Aurelian receiving globe from Jupiter Ancient Roman Coin Jupiter Cult i41184

Item: i41184

Authentic Ancient

Coin of:

Aurelian
 –
Roman Emperor
: 270-275 A.D.

Bronze Antoninianus 22mm (3.58 grams) Siscia mint: 272-274 A.D.
Reference: RIC 225f, C 108
IMPAVRELIANVSAVG – Radiate, cuirassed bust right.
IOVICONSER Exe: *Q – Aurelian standing right on left, holding scepter, receiving

globe from Jupiter to right, holding scepter.

Royal/Imperial symbols of power

Ruling dynasties often exploit pomp and ceremony with the use of
regalia
:
crowns
,

robes,
orb (globe) and sceptres
, some of which are
reflections of formerly practical objects. The use of language mechanisms also
support this differentiation with subjects talking of “the crown” and/or of “the
throne
” rather than referring directly to
personal names and items.

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Authenticity.

In
ancient Roman religion
and
myth
, Jupiter (Latin:
Iuppiter) or Jove is the
king of the gods
and the
god of sky
and
thunder
. Jupiter was the chief deity of Roman
state religion throughout the
Republican
and
Imperial
eras, until the Empire
came under Christian rule
. In
Roman mythology
, he negotiates with
Numa Pompilius
, the second
king of Rome
, to establish principles of Roman
religion such as sacrifice.

Jupiter is usually thought to have originated as a sky god. His identifying
implement is the
thunderbolt
, and his primary sacred animal is
the eagle,^[1]
which held precedence over other birds in the taking of
auspices
^[2]
and became one of the most common symbols of the
Roman army
(see
Aquila
). The two emblems were often combined to
represent the god in the form of an eagle holding in its claws a thunderbolt,
frequently seen on Greek and Roman coins.^[3]
As the sky-god, he was a divine witness to oaths, the sacred trust on which
justice and good government depend. Many of his functions were focused on the
Capitoline
(“Capitol Hill”), where the
citadel
was located. He was the chief deity of
the
early Capitoline Triad
with
Mars
and
Quirinus
.^[4]
In the
later Capitoline Triad
, he was the central
guardian of the state with
Juno
and
Minerva
. His sacred tree was the oak.

The Romans regarded Jupiter as the
equivalent
of Greek

Zeus, and in
Latin literature
and
Roman art
, the myths and iconography of Zeus
are adapted under the name Iuppiter. In the Greek-influenced tradition,
Jupiter was the brother of
Neptune
and
Pluto
. Each presided over one of the three
realms of the universe: sky, the waters, and the underworld. The
Italic
Diespiter was also a sky god who
manifested himself in the daylight, usually but not always identified with
Jupiter.^[5]
The
Etruscan
counterpart was
Tinia
and
Hindu
counterpart is
Indra
.

Relation to other gods

Archaic Triad

The Archaic Triad is a theological structure (or system) consisting of the
gods Jupiter, Mars and Quirinus. It was first described by Wissowa,^[166]
and the concept was developed further by Dumézil. The three-function hypothesis
of
Indo-European society
advanced by Dumézil holds
that in prehistory, society was divided into three classes (priests, warriors
and craftsmen) which had as their religious counterparts the divine figures of
the sovereign god, the warrior god and the civil god. The sovereign function
(embodied by Jupiter) entailed omnipotence; thence, a domain extended over every
aspect of nature and life. The colour relating to the sovereign function is
white.

The three functions are interrelated with one another, overlapping to some
extent; the sovereign function, although essentially religious in nature, is
involved in many ways in areas pertaining to the other two. Therefore, Jupiter
is the “magic player” in the founding of the Roman state and the fields of war,
agricultural plenty, human fertility and welth.^[167]

Capitoline Triad

Capitoline Triad

The Capitoline Triad was introduced to Rome by the Tarquins. Dumézil^[168]
thinks it might have been an Etruscan (or local) creation based on Vitruvius’
treatise on architecture, in which the three deities are associated as the most
important. It is possible that the Etruscans paid particular attention to
Menrva
(Minerva) as a goddess of destiny, in
addition to the royal couple Uni (Juno) and Tinia (Jupiter).^[169]
In Rome, Minerva later assumed a military aspect under the influence of
Athena Pallas
(Polias). Dumézil argues that
with the advent of the Republic, Jupiter became the only king of Rome, no longer
merely the first of the great gods.

Jupiter and Minerva

Apart from being protectress of the arts and craft as Minerva Capta, who was
brought from Falerii, Minerva’s association to Jupiter and relevance to Roman
state religion is mainly linked to the
Palladium
, a wooden statue of Athena that could
move the eyes and wave the spear. It was stored in the penus interior,
inner penus of the aedes Vestae, temple of Vesta and considered the most
important among the
pignora imperii
, pawns of dominion, empire.^[170]
In Roman traditional lore it was brought from Troy by Aeneas. Scholars though
think it was last taken to Rome in the third or second century BC.^[171]

Juno and Fortuna

The divine couple received from Greece its matrimonial implications, thence
bestowing on Juno the role of tutelary goddess of marriage (Iuno Pronuba).

