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98-528: Carmentalia was the two feast days (11 January and 15 January) of the Roman goddess Carmenta . She had her temple atop the Capitoline Hill . Carmenta was invoked in it as Postvorta and Antevorta , epithets which had reference to her power of looking back into the past and forward into the future. The festival was chiefly observed by women. This article relating to an Ancient Roman myth or legend

196-565: A Roman holiday." More benignly, the phrase was used as the title of a romantic movie set in Rome, Roman Holiday . Juno (mythology) Juno's own warlike aspect among the Romans is apparent in her attire. She was often shown armed and wearing a goatskin cloak. The traditional depiction of this warlike aspect was assimilated from the Greek goddess Athena , who bore a goatskin, or a goatskin shield, called

294-427: A dowry at public expenses. Dumézil in his Archaic Roman Religion had been unable to interpret the myth underlying this legendary event, later though he accepted the interpretation given by P. Drossart and published it in his Fêtes romaines d'été et d'automne, suivi par dix questions romaines in 1975 as Question IX . In folklore the wild fig tree is universally associated with sex because of its fertilising power,

392-417: A female presence in her cult through the centuries down to the lectisternium of 217 BC, when the matronae collected money for the service, and to the times of Augustus during the ludi saeculares in the sacrifices to Capitoline Juno are proof of the resilience of this foreign tradition. Gagé and D'Albret remark an accentuation of the matronal aspect of Juno Regina that led her to be the most matronal of

490-535: A new acquisition introduced to Rome after her evocatio from Veii. Palmer thinks she is to be identified with Juno Populona of later inscriptions, a political and military poliadic (guardian) deity who had in fact a place in the Capitoline temple and was intended to represent the Regina of the king. The date of her introduction, though ancient, would be uncertain; she should perhaps be identified with Hera Basilea or as

588-632: A particular time of the year, that of the so-called caprificatio when branches of wild fig trees were fastened to cultivated ones to promote insemination. The historical episode narrated by ancient sources concerns the siege of Rome by the Latin peoples that followed the Gallic sack. The dictator of the Latins Livius Postumius from Fidenae would have requested the Roman senate that the matronae and daughters of

686-562: A ritual that can prove the trifunctional nature of Juno. Other scholars limit their interpretation of Caprotina to the sexual implications of the goat, the caprificus and the obscene words and plays of the festival. Under this epithet Juno is attested in many places, notably at Falerii and Tibur . Dumézil remarked that Juno Curitis "is represented and invoked at Rome under conditions very close to those we know about for Juno Seispes of Lanuvium ". Martianus Capella states she must be invoked by those who are involved in war. The hunt of

784-454: A table to Juno in every curia, that Dionysius still saw. Modern scholars have proposed the town of Currium or Curria, Quirinus , *quir(i)s or *quiru , the Sabine word for spear and curia . The *quiru- would design the sacred spear that gave the name to the primitive curiae. The discovery at Sulmona of a sanctuary of Hercules Curinus lends support to a Sabine origin of the epithet and of

882-452: A tutelary deity of the sovereignty of peoples; in women capable of bearing children, from puberty on she oversees childbirth and marriage. Thence she would be a poliad goddess related to politics, power and war. Others think her military and poliadic qualities arise from her being a fertility goddess who through her function of increasing the numbers of the community became also associated to political and military functions. The rites of

980-547: A war with the Galli Insubri ); in it the goddess was honoured in military garb. The flamen or special priest belonging to Juno Seispes continued to be a Lanuvian, specially nominated by the town to take care of the goddess even though she was housed in her temple at Rome (in the Forum Holitorium). At the time of Cicero , Milo , who served as the city's dictator and highest magistrate in 52 BC (Cic. Mil. 27), and of course

1078-591: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a religious festival is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Roman festivals Festivals in ancient Rome were a very important part in Roman religious life during both the Republican and Imperial eras , and one of the primary feat of "holy days"; singular also feriae or dies ferialis ) were either public (publicae) or private ( privatae ) . State holidays were celebrated by

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1176-409: Is a decisive factor in ensuring the safety of the community and the growth of crops. The role of Iuno is at the crossing point of civil and natural life, expressing their interdependence. At Laurentum she was known as Kalendaris Iuno and was honoured as such ritually at the kalendae of each month from March to December, i.e. the months of the pre-Numan ten-month year, a fact which is a testimony to

1274-459: Is a month-by-month list of Roman festivals and games that had a fixed place on the calendar. For some, the date on which they were first established is recorded. A deity's festival often marked the anniversary ( dies natalis , "birthday") of the founding of a temple, or a rededication after a major renovation. Festivals not named for deities are thought to be among the oldest on the calendar. Some religious observances were monthly. The first day of

