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65-949: The Aventine relationship between Ceres, Liber and Libera was probably based first on their functions as agricultural and fertility deities of the plebs as a distinct social group. Liber had been companion to both Ceres and to Libera in separate and disparate fertility cults that were widespread throughout the Hellenised Italian peninsula, long before their official adoption by Rome – or rather, their partial assimilation, as Ceres' own cult appears to have been considered more tractable and obedient than Liber's. Their Aventine cults, reported in later Roman sources as distinctively Greek in character, may have been further reinforced and influenced by their perceived similarities to particular Greek deities: Ceres to Demeter , Liber to Dionysus (Roman Bacchus ) and Libera to either Persephone (Roman Proserpina ) or Ariadne . In keeping with Roman theology,

130-592: A satyr or silen in the entourage of Liber. Meanwhile, the plebeian tribunes , an emergent plebeian nobility and a small but growing number of popularist politicians of patrician ancestry gained increasing influence over Rome's religious life and government. Any person who offended against the sacred rights and person of a plebeian tribune was liable to declaration as homo sacer , who could be killed with impunity and whose property was, almost certainly, forfeit to Ceres. Even so, official Ludi Cereales were not established until as late as 202 BC. Liber's festival and

195-518: A Plebeian Tribune, the Tribune could interpose the sacrosanctity of his person ( intercessio ) to physically stop that particular action. Any resistance against the tribune was considered to be a capital offense. The most significant constitutional power that a magistrate could hold was that of "Command" ( Imperium ), which was held only by consuls and praetors. This gave a magistrate the constitutional authority to issue commands (military or otherwise). Once

260-661: A background of famine in Rome, an imminent war against the Latins and a threatened plebeian secession , the dictator A. Postumius vowed a temple to the patron deities of the plebs , Ceres, Liber and Libera on or near the Aventine Hill . The famine ended and Rome's plebeian citizen-soldiery co-operated in the conquest of the Latins. In 493 BC, a new built temple on or near the Aventine Hill

325-722: A common Indo-European archetype ( Dyeus as the supreme sky god), and thus exhibit shared functions by nature. Others required more expansive theological and poetic efforts: though both Ares and Mars are war gods, Ares was a relatively minor figure in Greek religious practice and deprecated by the poets, while Mars was a father of the Roman people and a central figure of archaic Roman religion. Some deities dating to Rome's oldest religious stratum, such as Janus and Terminus , had no Greek equivalent. Other Greek divine figures, most notably Apollo , were adopted directly into Roman culture, but underwent

390-458: A common Indo-European origin. Lugus was identified with Mercury , Nodens with Mars as healer and protector, and Sulis with Minerva . In some cases, however, a Gallic deity is given an interpretatio romana by means of more than one god, varying among literary texts or inscriptions. Since the religions of the Greco-Roman world were not dogmatic, and polytheism lent itself to multiplicity,

455-465: A deity is his or her specific character as it unfolded in myths, hymns, rites, and so on. This character makes a deity comparable to other deities with similar traits. The similarity of gods makes their names mutually translatable. ... The practice of translating the names of the gods created a concept of similarity and produced the idea or conviction that the gods are international. Pliny the Elder expressed

520-501: A distinctive Gallo-Roman religion . Both the Romans and the Gauls reinterpreted Gallic religious traditions in relation to Roman models, particularly Imperial cult . Jan Assmann considers the polytheistic approach to internationalizing gods as a form of "intercultural translation": The great achievement of polytheism is the articulation of a common semantic universe. ... The meaning of

585-483: A distinctly Roman development, as when Augustus made Apollo one of his patron deities . In the early period, Etruscan culture played an intermediary role in transmitting Greek myth and religion to the Romans, as evidenced in the linguistic transformation of Greek Heracles to Etruscan Her[e]cle to Roman Hercules . The phrase interpretatio romana was first used by the Imperial-era historian Tacitus in