The couple itself though cannot be reduced to a Greek apport. The association
of Juno and Jupiter is of the most ancient Latin theology.^[172]
Praeneste
offers a glimpse into original Latin
mythology: the local goddess
Fortuna
is represented as milking two infants,
one male and one female, namely Jove (Jupiter) and Juno.^[173]
It seems fairly safe to assume that from the earliest times they were identified
by their own proper names and since they got them they were never changed
through the course of history: they were called Jupiter and Juno. These gods
were the most ancient deities of every Latin town. Praeneste preserved divine
filiation and infancy as the sovereign god and his paredra Juno have a mother
who is the primordial goddess Fortuna Primigenia.^[174]
Many terracotta statuettes have been discovered which represent a woman with a
child: one of them represents exactly the scene described by Cicero of a woman
with two children of different sex who touch her breast. Two of the votive
inscriptions to Fortuna associate her and Jupiter: ” Fortunae Iovi puero…” and
“Fortunae Iovis puero…”^[175]

In 1882 though R. Mowat published an inscription in which Fortuna is called
daughter of Jupiter, raising new questions and opening new perspectives
in the theology of Latin gods.^[176]
Dumezil has elaborated an interpretative theory according to which this
aporia would be an intrinsic, fundamental feature of Indoeuropean deities of
the primordial and sovereign level, as it finds a parallel in Vedic religion.^[177]
The contradiction would put Fortuna both at the origin of time and into its
ensuing diachronic process: it is the comparison offered by Vedic deity
Aditi
, the Not-Bound or Enemy of
Bondage, that shows that there is no question of choosing one of the two
apparent options: as the mother of the
Aditya
she has the same type of relationship
with one of his sons,
Dakṣa
, the minor sovereign. who represents the
Creative Energy, being at the same time his mother and daughter, as is
true for the whole group of sovereign gods to which she belongs.^[178]
Moreover Aditi is thus one of the heirs (along with
Savitr
) of the opening god of the Indoiranians,
as she is represented with her head on her two sides, with the two faces looking
opposite directions.^[179]
The mother of the sovereign gods has thence two solidal but distinct modalities
of duplicity, i.e. of having two foreheads and a double position in the
genealogy. Angelo Brelich has interpreted this theology as the basic opposition
between the primordial absence of order (chaos) and the organisation of the
cosmos.^[180]

Janus

The relation of Jupiter to Janus is problematic. Varro defines Jupiter as the
god who has potestas (power) over the forces by which anything happens in
the world. Janus, however, has the privilege of being invoked first in rites,
since in his power are the beginnings of things (prima), the appearance
of Jupiter included.^[181]

Saturn

The
Latins
considered Saturn the predecessor of
Jupiter. Saturn reigned in
Latium
during a mythical
Golden Age
reenacted every year at the festival
of Saturnalia
. Saturn also retained primacy in
matters of agriculture and money. Unlike the Greek tradition of
Cronus
and Zeus, the usurpation of Saturn as
king of the gods by Jupiter was not viewed by the Latins as violent or hostile;
Saturn continued to be revered in his temple at the foot of the Capitol Hill,
which maintained the alternative name Saturnius into the time of Varro.^[182]
A. Pasqualini has argued that Saturn was related to Iuppiter Latiaris,
the old Jupiter of the Latins, as the original figure of this Jupiter was
superseded on the Alban Mount, whereas it preserved its gruesome character in
the ceremony held at the sanctuary of the Latiar Hill in Rome which involved a
human sacrifice and the aspersion of the statue of the god with the blood of the
victim.^[183]

Fides

The abstract
personification
Fides (“Faith, Trust”) was one
of the oldest gods associated with Jupiter. As guarantor of public faith, Fides
had her temple on the Capitol (near that of Capitoline Jupiter).^[184]

Dius Fidius

Dius Fidius is considered a
theonym
for Jupiter,^[185]
and sometimes a separate entity also known in Rome as
Semo Sancus
Dius Fidius. Wissowa argued that
while Jupiter is the god of the Fides Publica Populi Romani as
Iuppiter Lapis (by whom important oaths are sworn), Dius Fidius is a deity
established for everyday use and was charged with the protection of good faith
in private affairs. Dius Fidius would thus correspond to Zeus Pistios.^[186]
The association with Jupiter may be a matter of divine relation; some scholars
see him as a form of Hercules.^[187]
Both Jupiter and Dius Fidius were wardens of oaths and wielders of lightning
bolts; both required an opening in the roof of their temples.^[188]

The functionality of Sancus occurs consistently within the sphere of fides,
oaths and respect for contracts and of the divine-sanction guarantee against
their breach. Wissowa suggested that Semo Sancus is the
genius
of Jupiter,^[189]
but the concept of a deity’s genius is a development of the Imperial
period.^[190]