1372-467: Is also the tutelary goddess of the curiae and of the new brides, whose hair was combed with the spear called caelibataris hasta as in Rome. In her annual rites at Falerii youths and maiden clad in white bore in procession gifts to the goddess whose image was escorted by her priestesses. The idea of purity and virginity is stressed in Ovid's description. A she goat is sacrificed to her after a ritual hunting. She

1470-470: Is attested and in accord with Roe D'Albret stresses that at Rome no presence of a Juno Regina is mentioned before Marcus Furius Camillus , while she is attested in many Etruscan and Latin towns. Before that time her Roman equivalent was Juno Moneta. Marcel Renard for his part considers her an ancient Roman figure since the title of the Veian Juno expresses a cultic reality that is close to and indeed presupposes

1568-409: Is connected to regality: the existence and welfare of the community was protected by virgin goddesses or the virgin attendants of a goddess. This theme shows a connexion with the fundamental theological character of Iuno, that of incarnating vital force: virginity is the condition of unspoilt, unspent vital energy that can ensure communion with nature and its rhythm, symbolised in the fire of Vesta . It

1666-563: Is no sure document of its existence elsewhere either in Latium or Etruria. A direct Greek influence is possible but it would be also plausible to consider it a local creation. Dumézil advanced the hypothesis it could be an ideological construction of the Tarquins to oppose new Latin nationalism, as it included the three gods that in the Iliad are enemies of Troy . It is probable Latins had already accepted

1764-500: Is one of the most complex and disputed issues in Roman religion. Even more than other major Roman deities, Juno held a large number of significant and diverse epithets , names and titles representing various aspects and roles of the goddess. In accordance with her central role as a goddess of marriage, these included Pronuba and Cinxia ("she who looses the bride's girdle"). However, other epithets of Juno have wider implications and are less thematically linked. While her connection with

1862-429: Is then the patroness of the young soldiers and of brides. At Lanuvium the goddess is known under the epithet Seispes Mater Regina. The titles themselves are a theological definition: she was a sovereign goddess, a martial goddess and a fertility goddess. Hence her flamen was chosen by the highest local magistrate, the dictator, and since 388 BC the Roman consuls were required to offer sacrifices to her. Her sanctuary

1960-466: Is unity between fertility, regality and purification. This unity is underlined by the role of Faunus in the aetiologic story told by Ovid and the symbolic relevance of the Lupercal : asked by the Roman couples at her lucus how to overcome the sterility that ensued the abduction of the Sabine women, Juno answered through a murmuring of leaves " Italidas matres sacer hircus inito " "That a sacred ram cover

2058-561: The Libri Lintei , monere would thence have the meaning of recording: Livius Andronicus identifies her as Mnemosyne . Her dies natalis was on the kalendae of June. Her Temple on the summit of the Capitol was dedicated only in 348 BC by dictator L. Furius Camillus, presumably a son of the great Furius. Livy states he vowed the temple during a war against the Aurunci . Modern scholars agree that

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2156-493: The Aegis . Juno was also shown wearing a diadem. The name Juno was once popularly thought to be connected to Iove (Jove), originally as Diuno and Diove from *Diovona . Although this etymology still receives some support, a derivation was later proposed from iuven- (as in Latin iuvenis , "youth"), through a syncopated form iūn- (as in iūnix , "heifer", and iūnior , "younger"). This etymology became widely accepted after it

2254-559: The Palatine Hill within the Pomerium . This was located near or under the site of the 6th century church of San Teodoro , which has an unusual circular shape similar to that of the nymphaeum later misnamed the Temple of Minerva Medica . In his early 1st-century poem Fasti , Ovid states that by his time this temple had become so dilapidated that it was no longer discernible "because of

2352-455: The Saturnalia may have been a mercatus in this sense. Surviving fasti record Mercatus Apollinares , July 14–19; Mercatus Romani , September 20–23; and Mercatus Plebeii , November 18–20. Others may have existed. The English word "fair" derives from Latin feria . By the outset of the nineteenth century and particularly in response to the carnage of the latter years of

2450-556: The porticus Pompeiana on the west end of circus Flaminius. The Carthaginian goddess Tanit was evoked at the defeat of Carthage in 146 BC, and romanized as Juno Caelestis (Heavenly Juno). One of her symbols was of the crescent moon. She did not receive a temple in Rome: presumably her image was deposited in another temple of Juno (Moneta or Regina) and later transferred to the Colonia Junonia founded by Caius Gracchus . The goddess