650-593: A god who is truly most powerful and most good and governs this world of sense, and, as I well know, is worshipped by us also under other names". However, Julian specifies no "other names" under which the Jewish god was worshiped. In late-antiquity mysticism, the sun god Helios is sometimes equated to the Judeo-Christian God. The following table is a list of Greek , Roman , Etruscan , Egyptian , Sumerian , Phoenician , Zoroastrian , and Celtic equivalencies via

715-569: A magistrate's annual term in office expired, he had to wait ten years before serving in that office again. Since this did create problems for some magistrates, these magistrates occasionally had their command powers extended, which, in effect, allowed them to retain the powers of their office as a promagistrate . The consul of the Roman Republic was the highest ranking ordinary magistrate. Two Consuls were elected every year, and they had supreme power in both civil and military matters. Throughout

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780-478: A plebeian. His duties included the invocation of her assistant deities and cult service to the earth-goddess Tellus. From c.  205 BC , a joint mystery cult to Ceres and Proserpina was held at the Aventine Triad's temple, in addition to its older rites. This ritus graecus cereris recognised Libera as equivalent to Proserpina. Liber's involvement, if any, is unknown. Initiation was reserved to women, and

845-587: A separate internal sanctuary ( cella ). The temple served as a cult centre for the patron deities of the plebs, a sacred depository for plebeian records and the headquarters for the plebeian aediles; the minutes or conclusions of senatorial decrees were also placed there, under the protection of Ceres as the guardian of laws on behalf of the Roman people. While the original temple fabric and furnishings may have been funded in whole or part by its patrician sponsors, its cult images and perhaps its maintenance were supported partly through voluntary offerings and partly through

910-533: Is a discourse used to interpret or attempt to understand the mythology and religion of other cultures; a comparative methodology using ancient Greek religious concepts and practices , deities , and myths , equivalencies, and shared characteristics . The phrase may describe Greek efforts to explain others' beliefs and myths, as when Herodotus describes Egyptian religion in terms of perceived Greek analogues, or when Dionysius of Halicarnassus and Plutarch document Roman cults , temples , and practices under

975-507: Is easily seen in the names of the days of the week, which were frequently translated according to the interpretatio. Examples of deities depicted in syncretic compositions by means of interpretatio graeca or romana : Roman magistrates The Roman magistrates ( Latin : magistratus ) were elected officials in ancient Rome . During the period of the Roman Kingdom , the King of Rome

1040-551: The Germania . Tacitus reports that in a sacred grove of the Nahanarvali , "a priest adorned as a woman presides, but they commemorate gods who in Roman terms (interpretatione romana) are Castor and Pollux " when identifying the divine Alcis . Elsewhere, he identifies the principal god of the Germans as Mercury , perhaps referring to Wotan . Some information about the deities of

1105-658: The Hellenistic era , including Amon / Zeus , Osiris / Dionysus , and Ptah / Hephaestus . In his observations regarding the Scythians , he equates their queen of the gods, Tabiti , to Hestia , Papaios and Api to Zeus and Gaia respectively, and Argimpasa to Aphrodite Urania , while also claiming that the Scythians worshipped equivalents to Herakles and Ares , but which he does not name. Some pairs of Greek and Roman gods, such as Zeus and Jupiter , are thought to derive from

1170-468: The Imperial era . No trace remains of the temple building, and the historical and epigraphical record offers only sparse details to suggest its exact location. Interpretatio Romana Interpretatio graeca ( Latin for 'Greek translation'), or "interpretation by means of Greek [models]", refers to the tendency of the ancient Greeks to identify foreign deities with their own gods. It

1235-459: The Roman founding myth , this was the hill on which the unfortunate Remus lost to his brother Romulus in a contest of augury to decide Rome's foundation, name and leadership. Postumius' vow has been interpreted as a pragmatic, timely recognition of the plebeian citizenry as a distinct social and political grouping with its own values, interests and traditions; the vow may have intended confirmation of

