Silvanus (; meaning "of the woods" in

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 ...

) was a Roman

tutelary deity A tutelary () (also tutelar) is a deity or a spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of "tutelary" expresses the concept of safety a ...

of woods and uncultivated lands. As protector of the forest (''sylvestris deus''), he especially presided over plantations and delighted in trees growing wild.

Tibullus Albius Tibullus ( BC19 BC) was a Latin poet and writer of elegies. His first and second books of poetry are extant; many other texts attributed to him are of questionable origins. Little is known about the life of Tibullus. There are only a f ...

II.5.27, 30.

Lucan Marcus Annaeus Lucanus (3 November 39 AD – 30 April 65 AD), better known in English as Lucan (), was a Roman poet, born in Corduba (modern-day Córdoba), in Hispania Baetica. He is regarded as one of the outstanding figures of the Imperial ...

. ''

Pharsalia ''De Bello Civili'' (; ''On the Civil War''), more commonly referred to as the ''Pharsalia'', is a Roman epic poem written by the poet Lucan, detailing the civil war between Julius Caesar and the forces of the Roman Senate led by Pompey the Gr ...

'' III.402.

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ...

. ''

Naturalis historia The ''Natural History'' ( la, Naturalis historia) is a work by Pliny the Elder. The largest single work to have survived from the Roman Empire to the modern day, the ''Natural History'' compiles information gleaned from other ancient authors. ...

'' XII.2. He is also described as a god watching over the fields and husbandmen, protecting in particular the boundaries of fields.

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ...

. '' Epodes'' II.21-22. The similarly named Etruscan deity Selvans may be a borrowing of Silvanus, or not even related in origin.Peter F. Dorcey, ''The Cult of Silvanus: A Study in Roman Folk Religion'' (Brill, 1992), pp. 10–1
online
noting earlier efforts to press an Etruscan etymology on Silvanus. Silvanus is described as the divinity protecting the flocks of cattle, warding off wolves, and promoting their fertility.Virgil. ''Aeneid'' VIII.600-1.

Cato the Elder Marcus Porcius Cato (; 234–149 BC), also known as Cato the Censor ( la, Censorius), the Elder and the Wise, was a Roman soldier, Roman Senate, senator, and Roman historiography, historian known for his conservatism and opposition to Hellenizati ...

. ''De Re Rustica'' 83 Dolabella, a rural engineer of whom only a few pages are known, states that Silvanus was the first to set up stones to mark the limits of fields, and that every estate had three ''Silvani:'' * a ''Silvanus domesticus'' (in inscriptions called ''Silvanus Larum'' and ''Silvanus sanctus sacer Larum'') * a ''Silvanus agrestis'' (also called ''salutaris'', literally "of the fields" or "saviour"), who was worshipped by shepherds, and * a ''Silvanus orientalis'', literally "of the east", that is, the god presiding over the point at which an estate begins. Hence ''Silvani'' were often referred to in the plural.

Etymology

The name ''Silvānus'' () is a derivation from

''silva'' ('forest, wood'). It is

cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language. Because language change can have radical e ...

with the Latin words ''silvester'' ('wild, not cultivated'), ''silvicola'' ('inhabiting woodlands') or ''silvaticus'' ('of woodlands or scrub'). The etymology of ''silva'' is unclear.

Attributes and associations

Like other gods of woods and flocks, Silvanus is described as fond of music; the

syrinx In classical Greek mythology, Syrinx (Greek Σύριγξ) was a nymph and a follower of Artemis, known for her chastity. Pursued by the amorous god Pan, she ran to a river's edge and asked for assistance from the river nymphs. In answer, s ...

was sacred to him, and he is mentioned along with the Pans and Nymphs. Later speculators even identified Silvanus with Pan,

Faunus In ancient Roman religion and myth, Faunus was the rustic god of the forest, plains and fields; when he made cattle fertile he was called Inuus. He came to be equated in literature with the Greek god Pan, after which Romans depicted him as a ...

, Inuus and Aegipan. He must have been associated with the Italian

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 atmos ...

, for Cato refers to him consistently as ''Mars Silvanus''. These references to Silvanus as an aspect of Mars combined with his association with forests and glades, give context to the worship of Silvanus as the giver of the art (techne) of forest warfare. In particular the initiation rituals of the evocati appear to have referenced Silvanus as a protective god of raiding for women and cattle, perhaps preserving elements of earlier Etruscan worship. In the provinces outside of Italy, Silvanus was identified with numerous native gods: :* Sucellos, Poeninus, Sinquas and Tettus in

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only durin ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. :*Callirius, Cocidius and Vinotonus in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

. A

Romano-Celtic Temple A Romano-Celtic temple (more specifically a Romano-British temple in Great Britain, or Gallo-Roman temple in the Continental region formerly comprising Gaul) is a sub-class of Roman temple found in the north-western provinces of the Roman E ...

containing several plaques dedicated to ''Silvanus Callirius'' has been found at

Camulodunum Camulodunum (; la, ), the Ancient Roman name for what is now Colchester in Essex, was an important castrum and city in Roman Britain, and the first capital of the province. A temporary "strapline" in the 1960s identifying it as the "oldest rec ...

