Flamen Quirinalis
Encyclopedia
In ancient Roman religion
, the Flamen Quirinalis was the flamen
devoted to the cult of god Quirinus
. He was one of the three flamines majores, third in order of importance after the Flamen Dialis
and the Flamen Martialis
.
The theology of Quirinus is complex and difficult to interpret, mainly because since very early times he was identified
with the deified Romulus
. The figure of Romulus originally seems to have shared some common theological and mythological elements with Quirinus — in the interpretation of Dumézil this has to do with the Indo-European myth of the divine twins
— but Romulus's connections to kingship and war are not necessarily part of the original conception of Quirinus.
Aestiva on August 21, Robigalia
on April 25, and Larentalia
on December 23.
These festivals were all devoted to the cult of deities of remarkable antiquity: Consus
was the god of the stored grains (from condere, to store grains in an underground barn or silos). Robigus was an evil spirit that could cause mildew and thus damage growing wheat. Larenta was a figure connected to the primordial legendary times of Rome or to the founding of the city itself.
During the Consualia Aestiva the flamen Quirinalis and the Vestals offered a sacrifice at Consus's underground altar in the Circus Maximus
. Four days later the Vestals took part in the rites of the festival of Ops
, goddess of agricultural plenty, the Opiconsivia
. This occasion was related to Consus too and was performed in the Regia
of the forum, where Ops had a very sacred chapel, open only to the pontifex maximus
and the Vestals.
The Robigalia of April 25 required the sacrificial offering of blood and entrails from a puppy, and perhaps also the entrails of a sheep. The rite took place near the fifth milestone of the Via Claudia. Ovid talks of a lucus (grove) on the site and reports a long prayer he says was pronounced by the flamen Quirinalis. While the prayer may contain elements from an actual formulation, the text is Ovid's poetic recreation.
The Larentalia of December 23 were a parentatio, an act of funerary cult
in memory of Larunda
or Larentia
. A sacrifice was offered at the site of her supposed tomb on the Velabrum
. She was not a goddess but a sort of heroine, with two conflicting legends: in the first (and probably elder one) Larentia
is a courtesan
who had become fabulously rich after spending a night in the sanctuary of Heracles. Later she had bestowed her fortune on the Roman people on the condition that a rite named after her were held yearly. In the second she is Romulus and Remus's wet nurse
, also considered the mother of the Fratres Arvales. Gellius in a detailed passage on Larentia makes a specific reference to the flamen Quirinalis. Macrobius makes reference to the presence of an unnamed flamen, "per flaminem". This flamen could neither be the Dialis nor the Martialis, let alone the minores, given the nature of parentatio (funeral rite) of the festival.
Beside these festivals that of Quirinus himself, the Quirinalia, would logically and probably require the participation of the flamen Quirinalis. The Quirinalia were held on February 17 and must be among the oldest Roman yearly festivals.
and of Ovid, where the story of Romulus's apotheosis is related, and accordingly interpret the festival as a funerary parentatio.
Dumezil on the other hand remarks that in all other sources the date of this event is July 7 (Nonae Caprotinae). Neither there is any record of such a ritual in ancient sources.
He puts forward another interpretation based on the fact that the only religious ritual recorded for that day are the stultorum feriae, i.e. the last day of the Fornacalia
. This festival used to be celebrated separately by each of the thirty curiae. Therefore the Fornacalia had no fixed date and were not mentioned on calendars. Every year the curio maximus
established the days for each curia
. However those who had missed their day (stulti) were allowed an extra off day to make amend collectively. Festus and Plutarch state that the stultorum feriae were in fact the Quirinalia.
Their assertion seems acceptable to Dumezil for two reasons:
1) if it were not so then no Roman writer gave any indication of their content. This is highly unlikely for in Rome religious rituals often survived their theological justification.
2) the stultorum feriae bring to an end the organised operation of the curiae in the Fornacalia and this is a guarantee of antiquity.
The connection hypothesised by Dumezil between the flamen Quirinalis and an activity regulated through the curiae is important as it supports the interpretation of Quirinus as a god of the Roman civil society. The curiae were in fact the original smallest grouping of Roman society.
