The Capitoline Triad was a group of three deities who were worshipped in ancient Roman religion in an elaborate temple on

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

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. ...

(

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''Capitolium''). It comprised

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-thousandth t ...

, Juno and

Minerva Minerva (; ett, Menrva) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic war. From the second century BC onward, the Rom ...

. The triad held a central place in the public religion of Rome.

The Triad

The three deities who are most commonly referred to as the "Capitoline Triad" are

, the king of the gods; Juno (in her aspect as ''Iuno Regina'', "Queen Juno"), his wife and sister; and Jupiter's daughter

, the goddess of wisdom. This grouping of a male god and two goddesses was highly unusual in ancient Indo-European religions, and is almost certainly derived from the Etruscan trio of

Tinia In Etruscan religion and mythology, Tinia (also Tin, Tinh, Tins or ''Tina'') was the god of the sky and the highest god in Etruscan mythology, equivalent to the Roman Jupiter and the Greek Zeus. However, a primary source from the Roman Varr ...

, the supreme deity, Uni, his wife, and

Menrva Menrva (also spelled Menerva) was an Etruscan goddess of war, art, wisdom, and medicine. She contributed much of her character to the Roman Minerva. She was the child of Uni and Tinia. Although Menrva was seen by Hellenized Etruscans as their ...

, their daughter and the goddess of wisdom. In some interpretations, this group replaced an original

Archaic Triad The Archaic Triad is a hypothetical divine triad, consisting of the three allegedly original deities worshipped on the Capitoline Hill in Rome: Jupiter (mythology), Jupiter, Mars (mythology), Mars and Quirinus. This structure was no longer clearly ...

made up of Jupiter, farming/war god

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 war/farming god

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 sou ...

The Capitolia

Jupiter, Juno and Minerva were honored in

temples 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 ...

known as ''Capitolia'', which were built on hills and other prominent areas in many cities in Italy and the

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

, particularly during the Augustan and

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periods. Most had a triple ''

cella A cella (from Latin for small chamber) or naos (from the Greek ναός, "temple") is the inner chamber of an ancient Greek or Roman temple in classical antiquity. Its enclosure within walls has given rise to extended meanings, of a hermit's or ...

''. The earliest known example of a Capitolium outside of Italy was at Emporion (now

Empúries Empúries ( ca, Empúries ) was an ancient city on the Mediterranean coast of Catalonia, Spain. Empúries is also known by its Spanish name, Ampurias ( es, Ampurias ). The city Ἐμπόριον ( el, Ἐμπόριον, Emporion, meaning "tradi ...

, Spain). According to

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

Terminus Terminus may refer to: * Bus terminus, a bus station serving as an end destination * Terminal train station or terminus, a railway station serving as an end destination Geography *Terminus, the unofficial original name of Atlanta, Georgia, United ...

also had a place there, since he had a shrine there before it was built and, as the god of boundary stones, refused to yield. Although the word ''Capitolium'' (pl. ''Capitolia'') could be used to refer to any temple dedicated to the Capitoline Triad, it referred especially to the temple on the

in Rome known as ''

aedes ''Aedes'' is a genus of mosquitoes originally found in tropical and subtropical zones, but now found on all continents except perhaps Antarctica. Some species have been spread by human activity: '' Aedes albopictus'', a particularly invasive sp ...

Iovis Optimi Maximi Capitolini'' ("Temple of Jupiter Best and Greatest on the Capitoline"). The temple was built under the reign of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the last King of Rome prior to the establishment of the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...

. Although the temple was shared by Jupiter, Juno and Minerva, each deity had a separate ''cella'', with Juno Regina on the left, Minerva on the right, and Jupiter Optimus Maximus in the middle. It included a podium and a

tetrastyle A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

(four column)

pronaos A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

(porch). Another shrine (''

sacellum In ancient Roman religion, a ''sacellum'' is a small shrine. The word is a diminutive from ''sacrum'' (neuter of ''sacer'', "belonging to a god"). The numerous ''sacella'' of ancient Rome included both shrines maintained on private properties by fa ...

'') dedicated to Jupiter, Juno Regina and Minerva was the

Capitolium Vetus The Capitolium Vetus (Latin for ‘old Capitol’ or ‘ancient Capitol’) was an archaic temple in ancient Rome, dedicated to the Capitoline Triad. distinguishes it from the main temple to the Triad on the Capitol and shows that it was the old ...

on the

Quirinal Hill The Quirinal Hill (; la, Collis Quirinalis; it, Quirinale ) 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 Pala ...

. It was thought to be older than the more famous temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on the Capitoline Hill, and was still a landmark in Martial's time, in the late 1st century.Richardson, L. (1992). ''A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome'' (p. 70). Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press. .

References

{{Authority control Ancient Roman religion Jupiter (mythology) Minerva Triple deities Capitoline Hill

The Triad

The Capitolia

See also

References