The numerous epithets of Jupiter indicate the importance and variety of the god's cult in

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

Capitoline cult

Jupiter's most ancient attested forms of cult are those of the state. The most important of his sanctuaries in Rome were located on the

Capitoline Hill The Capitolium or Capitoline Hill ( ; it, Campidoglio ; la, Mons Capitolinus ), between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. The hill was earlier known as ''Mons Saturnius'', dedicated to the god Saturn. ...

''(Mons Capitolinus)'', earlier ''Tarpeius''. The Mount had two peaks, each devoted to acts of cult related to Jupiter. The northern and higher peak was the citadel ''(

arx Arx, ARX, or ArX may refer to: * ARX (Algorithmic Research Ltd.), a digital security company *ARX (gene), Aristaless related homeobox *ARX (operating system), an operating system * ArX (revision control), revision control software *Arx (Roman), a ...

).'' On the ''arx'' was located the observation place of the augurs (the '' auguraculum)'', to which the monthly procession of the ''sacra Idulia'' was directed. On the southern peak was the most ancient sanctuary of the god, traditionally said to have been built by

Romulus Romulus () was the legendary founder and first king of Rome. Various traditions attribute the establishment of many of Rome's oldest legal, political, religious, and social institutions to Romulus and his contemporaries. Although many of these ...

: this was the Temple of Jupiter Feretrius, which was restored by

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

. The god here had no image and was represented by the sacred flintstone (''silex''). The most ancient known rites, those of the '' spolia opima'' and of the

fetials A fetial (; la, fētiālis , . la, fētiālēs, label=none) was a type of priest in ancient Rome. They formed a ''collegium'' devoted to Jupiter as the patron of good faith. The duties of the fetials included advising the Senate on foreign affa ...

, connect Jupiter with

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

and

Quirinus In Roman mythology and religion, Quirinus ( , ) is an early god of the Roman state. In Augustan Rome, ''Quirinus'' was also an epithet of Janus, as ''Janus Quirinus''. Name Attestations The name of god Quirinus is recorded across Roman so ...

, and are dedicated to ''Iuppiter Feretrius'' or ''

Iuppiter Lapis In the Roman tradition, oaths were sworn upon ''Iuppiter Lapis'' or the Jupiter Stone located in the Temple of Jupiter, Capitoline Hill. ''Iuppiter Lapis'' was held in the Roman tradition to be an Oath Stone, an aspect of Jupiter in his role as ...

''. From this earliest period, the concept of the

sky god The sky often has important religious significance. Many religions, both polytheistic and monotheistic, have deities associated with the sky. The daytime sky deities are typically distinct from the nighttime ones. Stith Thompson's '' Moti ...

encompassed the ethical and political domain.

Lightning and rain

''Juppiter Tonans'' ("Thundering Jove") was the aspect (''numen'') of Jupiter venerated in the Temple of Juppiter Tonans, which was vowed in 26 BCE by

and dedicated in 22 on the

; the Emperor had narrowly escaped being struck by lightning during the campaign in

Cantabria Cantabria (, also , , Cantabrian: ) is an autonomous community in northern Spain with Santander as its capital city. It is called a ''comunidad histórica'', a historic community, in its current Statute of Autonomy. It is bordered on the east ...

. An old temple in the

Campus Martius The Campus Martius (Latin for the "Field of Mars", Italian ''Campo Marzio'') was a publicly owned area of ancient Rome about in extent. In the Middle Ages, it was the most populous area of Rome. The IV rione of Rome, Campo Marzio, which cove ...

had long been dedicated to Juppiter Fulgens. The original

cult image In the practice of religion, a cult image is a human-made object that is venerated or worshipped for the deity, spirit or daemon that it embodies or represents. In several traditions, including the ancient religions of Egypt, Greece and Ro ...

installed in the sanctuary by its founder was by Leochares, a Greek sculptor of the 4th century BCE. The sculpture at the Prado is considered to be a late 1st-century replacement commissioned by

Domitian Domitian (; la, Domitianus; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Fl ...

. The Baroque-era restoration of the arms gives Jupiter a baton-like scepter in his raised hand. Among Jupiter's most ancient epithets is ''Lucetius'', interpreted as referring to light ''(lux, lucis)'', specifically sunlight, by ancient and some modern scholars such as Wissowa. The ''

Carmen Saliare The ''Carmen Saliare'' is a fragment of archaic Latin, which played a part in the rituals performed by the Salii (Salian priests, a.k.a. "leaping priests") of Ancient Rome. There are 35 extant fragments of the ''Carmen Saliare'', which can be r ...

