the end of the KepublJo is the' Aust, op, fit , p. 14, note 1. ' Auat, op. tit,, p, 15, note i.


period of the decay and downfall of the old Eoman religion^This period need not detain us long ; it has been no part ofmy plan to exhibit this religion on its death-bed, for the Fastido not admit us to that scene. They show us a living andgenuine, not a spurious and enfeebled religious life. A fewsalient facts shall suffice as illustrations of the slow process of

this dissolution.

At the very outset of the period we mark the solemnintroduction into Eome of Cybele, the Magna Mater Idaea,and the stone which was supposed to represent her ; and weare thus warned that even the Greek cults, with all theiradjuncts of art and mythology, are no longer sufficient forEoman needs. The State is once more in peril, and the far-reaching struggle with Hannibal has brought her into touchwith new peoples and cults. The Greeks do indeed continueto be the chief invaders of the Eoman religious territory, butthe religion they bring with them is a debased one. Theextraordinary rapidity with which the orgiastic rites of

Dionysus spread over Italy in i86 b. c. proves at once thatthe Italian religious forms were wearing out, and that theGreek substitute was no longer a wholesome one\ Fromthis time forward the lower strata of population show atendency to run after exciting Oriental forms of worship,which neither the attempted restoration of the old religionby Augustus, nor the subsequent rapid growth of Christianity,could entirely and permanently check. Among the educatedclasses the old beliefs were being eaten away by the acids ofa second-hand philosophy. The Greeks had long begun to



inquire into the nature of the gods, and they passed on theirdisintegrating criticism to their conquerors. Euhemerus, thearch-destroyer of ancient faiths, became known to the Eomansthrough a translation by Enuius at the beginning of the secondcentury b. c. ; and it took only another century and a half toproduce the sceptical and eclectic treatise of Cicero, De NaturaDeorum.

Again, nothing is more characteristic of this period than thecontempt and neglect into which the old priesthoods graduallyfell ; Eome now. swarmed with a mongrel population thatknew little of them and cared less. In the year 209 b. c. even

^ See especially the speech of the consul Postumius in Liyy 39. 15.

CONCLUSION 343

the priesthood of Jupiter was filled by the youthful blacksheep of an old patrician family, appai-ently for no otherreason than the hope that so objectionable a character mightbe reformed by the many quaint restrictions imposed upon theoffice '. Of the flamines in general, of the Fratres Arvales,

Salii, Sodales Titii, and others of the ancient priesthoods wehenceforward hear little or nothing until the revival of learningand religion in the Augustan age. Old forms continued tobe used, but mainly for political purposes, like the obmintiatioor observation of lightning ; and only those religious officeswhich had considerable political power continued to be soughtafter by men of light and leading.

Temples continued to be vowed and built, especially in theearKer part of this period ; but their cults are, with fewexceptions, of Greek origin, or are new and fanciful forms ofold worships, such as the Lares Permarini, Venus Verticordia,Foiiuna Equestris, OpsOpifera, Fortuna Huiusce Diei. Before

the fall of the Republic a great number of the old temples hadfallen almost irreti'ievably into decay ; Augustus tells us in hisrecord of hia own reign that he restored no less than eighty-twoof them. This too is the period when the identification ofRoman gods with Greek became a general fashion ; a processwhich had begun long before, but originally with a genuinemeaning and object, not as the sport of a sceptical societyeducated in Greek speculation. Salus takes the attributes ofHygieia, Mater Matuta becomes Leucothea, Famius Pan,Saucus Hercules, Carmenta Nicostvate, Neptunus Poseidon,the god of Soracte, Apollo Soranus ; and even the greater godslike Mars, Diana, and others assume more and more thelikeness and mythical adornment of their supposed Greek

equivalents.

The civil troubles of the age of revolution completed thework of disintegration. Men became careless, reckless, self-regarding ; the SfiatSaifinvia of which Polybius could say onlyjust bffore the revolution began, that more than anythingelse it served to knit the Koman state together, was lost toview in the tumult of political passion and personal greed.Not indeed that it was altogether extinct ^ that could neverbe, and never has been the case in Italy. Augustus, who



' Sea a pnper by the aufhor id Classical Rerleui, vol, vii. p. 193 foil.


came by degrees to know the people he governed better thanany statesman in Italian history, was well aware that toinspire the Eoman world once more with confidence, he mustbring the religious instinct into play again. The task he thusset himself he accomplished with extraordinary skill and tact ;the old religion seemed to live again, the old priesthoods wererevived, the old minutiae of worship were restored. He didwhat he could to bring to life again even the spirit and theprinciples of the old religlo ; and in the Carmen Saeculare ofHorace, written to his order at a moment when he wishedto make these things obvious to the eyes of all Eomans, weprobably have the best succinct exposition of them to befound in Eoman literature ^ But of the Augustan revival,and of the reasons why it could not be permanent, I mustforbear here to speak further.

I have yet to say a few words in answer to the interesting

question whether the religious system we have been examininghad any appreciable influence on the character of the Eomanpeople : whether it contributed to build up that virtus of theState and the individual which enabled them to subdue andgovern the world, as the pietas of Aeneas in the poem armedhim for the subjugation and civilization of the wild Italiantribes. The question may at first sight seem a superfluousone, since the religion of a people is rather the expressionof its own genius for dealing with the perplexities of humanlife, than a vera causa in determining its character ; yet it isworth asking, for it is unquestionable that the peculiar turntaken by a nation's religious beliefs and practices does incourse of time come to react upon its character and morals.

It has often been said of the Eoman religion that it hadnothing to do with righteousness, and was without ethicalvalue. The admirable criticism of it given by Mommsen inthe first volume of his History may originally have suggestedthis view ; but if so, the copyists have exaggerated the opinionof the master in one particular point, failing to give due weightto the general tenor of his exposition. However this may be,

* Note for example the way in which Horace has contrived to introducein combination the ideas of the fertility of crops and herbs, of marriageand the increase of population, of public morality and prosperity.

CONOLDSION 345

we certainly are now always invited to conclude that thisgreat people, which in its deaUngs with human beings dis-covered an extraordinary genius for espansion and adaptation,in its attitude to the supernatural remained cooped up withincuriously narrow mental limits, drawing no real sustenanceeither from its primitive beliefs or its quaint and detailed



practice. The current views of this kind have just latelybeen so well summed up in an admirable English work on thelatest age of Eoman society and thought, that I cannot dobetter than borrow a few sentences from it ' : —

'The old Eoman theology was a hard, narrow, unexpanaivesystem of abstraction and personification, which strove torepresent in its Pantheon the phenomena of nature, therelations of man in the State or in the clan, every act andfeeling and incident in the life of the individual. Unlike themythologies of Hellaa and the East, it bad no native principleof growth, or adaptation to altered needs of society and theindividual imagination. It was also singularly wanting inawe and mystery. The religious apii'it which it cultivatedwas formal, timid, and scrupulous, . . , The old Komanworship was businesslike and utilitarian. The gods worepartners in a contract with their worshippers, and the ritualwas characterized by the hard and literal formalism of thelegal system of Eome. The worshipper performed hia partto the letter with the scrupulous exactness required in pleadingsbefore the praetor. To allow devotional feeling to transgressthe bounds prescribed by immemorial custom was "super-stitio."*

It is impossible to deny that thore is much truth in all this ;yet I may venture to express a doubt whether it contains thewhole truth. The fact is that the subject needs a morehistorical treatment, and perhaps also something of the his-torical imagination, to do it full justice.

In the earliest periods of Roman civilization, those of thofamily and the beginnings of the State, the Roman attitudetowards the aupematural was, if I am not mistaken, a realcontributing cause towards the formation of virtus. It wasnot merely an attitude of business and bargaining. So far


as we know it, the common form of address to the gods was.not 'send me what I want — sun, rain, victory, &c., and youshall then have these gifts ' ; but * I give you these sacrificesand expect you to do your part ; in taking all this troubleto act correctly by you, I establish a right as against you.'It is true that in one particular form of dealing with the gods,the vow, or solemn imdertaking (votum)j the transaction wearsmore the character of a definite bargain ; if the god will docertain things, he shall then have his reward. So Cloanthusin Virgil addresses the gods of -the sea ' —

Di, quibus imperium est pelagi, quorum aequora curro,Vobis laetus ego hoc candentem in litore taurumGonstituam ante aras, voH reus, extaque salsosProiciam in fluctus et vina liquentia fundam.

But the votum was the exception, not the rule ; it was apromise made by an individual at some critical moment, notthe ordered and recurring ritual of the family or the State. Ittakes its peculiar form simply because the maker of the vow



is not at the particular moment in a position to fulfil it. Thenormal attitude of the Eoman in prayer and sacrifice was notthis ; it is much more exactly expressed in the formula of thefarmer's prayer already quoted in these pages : * Father Mars,I pray and beseech thee be willing and propitious to me, myhousehold, and my slaves ; for the which object I have causedthis threefold sacrifice to be driven round my farm and land. 'This is the usual and natural attitude of all peoples in sacri-ficing to their gods, and is far from being peculiar to Eome ;but it was the nature of the Eoman to express it in a moreformal and definite way than others, and this led to an out-ward religion of formulae which has done much to obscure forus, as indeed for the Eomans themselves, the real thoughtunderlying them.

These exact formulae of invocation and sacrifice were reallythe outward expression of a fear of the unknown, and its powerto hinder and injure man ; for the old Eoman did not knowhis gods intimately, inasmuch as they took no human shape,and did not dwell in buildings made by hands. We haveillustrated this ignorance of his again .and again, and the

^ Jen. S' ^SS»

CONCLUSION 347

vagueness and fluidity of the religious conceptions of theRoman mind. The remedy for this weakness was found, aswith the Jews, in a remarkable formularity of ritual, bothas regards time, placp, and method of worship : in a seriesof elaborate prescriptions drawn up by experts, going even sofar 09 to anticipate the consequence of an unintentionalomission or error by piacular acts. This in time, and underBtate organization, became a science, and finds its parallel inthe science of legal formulae. But there was a difference

hetwei n the two sciences, even for the Boman. In religiousacts, the human mind is dealing with the unseen and un-known, not with human beings who can be calculated withor outwitted. His fear of the unknown was thus for theprimitive Roman a wholesome discipline ; and his attitudetowards it he aptly and characteristicHlly called religio, becauseit bound bim to the performance of certain regulated duties,calculated to keep his footsteps straight as he talked dailyin this unseen world : duties which even in the family andclan must have been to some extent systematized, and whichwhen the city-state was reached took the definite form ofa calendar of public prayers, sacrifices, and festivities.

Now surely in this motive of fear, thus remedied by exactritual, we may trace a true civilizing element — the idea ofDuty, Pietas, which as Cicero defined it, was ' iustitia ergadeos': righteous dealing towards the gods, in expectation ofrighteous treatment on their part. And he would be a boldman who should assert that ' iustitia erga deos ' had no effectin inducing the habit of ' iustitia erga homines ': in otherwords that it could not react upon conduct. In the pietas ofthe one typical Boman in literature both these elements areequally present. The pietas of Aeneas ia a sense of duty



towards god and man alike ; to liis father, his son, and hispeople, as well aa to the will of the gods, and to that solemnmission which is at once the religion of his life and the keyto the great Boman poem ', This is indeed that same senseof duty and responsibility which governed every Roman uiauthority in tlie l>est days of the State, whether paterfamilias,patronus, priest, or magistrate, and which was the motivepower in the working of a constitution which lasted for cen-

' See Nettteship, Essagu in Latin Lilerature, pp. 103, 104,


turieSy though only resting on a basis of trust. In this pietaSjit is true, we find no sense of contrition for sin, no humblingof the individual self before an almighty Governor of theworld ; but we do find a very sensitive conscientiousness,arising from the dread of neglect or trespass in the dischargeof religious observance, in the trust committed by family orState to its constituted representative. And this trust includedalso the discharge of duties to other men, the neglect of whichmight bring down the anger of the Unknown, and even compel

the surrender of a criminal as s(icer to an offended deity. Wefind abundant evidence of this aspect of the religio in thelanguage of solemn oaths and treaties, and especially in con-nexion with the cult of the great Jupiter.