(modern

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colc ...

). :*Calaedicus in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. :*The Mogiae in

Pannonia Pannonia (, ) was a province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia. Pannonia was located in the territory that is now wes ...

. :* Selvans in

Etruria Etruria () was a region of Central Italy, located in an area that covered part of what are now most of Tuscany, northern Lazio, and northern and western Umbria. Etruscan Etruria The ancient people of Etruria are identified as Etruscans. T ...

(though the validity of this identification has been contested). :*

Silenus In Greek mythology, Silenus (; grc, Σειληνός, Seilēnós, ) was a companion and tutor to the wine god Dionysus. He is typically older than the satyrs of the Dionysian retinue ('' thiasos''), and sometimes considerably older, in which c ...

, a Greek God, merged with Silvanus in Latin Literature. :* Pan (god of forests, pastures, and shepherds), in Greco-Roman mythology. :*

Aristaeus A minor god in Greek mythology, attested mainly by Athenian writers, Aristaeus (; ''Aristaios'' (Aristaîos); lit. “Most Excellent, Most Useful”), was the culture hero credited with the discovery of many useful arts Useful art, or useful ...

, a god/patron of

shepherd A shepherd or sheepherder is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. ''Shepherd'' derives from Old English ''sceaphierde (''sceap'' 'sheep' + ''hierde'' ' herder'). ''Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations ...

s, harvest and other

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are descri ...

arts. The Slavic god Porewit has similarities with Silvanus.

Xavier Delamarre Xavier Delamarre (; born 5 June 1954) is a French linguist, lexicographer, and diplomat. He is regarded as one of the world's foremost authorities on the Gaulish language. Since 2019, he has been an associate researcher for the CNRS-PSL AOrOc l ...

suggests the epithet ''Callirius'' may be related to Breton theonym ''Riocalat(is)'' (attested in Cumberland Quarries), and both mean "(God) With Wild Horses".

Worship

The sacrifices offered to Silvanus consisted of grapes, ears of grain, milk, meat, wine and pigs.

Juvenal Decimus Junius Juvenalis (), known in English as Juvenal ( ), was a Roman poet active in the late first and early second century CE. He is the author of the collection of satirical poems known as the '' Satires''. The details of Juvenal's lif ...

. VI.446, with associated scholia. In Cato's '' De Agricultura'' an offering to ''Mars Silvanus'' is described, to ensure the health of

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ...

; it is stated there that his connection with agriculture referred to only the labour performed by men, and that females were excluded from his worship. (Compare

Bona Dea Bona Dea (; 'Good Goddess') was a goddess 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 u ...

for a Roman deity from whose worship men were excluded.)

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...

relates that in the very earliest times the Tyrrhenian

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 emergen ...

had dedicated a grove and a festival to Silvanus.

In literature

In works of Latin poetry and art, Silvanus always appears as an old man, but as cheerful and in love with

Pomona Pomona may refer to: Places Argentina * Pomona, Río Negro Australia * Pomona, Queensland, Australia, a town in the Shire of Noosa * Pomona, New South Wales, Australia Belize * Pomona, Belize, a municipality in Stann Creek District Mexico ...

.Horace. '' Carmina'' III.8. Virgil represents him as carrying the trunk of a

cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs of northern temperate regions that belong to the family Cupressaceae. The word ''cypress'' is derived from Old French ''cipres'', which was imported from Latin ''cypressus'', the la ...

( el, δενδροφόρος),Virgil. ''Georgics'' I.20-1. about which the following myth is told. Silvanus – or

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

according to other versions – was in love with Cyparissus, and once by accident killed a pet hind belonging to Cyparissus. The latter died of grief, and was metamorphosed into a cypress.Virgil. ''

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan_War#Sack_of_Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to ...

'' III.680. In Edmund Spenser's epic poem ''

The Faerie Queene ''The Faerie Queene'' is an English epic poem by Edmund Spenser. Books IIII were first published in 1590, then republished in 1596 together with books IVVI. ''The Faerie Queene'' is notable for its form: at over 36,000 lines and over 4,000 st ...

'' (1590–96), Silvanus appears in Canto VI of Book I. His 'wyld woodgods' (Stanza 9) save the lost and frightened Lady Una from being molested by ''Sans loy'' and take her to him. They treat her as a Queen because of her great beauty. Spenser writes in Stanza 14: :::So towards old ''Syluanus'' they did her bring; :::Who with the noyse awaked, commeth out, :::To weet the cause, his weake steps gouerning, :::And aged limbs on Cypresse stadle stout, :::And with an yvie twyne his wast is girt gud about.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

Cato's ''De Agricultura'':
an offering to Mars Silvanus (e-text in English and Latin) {{DEFAULTSORT:Silvanus (Mythology) Roman gods Nature gods LGBT themes in mythology Martian deities