2548-571: The prodigia (supernatural or unearthly phenomena) which happened in her temple were referred to Rome and accordingly expiated there. Many occurred during the presence of Hannibal in Italy. Perhaps the Romans were not completely satisfied with this solution as in 194 BC consul C. Cornelius Cethegus erected a temple to the Juno Sospita of Lanuvium in the Forum Holitorium (vowed three years earlier in

2646-501: The 5th or 7th of that month. On the Nones, announcements were made regarding events to take place that month; with the exception of the Poplifugia , no major festivals were held before the Nones, though other ceremonies, such as anniversaries of temple dedications, might be carried out. The Ides (usually the 13th, or in a few months the 15th) were sacred to Jupiter . On each Ides, a white lamb

2744-523: The Alban populace to Rome, it was reported to have rained stones on the Mons Albanus . A Roman deputation was sent to investigate the report, and a further shower of stones was witnessed. The Romans took this to be a sign of the displeasure of the Alban gods, the worship of whom had been abandoned with the evacuation of Alba Longa. Livy goes on to say that the Romans instituted a public festival of nine days, at

2842-449: The French revolution, the term "Roman holiday" had taken on sinister aspects, implying an event that occasions enjoyment or profit at the expense, or derived from the suffering, of others, as in this passage about a dying gladiator from Lord Byron's Childe Harold's Pilgrimage : There were his young barbarians all at play, There was their Dacian mother—he their sire, Butchered to make

2940-500: The Indoeuropean trifunctional ideology: as Regina and Moneta she is a sovereign deity, as Sespeis, Curitis (spear holder) and Moneta (again) she is an armed protectress, as Mater and Curitis (again) she is a goddess of the fertility and wealth of the community in her association with the curiae . The epithet Lucina is particularly revealing since it reflects two interrelated aspects of the function of Juno: cyclical renewal of time in

3038-570: The Italic mothers". Februlis oversees the secundament of the placenta and is strictly associated to Fluvonia, Fluonia , goddess who retains the blood inside the body during pregnancy. While the protection of pregnancy is stressed by Duval, Palmer sees in Fluonia only the Juno of lustration in river water. Ovid devotes an excursus to the lustrative function of river water in the same place in which he explains

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3136-449: The Juno of Falerii: this though seems probable. Other epithets of hers that were in use at Rome include Moneta and Caprotina, Tutula, Fluonia or Fluviona, Februalis, the last ones associated with the rites of purification and fertility of February. Her various epithets thus show a complex of mutually interrelated functions that in the view of Georges Dumézil and Vsevolod Basanoff (author of Les dieux Romains ) can be traced back to

3234-462: The Latin camp. There they seduced the Latins into fooling and drinking: after they had fallen asleep, they stole their swords. Then Tutela gave the convened signal to the Romans brandishing an ignited branch after climbing on the wild fig ( caprificus ) and hiding the fire with her mantle. The Romans then irrupted into the Latin camp killing the enemies in their sleep. The women were rewarded with freedom and

3332-508: The Latin term for both the place where coins were made, but also for the currency itself (and the Latin word ultimately yielded in English both mint and money ). Juno Regina is perhaps the epithet most fraught with questions. While some scholars maintain she was known as such at Rome since the most ancient times as paredra (consort) of Jupiter in the Capitoline Triad others think she is

3430-432: The Roman free and slave women picnicked and had fun together near the site of the wild fig ( caprificus ): the custom implied runs, mock battles with fists and stones, obscene language and finally the sacrifice of a male goat to Juno Caprotina under a wildfig tree and with the using of its lymph. This festival had a legendary aetiology in a particularly delicate episode of Roman history and also recurs at (or shortly after)

3528-587: The Roman goddesses by the time of the end of the republic. This fact raises the question of understanding why she was able of attracting the devotion of the matronae . Gagé traces back the phenomenon to the nature of the cult rendered to the Juno Regina of the Aventine in which Camillus played a role in person. The original devotion of the matronae was directed to Fortuna. Camillus was devout to her and to Matuta, both matronal deities. When he brought Juno Regina from Veii

3626-558: The Roman people and received public funding. Games ( ludi ) , such as the Ludi Apollinares , were not technically feriae , but the days on which they were celebrated were dies festi , holidays in the modern sense of days off work. Although feriae were paid for by the state, ludi were often funded by wealthy individuals. Feriae privatae were holidays celebrated in honor of private individuals or by families. This article deals only with public holidays, including rites celebrated by