I maintain then that in* this Eoman religion, in spite ofits dryness and formality, there was a distinct ethical andcivilizing element. And in conclusion I may perhaps raise thequestion whether it was really, as has been so often asserted,such a conception of the unseen as could never admit ofelevation and expansioil. A religion, which in its best andsimplest forms, could bind men together in the orderly dutifullife of family, gens, state, and federation, could hardly, if left

to itself have speedily become an inanity, even though basedon the motive of fear rather than that of brotherly love. Butthis religion, as the State became more fully matured, cameunder the influence of two retarding causes. First, its ritual,always obnoxious to formularism, was gradually deprived ofits meaning by great priesthoods which from causes whichneed not be here discussed became powerful political agencies.Secondly, the contact with a mature system of polytheism,adorned and in some sort materialized by art and literature,drew away the mind of the simple and wondering Eoman fromthe task of developing his religious ideas in his own way.When a new world of thought broke on the conquering Eomanof the Eepublic, his own religious motives were already drying

up under the influence of a powerful State-organization. Hispietas lived on after a fashion for centuries, but more and moreit lost that hold on the conscience, that appeal to trust andresponsibility, which had once promised it a vigorous lifeand growth. While foreign gods and cults attracted hisattention and admiiâtion, or appealed to his sense that there

CONCLUSION 349



was no quarter from which supernatural aid might not becalled in for the advancement of his State^ they failed to bindhis conscience with the wholesome motives which lay at theroot of his old native religio. And neither in the reactionof the fourth century b.c., nor in the protests of an austereCato in the second, nor in the elaborate revival of Augustus,much less in any later effort of philosopher or autocrat toreturn to the old ways, was any permanent resuscitation ofdiscipline or conduct possible. The problem of giving a realreligion to the world-state into which the Eoman dominionhad then grown, was not to be solved either by IRoinsLn pietasor Hellenic polytheism.

NOTES ON TWO COINS.

A. DENARIUS OF P. LICINIUS STOLO (p. 42).

Obv. AVGVSTVS TR POT Augustus, laureate, on horse-back to r.

Bev. P. STOLO Helmet (apex) between two shields.

IIIVIR

The forms of the helmet and shields are very archaic andinteresting, appearing to point to a very early period. Thehelmet bears a marked likeness to that worn on Egyptianmonuments by the Shardana, one of the races that invadedEgypt about the thirteenth century b.c. The shield seems toconsist of two small round bosses connected by an oval boss.It is strikingly like the Mycenaean shield as shown on a

number of monuments, and far earlier than the so-calledBoeotian shield which was common in Greece from the sixthcentury onwards. The Roman writers themselves seem tohave been puzzled by this shape (Marindin, article * Salii ' inSmith's Diet. Antiq,), and there can be little doubt that it camedown from a time when the * Mycenaean* civilization wascommon to Greece and Italy.

NOTES ON TWO COINS 35I

The figure on the coins of M. Sanquinius (Babelon, Mon. de

la It^pub. Som. ii. 417), who wears a. homed helmet and longtuiiie and carries a herald's staff and round ehieltl, has beenidentified by aeveral authorities as one uf the Salii. This,how-Gver, is certainly wrong. Both on this coin, and latercoins of Domitian, the personage ia closely connected with theLudi Saecularea. Dr. Ihâael, in the Ephem. Epigr. viii. 314,maintains him to be a herald proclaiming the festival. Thiswould admirably suit the caduceus ; but the decorations of thehelmet seem to me to be not plumes, as Dr. Dressel thinks,but horns, like those on the headpiece of Juno Lanuvina. In



any case the person is no Saliua.

B. DENARIUS OF L. CAESIUS (p. 101}.

Obv- Youthful bust 1., hair disordered, striking with thunder-bolt. Behind, a monogram.

Hev. L. CAESI Two young male figures seated to r. Eachhas drapery wrapped round waist, and grasps a spear. Betweenthem, a dog, which one of them caresses. In field, in mono-grams, LARE Above, head of Vulcan and pinchers (moueyer's

mark). Tlie monogram of the obverse was read by MommsenAP for Apollo ; but the closed P was not at that time in use:the interpretation of Montagu {Numismalic Chronicle, iSgfi,p. irj2)as Roma is therefore to be preferred. The head appearsto be that of Vedius or Vejovis, whose statue at Rome carriedin the hand a sheaf of arrows, which would naturally be con-fused with the Greek thunderbolt. Other heads of Vejovis

on Roman coins, as those of the Gena Fonteia, are moreApolline in type, with long curls and laurel-wreath.

The two seated figures of the reverse are identified by theinscription as Lares. They are clearly ossimiliited to the GreekDioscuri, early adopted at Rome. The dog, however, which


sits between them is an attribute properly belonging to them.Dr. Wissowa in Roscher's Lexicon (p. 1872) says that they are

clad in dogs' skins ; this, however, is certainly not the case, anordinary cloak or chlamys falls over their knees.

This representation of the Lares stands by itself, the deitiesare frequently represented in later art, especially wall-paintingsand bronze statuettes, but their tyx>e is that of boys who holdcomucopiae or drinking vessel, and are fully clad.

P. G.

INDEX OF

SUBJECTS ^^1

tion?, 180, aâ•, Hîeus, iSoj



AedesHerculia: ncFonimBoariuin.

restoration of worship by AuguH-

Aedes Tostae : su Vestft.

AedilHs, plebeiBD, 75, 76, ga.

84, 181; tsmplw., iBo, 183;

wonhip, 117, i79-8a. 339.

nexion with VedioTis, 123, 378 ;

April : character, 6, 9, 33, ^-7;

temple, 278, 340.

conneKioii with Venna, 67. 69;

Agonifl : Deoember, =65, aSi ;

fListivals, 66-97 ; origin of name,

JanaaiT, B77, aBo-a ; MartOi, 54,

6, 33, 66; prevalence of female

a8i; Mnr, 131,361.

deities, 67.

Agonus (or Agonali-), 333.

Ara Maxima : xee Circus Mtximua.

Agriculture: fastiva]a,3, li, 79-83,



Argei : nw also Satella Argeoinm,

flS-B, BB-gr, ,13-4, "4-8, US-

150. 151 ; Biplanations of oostom,

S4, 304-6, ao6-9, aia-^4, 356-8,

ti4, ji6-3a; mourning of Fla-

368-73,334-7.335.

miniea Dialis, 113, 115, 119. 151 ;

Albui Uoant: Ftuiae Latinae held

origin of name, 113-3; "S-9i

at, 9S- 97. '"T-S ; temple of

puppets thrown into Tiber, 53,

Jupiter Latiaris, 95-6, aaB.

57, 100, iii-ao; eubstitutiun for

AiubHrvalia, 114, 134-6, T54.

human vietima, iia, 115, 116-7,

Ancilla, 38-9, 41-3, 45-6, 350;

119-

luatntimi, 57-9, 348, 350; moving,

39. 4', *3-4. "S.



Army : importance of ouriiie, 303,

Anoiilanim Fpriau, 176-8.

305 ; mustering, 133.

ADgerona, 374-5; goddesa of Diva-

Artemis, boo.

ii«, 374, 336.

Asylum, 123, 183 (b. 3I, 337; con-

Anna Peienna: festival, 44, 50-1,

nexion with Vediovis, laa.

53. 163; legends, S'-4.^: popu-

AttaluB, King of Fergxmus, 69.

lariLywitb lower claaH«s, 44, 50-1 ;

August: character, 169-90 ; festi-

vals. .89 3.4.

Apbt-odile: eonnazion with Yenas,

Augustus, revival of religion, 19,

69.86.

181-3, «90, 380. 343, 343-4, 349.

Aplu, iflr.

Aventine ; pitbuian quarter, 75 6,



Apollo, 89, 191, aso; comparison

199; tumples, S9, 7+-^, loi -5,

with Mar,!, 3940; connexion

15B, 198-aoo, 30I, 206, 333, a67.

with AeKulapius, 378; with

339-

Vediovis, 133, iBi, 335, »78;

ooupled with Latona, 181, 186,

Beans : harvest, 130, 355 ; use tia

aoo; I'tativala, 173, 179-81; func-

food, 133-3 ; use in ritual, 83,

A

a

354

INDEX OP SUBJECTS

109-iOy 131 ; religious character,94, no, 130-1.

Beating bounds, see Lustrations ;productive of fertility, 104, 178-9, 26a, sofl, 311, 315, 318-ai.

Bellona, 134-5.



Birds : used in augury, 139-40.

Bona Dea, 95 ; connexion withDamia, 105-6; with Maia, 99,100, 123, 210 ; earth goddess, 71,103, 104, 106 ; functions, 104-5,106; men excluded from wor-ship, 102-3, 142, 256 ; myrtle notallowed in temple, 103-4 : tem-ple, 101-5 ; women's sacrl£lce|255-6; worship, 102-6, 150.

Bouphonia, 176, 329.

Brutus, M. Junius, 130.

Caesar (Julius): birthday, 174;calendar, 4, 5-6, 11, 14-5.

Cdkes : see cUso Salt-cake ; heads ofanimals decked with, 148, 242,244 ; sacriUces, 53-5, 155, 161,

295» 304.Calendar : see dfso Year, 248-50 ;

authorities on, 13-4, 16-9; diver-gences, 36, 45, 241, 265-6;Julian : see Caesar; marks of days,8-10; republican, 14-20 ; secrecy,8-9, II ; surviving, 5-6, 11-4.

Campus Martius, 247-8; festivals,50-1 ; races, 44-5, 208, 242, 249,330 ; sacrifice of October-horse,241-3, 247- 9.

Capitolium, 129-30, 327 ; connexionwith Saturnus, 269-70 ; temples,43» 85, 129-30, 145, 157-8, 214,216-7, 229, 291, 293, 326-7.

Caprotinae, Nonae : see Nones.

Cardea : confusion with Carna,131-2.

Caristia, 308 9.

Carmenta. 167, 291-3 ; festival,277, 290-3 ; temple, 291, 293.

Carmentalia, 15, 277, 290-3.

Carmentes : see Carmenta.

Carna, 130 ; confusion with Cardea,1 31-2 ; festival, 130-3.



Castor and Pollux : see Dioscuri.

Cerealia, 15, 72-3, 77-9, 92; ioxesloosed in Circus Maximus, 77-9,94; plebeian character, 70, 77, 92.

Ceres, 73 4, 295, 338 ; connexion. with Demeter, 73, 74, 181 ; with

plebeians, 74-7, 92 ; festival,

73-3, 77-9> 92, 294-6; goddessof crops, 67, 71, 73, 126 ; Greekinfluence on, 73, 75-6, 105 ; sac-rifices, 103, 105, 295 ; temple,74-6, 92.

Cernunnos : identification withJanus. 286.

Character of Romans, 65 ; influenceof religion on, 344-9.

Charlton-on-Otmoor : lustration offields, 128, 246.

Circus Flaminius : games, 217, 252,253 ; temples, 134, 135, 180, 202,211.

Circus Maximus, 190 ; altar ofCensus, 178, T90, 206-7, 209;Ara Maxima, 138, 189, 190, 193-7;festivals, 77-8, 94 ; races, ao8 ;temples, 92, 160, 202, 204.

Cnaeus Flavins, 11.

Coins, 350-2 ; heads on, 286-7, 351.

Comitia Cui'iata : meetings, 6^, 64,123. 305.

Comitium, 57-8.

Compitalia, 255, 277, 279-80, 294,

335; 338.

Consualia, 115, 178, 189, 206-9, 290;Vestal Virgins present, 115, 150 ;winter, 267-8.

Consuls : connexion with FeriaeLatinae, 95, 96 ; entrance onoffice, 5, 95, 190, 278 ; layingdown of office, 216.