'', however, indicates that it refers to lightning. To the same atmospheric complex belongs the epithet ''Elicius'': while the ancient erudites thought it was connected to lightning, it is in fact related to the opening of the reservoirs of rain, as is testified by the ceremony of the ''Nudipedalia'', meant to propitiate rainfall and devoted to Jupiter. and the ritual of the ''

lapis manalis A ''lapis manalis'' was either of two sacred stones used in the Roman religion. One covered a gate to Hades, abode of the dead; Sextus Pompeius Festus called it ''ostium Orci'', "the gate of Orcus". The other was used to make rain; this one m ...

'', the stone which was brought into the city through the Porta Capena and carried around in times of drought, which was named ''Aquaelicium''. Other early epithets connected with the atmospheric quality of Jupiter are ''Pluvius'', ''Imbricius'', ''Tempestas'', ''Tonitrualis'', ''tempestatium divinarum potens'', ''Serenator'', ''Serenus'' and, referred to lightning, ''Fulgur'', ''Fulgur Fulmen'', later as nomen agentis ''Fulgurator'', ''Fulminator'': the high antiquity of the cult is testified by the neutre form ''Fulgur'' and the use of the term for the ''bidental'', the lightningwell dug on the spot hit by a lightningbolt. Jupiter bronze Luxembourg MNHA

Agriculture and war

A group of epithets has been interpreted by Wissowa (and his followers) as a reflection of the agricultural or warring nature of the god, some of which are also in the list of eleven preserved by

Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afr ...

. The agricultural ones include ''Opitulus'', ''Almus'', ''Ruminus'', ''Frugifer'', ''Farreus'', ''Pecunia'', ''Dapalis'', ''Epulo''. Augustine gives an explanation of the ones he lists which should reflect

Varro Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) 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 Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes calle ...

's: ''Opitulus'' because he brings ''opem'' (means, relief) to the needy, ''Almus'' because he nourishes everything, ''Ruminus'' because he nourishes the living beings by breastfeeding them, ''Pecunia'' because everything belongs to him. Dumézil maintains the cult usage of these epithets is not documented and that the epithet ''Ruminus'', as Wissowa and Latte remarked, may not have the meaning given by Augustine but it should be understood as part of a series including ''Rumina'', '' Ruminalis ficus'', ''Iuppiter Ruminus'', which bears the name of Rome itself with an Etruscan vocalism preserved in inscriptions, series that would be preserved in the sacred language (cf. ''Rumach'' Etruscan for Roman). However many scholars have argued that the name of Rome, ''Ruma'', meant in fact woman's breast.

Diva Rumina In ancient Roman religion, Rumina, also known as Diva Rumina, was a goddess who protected breastfeeding mothers, and possibly nursing infants. Her domain extended to protecting animal mothers, not just human ones. As one of the ''indigitamenta'', ...

, as Augustine testifies in the cited passage, was the goddess of suckling babies: she was venerated near the ''ficus ruminalis'' and was offered only libations of milk. Here moreover Augustine cites the verses devoted to Jupiter by

Quintus Valerius Soranus Quintus Valerius Soranus (born between ''circa'' 140 – 130 BC, died 82 BC) was a Latin poet, grammarian, and tribune of the people in the Late Roman Republic. He was executed in 82 BC while Sulla was dictator, ostensibly for violating a religious ...

