__NOTOC__ Portunus was the ancient Roman god of keys, doors, livestock and ports. He may have originally protected the warehouses where grain was stored, but later became associated with ports, perhaps because of folk associations between ''porta'' "gate, door" and ''portus'' "harbor", the "gateway" to the sea, or because of an expansion in the meaning of ''portus''. Portunus later became conflated with the Greek Palaemon. Portunus' festival, celebrated on August 17, the sixteenth day before 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 September, was the Portunalia, a minor occasion in the Roman year. On this day, keys were thrown into a fire for good luck in a very solemn and lugubrious manner. His attribute was a key and his main temple in the city of

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, the

Temple of Portunus The Temple of Portunus () is an ancient Roman temple in Rome, Italy. It was built beside the Forum Boarium, the Roman cattle market associated with Hercules, which was adjacent to Rome's oldest river port () and the oldest stone bridge across the ...

, was to be found in the

Forum Boarium The Forum Boarium (, ) was the cattle market or '' forum venalium'' of ancient Rome. It was located on a level piece of land near the Tiber between the Capitoline, the Palatine and Aventine hills. As the site of the original docks of Rome () ...

near the city's oldest riverine port, the , and the oldest stone bridge over the river, the

Pons Aemilius The Pons Aemilius (Latin for the " Aemilian Bridge"; ) is the oldest Roman stone bridge in Rome. Preceded by a wooden version, it was rebuilt in stone in the 2nd century BC. It once spanned the Tiber, connecting the Forum Boarium, the Roman cattl ...

Portunus appears to be closely related to the god

Janus In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus ( ; ) is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces. The month of January is named for Janus (''Ianu ...

, with whom he shares many characters, functions and the symbol of the key. He too was represented as a two headed being, with each head facing opposite directions, on coins and as figurehead of ships. He was considered to be ''deus portuum portarumque praeses'' (lit. God presiding over ports and gates). The relationship between the two gods is underlined by the fact that the date chosen for the dedication of the rebuilt temple of Janus in the

Forum Holitorium The Forum Holitorium or Olitorium (Latin for the "Market of the Vegetable Sellers"; ) is an archaeological area of Rome, Italy, on the slopes of the Capitoline Hill. It was located outside the Carmental Gate in the Campus Martius, crowded betwee ...

by emperor

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus ( ; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was Roman emperor from AD 14 until 37. He succeeded his stepfather Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC to Roman politician Tiberius Cl ...

is the day of the

Portunalia __NOTOC__ Portunus was the ancient Roman god of keys, doors, livestock and ports. He may have originally protected the warehouses where grain was stored, but later became associated with ports, perhaps because of folk associations between ''por ...

, August 17. Linguist Giuliano Bonfante has speculated, on the grounds of his cult and of the meaning of his name, that Portunus should be a very archaic deity and might date back to an era when Latins lived in dwellings built on pilings. He argues that in Latin the words ''porta'' (door, gate) and ''portus'' (harbour, port) share their etymology from the same Indo-European root meaning ''ford'', ''wading point''. Portunus'

flamen A (plural ''flamines'') was a priest of the ancient Roman religion who was assigned to one of fifteen deities with official cults during the Roman Republic. The most important of these were the three (or "major priests"), who served the importa ...

, the

flamen Portunalis A (plural ''flamines'') was a priest of the ancient Roman religion who was assigned to one of fifteen deities with official cults during the Roman Republic. The most important of these were the three (or "major priests"), who served the importa ...

, was one of the

flamines minores A (plural ''flamines'') was a priest of the ancient Roman religion who was assigned to one of fifteen deities with official cults during the Roman Republic. The most important of these were the three (or "major priests"), who served the importan ...

and performed the ritual of oiling the spear (''hasta'') on the statue of god

Quirinus In Roman mythology and Roman religion, religion, Quirinus ( , ) is an early god of the Ancient Rome, Roman state. In Augustus, Augustan Rome, ''Quirinus'' was also an epithet of Janus, Mars (mythology), Mars, and Jupiter (god), Jupiter. Name ...

, with an ointment especially prepared for this purpose and stored in a small vase (''persillum'').Fest. p. 321 L2

Gallery

File:Roman key humanoid face 1st century CE Cleveland Museum of Art.jpg, ''Roman key human face 1st century CE'' File:Roman key with Pan face 1st century CE Cleveland Museum of Art.jpg, ''Roman key Pan face 1st century CE'' File:Italy, Roman, 1st Century - Key - 1952.586 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif, ''Roman key with Janus-style handle 1st century CE''

References and sources

References

Sources

Marcus Terentius 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 ...

, ''De Lingua Latina'' vi.19. *

External links

William Smith, 1875. ''A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities'' (John Murray, London): "Portumnalia"
{{authority control Roman gods Sea and river gods Liminal gods Agricultural gods