The Tiburtine Sibyl or Albunea was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

sibyl The sibyls were prophetesses or oracles in Ancient Greece. The sibyls prophet, prophesied at holy sites. A sibyl at Delphi has been dated to as early as the eleventh century BC by Pausanias (geographer), PausaniasPausanias 10.12.1 when he desc ...

, whose seat was the ancient Etruscan town of Tibur (modern Tivoli). The mythic meeting of

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

with the Sibyl, of whom he inquired whether he should be worshiped as a god, was often depicted by artists from the

late Middle Ages The late Middle Ages or late medieval period was the Periodization, period of History of Europe, European history lasting from 1300 to 1500 AD. The late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period ( ...

onwards. In the versions known to the later Middle Ages, for example the account in the '' Golden Legend'', Augustus asked the Sibyl whether he should be worshipped as a god, as the

Roman Senate The Roman Senate () was the highest and constituting assembly of ancient Rome and its aristocracy. With different powers throughout its existence it lasted from the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in 753 BC) as the Sena ...

had ordered. She replied by showing him a vision of a young woman with a baby boy, high in the sky, while a voice from the heavens said "This is the virgin who shall conceive the saviour of the world", who would eclipse all the Roman gods. The episode was regarded as a prefiguration of the

Biblical Magi In Christianity, the Biblical Magi ( or ; singular: ), also known as the Three Wise Men, Three Kings, and Three Magi, are distinguished foreigners who visit Jesus after his birth, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh in homage to hi ...

's visit to the new-born Jesus and connected Ancient and Christian Rome, implying foreknowledge of the coming of Christ by the greatest of Roman emperors. Whether the sibyl in question was the Etruscan Sibyl of Tibur or the Greek Sibyl of

Cumae Cumae ( or or ; ) was the first ancient Greek colony of Magna Graecia on the mainland of Italy and was founded by settlers from Euboea in the 8th century BCE. It became a rich Roman city, the remains of which lie near the modern village of ...

is not always clear. The Christian author

Lactantius Lucius Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius () was an early Christian author who became an advisor to Roman emperor Constantine I, guiding his Christian religious policy in its initial stages of emergence, and a tutor to his son Crispus. His most impo ...

identified the sibyl in question as the Tiburtine sibyl. He gave a circumstantial account of the pagan sibyls that is useful mostly as a guide to their identifications, as seen by 4th-century Christians:

The prophecy of the Tiburtine Sibyl

An apocalyptic pseudo-prophecy exists among the

Sibylline Oracles The ''Sibylline Oracles'' (; sometimes called the pseudo-Sibylline Oracles) are a collection of oracular utterances written in Greek hexameters ascribed to the Sibyls, prophetesses who uttered divine revelations in a frenzied state. Fourteen b ...

, which was attributed to the Tiburtine Sibyl. Its earliest version may date from the fourth century, but in the form that it survives today it was written in the early eleventh century, and has been influenced by the Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius. Its first version in Latin dates from the tenth century and may have come from Lombardy, though it was quickly picked up (and rewritten) by the

Salian dynasty The Salian dynasty or Salic dynasty () was a dynasty in the High Middle Ages. The dynasty provided four kings of Germany (1024–1125), all of whom went on to be crowned Holy Roman emperors (1027–1125). After the death of the last Ottonia ...

and the

Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynast ...

s. It proved a useful rhetorical tool, valuable for many a ruler; the lists it contained of emperors and kings were revised to fit the circumstances, and hundreds of versions remain from the Middle Ages. Its conclusion purports to prophesy the advent in the world's ninth age of a final Emperor vanquishing the foes of Christianity (heavily dependent on the Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius): This Emperor's reign is characterized by great wealth, victory over the foes of Christianity, an end of paganism and the conversion of the Jews. The Emperor having vanquished Gog and Magog, In doing so, he will give way to the

Antichrist In Christian eschatology, Antichrist (or in broader eschatology, Anti-Messiah) refers to a kind of entity prophesied by the Bible to oppose Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ and falsely substitute themselves as a savior in Christ's place before ...