, while hypothesising ''Iuno'' (more adept in his view as a breastfeeder), i. e. Rumina instead of Ruminus, might be nothing else than ''Iuppiter'': ''Iuppiter omnipotens regum rerumque deumque Progenitor genetrixque deum...''. In Dumézil's opinion ''Farreus'' should be understood as related to the rite of the ''confarreatio'' the most sacred form of marriage, the name of which is due to the spelt cake eaten by the spouses, rather than surmising an agricultural quality of the god: the epithet means the god was the guarantor of the effects of the ceremony, to which the presence of his flamen is necessary and that he can interrupt with a clap of thunder. The epithet ''Dapalis'' is on the other hand connected to a rite described by Cato and mentioned by Festus. Before the sowing of autumn or spring the peasant offered a banquet of roast beef and a cup of wine to Jupiter; it is natural that on such occasions he would entreat the god who has power over the weather, however Cato's prayer is one of sheer offer and no request. The language suggests another attitude: Jupiter is invited to a banquet which is supposedly abundant and magnificent. The god is honoured as ''summus''. The peasant may hope he shall receive a benefit, but he does not say it. This interpretation finds support in the analogous urban ceremony of the ''epulum Iovis'', from which the god derives the epithet of ''Epulo'' and which was a magnificent feast accompanied by flutes. Epithets related to warring are in Wissowa' s view ''Iuppiter Feretrius'', ''Iuppiter Stator'', ''Iuppiter Victor'' and ''Iuppiter Invictus''. ''Feretrius'' would be connected with war by the rite of the first type of '' spolia opima'' which is in fact a dedication to the god of the arms of the defeated king of the enemy that happens whenever he has been killed by the king of Rome or his equivalent authority. Here too Dumézil notes the dedication has to do with being regal and not with war, since the rite is in fact the offer of the arms of a king by a king: a proof of such an assumption is provided by the fact that the arms of an enemy king captured by an officer or a common soldier were dedicated to Mars and Quirinus respectively. ''Iuppiter Stator'' was first attributed by tradition to Romulus, who pledged to build a

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

in his honor in exchange for his almighty help at a critical moment in the final

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and for ...

of the war with King Titus Tatius of the

Sabines The Sabines (; lat, Sabini; it, Sabini, all exonyms) were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains of the ancient Italian Peninsula, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome. The Sabines di ...

. Dumézil opines the action of Jupiter is not that of a god of war who wins through fighting: Jupiter acts by causing an inexplicable change in the morale of the fighters of the two sides. The same feature can be detected also in the certainly historical record of the battle of the third Samnite War in 294 BC, in which consul

Marcus Atilius Regulus Marcus Atilius Regulus () was a Roman statesman and general who was a consul of the Roman Republic in 267 BC and 256 BC. Much of his career was spent fighting the Carthaginians during the first Punic War. In 256 BC, he and Lucius ...

vowed a temple to ''Iuppiter Stator'' if "Jupiter will stop the rout of the Roman army and if afterwards the Samnite legions shall be victoriously massacred...It looked as if the gods themselves had taken side with Romans, so much easily did the Roman arms succeed in prevailing...". in a similar manner one can explain the epithet ''Victor'', whose cult was founded in 295 BC on the battlefield of Sentinum by Quintus Fabius Maximus Gurges and who received another vow again in 293 by consul

Lucius Papirius Cursor Lucius Papirius Cursor (c.365–after 310 BC) was a celebrated politician and general of the early Roman Republic, who was five times consul, three times magister equitum, and twice dictator. He was the most important Roman commander during the Se ...

before a battle against the Samnite ''legio linteata''. Here too the religious meaning of the vow is in both cases an appeal to the supreme god by the Roman chief at a time when as a chief he needs divine help from the supreme god, even though for different reasons: Fabius had remained the only political and military responsible of the Roman State after the ''devotio'' of P. Decius Mus, Papirius had to face an enemy who had acted with impious rites and vows, i. e. was religiously reprehensible. More recently Dario Sabbatucci has given a different interpretation of the meaning of ''Stator'' within the frame of his structuralist and dialectic vision of Roman calendar, identifying oppositions, tensions and equilibria: January is the month of

Janus In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus ( ; la, Ianvs ) 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 Jan ...

, at the beginning of the year, in the uncertain time of winter (the most ancient calendar had only ten months, from March to December). In this month Janus deifies kingship and defies Jupiter. Moreover January sees also the presence of

Veiovis Vejovis or Vejove ( lat, Vēiovis, italic=yes or ''Vēdiovis''; rare ''Vēive'' or ''Vēdius'') was a Roman god of Etruscan origins. Representation and worship Vejovis was portrayed as a young man, holding a bunch of arrows, pilum, (or light ...

who appears as an anti-Jupiter, of

Carmenta In ancient Roman religion and myth, Carmenta was a goddess of childbirth and prophecy, associated with technological innovation as well as the protection of mothers and children and a patron of midwives. She was also said to have invented the ...

who is the goddess of birth and like Janus has two opposed faces, ''Prorsa'' and ''Postvorta'' (also named

Antevorta In ancient Roman religion, Antevorta was a goddess of the future, also known as Porrima. She and her sister Postverta (or Postvorta) were described as companions or siblings of the goddess Carmenta, sometimes referred to as "the Carmentae". They may ...

and Porrima), of Iuturna, who as a gushing spring evokes the process of coming into being from non-being as the god of passage and change does. In this period the preeminence of Janus needs compensating on the Ides through the action of Jupiter ''Stator'', who plays the role of anti-Janus, i. e. of moderator of the action of Janus.

