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[German version] The Roman goddess R. traditionally appears in conjunction with a fig tree, the f icus Ruminalis, which provided food for the twins Romulus and Remus (Liv. 1,4,5). The goddess' sanctuary was said to be near to the tree. The ancient etymological connection between R. and ruma or rumis ('female breast'; Fest. 326, 332 f. L., Varro, Ling. 5,54), refers to the breast-like shape and milk-like juice of the nutritious fig [1. 112 f.]. For this reason, R. allegedly received sacrifices of milk (Varro, Rust. 2,11,5; Non. p. 167 f. M. = …

[German version] Roman phallic deity, whose name is also preserved as Mutinus Titinus [1. 425f.], and who was associated with the Greek Priapus (Varro Antiquitates rerum divinarum fr. 151a Cardauns). Pictorial representations of this deity do not exist. He is most probably not depicted on a denarius of Q. Titius Mutto (cf. RRC, p. 344-347). MT had a sanctuary in Rome in Veliis (Velia) where women offered sacrifices to him, clothed in the toga praetexta (Fest. 142,20-30; Paul. Fest. 143,10f. L.). A second sanctuary may be mentioned in the highly fra…

[German version] According to Festus (116,2; 150,34), the Oscan form of Mars. The appearance of M. in Oscan dedicatory inscriptions (Vetter 196; [1. no. 177, 179]: 3rd/2nd cents. BC) and the Oscan roots of the Mamertini, important since the 4th cent. BC, seemed to support Festus [2. 155, 167, 172]; this led to the marginalization of Varro's postulate of the Sabine origin of M. (Varro, Ling. 5,73). The so-called Lapis Satricanus (AE 1979, 136), found in Satricum 50 km south-east of Rome, a dedicatory inscription Mamartei (‘for Mamars), is proof of the existence of a Latinized form at c. 500 B…

[German version] Roman goddess. The earliest literary evidence (Fest. 416 f. L. with [1. 2167]) mentions a statue of Stata Mater, which is said to have stood in the Forum Romanum until the early 1st cent. BC; the population of the city of Rome is supposed to have then carried the cult of the goddess into the vici ('city quarters'; Vicus ) (Fest. 416 f. L.; cf. [2]). Inscriptions from the Imperial period attest to dedications by the vicomagistri to Stata Mater alone (ILS 3307), in conjunction with the Lares Augusti (ILS 9250; Lares) or with Volcanus (ILS 3306). She was invoked to a…

[German version] Roman festival to avert mildew (Lat. robigo) on 25 April, at the 5th milestone on the via Claudia (Verrius Flaccus, InscrIt 13,2 p. 131; with differing topographies. Details: Ov. Fast. 4,901-942), with the sacrifice of a sheep and a dog by the flamen Quirinalis (Ov. Fast. 4,905-910; F lamines ) and (at least in the later period) ludi with equestrian competitions (Tert. De spectaculis 5). Apart from a goddess Robigo (InscrIt 13,2 p. 131; Ov. Fast. 4,907; 911), a god Robigus (the latter is better attested) has been passed down to us (Fest…

[German version] Roman deity identified with Picus (Aemilius Macer fr. 1 Courtney; Non. 834 L.; cf. [1. 6-8]), even though there is no etymological connection to picus, 'woodpecker' [2. 254; 3. 299f.]. Also known as Sterculinius, inventor of manuring (Serv. Aen. 9,4), P. had a brother Pilumnus, who, as Stercutius, was also associated with manure (Serv. Auct. Aen. 10,76; [2. 293f.]). Servius (according to Varro in Non. 848,11-15 L.) interpreted P. and Pilumnus as gods of marriage ( di coniugales) or of small children ( di infantium). This Varronian speculation does not exclude…

[German version] A modern term describing deities, primarily in Roman religion, whose role was limited to one particular activity only and whose name described that role (e.g. Obarator; Stata Mater). The term has its origin in [1. 276-301]: 'Sondergötter' there designates deities in the second of three phases of a supposed religious evolution. The first phase were the 'Augenblicksgötter' (anonymous deities connected with only one activity); from the sondergötter evolved the pantheon of personalised deities. The modern concept of sondergötter synthesises the Romans' co…