Consus, 324, 338 ; altar in CircusMaximus, 178, 190, 206-7, 209 ;connexion with horses, 207—8 ;with Ops, 212-3; festivals, 115,178, 206-9, 267-8 ; temple, 206,267.

Corn : supply, 76 ; trade, lai ;wolf : see Corn-spirit.

Corn-spirit: animal representation,78, 83, 90-1, 94, 244-5, 264; deathand renewal of life, 83, 118, 246-7,316-7 ; human representation,I77> 245 ; races in rites, 245-6,330 ; rites to aid growth of corn,41, 83-4 ; rites to propitiate, 90^1,244-8.

Creek Indians : festivals of first-fruits, 152-3.

Cross-roads, 279-80.

Curiae, 16, 71, 303 4 ; festivals,71- 2, 219, 302-6, 335 ; flamen, 304.

INDEX OF aUBJEGTa

Damiu :

Duys : calendar mark^

with Bona Dea,

ui'ket, I

mths,

Dead : anflastor worship, i6 1 , 875-6,300, 308-9; burial, ]o8, 109,307 ; cult chiefly in February, 3,6, 33, 107, =99, 3D0 ; festivals,io5-io, 131, 375-6, 306-10 ; offer-'"S^! 3°^ i spirits : sea Ohoats.



Dea Dia, 71, 105 ; centre of ritualof Frntrea Arvales, 74, 105; con-neJiionwith Ceres, 74.

December, 7 ; character, 355 ; feati-vala, 33, 355-76,

Deities ; abstractiODB rcBolved into,190-1, 341 ; chthonic, 207, aio,91 1-3 ; dual[i<m of mole andfemale, 61-3, aia-3, aai ; female,67i 71, 74, 106 j fluctuation be-tween maleandfcmale, 67, 73 80,939-3 ; iniugea : see Images ; im-psrsonality, ro6, 137, 139, 313;331-3,395,311,337; multiplicity,144, 1&7, 341, 359-60, 391-3, 337 ;prayers ; see Prayers ; Hymboln,133, 139, i6r, 169, 170, 330, 335 ;women's : see Women.

Delphi : Roman dealings with, 181,

Demeter, 103, no; conaezion withCeres, 73, 74, 181,

Demons : see E»il spiritR.

Diana : connexion with ArteraiB,900 ; coupled with Hercules, 181,166; feHtital, 198-aoo; functions,198, aoo-i ; Nemoreniis, 183 ;temples, 198-aoo, 339.

Dionyaus : connexion with Liber,54-5,74,88; introduction of cult

into Italy, 88, 343 ; Baccifice atTenedos, 339.

DioEouri, 396-7, 351 ; temples, soa,996.

DU Fuler, lao. 3ia, 969.

DiuaFidius,3i7 ; antiquity, 135-6;connexion with Oeniua Jo via,143-5 i with Hercules, 137-9,143-4 ; with Jupiter, 138-41, 391 [with Semo Sancuii, 136-8, 144 ;

temple, 135, 136, 141.

Divalu, 374-5.

Epulum -Tovia : see Jupiter.

Einirria, 44-6, 330-1.



Esquiline : cults, 328 ; divitions,

366 ; temples, 38.Etruscans; influence on Soman

religion, 171-3, 185-6, aoo, 319-

ao, 339-3, 339, 334-5, 338-40;

triaa, aiB, aao, 399, 335, 339.Evil spirits: expulsion, 40-1, 43,

107; human scapegoat, 40- 1, 46-9.

Fairs, 353.

Fasti : see Calendar ; Ovid's, tuOvid.

Fauna, 103.

Faaoalia, 355, 356-8.

Faunus, 103, 257-8 ; connexion with

Luporcaiia, 357^, 36a, 313-3 ;with Pan, 958, 359, 313 ; deriva-tion of name, 358-9 j festival,356 8; funetionn, 80, 361-3, 378 ;multipiicity, 359-6a. 313 ; origin,357-8, 359, 361, 363-s; temples,357-8, 378,303; woodland char-

Pavonius, 358, 359, 364 ; Feb. 7th,977, 399.

February, 3, 4, 6, 7 ; character, 6,66, 399; festivals, 3, 6, 33, 398-

33' ; origin of name, 6, 39S.

Feralia, 10, 107, 306, 309-10.

FeretriuB : see Jupiter.

Periaa Latinae, 95-7, 337-8, 335.

FerL " ■■

Fei

inia, 199, 353-4 ; temple, 353.

ertility: customs to produce, 94-5,104, 178-9, 363, 303, 311 315318-ai.

BstivaU, 15, iB-9,44,336; agrieol-tuml, 3, 7r, 79-83, 85-8, 68-91,113-4, 134-8, 145-54. 904-6, 306-



9, 313-4, 356-8, s68 73, 334-7,335 i of curiae, 16, 71-3, 319,303-6, 335; domestic, 107, 306-10; harvest, 134-8, 145-54, '89-9", J95-6. 307-9, 313-4, 343-4,394-6; marked in calendars, 15-6;men's, 103-3, '43,194; of montes.

356

INDEX OF SUBJECTS

i6, 265 7, 335 ; moveable, 15, 95,i24» 255-6, a77, 879, 994, 303 ;pagi, 16, 257, 294-6, 335; pMtoraJ,96-7 ; patrician, 68 (n. 2), 70 ;plebeian, 44, 50-1, 68, 70^ 9a, 163,17X1 253; of saoella, i6» 11 1-20,

335 ; Buryival of, 127-8, 31a, 321 ;times of, 7, 59, 70, 169-70, 174,189, 256, 290; transition fromrustic to urban : tte Religion ;women's, 38, 67-8, xoa-3, 14a,148, 154-6, 178-9, 255-6, 291.

Fetiales, 230-1 ; declaration of war,i34» 230 ; lapis silex, 930-1.

Fideuat^ : legends about, 174, 175,177, 178.

Fides, 237 ; festival, 237 8.

Fig-tree of Rumina, 310, 334.

Fire: deities, 189, 209-10; sacredfire of Vesta : aee Vesta.

Firatfruits : gathering, 15 1-3; offer-ing, 195, 21 1-2.

Fisovius Sancius : sm Fisus.

Fisus, 137, 139.

Flamines, 35, 288, 335, 342-3; anti-quity of deity proved by, 92, 187,201, 937; Flamen Carmentalis,992 ; Flamen curiae, 304 ; FlamenDiali8,86-8, 204, 221,313 ; FlamenFloralis, 92; Flamen Furinalis,187 ; Flameu Martialis, 237, 323 ;Flamen Palaiualis, 267 ; FJamenPomonalis, aoj ; Flamen Portu-



nalis, 202; Flamen Quirinalis, 89,209, 237, 276, 333, 334; FlameaVolcanalis, 123. 910; Flamen Vol-turnalis, 2r4; Flaminica Dialis,56 (n.5), 112, 115, 146, i49» 151,153, 221 ', representative of sonaof the family, 36, 147, 288, 334.

Flora, 92 3, 240y 324 ; festivals, 91-5; functions, 67, 93, 94; temples,9a, 202, 324.

Floralia, 91-5; hares and goatsloosed in Circus Maximus, 94.

Fons (or Fontus), 240-1,. 258 ; tem-ple, 341.

Fontinalia, 840-1.

Fordicidia, 71 -a, 83, 843; character,66, 115, 150 ; share of Vestal Vir-gins in, 71, 83, 115, i5<^

Fornacalia, 3oa-6y 335.

Fors Fortuna : see Fortuna.

Fortuna, 67 ; connexion with Jupi-tar, z66, 168^ ^233-5; ^^^ Nortia,

Z7i-a ; with Servius Tulliua, 68,156-7, i6a, Z7i-a; explatnod asdawn-goddess, 164-6; explainedas moon-goddecm, 168-9 * ^^qpiltdmtd

as sun-goddess, 168-71 ; f^tivals,67-9 ; i6iâ ; Fors, I84, 161-3,340 ; functions, 167-8, 170-z ;huiuace dieiy 164-5, 343 » origin ofname^ 163-4, 166-7 » Primigenia,78, 184, i65-6> 167-8, 893-4, 954 ;statues, 156-7, 339 ; symbols, Z69,Z70-1; temples, 68, 7a, Z24, Z56-7, 161-2, 166, 339, 343; Virilis,68; women especially worship,Z67-8 ; worshipped at Praeneste,7a, 184, 166, 168, 823.Forum : meeting of curiae in, 305,

306; temples, 97 z, 873-4, 396,

339 „

Forum Boarium: Aedes HerculiF,

Z93 ; temples, Z54, 156-7, 339.

Forum Olitorium : temple, 30a.



Foxes, 78 ; loosed at Cerealia, 77-9 ;

94-Frati-es Arvalee, 48 ; Acta Fratmm

Arvalium, 17, 125; calendar, la ;

decline of, Z84-5, 343 ; ritual of,

48, 74, 93 3, 105, MS, Z87, 136,

240-1, 271, 282.

Freed women : worship of Fen>nia,

953.Furiae: confusion with Furrina,

Z87, z88.

Furrina (or Furina), 187-8.

Furrinalia, 173, 187-8.

Gkda Caecilia, 14X.

Qames (ludi), 15, 50 ; Apollinares,i7Sf 179-80; Cereales, 72-3; com-pitales, 279-80 ; Florae, 91-5 ;horse races, 44-5, 58, 91, 180,208, 242, 245-6, 248-9 ; Megale-siaci, 69-71 ; plebeii, 180, 2x7,^5^9 353; Romani, 215, 216-7,252 ; saeculares, 182.

Gates : ate Porta.

G^se : sacred to Juno, 129-30.

Cenita Mana, loi.

Qbosts : purification of house froBa,100,109-10^131; classification of,108-9.

Gods : aee Deities.

Guilds, 62, 121 ; tibkines, Z57-6.

Harawara, 84.

INDEX OF SUBJECTS

naras : loosed nt Flornlia, 94.

lLirve»t, 154, 189; ouBtoms, m-B,



245-6; festivttia, 194-8, 153-4,189-90, 195-6, 207-9.

Healing deities, 104-5, ^^ '9'>278.

HeimdBl: equaCionwith Janus, a86.

TlephaestoB, 123.

HerculeB ; conneiion with DinsFidiuB or Semo Ssncus, 137-9,142-4: withGeniUH. 143-4, 194-5,i9^t 331; "»"> JuBOj 143-4;with Mora, 194-5, '9^; coupledwith Difina. 181, 186; loviatua,aoi ; legends, loa, 112, 13B, 193,196-7 ; repi'eBentutive of maleprinciple, 103, 143, 194 ; temples,135, aoi ; Vietor, 138; worship,' 93-7 ; worehip confined to man,loa, 103, 14a, 194.

Hormei, 130-1 ; connexion with

Morcnry, lai, 186.

Birpi Sorani : rites at Soraote, B4,

Horstiua : legend, 338-9,

Horses; connozionof Consaa with,307-8 ; of Mars with, 330 ; deckedwith flowers, 307-6: heads deckedwith cakes, 34a, 344.

Horta QuJrini, 334.

Ides, 8 ; uicred to Jupiter, 8, 10,

120, 157, 196, 315, 341.Iguvium : inscription found at, 17,

"4, 137, "37. "39. '76,331.Images and staluea cf gods, 81, 141,

1567, 900, 201, 3tB, 338, 339,IndigitBment»,7i, igi, 193, 974,341.Indjgites, 193.Jnuus, 313-3,Isis worship, 353.

January, 5-7 ; character, 6, 33, 977 ;coqsuIb enter office in, 5, 95, 378 ;festivBls, 6, 377-97 [ origin ofname, 6, 7. 33, 99.

