Saturn (god)
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Saturn ( la, Sāturnus ) was a god 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, ...
, and a character in Roman mythology. He was described as a god of time, generation, dissolution, abundance, wealth, agriculture, periodic renewal and liberation. Saturn's mythological reign was depicted as a Golden Age of abundance and peace. After the
Roman conquest of Greece Greece in the Roman era describes the Roman conquest of Greece, as well as the period of Greek history when Greece was dominated first by the Roman Republic and then by the Roman Empire. The Roman era of Greek history began with the Corinthian ...
, he was conflated with the Greek Titan
Cronus In Ancient Greek religion and mythology, Cronus, Cronos, or Kronos ( or , from el, Κρόνος, ''Krónos'') was the leader and youngest of the first generation of Titans, the divine descendants of the primordial Gaia (Mother Earth) and ...
. Saturn's consort was his sister
Ops In ancient Roman religion, Ops or ''Opis'' (Latin: "Plenty") was a fertility deity and earth goddess of Sabine origin. Her equivalent in Greek mythology was Rhea. Iconography In Ops' statues and coins, she is figured sitting down, as Chthon ...
, with whom he fathered Jupiter,
Neptune Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 times ...
, Pluto,
Juno Juno commonly refers to: *Juno (mythology), the Roman goddess of marriage and queen of the gods *Juno (film), ''Juno'' (film), 2007 Juno may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters *Juno, in the film ''Jenny, Juno'' *Ju ...
,
Ceres Ceres most commonly refers to: * Ceres (dwarf planet), the largest asteroid * Ceres (mythology), the Roman goddess of agriculture Ceres may also refer to: Places Brazil * Ceres, Goiás, Brazil * Ceres Microregion, in north-central Goiás st ...
and Vesta. Saturn was especially celebrated during the festival of
Saturnalia Saturnalia is an ancient Roman festival and holiday in honour of the god Saturn, held on 17 December of the Julian calendar and later expanded with festivities through to 23 December. The holiday was celebrated with a sacrifice at the Temple ...
each December, perhaps the most famous of the Roman festivals, a time of feasting, role reversals, free speech, gift-giving and revelry. The Temple of Saturn in the
Roman Forum The Roman Forum, also known by its Latin name Forum Romanum ( it, Foro Romano), is a rectangular forum (plaza) surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient ...
housed the state treasury and archives ('' aerarium'') of the Roman Republic and the early Roman Empire. The planet
Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant with an average radius of about nine and a half times that of Earth. It has only one-eighth the average density of Earth; h ...
and the day of the week Saturday are both named after and were associated with him.


Mythology

The Roman land preserved the remembrance of a very remote time during which Saturn and
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 Janu ...
reigned on the site of the city before its foundation: the Capitol was called . The Romans identified Saturn with the Greek
Cronus In Ancient Greek religion and mythology, Cronus, Cronos, or Kronos ( or , from el, Κρόνος, ''Krónos'') was the leader and youngest of the first generation of Titans, the divine descendants of the primordial Gaia (Mother Earth) and ...
, whose myths were adapted for Latin literature and Roman art. In particular, Cronus's role in the genealogy of the Greek gods was transferred to Saturn. As early as Andronicus Jupiter was called the son of Saturn. Saturn had two mistresses who represented different aspects of the god. The name of his wife,
Ops In ancient Roman religion, Ops or ''Opis'' (Latin: "Plenty") was a fertility deity and earth goddess of Sabine origin. Her equivalent in Greek mythology was Rhea. Iconography In Ops' statues and coins, she is figured sitting down, as Chthon ...
, the Roman equivalent of Greek ''Rhea'', means "wealth, abundance, resources."
The association with Ops is considered a later development, however, as this goddess was originally paired with Consus. Earlier was Saturn's association with
Lua Lua or LUA may refer to: Science and technology * Lua (programming language) * Latvia University of Agriculture * Last universal ancestor, in evolution Ethnicity and language * Lua people, of Laos * Lawa people, of Thailand sometimes referred t ...
("destruction, dissolution, loosening"), a goddess who received the bloodied weapons of enemies destroyed in war. Under Saturn's rule, humans enjoyed the spontaneous bounty of the earth without labour in the "Golden Age" described by
Hesiod Hesiod (; grc-gre, Ἡσίοδος ''Hēsíodos'') was an ancient Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. He is generally regarded by western authors as 'the first written poet i ...
and Ovid. He became known as the god of time.