[German version] With the derivation from Latin portus, 'harbour' (schol. Veronense in Verg. Aen. 5,241; Cic. Nat. D. 2,66), the Roman god P. was identified under Greek, perhaps even Corinthian, influence with Palaemon/Melicertes and Ino/Leucothea (Fest. 279 L.; Ov. Fast. 6,543-548) [1]. Even before this derivation the Tiber harbour entrance fell within the sphere of the god: already in the 5th cent. BC, Latin portus meant 'door' (Fest. 262,19-22 L.; [2. 343 f.; 3. 141-178]); P. carried a key (Fest. 48,25-27 L.). It is doubtful whether P. had a  flamen ( Flamines )…

[German version] On the Kalendae of each Roman month the pontifices ( pontifex ) announced in the Curia Calabra the date of the Nonae (Calendar B. 4.); on that date, in the course of the nonalia sacra (NS) , the rex sacrorum proclaimed on the Capitoline Arx the first festival of the month (Varro Ling. 6,27f.; [1. 210-214]). Varro regards the NS as a surviving feature of the time of the kings, when the rural population would come to Rome and gather before the rex to be given information about that month's festivals. Varro's use of the present tense ( edicit) indicates that he is referring to a…

[German version] The Roman goddess of fruit, Lat. pomum (Fest. 144,12 f. L.; Varro Fr. 181, 189 Cardauns), whose sanctuary ( pomonal) was situated outside Rome on the via Ostiensis in the ager Solonius (Fest. 296,15-17 L.; [1. 144 f.]). The Roman calendars do not record any festival for P.; movable festival days ( feriae conceptiuae) are probable [2. 199]. P. had a flamen minimus ( flamines ; Fest. 144,13 f. L.; CIL III 12732); the description minimus probably does not refer to a hypothetical subordinate status of the goddess, but reflects differentiation within the fl…

[German version] (also Rosaria). The Roman festival of the offering of roses to the dead. The Rosalia were a private parentatio (Parentalia), not a festival of public religion (they appear only in one late Roman calendar, which may not even refer to the traditional Rosalia: Philocalus, InscrIt 13,2 p. 247, for 23 May), but were sometimes celebrated in connection with the ruler cult (24-26 May: IPergamon no. 374). The connection between the Rosalia and the decoration of military standards with roses ( R. signorum) is unclear; ritual procedures involving the standards are record…

[German version] Roman personification of ‘prudence’, wrongly classified as ‘amorphous numen’ [1. 478]. The Sibyllini libri decreed the introduction of its cult in 217 BC (Liv. 22,9,8): its temple was pledged as the result of the Roman defeat at the hands of Hannibal at Lake Trasimenus by the Praetor T. Otacilius Crassus (Liv. 22,10,10; Ov. Fast. 6,241-248), and was dedicated on the Capitol, beside the temple of Venus Erycina, in 215 BC (Liv. 23,31,9). It was renewed by Aemilius [I 37] Scaurus ( cos. 115 BC: Cic. Nat. D. 2,61). The early Imperial Fasti record the 8th of June as natalis templi …

[German version] A. Origins and functions The name Neptunus may etymologically be derived from Sanskrit apām nápāt, ‘descendant of the waters’ [1; 2. 100-103]; N. was primarily a ‘land water god’ [3. 2515]. The Etruscan name Nethuns is linguistically related to N., but this god is probably the Etruscan version of an Italian N. whose function was expanded through Etruscan sea trade with the Greeks, linking up with the role of Greek Poseidon as the god of the sea, so that he became a maritime deity himself [4. 285f.]. Identified w…