1300-579: The auspices (a ritual search for omens from the Gods), and was vested with legal authority ( imperium ) by the popular assembly. The Roman magistrates were elected officials of the Roman Republic. Each Roman magistrate was vested with a degree of power. Dictators (a temporary position for emergencies) had the highest level of power. After the Dictator was the Consul (the highest position if not an emergency), and then

1365-493: The interpretationes . These are not necessarily gods who share similar traits (as viewed by modern scholarship or readers, at least), and rarely do they share a common origin (for that, see comparative Indo-European pantheons ); they are simply gods of various cultures whom the Greeks or Romans identified (either explicitly in surviving works, or as supported by the analyses of modern scholars) with their own gods and heroes. This system

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1430-470: The "translatability" of deities as "different names to different peoples" (nomina alia aliis gentibus). This capacity made possible the religious syncretism of the Hellenistic era and the pre-Christian Roman Empire . Herodotus was one of the earliest authors to engage in this form of interpretation. In his observations regarding the Egyptians, he establishes Greco-Egyptian equivalents that endured into

1495-437: The "tribunician powers" and the "proconsular powers". In theory at least, the tribunician powers (which were similar to those of the plebeian tribunes under the old republic) gave the emperor authority over Rome's civil government, while the proconsular powers (similar to those of military governors, or proconsuls , under the old republic) gave him authority over the Roman army. While these distinctions were clearly defined during

1560-509: The Bacchic or Dionysian aspects of his cult were suppressed under the ferocious Senatus consultum de Bacchanalibus of 186 BC. The Liberalia rites were transferred to Cerealia; after a few years they were restored to Liber. Varro 's complex, investigative Late Republican theology groups Ceres with Tellus and Venus , therefore (in Varronian reasoning) with Victoria ; and Ceres with Libera, when

1625-457: The Gods or leaders of other communities, and could unilaterally decree any new law. Sometimes he submitted his decrees to either the popular assembly or to the senate for a ceremonial ratification, but a rejection did not prevent the enactment of a decree. The king chose several officers to assist him, and unilaterally granted them their powers. When the king left the city, an Urban Prefect presided over

1690-541: The Jews worshiped Dionysus , and that the day of Sabbath was a festival of Sabazius. Lacunae prevent modern scholars from knowing the other speakers' thoughts. Tacitus , on the topic of the Sabbath , claims that "others say that it is an observance in honour of Saturn , either from the primitive elements of their faith having been transmitted from the Idæi , who are said to have shared

1755-498: The Praetor, and then the Censor, and then the curule aedile , and finally the quaestor . Each magistrate could only veto an action that was taken by a magistrate with an equal or lower degree of power. Since plebeian tribunes (as well as plebeian aediles ) were technically not magistrates, they relied on the sacrosanctity of their person to obstruct. If one did not comply with the orders of

1820-482: The Roman Empire were elected individuals of the ancient Roman Empire . The powers of an emperor (his imperium ) existed, in theory at least, by virtue of his legal standing. The two most significant components to an emperor's imperium were the "tribunician powers" ( potestas tribunicia ) and the "proconsular powers" ( imperium proconsulare ). In theory at least, the tribunician powers (which were similar to those of

1885-430: The ancient Gauls (the continental Celts ), who left no written literature other than inscriptions, is preserved by Greco-Roman sources under the names of Greek and Latin equivalents. A large number of Gaulish theonyms or cult titles are preserved, for instance, in association with Mars . As with some Greek and Roman divine counterparts, the perceived similarities between a Gallic and a Roman or Greek deity may reflect

1950-401: The census, the emperor had the power to assign individuals to a new social class, including the senatorial class, which gave the emperor unchallenged control over senate membership. The emperor also had the power to interpret laws and to set precedents. In addition, the emperor controlled the religious institutions , since, as emperor, he was always Pontifex Maximus , and a member of each of

2015-473: The city in place of the absent king. The king also had two Quaestors as general assistants, while several other officers assisted the king during treason cases. In war, the king occasionally commanded only the infantry, and delegated command over the cavalry to the commander of his personal bodyguards, the Tribune of the Celeres. The king sometimes deferred to precedent, often simply out of practical necessity. While

