Terminus (mythology)
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| Topics in Roman mythology | |
|---|---|
| Important Gods: | |
| Jupiter | Minerva |
| Mars | Mercury |
| Quirinus | Vulcan |
| Vesta | Ceres |
| Juno | Venus |
| Fortuna | Lares |
| Topics | |
| Legendary History | |
| Roman religion | |
| The Flamens | |
| Greek/Roman myth compared | |
| Other minor Roman deities: | |
| Penates | Larvae |
| Genius | Manes |
| Lemures | Terminus |
In Roman religion, Terminus was the god who protected boundary markers; his name was the Latin word for such a marker.[1] A festival called the Terminalia was celebrated in his honor each year on February 23. The Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on the Capitoline Hill was thought to have been built over a shrine to Terminus, and he was occasionally identified as an aspect of Jupiter under the name Jupiter Terminalis.
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[edit] Worship
The worship of Terminus centred on the boundary stone, with which the god could be identified.[2] Siculus Flaccus, a writer on land surveying, records the ritual by which the stone was sanctified: the bones, ashes and blood of a sacrificial victim, along with crops, honeycombs and wine, were placed into a hole at a point where estates converged, and the stone was driven in on top.[3] On February 23 annually, a festival called the Terminalia was celebrated in Terminus' honor, involving practices which can be regarded as a reflection or "yearly renewal" of this foundational ritual.[4] Neighboring families would garland their respective sides of the marker and make offerings to Terminus at an altar – Ovid identifies these, again, as crops, honeycombs and wine. The marker itself would be drenched in the blood of a sacrificed lamb or pig. There followed a communal feast and hymns in praise of Terminus.[2][5]
These rites were practised by private landowners, but there were also related public ceremonies. Ovid refers to the sacrifice of a sheep on the day of the Terminalia at the sixth milestone from Rome along the Via Laurentina;[2] it is likely this was thought to have marked the boundary between the early Romans and their neighbors in Laurentum.[5] Also, a stone or altar of Terminus was located in the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on Rome's Capitoline Hill. Because of a belief that this stone had to be exposed to the sky, there was a small hole in the ceiling directly above it.[2][6] On occasion Terminus' association with Jupiter extended to regarding Terminus as an aspect of that god; Dionysius of Halicarnassus refers to "Jupiter Terminalis",[7] and one inscription names a god "Juppiter Ter."[8]
[edit] History
[edit] Ancient views
Ancient authors agreed that the worship of Terminus was of Sabine origin, ascribing its introduction to Rome either to Titus Tatius, the Sabine colleague of Rome's founding king Romulus (traditional reign 753–717 BC),[9] or to Romulus' successor Numa Pompilius (717–673 BC).[7][10] Plutarch states that the original worship of Terminus did not involve blood sacrifices, in keeping with the god's character as a guarantor of peace.[10]
The stone in the Capitoline Temple was believed to have been among the altars located on the Capitoline Hill before construction of the Temple began under Tarquinius Priscus (traditional reign 616–579 BC). When the augurs took the auspices to discover whether each the god or goddess of each altar was content for it to be moved, Terminus refused permission, either alone or along with Juventas the goddess of youth. The stone was therefore included within the Capitoline Temple, and its immovability was regarded as a good omen for the permanence of the city's boundaries.[2][11]
[edit] Modern views
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[edit] Notes and references
- ^ Herbert Jennings Rose; and John Scheid (2003). "Terminus". The Oxford Classical Dictionary (3rd edition, revised): 1485–1486. Ed. Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-860641-9.
- ^ a b c d e Ovid, Fasti 2.639–684.
- ^ Siculus Flaccus, De Condicionibus Agrorum 11.
- ^ W. Warde Fowler (1899). The Roman Festivals of the Period of the Republic: An Introduction to the Study of the Religion of the Romans. London: Macmillan and Co., p. 325. Retrieved on 2007-03-24.
- ^ a b H. H. Scullard (1981). Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic. London: Thames and Hudson, pp. 79–80. ISBN 0-500-40041-5.
- ^ Samuel Ball Platner; and Thomas Ashby (1929). "Terminus, Fanum". A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome: 512. London: Oxford University Press. Retrieved on 2007-03-19.
- ^ a b Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities 2.74.2–5.
- ^ Georges Dumézil [1966] (1996). Archaic Roman Religion: Volume One, trans. Philip Krapp, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, p. 201. ISBN 0-8018-5482-2 (hbk.); ISBN 0-8018-5480-6 (pbk.).
- ^ Varro, De Lingua Latina 5.10.
- ^ a b Plutarch, Roman Questions 15; Numa 16.
- ^ Livy 1.55; Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities 3.69.3–6.
[edit] Futher reading
- Dumézil, Georges [1966] (1996). Archaic Roman Religion: Volume One, trans. Philip Krapp, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 200–203. ISBN 0-8018-5482-2 (hbk.); ISBN 0-8018-5480-6 (pbk.).