Some aspects of the oath-ritual for Dius Fidius (such as proceedings under
the open sky or in the compluvium of private residences), and the fact
the temple of Sancus had no roof, suggest that the oath sworn by Dius Fidius
predated that for Iuppiter Lapis or Iuppiter Feretrius.^[191]

Genius

Augustine quotes Varro who explains the genius as “the god who is in
charge and has the power to generate everything” and “the rational spirit of all
(therefore, everyone has their own)”. Augustine concludes that Jupiter should be
considered the genius of the universe.^[192]

G. Wissowa advanced the hypothesis that Semo
Sancus
is the genius of Jupiter.^[189]
W. W. Fowler has cautioned that this interpretation looks to be an anachronism
and it would only be acceptable to say that Sancus is a Genius Iovius, as
it appears from the Iguvine Tables.^[193]

Censorinus cites
Granius Flaccus
as saying that “the Genius was
the same entity as the Lar” in his lost work De Indigitamentis.^[194][195]
Dumézil opines that the attribution of a Genius to the gods should be earlier
than its first attestation of 58 BC, in an inscription which mentions the
Iovis Genius.^[196]

A connection between Genius and Jupiter would be apparent in
Plautus
‘ comedy
Amphitryon
, in which Jupiter takes up the
looks of Alcmena
‘s husband in order to seduce her: J.
Hubeaux sees there a reflection of the story that
Scipio Africanus
‘ mother conceived him with a
snake that was in fact Jupiter transformed.^[197]
Scipio himself claimed that only he would rise to the mansion of the gods
through the widest gate.^[198]

It is noteworthy that among the Etruscan Penates there is a Genius
Iovialis who comes after Fortuna and Ceres and before Pales .^[199]
Genius Iovialis is one of the earthly Penates and not one of the Penates
of Jupiter though, as these were located in region I of Martianus Capella’ s
division of Heaven, while Genius appear in regions V and VI along with Ceres,
Favor (possibly a Roman approximation to an Etruscan male manifestation of
Fortuna) and Pales.^[200]

Summanus

The god of nighttime lightning has been interpreted as an aspect of Jupiter,
either a chthonic
manifestation of the god or a separate
god of the underworld. A statue of Summanus stood on the roof of the Temple of
Capitoline Jupiter, and Iuppiter Summanus is one of the epithets of
Jupiter.^[201]
Dumézil sees the opposition Dius Fidius versus Summanus as complementary,
interpreting it as typical to the inherent ambiguity of the sovereign god
exemplified by that of Mitra and Varuna in Vedic religion.^[202]
The complementarity of the epithets is shown in inscriptions found on puteals
or bidentals reciting either fulgur Dium conditum^[203]
or fulgur Summanum conditum in places struck by daytime versus nighttime
lightningbolts respectively.^[204]
This is also consistent with the etymology of Summanus, deriving from
sub and mane (the time before morning).^[205]

Liber

Iuppiter was associated with
Liber
through his epithet of Liber
(association not yet been fully explained by scholars, due to the scarcity of
early documentation). In the past, it was maintained that Liber was only a
progressively-detached
hypostasis
of Jupiter; consequently, the
vintage festivals were to be attributed only to Iuppiter Liber.^[206]
Such a hypothesis was rejected as groundless by Wissowa, although he was a
supporter of Liber’s Jovian origin.^[207]
Olivier de Cazanove^[208]
contends that it is difficult to admit that Liber (who is present in the oldest
calendars—those of Numa—in the Liberalia and in the month of Liber
at Lavinium)^[209]
was derived from another deity. Such a derivation would find support only in
epigraphic documents, primarily from the Osco-Sabellic area.^[210]
Wissowa sets the position of Iuppiter Liber within the framework of an
agrarian Jupiter. The god also had a temple in this name on the Aventine in
Rome, which was restored by Augustus and dedicated on September 1. Here, the god
was sometimes named Liber^[211]
and sometimes Libertas.^[212]
Wissowa opines that the relationship existed in the concept of creative
abundance through which the supposedly-separate Liber might have been connected^[213]
to the Greek god
Dionysos
, although both deities might not have
been originally related to
viticulture
.

Other scholars assert that there was no Liber (other than a god of wine)
within historical memory.^[214]
O. de Cazanove^[215]
argues that the domain of the sovereign god Jupiter was that of sacred,
sacrificial wine (vinum inferium),^[216]
while that of Liber and Libera was confined to secular wine (vinum spurcum);^[217]
these two types were obtained through differing fermentation processes. The
offer of wine to Liber was made possible by naming the mustum (grape
juice) stored in amphoras
sacrima.^[218]
Sacred wine was obtained by the natural fermentation of juice of grapes free
from flaws of any type, religious (e. g. those struck by lightning, brought into
contact with corpses or wounded people or coming from an unfertilised grapeyard)
or secular (by “cutting” it with old wine). Secular (or “profane”) wine was
obtained through several types of manipulation (e.g. by adding honey, or
mulsum; using raisins, or passum; by boiling, or defrutum).
However, the sacrima used for the offering to the two gods for the
preservation of grapeyards, vessels and wine^[219]
was obtained only by pouring the juice into amphors after pressing.^[220]
The mustum was considered spurcum (dirty), and thus unusable in
sacrifices.^[221]
The amphor (itself not an item of sacrifice) permitted presentation of its
content on a table or could be added to a sacrifice; this happened at the
auspicatio vindamiae for the first grape^[222]
and for ears of corn of the praemetium on a dish (lanx) at the
temple of
Ceres
.^[223]