Etymology and epithets

According to Varro, Saturn's name was derived from ''satus'', meaning "sowing". Even though this etymology is problematic from the viewpoint of modern linguistics (for, while historically-motivated vowel length alternations do occur in Latin roots, the long ''ā'' in ''Sāturnus'' in particular remains unexplained with this etymology, and also because of the epigraphically attested form ''Saeturnus''), nevertheless it does reflect an original feature of the god. Perhaps a more probable etymology connects the name with the Etruscan god '' Satre'' and placenames such as ''Satria'', an ancient town of Latium, and ''Saturae palus'', a marsh also in Latium. This root may be related to Latin phytonym '' satureia''. (Like ''satus'', however, ''satureia'', ''Saturae palus'', and probably also ''Satria'', as indeed the apparently closely related '' Satricum'', all also have a short ''a'' in the first syllable vs. the long ''ā'' of ''Sāturnus''.) Another epithet, variably '' Sterculius'', ''Stercutus'', and ''Sterces'', referred to his agricultural functions;
this derives from ''stercus'', "dung" or "manure", referring to re‑emergence from death to life. Farming was important to Roman identity, and Saturn was a part of archaic Roman religion and ethnic identity. His name appears in the ancient hymn of the Salian priests, and his temple was the oldest known in the records of the pontiffs. Quintus Lucilius Balbus gives a separate etymology in Cicero's '' De Natura Deorum''. In this interpretation, the agricultural aspect of Saturn would be secondary to his primary relation with time and seasons. Since 'Time consumes all things',
Balbus Balbus is Latin for "stammerer", and may refer to: * Quintus Lucilius Balbus (fl. 100 BC), Stoic philosopher mentioned in the works of Cicero * Marcus Atius Balbus, grandfather of the Roman emperor Augustus * Lucius Cornelius Balbus (consul 40 BC) ...
asserts that the name ''Saturn'' comes from the Latin word ''satis''; Saturn being an
anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...
representation of Time, which is filled, or satiated, by all things or all generations. Since farming is so closely linked to seasons and therefore an understanding of the cyclical passage of time, it follows that agriculture would then be associated with the deity Saturn.


Temple

The temple of Saturn was located at the base of the Capitoline Hill, according to a tradition recorded by Varro formerly known as ''Saturnius Mons'', and a row of columns from the last rebuilding of the temple still stands. The temple was consecrated in 497 BC but the ''area Saturni'' was built by king
Tullus Hostilius Tullus Hostilius (r. 672–640 BC) was the legendary third king of Rome. He succeeded Numa Pompilius and was succeeded by Ancus Marcius. Unlike his predecessor, Tullus was known as a warlike king who according to the Roman Historian Livy, believ ...
as confirmed by archaeological studies conducted by E. Gjerstad. It housed the state treasury ( aerarium) throughout Roman history.


Festival's time

The position of Saturn's festival in the Roman calendar led to his association with concepts of time, especially the temporal transition of the New Year. In the Greek tradition, Cronus was sometimes conflated with Chronus, "Time," and his devouring of his children taken as an allegory for the passing of generations. The sickle or scythe of Father Time is a remnant of the agricultural implement of Cronus-Saturn, and his aged appearance represents the waning of the old year with the birth of the new, in antiquity sometimes embodied by Aion. In late antiquity, Saturn is
syncretized Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, thu ...
with a number of deities, and begins to be depicted as winged, as is
Kairos Kairos ( grc, καιρός) is an ancient Greek word meaning 'the right, critical, or opportune moment'. In modern Greek, ''kairos'' also means 'weather' or 'time'. It is one of two words that the ancient Greeks had for 'time'; the other bei ...
, "Timing, Right Time".


In Roman religion


Theology and worship

The figure of Saturn is one of the most complex in Roman religion. Dumézil refrained from discussing Saturn in his work on Roman religion on the grounds of insufficient knowledge. Conversely, however, his follower
Dominique Briquel Dominique Briquel (21 January 1946, Nancy) is a French scholar, a specialist of archaeology and etruscology. Briquel studied at the École Normale Supérieure from 1964 to 1969 and was a member of the École française de Rome from 1971 to 1974. ...
has attempted a thorough interpretation of Saturn utilising Dumézil's three-functional theory of Indo-European religion, taking the ancient testimonies and the works of A. Brelich and G. Piccaluga as his basis.
The main difficulty scholars find in studying Saturn is in assessing what is original of his figure and what is due to later hellenising influences. Moreover, some features of the god may be common to Cronus but are nonetheless very ancient and can be considered proper to the Roman god, whereas others are certainly later and arrived after 217 BCE, the year in which the Greek customs of the Kronia were introduced into the Saturnalia.