: The prophecy relates that Antichrist would be opposed by the Two Witnesses from the

Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation, also known as the Book of the Apocalypse or the Apocalypse of John, is the final book of the New Testament, and therefore the final book of the Bible#Christian Bible, Christian Bible. Written in Greek language, Greek, ...

, identified with

Elijah Elijah ( ) or Elias was a prophet and miracle worker who lived in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of King Ahab (9th century BC), according to the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible. In 1 Kings 18, Elijah defended the worsh ...

and

Enoch Enoch ( ; ''Henṓkh'') is a biblical figure and Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch prior to Noah's flood, and the son of Jared (biblical figure), Jared and father of Methuselah. He was of the Antediluvian period in the Hebrew Bible. The text of t ...

; after having killed the witnesses and started a final persecution of the Christians,

Frescoes at the Villa d'Este

Ippolito II d'Este Ippolito (II) d'Este (25 August 1509 – 2 December 1572) was an Italian cardinal (Catholic), cardinal and statesman. He was a member of the House of Este, and nephew of the other Ippolito d'Este, also a cardinal. He despoiled the then 1,400-year ...

rebuilt the Villa d'Este at Tibur, the modern Tivoli, from 1550 onward, and commissioned elaborate fresco murals in the Villa that celebrate the Tiburtine Sibyl, as prophesying the birth of Christ to the classical world.

Gallery

Image:Sibilla Tiburtina Chiesa S Giovanni Evangelista Tivoli.jpg, Fresco in the Church of St. John the Evangelist at Tivoli, 1483 File:Antonio da Trento - The Tiburtine sibyl and the Emperor Augustus.jpg, ''The Tiburtine sibyl and the Emperor Augustus'', a 16th-century chiaroscuro woodcut by Antonio da Trento File:Scorel Emperor Augustus and the Sibyl of Tibur.jpg, ''Emperor Augustus and the Sibyl of Tibur'', 1520s painting by circle of Jan van Scorel,

National Museum A national museum can be a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In the United States, most nati ...

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

File:TiburtineSibylMontfoort.jpg, Engraving of the Tiburtine Sibyl by Philip Galle, after a design by Antony van Blokland, Antwerp, 1575. File:Antoine Caron - Augustus and the Sibyl - WGA4276.jpg, ''Augustus and the Sibyl'', by Antoine Caron,

Louvre Museum The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

File:Sibilla Tiburtina Cappella Marciac Roma curavit Roberto Borgia 2011.jpg, ''The Tiburtine Sibyl'', Chapel Marciac, Church of Santissima Trinità dei Monti, Rome, sixteenth century. The work is of an anonymous artist. File:Santa Maria degli Scalzi (Venice) - Tiburtine Sibyl.jpg, Statue of the Tiburtine Sibyl in Church of the Scalzi File:Micah and the Tiburtine Sibyl.jpg, ''Micah and the Tiburtine Sibyl'' by

Pinturicchio Pinturicchio, or Pintoricchio (, ; born Bernardino di Betto; 1454–1513), also known as Benetto di Biagio or Sordicchio, was an Italian Renaissance painter. He acquired his nickname (meaning "little painter") because of his small stature a ...

File:Wolfgang Katzheimer - Kaiser Augustus und die tiburtinische Sibylle - L 2561 - Bavarian State Painting Collections.jpg, ''Augustus and the Tiburtine Sibyl'' by Wolfgang Katzheimer

Notes

References

*Hall, James, ''Hall's Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art'', 1996 (2nd edn.), John Murray, *Murray, Peter and Linda, revised Tom Devonshire Jones, ''The Oxford Dictionary of Christian Art & Architecture'', 2014, Oxford University Press, , 0199695105 *Reyniers, Jeroen, 'The Iconography of Emperor Augustus with the Tiburtine Sibyl in the Low Countries. An Overview', in: M. Cavalieri, D. Engels, P. Assenmaker, M. Cavagna (ed.), Augustus Through the Ages: Receptions, Readings and Appropriations of the Historical Figure of the First Roman Emperor, Collection Latomus, Brussels, 2021. *Fischer, Jens, 'Folia ventis turbata – Sibyllinische Orakel und der Gott Apollon zwischen später Republik und augusteischem Principat (Studien zur Alten Geschichte 33)', Göttingen 2022

External links