3724-461: The Roman women were already acquainted with many Junos, while the ancient rites of Fortuna were falling off. Camillus would have then made a political use of the cult of Juno Regina to subdue the social conflicts of his times by attributing to her the role of primordial mother. Juno Regina had two temples ( aedes ) in Rome. The one dedicated by Furius Camillus in 392 BC stood on the Aventine : it lodged

3822-403: The annalistic tradition. However Renard considers Macrobius's authority reliable in his long list of evocationes on the grounds of an archaeological find at Isaura . Roe D'Albret underlines the role played by Camillus and sees a personal link between the deity and her magistrate. Similarly Dumézil has remarked the link of Camillus with Mater Matuta . In his relationship to the goddess he takes

3920-589: The antiquity of the custom. A Greek influence in their cults looks probable. It is noteworthy though that Cicero remarked the existence of a stark difference between the Latin Iuno Seispes and the Argolic Hera (as well the Roman Iuno) in his work De natura deorum . Claudius Helianus later wrote "...she has much new of Hera Argolis" The iconography of Argive Hera, matronal and regal, looks quite far away from

4018-504: The association of the three gods with the birth of Herakles and the siege of Troy, in which Minerva plays a decisive role as a goddess of destiny along with the sovereign couple Uni Tinia. The cults of the Italic Junos reflected remarkable theological complexes: regality, military protection and fertility. In Latium are relatively well known the instances of Tibur, Falerii, Laurentum and Lanuvium. At Tibur and Falerii their sacerdos

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4116-466: The cult of Juno in the curiae. The spear could also be the celibataris hasta (bridal spear) that in the marriage ceremonies was used to comb the bridegroom's hair as a good omen. Palmer views the rituals of the curiae devoted to her as a reminiscence of the origin of the curiae themselves in rites of evocatio , a practice the Romans continued to use for Juno or her equivalent at later times as for Falerii, Veii and Carthage . Juno Curitis would then be

4214-437: The curiae are consecrated to Juno Curitis to justify the false etymology of Curitis from curiae: the tables would assure the presence of the tutelary numen of the king as an adviser within each curia, as the epithet itself implies. It can be assumed thence that Juno Moneta intervenes under warlike circumstances as associated to the sacral power of the king. Since coins were later made near her temple, her epithet, moneta became

4312-452: The dedication and of her festival was September 1. Another temple stood near the circus Flaminius , vowed by consul Marcus Aemilius Lepidus in 187 BC during the war against the Ligures and dedicated by himself as censor in 179 on December 23. It was connected by a porch with a temple of Fortuna, perhaps that of Fortuna Equestris. Its probable site according to Platner is just south of

4410-510: The deity evoked after her admission into the curiae. Juno Curitis had a temple on the Campus Martius . Excavations in Largo di Torre Argentina have revealed four temple structures, one of whom (temple D or A) could be the temple of Juno Curitis. She shared her anniversary day with Juppiter Fulgur, who had an altar nearby. This Juno is placed by ancient sources in a warring context. Dumézil thinks

4508-438: The divine structure is supported by many scholars, as M. Renard and J. Poucet. His theory purports that while male gods incarnated one single function, there are female goddesses who make up a synthesis of the three functions, as a reflection of the ideal of woman's role in society. Even though such a deity has a peculiar affinity for one function, generally fertility, i. e. the third, she is nevertheless equally competent in each of

4606-452: The epithet Covella , when from the curia Calabra he announced the date of the nonae . On the same day the regina sacrorum sacrificed to Juno a white sow or lamb in the Regia . She is closely associated with Janus , the god of passages and beginnings who after her is often named Iunonius . Some scholars view this concentration of multiple functions as a typical and structural feature of

4704-519: The etymology of February. A temple ( aedes ) of Juno Lucina was built in 375 BC in the grove sacred to the goddess from early times. It stood precisely on the Cispius near the sixth shrine of the Argei . probably not far west of the church of S. Prassede, where inscriptions relating to her cult have been found. The grove should have extended down the slope south of the temple. As Servius Tullius ordered

4802-415: The existence at Rome of an analogous character: as a rule it is the presence of an original local figure that may allow the introduction of the new one through evocatio. He agrees with Dumézil that we ignore whether the translation of the epithet is exhaustive and what Etruscan notion corresponded to the name Regina which itself is certainly an Italic title. This is the only instance of evocatio recorded by