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2080-462: The civil liberties of all Roman citizens. In times of military emergency, a Roman Dictator was appointed for a term of six months. Constitutional government dissolved, and the Dictator became the absolute master of the state. The Dictator then appointed a Master of the Horse to serve as his most senior lieutenant. Often the Dictator resigned his office as soon as the matter that caused his appointment

2145-560: The concept of "deity" was often expansive, permitting multiple and even contradictory functions within a single divinity, and overlapping powers and functions among the diverse figures of each pantheon. These tendencies extended to cross-cultural identifications. In the Eastern empire, the Anatolian storm god with his double-headed axe became Jupiter Dolichenus , a favorite cult figure among soldiers. Roman scholars such as Varro interpreted

2210-465: The cult was served by priestesses of high social caste. According to Cicero, men were forbidden to look on Ceres' cult image; this could imply the use of separate cult images, or the use of the same images in different, gender-segregated rites. The Aventine Triad's temple was known by the name of its leading deity – thus, Roman sources describe it as the Temple of Ceres , though within it, each deity had

2275-498: The dictator was the censor , and then the consul , and then the praetor , and then the curule aedile , and then the quaestor . Any magistrate could obstruct (" veto ") an action that was being taken by a magistrate with an equal or lower degree of magisterial powers. By definition, plebeian tribunes and plebeian aediles were technically not magistrates since they were elected only by the plebeians , and as such, they were independent of all other powerful magistrates . During

2340-416: The early empire, eventually they were lost, and the emperor's powers became less constitutional and more monarchical. The traditional magistracies that survived the fall of the republic were the consulship, praetorship , plebeian tribunate , aedileship , quaestorship , and military tribunate . Mark Antony abolished the offices of dictator and Master of the Horse during his consulship in 44 BC, while

2405-459: The emperor Claudius redrew the pomerium to encompass the Aventine. The plebs continued to establish and administer their own laws ( plebiscita ) and held formal assemblies from which patricians were excluded,. They elected their own magistrates and sought religious confirmation of their decisions through their own augury, which in plebeian religious tradition had been introduced by Marsyas ,

2470-465: The emperor held the same grade of military command authority as did the chief magistrates (the Roman consuls and proconsuls) under the republic. However, the emperor was not subject to the constitutional restrictions that the old consuls and proconsuls had been subject to. Eventually, he was given powers that, under the republic, had been reserved for the Roman Senate and the Roman assemblies including

2535-404: The emperor. Imperial Consuls could preside over the senate, could act as judges in certain criminal trials, and had control over public games and shows. The Praetors also lost a great deal of power, and ultimately had little authority outside of the city. The chief Praetor in Rome, the urban praetor, outranked all other Praetors, and for a brief time, they were given power over the treasury. Under

2600-453: The empire, the plebeian tribunes remained sacrosanct, and, in theory at least, retained the power to summon, or to veto, the senate and the assemblies. Augustus divided the college of Quaestors into two divisions, and assigned one division the task of serving in the senatorial provinces, and the other the task of managing civil administration in Rome. Under Augustus, the Aediles lost control over

2665-567: The executive (the Roman king ) to the Roman Senate. When the Roman Republic was founded in 509 BC, the powers that had been held by the king were transferred to the Roman consuls , of which two were to be elected each year. Magistrates of the republic were elected by the people of Rome , and were each vested with a degree of power called "major powers" ( maior potestas ). Dictators had more "major powers" than any other magistrate , and after

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2730-515: The factors contributing to the frequent friction between the Jews and the Roman Empire; for example, the Emperor Hadrian 's decision to rebuild Jerusalem under the name of Aelia Capitolina , a city dedicated to Jupiter, precipitated the bloodbath of the Bar Kokhba revolt . Emperor Julian , the 4th century pagan emperor, remarked that "these Jews are in part god-fearing, seeing that they revere

