Pales Godinnen en nimfen (serietitel), RP-P-1986-363

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, ...

, Pales was a deity of shepherds, flocks and livestock. Regarded as male by some sources and female by others, ''Pales'' can be either singular or plural in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, 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 ...

, and refers at least once to a pair of deities. Pales' festival, called the

Parilia upright=1.5, ''Festa di Pales, o L'estate'' (1783), a reimagining of the Festival of Pales by Joseph-Benoît Suvée The Parilia is an ancient Roman festival of rural character performed annually on 21 April, aimed at cleansing both sheep and sh ...

, was celebrated on April 21. Cattle were driven through bonfires on this day. Pales and the Parilia were strictly connected to the foundation of Rome which took place on the day of their festival.

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 Luciu ...

built a temple to Pales in

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 ...

following his victory over the

Salentini The Messapians ( grc, Μεσσάπιοι, Messápioi; la, Messapii) were a Iapygian tribe who inhabited Salento in classical antiquity. Two other Iapygian tribes, the Peucetians and the Daunians, inhabited central and northern Apulia respecti ...

in 267 BC. It is generally thought to have been located on the Palatine Hill, but, being a victory monument, it may have been located on the route of the triumphal procession, either on 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 ...

or the Aventine Hill. According to the ''

Fasti Antiates Maiores The Fasti Antiates Maiores is a painted wall-calendar from the late Roman Republic, the oldest archaeologically attested local Roman calendar and the only such calendar known from before the Julian calendar reforms. It was created between 84 a ...

'', there was a festival for "the two Pales" (''Palibus duobus'') on July 7, probably to mark the dedication of this temple. Scholarship has suggested the Pales deities are related to Sicilian pair of gods

Palici The Palici ( Ancient Greek: , romanized: ), or Palaci, were a pair of indigenous Sicilian chthonic deities in Roman mythology, and to a lesser extent in Greek mythology. They are mentioned in Ovid's ''Metamorphoses'' V, 406, and in Virgil's ''Aen ...

, and both sets of brother may be reflexes of the

Indo-European The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutc ...

mytheme of the

Divine twins The Divine Twins are youthful horsemen, either gods or demigods, who serve as rescuers and healers in Proto-Indo-European mythology. Like other Proto-Indo-European divinities, the Divine Twins are not directly attested by archaeological or writt ...

References

Sources

*Richardson, L. (1992). ''A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome''. Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press. (p. 282) *Scullard, H.H. (1981). ''Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic''. London: Thames and Hudson. (p. 104–105) {{Authority control Roman gods Roman goddesses Agricultural deities Roman deities