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[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…

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…

(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] 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]: …

[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 use of ST …

[English version] Schmied unter König Numa, der elf Kopien eines bronzenen Schildes herstellt, um diesen, welcher während einer Seuche vom Himmel gefallen ist, vor der Entwendung zu schützen. M. wurde mit Erwähnung im Carmen Saliare belohnt; die Priesterschaft der Salii bewahrte die Schilde und verwendete sie bei ihren Tänzen (Dion. Hal. ant. 2,71; Ov. fast. 3,383-392; Plut. Numa 13; Min. Fel. 24,11; Paul. Fest. 117,13 L.). M. soll auch eine Bronzestatue des Gottes Vertumnus gefertigt haben (Prop.…

[English version] A. Generelles Die mod. Kategorie der M. hat keine unmittelbare ant. Entsprechung. Sie wird dadurch nicht automatisch unbrauchbar, ist aber als ein Versuch der Klassifizierung und Systematisierung rel. Strukturen dem Verständnis ant. polytheistischer Systeme (Polytheismus) unangemessen. Darüber hinaus tendiert die Forsch. dazu, sich v.a. auf den griech. Befund zu konzentrieren. Mögliche röm. Entsprechungen werden als sekundäre Ableitungen von griech. M. angesehen, ihnen bleibt somit häufig eigenständige Behandlung verwehrt. Phillips, C. Robert III…

[English version] Röm. Personifikation der “Besonnenheit”, zu Unrecht als “gestaltloses Numen” [1. 478] eingestuft. Die Sibyllini libri ordneten die Einführung ihres Kultes 217 v.Chr. an (Liv. 22,9,8): Ihr Tempel wurde als Resultat der röm. Niederlage gegen Hannibal am Trasimenischen See vom Praetor T. Otacilius Crassus gelobt (Liv. 22,10,10; Ov. fast. 6,241-248) und 215 v.Chr. auf dem Capitol neben dem Tempel der Venus Erycina dediziert (Liv. 23,31,9). Er wurde von M. Aemilius [I 37] Scaurus ( cos. 115 v.Chr.: Cic. nat. deor. 2,61) erneuert. Die frühkaiserzeitl. Fas…

[English version] Nach Festus (116,2; 150,34) die osk. Form von Mars. Das Vorkommen von M. in osk. Weihinschr. (Vetter 196; [1. Nr. 177, 179]: 3./2. Jh.v.Chr.) sowie die osk. Wurzeln der seit dem 4. Jh.v.Chr. bedeutsamen Mamertini schienen Festus zu bestätigen [2. 155, 167, 172]; dies führte zur Marginalisierung des varronischen Postulats sabin. Herkunft des M. (Varro ling. 5,73). Der sog. Lapis Satricanus (AE 1979, 136), in Satricum 50 km sö von Rom gefunden, eine Weihinschr. Mamartei (“für Mamars”), beweist die Existenz einer latinisierten Form ca. 500 v.Chr. Ob os…