An Agonalia or Agonia was an obscure archaic

religious observance Religious law includes ethical and moral codes taught by religious traditions. Examples of religiously derived legal codes include Christian canon law (applicable within a wider theological conception in the church, but in modern times distinct ...

celebrated in

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

several times a year, in honor of various divinities. Its institution, like that of other religious rites and ceremonies, was attributed to

Numa Pompilius Numa Pompilius (; 753–672 BC; reigned 715–672 BC) was the Roman mythology, legendary second king of Rome, succeeding Romulus after a one-year interregnum. He was of Sabine origin, and many of Rome's most important religious and political ins ...

, the semi-legendary second

king of Rome The king of Rome () was the ruler of the Roman Kingdom, a legendary period of Roman history that functioned as an elective monarchy. According to legend, the first king of Rome was Romulus, who founded the city in 753 BC upon the Palatine H ...

Ancient calendars Ancient history is a time period from the History of writing, beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian language, ...

indicate that it was celebrated regularly on January 9, May 21, and December 11. A festival called Agonia or ''Agonium Martiale'', in honor of

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

, was celebrated March 17, the same day as the

Liberalia In ancient Roman religion Religion in ancient Rome consisted of varying imperial and provincial religious practices, which were followed both by the Roman people, people of Rome as well as those who were brought under its rule. The Romans t ...

, during a prolonged "war festival" that marked the beginning of the season for

military campaign A military campaign is large-scale long-duration significant military strategy plan incorporating a series of interrelated military operations or battles forming a distinct part of a larger conflict often called a war. The term derives from th ...

ing and

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

Purpose

The offering was a

ram Ram, ram, or RAM most commonly refers to: * A male sheep * Random-access memory, computer memory * Ram Trucks, US, since 2009 ** List of vehicles named Dodge Ram, trucks and vans ** Ram Pickup, produced by Ram Trucks Ram, ram, or RAM may also ref ...

''(aries)'', the usual victim sacrificed to the guardian gods of the state. The presiding priest was the '' rex sacrificulus'', and the site was the

Regia The Regia ("Royal house") was a two-part structure in Ancient Rome lying along the Via Sacra at the edge of the Roman Forum that originally served as the residence or one of the main headquarters of kings of Rome and later as the office of the ...

, both of which could be employed only for ceremonies connected with the highest gods that affected the wellbeing of the whole state. But the purpose of this festival was disputed even among the ancients themselves.

Etymology

The etymology of the name was also a subject of much dispute among the ancients. The various etymologies proposed are given at length by

Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...

. None of these, however, is satisfactory. One possibility is that the sacrifice in its earliest form was offered on the

Quirinal Hill The Quirinal Hill (; ; ) is one of the Seven Hills of Rome, at the north-east of the city center. It is the location of the official residence of the Italian head of state, who resides in the Quirinal Palace; by metonymy "the Quirinal" has c ...

, which was originally called ''Agonus'', at the Colline gate, ''Agonensis''. The sacrifice is explicitly located at the Regia, or the ''

domus In ancient Rome, the ''domus'' (: ''domūs'', genitive: ''domūs'' or ''domī'') was the type of town house occupied by the upper classes and some wealthy freedmen during the Republican and Imperial eras. It was found in almost all the ma ...

regis'' ("house of the king"), which in the historical period was at the top of the

Via Sacra The Via Sacra (, "''Sacred Street''") was the main street of ancient Rome, leading from the top of the Capitoline Hill, through some of the most important religious sites of the Forum (where it is the widest street), to the Colosseum. The road ...

, near the

arch of Titus The Arch of Titus (; ) is a 1st-century AD honorific arch, located on the Via Sacra, Rome, just to the south-east of the Roman Forum. It was constructed in 81 AD by Emperor Domitian shortly after the death of his older brother Titus to comm ...

, though one ancient source states that in earliest times, the Regia was on the Quirinal. The Circus Agonensis, as it is called, is supposed by some to have occupied the place of the present

Piazza Navona Piazza Navona () is a public open space in Rome, Italy. It is built on the site of the 1st century AD Stadium of Domitian and follows the form of the open space of the stadium in an elongated oval. The ancient Romans went there to watch the '' a ...

, and to have been built by the emperor

Alexander Severus Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander (1 October 208 – March 235), also known as Alexander Severus, was Roman emperor from 222 until 235. He was the last emperor from the Severan dynasty. Alexander took power in 222, when he succeeded his slain co ...

on the spot where the victims were sacrificed at the Agonalia. It may not, however, have been a

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicy ...

at all, and Humphrey omits the site in his work on Roman circuses.

January 9

An ''Agonium'' occurs on January 9 in the '' Fasti Praenestini'', albeit in mutilated form. In

's poem on the Roman calendar, he calls it once the ''dies agonalis'' ("agonal day") and elsewhere the Agonalia, and offers a number of etymologies of varied plausibility.

Festus Festus may refer to: People Ancient world *Porcius Festus, Roman governor of Judea from approximately 58 to 62 AD *Sextus Pompeius Festus (later 2nd century), Roman grammarian *Festus (died 305), martyr along with Proculus of Pozzuoli *Festus (h ...

explains the word ''agonia'' as an archaic Latin term for ''

hostia Sacramental bread, also called Communion bread, Communion wafer, Sacred host, Eucharistic bread, the Lamb or simply the host (), is the bread used in the Christian ritual of the Eucharist. Along with sacramental wine, it is one of two elements o ...

'', a sacrificial victim.

Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...

thought the Romans had a god named Agonius, who might then have been the god of the Colline part of the city (see "Etymology" above).

December 11

This third occurrence of the Agonia or Agonalia shares the date of December 11 with the

Septimontium The Septimontium was a proto-Urban area, urban Roman festival, festival celebrated in ancient Rome by ''montani'', residents of the seven ''(sept-)'' communities associated with the hills or peaks of Rome ''(montes)'': Oppius, Palatine Hill, Palati ...

or ''Septimontiale sacrum'', which only very late Roman calendars take note of and which depends on a textual conjecture. The relation between the two observances, if any exists, is unknown. A fragmentary inscription found at Ostia that reads: "Agonind" testifies that this festival was dedicated to Sol Indiges. It was indeed the second festival celebrating this deity, after that of August 10.

''Agonium Martiale''

The Agonia to Mars occurs during a period of festivals in March (Latin ''Martius''), the namesake month of Mars. These were the

chariot race Chariot racing (, ''harmatodromía''; ) was one of the most popular Ancient Greece, ancient Greek, Roman Empire, Roman, and Byzantine Empire, Byzantine sports. In Greece, chariot racing played an essential role in aristocratic funeral games from ...

s of the Equirria February 27, a ''

feria In the liturgy of the Catholic Church, a feria is a day of the week other than Sunday. In more recent official liturgical texts in English, the term ''weekday'' is used instead of ''feria''. If the feast day of a saint falls on such a day, the ...

'' on the

Kalends The calends or kalends () is the first day of every month in the Roman calendar. The English word "calendar" is derived from this word. Use The Romans called the first day of every month the ''calends'', signifying the start of a new lunar pha ...

of March (a day sacred also to

his mother ''His Mother'' is a 1912 American silent film produced by Kalem Company. It was directed by Sidney Olcott with Gene Gauntier and Jack J. Clark in the leading roles. It was one of more than a dozen films produced by the Kalem Company filmed in Ir ...

Juno Juno commonly refers to: *Juno (mythology), the Roman goddess of marriage and queen of the gods * ''Juno'' (film), the 2007 film Juno may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters *Juno, a character in the book ''Juno of ...

), a second Equirria on March 14, his Agonalia March 17, and the

Tubilustrium In Ancient Rome the month of March was the traditional start of the campaign season, and the Tubilustrium was a ceremony to make the army fit for war. The ceremony involved sacred trumpets called ''tubae''. Johannes Quasten, however, argues ...

March 23. A note on the holiday from

Varro Marcus Terentius Varro (116–27 BCE) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Virgil and Cicero). He is sometimes call ...

indicates that this Agonia was of more recondite significance than the

held on the same day. Varro's source is the books of the Salian priests surnamed ''Agonenses'', who call it the Agonia instead. According to

Masurius Sabinus Masurius Sabinus, also Massurius, was a Roman jurist who lived in the time of Tiberius (reigned 14–37 AD). Unlike most jurists of the time, he was not of senatorial rank and was admitted to the equestrian order only rather late in life, by virt ...

, the Liberalia was called the ''Agonium Martiale'' by the

pontiffs In Roman antiquity, a pontiff () was a member of the most illustrious of the colleges of priests of the Roman religion, the College of Pontiffs."Pontifex". "Oxford English Dictionary", March 2007 The term ''pontiff'' was later applied to any high ...

. Modern scholars are inclined to think that the sharing of the date was a coincidence, and that the two festivals were unrelated.

William Warde Fowler William Warde Fowler (16 May 1847 – 15 June 1921) was an English historian and ornithologist, and tutor at Lincoln College, Oxford. He was best known for his works on ancient Roman religion Religion in ancient Rome consisted of vary ...

, concurring with

Georg Wissowa Georg Otto August Wissowa (17 June 1859 – 11 May 1931) was a German classical philologist born in Neudorf, near Breslau. Education and career Wissowa studied classical philology under August Reifferscheid at the University of Bresl ...

, ''Roman Festivals'', p. 54.

Notes

References

* * {{Roman religion (festival) Ancient Roman festivals January observances May observances December observances Festivals of Mars