2795-446: The fines collected by the plebeian aediles from those who infringed plebeian civil and religious laws. By the late Republic, it may have fallen into disrepair: Augustus undertook its restoration, which was completed by his successor Tiberius . Pliny the Elder 's later description of its style and designers as "Greek" are taken as further evidence of continued plebeian cultural connections with Magna Graecia , officially funded well into

2860-456: The flight of that God, and to have founded the race", implying Saturn was the god of the Jews. From the Roman point of view, it was natural to apply the above principle to the Jewish God. However, the Jews, unlike other peoples living under Roman rule, rejected any such attempt out of hand, regarding such an identification as the worst of sacrilege . This complete divergence of views was one of

2925-512: The four major priesthoods. Under the empire, the citizens were divided into three classes, and for members of each class, a distinct career path was available (known as the cursus honorum ). The traditional magistracies were only available to citizens of the senatorial class. The magistracies that survived the fall of the republic were (by their order of rank per the cursus honorum ) the consulship, praetorship, plebeian tribunate, aedileship, quaestorship, and military tribunate. If an individual

2990-472: The internal and external equivalence of the Aventine Triad remained speculative, broad and flexible. Long after its establishment, Cicero rejects the equivalence of Liber and Dionysus and asserts that Ceres is mother to Liber and Libera. The Aventine Triad was established soon after the overthrow of the Roman monarchy and establishment of the Republic . Rome's majority of citizen commoners ( plebs ) were ruled by

3055-468: The king could unilaterally declare war, for example, he typically wanted to have such declarations ratified by the popular assembly. The period between the death of a king, and the election of a new king, was known as the interregnum . During the interregnum , the senate elected a senator to the office of Interrex to facilitate the election of a new king. Once the Interrex found a suitable nominee for

3120-538: The kingship, he presented this nominee to the senate for an initial approval. If the senate voted in favor of the nominee, that person stood for formal election before the People of Rome in the Curiate Assembly (the popular assembly). After the nominee was elected by the popular assembly, the senate ratified the election by passing a decree. The Interrex then formally declared the nominee to be king. The new king then took

3185-416: The latter is understood as the female aspect of Liber. Evidence is lacking for the earliest priesthoods of the Aventine Triad, whether in joint or individual cult to its deities. The plebeian aediles , named after their service of aedes (shrine or temple) may have acted as cult priests for their community and may have served Liber and Libera in this capacity. Ceres was served by a flamen Cerealis , usually

3250-518: The markets, and over public games and shows. Quaestors usually assisted the consuls in Rome, and the governors in the provinces with financial tasks. Though they technically were not magistrates, the Plebeian Tribunes and the Plebeian Aediles were considered to be the representatives of the people. Thus, they acted as a popular check over the senate (through their veto powers), and safeguarded

3315-424: The monotheistic god of the Jews into Roman terms as Caelus or Jupiter Optimus Maximus . Some Greco-Roman authors seem to have understood the Jewish invocation of Yahweh Sabaoth as Sabazius . In a similar vein, Plutarch gave an example of a symposium question "Who is the god of the Jews?", by which he meant: "What is his Greek name?" as we can deduce from the first speaker at the symposium, who maintained that

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3380-403: The names of equivalent Greek deities. Interpretatio graeca may also describe non-Greeks' interpretation of their own belief systems by comparison or assimilation with Greek models, as when Romans adapt Greek myths and iconography under the names of their own gods. Interpretatio romana is comparative discourse in reference to ancient Roman religion and myth , as in the formation of

3445-601: The offices of Interrex and Roman censor were abolished shortly thereafter. The executive magistrates of the Roman Kingdom were elected officials of the ancient Roman Kingdom . During the period of the Roman Kingdom, the Roman King was the principal executive magistrate. He was the chief executive, chief priest, chief lawgiver , chief judge, and the sole commander-in-chief of the army. His powers rested on law and legal precedent, and he could only receive these powers through

3510-447: The patricians, a small number of powerful, landed aristocrats who asserted a traditional, exclusive right to Rome's highest religious, political and military offices. The plebs not only served in Rome's legions : they were the backbone of its economy – smallholders, labourers, skilled specialists, managers of landed estates, vintners, and importers and exporters of grain and wine. Against