List of epithets

Unless otherwise noted, the alphabetical list of epithets listed below are those compiled by Carl Thulin for the 1890 '' Paulys Real Encyclopädie''. The abbreviation ''O.M.'' stands for ''Optimus Maximus'', one of the most common epithets for Jupiter. Tempio di Giove Anxur (Terracina)

* Adventus O. M. (arrival, birth) * Aetetus O. M. * Almus * Amaranus * Anxurus ("of Anxur, now

Terracina Terracina is an Italian city and '' comune'' of the province of Latina, located on the coast southeast of Rome on the Via Appia ( by rail). The site has been continuously occupied since antiquity. History Ancient times Terracina appears in anc ...

") * ("of the Apennines") * Arcanus (protector of the ''arca'', arcane: at Praeneste) * Balmarcodes O. M. * Beellefarus * Bronton (thundering) * Cacunus * Caelestis O. M. (Heavenly) * Caelus O. M. * Capitolinus O. M. ("of the Capitol") * Casius ("of Mount Casius", the modern Jebel Aqra; a form of Baʿal Zephon) * Ciminius (of Mount Ciminus, now Mount Cimino) * Clitumnus (of river Clitumnus) * Cohortalis O. M. * Conservator ("preserver") * Culminalis O. M. * Cultor ("cultivator") * Custos ("protector, warden") * Damascenus O. M. ("of

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

) * Dapalis (from ''daps'': dinner, banquet) * Defensor O. M. * Depulsor O. M. * Depulsorius O. M. * Dianus Jupiter Dolichenus Louvre AO7446

* Dolichenus ("of Dolichus"; it is the ancient

Teshub Teshub (also written Teshup, Teššup, or Tešup; cuneiform ; hieroglyphic Luwian , read as ''Tarhunzas'';Annick Payne (2014), ''Hieroglyphic Luwian: An Introduction with Original Texts'', 3rd revised edition, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, p. ...

of the

Hittites The Hittites () were an Anatolian people who played an important role in establishing first a kingdom in Kussara (before 1750 BC), then the Kanesh or Nesha kingdom (c. 1750–1650 BC), and next an empire centered on Hattusa in north-cent ...

) * Domesticus * Diovis * Elicius (who sends forth, elicits) * Epulo (who gives or takes part in banquets) * Exsuperantissimus O. M. * Fagutalis (of the Fagutal: the god had a temple near an old oak there) * Farreus (from the

confarreatio In ancient Rome, ''confarreatio'' was a traditional patrician form of marriage. The ceremony involved the bride and bridegroom sharing a cake of emmer, in Latin ''far'' or ''panis farreus'', hence the rite's name. (''Far'' is often translated as ...

, according to Wissowa and Dumézil.) * Feretrius (who is carried around or whom spoils are carried to on a frame or litter) * Fidius (fusion with Dius Fidius) * Flagius (worshipped at Cuma) * Frugifer (who bears fruits) * Fulgur * Fulgurator * Fulmen * Fulminator * Grabovius (in the Iguvine Tables: who is carried around on a ceremonial litter, from Etruscan ''crapis'' ceremonial litter) * Hammon O. M. (worshipped in the oasis of Siwa) * Heliopolitanus ("of

Heliopolis Syriaca Baalbek (; ar, بَعْلَبَكّ, Baʿlabakk, Syriac-Aramaic: ܒܥܠܒܟ) is a city located east of the Litani River in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, about northeast of Beirut. It is the capital of Baalbek-Hermel Governorate. In Greek and Roman t ...

", modern

Baalbek Baalbek (; ar, بَعْلَبَكّ, Baʿlabakk, Syriac-Aramaic: ܒܥܠܒܟ) is a city located east of the Litani River in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, about northeast of Beirut. It is the capital of Baalbek-Hermel Governorate. In Greek and Roman ...

; a form of Baʿal) * Hercius * Hospes (hospitable or friendly). Mentioned by

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

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' ( la, Metamorphōsēs, from grc, μεταμορφώσεις: "Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his '' magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the ...