The most probable etymology of curia is considered by many scholars, to be rooted in *co-viria and that of quirites in *co-virites.
The Virites were goddesses worshipped together with Quirinus: Gellius, writes to have read in the pontificales libri, that dea Hora and Virites were invoked in prayers in association with the god. The Virites, Quirinus's female paredrae, must be the expression of the god's virtus, namely the personification of the individuals composing Roman society as citizens, in the same way as e.g. Nerio
, Mars's paredra, must be the personification of military prowess.
Hence Quirinus would be the Roman homologous of the correspondent last component god of the supreme divine triad among all Italic peoples, such as the Vofionus of the Iguvine Tables
, whose name too has been interpreted as a term meaning the increaser of the people (from Loifer, or from Luther, from Greek Eleutheros) or simply the people related to German Leute. This hypothesis is confirmed by the fact that the two first god names at Iguvium are identical to their Roman counterpart (Jov- and Mart-) and grammatically were nouns, whereas name Vofiono- is an adjectival derivation in no- of a noun root, just as *Co-virino. Moreover philologists Vittor Pisani and Emile Benveniste have proposed a likely etymology for Vofiono- that makes it the equivalent in meaning of *Co-virino: Leudhyo-no. Phonetic correspondences l, eu, dh > u, o, f are perferctly regular for Umbrian (compare German Leute).
, as is testified by the role of his flamen in the Consualia, to the aim of assuring the nurture of the Roman people.
There is also a connection between the function of the flamen Quirinalis in the Quirinalia and the functioning of organized Roman society as expressed through the role played by the curiae in the Fornacalia. The curiae were in fact the smallest cell of ancient Roman society. The role of the flamen Quirinalis in the Larentalia is also significant. In the two legends concerning Larentia she is a figure related to nurture, agricultural plenty, and wealth. She rears the divine twins, is the mother of the Fratres Arvales, performers of the agricoltural propitiary rite of the Ambarvalia
, and bestows wealth on her heirs and figurative children. Her story hints to the link of sexual pleasure and wealth.
According to Dumezil the theological character of the god as reflected in the functions of his flamen is thence civil and social, being related to nurture, fertility, plenty, wealth, and pleasure. This features make him the chief of all the gods of what he defines as the third function
in Indo-European religions.
Religion in ancient Rome
Religion in ancient Rome encompassed the religious beliefs and cult practices regarded by the Romans as indigenous and central to their identity as a people, as well as the various and many cults imported from other peoples brought under Roman rule. Romans thus offered cult to innumerable deities...
, the Flamen Quirinalis was the flamen
Flamen
In ancient Roman religion, a flamen was a priest assigned to one of fifteen deities with official cults during the Roman Republic. The most important three were the flamines maiores , who served the three chief Roman gods of the Archaic Triad. The remaining twelve were the flamines minores...
devoted to the cult of god Quirinus
Quirinus
In Roman mythology, Quirinus was an early god of the Roman state. In Augustan Rome, Quirinus was also an epithet of Janus, as Janus Quirinus. His name is derived from Quiris meaning "spear."-History:...
. He was one of the three flamines majores, third in order of importance after the Flamen Dialis
Flamen Dialis
In ancient Roman religion, the Flamen Dialis was the high priest of Jupiter. There were 15 flamines, of which three were flamines maiores, serving the three gods of the Archaic Triad...
and the Flamen Martialis
Flamen Martialis
In ancient Roman religion, the Flamen Martialis was the high priest of the official state cult of Mars, the god of war. He was one of the flamines maiores, the three high priests who were the most important of the fifteen...
.
The theology of Quirinus is complex and difficult to interpret, mainly because since very early times he was identified
Syncretism
Syncretism is the combining of different beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought. The term means "combining", but see below for the origin of the word...
with the deified Romulus
Romulus
- People:* Romulus and Remus, the mythical founders of Rome* Romulus Augustulus, the last Western Roman Emperor* Valerius Romulus , deified son of the Roman emperor Maxentius* Romulus , son of the Western Roman emperor Anthemius...