4900-536: The feminine physiological functions, menstrual cycle and pregnancy: as a rule all lunar deities are deities of childbirth. These aspects of Juno mark the heavenly and worldly sides of her function. She is thus associated to all beginnings and hers are the kalendae of every month: at Laurentum she was known as Kalendaris Iuno (Juno of the Kalends ). At Rome on the Kalends of every month the pontifex minor invoked her, under

4998-611: The few months to be named for a god, Mars , whose festivals dominate the month. A major feriae conceptivae in April was the Latin Festival . The feriae conceptivae of this month was the Ambarvalia . Scullard places the Taurian Games on June 25–26, but other scholars doubt these ludi had a fixed date or recurred on a regular basis. Until renamed for Julius Caesar , this month

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5096-454: The gifts for the newborn to be placed in the treasury of the temple though it looks that another shrine stood there before 375 BC. In 190 BC the temple was struck by lightning, its gable and doors injured. The annual festival of the Matronalia was celebrated here on March 1, day of the dedication of the temple. One temple of Juno Sospita was located near the Temple of Cybele northwest of

5194-519: The goat by stonethrowing at Falerii is described in Ovid Amores III 13, 16 ff. In fact the Juno Curritis of Falerii shows a complex articulated structure closely allied to the threefold Juno Seispes of Lanuvium. Ancient etymologies associated the epithet with Cures , with the Sabine word for spear curis , with currus cart, with Quirites , with the curiae , as king Titus Tatius dedicated

5292-409: The goddess, considering it as primary: the other ones would then be the natural and even necessary development of the first. Palmer and Harmon consider it to be the natural vital force of youthfulness, Latte women's fecundity. These original characters would have led to the formation of the complex theology of Juno as a sovereign and an armed tutelary deity. Georges Dumézil on the other hand proposed

5390-428: The goddess, inherent to her being an expression of the nature of femininity. Others though prefer to dismiss her aspects of femininity and fertility and stress only her quality of being the spirit of youthfulness, liveliness and strength, regardless of sexual connexions, which would then change according to circumstances: thus in men she incarnates the iuvenes , a word often used to designate soldiers, hence resulting in

5488-420: The goddess: the request of the Latin dictator would mask an attempted evocatio of the tutelary goddess of Rome. Tutela indeed shows regal, military and protective traits, apart from the sexual ones. Moreover, according to Basanoff these too (breasts, milky juice, genitalia , present or symbolised in the fig and the goat) in general, and here in particular, have an inherently apotropaic value directly related to

5586-413: The idea of vital force, the fullness of vital energy, and eternal youthfulness is now generally acknowledged, the multiplicity and complexity of her personality have given rise to various and sometimes irreconcilable interpretations among modern scholars. Juno is certainly the divine protectress of the community, who shows both a sovereign and a fertility character, often associated with a military one. She

5684-470: The injuries of time". A later Temple of Juno Sospita was vowed by the consul G. Cornelius Cethegus in 197 BC and consecrated and opened in 194 BC. This temple was located at the Roman vegetable market ( Forum Olitorium ) beside Temples of Hope and Piety and near the Carmental Gate . It was apparently this temple that was later reported as having fallen into disrepute by 90 BC , when it

5782-522: The instigation either of a 'heavenly voice' heard on the Mons Albanus, or of the haruspices . Livy also says that it became the longstanding practice in Rome that whenever a shower of stones was reported, a festival of nine days would be ordered in response. Another irregular festival of note is the Secular Games . Over the course of several days there were sacrifices, entertainers, and games hosted by

5880-538: The legend of Aeneas as their ancestor. Among ancient sources indeed Servius states that according to the Etrusca Disciplina towns should have the three temples of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva at the end of three roads leading to three gates. Vitruvius writes that the temples of these three gods should be located on the most elevated site, isolated from the other. To his Etruscan founders the meaning of this triad might have been related to peculiarly Etruscan ideas on

5978-474: The month of February and the Nonae Caprotinae of July 5 offer a depiction of Juno's roles in the spheres of fertility, war, and regality. In the Roman calendar, February is a month of universal purification, and begins the new year. In book II of his Fasti , Ovid derives the month's name from februae (expiations); lustrations designed to remove spiritual contamination or ritual pollution accumulated in

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6076-589: The month was the Kalends (or Calends, from which the English word "calendar" derives). Each Kalends was sacred to Juno , and the Regina sacrorum ("Queen of the Rites," a public priestess) marked the day by presiding over a sacrifice to the goddess. Originally a pontiff and the Rex sacrorum reported the sighting of the new moon , and the pontiff announced whether the Nones occurred on