[German version] Roman movable holiday ( Feriae ) to promote the growth of the seed, which Ovid discusses in relation to 24-26 January (Ov. Fast. 1,657-704) with reference to the Fordicidia of 15 April [1. 142 f.]. The festival included sacrifices to Tellus and Ceres on two days separated by seven days (Lydus, Mens. 3,9); it was celebrated following the first spring sowing within 91 days of the vernal equinox (Varro, Rust. 1,34) and before the second spring sowing in late January or …

[German version] Roman goddess, at times identified with Hestia (Cic. Nat. D. 2,67; Cic. Leg. 2,29); evidence for a possible Sabine origin: Varro Ling. 5,74; [1. 168-170]. The fact that the Roman cult of V. is very old is indicated by her archaic round temple as well as her connection to the rex sacrorum or the archaic ritual of the expulsion of purgamina - what was described as stercus ('garbage') - from V.'s temple on 15 July ( Quando stercum delatum fas: Varro Ling. 6,32; InscrIt 13,2,335 f.; 471; Fest. 466; [2. 320 f.]). The round temple at the edge of the Forum Romanum…

[German version] The Romans like other ancient Mediterranean peoples determined the placement of their boundary stones as well as the guardianship of their boundaries (lat. termini, sing. terminus) by calling on divine assistance and legal ordinances [1]. The latter were attributed to King Numa  (Fest. 505 L.). They may even have been included in the inscriptions of Rome's Lapis niger (6th cent. BC; [2]) and played an important role in Roman property law ([3. pp.110-124]; cf. Ov. fast. 2,660; [4. pp.98-122]). The importan…

[German version] Mythical king of the ancient Italic Laurentes (Verg. Aen. 7,48; 171) or of the Aborigines (Fest. 228,32-34 L.), son of Saturnus (Verg. Aen. 7,48) or of  Stercutius (Serv. Aen. 10,76). In Verg. Aen. 7,45-49 P. is the father of Faunus and grandfather of Latinus [1] (differently Verg. Aen. 12,164; cf. [1]). P. appears to Rhea Silvia in a dream (Ov. Fast. 3,37) and feeds Romulus and Remus (Plut. Quaest. Rom. 21). P. is turned into a woodpecker (Latin picus) by Circe (Verg. Aen. 7,189-192). Vergil motivates this transformation by P.'s rejection of Circe's affect…

[German version] Blacksmith under king Numa Pompilius who produced eleven copies of a bronze shield that has dropped from the sky during an epidemic in order to protect the shield from theft. M. was rewarded by being mentioned in the Carmen Saliare; the priesthood of the Salii kept the shields and used them in their dances (Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 2,71; Ov. Fast. 3,383-392; Plut. Numa 13; Min. Fel. 24,11; Paul Fest. 117,13 l.). M. is also believed to have created a bronze statue of the god Vertumnus …

[German version] A. Overview The modern category of sea gods has no direct ancient equivalent. This does not automatically make it unusable, but it is inadequate as an attempt to classify and systematize religious organisations in order to understand ancient polytheistic systems (Polytheism). Moreover, scholars tend to concentrate on Greek deities, while possible Roman equivalents are viewed as secondary and derived from Greek gods; therefore they are frequently denied independent discussion. Phillips, C. Robert III. (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) [German version] B. Greek The mo…

[German version] Name of two Roman wine festivals, the V. Priora on 23 April (InscrIt 13,2,446 f.) and the V. Rustica on 19 August (InscrIt 13,2,497 f.). On the V. Priora people presumably made offerings to Jupiter (Iuppiter), the dedicatee of the festival, of new wine which went on sale at that time (Plin. HN 18,287; Ov. Fast. 4,863 f.; Plut. Quaest. Rom. 45). The propitiation of the weather on the V. Rustica was also addressed to Jupiter (Plin. HN. 18,284). A third Roman wine festival, the Medit…

[German version] The goddess of weeding (Lat. ( e-/ sub-) runcare) appears only in Varro, Antiquitates rerum divinarum fr. 176 Cardauns. Subruncinator is the masculine equivalent in the list of the twelve deities of agrarian fieldwork who were invoked during the sementivae feriae (Fabius [I 34] Pictor apud Serv. Georg. 1,21, 2nd cent. BC). The authenticity and age of both deities have been called into question (Sondergötter; Obarator), but can be defended with a glance at the importance of the agricultural life cycle for Roman society. The suffix formation of Subruncinator and the ve…

[German version] In Greco-Roman polytheism, but few deities were associated exclusively with roads, travels and travel routes on land or at sea; in such situations, depending on the requirements of the traveller, various gods from the local or inter-regional pantheon [1 III] could be called upon for support ([1]; Hor. Carm. 1,5,13 f.). Already in Homer, Poseidon, Calypso and Leucothea (Sea gods) appear in connection with Odysseus' sea voyage, just as Athena with his overland travels (Hom. Od. 13,190 f.). Likewise already in Hom. Il. 24,334 f. Her…

(Δωδεκάθεοι/ Dōdekátheoi, Lat. Di Consentes). [German version] I. General Groups of TG are a topic that was already dealt with in Hellenistic literature; their composition has been subject of antiquarian speculation throughout the whole of Antiquity. Nevertheless, they did not represent a 'monotheistic dodecade'. Worshipping them as a set group of gods was, in compliance with the structural principles of ancient polytheism, not obligatory and the members of the group varied from one region to the other [1. 360 f.]. Phillips, C. Robert III. (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) …

[German version] Brother of Picumnus and, as Stercutius, connected with manuring (Serv. Aen. 10,76). According to antiquarian speculation (Piso fragment 44 HRR; Varro in Non. 848 L.), P. (with Picumnus, q.v.) was among the dei coniugales or dei infantium. Varro groups P. with the goddesses Deverra and Intercidona (Varro, Antiquitates rerum divinarum fragment 111 Cardauns; [1]) as tutelary deities of the family household, guarding against Silvanus [2. 29-31], and derives his name from pilum, 'pestle', which also explains the association with bakers (Serv. Aen. 9,4; […

[German version] Roman god of manure ( stercus) spreading, known by several names (e.g. Sterces: Aug. Civ. 18,15; Stercutus: Plin. HN 17,50; et al.). S. is sometimes identified with Pilumnus or Saturnus (Isid. Orig. 17,1,3), and is seen as the son of Faunus (Plin. HN 17,50). Academic opinion, based on Serv. Georg. 1,21, counts S. among the Sondergötter , or regards him as an antiquarian speculation. However, the significance of manure in the agriculture of ancient Italy (Fertilizer), and the possible existence of an altar to Stercutu…

[German version] The Roman god of ‘reploughing’ the seed appears only in Servius' (Georg. 1,21) list of twelve “Sondergötter” connected with agriculture. This list goes back to the libri iuris pontificii by Fabius [I 34] Pictor (fr. 3 HRR, mid 2nd cent. BC?). The verb obarare appears once in Latin literature in a military context (Liv. 23,19,14), the concept of reploughing appears in Varro (Rust. 1,29,1-3; [1]). Opponents of the theory of Sondergötter [2] have denied the existence of O. It is also doubtful for linguistic reasons [3]. Yet it can be defended [4]…

[German version] The Italic ritual of the 'sacred spring', practiced in times of great adversity (Fest. 519 f.), integrated ritual elements of expiation and thanksgiving, and was not limited to Italic peoples alone (Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 1,16; Liv. 5,34,2 f.; Just. Epit. 24,1,1; but cf. [1. 708 f.]). The whole yield of a spring (or of the whole year) - plants, animals, humans - was 'consecrated' (Sacer) to a deity; the animals were sacrificed, people (adults) were expelled, although originally, people are said to have been sacrificed as well (Fest. l.c.; Dion. Hal. l.c.). It is only po…