3575-463: The plebeian tribunes under the old republic) gave the emperor authority over Rome's civil government, while the proconsular powers (similar to those of military governors, or Proconsuls, under the old republic) gave him authority over the Roman army. While these distinctions were clearly defined during the early empire, eventually they were lost, and the emperor's powers became less constitutional and more monarchical. By virtue of his proconsular powers,

3640-517: The plebs and their deities as fully Roman, but its fulfillment focused plebeian culture and identity on a Triad of deities only part-assimilated into official Roman religion. Some aspects of their cults were still considered morally "un-Roman" by Rome's authorities. Thus, the Aventine Triad gave the plebs what has been variously described by modern historians as a parallel to the official Capitoline Triad, and its "copy and antithesis". Among other religious innovations based on his antiquarian interests,

3705-404: The political process of an election. In practice, he had no real restrictions on his power. When war broke out, he had the sole power to organize and levy troops, to select leaders for the army, and to conduct the campaign as he saw fit. He controlled all property held by the state, had the sole power to divide land and war spoils, was the chief representative of the city during dealings with either

3770-413: The right to declare war, to ratify treaties, and to negotiate with foreign leaders. The emperor's degree of Proconsular power gave him authority over all of Rome's military governors, and thus, over most of the Roman army. The emperor's tribunician powers gave him power over Rome's civil apparatus, as well as the power to preside over, and thus to dominate, the assemblies and the senate. When an emperor

3835-555: The transition from republic to the Roman empire, the constitutional balance of power shifted from the Roman Senate back to the executive (the Roman Emperor ). Theoretically, the senate elected each new emperor; in practice each emperor chose his own successor, though the choice was often overruled by the army or civil war. The powers of an emperor (his imperium ) existed, in theory at least, by virtue of his legal standing. The two most significant components to an emperor's imperium were

3900-433: The year, one Consul was superior in rank to the other Consul, and this ranking flipped every month, between the two Consuls. Praetors administered civil law, presided over the courts, and commanded provincial armies. Another magistrate, the Censor, conducted a census , during which time they could appoint people to the senate. Aediles were officers elected to conduct domestic affairs in Rome, and were vested with powers over

3965-702: Was dedicated to the Triad and Rome's first recorded ludi scaenici ( religious dramas ) were held in honour of Liber, for the benefit of the Roman people . Liber's festival, the Liberalia , may date from this time. Patrician dominance was manifest in the Capitoline Triad of Jupiter , Mars and Quirinus on the Capitoline Hill, at the heart of the city. The Capitoline temple lay within Rome's sacred boundary ( pomerium ). The Aventine lay outside it. In most versions of

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4030-403: Was not of the senatorial class, he could run for one of these offices if he was allowed to run by the emperor, or otherwise, he could be appointed to one of these offices by the emperor. During the transition from republic to empire, no office lost more power or prestige than the consulship, which was due, in part, to the fact that the substantive powers of republican Consuls were all transferred to

4095-423: Was resolved. When the Dictator's term ended, constitutional government was restored. The last ordinary Dictator was appointed in 202 BC. After 202 BC, extreme emergencies were addressed through the passage of the decree senatus consultum ultimum ("ultimate decree of the senate"). This suspended civil government, declared martial law , and vested the consuls with Dictatorial powers. The executive magistrates of

4160-405: Was the principal executive magistrate . His power, in practice, was absolute. He was the chief priest , lawgiver , judge , and the sole commander of the army . When the king died, his power reverted to the Roman Senate , which then chose an Interrex to facilitate the election of a new king. During the transition from monarchy to republic, the constitutional balance of power shifted from

4225-410: Was vested with the tribunician powers, his office and his person became sacrosanct, and thus it became a capital offense to harm or to obstruct the emperor. The emperor also had the authority to carry out a range of duties that, under the republic, had been performed by the Roman censors. Such duties included the authority to regulate public morality ( Censorship ) and to conduct a census . As part of

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