6174-485: The most prominent families be surrendered to the Latins as hostages. While the senate was debating the issue a slave girl, whose Greek name was Philotis and Latin Tutela or Tutula proposed that she together with other slave girls would render herself up to the enemy camp pretending to be the wives and daughters of the Roman families. Upon agreement of the senate, the women dressed up elegantly and wearing golden jewellery reached

6272-422: The nature of Juno. The occasion of the feria , shortly after the poplifugia , i.e. when the community is in its direst straits, needs the intervention of a divine tutelary goddess, a divine queen, since the king (divine or human) has failed to appear or has fled. Hence the customary battles under the wild figs, the scurrilous language that bring together the second and third function. This festival would thus show

6370-523: The origins of the cult and of the temple were much more ancient. M. Guarducci considers her cult very ancient, identifying her with Mnemosyne as the Warner because of her presence near the auguraculum , her oracular character, her announcement of perils: she considers her as an introduction into Rome of the Hera of Cuma dating to the 8th century. L. A. Mac Kay considers the goddess more ancient than her etymology on

6468-506: The place of the king of Veii. Camillus's devotion to female deities Mater Matuta and Fortuna and his contemporary vow of a new temple to both Matuta and Iuno Regina hint to a degree of identity between them: this assumption has by chance been supported by the discovery at Pyrgi of a bronze lamella which mentions together Uni and Thesan , the Etruscan Juno and Aurora, i.e. Mater Matuta. One can then suppose Camillus's simultaneous vow of

6566-465: The previous year. On the 1st of the month, a black ox was sacrificed to Helernus , a minor underworld deity whom Dumézil takes as a god of vegetation related to the cult of Carna /Crane, a nymph who may be an image of Juno Sospita. On the same day, Juno's dies natalis ("birthday") as Juno Sospita was celebrated at her Palatine temple. On February 15 the Lupercalia festival was held, in which Juno

6664-502: The queen of Jupiter Rex. The actual epithet Regina could though come from Veii. At Rome this epithet may have been applied to a Juno other than that of the temple on the Aventine built to lodge the evocated Veian Juno as the rex sacrorum and his wife-queen were to offer a monthly sacrifice to Juno in the Regia. This might imply that the prerepublican Juno was royal. J. Gagé dismisses these assumptions as groundless speculations as no Jupiter Rex

6762-579: The sacrifice of a puppy. Within the city of Rome, the flamens and the priest known as the Rex sacrorum were not allowed even to see work done. On a practical level, those who "inadvertently" worked could pay a fine or offer up a piaculum , usually a pig. Work considered vital either to the gods or preserving human life was excusable, according to some experts on religious law. Although Romans were required not to work, they were not required to take any religious action unless they were priests or had family rites ( sacra gentilicia ) to maintain. Following

6860-567: The sake of the gods." Religious rites were performed on the feriae , and public business was suspended. Even slaves were supposed to be given some form of rest. Cicero says specifically that people who were free should not engage in lawsuits and quarrels, and slaves should get a break from their labours. Agricultural writers recognized that some jobs on a farm might still need to be performed, and specified what these were. Some agricultural tasks not otherwise permitted could be carried out if an expiation were made in advance ( piaculum ) , usually

6958-434: The semi-legendary second king of Rome , established mercatus in conjunction with religious festivals to facilitate trade, since people had already gathered in great numbers. In early times, these mercatus may have played a role in wholesale trade, but as commerce in Rome became more sophisticated, by the late Republic they seem to have become retail fairs specialized for the holiday market. The Sigillaria attached to

7056-437: The shape of its fruits and the white viscous juice of the tree. Basanoff has argued that the legend not only alludes to sex and fertility in its association with wildfig and goat but is in fact a summary of sort of all the qualities of Juno. As Juno Sespeis of Lanuvium Juno Caprotina is a warrior, a fertiliser and a sovereign protectress. In fact, the legend presents a heroine, Tutela, who is a slightly disguised representation of

7154-425: The state priests of Rome at temples, as well as celebrations by neighborhoods, families, and friends held simultaneously throughout Rome. Feriae publicae were of three kinds: One of the most important sources for Roman holidays is Ovid 's Fasti , an incomplete poem that describes and provides origins for festivals from January to June at the time of Augustus . Varro defined feriae as "days instituted for

7252-623: The state, attempting to be the greatest display anyone living had ever seen. These games were intended to be held every 100 years with the purpose of it occurring only once in any individuals lifetime. At one point two cycles of the Secular Games were being held simultaneously, leading there to be people who would in fact witness it twice in their life. The noun mercatus (plural mercatūs ) means "commerce" or "the market" generally, but it also refers to fairs or markets held immediately after certain ludi . Cicero said that Numa Pompilius ,

7350-402: The temple as well as the presence of the snake show she was the tutelary goddess of the city, as Athena at Athens and Hera at Argos. The motif of the snake of the palace as guardian goddess of the city is shared by Iuno Seispes with Athena, as well as its periodic feeding. This religious pattern moreover includes armour, goatskin dress, sacred birds and a concern with virginity in cult. Virginity

7448-449: The temples of the two goddesses should be seen in the light of their intrinsic association. Octavianus will repeat the same translation with the statue of the Juno of Perusia in consequence of a dream That a goddess evoked in war and for political reasons receive the homage of women and that women continue to have a role in her cult is explained by Palmer as a foreign cult of feminine sexuality of Etruscan derivation. The persistence of

7546-461: The testimony of Valerius Maximus who states she was the Juno of Veii. The sacred geese of the Capitol were lodged in her temple: as they are recorded in the episode of the Gallic siege (ca. 396-390 BC) by Livy, the temple should have existed before Furius's dedication. Basanoff considers her to go back to the regal period: she would be the Sabine Juno who arrived at Rome through Cures . At Cures she

7644-493: The theory of the irreducibility and interdependence of the three aspects (sovereignty, war, fertility) in goddesses that he interprets as an original, irreducible structure as hypothesised in his hypothesis of the trifunctional ideology of the Indoeuropeans . While Dumézil's refusal of seeing a Greek influence in Italic Junos looks difficult to maintain in the light of the contributions of archaeology, his comparative analysis of

7742-480: The third, military, aspect of Juno is reflected in Juno Curitis and Moneta. Palmer too sees in her a military aspect. As for the etymology, Cicero gives the verb monēre warn, hence the Warner . Palmer accepts Cicero's etymology as a possibility while adding mons mount, hill, verb e-mineo and noun monile referred to the Capitol, place of her cult. Also perhaps a cultic term or even, as in her temple were kept

7840-409: The waning and waxing of the moon and protection of delivery and birth (as she who brings to light the newborn as vigour, vital force). The ancient called her Covella in her function of helper in the labours of the new moon. The view that she was also a Moon goddess though is no longer accepted by scholars, as such a role belongs to Diana Lucifera : through her association with the moon she governed

7938-568: The warlike and savage character of Iuno Seispes, especially considering that it is uncertain whether the former was an armed Hera. After the definitive subjugation of the Latin League in 338 BC the Romans required as a condition of peace the condominium of the Roman people on the sanctuary and the sacred grove of Juno Seispes in Lanuvium, while bestowing Roman citizenry on the Lanuvians. Consequently,

8036-468: The wooden statue of the Juno transvected from Veii. It is mentioned several times by Livy in connexion with sacrifices offered in atonement of prodigia . It was restored by Augustus. Two inscriptions found near the church of S. Sabina indicate the approximate site of the temple, which corresponds with its place in the lustral procession of 207 BC, near the upper end of the Clivus Publicius. The day of

8134-577: Was Populona (she who increase the number of the people or, in K. Latte's understanding of the iuvenes , the army), in Umbria at Pisaurum Lucina, at Terventum in Samnium Regina, at Pisarum Regina Matrona, at Aesernia in Samnium Regina Populona. In Rome she was since the most ancient times named Lucina, Mater and Regina. It is debated whether she was also known as Curitis before the evocatio of

8232-442: Was a male, called pontifex sacrarius , a fact that has been seen as a proof of the relevance of the goddess to the whole society. In both towns she was known as Curitis , the spearholder, an armed protectress. The martial aspect of these Junos is conspicuous, quite as much as that of fecundity and regality: the first two look strictly interconnected: fertility guaranteed the survival of the community, peaceful and armed. Iuno Curitis

8330-409: Was also a Roman citizen (he had been tribune of the plebs in 57 BC), resided in Rome. When he fatally met Clodius near Bovillae (Milo's slaves killed Clodius in that encounter), he was on his way to Lanuvium in order to nominate the flamen of Juno Seispes. The complexity of the figure of Juno has caused much uncertainty and debate among modern scholars. Some emphasize one aspect or character of

8428-513: Was called Quinctilis or Quintilis , originally the fifth month (quint-) when the year began in March. From this point in the calendar forward, the months had numerical designations. Until renamed for Augustus Caesar , this month was called Sextilis, originally the sixth month (sext-) when the year began in March. The following "moveable feasts" are listed roughly in chronological order. The Rosalia or "Festival of Roses" also had no fixed date, but

8526-496: Was celebrated as the birthday of Rome's founder and first king, Romulus , and the peaceful union of Romans and Sabine peoples through treaty and marriage after their war , which was ended by the intervention of women. After Wissowa many scholars have remarked the similarity between the Juno of the Lupercalia and the Juno of Lanuvium Seispes Mater Regina as both are associated with the goat, symbol of fertility. But in essence there

8624-439: Was endorsed by Georg Wissowa . Iuuen- is related to Latin aevum and Greek aion (αἰών) through a common Indo-European root referring to a concept of vital energy or "fertile time". The iuvenis is he who has the fullness of vital force. In some inscriptions Jupiter himself is called Iuuntus , and one of the epithets of Jupiter is Ioviste , a superlative form of iuuen- meaning "the youngest". Iuventas , "Youth",

8722-403: Was famous, rich and powerful. Her cult included the annual feeding of a sacred snake with barley cakes by virgin maidens. The snake dwelt in a deep cave within the precinct of the temple, on the arx of the city: the maidens approached the lair blindfolded. The snake was supposed to feed only on the cakes offered by chaste girls. The rite was aimed at ensuring agricultural fertility. The site of

8820-528: Was involved as Juno Lucina . This is usually understood to be a rite of purification and fertility. A goat was sacrificed and its hide cut into strips, used to make whips known as februum and amiculus Iunonis , wielded by the Luperci . The Juno of this day bears the epithet of Februalis , Februata , Februa . On the last day of the month, leading into March 1, she was celebrated as protectress of matrons and marriages. The new year began on March 1. The same

8918-563: Was led along the Via Sacra to the Capitolium for sacrifice to Jupiter. The list also includes other notable public religious events such as sacrifices and processions that were observed annually but are neither feriae nor dies natales. Unless otherwise noted, the calendar is that of H.H. Scullard , Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic . In the archaic Roman calendar, February

9016-664: Was once again transferred to Rome by emperor Elagabalus . A surviving temple to Juno Caelestis was built between 222 and 235 AD in the town of Dougga . The first mention of a Capitoline triad refers to the Capitolium Vetus . The only ancient source who refers to the presence of this divine triad in Greece is Pausanias X 5, 1–2, who mentions its existence in describing the Φωκικόν in Phocis . The Capitoline triad poses difficult interpretative problems. It looks peculiarly Roman, since there

9114-480: Was one of two deities who "refused" to leave the Capitol when the building of the new Temple of Capitoline Jove required the exauguration of deities who already occupied the site. Ancient etymologies associated Juno's name with iuvare , "to aid, benefit", and iuvenescere , "rejuvenate", sometimes connecting it to the renewal of the new and waxing moon, perhaps implying the idea of a moon goddess. Juno's theology

9212-472: Was present in many towns of ancient Italy: at Lanuvium as Sespeis Mater Regina, Laurentum , Tibur , Falerii , Veii as Regina, at Tibur and Falerii as Regina and Curitis, Tusculum and Norba as Lucina . She is also attested at Praeneste , Aricia , Ardea , Gabii . In five Latin towns a month was named after Juno (Aricia, Lanuvium, Laurentum, Praeneste, Tibur). Outside Latium in Campania at Teanum she

9310-399: Was stained by episodes of prostitution and a bitch delivered her puppies beneath the temple's statue of the goddess. The consul L. Julius Caesar secured its restoration with a Senatorial decree and relics from the temple remain today. The alliance of the three aspects of Juno finds a strictly related parallel to the Lupercalia in the festival of the Nonae Caprotinae . On that day

9408-404: Was technically not one of the feriae conceptivae with a date announced by public priests based on archaic practice. Festivals were also held in ancient Rome in response to particular events, or for a particular purpose such as to propitiate or show gratitude toward the gods. For example, Livy reports that following the Roman destruction of Alba Longa in the 7th century BC, and the removal of

9506-399: Was the last month of the year. The name derives from februa , "the means of purification, expiatory offerings." It marked a turn of season, with February 5 the official first day of spring bringing the renewal of agricultural activities after winter. In the old Roman calendar (until perhaps as late as 153 BC), the mensis Martius ("Mars' Month") was the first month of the year. It is one of

9604-458: Was the tutelary deity of the military chief: as such she is never to be found among Latins. This new quality is apparent in the location of her fanum , her name, her role: 1. her altar is located in the regia of Titus Tatius; 2. Moneta is, from monere , the Adviser : like Egeria with Numa (Tatius's son in law) she is associated to a Sabine king; 3. In Dionysius of Halicarnassus the altar-tables of

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