Janus, 370; connerionwith Cardea,131-a ; with January, 6, 33, 99 ;with Saturous, 370 ; with tigil-lumsororium, 338-9; with Vesta,



283-3, 3B7-8, 334-5 ; cult-titles,369-90; geminUs, 386; god ofentrances, 383-3, a86 9, 335, 337 ;origin of cult, aSa-g ; Hex sac-Torum connected with worsliip

of, 389, a8B, 334-5 ; tompica, Z04,270.JhIj, a, 3, 173; febtivals, 174-B8,June : charat'ter, 6, 33 ; fetittvals,130-73; origin of name, 6, 99-loo ; 139-30.Juno, 313 ; Caprotina, 178 ; con-neiion with Bona Don, 149;with Hercules, 143-4; with June,99-1O0, 139 ; with Jupiter, 134,318, 331, 333-5 i "ith Mare, 37-8,133-+; "'"1 tigillum Borarium,338-9 ; cult at Fraeneete, 166,934 ; Ouritis, 323, 339 ; festivals,174, 178-9; Kalends sacrad to,8, ^, 139, 339, 341 ; Lucina, 38,

105, 156 ; Monata, 199 30 ; oneof Etruscan trias, 3i8, 3ao, 929,935,339; i^presentativa of femaleprinciple, 36, 141, 143, 178, aai,331 (n, 1), 337; Sospita, 302;temples. 38, 157-8, 915, 916-7,

S-7.

■.97,ai

97, 158;

313 ; Capitolin

ella Jovii

(itli Dius Fidius or SemoSancua. 138-41, 391 ; with For-tuna, 166, 168, 333-5; withJuno,"34, ai8, 331, 333-5; with



Slercurius. 120 ; with Terminus,326-7; with wine, 55, 88, 940;Elicius, 339, 233; epulum Jovis,315, aie, 317-so, 333-4, 353;Fagutalis,328; Feretriu», 339-30,333. 334 ; festivals, 85-8, 157-9,174, 316-ao, 375, 338 ; Fulgur,339 ; functions, 55, 88, 97, 141,033,399-30,233,336; I des sacredto, 8, lo, I90, 157, 198, 915, 34* iIndiges, 193 ; Invictus, 158 ;Lutiaris, 97, 196, 337-B; Liber,55, 68 i Lucetius, 333 ; one ofEtrUBcaa trias, 918, 930, 399, 935,339 1 Puer, cult at Fraencste, 166,324-7 i stones connected with.330-3, 334 ; tempies, 9S-6, 157-8,SIS, 316-7, =38, 339, 33a, 336-7,339 ; Viminiua, 329 ; worship ingroves, 183, 937 ; worship faItaly, 391-3; worship on hills,95, 333, 337, 334.Jutuma, 393 ; l«mple, 341.

358

INDEX OF SUBJECTS

Kings, 36, 63, 98a ; represented byPontifex Maximus, 147, 288 ;represented by Rex sacrorum, 8,

ai3, 28a, 288.

Lapis : see Stones.Larentalia, a75-6.Larentia: «e« Acca Larentia.Lires, 136, 309, 337 ; compitales or

domestici, loi, 338; praestites,

100-1,335.

Latin Festival : see Feriae Latinae.Latins, common worship of Bomans

and, 95-7, 198-9, 335.

Latona, coupled with Apollo, i8r,

186, aoo.Laurel, 83 ; sacred to Mars, 35-6.Lectisternium, 180 -i, 186. 300,373 ;connexion with epulum Jovi8,3i8!Lemuria, 100, 106-10, 131, 174, 290.Leucothea, 154.



Liber, 312, 338; connexion with

Dionysus, 54-5, 74, 88.Libera, 74.Liberalia, 54-6 ; cakes used at, 53-4,

55*Liiania Maior, 91, 127,Lucaria, 15 ^n. i), 173, 174, 182-5,

186-7.Luceres, 185.Ludi : see Games.Lupercal, 310-1, 318.Lupercalia, 298, 299, 310-21 ; deityof, 357-8, 263, 313-3; sacrificesat, loi, 311, 313-4; salt-cakeused, no, 115, 31 1 ; whipping toproduce fertility, 104, 179, 263,30s, 311,315.318-21.Luperci, 311, 31S-3, 319-30; deriva-tion of name, 311, 317.Lupercus, 311, 313.Lupines, 94.

Lustrations, 68, 83-5, 398; aedesVestae, 148-9, 151-4 ; Argei, 100,113-4, "St 119; arms, 58-9, 348-9, 250-1 ; bound- beating, 114, 125-8, 304. 319; crops, 100, 114, 124-®» 154; ghosts, 100; Lupercalia,315-6, 319-21 ; people, 175-6 ;processions, iii, 113-4, 125-6,335; rites, 399-303; sheep, 8r ;shields, 58-9, 348, 350 ; trumpets,63-4, 123.

Magna Mater Idaea : festival, 67, 69-71 ; introduction into Rome) 67,

69-70, 102, 342 ; stone represent-ing, 69-70, 342; temple, 70.Maia, 98-100; connexion with BonaDea, 99, 100, 123, 129 ; with Mer-curius, 98-9, 120; withVolcanus,

133, 3IO.

Mamuralia, 45-50.

Mamurius : expulsion of MamuriusVeturius, 40-1, 46-9; festival, 44-50 ; smith, 39, 45^6 ; variant forMars, 39, 41, 45.

Manes, 108, 300, 308.

March, 3, 3 ; beginning of year, 5,



33> 38 ; connexion with Mars, 33-Si 48, 64-5, 99 ; festivals, 5, 35-65 ; New Year's Day, 5, 35-43,378 ; origin of name, 33, 99.

Marcus Fulvius Nobilior, u.

Market days, 8.

Marriages, 393 ; customs, 143 ; ill-omened in March and May, 60, 67,100, 109, 393; prohibited, 145!308.

Mars, 53, 60, 313 ; birthday, 5, 36-8, 60; comparison with Apollo,39 40 ; connexion with Hercules,i94-5r 196; with Juno, 37-8I133-4 ; with March, 33-5, 48,^4-5, 99 » with Minerva, 53, 59-60, 6a; with Nerio, 60-a, 186 •with Quirinus, 333-3; withRobi-gus, 89, 334 ; with Romulus, 33,37 (n. 3) ; with Silvanus, 55, 194 •

festivals, 44-6, 57-63, 133,241-50;290y 3i3» 330-1 ; functions, 34-5,41, 43, 64^5, 89, 348-9, 250, 26a ;god of powers of vegetation andreproduction, 34-5 ; 41, 48-9, 64,126-7, 196 ; Greek influence, 35,37 ; laurel sacred to, 35-6 ; origin,34-5, 64; priests: see Salu; Sac-rarium Martis, 39, 44, 324, 335 ;shields : see Ancilia ; temples, 133-4, 232; war-god, 126, 207, 348,349.

Mater Larum, 340.

Mater Matuta, 154-6, 165.

Matralia, 154-6, 165.

Matronalia, 38.

Jây> 2, 3 ; character, 6, 33, 100 ;festivals, 33, 98-138; origin ofname, 6, 33, 98-100.

Meals : see also Epulum Jovis ; sac-

rificial, 81, 96-7, 194, 3i8-ao, 308,309.

INDEX OP

8UBJECT3 359



Meditrinnlia, 336, 335-40.

Oaths, 138 9, 143, 331, 297, 337 :

Megalesia, 69^7"-

Jupiter's conneiiou with. 139,

Men: exclusion from cults, 103-3,

339-30. 336; taken at Ara Maxi-

143, 356 ; oaths of, 13S-9, 14a.

ma, 138-9.

Mena, HJ.

OoLieteris cycle, 3-3,

Jlerem-ius:oonnelionwithHormea,

October, 3, 3 ; character, 336-7 ;

lai, 186 ; with Jupiter, lao ; with

festivals, 237-51.

Maia, 98 9, iso ; coupled with

October-horae, 45, 58, 341-50; blood

Heptunus, 181, 186; godoftride.

kept by Vestal Virgins, 83, 150,

lai ; tomples, I3i, 339,

a*3. =47; corn-spirit represented



Mildew: see Rust.

by, 83, B44-8; races, 45. 58, 343,

Hinerra: connexion wUh Mars,

345-6 ; sucrilioQ of, 83, 241-3.

S3. S9-60. 6a i "ith Nerio ; .sg-Ca;

Opalia, ass. =73-4-

restivals, 59, 63, 158; goddess of

Opeeonsivift, 115, 150, 189, ai3-4,

trumpet players. 63, 158; nail

sgo.

driven into calla of, 334-5 1 "ne

Ops, 74. 338 ! connailon with Con-

of Etruscan trias, siB, aso. 329,

auB, 313-3; w'tl" Ssturnus, aia,

"35. 339 ; temples, 59, 157-8, 3.5,

273-4; Consiva, 31a; festival.

ai6-7, 3367, 331).

IIS, ISt^ ="=^4, 373-4; Opifera,

Molaaalaa: ma Salt-cake.

310 ; templa, 373-4.



Monies, 366-7; festivals of, 16,

Oi'Bclea : Faunus, 963-3.

=63-7. 335-

Oscilla : see Puppets.

Months, 5-7, 33-4 ; divisions, 7-8;

Ovid: Fasti, 6-7, .3, 14, 36-7, 173.

lunar, 7 ; names, 5-7, 33-4, 99-

3367.

100; numherof days, 3-3; solar, i.

Mundus, 311-3 ; open, 3ii-a, 339,

Paganalia, r6, 394-6, 335, 33B.

353.

Pugus, 357. 394, 335 ; festivals, 16,

Myrtle, 68 ; excluded from temple

357, a94-6, 335, 338.

of Bona Dea, 103-4.

Pahitine: divisions, 266; Lupereal:

we Lupereal ; mundus : see Mun-

Nails driven into temples, 173, 317,



dus ; rites celebrated, 376, 310-3,

aS'l-S-

318-9; temples, 70. 180 (n. 4,,

Heme -is, 170.

183 ; union with Subura, 247,

Neptunalifl, 173, 185-7.

Palatua, 367.

RepbuDus, 183-7 ; connexion with

Pales, 67, 80, 367; festival, 79-85;

Poseidon. 185, 186,187; "ith

offerings, Br, 103.

Salacin, 1B6 ; touplcd with Mcr-

Pan : connexinn witli Faunus, 358,

ouriua, 181, 186; functions, 185,

359. 3I3.

187.

ParenUlia. aio, 276, 399, 300,

Nerio, 134-5 : connexion with Mara.

306-10, 335-

60-3, 186: with Minerva, 59-62.



Pavilia, 66, 79-85. "o, 343, =47:

Nerthus, 117,

character, 66, 115, 150; share of

New Year : set March.

Vestal Virgins in, 71, 83, 115.

Nones, 7,8; Nonas Caprotinae, 174,

Penates, 337.

175. '78-9-

Persephone, 75,

Nortia, 335 ; eonnejcLon with For-

Picumnus, soi.

tuna. 171- 3.

Pinarii, 193.

Plebeians: festivals, 44, 50-1, 68,

vols, 353-4.

70, 93, 163, 171. 353; qui.ner,

Numa: connexion with calendar,

75, 77 ; secession, 53, 75-7 ;

4, 335-6; legends, 363-3, ^78,



templea. 75-6, 93, 199.

Numbers : lucky and unlucky, 3.

Pomona, 301.

PoDH BUblicius. Argei thrown from,

Oak of Jupiter Feretriua, 339, 33a,

113, 1 13-4.

334-

Pontifices, 114; decline, 343""

36o

INDEX OF SUBJECTS

growing importance. 339-41 ;

influence on religion^ 190-I) ^9^t213, ai4, 257-8, 341 ; PontifexMaximus, 147, 288 ; priestesses,105-6 ; shai*e in feetiyals, zia,114, 276.

Poplifugia, 7, 15 (n. j), 173, 174-6,i79> 183, 328.

Porta : Agonensis, 28 1 ; Gapena,i33> 233 ; Carmentalis, 180 \^n. 3),290, 291, 293 ; Fontinalis, 240 ;Sanqualis, 135, 140 ; Trigemina,

201.