. The figure of Romulus originally seems to have shared some common theological and mythological elements with Quirinus — in the interpretation of Dumézil this has to do with the Indo-European myth of the divine twins
Divine twins
The Divine twins are a mytheme of Proto-Indo-European mythology.*the Greek Dioscuri*the Vedic Ashvins*the Lithuanian Ašvieniai*the Latvian Dieva dēli*Alcis *Romulus and Remus*Hengest and Horsa...
— but Romulus's connections to kingship and war are not necessarily part of the original conception of Quirinus.
Ritual functions
The flamen Quirinalis presided at least three festivals, the ConsualiaConsualia
The Consuales Ludi or Consualia is a festival instituted by Romulus, which honors Consus, the god of counsel, and the one who protects the harvest which is in storage at the time of the festival, which took place about the middle of Sextilis . According to Livy the festival honors Neptune...
Aestiva on August 21, Robigalia
Robigalia
In ancient Roman religion, the Robigalia was a festival held April 25. Its main ritual was a dog sacrifice to protect grain fields from disease. Games in the form of "major and minor" races were held...
on April 25, and Larentalia
Larentalia
The Roman festival of Larentalia was held on December 23, but was ordered to be observed twice a year by Augustus; by some supposed to be in honour of the Lares, a kind of domestic genii, or divinities, worshipped in houses, and esteemed the guardians and protectors of families, supposed to reside...
on December 23.
These festivals were all devoted to the cult of deities of remarkable antiquity: Consus
Consus
In ancient Roman religion, the god Consus was the protector of grains and storage bins , and as such was represented by a grain seed....
was the god of the stored grains (from condere, to store grains in an underground barn or silos). Robigus was an evil spirit that could cause mildew and thus damage growing wheat. Larenta was a figure connected to the primordial legendary times of Rome or to the founding of the city itself.
During the Consualia Aestiva the flamen Quirinalis and the Vestals offered a sacrifice at Consus's underground altar in the Circus Maximus
Circus Maximus
The Circus Maximus is an ancient Roman chariot racing stadium and mass entertainment venue located in Rome, Italy. Situated in the valley between the Aventine and Palatine hills, it was the first and largest stadium in ancient Rome and its later Empire...
. Four days later the Vestals took part in the rites of the festival of Ops
Ops
In ancient Roman religion, Ops or Opis, was a fertility deity and earth-goddess of Sabine origin.-Mythology:Her husband was Saturn, the bountiful monarch of the Golden Age. Just as Saturn was identified with the Greek deity Cronus, Opis was identified with Rhea, Cronus' wife...
, goddess of agricultural plenty, the Opiconsivia
Opiconsivia
On August 25, the Opiconsivia Roman festival was held in honor of Ops, usually known as Opis, and sometimes as Opus....
. This occasion was related to Consus too and was performed in the Regia
Regia
The Regia was a structure in Ancient Rome, located in the Roman Forum. It was originally the residence of the kings of Rome or at least their main headquarters, and later the office of the Pontifex Maximus, the high priest of Roman religion. It occupied a triangular patch of terrain between the...
of the forum, where Ops had a very sacred chapel, open only to the pontifex maximus
Pontifex Maximus
The Pontifex Maximus was the high priest of the College of Pontiffs in ancient Rome. This was the most important position in the ancient Roman religion, open only to patricians until 254 BC, when a plebeian first occupied this post...
and the Vestals.
The Robigalia of April 25 required the sacrificial offering of blood and entrails from a puppy, and perhaps also the entrails of a sheep. The rite took place near the fifth milestone of the Via Claudia. Ovid talks of a lucus (grove) on the site and reports a long prayer he says was pronounced by the flamen Quirinalis. While the prayer may contain elements from an actual formulation, the text is Ovid's poetic recreation.
The Larentalia of December 23 were a parentatio, an act of funerary cult
Funerary cult
In the anthropology of religion, a funerary cult is a body of religious teaching and practice centered around the dead, in which the living are thought to be able to confer benefits on the dead in the afterlife or to appease their otherwise wrathful ghosts...
in memory of Larunda
Larunda
Larunda was a naiad or nymph, daughter of the river Almo in Ovid's Fasti. She was famous for both beauty and loquacity . She was incapable of keeping secrets, and so revealed to Jupiter's wife Juno his affair with Juturna...
or Larentia
Acca Larentia
Acca Larentia or Acca Larentina was a mythical woman, later goddess, in Roman mythology whose festival, the Larentalia, was celebrated on December 23.-Foster mother:...