Dumézil, on the other hand, sees the relationship between Jupiter and Liber
as grounded in the social and political relevance of the two gods (who were both
considered patrons of freedom).^[224]
The Liberalia of March were, since earliest times, the occasion for the
ceremony of the donning of the toga virilis or libera (which
marked the passage into adult citizenship by young people). Augustine relates
that these festivals had a particularly obscene character: a phallus was
taken to the fields on a cart, and then back in triumph to town. In
Lavinium
they lasted a month, during which the
population enjoyed bawdy jokes. The most honest matronae were supposed to
publicly crown the phallus with flowers, to ensure a good harvest and
repeal the fascinatio (evil eye).^[209]
In Rome representations of the sex organs were placed in the temple of the
couple Liber Libera, who presided over the male and female components of
generation and the “liberation” of the semen.^[225]
This complex of rites and beliefs shows that the divine couple’s jurisdiction
extended over fertility in general, not only that of grapes. The etymology of
Liber (archaic form Loifer, Loifir) was explained by Émile Benveniste
as formed on the IE theme *leudh- plus the suffix -es-; its original meaning is
“the one of germination, he who ensures the sprouting of crops”.^[226]

The relationship of Jupiter with freedom was a common belief among the Roman
people, as demonstrated by the dedication of the Mons Sacer to the god
after the first secession of the plebs. Later inscriptions also show the
unabated popular belief in Jupiter as bestower of freedom in the imperial era.^[227]

Veiove

Scholars are puzzled by Ve(d)iove (or
Veiovis
, or Vedius) and unwilling to discuss
his identity, claiming our knowledge of this god is insufficient.^[228]
Most, however, agree that Veiove is a sort of anti-Iove or an underworld
Jupiter.^[229]
This conclusion is based on information provided by Gellius,^[230]
who states his name originates by adding the prefix ve (here denoting
“deprivation” or “negation”) to Iove (whose name Gellius posits as rooted
in the verb iuvo “I benefit”). D. Sabbatucci has stressed the feature of
bearer of instability and antithesis to cosmic order of this god, who threatens
the kingly power of Jupiter as Stator and Centumpeda and whose
presence occurs side by side with Janus’ on January 1, but also his function of
helper to the growth of the young Jupiter^[231]
Preller suggests that Veiovis may be the sinister double of Jupiter.^[232]

In fact, the god (under the name Vetis) is placed in the last case
(number 16) of the outer rim of the Piacenza Liver—before Cilens
(Nocturnus), who ends (or begins in the Etruscan vision) the disposition of the
gods. In
Martianus Capella
‘s division of heaven, he is
found in region XV with the dii publici; as such, he numbers among the
infernal (or antipodal) gods. The location of his two temples in Rome—near those
of Jupiter (one on the Capitoline Hill, in the low between the arx and
the Capitolium, between the two groves where the
asylum
founded by Romulus stood, the other on
the Tiber Island near that of Iuppiter Iurarius, later also known as
temple of Aesculapius)^[233]—may
be significant in this respect, along with the fact that he is considered the
father^[234]
of Apollo, perhaps because he was depicted carrying arrows. He is also
considered to be the unbearded Jupiter.^[235]
The dates of his festivals support the same conclusion: they fall on January 1,^[236]
March 7^[237]
and May 21,^[238]
the first date being the recurrence of the
Agonalia
, dedicated to Janus and celebrated by
the king with the sacrifice of a ram. The nature of the sacrifice is debated;
Gellius states capra, a female goat, although some scholars posit a ram.
This sacrifice occurred rito humano, which may mean “with the rite
appropriate for human sacrifice”.^[239]
Gellius concludes by stating that this god is one of those who receive
sacrifices to refrain from causing harm.

The arrow is an ambivalent symbol; it was used in the ritual of the
devotio
(the general who vowed had to stand on
an arrow).^[240]
It is because of the arrow that Gellius considers Veiove as a god who must
receive worship to obtain his abstention from doing harm, along with
Robigus
and
Averruncus
.^[241]