Portunalia, 189, 202-4.

Portunus, 202-4, î4*

Poseidon : connexion with Neptu-nus, 185, 186, 187 ; fiippios, 208.

Potit!i, 193.



Praeneste, 254 ; cult of Fortuna,72, 124. 166, 168, 223-4, 254 ; cultof Jupiter Puer, 166, 224-7 ;foreign influence, 166, 227.

Prayers, 81-2, 89-90, 126-7, 133,155, 184, 191, 295, 308, 346.

Presents given at festivals, 38, 272^278.

Priests : see Pontifices.

Primigjuia : see For tuna,

Proserpina, 212.

Prostitutes, festival of, 93.

Punic Wars, 19, 69-71, 179 ; insti-tution of festivals and templesdue to, 19, 69, 179, 341, 342.

Puppets : Argci thrown into Tiber,1 1 1-20; oscilla hung on trees,96, 116, 296.

Purification : see Lustration.

Pythagoreans, no.

Quinctilis : see July.

Quinquatrus, 45,57-62, 290; minus-

culae, 157-9.

Q lirinal, 237, 281, 322 ; cults, 229,

322-4 ; temples, 124, 135, 136,

141, 190-1, 322, 324.Quirinalia, 304-5, 322-4.Quirinus, 305, 322-4 ; temples, Z9Z1

322, 323.Quirites, 322.

Races : see Games.

Regia, 190, 213, 220, 282, 335;laurel tixed on, 5, 35 ; sacrariumMartis in, 39, 44, 324, 335 ; sacra-rium Opis in, 213.

Regifugium, 174, 3a7-3o» 33^.

Religion, 18-20 ; authoritiasy 339*3 ;



based on cult, 20, 333-4 ; daemo-nistic character, 74, ip6, 137, 139,213, 221-2, 226-7, 232-3, 295, 313 ;decline, 341-3; Etruscan inlla-ence, 171-2, 219-90, 229, 234-5 »Graeco-£tru$%ean influence, 185-6,21 1-4, 223, 338-40 ; Greek influ-ence, 191, J94, 200^ 9i8, 226-7,a68-9, 273, 342, 343; influence oncharacter, 344-9 ; Oriental influ-ence, 19, 252 ; pontifieea' influ-ence, 190-1, 19a, 213, 214, 257-8,341; reaction against foreigninfluence, 340-1, 349 ; representa-tive of stages of growth, 334-^ ;revival by Augustus: see Augustus;transition from aniconicto iconic,219-20, 229, 233-4; transitionfrom rustic to urban, 90, 91, 103,195-6, 248-50,257-8, 279 8o»«94-

Reproduction, spirit : see Corn-spirit.

Rex sacrorumi 8, 335 ; connexion

with Janus worship, 282, 388,334-5; representative of king,8, 213, 282, 288 ; representativeof head of household, 213, 283,288, 334.

Robigalia, 66, 88-91.

Robigus, 324, 338 ; connexion withMars, 89, 324 ; festival, 88-91.

Romulus, 4 ; connexion with Mar*,33» 37 i^' 3) f îth Quirinus, 322 ;

legends, 175-6, 229, 310.

Rust, red, 88-9, 91,

Sabine women, legend, 178, 208-9.Sacella Argeorum, 16, 56-7, zzi-a,335; procession round, 56, ziz,

"3 4i 335.Sacrifices, 51, 54, 56, 62, 86, 209,

^li 313-4 ; bean meal and lard,

130, 133; boar, 210: bull, 126;

cakes, 53-5, 155, 161, 295, 304 ;

cereals, 992-3 ; cheese, 96, 228 ;

cow, 71 ; dog, 89^91, loi, 209,

311, 31a, 3Z4 ; fig-tree, 178 ; fiah,



209-10 ; flight after, 176, 328,

329-30 ; goat, 122, 3", 31a, 3x4 ;

heifer, 96, 179, Z93, 217, 228 ;honey, 309, 325; horse, 34Z^«;human, relics of, 112, 115, 116-7,119, 3x5; kid, 357; lamb, 64,io5> 325 ; milk, 81, 96, 103, »a8,

INDEX OF SUBJECTS

309

millet, Si

01!, 309; pig.

>05,

ia6, 356, 31

, 3251

proces-

of victimB,

a6; ra

red calf, aio; aac

leal, at,

967

194, 2b8;



ult-cak

fmols

salfl

), "i "5, .

3,3"

aheep,

89, 96, raS; sow, ags

watej-,

309

wine, 87, .0

3, aS7. a*!. 3=5-

aalBoio, 186.

Sntii,

36, 39-43. 58

194, 3

■io. 33'i

41,5+,=



81, 3=3 ;

Can

oeu Saliare,

39f 4'-

45, 49,

2B9

CoUlni, 41

54, 3»>. 3=3;

Bionea Saliorum, 41, 441

ber, 41, 43

Folat

ni, 41,

320, 333 ; shields ; tee Antilissfciua worn by, 47-8, 49-501Salt-cake (mola buIbji) : made byVestal Virgna, llo-i, 115, 148,'49, 153, 305, 311 ; uead at Idea

at Luparculia, no, 115, 311 ; used

atVeHtalia, no, 115, 148, 311.

aaluH, J9D-1, 343.Sbhoub : cm 6emo Sancua.Batumalia, 15, 'TJ. =55, 368-73, 335-SatumuB, I30, 366-71 ; connexion

with Ops CoDsivB, aia, 973-4 i

festival, 363-73; functions, 970,

338; templea, 71, 973-4,339.



Scapegoat, 176 ; Maroarins Vetn-

rioH, 40-1, 46-9.SeianuB ; owner of statue of Foi-

tima, 156-7, IT-Semo Sanoua, 160, 337 i oonneiioii

with Dius Fidiiu, 136-8, 144 ;

function K, 139-41.SemoneB, 136.Senate, 134.Saplember: charooter, 915-6; feeti-

TBla, 315-35,

Septimoutium, 16, 265-7, 335-

ServiuB TuJlius, 38a ; connexionwith Fortuna, 68, 156-7, 162,l7t-2, 339 ; Etruscan origin, 157,171 ; founder of templts, 68, i6z,198-9, 339-

Bextilia : sea August.

Sheep! fold dacoratcd, 80-1 ; lus-tration, 81 ; aacriflcs. 89. 96, 136.

Sibylline bouks, 68, 69, 74, 9a, 93,14s. »79, "ai-

Silvanu!*, 55, 103, 058, a6i, 962;connexion with Mara, 55, 194.

aiavea, 155 ; doitiea of, 199, 953-4 ;fostiyala open to, 38, 163-3, I78"9i193, 194, 199-300, 373-3, aSo;manumiBBiDDB, 353-4-

Snakes. 104.

Sol Indigea, 191-3.

SoranuB, 160 ; Apollo, 64, 181.

Soajgenes, 4.

Spolia, 80-1, 83, 84, 96, lOQ-ID, ijo,

343, 379-80, 396, 301, 309-10 ;rain, 119-30,233-3.Spirits : dend, see QboBts ; evil, see

Statues: se^ Images.

Stones, £acrcd, 140 : lapis ailex,



330-2 ; tnanalia, 211, 233-3 ; oathper loTera lapidem, 138, agi ;representing Magna Uater Idaea,69 70, 342 ; TermiAus, 330-1,3=6-7- 334-

Strenia, 378.

Stultorum feriae, 304-6, 339.

Subura, 247, 266.

Summanalia, 161.

SummanuB, 160-1, 341.

Sun, 84 ; deities of, 35, 168-70, 191-3, 383-4 ; BjniboU of, 139, 169-70.

Supplicatio, 191.

Taoita, 310, 309-ia.

Tanaqoil, 141.

Tarquinii, 75-6, 131, 980, 397-8;worahipa introduced by, 96, iBi.

TbUus, 67, 71, 74, 294 5 ; fufltivalfl,71-9, 394-6; BBorifices, 71, 395.

TvmpestateB, temple, 341.

Templea, 339-43 ; of Aesculapi US ininsula, 378, 340 ; Apollo at Ac-tium, iBa 1 Apollo in Flaroiniflnfields, 180; Apollo PalolinuB on

the Palatine, 180 (n. 4), 189 ; Bel-lonainCireoFlamiiiio, 134; BonaDea on the Aventine, 101-5;Garments at Porta Carmentiilia,991, 293; Castor and Pollux iidForum, 396 ; Caator and Pollux inCirco Fiaminio, soa ; Ceres, Liber,and Libera on theAreutine, 74-6,339 1 Conaua OD the Aventine,ao6^ 367 ; Diana on the Avontine,198-900, 339 ; Dius Fidiua on theQuirinal, 135, 136, 141 ; Faunuain insula, 357-8, 378 ; Feroniaat

Tarracina, 953 ; Flora Bd CiroumMaximum, 93, soa ; Flora or

3^2



INDEX OF SUBJECTS

Horta Quirini on Qnirinal, 324;Fors Fortuna trans Tiberim, 161-9« 339 9 Fortuna in Foro Boario,15^-7* 339; Fortuna HuiusceDiei,165^ 343 ; Fortuna Primigenia atPraeneste, 72 ; Fortuna Primi-genia on the Quirioal, 124 ; For-tuna Yirilis, 68 ; Hercules nearthe Circus Flaminius, 135 ; Her-cules Inviotus ad portam trigemi-nam, 201 ; Janus ad TheatrumMarcelliy 204; Juno Lucina onthe Esquiline, 38 ; Juno Monetain arce, 129-30 ; Juno Sospita adForum Olitorium, 302 ; Jupiter,Juno, and Minerva in Capitolio,157-8, 215, 216-7, 326-7, 339;Jupiter Elicius under the Avon-tine, 232 ; Jupiter Feretrius inCapitolio, 229 ; Jupiter Invictus,

158 ; Jupiter Latiaris on theAlban Mount, 95-6, 228 ; Jutuma,341 ; Magna Mater Idaea, 70 ;Mars extra Portam Capenam, 133-4, 232; Mater Matuta in ForoBoario, 154 ; Mens in Capitolio,145 ; Mercurius, 121, 339; Minervaon the Aventine, 59, 158 ; Ops adForum, 273-4 ; Qulrinus in CoUe,191, 322 ; round, 193 ; Salus onthe Quirinal, 190 -z ; Saturnus adForum, 271, 273-4^ 339; Sum-manus ad Circum Maximum, 160 ;

Tempestates, 341 ; Yediovis inarce, 43 ; Yediovis in insula, 122,277 ; Yediovis inter duos lucos,122 ; Yenus ad Circum Maximum,204 ; Yenus Eryoina in Capitolio,85, 145; Yenus Yerticordia, 68,343 » Victory on the Palatine, 70 ;Yolcanus in Circo Flaminio, 211 ;Yortumnus on the Aventine, 201,

341.Terminalia, 4, 324-7, 335.

Terminus, 324, 326-7 ; festival,324-7 ; stone, 230-1, 326-7, 334.

Theatrum Marcelli, 204.

Tiber, worship, 214.

Tiber island : temples, 122, 257-8,277, 278, 340.



Tiberinus, 120, 203, 214.

Tibicines : see Trumpets.

Tigillum sororium, 238-9.

Tina (or Tinia), 222-3.

Tirones, 56.

Tithes: offered on Ara Maxima, 138 ;

195-7 ; offered to Hercules Yictor,

138-9.Toga vi rills, assumption of, 56.Totemism, 84-5, loi, 231-2, 334.Treaties : Dius Fldius' connexion

with, 141 ; Jupiter's connexion

with, 229-30, 326; making, 239-

30; ratified at Ara Maxima, 138.Tree-worsliip, 228-9, 232, 234.Tribuni : celerum, 58-9 ; militum,

58 ; plebis, 75.Trumpets, 63-4, 159 ; lustration,

63-4* 123 ; players, 62, 157-9.Tubilustrium, 44, 45, 62-4, 123, 290;

connexion with Minerva, 62 ;

festival of Mars, 62, 290.

