Part Three
The Nature of Roman Mythology
Chapter 26: Roman Mythology and Saga
Fundamental Differences
Roman gods not as anthropomorphic as Greek gods
Roman gods more associated with cult than myth
Influence of Greek culture by third century B. C.
Many Roman legends are adaptations of Greek legends.
Importance of Vergil and Ovid
Roots of Roman religion
Traditions of pre-Roman Italic peoples
Identification of native Italic gods with Greek
Jupiter or Iovis/Zeus
Juno/Hera
Vesta/Hestia
Minerva/Athena
Ceres/Demeter
Diana/Artemis
Venus/Aphrodite
Mars/Ares
Mercurius/Hermes
Neptunus/Poseidon
Vulcanus/Hephaestus
Apollo
Myths transferred to Roman counterparts
Cults and rituals
Ovid’s Fasti: descriptions of the Roman religious calendar
Legends of early Roman history
Aeneas
Romulus and Remus
Idealization of the past
Augustan revival (who reigns from 27 B. C. to A. D. 14)
Livy’s “preface” to his history, Ab Urbe Condita (“From the Founding of the City”)
Roman Mythology
The Italian Gods
Janus
Janus, first in formal prayers
Ancient diety
Presides over beginnings
JanusJanuary
Connection with water and bridges
Connection with boundaries
Shrine near the Argiletum serving as entrance to the Forum
Gates open in war, closed in peace
“A janus” was defined as a crossing-place with a roadway.
Later significance as a god of going in and coming out
Association with doors, entrances, and beginnings
As the god Portunus he was connected to Harbors.
Few legends
Capture of the Capitol by Sabines.
Janus prevents entrance to the Forum
Two four-faced “herms” on the Pons Fabricius in Rome
Two-faced god on coins
Roman Mythology
Mars (Mavors)
More important that Ares
Agricultural deity
Association with Spring: March, beginning of Roman year in the pre-Julian Calendar
Association with Silvanus and Flora
Magical flower and Juno’s conception of Mars
Nerio, Sabine fertility goddess as consort, sometimes identified with Minerva
Anna Perenna (ancient goddess of the year) and the origin of obscene jests at marriage parties
Mars becomes a war god.
Sacrifices before battle
Temple of Mars Ultor (“avenger”)
Campus Martius (“field of Mars”): field for practice of military skills
Gradivus (“the marcher”)
Association with Quirinus, a Sabine war deity and later identified with Romulus
Bellona, a personification of war
Enyo (title of Ares, Enyalios)
Association with the wolf and the woodpecker
The Latin king Picus (picus is woodpecker in Latin)
Canens (“singer”), wife of King Picus
Transformation into a woodpecker by Circe who tried to seduce him
Canens transformed into just a voice
Roman Mythology
Jupiter
Sky-god
Deus and pater
Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus (“best and greatest”) on the Capitoline Hill
Temple shared with Juno (goddess of women) and Minerva (goddess of handicrafts and wisdom)
The “Capitoline Triad”
Triumphal procession
King Numa
Sacrifice after lightening strike
The advice of the nymph Egeria
Capture of Picus and Faunus
Summons of Jupiter
Comic exchange between Jupiter and Numa
Sign of the shield (ancile), talisman of Roman power
The twelve ancilia in the Regia (office of Pontifex Maximus, the official head of the hierarchy of
the state religion)
Priests of Mars, the Salii and the sacred war dance in the spring
Jupiter Latiaris (god of the Latins) on the Mons Albanus
Association with Fides (“good faith”) and Dius Fidius
Semo Sancus (from sancire – “to ratify an oath”)
Jupiter Indiges (meaning unknown)
Juno
Associated with marriage
Juno Lucina, goddess of childbirth, at the Matronalia in March
Juno Moneta (“adviser”) on the Arx (“citadel”); connection with the Roman mint
Juno Regina (Queen Juno)
Livy: Juno persuaded to leave the town of Veii after its defeat in 396 B. C.
Camillus’ dedication of a temple to Juno on the Aventine
Evocatio : calling a god to leave his city
Wife and sister to Jupiter
Role in Vergil’s Aeneid
Roman Mythology
Minerva
Introduced by the Etruscans
Identified with Athena
Shared festival with Ares, the Quinquatrus
Goddess of skills of the mind
Patroness of craftspeople
Goddess of schoolchildren
Divinties of Fire: Vesta, Vulcan, and Cacus
Vesta
Etymologically connected with Hestia
Goddess of the hearth and the fire burning there, symbolic center of family life
Temple of Vesta in the Roman Forum, tended by six Vestal Virgins
Strict vow of chastity
King Numa founded the cult of Vesta
Vesta and Priapus
Connected with the Penates (gods of the storeroom or cupboard)
Attempt to remove them from Lavinium to Alba Longa
Identification with the Trojan gods brought by Aeneas
Penus Vestae (sacred repository in the temple of Vesta)
The Palladium
L. Caecilius Metellus and the burning of the temple in 241 B. C.
Vulcan (Volcanus)
Chief fire-god
God of destructive fire
Mulciber (“he who tempers”)
Vergils description, Aeneid , Book 8
Cacus
Association with Vulcan
Conflict with Heracles after his labor with Geryon
Heracles worship at the Ara Maxima, between the Aventine and Tiber
Scalae Caci (“steps of cacus”) on the Palatine Hill
Roman Mythology
Agricultural and Fertility Divinities
Saturn, Ceres, and their associates
Saturn, perhaps of Etruscan origin
Temple dates to the early Republic, with the state treasury beneath
Agricultural deity
Saturnalia celebrated on December 17, perhaps connected with winter grain sowing
Relaxation of the normal social inhibitions
Saturnalia linked with the festival of Ops
Identified with Greek Cronus and the golden age
Rhea, consort of Cronus, linked with Ops, Italian goddess of plenty
Cult partner was Lua, whose consort in the cult of Ops was Consus
Consualia festival in August and December
Ceres
Temple on the Aventine dating to 493 B. C.; political and commercial center
Ceres (Demeter), Liber (Dionysus), and Libera (Kore or Persephone)
Wine-god Liber without ecstatic aspects of Dionysus
Association with Tellus Mater (“earth mother”) and the festival of the sowing of the seed
(feriae sementivae)
Flora
Goddess of flowering
Consort of the West Wind, Zephyrus
Associated with the Seasons (in Latin, Horae) and the Charites (Gratiae or Graces)
Pomona
No Greek equivalent
Goddess of fruit
Etruscan deity, Vertumnus (vertere –“to turn” or “to change”)
Pales
Livestock and the farm
Originally a pair, then one deity, either male or female
Festival of Pales, the Parilia (Palilia) celebrated in April
Roman Mythology
Forest Divinities: Silvanus and Faunus
Silvanus (Forester) and Faunus (Favorer) were the gods of the woods and forests.
Vergil’s Aeneid: Faunus, son of Picus and father of Latinus by Marica, an Italian birth-goddess
The consort of Faunus was Fauna, who was identified with Bona Dea (“good goddess”).
Faunus and Silvanus identified with Pan
Oracular powers of Faunus
Connected with the Lupercalia in February
Lupercal, cave where the she-wolf (lupa) was believed to have suckled Romulus and Remus
Luperci : two young noblemen who smeared themselves with sacrificial blood and ran around the
Palatine naked, striking women with leather straps
Story of Faunus and Hercules
Garden Divnities: Venus and Priapus
Venus
Italian fertility goddess
Protectress of gardens
Venus Obsequens (Venus “who is favorable”)
Temple to Venus Erycina on the Capitoline Hill dedicated by Quintus Fabius Maximus
Cunctator; Eryx,in Sicily, site of temple to Phoenician Astarte, identified with
Aphrodite, and then Venus
Lectisternium: festival at which statues of gods were placed on couches
Venus paired with Mars
Lucretius’ De Rerum Natura and the invocation to Venus
Venus Victrix (“bringer of victory”) dedicated by Pompey
Julian family traced its ancestry back to Venus.
Temple to Venus Felix (“bringer of success”) and Roma Aeterna dedicated by Hadrian
Venus Cloacina, after Cloacina goddess of the Cloaca, the Etruscan drainage system for
the
Forum area
Priapus
Protector of gardens
Wooden statue, painted red, with erect phallus
Cult at Lampsacus
Roman Mythology
Water Gods: Portunus and Gods of Rivers and Springs
Tiberinus, god of the Tiber; propitiation by dummies
Neptunus, identified with Poseidon
Portunus, originally god of the gates (portae), but later of harbors (portus)
Tiberinus, the most significant of the river-gods; appearance to Aeneas in the Aeneid
Juturna and the Juturnalia, the spring of Juturna in the Forum
Camenae, water-nymphs, identified with the Muses; water used for purification
Egeria, nymph, counselor and consort of Numa, helper of pregnant women
Carmentis (or Carmenta), associated with water and birth
Parcae, Roman birth-goddesses identified with the three Fates
Diana
Worshipped at Aricia
Lake Nemi, “Diana’s Mirror”
Sir James Frazer’s The Golden Bough
Rex Nemorensis (“king of the grove”), priest of Nemi and a fugitive slave
Diana concerned with the life of women, and identified with Lucina, who brought children into the
light (in Latin, lux, lucis)
Worshipped at Mt. Tifata
Association with Artemis
Horace’s Carmen Saeculare
At Aricia, Hippolytus identified with Virbius
Mercury
God of Trading and profit (Latin merces, “merchandise”)
Identified with Hermes and all his attributes
Roman Mythology
Divinities of Death and the Underworld
Vergil’s Aeneid and Aeneas’ journey to the Underworld
Parentalia, worship of spirits of dead ancestors
Lemuria, ritual to drive out spirits who can harm the household
Lemures, identified with the Manes, spirits of the dead
Origin of the gladiatorial games: Etruscan ritual of spilling blood on the earth to propitiate the dead
Orcus, the Roman name for the Underworld
Dis Pater, ruler of Orcus (Dis=dives, “wealth”)
Libitina, goddess of burial
Lares and Genius
Lares, linked with the Penates
Lares, household spirits, bringers of prosperity
Compitalia (crossroads festival)
Lares honored at the crossroad with a shrine
Lar familiaris: spirit of the house
Lar praestites, or “guardian Lares” of the city
Lares viales or protectors of travelers “by land”
Lares permarini or protectors of travelers “by sea”
Genius: creative power of a man
Lectus genialis, or marriage bed
Roman Mythology
Non-Italian Gods
Hercules
Story of Cacus
The precinct of Hercules, the Ara Maxima (“greatest altar”)
Bringer of luck and profit, and patron of traders
The Dioscuri
Castor and Pollux
Appearance at the battle of Lake Regillus (496 B. C.)
Patrons of horsemen and of knights (i.e., the economic and social class below the senators)
The Sibylline Oracles
Associated with Cumae and the Sibyl
The Sibyl and Tarquinius Superbus, last king of Rome
Apollo and Aesculapius
Apollo introduced as a result of plague
Apollo Medicus, (“the healer”)
Ludi Apollinares (“games of Apollo”)
Asclepius introduced in 293 B. C. after an epidemic
Roman name: Aesculapius
Cybele
Importation of the Phrygian mother-goddess Cybele
Magna Mater (“great mother”)
Black stone from Pessinus in Phrygia
Megalensia
Priests (Galli), who castrated themselves
Catullus (Poem 63)
Importation of Egyptian Isis, Asiatic Ma, Syrian Baal, and Persian Mithras
Roman Mythology
Legends of the Founding of Rome
Aeneas and Romulus
Origins of Rome: Aeneas and his son Iulus (Ascanius)
Ancestor of the gens Iulia
Traditional date for the founding of Rome, 753 B. C.
Iulus founds Alba Longa.
Romulus founds Rome.
Early control of Rome in the hands of Etruscans
Roman independence by the earth fifth century B. C.
Historical/legendary elements
Aeneas: the tradition before Vergil
Aeneas, son of Aphrodite and Anchises
The prophecy of Poseidon in Homer’s Iliad
Flight from Troy
Wanderings through the Aegean and Mediterranean
Legends of his arrival in Italy established early
Hellanicus, Greek historian of the fifth century
Statuettes at Veii found depicting Aeneas carrying Anchises from Troy
Early epics of Naevius and Ennius
Early Roman historian Fabius Pictor
Cato the Elder and his Origines
Aeneas’ arrival in Italy, marriage to Lavinia, founding of Laurolavinium
Presence of Latinus, Turnus, and Mezentius in the legendary evolution
Ascanius leaves Laurolavinium to found Alba Longa
Basic foundation myth available to Vergil
Roman Mythology
Vergil’s Aeneid
Great nation epic
Combination of Homeric conventions, Greek mythology, and Roman ethical and historical insights
Establishment in the mythical past of the destiny of Rome to be achieved in Vergil’s own time by
Augustus
Aeneas sails to Delos and receives an oracle about returning to the land of Dardanus.
Arrival in Crete and the vision of the Penates
At Epirus Aeneas receives the prophecy of the white sow from Helenus.
Aeneas sails to Sicily; encounter with Achaemenides a survivor of Odysseus’ wandering;
Anchises dies and is buried.
From Sicily to North Africa; encounter with Dido, Queen of Carthage and the story of her flight
from her original home in Tyre and the death of her husband Sychaeus
Aeneas received by Dido; narration of the fall of Troy
Dido’s destructive passion for Aeneas
Mercury commands Aeneas to set sail again.
Another stay in Sicily
Funeral games for Anchises
Reaching Italy at Cumae
The Cumaean Sibyl; the presentation to Aeneas in the Underworld of the future greatness of Rome
Sailing to the mouth of the Tiber and the fulfillment of prophecies
Latium, King Latinus and Queen Amata, and the princess Lavinia
Turnus, prince of the Rutulians
Juno’s intervention; the Fury Allecto maddens both Turnus and Amata.
War begins between the Latins and the Trojans, who are aided by the Etruscans and the
forces of
King Evander.
Pallanteum and the future site of Rome
Mezentius, a man hostile to the gods, and his son Lausus
Pallas, son of Evander, given to the charge of Aeneas but eventually killed by Turnus
Death of Turnus by Aeneas
Roman Mythology
Jupiter in the Aeneid
Identification with fate or destiny
Intertwining of mythology and Roman history
Jupiter much more powerful a figure than Zeus in Homer
Aeneas: a new epic hero
Pietas, devotion to family, country and gods
A man following a destiny he cannot see clearly
A combination of Odysseus and Achilles, but different
Quintessential image of Aeneas in flight from a burning Troy, carrying his father on his back (who is
sometimes himself carrying statuettes of the gods), and leading his young son into an unknown
future
The end of the Aeneid
Dido
Queen of Carthage
Obstacle to the destiny of Aeneas
Sympathetic figure, overwhelmed by forces outside her control
Dido’s curse against Aeneas; foreshadowing the Punic Wars
Other characters in the Aeneid
King Evander
Juno
Allecto
Turnus, a victim of destiny like Dido
Nisus and Euryalus and their tragic death
Camilla, the warrior maiden
Mezentius, impious to the gods and a foil to Aeneas’ pietas
The death of Aeneas
After Vergil’s Aeneid ends:
Aeneas marries Lavinia
Founding of Lavinium
Death and transformation into a god, Indiges
Roman Mythology
Anna and Anna Perenna
Ovid’s Fasti
Tradition of the flight of Anna, Dido’s sister
Connection with Anna Perenna, goddess of the New Year
Romulus and the Earliest Legends of Rome
Romulus and Remus
Amulius, the last king of Alba Longa
Numitor, rightful king
Rhea Silvia (or Ilia), daughter of Numitor
Romulus and Remus, sons of Rhea Silvia and Mars
Exposure of the infants
The she-wolf
Faustulus, a shepherd who finds the twins, and Acca Larentia, his wife
Death of Amulius; the restoration of Numitor
Romulus and Remus to found their own city
Fraternal rivalry and the death of Remus
Romulus and the Sabines
Asylum on the Capitoline
The abduction of the Sabine women
A series of conflicts with the Sabines
The origin of the spolia opimia
The treachery of Tarpeia
The story of Marcus Curtius
Quirites, name for Roman citizens
Disappearance of Romulus
Apotheosis as the god Quirinus
Roman Mythology
Other characters in the legend of Romulus
Faustulus, connected with Faunus
Acca Larentia connected with mater Larum (“mother of the Lares”)
Hersilia, the wife of Romulus became Hora Quirini (hora, “the power” or “the will” of Quirinus.
Tarpeia and the Tarpeian Rock
Legends of the Regal Period
The Horatii
Tullus Hostilius
The destruction of Alba Longa
The Curiatii and the Horatii
Horatius and the death of his sister
Ritual of purification and the tigillum sororium
The Tarquins and Servius Tullius
The last three kings of Rome: Tarquinius Priscus, Servius Tullius, and Tarquinius Superbus
Servius, second only to Romulus as founder and organizer of Roman institutions
Lucretia and the end of the Monarchy
The seige of Ardea
Tarquinius Collatinus and Sextus Tarquinius, son of King Tarquinius Superbus
Lucretia, wife of Tarquinius Collatinus
The rape of Lucretia by Sextus and her suicide
The expulsion of the last king, Tarquinius Superbus, and the institution of the Roman Republic