Maurice Besnier has remarked that a temple to Iuppiter was dedicated
by praetor Lucius Furius Purpureo before the
battle of Cremona
against the
Celtic Cenomani of Cisalpine Gaul
.^[242]
An inscription found at
Brescia
in 1888 shows that Iuppiter Iurarius
was worshipped there^[243]
and one found on the south tip of Tiber Island in 1854 that there was a cult to
the god on the spot too.^[244]
Besnier speculates that Lucius Furius had evoked the chief god of the enemy and
built a temple to him in Rome outside the pomerium. On January 1, the
Fasti Praenestini record the festivals of Aesculapius and Vediove on the
Island, while in the Fasti Ovid speaks of Jupiter and his
grandson.^[245]
Livy records that in 192 BC, duumvir Q. Marcus Ralla dedicated to Jupiter
on the Capitol the two temples promised by L. Furius Purpureo, one of which was
that promised during the war against the Gauls.^[246]
Besnier would accept a correction to Livy’s passage (proposed by Jordan) to read
aedes Veiovi instead of aedes duae Iovi. Such a correction
concerns the temples dedicated on the Capitol: it does not address the question
of the dedication of the temple on the Island, which is puzzling, since the
place is attested epigraphically as dedicated to the cult of Iuppiter
Iurarius and Vediove in the Fasti Praenestini and to Jupiter
according to Ovid. The two gods may have been seen as equivalent: Iuppiter
Iurarius is an awesome and vengeful god, parallel to the Greek Zeus
Orkios, the avenger of perjury.^[247]

A. Pasqualini has argued that Veiovis seems related to Iuppiter Latiaris,
as the original figure of this Jupiter would have been superseded on the Alban
Mount, whereas it preserved its gruesome character in the ceremony held on the
sanctuary of the Latiar Hill, the southernmost hilltop of the
Quirinal
in Rome, which involved a human
sacrifice. The
gens Iulia
had gentilician cults at
Bovillae
where a dedicatory inscription to
Vediove has been found in 1826 on an ara.^[248]
According to Pasqualini it was a deity similar to Vediove, wielder of
lightningbolts and chthonic, who was connected to the cult of the founders who
first inhabited the Alban Mount and built the sanctuary. Such a cult once
superseded on the Mount would have been taken up and preserved by the Iulii,
private citizens bound to the sacra Albana by their Alban origin.^[249]

Victoria

Coin with
laureate
head of Jupiter (obverse)
and (reverse) Victory, standing (“ROMA” below in
relief
)

Victoria was connected to Iuppiter Victor in his role as bestower of
military victory. Jupiter, as a sovereign god, was considered as having the
power to conquer anyone and anything in a supernatural way; his contribution to
military victory was different from that of
Mars
(god of military valour). Victoria appears
first on the reverse of coins representing Venus (driving the quadriga of
Jupiter, with her head crowned and with a palm in her hand) during the first
Punic War. Sometimes, she is represented walking and carrying a trophy.^[250]

A temple was dedicated to the goddess afterwards on the Palatine, testifying
to her high station in the Roman mind. When
Hieron of Syracuse
presented a golden statuette
of the goddess to Rome, the Senate had it placed in the temple of Capitoline
Jupiter among the greatest (and most sacred) deities.^[251]
Although Victoria played a significant role in the religious ideology of the
late Republic and the Empire, she is undocumented in earlier times. A function
similar to hers may have been played by the little-known
Vica Pota
.

Terminus

Juventas and Terminus were the gods who, according to legend,^[252]
refused to leave their sites on the Capitol when the construction of the temple
of Jupiter was undertaken. Therefore, they had to be reserved a sacellum
within the new temple. Their stubbornness was considered a good omen; it would
guarantee youth, stability and safety to Rome on its site.^[253]
This legend is generally thought by scholars to indicate their strict connection
with Jupiter. An inscription found near
Ravenna
reads Iuppiter Ter.,^[254]
indicating that Terminus is an aspect of Jupiter.

Terminus is the god of boundaries (public and private), as he is portrayed in
literature. The religious value of the
boundary marker
is documented by Plutarch,^[255]
who ascribes to king Numa the construction of temples to Fides and Terminus and
the delimitation of Roman territory. Ovid gives a vivid description of the rural
rite at a boundary of fields of neighbouring peasants on February 23 (the day of
the
Terminalia
.^[256]
On that day, Roman pontiffs and magistrates held a ceremony at the sixth mile of
the Via Laurentina
(ancient border of the Roman
ager, which maintained a religious value). This festival, however, marked
the end of the year and was linked to time more directly than to space (as
attested by Augustine’s
apologia
on the role of Janus with respect to
endings).^[257]
Dario Sabbatucci has emphasised the temporal affiliation of Terminus, a reminder
of which is found in the rite of the regifugium.^[258]
G. Dumézil, on the other hand, views the function of this god as associated with
the legalistic aspect of the sovereign function of Jupiter. Terminus would be
the counterpart of the minor Vedic god Bagha, who oversees the just and fair
division of goods among citizens.^[259]