Yediovis, 121-2, 160, 225, 277-8 ;connexion with Apollo, 122, 181,225, 277; festivals, 43, iai-2,277-8 ; temples, 43, 122, 277.

Yegetation spirit : see Corn-spirit.

Yeneralia, 67-9.

Yenus: connexion with April, 67,69 ; with Fortuna, 68 ; with wine,

86, 204 ; Erycina, 85, 145 ; festivals,67-8, 85-6 ; functions, 67, 86 ;Greek influence, 67, 69, 86 ;Mimnermia (or Meminia), 145 ;temples, 68, 85-6, 145, 204, 343 ;Yerticordia, 68-9, 343.

Vesta : aedes, 148-9, 15 1-4, 335 ;connexion with Janus, 282-3,287-8, 334-5; festival, 145-54;



functions, 150 ; hearth-goddess,147-8, 150, 282-3, 287-8, 334.337 ; laurels fixed on aedes, 5, 36,153 ; penus Yestae, 83, 148, 149-50, 153, 288 ; origin of cult, 146-8,149, 282-3 ; sacred fire, 5, 35, 114,

147-8, 150-1, 153.

Yestalia, 145-54; character, 115,126, 154 ; mourning of FlaminicaDialis, 115, 146, 149, 151, 153 ;salt-cake used, 110, 115, 148.

Vestal Virgins, 36, 68-9, 306, 324,335; festivals shared in, 52, 57,71, 85, 112, ii4-i5» i5o» 256;functions, 147, 149-51, 288 ; re-presentative of daughters offamily, 36, iii, 147, 149, 213, 256,288, 334 ; salt-cake made by, 110-I, 115, 148, 149, i53»205, 311.

Yet<-.hes, 94.

INDEX OP SUBJECTS

3^\

Victory, temple of, 70.

VimiDal, cults on, 229.

Vinalia, 10, 338; connexion withJupiter, 85, 86-8, 338; withVenus, 85-6, 204 ; Priora, 85-8 ;Bustica, 10, 85, 86, 87, 189, 204-6.

Vitulatio, 179.

Volcanalia, 189,209-11.

Volcanus, 209-11 ; connexion withMaia, 123, 210; festivals, 123,

209-10; functions, 123-4, 210;temple, 211.

Volturnalia, 214.

Volturnus, 214.

Volupia, 274.

Vortumnus, 201, 341.



War: conduct of, 216; declarationof, 134, 230 ; gods of, 126, i34-5>207, 248, 249.

Water : deities of, 187, 189.

Weddings : see Marriages.

Weeks : eight days, 7, 8.

Wells and springs : sanctity, 940.

Wheel symbol, 161, 169-70.

Wills: sanctioned by Comitia Cu-riata, 63, 123.

Wine: festivals, 85-8, 204-6, 236,239-40 ; introduction of vine intoItaly, 88, 97, 236 ; Jupiter's con-nexion with, 55, 88, 240 ; Venus'

connexion with, 86, 204 ; vintage,

236.

Wolf : com ; see Corn-spirit ; sacredto Mars, 31 1, 334.

Women, 262 ; deities of, 38, 68, 102-3, 106, 155-6, 167-8,200-1,291-3;excluded from worship of Her-cules, 102, 103, 142, 194 ; festivals,38, 67-8, 102-3, 142, 148, 154-6,178-9, 255-6, 291 ; oaths, 142 ;

rites to produce fertility, 94-5,104, 178-9, 262, 302, 311, 315,318-21.

Woods, importance in religion,183-4.

Year: beginning, 5-7, 35-6, 278;lunar, 1-3 ; method of reckoning,1-4 ; solar, 1-3.

INDEX OF LATIN WORDS

Aedes, 135.Agooe? s8i.Agoaia, a8i.Amiculum lunonis,

i79» 31a, 321 (n. i).



Ancile, 38, 41, 4a, 43,

46, 58, 248, 350.Annare perennare, 51.Annus, i, 52.Aperio, 66.Argea, 56.Argei, 52, 56, 57, in

(n.4), 112,113,118-9.Asylum, laa, 183 (n. 3),

337.AuguriumSalutis, 190.

Auspicatio vlndemiae,

204, 205.

Baculum, 64.Balineum, 67.Bidental, 140.Bidentes, 140.Bulla, 96 (n. 5).

Gaeli templum, 141.Oamella, 82 (n. 4).Caprificatio, 178 (n. 8).Gara cognatio, 306,

308.Gardo, 13a.Garmen, 291.Garpentum, 291.Gasnar, 119 (n. i).Cerei, 272.Gerfia, 73.

Gerfus, 73.Gerus, 73.

Gingulum, 14a.Gippud, 319.Glava, 64.Glavis, 203.Glavus, 234, 235.Glypeus, 141.GoUegium, 157,Golumella, 134.

Gomitialis, 9.Gompltum, 279, 280,

294.Gondere, 207.Govella, 8 (n. i).Greare, 73.Greppi, 262, 318.Guria, 16, 71, 303.Gurio, 304.



Damiatriz, 105, 106.Damium, 105.Decumae, 195, 196.Decuria, 140.Dies parentales, 107,306.

Edepol, 297.Endotercisus, 10.Equorum probatio, 216

(n. 5).

Fabariae kalendae , 130.Fanum, 135.Far, 304.Fari, 259.Fas (or Fastus), 8.Favere, 258.Februare, 188, 298(n.1).

Februum, 6, 83, 398,

301, 311, 321.Feriae, 8.Flamen,36, 147.Focolus, 55.Focus, a4a.Forda, 71.Fornax, 306.Fur, 187.Furfai-e, 188.Furvus, 187.

Fuscus, 187.

Genialis, 55.Genius, 55.

Hostia praecidanea,

301.Herbarium, 104.Horda, 71.

Impius, 399.Incinctus, 309.

Incubus, 262.Indiges, 19a, 193.Indigitamenta, 191,19a, 341.

Janua, 6, 7, 282.Janus, 6, 28a, a86, aB^.

Lapis Gapitolinus,



a30-i.Lapis manalis, an,

232, a33.Lapis silez, 330, 231.Larva, 108.Laurea, 36.

INDEX OF LATIN WORDS 365

Let^lUternium, 181,

Offapenita, 347 (n. i).

Sacrosanclilas, 75.

OrbiB, 139, (41.

Salai, 186.

Lsctua genialiB, 143,

Oscilla, 96, 116,396.

Saliim, 1B6

SanquHliB avis, 139.

Lemur, 108, 109, 183.

Pagnous, 367.

Sapa, 83.

L«i tcmpli, rgS.

Pagus, 16, 114, 357,



Satin, 969.

Liba, 53,5s. '55 to. 7).

394, 335-

Sceptniin, 330.

Liberalis, 55.

Palatuar. So (n. 3).

Sere re. 369, 389.

Litania maior, 91, 137.

SeiagenarioB do ponte.

306.

iia. n6.

Patrimus, 43.

Sigillaria, 373.

Iiucus, 1B3, 185.

Peeuariua, 357.

Simulacrum, 57, 113,

Ludi.15. '

Penua, 148, 149, 150



118.

Lupus, 311.

(n. 1), 153, 313, 313,

Solia pulvinar. 191.

LuaUalio, 58, 66, 17s

388.

Stolae longae, 159.

(T,.8,i76,3<.i.

Par lovena [lairidam),

Strenae, S7B.

Lui, as3.

138, 330(11,3), 331.

Strii, 133.

Persillura, ao3 [n. i).

Stultorum ferjae, 304,

Maena, aog, 309.

Piamen, 301.

306.

Hane, 156.



Pietas, 347-8.

Hanes, 108, 109, 156.

P.atriua, 304.

Summanalis, i6t.

Haniae, 116.

Pomoerium, i33(n.3l,

134. 3". 30= ("■ 'J,

Tabalarii, 369.

41. 44.

319.337.

Tibia, 63, ,59.

ManuB, 156.

Pompfl,ai6{n.5'.

Tigillum Bororiuin,

Matrimus, 4*

PoQtifei, U+.

037. =38'

MaturuB, 156,



PortuB. ao3, 303.

Tiro, 56.

MatuU, rge.

Poati'idiianus, 9.

Toga libera, 56.

Primigenin, 165. 333.

T«.bea,4<.

Mrdi'u^'fldh^, 138.

Tr«navectio equLtum,

Me hercule, 138.

Puteal, 14a.

■33. "9^ L"i-6 .

Meltarium, 103.

TribuDus eel arum, 58,

Mercator, lai.

Quadrntn.Romnl, air.

59-

Minium, ai8, 333.



QuaiidoRei^Corniliavit

TrihuDUB militum, 38.

F«, 10, 63.

Tuba, 63, 64, 103.

Mola salss, no, 149,

Quando Slercus Dela-

Tunica picU, 41.

155(11. 7), 311.

bum Paa, 10, 146,

Moneta. lag, 130.

149.

Urfila, 139.

MontanUB, 367.

Quiuquare, 58.

Monl«9, 16, 366-7.

Vegrandia farm, lar.

Muiidus, aii-3, 383,

Regifl, 148.



VbBCUB, 131.

Musluin, 34-.

Religio, 398, 300, 347.

Vesta, 383.

Relgioaua, 9, 151.

VestaJIs. 36.

Nefas, 399.

R«bigo, 78, 88, B9.

Veatigia lugae, 176,

Nefa»tus. 9, 151.

Eoa, 83(11.3,.

.83.

Nemus, 383.

VicuB, sflo.

NoduB hareulaneua,

Sacalla Argeorum, 16,

Vindamia, 86, 88, 304,

143.



56, III.

205, =36.

Numen, 34, 35, "83.

Virga, 178.

Nundinae, 8, 370.

'30, '35, '54'

Visceratio, 179-

Sacer, 75. 174. 348.

Titulatio, 179.

Obnuntiiitio, 343.

Sacra Argeorum, 16,

VituluB, 179.

Oods &SilU, 333.

ft

Votum, 346.

i

INDEX OF LATIN AUTHORS QUOTED

Appuleius,



PAGB

ClOERO)

PAOI

de Qenio Socratis, 15

•

. 108

de NaL Dear., a. 37. 67 .

. a87

Arnobius,

II 2. 61

. 145

adv, NationeSj 3. 40

•

• 73

„ a. 68

. 150

„ 7- 21

. 31a



„ 3. 20

. 340

n 7. 49

. 70

II 3. 46

. 187

AuousTiNus (St.),

», 3. 48

. 155

de Civ, Dei, a. 27

• 93

de Divinatione, 1. 10

. 160

„ a. 29 .

. a3o

„ I. 17. 30 .

• 64



4. 8 .

. 177, 274

„ I. lOI ,

. a6a

„ 4. II .

. 167, a9a

„ a. 41

. 166

If 4- 23 .

. 160, 326

de Legibus, i. 14. 40

. a99

AusoKiuSj de Feriis, 9

. 177

„ a. 3. 8 .„ a. ai. 54„ a. 48 .

• 333. 376



. 308

Caesar, JBeK. QaU., 6.

16 .

117, a86

de Officiis, 3. 10

. 32a

Calpuknius, J?cL I. 8 foil.

. a63

de RepubL, 1. 16 .

• 175

Cato,

„ a. la .

. aoB

deBeRustica, 83 .

«

. 194

Brtttua, 14. 56

• 393

„ 13a .



1

. ai8

„ ao. 78 •

. 180

n 139 .

<

. 184

Sp, ad AtL, I. la . ,

• 356

n 141 .

t

89, ia6

„ 6. I. 8 ,

• II

„ 156 foil. ,

. 105

„ 9. 9. 4 -

. 54

ap. Dionys, a. 49 .

i



. 137

II 13. 52 .

. 368

ap. Priscian. 7. 337 .

*

• 198

?, 15. 25

. 356

Censokinus,

ad Fam. la. as

. 54

de Die Natdlif a. ao

. 66

ad Q. Fratr,, a. 3. a .

• 323

„ 20. 4

1

. 3



Columella,

„ 20. a

i

. 97

de Be Bustica, a. 8. a

. 355, 371

Cicero,

„ a. la

. 88

de Harusp. iZesp., la.

24

. 70

„ 10. 3"

. 170

„ 17.

37

. a56

,, II. a . 17C



I, 314, 399

pro iSoscio Amer,, 35.

100

. iia, 116

„ la. 4

. 313

tn Fcrrcm, i. lo. 31

. ai5

CoRKELrus Nepos,

de Domo, a8. 74

<

. 367

Atticus, ao . • •

. • 339

tn Pisimem, 4. 8

<

. a79



pro Flacco, 38. 95 .

«

. 308

Ei^Nius, Fragm,, 5. 477

• . aio

INDEX OP

LATIN

AUTHORS qtlOTED 367

FrsTDBi PiDtira' (ed. Miiller)."™

Festus & Paulub (ed. MQUet) . far*

P. a. Aquaelioimn .

333

336, Thymelici ludi . , 180

5. Ambiirvalea hoBtise

"=S

333- Soriboiiianum . . 140

19, ArmiluBtrium .

250

334- Seiagenarios daponte an



aa. Apellinem

180

340, Septimontium . . 365

33. Aurelkm Emilia

191

343. Sorvorun. dies . . 199

S3. Ballona .

134

348. Summanalia . , 161

45. Cntularia porta ,

90

S6. Claudere .33. Cingulura ,

ao3

374. Vinalia ... 85

143



377. Umbrae . . .185

64. CorniBcae .

130

Curialea mensae

303

Gaius, 2. 101 , . . . 63

68. Damium .

Gklliub, a.,

Dapa

l°l

Hoila Aliicae, 4. 9. 5 ■ . 9

■JS. Depontnni

S- 13 . 133, 186, =35

85. Fontinalia



340

10. 15

Februacius meca

56,110,115,313

298, 331

87. PttgUtfll .

. 2=8

138, 330

93'. Foruaeuiia' '.

. 304

13- 33

97. Gradiyua ,

37

133, .86, ara

119. Larentalia



375

„ 16. 7 . . 8a

IS2. Mater Mntuta ,

156

„ 16. 16. 4 . . 991

133. Ueditriaalia .

340

18. a. II . . 70

laS. Maualis lapis .

„ la 7. 3 . . agi

150. Uartmsmensis.

154. Miindua .

GROKAtiGi AuctoBSS (ed. SudorfT.),



165. HeCasti diea

9

„ vol. i. 56 . 184

178. October equus .

343

» 141-325

179. October equus .

.. 164. 136

197. Osoinea

aog. PicU toga .

ao6

., 350- 336

aio. Pisofltorii ludi .

309



„ vol. ii. 363. 184

13B

HOBAOE,

' Pioversum fulgor333- PovtuB . .338. Praebia .

160

303

141

„'i!a8 '. ■ '. 1399„ I- 3S . 157, 17°, 335. 338„ 3. 8 . . . .38

341. Praebia .

136

343. Pudicitiue Signum

157

„ 3' 17 . . • ■ 373 1„ 3- 18 . . . . 356Sat, I. B. 34 . . . .109„ 3. 6, 30 foil. . . .389

345. Publica Sacra 16,

356



Palatualia flu men353. PoUuoere meroes

80

19s

59

IsiDoaus, IS. 11- 1 . . .307

304,3"

364. KuHtica Tinalia .

86,304

Julius Oibecjuebs, ig . .36

6a, 328

JUTEMil.,

397. SororLura tigillum

. 338

iu(.,3, Bsfoll. . . .356

309. Subura

, 266



,, 3. 86 . . 105,356

316. Stultorum faiiue

„ 6. 314 foil. . . .356

332. Saturnia .

.369

,. 9- 53 . . . .38

' Both eicerptors boiug

onlained

ia the same volume, they are hero

^^^^

368

IllDXX OF LATIK AUTHORS QUOTED

TtACtAVnXfBf

Jfut, {de FtUaa Baigumti)^

I. 15. 8

X. ao .I. ai. 45I. aa .Lmr,Bk. I. a

5

710



16

ao

»4a6

31-3S3. Id

4555

a. 5

ai

3. 31, 3a fin.

55

63

4. ao

5. 13 . . 180

83

40

5a83

6. 5ao

33

7. 3

33a8

8. 9aoaa

9. 30

4046

xo. 19

33

31.9

46



II. (Epit14. (Epit

ai.aa.

II

933.733. 1931

345

PAAB

I*TT,

PAoa

34. 3 ,

. X83

• 137

35. la



. 179

93>a75

ad. zz

• X99, 353

. 3ai

33 .

. 180

X03, 106

97. 6

IZ

• 75. aa8

53, 347

33 .

. 180

265,313



39. 10

. . . 69

• 193

14 .

. . . 69

. 329

36 .

. 354

- ns

30. 39 -

. 73

4X, 333

43 .



» • . 231

, III

31. 31

. 377

. 338

33. I

. 96, 137

• 337

33. 35 .

. 75

. 134

43

• *57» 378, 303

• Z98

d4« 53



• X24, 277, 30a

. 4

35. 10 .

> . . 24a

• 191

d6. 3 «

> • . 317

• a7o

37. 33 .

44, 96, 350

• 75

38. 57 .

. 218



• 75

39. 15 .

. 343

. 180

40. 34- 4 .

. 86

. aa9

45 .

. . 96

i86j aoo

51 -

. 180

. 154

41. 13 <



4 140

' X54

16 .,

. . . 96

• 333

LucAN, 3. 153 .

. 269

. 41

Lucretius, 5. 6(

)4

. 156

. 187

. 134

Maobobius,



. 130

Satumaiia i.

7-

34

. 96, 396

. 155

1, X,

8.

3

. 370

. 334

,» X.

9'

a

. 283

. 133

,, X.

9.



16

• a85 289

. 139

1, X. 1

0.

a

• . a67

. 288

,» !• '

0.

II

. 375

141, 135

,1 I» '

0.

X9

• . 371

. 136

,1 X. ]

:i.



36

« • 178

. 158

>, X. 1

I.

48

• . 369

. 41

» I. 1

[I.

49

. 37a

9,"

,, X, 1

r3.

6

• 35, 51

. 134

1, X. 1

a. la



. . 67

^J '^^

J, X. 1

13.

16

. 11,98

86, 204

f, 1. 1

a.

18

. aio

. 163

f, 1,1

a.

aa

• 130

. a78

f1 X. 1

[3.

35



4 • I02

. 160

,» x» J

2.

30

. 129

. 199

„ X. I

3.

33

. X34

353, 271

>, X, 1

3.

38

. X94

. 145

,, x» '

5.

9



• 8

. 211

1, X, I

5.

H

. 322

» 335

ft X- '

6.

3

• • 10

. 145

„ 1*1

6.

S

• d8z

INDEX OP LATIN AUTHORS QUOTED

369

MlCSOBIUS,



Saturnalia i. t6. 14z. 16. 161. 16. 17&18I. 16. aaz. 16. 30z. Z7. 15z. Z7. 25z. Z9. Z73. a. iz3. a. Z43. za. a

3» 5' 10MabtzaIi, 4. 64. Z7 .

5.23

8.67, 4 ,Z4. zMabtzantts Capelzjl z. 45

a. z6a

MZJNUOIUB FeZJX|

Odavius 34. 3 «

OvzD, Fasti z. 3Z8

1.324I. 3311.333

19it91999)91}|>ll>99»»

9t>l>l»

)>

»II11



l>IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

I. 585 .

z, 629 •z.66zz. 658 foil*z. 68zz. 705 .a. Z9 foil,a. 31

a. 33 •

a. 47 foil.

a. 50 .a. 55 foil.a. 267 foil.a. 37 z foil.a. 4a5 foil.a. 535 •a. 537 foil.

a. 571 .a. 6z7 foil,

a. 623a. 643 folLa. 667a. 671a. 853 .a. 858 foil*

3. 57 .

3. 135 .

3. 335 .

3. ^47 .

PAGV



PAGB

9

Ovid, Fasti 3. 77Z foil.

. . 56

97

II

3. 791 •

. . 56

azz

II

3. 835 foU.

. 59

9

II

4. 633 foil.

• 71

370

i>

4. 681 foil.

• 77



z8o

II

4. 7" .

. . 78

z8o

II

4. 733 .

. . 83

338

II

4. 737 .

. 80

Z79

II

4. 739 .

. 8z

179

i»

4. 763 .

• 82



194

II

4. 871 .

. 86

88

II

4. 899 .

. . 85

5a

»

4. 90Z foil.

. 89-90

95

II

4. 939 •

. 90

93

II

5. Z29 foil.

• zoo



37 z

»i

5. Z49 foil.

. . zoz

384

II

5. 255 .

• 37

Z08

II

5» 331 foil.

• 93

II

5.371 .

. 94

47

II

5. 4Z9 folL

. 307



II

5. 431 .

» • Z09

a8i

11

5. 725 .

. 123

a8i

91

6. Z55 foil.

. 132

381

99

6. 2Z3

. Z36

38a

19

6. 2Z9 foil.

. 146

api



II

6. 307 .

> . 219

292

>l

6. 395 foil.

. 148

295

>l

6. 617 .

. 157

294

II

6. 650 •

. 157

a95

II

6. 659 •

. 159

296



II

6. 731 .

■ • 160

301

II

6. 775 foil. ,

» . z6i

300

Trist.a.

549 .

. 13

300

Ars Amat, 3. 637 . ,

» • 102

6

Metamorph, 14, 623 foil. ,

• • 201

324



302

3Z0

Palladzus,

3"

deReRustica 7. 3. •

. 130

320

Pkksius, 8aL 5. 177 . •

• 94

306

Plznzus,

305

Hist. Nat, 2. 52 .

• z6o

309

11



2. 140 . •

. 233

309

>>

3. 69 .

. 95

309

II

7. II .

. . 84

325

11

7. Z20 .

. . 69

326

II

8. 194 •

. 156

327

II



10. 20 •

. 140

331

II

zz. 350 •

. 237

331

II

zz. 333 •

. 132

255

1}

Z4. 88 .

103 & 236

36

II

15. 79 •

. 178

34

11



16. 235 .

. . 38

51

II

za 8 •

• 305, 325

Bb

37°

Iin>EX OF IiATIN AXTTHOBS QUOTED

Pt.ihius,

PAOS

Sebvius,

PACK

Hist. Nat,

la 15 .

. 76

ad Virg, Am, 8. 314 •

• 107



11

18. 16 •

. 70

91 8- 336 .

167, 293

ti

la 34 •

. 236

1, 8. 64Z •

. 230

11

18. 91 .

• 88

II 9. 53 .

. 154

11

18. 117 .

• 131

>» 9- 448 .

230, 327



11

18. 118 .

. ZIO

„ zo. 316 •

. 182

11

18. 273 foil. .

. 88

„ Z2. X39 .

• a93

ft

x8. 284 .

87, ao5

,, X3. 306 •

• 230

11

la 315 .

. 336

Seveoa (H. Akhaeus),



11

29 passim ,

. . 105

Ep, Z3. 3 . . •

• Z42

11

34. 54 .

. Z65

Jf 18. I • • •

. 270

91

35. 19 .

• Z91

Qimeai. Nat a. 41 .

• 157

rt

35. 154 .

• 75

SiLius Italicus, 8. 50 foil.

. 51



11

36. 204 •

. 380

Statius, Theb, 3. 707

. 229

n

37- 135 .

. 331

S0LINU8, I* 7 • •

. 197

PORPHYBIO,

I. 13 •

• 293

on Hor, EpisL 2. 2. 209 .

60, X08

SuETOirxus,

Pbobus,



Vespasianua 5 • •

. 51

on Virg. Oeorg. i. 10

35, s6o

Vitdliuai

. 258

Pbopebtius, 4. I. 26

. 310

de Orammaticis 19 .

