Cere - MI - Museo archeologico - 25-7-2003 - fotomia

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

, ''mola salsa'' ("salted flour") was a mixture of coarse-ground, toasted

emmer Emmer is a hybrid species of wheat, producing edible seeds that have been used as food since ancient times. The domesticated types are ''Triticum turgidum'' subsp. ''dicoccum'' and ''T. t. ''conv.'' durum''. The wild plant is called ''T. t.'' s ...

flour Flour is a powder made by Mill (grinding), grinding raw grains, List of root vegetables, roots, beans, Nut (fruit), nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredie ...

and

salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

prepared by the

Vestal Virgin In ancient Rome, the Vestal Virgins or Vestals (, singular ) were priestesses of Vesta, virgin goddess of Rome's sacred hearth and its flame. The Vestals were unlike any other public priesthood. They were chosen before puberty from several s ...

s and used in every official sacrifice. It was sprinkled on the forehead and between the horns of animal victims before they were sacrificed, as well as on the altar and in the sacred fire. It was a common offering to the household

hearth A hearth () is the place in a home where a fire is or was traditionally kept for home heating and for cooking, usually constituted by a horizontal hearthstone and often enclosed to varying degrees by any combination of reredos (a low, partial ...

Servius Servius may refer to: * Servius (praenomen), a personal name during the Roman Republic * Servius the Grammarian (fl. 4th/5th century), Roman Latin grammarian * Servius Asinius Celer (died AD 46), Roman senator * Servius Cornelius Cethegus, Roma ...

describes the substance as ''

pius Pius ( , ; ) is a masculine given name. Its feminine form is Pia. It may refer to: People Monarch * Antoninus Pius (86–161), Roman emperor Popes * Pope Pius (disambiguation) * Antipope Pius XIII (1918–2009), who led the breakaway True Ca ...

'' (perhaps "reverently prepared" in this sense) and ''

castus Castus is a Latin word meaning clean and pure. * Lucius Artorius Castus, Roman general *Castus and Emilius, Roman martyrs and saints * Castus (rebel), Roman rebel gladiator in the Third Servile War See also *Vitex agnus-castus ''Vitex agnus-ca ...

'' ("ritually pure"). The ''mola salsa'' was so fundamental to sacrifice that "to put on the ''mola''" (Latin ''immolare'') came to mean "to sacrifice", hence English "

immolation Immolation may refer to: *Death by burning *Self-immolation, the act of burning oneself * Immolation (band), a death metal band from Yonkers, New York *'' The Immolation'', a 1977 novel by Goh Poh Seng *'' Dance Dance Immolation'', an interactive ...

". Its use was one of the numerous religious traditions ascribed to

Numa Pompilius Numa Pompilius (; 753–672 BC; reigned 715–672 BC) was the Roman mythology, legendary second king of Rome, succeeding Romulus after a one-year interregnum. He was of Sabine origin, and many of Rome's most important religious and political ins ...

, the

Sabine The Sabines (, , , ; ) were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains (see Sabina) of the ancient Italian Peninsula, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome. The Sabines divided int ...

second

king of Rome The king of Rome () was the ruler of the Roman Kingdom, a legendary period of Roman history that functioned as an elective monarchy. According to legend, the first king of Rome was Romulus, who founded the city in 753 BC upon the Palatine H ...

.Fernando Navarro Antolín, ''Lygdamus. Corpus Tibullianum III.1–6: Lygdami Elegiarum Liber'' (Brill, 1996), pp. 272–27
online.
/ref> The

College A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

of Vestals would make ''mola salsa'' during the

Vestalia Vestalia was a Roman religious festival in honor of Vesta, the goddess of the hearth and the burning continuation of the sacred fire of Rome. It was held from 7–15 June, and was reserved as a women's-only event. Domestic and family life in ge ...

, the chief

festival A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...

of the hearth goddess Vesta celebrated June 7–15.

References

Further reading