Iuventas

Along with Terminus, Iuventas (also known as Iuventus
and Iuunta) represents an aspect of Jupiter (as the legend of her refusal
to leave the Capitol Hill demonstrates. Her name has the same root as
Juno
(from Iuu-, “young, youngster”);
the ceremonial litter bearing the sacred goose of Juno Moneta stopped before her
sacellum on the festival of the goddess. Later, she was identified with
the Greek
Hebe
. The fact that Jupiter is related to the
concept of youth is shown by his epithets Puer, Iuuentus and
Ioviste (interpreted as “the youngest” by some scholars).^[260]
Dumézil noted the presence of the two minor sovereign deities Bagha and
Aryaman
beside the Vedic sovereign gods Varuna
and Mitra (though more closely associated with Mitra); the couple would be
reflected in Rome by Terminus and Iuventas. Aryaman is the god of
young soldiers. The function of Iuventas is to protect the iuvenes
(the novi togati of the year, who are required to offer a sacrifice to
Jupiter on the Capitol)^[261]
and the Roman soldiers (a function later attributed to Juno). King Servius
Tullius, in reforming the Roman social organisation, required that every
adolescent offer a coin to the goddess of youth upon entering adulthood.^[262]

In Dumézil’s analysis, the function of Iuventas (the personification
of youth), was to control the entrance of young men into society and protect
them until they reach the age of iuvenes or iuniores (i.e. of
serving the state as soldiers).^[263]
A temple to Iuventas was promised in 207 BC by consul
Marcus Livius Salinator
and dedicated in 191
BC.^[264]

Penates

The Romans considered the Penates as the gods to whom they owed their own
existence.^[265]
As noted by Wissowa Penates is an adjective, meaning “those of or from
the penus” the innermost part, most hidden recess;^[266]
Dumézil though refuses Wissowa’s interpretation of penus as the storeroom
in a household. As a nation they honoured the Penates publici: Dionysius
calls them Trojan gods as they were absorbed into the Trojan legend. They
had a temple in Rome at the foot of the Velia, near the Palatine Hill, in which
they were represented as a couple of male youth. They were honoured every year
by the new consuls before entering office at
Lavinium
,^[267]
because the Romans believed the Penates of that town were identical to their
own.^[268]

The concept of di Penates is more defined in Etruria:
Arnobius
(citing a Caesius) states that the
Etruscan Penates were named Fortuna, Ceres, Genius Iovialis and Pales; according
to
Nigidius Figulus
, they included those of
Jupiter, of Neptune, of the infernal gods and of mortal men.^[269]
This complex concept is reflected in Martianus Capella’s division of heaven,
found in Book I of his De Nuptiis Mercurii et Philologiae, which places
the Di Consentes Penates in region I with the Favores Opertanei;
Ceres and Genius in region V; Pales in region VI; Favor
and Genius (again) in region VII; Secundanus Pales, Fortuna
and Favor Pastor in region XI. The disposition of these divine entities
and their repetition in different locations may be due to the fact that
Penates belonging to different categories (heavenly in region I, earthly in
region V) are intended. Favor(es) may be the
Etruscan
masculine equivalent of Fortuna.^[270]

In

Roman mythology

,

Jupiter
or

Jove was the

king of the gods

, and the god of

sky and

thunder
. He

is

the equivalent of Zeus

in the

Greek pantheon

. He was called Iuppiter (or Diespiter)

Optimus Maximus (“Father God the Best and Greatest”). As the patron deity of

ancient

Rome
, he ruled over laws and social order. He was the chief god of the

Capitoline Triad

, with sister/wife

Juno

. Jupiter is also the father of the god

Mars

with Juno. Therefore, Jupiter is the grandfather of

Romulus and Remus

, the legendary founders of Rome. Jupiter was venerated in

ancient Roman religion

, and is still venerated in

Roman Neopaganism

. He is a son of

Saturn

, along with brothers

Neptune

and

Pluto

.

He is also the brother/husband of

Ceres

(daughter of Saturn and mother of

Proserpina
),

brother of Veritas

(daughter of Saturn), and father of

Mercury

.

Lucius Domitius Aurelianus

(September

9, 214

or 215 –September or October 275), known in English as

Aurelian,

Roman

Emperorr
(270–275), was the second of several highly successful

“soldier-emperors” who helped the

Roman

Empire
regain its power during the latter part of the third century and the

beginning of the fourth.

During his reign, the Empire was reunited in its

entirety, following fifteen years of rebellion, the loss of two-thirds of its

territory to break-away empires (the

Palmyrene Empire

in the east and the

Gallic Empire

in the west) and devastating barbarian invasions. His

successes started the end of the empire’s

Crisis of the Third Century

.

//

Aurelian was an upwardly-mobile soldier who was eventually appointed
commander of the cavalry by Claudius II. With the aid of a sympathetic army he
revolted against the accession of Quintillus and a civil war was avoided when
the latter committed suicide following the growing popularity of his rival.
Aurelian was then hailed as emperor by the Senate and the rest of the legions
alike. His first mission was to strengthen the army by the introduction of the
strictest reforms and discipline as well as quelling the various uprisings that
had broken out over the last two decades. He thus spent the next five years
until cut down by his own Praetorian Guard at the height of his glory. It seems
Aurelian’s personal secretary, after being reprimanded by the emperor for
attempted extortion, felt an execution would follow. To guard against this
possibility, he concocted a story about Aurelian intending to execute his
personal guard and then rushed to share with them this manufactured evidence.
Naturally, afraid for their lives, they entered the emperor’s quarters and
effected a preemptive strike. Somehow or other it was soon afterward found out
that the formerly beloved emperor had no such motives and his secretary himself
was swiftly executed for treason. When news reached Rome of what had happened
Aurelian’s wife seems to have actually been left nominally in power while a new
emperor was selected, a period that may have lasted several months. Although
history is a little hazy in this matter, it would mark the first and only time a
Roman empress explicitly ruled the empire.