Briquel's analysis

Among the features which are definitely authentic of the Roman god, Briquel identifies: # the time of his festival in the calendar, which corresponds to the date of the consecration of his temple (the Greek Cronia on the other hand took place in June–July); # his association with '' Lua Mater'', and # the location of his cult on the Capitol, which goes back to remote times. These three elements in Briquel's view indicate that Saturn is a sovereign god. The god's strict relationship with the cults of the Capitoline Hill and in particular with Jupiter are highlighted by the legends concerning the refusal of gods
Iuventas Juventas, also known as Iuventus or Juventus (Greek equivalent: Hebe), was the ancient Roman goddess whose sphere of tutelage was youth and rejuvenation. She was especially the goddess of young men "new to wearing the toga" ''(dea novorum to ...
and Terminus to leave their abode in the shrines on the Capitol when the temple of Jupiter was to be built. These two deities correspond to the helper gods of the sovereign in Vedic religion (Briquel refers to Dhritarashtra and Vidura, the figures of the Mahabharata) and to the Cyclopes and Hecatoncheires in
Hesiod Hesiod (; grc-gre, Ἡσίοδος ''Hēsíodos'') was an ancient Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. He is generally regarded by western authors as 'the first written poet i ...
. Whereas the helper gods belong to the second divine generation they become active only at the level of the third in each of the three instances of India, Greece and Rome, where they become a sort of continuation of Jupiter.) Dumézil postulated a split of the figure of the sovereign god in Indoeuropean religion, which is embodied by Vedic gods Varuna and
Mitra ''Mitra'' ( Proto-Indo-Iranian: ''*mitrás'') is the name of an Indo-Iranian divinity from which the names and some characteristics of Rigvedic Mitrá and Avestan Mithra derive. The names (and occasionally also some characteristics) of these t ...
. Of the two, the first one shows the aspect of the magic, uncanny, awe inspiring power of creation and destruction, while the second shows the reassuring aspect of guarantor of the legal order in organised social life. Whereas in Jupiter these double features have coalesced, Briquel sees Saturn as showing the characters of a sovereign god of the Varunian type. His nature becomes evident in his mastership over the annual time of crisis around the winter solstice, epitomised in the power of subverting normal codified social order and its rules, which is apparent in the festival of the
Saturnalia Saturnalia is an ancient Roman festival and holiday in honour of the god Saturn, held on 17 December of the Julian calendar and later expanded with festivities through to 23 December. The holiday was celebrated with a sacrifice at the Temple ...
, in the mastership of annual fertility and renewal, in the power of annihilation present in his paredra Lua, in the fact that he is the god of a timeless era of abundance and bounty before time, which he reinstates at the time of the yearly crisis of the winter solstice. In Roman and Etruscan reckoning Saturn is a wielder of lightning; no other agricultural god (in the sense of specialized human activity) is one. Hence the mastership he has on agriculture and wealth cannot be that of a god of the third function, i.e. of production, wealth, and pleasure, but it stems from his magical lordship over creation and destruction. Although these features are to be found in Greek god Cronus as well, it appears that those features were proper to Roman Saturn's most ancient aspects, such as his presence on the Capitol and his association with Jupiter, who in the stories of the arrival of the
Pelasgians The name Pelasgians ( grc, Πελασγοί, ''Pelasgoí'', singular: Πελασγός, ''Pelasgós'') was used by classical Greek writers to refer either to the predecessors of the Greeks, or to all the inhabitants of Greece before the emergenc ...
in the land of the
Sicels The Sicels (; la, Siculi; grc, Σικελοί ''Sikeloi'') were an Italic tribe who inhabited eastern Sicily during the Iron Age. Their neighbours to the west were the Sicani. The Sicels gave Sicily the name it has held since antiquity, bu ...
and that of the
Argei The rituals of the Argei were archaic religious observances in ancient Rome that took place on March 16 and March 17, and again on May 14 or May 15. By the time of Augustus, the meaning of these rituals had become obscure even to those who practi ...
orders human sacrifices to him. Briquel concludes that Saturn was a sovereign god of a time that the Romans perceived as no longer actual, that of the legendary origins of the world, before civilization.