. 12

4. 4- 77 •

• 82

Symxachus, Epist, 10. 35 .

. 278

4- 4. 75 i

. 80

4. 9-74



• 137

Tacztus,

4. 10. «

• 229

Germaniay 9 . • •

. 234

5 (4). I. 9 i

. 243

Annais, 3. 49 • •

. 204

5 (4). a. 61 ,

• 47

„ Z1.34» ia.33

. Z71

. 190

QUINTILIAK, Z. 7. 12 . ,

» • Z91

11 ia.24



Tektulliak,

206, 318

Apol, 42 . • •

. 272

Sebyius,

.

ad Nat, 3. 9 . • •

130, 133

ad Virg,

Eel, 3. 77 ,

. X25

deMonogam, 17 • •

• 155

11

4. 62 ,

» • 14a

de SpedaculiSf 5 •

89, 178



91

8.32 .

. 220

11 8 , ,

206, 209

»

8. 82 .

. no

dePraeacripi. Haeret, 451 ,

. 333

>l

10. 27 .

• 223

TiBULLUS,

)}

Georg. i. 7 ,

. 74

I. 3- 35 •

• 271



11

I. 10 .

. 258

Z. 8. 2T . • •

• 40

If

a. 385

• 297

3. I. 5 . • • •

• 279

11

2.389

. 96

3. 5. 28 .

. 81

11

3. I .

. 80

3. 5. 81 .

• 79



11

3- 33a .

. 201

3. 5. 87 .

. 80

11

Aen. I. 292

. 337

91

I. 720 ,

• 145

Yalebius Maxim us,

>»

3. 115

• 269

3. 3. 9 . • •

310 foil.

91



3. 140

. 176

2. Z. 2 . • • •

. 218

•

a. 351

. 313

2. 10. 8 • • • •

. 93

91

3. 63 .

. 108

8. 15. 2. . • •

. 69

19

3. 175

• 232

Vabro,

91



4. 518 <

• 109

de Lingua Latina,

>1

5. 241

. 155

5. 41 . . .

. 266

9»

5. 734

. 186

43 . . •

. 198

It

7.603

. 39

46 55, 57, I"

, 201, 323

99

7. 799



• • 226

50 . . •

. 228

INDEX OP LATIN AUTHORS QUOTED

371

iTabbo,

Vabro,

de Lingua Latino, pack

de Re RusUcaj

VAV.lt

57

. 64, az3

35 . • .

255j 271

66



. Z36, Z41, 327

36 . .

. 377

73

. 186

65 . . ,

. 305

74

> • z6o

3. I. 9 • •

. . 83

83 .

. 114

5. 6 . . .

. 70

84



. 310

Sat Menipp. fragm., 506 ,

. 53

85

. 57

ap. OuLrisiumj ZZ7 .

. 133

91

• 64

ap, Aug. Civ, Dei, 7. 34 .

. 150

106

. 155

ap, Nonium, 13 •

. 308

153



. 351

189 . ,

. Z56

6. 13

. 383

Yelleius Paterculus,

13

. 398

z. 14 •

. 93

14

53-55

VXRGTT,,



15

70, 79, 194

EcL S' ^

. Z03

z6

85, 86, 304

Georg. z. 10 . ,

» • 360

17

. Z58

»> 151 .

. 90

z8

. 174, Z83

„ 311

• 371

19



. 303

„ 338folL

. 135

ao

. 67, 205

}i 344

. 103

31

. 3Z3

>9 419

. • 306

33 ,

. 340

J, 463 foil.



• 193

23

. 274

„ 498

• 193

34

• 366

„ 2.538

. 371

25

. 379

Aen. z. 39a .

. 323

36

• 295



n 5* 49

. 308

37

. 8

» 77

. 103

39

. 8

i> 79

. 308

30

9,300

jf 255

. 346

31



» ]

to, 63, 329

663 .

• aio

3a

146, Z49

„ 7. 45 foil.

. 358

33

. 66

„ 81 folL

. 363

34

. 319

i» 69Z • ,

• Z85



63

. 350

„ 8. 381 •

. 194

94

. 333

„ 314^011.

. 358

7. 36

. . 73

i> 331

• 369

44

. in

„ 600



• • 361

45

» 8O; 93, 30I

„ 630 • ,

. 311

de Re Rustica,

„ zo. 433

• . 229

I. z

. 67,86

» ". 785 .

, 84, 181

38. 39 .

• )

»

. 399

VlTKUVlUS,



30

> (

1 i

. 66

z. 7. Z . • • ,

» . 9ZZ

33

> 1

1

. Z89, 316

3. a. 3 . . • ,

• Z34

34

1 1

. 336

B b2

INDEX OF GKEEK AUTHOES QUOTED



AELiAVy Hist. Anim, X2. 34

AP0LL0NIT7S BhODIUS, 4. 478

Abistophanes,

Knights, 41 . •

LysistrcUa, 537„ 691Abistotls, Oecon., p. 1349 b

PAOK

329315

133133133

155

Dio Cassius,

37-3547.18

55.7758.7

DiODOBUS

(15. 14)D1ONT8IUS

Z. 2X

313a

33

34

38

40

79,80

88

2. X9



83

3140

485070

717375

3. 223a45

SiouLUS, p. 337

» • • •

OF Halicabnassus,

102

7^55

. 174

. 296

> 157

155

. 923

. 358

. 310206, 246269

ZZ2, 116

138, 193

. 310

79, 80, 83



. 70

305» 313. 229

. 306

. 323

. 303

. 39

. 38

. 114

. 337

. 238

. 271

. 114

DiONYSixTS -or

4. 14

1526

40

4958

5. 1316

6. z13

89

7. I9. 60

zo. 42

Z2. 9

13. 7

EUSTATHZUS,

ad Horn. Od. 99. 335LnciAH, Dea Syria 49

LtDUS, liAUBENTZUS,

3- 3



JH

ALICA

BKASe

• 56, 326

. 280, 282

«

. . 56

. Z99. Z56

. 95

. I35» 141

. 278

. 262

, 269, 274

. I33»a96

. 75

. . 76

135, 141. 75. z86

• Z30

. Z38

• 9a

>i a« o • • a94

» 3.a9 • 46,50

„ 4. 9 4Z, 984, 289



„ 4. 24 • .306

» 4. 36 . 46, 50

,1 4. 49 • 60, 6a

M 4. 45 . . 67

„ 4. 49 • • 71

Fragm, p. iiSf ed. Bekker • 265

NiCOZJLUS DaX AS0EKT7S,

Vita Caesaris 2Z •

Plutaboh,Romulus 4 .

3ao

. 976

IKDEX OF GBEEK AUTHORS QUOTED

373

Ifft

FlutaboHiRomiUuSfii .

21 . loi, 291,

27 .

„ 29 .

CamUhia 33 •

Pqplicda 14 •

Coriolanu8 3 •

C. QracchvA 17



Mari'os 26

Cicero 19 & 20

Caesar 61 . . •

Quoes^nes Graeca« 12 .

yy CSonvtvio/es 6. 8

7.1

ififfff*ftftftftft

ft»I*

ttRomanae 3

416

18

20

22

28

30

344042

4546

51

PAGS



Pltjtaboh,

PAGE

. 211

Quaestiones Bomanaef

310, 314

It If

55 .

. 158

175 foil.

ft ft

56 .

. 290

175 foil.

ft ff

60 .

. 194

175 foil.

ft >f

68 .



. lOZ

. 217

tt tt

69 .

266 foU.

. 296

ft tt

74 .

. 69

. 187

tf ft

86 .

XI5, 119

165, 297

tt ft

87 .

. 303

102, 255

ft tt

90 .



. 194

. 310

ft ft

94 .

. 278

. 49

» ft

97 .

. 242

• 49

ft ft

m •

• 311

• 240

PardUela 41 .

• •

• 227

• 200

de Fortuna Romanorum 5.

10 . 145



X99, 201

de Iside et Osiride

31

. 91

•. 155

PoLYBius, 12. 4*»

•

. 241

. 195

f, 21. 10

• •

44,250

. 103

Pkocopius,

. 289

de Bell, Ocih, z. 25 . •

. 283

138, 337

t* 3. la



;•

• "7

. 141

270, 276

Straro,

. 207

p. 180 (Bk. 4. 5)

• •

. 200

. 270

p. 226 (Bk. 5. 9)

• •

84, 155

86,87

p. 613 (Bk. 13. 64)

. 89



. 324

p. 639 folL (Bk. 14. 20) .

. 40

• 100

p. 660 (Bk. la 8

) .

. "7

THE END

oxfokd: horacb hartprintsx to thb univxhsity

By W. Warde Fowler, M.A.

The City State of the Greeks and Romans. A Sur\*eyIntroductory to the Study of Ancient History. Bv W.Warde Fowler. M.A., S'ub-Rector of Lincoln College,Oxford. Crown 8\'o, 55.

By Professor Rodolfo Lancianl

Ancient Rome in the Light of recent Discoveries. ByProf Rodolfo Lanciani, LL.D. Harv. With 100 Illustra-tions. Small 4to, 245.

-M-

HANDBOOKS OF ARCHJE0L06T AND ANTIQUITIES.

Edited by Professor PERCY GARDNER, LiitJ), of the University

of Oxford, and Professor Francis W, ICELSEV^

of the University of Michigan,

Each volume will be the work of a thoroughly competentauthor, and will deal with some special Department of



Ancient Life or Art in a manner suited to the needs bothof the scholar and of the educated general reader.

The Series will be characterised by the followingfeatures : —

(i) The size of the volumes will be extra crown octavo ;each volume to contain not less than 200 pages.

(2) The illustrations, taken from works of ancient art,will be made as complete and satisfactory as possible.

(3) Each volume will contain a concise bibliography,together with complete indexes of Greek and Latin wordsand quotations, and of Subjects.

(4) Thus the volumes will together form a handy encyclo-paedia of Archaeology and Antiquities for the fields covered.

(5) The different treatises will not be uniform in respectto length or price.

The following volumes are already published or in pre-paration : —

Greek Sculpture. By Prof Ernest A. Gardner, M.A.,University College, London. Part I, 55. Part II, 55.Complete in one vol., los. [Ready,

Greek and Roman Coins. By G. F. Hill, of the CoinsDepartment of the British Museum. Illustrated.

[Ready.

Handbooks of Archasolosry and Antiquities (continued).

The Roman Festivals of the Period of the Republic.

An Introduction to the Study of Roman Religion. ByW. Warde Fowler, M.A., Sub-Rector of Lincoln College,Oxford. Extra crown 8vo. [Ready.

A Handbook of Greek Constitutional History. ByA. H. J. Greenidge, M.A., Hertford College, Oxford.With Map. 5s. [Ready.

Greek Religion. By Louis Dyer.

Homeric Antiquities. By Thomas D. Seymour, YaleUniversity.

Greek Private Life. By Prof. J. Williams White,Harvard University.

Roman Public Life. By A. H. J. Greenidge.

Greek Commerce. By Prof. Percy Gardner, Universityof Oxford.



The Acropolis of Athens. By Prof. M. L. D'Ooge,

University of Michigan.

Greek Architecture. By Prof. Allan Marquand,Princeton University.

Roman Architecture. By Prof Francis W. Kelsey,University of Michigan.

The Destruction of Ancient Rome. A Sketch of theHistory of the Monuments. By Rodolfo Lanciani,University of Rome. [ShorUy.

Christian Rome. By A. L. Frothingham, Jr., PrincetonUniversity.

Roman Sculpture. By Saloman Reinach, MusêSt Germain.

Ancient Painting. By Cecil Smith, LL.D., BritishMuseum.

Greek Vases. By Cecil Smith, LL.D., British Museum.

Documents

Fowler (1899) the Roman Festivals of the Period of the Republic; An Introduction to the Study of the Religion of the Romans