. A sacrifice was offered at the site of her supposed tomb on the Velabrum
Velabrum
The Velabrum is the low valley in the city of Rome that connects the Forum with the Forum Boarium, and the Capitoline Hill with the western slope of the Palatine Hill. Before the construction of the Cloaca Maxima, which probably follows the course of an ancient stream, the area was a swamp...
. She was not a goddess but a sort of heroine, with two conflicting legends: in the first (and probably elder one) Larentia
Acca Larentia
Acca Larentia or Acca Larentina was a mythical woman, later goddess, in Roman mythology whose festival, the Larentalia, was celebrated on December 23.-Foster mother:...
is a courtesan
Courtesan
A courtesan was originally a female courtier, which means a person who attends the court of a monarch or other powerful person.In feudal society, the court was the centre of government as well as the residence of the monarch, and social and political life were often completely mixed together...
who had become fabulously rich after spending a night in the sanctuary of Heracles. Later she had bestowed her fortune on the Roman people on the condition that a rite named after her were held yearly. In the second she is Romulus and Remus's wet nurse
Wet nurse
A wet nurse is a woman who is used to breast feed and care for another's child. Wet nurses are used when the mother is unable or chooses not to nurse the child herself. Wet-nursed children may be known as "milk-siblings", and in some cultures the families are linked by a special relationship of...
, also considered the mother of the Fratres Arvales. Gellius in a detailed passage on Larentia makes a specific reference to the flamen Quirinalis. Macrobius makes reference to the presence of an unnamed flamen, "per flaminem". This flamen could neither be the Dialis nor the Martialis, let alone the minores, given the nature of parentatio (funeral rite) of the festival.
Beside these festivals that of Quirinus himself, the Quirinalia, would logically and probably require the participation of the flamen Quirinalis. The Quirinalia were held on February 17 and must be among the oldest Roman yearly festivals.
Interpretations of the Quirinalia
Some scholars connect the Quirinalia festival with the anniversary date of the murder of Romulus by his subjects on the basis of the calendar of Polemius SilviusPolemius Silvius
Polemius Silvius was the author of an annotated Julian calendar that attempted to integrate the traditional Roman festival cycle with the new Christian holy days. His calendar, also referred to as a laterculus or fasti, dates to around 448–449...
and of Ovid, where the story of Romulus's apotheosis is related, and accordingly interpret the festival as a funerary parentatio.
Dumezil on the other hand remarks that in all other sources the date of this event is July 7 (Nonae Caprotinae). Neither there is any record of such a ritual in ancient sources.
He puts forward another interpretation based on the fact that the only religious ritual recorded for that day are the stultorum feriae, i.e. the last day of the Fornacalia
Fornacalia
The Fornacalia was an ancient Roman festival in honour of the goddess Fornax in order that the grain might be properly baked¹. The festival is said to have been instituted by Numa Pompilius²...
. This festival used to be celebrated separately by each of the thirty curiae. Therefore the Fornacalia had no fixed date and were not mentioned on calendars. Every year the curio maximus
Curio maximus
The curio maximus was an obscure priesthood in ancient Rome that had oversight of the curiae, groups of citizens loosely affiliated within what was originally a tribe. Each curia was led by a curio, who was admitted only after the age of 50 and held his office for life...
established the days for each curia
Curia
A curia in early Roman times was a subdivision of the people, i.e. more or less a tribe, and with a metonymy it came to mean also the meeting place where the tribe discussed its affairs...
. However those who had missed their day (stulti) were allowed an extra off day to make amend collectively. Festus and Plutarch state that the stultorum feriae were in fact the Quirinalia.
Their assertion seems acceptable to Dumezil for two reasons:
1) if it were not so then no Roman writer gave any indication of their content. This is highly unlikely for in Rome religious rituals often survived their theological justification.
2) the stultorum feriae bring to an end the organised operation of the curiae in the Fornacalia and this is a guarantee of antiquity.