, Book 10, line 224. Guardian of hospitality, equivalent to Zeus Xeinios * Imbricitor (who soaks in rainwater) * Impulsor * Indiges (later the divine identification of

Aeneas In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas (, ; from ) was a Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy (both being grandsons ...

) * Inventor * Invictus * Iurarius (of oaths) * Iutor (benefictor, beneficent) * Iuventas * Lapis (flintstone: the f. sends sparkles similar to lightning) * Latiaris * Liber (who is free, or who frees, also the semen) * Liberator * Libertas * Lucetius (shining, for his lightningbolts) * Maius (majestic, great) at Tusculum * Maleciabrudes * Monitor O. M. (leader, warner) * Nundinarius (patron of the nundinae) * Obsequens (agreeable, complacent) * Opitulator or Opitulus (reliever) * Optimus Maximus (O. M.) * Paganicus * Pantheus * Patronus * Pecunia * Pistor (baker) * Pluvialis (of the rains) * Poeninus * Praedator * Praestes (present, protector) at Tibur * Praestabilis * Praestitus * Propagator O. M. * Propugnator * Puer (child) * Purgator (purifier) * Purpurio O. M. * Quirinus (fusion with

) * Rector (who rules) * Redux * Restitutor * Ruminus (who breastfeeds) * Salutaris O. M. * Savazios (fusion with Sabatius) * Sempiternus * Serapis (fusion with

Serapis Serapis or Sarapis is a Graeco-Egyptian deity. The cult of Serapis was promoted during the third century BC on the orders of Greek Pharaoh Ptolemy I Soter of the Ptolemaic Kingdom in Egypt as a means to unify the Greeks and Egyptians in his r ...

) * Serenator (who clears the sky) * Serenus ("clear, serene, calm; happy") * Servator O. M. ("saviour, preserver, observer") * Sospes ("saviour") * Stator * Striganus * Succellus (fusion with

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foo ...

god Succellus) * Summanus * Tempestas * Terminus * Territor (who scares) * Tifatinus (of Mount Tifata near

Capua Capua ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, in the region of Campania, southern Italy, situated north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. History Ancient era The name of Capua comes from the Etrus ...

) * Tigillus (beam of the universe) * Tonans (thundering) * Tonitrator (who generates thunder) * Tutator (warden) * Valens (strong, sound, effective) * Versor (who overthrows or who pours rain) * Vesuvius (worshipped at

) * Viminus (of the Viminal Hill place in which the god had a temple) * Vindex (protector, defensor) * Vircilinus

Epithets from Augustine

St. Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afr ...

names eleven epithets of Jupiter in his work ''

De civitate Dei ''On the City of God Against the Pagans'' ( la, De civitate Dei contra paganos), often called ''The City of God'', is a book of Christian philosophy written in Latin by Augustine of Hippo in the early 5th century AD. The book was in response ...

'': * Victor: he who conquers all things. * Invictus: he who is conquered by none. * Opitulus: he who brings help to the needy. * Impulsor: he who has the power of impelling. * Stator: he who has the power of establishing, instituting, founding. * Centumpeda: he who has the power of rendering stable, lasting. * Supinalis: he who has the power of throwing on the back. * Tigillus: he who holds together, supports the world. * Almus: he who nourishes all things. * Ruminus: he who nourishes all animals. * Pecunia: he to whom everything belongs.

Jupiter outside Rome

Iuppiter Latiaris

The cult of ''Iuppiter Latiaris'' was the most ancient known cult of the god: it was practiced since very remote times on the top of the ''Mons Albanus'' on which the god was venerated as the high protector of the Latin League, which was under the hegemony of Alba Longa. After the destruction of Alba by king Tullus Hostilius the cult was forsaken. The god manifested his discontent through the prodigy of a rain of stones: the commission sent by the senate to inquire into it was also greeted by a rain of stones and heard a loud voice from the grove on the summit of the mount requiring the Albans to perform the religious service to the god according to the rites of their country. In consequence of this event the Romans instituted a festival of nine days (''nundinae''). However a plague ensued: in the end Tullus Hostilius himself was affected and lastly killed by the god with a lightning bolt. The festival was reestablished on its primitive site by the last Roman king Tarquin the Proud under the leadership of Rome. The '' feriae Latinae'', or '' Latiar'' as they were known originally, were the common festival (''panegyris'') of the so-called Priscan Latins and of the Albans. Their restoration aimed at grounding Roman hegemony in this ancestral religious tradition of the Latins. The original cult was reinstated unchanged as is testified by some archaic features of the ritual: the exclusion of wine from the sacrifice the offers of milk and cheese and the ritual use of rocking among the games. Rocking is one of the most ancient rites mimicking ascent to heaven and is very widespread. At the ''Latiar'' the rocking took place on a tree and the winner was of course the one who had swung the highest. This rite was said to have been instituted by the Albans to commemorate the disappearance of king