Rise to power

Aurelian was born in

Dacia ripensis

or

Sirmium
(now

Sremska Mitrovica

,

Serbia
),

to an obscure provincial family; his father was tenant to a senator named

Aurelius, who gave his name to the family.

Aurelian served as a general in several wars, and his success ultimately made

him the right-hand man and dux equitum (cavalry commander) of the army of

Emperor Gallienus

. In 268, his cavalry routed the powerful cavalry force of the

Goths
at the

Battle of Naissus

and broke the back of the most fearsome invasion of Roman

territory since Hannibal

. According to one source, Aurelian participated in the

assassination of Gallienus (268), and supported

Claudius II

for the purple.

Two years later, when Claudius died his brother

Quintillus

seized power with support of the Senate. With an act typical of the

Crisis of the Third Century

, the army refused to recognize the new emperor,

preferring to support one of its own commanders: Aurelian was proclaimed emperor

in September 270 by the

legions

in Sirmium. Aurelian defeated Quintillus’ troops, and was recognized emperor by

the Senate after Quintillus’ death. The claim that Aurelian was chosen by

Claudius on his death bed

can be dismissed as propaganda; later, probably in 272, Aurelian put his own

dies imperii the day of Claudius’ death, thus implicitly considering

Quintillus a

usurper

.

With his base of power secure, he now turned his attention to Rome’s greatest

problems — recovering the vast territories lost over the previous two decades,

and reforming the res publica.

Conqueror and reformer

In 248, Emperor

Philipp

had celebrated the millennium of the city of Rome with great and

expensive ceremonies and games, and the empire had given a tremendous proof of

self-confidence. In the following years, however, the empire had to face a huge

pressure from external enemies, while, at the same time, dangerous civil wars

threatened the empire from within, with a large number of usurpers weakening the

strength of the state. Also the economical substrate of the state, the

agriculture and the commerce, suffered from the disruption caused by the

instability. On top of this an epidemic swept through the Empire around 250,

greatly diminishing manpower both for the army and for agriculture. The end

result was that the empire could not endure the blow of the capture of Emperor

Valerian

in 260: the eastern provinces found their protectors in the rulers

of the city of Palmyra

, in

Syria

Palmyrene Empire

, a separate entity from the Roman Empire, successful

against the Persian threat; the western provinces, those facing the

limes
of the

Rhine
seceded,

forming a third, autonomous state within the territories of the Roman Empire,

which is now known as

Gallic Empire

; the emperor, in Rome, was occupied with the internal menaces

to his power and with the defence of

Italia

and the Balkans. This was the situation faced by Gallienus and

Claudius, and the problems Aurelian had to deal with at the beginning of his

rule.

Reunification of the empire

The first actions of the new emperor were aimed at strengthening his own

position in his territories. Late in 270, Aurelian campaigned in northern

Italia

against the

Vandals
,

Juthungi
,

and Sarmatians

, expelling them from Roman territory. To celebrate these

victories, Aurelian was granted the title of Germanicus Maximus.

The authority of the emperor was challenged by several

usurpers

—

Septimius

,

Urbanus

,

Domitianus

, and the rebellion of

Felicissimus

— who tried to exploit the sense of insecurity of the empire

and the overwhelming influence of the armies in Roman politics. Aurelian, being

an experienced commander, was aware of the importance of the army, and his

propaganda, known through his coinage, shows he wanted the support of the

legions.

Defeat of the Alamanni

The burden of the northern barbarians was not yet over, however. In 271, the

Alamanni

moved towards Italia, entering the Po plain and sacking the villages; they

passed the

Po River

, occupied

Placentia

and moved towards Fano
.

Aurelian, who was in Pannonia to control

Vandals
‘

withdrawal, quickly entered Italia, but his army was defeated in an

ambush near Placentia

(January 271). When the news of the defeat arrived in

Rome, it caused great fear for the arrival of the barbarians. But Aurelian

attacked the Alamanni camping near the

Metaurus River
,

defeating them in the

Battle of Fano

, and forcing them to re-cross the Po river; Aurelian finally

routed them at

Pavia

. For this, he received the title Germanicus Maximus. However,

the menace of the German people remained high as perceived by the Romans, so

Aurelian resolved to build the walls that became known as the

Aurelian Walls

around

Rome.

The emperor led his legions to the Balkans, where he defeated and routed the

Cannabaudes

, and assuming the title of Gothicus Maximus. However, he

decided to abandon the province of

Dacia
,

on the exposed north bank of the Danube, as too difficult and expensive to

defend. He reorganised a new province of Dacia south of the Danube, inside the

former Moesia
,

called Dacia Ripensis, with

Serdica

as the capital.