Roman cult practices

Sacrifices to Saturn were performed according to "Greek rite" (''
ritus graecus The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence o ...
''), with the head uncovered, in contrast to those of other major Roman deities, which were performed '' capite velato'', "with the head covered." Saturn himself, however, was represented as veiled (''involutus''), as for example in a wall painting from
Pompeii Pompeii (, ) was an ancient city located in what is now the ''comune'' of Pompei near Naples in the Campania region of Italy. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area (e.g. at Boscoreale, Stabiae), was buried ...
that shows him holding a sickle and covered with a white veil. This feature is in complete accord with the character of a sovereign god of the Varunian type and is common with German god
Odin Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered Æsir, god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, v ...
. Briquel remarks
Servius Servius is the name of: * Servius (praenomen), the personal name * Maurus Servius Honoratus, a late fourth-century and early fifth-century grammarian * Servius Tullius, the Roman king * Servius Sulpicius Rufus, the 1st century BC Roman jurist See ...
had already seen that the choice of the Greek rite was due to the fact that the god himself is imagined and represented as veiled, thence his sacrifice cannot be carried out by a veiled man: This is an instance of the reversal of the current order of things typical of the nature of the deity as appears in its festival. Plutarch writes his figure is veiled because he is the father of truth. Pliny notes that the cult statue of Saturn was filled with oil; the exact meaning of this is unclear. Its feet were bound with wool, which was removed only during the Saturnalia. The fact that the statue was filled with oil and the feet were bound with wool may relate back to the myth of "The Castration of Uranus". In this myth Rhea gives Cronus a rock to eat in Zeus's stead, thus tricking Cronus. Although mastership of knots is a feature of Greek origin it is also typical of the Varunian sovereign figure, as apparent e.g. in Odin. Once Zeus was victorious over Cronus, he sets this stone up at Delphi and constantly it is anointed with oil and strands of unwoven wool are placed on it. The stone wore a red cloak, and was brought out of the temple to take part in ritual processions and '' lectisternia'', banquets at which images of the gods were arranged as guests on couches. All these ceremonial details identify a sovereign figure.


Cult outside Rome

Little evidence exists in Italy for the cult of Saturn outside Rome, but his name resembles that of the Etruscan god
Satres Satres ( el, Σάτρες, bg, Синиково, translit=Sinikovo, tr, Sinikova) is a former community in the Xanthi regional unit, East Macedonia and Thrace, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Myki ...
. The potential cruelty of Saturn was enhanced by his identification with
Cronus In Ancient Greek religion and mythology, Cronus, Cronos, or Kronos ( or , from el, Κρόνος, ''Krónos'') was the leader and youngest of the first generation of Titans, the divine descendants of the primordial Gaia (Mother Earth) and ...
, known for devouring his own children. He was thus used in translation when referring to gods from other cultures the Romans perceived as severe; he was equated with the Carthaginian god
Baal Hammon Baal Hammon, properly Baʿal Ḥammon or Baʿal Ḥamon ( Phoenician: ; Punic: ), meaning “Lord Hammon”, was the chief god of Carthage. He was a weather god considered responsible for the fertility of vegetation and esteemed as King of the ...
, to whom children were sacrificed, and to Yahweh, whose
Sabbath In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, commanded by God to be kept as a holy day of rest, as G ...
was referred to as ''Saturni dies'', "Saturn's day," in a poem by Tibullus, who wrote during the reign of Augustus; eventually this gave rise to the word "Saturday" in English. The identification with Ba'al Hammon later gave rise to the African Saturn, a cult that enjoyed great popularity until the 4th century. Besides being a popular cult it also had the character of a mystery religion and required child sacrifices. It is also considered as inclining to monotheism. In the ceremony of initiation the ' (initiate) "''intrat sub iugum''" ("enters beneath the yoke"), a ritual that Leglay compares to the Roman ''
tigillum sororium The ''Sororium Tigillum'', which translates as the "sister's beam", was a wooden beam said to have been erected on the slope of the Oppian Hill in Ancient Rome by the father of Publius Horatius, one of the three brothers Horatii. Publius Horatius w ...
''. Even though their origin and theology are completely different the Italic and the African god are both sovereign and master over time and death, a fact that has permitted their association. However, the African Saturn is not directly derived from the Italic god, but rather from his Greek counterpart, Cronus.


Saturnalia

Saturn is associated with a major religious festival in the Roman calendar, ''Saturnalia''. Saturnalia celebrated the harvest and sowing, and ran from December 17–23. During Saturnalia, the social restrictions of Rome were relaxed. The figure of Saturn, kept during the year with its legs bound in wool, was released from its bindings for the period of the festival. The revelries of Saturnalia were supposed to reflect the conditions of the lost "Golden Age" before the rule of Saturn was overthrown, not all of them desirable, except as a temporary relief from civilized constraint. The Greek equivalent was the Kronia.
Macrobius Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius, usually referred to as Macrobius (fl. AD 400), was a Roman provincial who lived during the early fifth century, during late antiquity, the period of time corresponding to the Later Roman Empire, and when Latin was ...
presents an interpretation of the Saturnalia as a festival of light leading to the winter solstice. The renewal of light and the coming of the new year was celebrated in the later Roman Empire at the ''Dies Natalis'' of Sol Invictus, the "Birthday of the Unconquerable Sun," on December 25.


Roman legend

It was customary for the Romans to represent divine figures as kings of Latium at the time of their legendary origins. Macrobius states explicitly that the Roman legend of Janus and Saturn is an affabulation, as the true meaning of religious beliefs cannot be openly expressed. In the myth Saturn was the original and autochthonous ruler of the Capitolium, which had thus been called the ''Mons Saturnius'' in older times and on which once stood the town of ''Saturnia''.  He was sometimes regarded as the first king of Latium or even the whole of Italy.
At the same time, there was a tradition that Saturn had been an immigrant god, received by
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 Janu ...
after he was usurped by his son Jupiter and expelled from Greece. In Versnel's view his contradictions – a foreigner with one of Rome's oldest sanctuaries, and a god of liberation who is kept in fetters most of the year – indicate Saturn's capacity for confounding social distinctions. The Golden Age of Saturn's reign in Roman mythology differed from the Greek tradition. He arrived in Italy "dethroned and fugitive," but brought agriculture and civilization for which he was rewarded by Janus with a share of the kingdom, becoming himself king. As the Augustan poet Virgil described it, "He gathered together the unruly race" of fauns and nymphs "scattered over mountain heights, and gave them laws ... . Under his reign were the golden ages men tell of: in such perfect peace he ruled the nations." He was considered the ancestor of the Latin nation as he fathered Picus, the first king of Latium, who married Janus's daughter Canens and in his turn fathered Faunus. Saturn was also said to have founded the five ''Saturnian'' towns of Latium: Aletrium (today Alatri), Anagnia ( Anagni), Arpinum ( Arpino), Atina and Ferentinum ( Ferentino, also known as Antinum) all located in the Latin Valley, province of Frosinone. All these towns are surrounded by cyclopean walls; their foundation is traditionally ascribed to the
Pelasgians The name Pelasgians ( grc, Πελασγοί, ''Pelasgoí'', singular: Πελασγός, ''Pelasgós'') was used by classical Greek writers to refer either to the predecessors of the Greeks, or to all the inhabitants of Greece before the emergenc ...
. But Saturn also had a less benevolent aspect, as indicated by the blood shed in his honor during gladiatorial ''munera''. His consort in archaic Roman tradition was
Lua Lua or LUA may refer to: Science and technology * Lua (programming language) * Latvia University of Agriculture * Last universal ancestor, in evolution Ethnicity and language * Lua people, of Laos * Lawa people, of Thailand sometimes referred t ...
, sometimes called ''Lua Saturni'' ("Saturn's Lua") and identified with Lua Mater, "Mother Destruction," a goddess in whose honor the weapons of enemies killed in war were burned, perhaps as expiation. Versnel, however, proposed that ''Lua Saturni'' should not be identified with ''Lua Mater'', but rather refers to "loosening"; she thus represents the liberating function of Saturn.


Gladiatorial ''munera''