Latinus Latinus ( la, Latinus; Ancient Greek: Λατῖνος, ''Latînos'', or Λατεῖνος, ''Lateînos'') was a figure in both Greek and Roman mythology. He is often associated with the heroes of the Trojan War, namely Odysseus and Aeneas. Al ...

, in battle against Mezentius the king of

Caere : Caere (also Caisra and Cisra) is the Latin name given by the Romans to one of the larger cities of southern Etruria, the modern Cerveteri, approximately 50–60 kilometres north-northwest of Rome. To the Etruscans it was known as Cisra, t ...

: the rite symbolized a search for him both on earth and in heaven. The rocking as well as the customary drinking of milk was also considered to commemorate and ritually reinstate infancy. The Romans in the last form of the rite brought the sacrificial ox from Rome and every participant was bestowed a portion of the meat, rite known as ''carnem petere''. Other games were held in every participant borough. In Rome a race of chariots (''quadrigae'') was held starting from the Capitol: the winner drank a liquor made with absinthe. This competition has been compared to the Vedic rite of the vajapeya: in it seventeen chariots run a symbolic race which must be won by the king in order to allow him to drink a cup of ''madhu'', i. e. ''soma''. The feasting lasted for at least four days, possibly six according to Niebuhr, one day for each of the six Latin and Alban ''decuriae''. According to different records 47 or 53 boroughs took part in the festival (the listed names too differ in Pliny NH III 69 and Dionysius of Halicarnassus AR V 61). The ''Latiar'' became an important feature of Roman political life as they were '' feriae conceptivae'', i. e. their date varied each year: the consuls and the highest magistrates were required to attend shortly after the beginning of the administration. They could not start campaigning before its end and if any part of the games had been neglected or performed improperly the ''Latiar'' had to be wholly repeated. The inscriptions from the imperial age record the festival back to the time of the decemvirs. Wissowa remarks the inner linkage of the temple of the Mons Albanus with that of the Capitol apparent in the common association with the rite of the triumph: since 231 BC some triumphing commanders had triumphed there first with the same legal features as in Rome.

Iuppiter Arcanus

''Arcanus'' was the epithet of one of the Jupiters worshipped at Praeneste. His theology and cult are strictly connected to that of the ''

Fortuna Fortuna ( la, Fortūna, equivalent to the Greek goddess Tyche) is the goddess of fortune and the personification of luck in Roman religion who, largely thanks to the Late Antique author Boethius, remained popular through the Middle Ages until at ...

Primigenia'' worshipped in the famous sanctuary there. He is the protector of the lots ''sortes'' stored in the ''arca'', whence his epithet. G. Dumézil attempted a purely Indoeuropean interpretation of the theology of Fortuna and of her relationship with Juppiter and Juno, other scholars see the subcessive accretion of a Greek-Etruscan and then a later Greek influence on Fortuna and the theological structure underlying her relationship to Jupiter, i. .e. earlier the child and then the parent of Fortuna. Jacqueline Champeaux interprets the boy represented on the ''cista'' of the 3rd century BC from Praeneste, now at the Archaeological Museum of Villa Giulia in Rome, as Jupiter ''puer'' and ''arcanus'': the image engraved on it represents a boy sitting in a cave, reading a lot inscribed on a tablet. This might be a mythic illustration of the working of the oracle, in which Jupiter is at one time the child (''puer'') who ritually draws the rods of the lots (here while deciphering one) and their keeper, ''arcanus''. The ''sortes'' of Praeneste were inscribed on rods of chestnut wood: they had sprung out of earth fully inscribed when a certain Numerius Suffustius cut the earth open with his spade, under the indication of some dreams. A different interpretation of the epithet is directly connected to the word ''arx'', which designates the political, military and religious centre of ancient Italic towns. Thus Iuppiter Arcanus is the god of the ''arx'' of Praeneste. This interpretation is supported by numerous inscriptions found on the area around the local ''arx'', sited on the summit of Monte Ginestro (m. 752), which dominates the town. The wall in ''opus polygonale'' climbed from the town to surround the ''arx'': epigraphs attest the cults of Iuppiter Arcanus and Mars.