Conquest of the Palmyrene Empire

In 272, Aurelian turned his attention to the lost eastern provinces of the

empire, the so-called “Palmyrene

Empire” ruled by Queen

Zenobia
from

the city of Palmyra

.

Zenobia had carved out her own empire, encompassing

Syria

, Palestine

, Egypt

and large parts of

Asia Minor

. In the beginning, Aurelian had been recognized as emperor, while

Vaballathus

, the son of Zenobia, hold the title of rex and

imperator (“king” and “supreme military commander”), but Aurelian decided to

invade the eastern provinces as soon as he felt strong enough.

Asia Minor was recovered easily; every city but

Byzantium
Tyana

surrendered to him with little resistance. The fall of Tyana lent itself to a

legend; Aurelian to that point had destroyed every city that resisted him, but

he spared Tyana after having a vision of the great 1st century philosopher

Apollonius of Tyana

, whom he respected greatly, in a dream. Apollonius

implored him, stating: “Aurelian, if you desire to rule, abstain from the blood

of the innocent! Aurelian, if you will conquer, be merciful!” Whatever the

reason, Aurelian spared Tyana. It paid off; many more cities submitted to him

upon seeing that the emperor would not exact revenge upon them. Within six

months, his armies stood at the gates of Palmyra, which surrendered when Zenobia

tried to flee to the

Sassanid Empire

. The “Palmyrene Empire” was no more. Eventually Zenobia and

her son were captured and forced to walk on the streets of Rome in his triumph.

After a brief clash with the Persians and another in Egypt against usurper

Firmus
, he was

forced to return to Palmyra in 273 when that city rebelled once more. This time,

Aurelian allowed his soldiers to sack the city, and Palmyra never recovered from

this. More honors came his way; he was now known as Parthicus Maximus and

Restitutor Orientis (“Restorer of the East”).

Conquest of the Gallic Empire

In 274, the victorious emperor turned his attention to the west, and the “Gallic

EmpireeTetricus

was willing to abandon his throne and allow Gaul and Britain to return to the

empire, but could not openly submit to Aurelian. Instead, the two seem to have

conspired so that when the armies met at

Châlons-en-Champagne

that autumn, Tetricus simply deserted to the Roman camp

and Aurelian easily defeated the Gallic army facing him. Tetricus was rewarded

for his part in the conspiracy with a high-ranking position in Italy itself.

Aurelian returned to Rome and won his last honorific from the Senate —

Restitutor Orbis (“Restorer of the World”). In four years, he had secured

the frontiers of the empire and reunified it, effectively giving the empire a

new lease on life that lasted 200 years.

Reformations

Aurelian was a reformer, and settled many important functions of the imperial

apparatus, including the economy and the religion. He also restored many public

buildings, re-organized the management of the food reserves, set fixed prices

for the most important goods, and prosecuted misconduct by the public officers.

Religious reform

Aurelian strengthened the position of the Sun god,

Sol

(invictus)

or Oriens, as the main divinity of the Roman pantheon. His intention was to give

to all the peoples of the Empire, civilian or soldiers, easterners or

westerners, a single god they could believe in without betraying their own gods.

The center of the cult was a new temple, built in 271 in

in Rome, with great decorations financed by the spoils

of the Palmyrene Empire. Aurelian did not persecute other religions. However,

during his short rule, he seemed to follow the principle of “one god, one

empire”, that was later adopted to a full extent by

Constantine

. On some coins, he appears with the title deus et dominus

natus (“God and born ruler”), also later adopted by Diocletian.

Lactantius

argued that Aurelian would have outlawed all the other gods if he had had enough

time.

Felicissimus’ rebellion and coinage reform

Aurelian’s reign records the only uprising of mint workers. The

rationalis

Felicissimus

, mintmaster at Rome, revolted against Aurelian. The revolt

seems to have been caused by the fact that the mint workers, and Felicissimus

first, were accustomed to stealing the silver used for the coins and producing

coins of inferior quality. Aurelian wanted to erase this practice, and put

Felicissimus under trial. The rationalis incited the mintworkers to

revolt: the rebellion spread in the streets, even if it seems that Felicissimus

was killed immediately, possibly executed. The Palmirene rebellion in Egypt had

probably reduced the

grain supply to Rome

, thus disaffecting the population with respect to the

emperor. This rebellion also had the support of some senators, probably those

who had supported the election of

Quintillus
,

and thus had something to fear from Aurelian. Aurelian ordered the urban

cohorts, reinforced by some regular troops of the imperial army, to attack the

rebelling mob: the resulting battle, fought on the

Caelian hill

, marked the end of the revolt,
even if at a high price (some sources give the figure, probably exaggerated, of
7,000 casualties). Many of the rebels were executed; also some of the rebelling
senators were put to death. The mint of Rome was closed temporarily, and the
institution of several other mints caused the main mint of the empire to lose
its hegemony.