The connection hypothesised by Dumezil between the flamen Quirinalis and an activity regulated through the curiae is important as it supports the interpretation of Quirinus as a god of the Roman civil society. The curiae were in fact the original smallest grouping of Roman society.
The most probable etymology of curia is considered by many scholars, to be rooted in *co-viria and that of quirites in *co-virites.
The Virites were goddesses worshipped together with Quirinus: Gellius, writes to have read in the pontificales libri, that dea Hora and Virites were invoked in prayers in association with the god. The Virites, Quirinus's female paredrae, must be the expression of the god's virtus, namely the personification of the individuals composing Roman society as citizens, in the same way as e.g. Nerio
Nerio
In ancient Roman religion and myth, Nerio was an ancient war goddess and the personification of valor. She was the partner of Mars in ancient cult practices, and was sometimes identified with the goddess Bellona, and occasionally with the goddess Minerva. Spoils taken from enemies were sometimes...
, Mars's paredra, must be the personification of military prowess.
Hence Quirinus would be the Roman homologous of the correspondent last component god of the supreme divine triad among all Italic peoples, such as the Vofionus of the Iguvine Tables
Iguvine Tables
The Iguvine Tablets are a series of seven bronze tablets discovered at Iguvium , Italy, in the year 1444. They are also known as Eugubian tablets...
, whose name too has been interpreted as a term meaning the increaser of the people (from Loifer, or from Luther, from Greek Eleutheros) or simply the people related to German Leute. This hypothesis is confirmed by the fact that the two first god names at Iguvium are identical to their Roman counterpart (Jov- and Mart-) and grammatically were nouns, whereas name Vofiono- is an adjectival derivation in no- of a noun root, just as *Co-virino. Moreover philologists Vittor Pisani and Emile Benveniste have proposed a likely etymology for Vofiono- that makes it the equivalent in meaning of *Co-virino: Leudhyo-no. Phonetic correspondences l, eu, dh > u, o, f are perferctly regular for Umbrian (compare German Leute).
Relation to Dumezil's Trifunctional Hypothesis
The Consualia, Robigalia, Larentalia, and the last act of Fornacalia (the Quirinalia) are the religious rituals performed by flamen Quirinalis. If Romans' traditions were conserved, rather than re-adapted, these rituals should reflect the most ancient and original nature of god Quirinus. The festivals connect him to wheat at the three important and potentially risky stages of its growth, storing, and preservation. Quirinus is thus concerned with a staple food. He cooperates with god ConsusConsus
In ancient Roman religion, the god Consus was the protector of grains and storage bins , and as such was represented by a grain seed....
, as is testified by the role of his flamen in the Consualia, to the aim of assuring the nurture of the Roman people.
There is also a connection between the function of the flamen Quirinalis in the Quirinalia and the functioning of organized Roman society as expressed through the role played by the curiae in the Fornacalia. The curiae were in fact the smallest cell of ancient Roman society. The role of the flamen Quirinalis in the Larentalia is also significant. In the two legends concerning Larentia she is a figure related to nurture, agricultural plenty, and wealth. She rears the divine twins, is the mother of the Fratres Arvales, performers of the agricoltural propitiary rite of the Ambarvalia
Ambarvalia
Ambarvalia was a Roman agricultural fertility riteheld at the end of May in honor of Ceres.At these festivals they sacrificed a bull, a sow, and a sheep, which, before the sacrifice, were led in procession thrice around the fields; whence the feast is supposed to have taken its name, ambio, I go...
, and bestows wealth on her heirs and figurative children. Her story hints to the link of sexual pleasure and wealth.
According to Dumezil the theological character of the god as reflected in the functions of his flamen is thence civil and social, being related to nurture, fertility, plenty, wealth, and pleasure. This features make him the chief of all the gods of what he defines as the third function
Trifunctional hypothesis
The trifunctional hypothesis of prehistoric Proto-Indo-European society postulates a tripartite ideology reflected in the existence of three classes or castes—priests, warriors, and commoners —corresponding to the three functions of the sacral, the martial and the economic, respectively...
in Indo-European religions.