Saturn's
chthonic The word chthonic (), or chthonian, is derived from the Ancient Greek word ''χθών, "khthon"'', meaning earth or soil. It translates more directly from χθόνιος or "in, under, or beneath the earth" which can be differentiated from Γῆ ...
nature connected him to the underworld and its ruler Dis Pater, the Roman equivalent of Greek
Plouton In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Pluto ( gr, Πλούτων, ') was the ruler of the Greek underworld. The earlier name for the god was Hades, which became more common as the name of the underworld itself. Pluto represents a more posi ...
(Pluto in Latin) who was also a god of hidden wealth. In 3rd-century AD sources and later, Saturn is recorded as receiving
gladiator A gladiator ( la, gladiator, "swordsman", from , "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gla ...
ial offerings ''(munera)'' during or near the Saturnalia. These gladiator combats, ten days in all throughout December, were presented by the
quaestor A ( , , ; "investigator") was a public official in Ancient Rome. There were various types of quaestors, with the title used to describe greatly different offices at different times. In the Roman Republic, quaestors were elected officials who ...
s and sponsored with funds from the treasury of Saturn. The practice of gladiatorial ''munera'' was criticized by
Christian apologists Christian apologetics ( grc, ἀπολογία, "verbal defense, speech in defense") is a branch of Christian theology that defends Christianity. Christian apologetics has taken many forms over the centuries, starting with Paul the Apostle in ...
as a form of human sacrifice. Although there is no evidence of this practice during the Republican era, the offering of gladiators led to later theorizing that the primeval Saturn had demanded human victims.
Macrobius Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius, usually referred to as Macrobius (fl. AD 400), was a Roman provincial who lived during the early fifth century, during late antiquity, the period of time corresponding to the Later Roman Empire, and when Latin was ...
says that Dis Pater was placated with human heads and Saturn with sacrificial victims consisting of men ( ''virorum victimis'' ). The figurines that were exchanged as gifts ''( sigillaria)'' during the Saturnalia may have represented token substitutes.


On coins

In 104 BCE, the plebeian tribune
Lucius Appuleius Saturninus Lucius Appuleius Saturninus (died late 100 BC) was a Roman populist and tribune. He is most notable for introducing a series of legislative reforms, alongside his associate Gaius Servilius Glaucia and with the consent of Gaius Marius, during the l ...
issued a denarius depicting Saturn driving a four-horse chariot ''( quadriga)'', a vehicle associated with rulers, triumphing generals, and
sun god A solar deity or sun deity is a deity who represents the Sun, or an aspect of it. Such deities are usually associated with power and strength. Solar deities and Sun worship can be found throughout most of recorded history in various forms. The ...
s. Saturninus was a popularist politician who had proposed reduced-price grain distribution to the poor of Rome. The head of the
goddess Roma In ancient Roman religion, Roma was a female deity who personified the city of Rome and more broadly, the Roman state. She was created and promoted to represent and propagate certain of Rome's ideas about itself, and to justify its rule. She was p ...
appears on the obverse. The Saturnian imagery played on the tribune's name and his intent to alter the social hierarchy to his advantage, by basing his political support on the common people (''
plebs In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizenship, Roman citizens who were not Patrician (ancient Rome), patricians, as determined by the capite censi, census, or in other words "commoners". Both ...
'') rather than the senatorial elite.


See also

* *
Satre (Etruscan god) Satre or Satres was an Etruscan god who appears on the Liver of Piacenza, a bronze model used for haruspicy. He occupies the dark and negative northwest region, and seems to be a "frightening and dangerous god who hurls his lightning from his abo ...
*
Saturnalia Saturnalia is an ancient Roman festival and holiday in honour of the god Saturn, held on 17 December of the Julian calendar and later expanded with festivities through to 23 December. The holiday was celebrated with a sacrifice at the Temple ...


Footnotes


References


Bibliography

*
Georges Dumézil Georges Edmond Raoul Dumézil (4 March 189811 October 1986) was a French philologist, linguist, and religious studies scholar who specialized in comparative linguistics and mythology. He was a professor at Istanbul University, École pratique d ...
(1974) ''La religion romaine archaïque'' Paris Payot 2nd; Italian translation (expanded version) ''La religione romana arcaica'' Milano Rizzoli 1977. Edizione e traduzione a cura di Furio Jesi. * Dominique Briquel (1981) "Jupiter, Saturn et le Capitol. Essai de comparaison indoeuropéenne" in ''Revue de l' histoire des religions'' 198 2. pp. 131–162. * Marcel Leglay (1966) ''Saturn africain. Histoire'' BEFAR Paris de Boccard. * H.S. Versnel (1993, 1994) "Saturnus and the Saturnalia", in ''Inconsistencies in Greek and Roman Religion: Transition and Reversal in Myth and Ritual'', Brill, pp. 144–145.


Further reading

* Guirand, Felix (Editor); Aldington, Richard (Translator); Ames, Delano (Translator); & Graves, Robert (Introduction). ''New Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology''.


External links

* * — ; depicts and discusses Saturn and his role within astrology. {{DEFAULTSORT:Saturn (Mythology) Roman gods Time and fate gods Deities in the Aeneid Mythological cannibals Child sacrifice Saturnian deities Abundance gods Fortune gods Harvest gods Agricultural gods Nature gods Earth gods Cronus