[German version] The (plural) name of two festivals popular with the urban population of the city of Rome (primarily with craftsmen) (Plaut. Mil. 692; Plin. HN 35,143; Suet. Aug. 71,3): the Q. Maiores celebrated from 19-23 March (epithet only in Varro Ling. 6,17) and the Q. Minusculae from 13-15 June (Liv. 9,30,5-10). Some ancient annotators (cited in Varro Ling. 6,14) interpret Q. as describing the duration of five (Latin quinque) days. In fact, however, it is a matter of the fifth day after the Ides [1. 406-408], perhaps of the fifth dies nefastus or ater, 'black day' [2]. Charisius'…

[German version] (σύνναος θεός/ sýnnaos theós, pl. synnaoi theoi). The idea that a mortal could come to live with a deity already appears in Homer (Od. 7,80f.), but only in the Hellenistic Period does ST, 'the god who shares the temple [naos] of another deity', come to refer to gods as well as to deified humans. In the ruler cult in particular, then, the concept of a ST unites traditional gods and deified humans on the level of shared ritual and theology. In this sense, the first demonstrable u…

[German version] [1] Athenian praised by Solon (Τέλλος; Téllos). Athenian, praised by Solon [1] to Croesus as a most fortunate person (Hdt. 1,30): T. saw healthy children and grandchildren grow up in a well-ordered polis, died in battle for his homeland and was given an honorary burial in Eleusis [1] (Hero cult). Doubt as to T.'s historicity are without foundation [1. 44 f.]. In Herodotus' [1] Lydian tale ( 'lógos'), which is imbued with oriental doctrines of …

(Menerva, Menrva). I. Cult A. The earliest findings [German version] 1. General M. is traditionally considered an Etruscan deity that came to Rome as part of the Capitoline Triad of Jupiter, Juno and M., who had their temple on the Capitolium ([1; 5]; undecided [6. 163f.]). Thus, on the basis of representations of M. on Etruscan mirrors as a martial goddess [2] modelled on the Greek Athena, it is assumed that she was a Hellenic goddess introduced via Etruscan trade contacts with Greece. Besides taking as evidence the form Menrva/ Menerva in Etruscan, but also Menerva in Italian and Old La…

Hünemörder, Christian (Hamburg) I. Meteorology [German version] A. Early conceptions In Antiquity, Greece with its many islands, and intimately connected with the sea, relied on the observation of the winds (ἄνεμος/ ánemos, Latin ventus) that blow at various times of the year, because navigation (Navigation) for merchant ships through the Aegean and Mediterranean to Egypt and Magna Graecia was always important (except for the Spartans) [1]. Homerus [1] already refers to the most prevalent winds, named after their direction of o…

[German version] I. Greek (soldier saint) Greek (soldier saint), I (Μερκούριος; Merkoúrios). Widely attested but legendary figure - a soldier saint who according to Soz. 6,2,3ff. is said to have killed Emperor Iulianus [11] at God's behest by spearing him. Savvidis, Kyriakos (Bochum) Bibliography H. Ch. Brennecke, Studien zur Geschichte der Homöer, 1988, 96f. II. Roman (the god Mercury) Roman (the god Mercury), II [German version] A. Origin and functions The traditional view is that M. is the direct Roman transposition of the Greek god Hermes (= H.) [1. 304-306]: …

I. Religious studies [German version] A. General Sacrifice is one of the central concepts in describing ritual religion in ancient and modern cultures. In European Modernity, the term sacrifice (directly or indirectly influenced by Christian theology of the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ to redeem mankind) also has an intimation towards individual self-giving ('sacrifice of self'). The range of nuances in the modern meaning stretches to include discourses that have lost their religious motif and hav…

see Iulius [IV 15] (poet); see Iulius [IV 16] (jurist) [German version] I Greek (Παῦλος; Paûlos). [German version] [I 1] Bishop of Antioch [1], died after 272 Bishop of Antiochia [1] († after AD 272). P., who was probably born in Samosata and grew up in modest circumstances, succeeded Demetrianus in 260/1 and quickly antagonized influential parts of the Antioch community with his teachings and conduct of his office. According to Eusebius [7] (account of P.: Eus. HE 7,27-30), the presbyter Malchion, head of a school of r…