Iuppiter Appenninus

The god was venerated in a sanctuary at the mountain pass between Umbria and Marche now named

Scheggia Pass The Scheggia Pass is a pass in Italy that marks the division between the Central and Northern Apennines. It is in northern Umbria and lies between Gubbio and Cagli at 632 meters. It opens up as a natural plateau near the border with the territor ...

, about eight miles North-East of Iguvium along the

Via Flaminia The Via Flaminia or Flaminian Way was an ancient Roman road leading from Rome over the Apennine Mountains to ''Ariminum'' ( Rimini) on the coast of the Adriatic Sea, and due to the ruggedness of the mountains was the major option the Romans ha ...

, on Mount Petrara. He had a famous oracle there which gave his ''responsa'' by means of ''sortes'' (lots). Its reputation was great during the Empire and it was consulted by emperor

Aurelian Aurelian ( la, Lucius Domitius Aurelianus; 9 September 214 October 275) was a Roman emperor, who reigned during the Crisis of the Third Century, from 270 to 275. As emperor, he won an unprecedented series of military victories which reunited ...

. Dedications have been excavated on the place and in Algeria on the top of a hill near Philippeville.

Claudian Claudius Claudianus, known in English as Claudian (; c. 370 – c. 404 AD), was a Latin poet associated with the court of the Roman emperor Honorius at Mediolanum (Milan), and particularly with the general Stilicho. His work, written almost e ...

mentions the oracle in his description of the travel of Honorius from Fanum Fortunae. As was the case for the sanctuary of ''Iuppiter Poeninus'' on the Great St. Bernard, the mountain pass held a religious significance as a point of communication between different geographic areas, a passage to a different and unknown world that required a religious protection for the traveller.

Other Italic Jupiters

Jupiter was worshipped also under the epithets of ''Imperator Maximus'' in Praeneste, ''Maius'' in

Tusculum Tusculum is a ruined Classical Rome, Roman city in the Alban Hills, in the Latium region of Italy. Tusculum was most famous in Roman times for the many great and luxurious patrician country villas sited close to the city, yet a comfortable dist ...

, ''Praestes'' in

Tibur Tivoli ( , ; la, Tibur) is a town and in Lazio, central Italy, north-east of Rome, at the falls of the Aniene river where it issues from the Sabine hills. The city offers a wide view over the Roman Campagna. History Gaius Julius Solin ...

, '' Indiges'' at

Lavinium Lavinium was a port city of Latium, to the south of Rome, midway between the Tiber river at Ostia and Antium. The coastline then, as now, was a long strip of beach. Lavinium was on a hill at the southernmost edge of the ''Silva Laurentina'', ...

and ''Anxurus'' at Anxur (now

), where he was represented as a young man without beard. In Umbro-Oscan areas he was ''Iuve Grabovius'' in the Iguvine Tables, ''Iuppiter Cacunus'' (of the top of mountains, cf. Latin ''cacumen'' and ''Iuppiter Culminalis''), ''Iuppiter Liber'' (see section on ''Liber'' above), ''Diuve Regature'' in the Table of Agnone that Vetter interprets as ''Rigator'',Emil Vetter ''Handbuch der Italischen Dialekte'' I Heidelberg 1953 n. 147 he who irrigates, and Dumézil as ''Rector'', he who rules and ''Diuve Verehasus'' tentatively rendered by Vetter as ''Vergarius''.

Bibliography

* Georg Wissowa ''religion und Kultus der Römer'' Munich 1912 * Georges Dumézil ''La religione romana arcaica. Edizione e traduzione a cura di Furio Jesi'' Milano 1977 (expanded translation into Italian based on the 2nd edition of ''La religion romaine archaïque'' Paris 1977. * Jacqueline Champeaux ''Fortuna. Recherches sur le culte de la Fortune à Rome et dans le monde romain dés origines à la mort de César. I: Fortune dans la religion archaïque'' Paris 1982; "Sors Oraculi. Les oracles en Italie sous la République et l'Empire" in ''MEFRA'' 102 1990 1.

References

{{Reflist, 30em Ancient Roman religion Roman gods

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousand ...