Jupiter (from Latin: Iūpiter [ˈjuːpɪtɛr]
or Iuppiter [ˈjʊppɪtɛr], from Proto-Italic
*djous "day, sky" + *patēr "father", thus
"sky father"), also known as Jove gen. Iovis
[ˈjɔwɪs]), is the god of the sky and thunder
and king of the gods in Ancient Roman religion
and mythology. Jupiter was the chief deity
of Roman state religion throughout the Republican
and Imperial eras, until Christianity became
the dominant religion of the Empire. In Roman
mythology, he negotiates with Numa Pompilius,
the second king of Rome, to establish principles
of Roman religion such as offering, or sacrifice.
Jupiter is usually thought to have originated
as an aerial god. His identifying implement
is the thunderbolt and his primary sacred
animal is the eagle, which held precedence
over other birds in the taking of auspices
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. 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
Hill, where the citadel was located. In the
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 the 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, the
Roman equivalents of Poseidon and Hades respectively.
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 identified with Jupiter. Tinia is
usually regarded as his Etruscan counterpart.
== Role in the state ==
The Romans believed that Jupiter granted them
supremacy because they had honoured him more
than any other people had. Jupiter was "the
fount of the auspices upon which the relationship
of the city with the gods rested." He personified
the divine authority of Rome's highest offices,
internal organization, and external relations.
His image in the Republican and Imperial Capitol
bore regalia associated with Rome's ancient
kings and the highest consular and Imperial
honours.
The consuls swore their oath of office in
Jupiter's name, and honoured him on the annual
feriae of the Capitol in September. To thank
him for his help (and to secure his continued
support), they offered him a white ox (bos
mas) with gilded horns. A similar offering
was made by triumphal generals, who surrendered
the tokens of their victory at the feet of
Jupiter's statue in the Capitol. Some scholars
have viewed the triumphator as embodying (or
impersonating) Jupiter in the triumphal procession.Jupiter's
association with kingship and sovereignty
was reinterpreted as Rome's form of government
changed. Originally, Rome was ruled by kings;
after the monarchy was abolished and the Republic
established, religious prerogatives were transferred
to the patres, the patrician ruling class.
Nostalgia for the kingship (affectatio regni)
was considered treasonous. Those suspected
of harbouring monarchical ambitions were punished,
regardless of their service to the state.
In the 5th century BC, the triumphator Camillus
was sent into exile after he drove a chariot
with a team of four white horses (quadriga)—an
honour reserved for Jupiter himself. When
Marcus Manlius, whose defense of the Capitol
against the invading Gauls had earned him
the name Capitolinus, was accused of regal
pretensions, he was executed as a traitor
by being cast from the Tarpeian Rock. His
house on the Capitoline Hill was razed, and
it was decreed that no patrician should ever
be allowed to live there. Capitoline Jupiter
found himself in a delicate position: he represented
a continuity of royal power from the Regal
period, and conferred power on the magistrates
who paid their respects to him; at the same
time he embodied that which was now forbidden,
abhorred, and scorned.During the Conflict
of the Orders, Rome's plebeians demanded the
right to hold political and religious office.
During their first secessio (similar to a
general strike), they withdrew from the city
and threatened to found their own. When they
agreed to come back to Rome they vowed the
hill where they had retreated to Jupiter as
symbol and guarantor of the unity of the Roman
res publica. Plebeians eventually became eligible
for all the magistracies and most priesthoods,
but the high priest of Jupiter (Flamen Dialis)
remained the preserve of patricians.
=== Flamen and Flaminica Dialis ===
Jupiter was served by the patrician Flamen
Dialis, the highest-ranking member of the
flamines, a college of fifteen priests in
the official public cult of Rome, each of
whom was devoted to a particular deity. His
wife, the Flaminica Dialis, had her own duties,
and presided over the sacrifice of a ram to
Jupiter on each of the nundinae, the "market"
days of a calendar cycle, comparable to a
week. The couple were required to marry by
the exclusive patrician ritual confarreatio,
which included a sacrifice of spelt bread
to Jupiter Farreus (from far, "wheat, grain").The
office of Flamen Dialis was circumscribed
by several unique ritual prohibitions, some
of which shed light on the sovereign nature
of the god himself. For instance, the flamen
may remove his clothes or apex (his pointed
hat) only when under a roof, in order to avoid
showing himself naked to the sky—that is,
"as if under the eyes of Jupiter" as god of
the heavens. Every time the Flaminica saw
a lightning bolt or heard a clap of thunder
(Jupiter's distinctive instrument), she was
prohibited from carrying on with her normal
routine until she placated the god.Some privileges
of the flamen of Jupiter may reflect the regal
nature of Jupiter: he had the use of the curule
chair, and was the only priest (sacerdos)
who was preceded by a lictor and had a seat
in the senate. Other regulations concern his
ritual purity and his separation from the
military function; he was forbidden to ride
a horse or see the army outside the sacred
boundary of Rome (pomerium). Although he served
the god who embodied the sanctity of the oath,
it was not religiously permissible (fas) for
the Dialis to swear an oath. He could not
have contacts with anything dead or connected
with death: corpses, funerals, funeral fires,
raw meat. This set of restrictions reflects
the fulness of life and absolute freedom that
are features of Jupiter.
=== Augurs ===
The augures publici, augurs were a college
of sacerdotes who were in charge of all inaugurations
and of the performing of ceremonies known
as auguria. Their creation was traditionally
ascribed to Romulus. They were considered
the only official interpreters of Jupiter's
will, thence they were essential to the very
existence of the Roman State as Romans saw
in Jupiter the only source of state authority.
=== Fetials ===
The fetials were a college of 20 men devoted
to the religious administration of international
affairs of state. Their task was to preserve
and apply the fetial law (ius fetiale), a
complex set of procedures aimed at ensuring
the protection of the gods in Rome's relations
with foreign states. Iuppiter Lapis is the
god under whose protection they act, and whom
the chief fetial (pater patratus) invokes
in the rite concluding a treaty. If a declaration
of war ensues, the fetial calls upon Jupiter
and Quirinus, the heavenly, earthly and chthonic
gods as witnesses of any potential violation
of the ius. He can then declare war within
33 days.The action of the fetials falls under
Jupiter's jurisdiction as the divine defender
of good faith. Several emblems of the fetial
office pertain to Jupiter. The silex was the
stone used for the fetial sacrifice, housed
in the Temple of Iuppiter Feretrius, as was
their sceptre. Sacred herbs (sagmina), sometimes
identified as vervain, had to be taken from
the nearby citadel (arx) for their ritual
use.
=== Jupiter and religion in the secessions
of the plebs ===
The role of Jupiter in the conflict of the
orders is a reflection of the religiosity
of the Romans. On one side, the patricians
were able to naturally claim the support of
the supreme god as they held the auspices
of the State. On the other side, the plebs
(plebeians) argued that, as Jupiter was the
source of justice, they had his favor because
their cause was just.
The first secession was caused by the excessive
debt burden on the plebs. The legal institute
of the nexum permitted a debtor to become
a slave of his creditor. The plebs argued
the debts had become unsustainable because
of the expenses of the wars wanted by the
patricians. As the senate did not accede to
the proposal of a total debt remission advanced
by dictator and augur Manius Valerius Maximus
the plebs retired on the Mount Sacer, a hill
located three Roman miles to the North-northeast
of Rome, past the Nomentan bridge on river
Anio. The place is windy and was usually the
site of rites of divination performed by haruspices.
The senate in the end sent a delegation composed
of ten members with full powers of making
a deal with the plebs, of which were part
Menenius Agrippa and Manius Valerius. It was
Valerius, according to the inscription found
at Arezzo in 1688 and written on the order
of Augustus as well as other literary sources,
that brought the plebs down from the Mount,
after the secessionists had consecrated it
to Jupiter Territor and built an altar (ara)
on its summit. The fear of the wrath of Jupiter
was an important element in the solution of
the crisis. The consecration of the Mount
probably referred to its summit only. The
ritual requested the participation of both
an augur (presumably Manius Valerius himself)
and a pontifex.The second secession was caused
by the autocratic and arrogant behaviour of
the decemviri, who had been charged by the
Roman people with writing down the laws in
use till then kept secret by the patrician
magistrates and the sacerdotes. All magistracies
and the tribunes of the plebs had resigned
in advance. The task resulted in the XII Tables,
which though concerned only private law. The
plebs once again retreated to the Sacer Mons:
this act besides recalling the first secession
was meant to seek the protection of the supreme
god. The secession ended with the resignation
of the decemviri and an amnesty for the rebellious
soldiers who had deserted from their camp
near Mount Algidus while warring against the
Volscians, abandoning the commanders. The
amnesty was granted by the senate and guaranteed
by the pontifex maximus Quintus Furius (in
Livy's version) (or Marcus Papirius) who also
supervised the nomination of the new tribunes
of the plebs, then gathered on the Aventine
Hill. The role played by the pontifex maximus
in a situation of vacation of powers is a
significant element underlining the religious
basis and character of the tribunicia potestas.
== Myths and legends ==
A dominant line of scholarship has held that
Rome lacked a body of myths in its earliest
period, or that this original mythology has
been irrecoverably obscured by the influence
of the Greek narrative tradition. After the
Hellenization of Roman culture, Latin literature
and iconography reinterpreted the myths of
Zeus in depictions and narratives of Jupiter.
In the legendary history of Rome, Jupiter
is often connected to kings and kingship.
=== Birth ===
Jupiter is depicted as the twin of Juno in
a statue at Praeneste that showed them nursed
by Fortuna Primigenia. An inscription that
is also from Praeneste, however, says that
Fortuna Primigenia was Jupiter's first-born
child. Jacqueline Champeaux sees this contradiction
as the result of successive different cultural
and religious phases, in which a wave of influence
coming from the Hellenic world made Fortuna
the daughter of Jupiter. The childhood of
Zeus is an important theme in Greek religion,
art and literature, but there are only rare
(or dubious) depictions of Jupiter as a child.
=== Numa ===
Faced by a period of bad weather endangering
the harvest during one early spring, King
Numa resorted to the scheme of asking the
advice of the god by evoking his presence.
He succeeded through the help of Picus and
Faunus, whom he had imprisoned by making them
drunk. The two gods (with a charm) evoked
Jupiter, who was forced to come down to earth
at the Aventine (hence named Iuppiter Elicius,
according to Ovid). After Numa skilfully avoided
the requests of the god for human sacrifices,
Jupiter agreed to his request to know how
lightning bolts are averted, asking only for
the substitutions Numa had mentioned: an onion
bulb, hairs and a fish. Moreover, Jupiter
promised that at the sunrise of the following
day he would give to Numa and the Roman people
pawns of the imperium. The following day,
after throwing three lightning bolts across
a clear sky, Jupiter sent down from heaven
a shield. Since this shield had no angles,
Numa named it ancile; because in it resided
the fate of the imperium, he had many copies
made of it to disguise the real one. He asked
the smith Mamurius Veturius to make the copies,
and gave them to the Salii. As his only reward,
Mamurius expressed the wish that his name
be sung in the last of their carmina. Plutarch
gives a slightly different version of the
story, writing that the cause of the miraculous
drop of the shield was a plague and not linking
it with the Roman imperium.
=== Tullus Hostilius ===
Throughout his reign, King Tullus had a scornful
attitude towards religion. His temperament
was warlike, and he disregarded religious
rites and piety. After conquering the Albans
with the duel between the Horatii and Curiatii,
Tullus destroyed Alba Longa and deported its
inhabitants to Rome. As Livy tells the story,
omens (prodigia) in the form of a rain of
stones occurred on the Alban Mount because
the deported Albans had disregarded their
ancestral rites linked to the sanctuary of
Jupiter. In addition to the omens, a voice
was heard requesting that the Albans perform
the rites. A plague followed and at last the
king himself fell ill. As a consequence, the
warlike character of Tullus broke down; he
resorted to religion and petty, superstitious
practices. At last, he found a book by Numa
recording a secret rite on how to evoke Iuppiter
Elicius. The king attempted to perform it,
but since he executed the rite improperly
the god threw a lightning bolt which burned
down the king's house and killed Tullus.
=== Tarquin the Elder ===
When approaching Rome (where Tarquin was heading
to try his luck in politics after unsuccessful
attempts in his native Tarquinii), an eagle
swooped down, removed his hat, flew screaming
in circles, replaced the hat on his head and
flew away. Tarquin's wife Tanaquil interpreted
this as a sign that he would become king based
on the bird, the quadrant of the sky from
which it came, the god who had sent it and
the fact it touched his hat (an item of clothing
placed on a man's most noble part, the head).The
Elder Tarquin is credited with introducing
the Capitoline Triad to Rome, by building
the so-called Capitolium Vetus. Macrobius
writes this issued from his Samothracian mystery
beliefs.
== Cult ==
=== Sacrifices ===
Sacrificial victims (hostiae) offered to Jupiter
were the ox (castrated bull), the lamb (on
the Ides, the ovis idulis) and the wether
(on the Ides of January). The animals were
required to be white. The question of the
lamb's gender is unresolved; while a lamb
is generally male, for the vintage-opening
festival the flamen Dialis sacrificed a ewe.
This rule seems to have had many exceptions,
as the sacrifice of a ram on the Nundinae
by the flaminica Dialis demonstrates.
During one of the crises of the Punic Wars,
Jupiter was offered every animal born that
year.
=== Temples ===
==== Temple of Capitoline Jupiter ====
The temple to Jupiter Optimus Maximus stood
on the Capitoline Hill in Rome. Jupiter was
worshiped there as an individual deity, and
with Juno and Minerva as part of the Capitoline
Triad. The building was supposedly begun by
king Tarquinius Priscus, completed by the
last king (Tarquinius Superbus) and inaugurated
in the early days of the Roman Republic (September
13, 509 BC). It was topped with the statues
of four horses drawing a quadriga, with Jupiter
as charioteer. A large statue of Jupiter stood
within; on festival days, its face was painted
red. In (or near) this temple was the Iuppiter
Lapis: the Jupiter Stone, on which oaths could
be sworn.
Jupiter's Capitoline Temple probably served
as the architectural model for his provincial
temples.
When Hadrian built Aelia Capitolina on the
site of Jerusalem, a temple to Jupiter Capitolinus
was erected in the place of the destroyed
Temple in Jerusalem.
==== Other temples in Rome ====
There were two temples in Rome dedicated to
Iuppiter Stator; the first one was built and
dedicated in 294 BC by Marcus Atilius Regulus
after the third Samnite War. It was located
on the Via Nova, below the Porta Mugonia,
ancient entrance to the Palatine. Legend has
attributed its founding to Romulus. There
may have been an earlier shrine (fanum), since
the Jupiter's cult is attested epigraphically.
Ovid places the temple's dedication on June
27, but it is unclear whether this was the
original date, or the rededication after the
restoration by Augustus.
A second temple of Iuppiter Stator was built
and dedicated by Quintus Caecilus Metellus
Macedonicus after his triumph in 146 BC near
the Circus Flaminius. It was connected to
the restored temple of Iuno Regina with a
portico (porticus Metelli).Iuppiter Victor
had a temple dedicated by Quintus Fabius Maximus
Gurges during the third Samnite War in 295
BC. Its location is unknown, but it may be
on the Quirinal, on which an inscription reading
D]iovei Victore has been found, or on the
Palatine according to the Notitia in the Liber
Regionum (regio X), which reads: aedes Iovis
Victoris. Either might have been dedicated
on April 13 or June 13 (days of Iuppiter Victor
and of Iuppiter Invictus, respectively, in
Ovid's Fasti).
Inscriptions from the imperial age have revealed
the existence of an otherwise-unknown temple
of Iuppiter Propugnator on the Palatine.
=== Iuppiter Latiaris and Feriae Latinae ===
The cult of Iuppiter Latiaris was the most
ancient known cult of the god: it was practised
since very remote times near the top of the
Mons Albanus on which the god was venerated
as the high protector of the Latin League
under the hegemony of Alba Longa.
After the destruction of Alba by king Tullus
Hostilius the cult was forsaken. The god manifested
his discontent through the prodigy of a rain
of stones: the commission sent by the Roman
senate to inquire was also greeted by a rain
of stones and heard a loud voice from the
grove on the summit of the mount requesting
the Albans perform the religious service to
the god according to the rites of their country.
In consequence of this event the Romans instituted
a festival of nine days (nundinae). Nonetheless
a plague ensued: in the end Tullus Hostilius
himself was affected and lastly killed by
the god with a lightning bolt. The festival
was reestablished on its primitive site by
the last Roman king Tarquin the Proud under
the leadership of Rome.
The feriae Latinae, or Latiar as they were
known originally, were the common festival
(panegyris) of the so-called Priscan Latins
and of the Albans. Their restoration aimed
at grounding Roman hegemony in this ancestral
religious tradition of the Latins. The original
cult was reinstated unchanged as is testified
by some archaic features of the ritual: the
exclusion of wine from the sacrifice the offers
of milk and cheese and the ritual use of rocking
among the games. Rocking is one of the most
ancient rites mimicking ascent to Heaven and
is very widespread. At the Latiar the rocking
took place on a tree and the winner was of
course the one who had swung the highest.
This rite was said to have been instituted
by the Albans to commemorate the disappearance
of king Latinus, in the battle against Mezentius
king of Caere: the rite symbolised a search
for him both on earth and in heaven. The rocking
as well as the customary drinking of milk
was also considered to commemorate and ritually
reinstate infancy. The Romans in the last
form of the rite brought the sacrificial ox
from Rome and every participant was bestowed
a portion of the meat, rite known as carnem
petere. Other games were held in every participant
borough. In Rome a race of chariots (quadrigae)
was held starting from the Capitol: the winner
drank a liquor made with absynth. This competition
has been compared to the Vedic rite of the
vajapeya: in it seventeen chariots run a phoney
race which must be won by the king in order
to allow him to drink a cup of madhu, i. e.
soma. The feasting lasted for at least four
days, possibly six according to Niebuhr, one
day for each of the six Latin and Alban decuriae.
According to different records 47 or 53 boroughs
took part in the festival (the listed names
too differ in Pliny NH III 69 and Dionysius
of Halicarnassus AR V 61). The Latiar became
an important feature of Roman political life
as they were feriae conceptivae, i. e. their
date varied each year: the consuls and the
highest magistrates were required to attend
shortly after the beginning of the administration,
originally on the Ides of March: the Feriae
usually took place in early April. They could
not start campaigning before its end and if
any part of the games had been neglected or
performed unritually the Latiar had to be
wholly repeated. The inscriptions from the
imperial age record the festival back to the
time of the decemvirs.
Wissowa remarks the inner linkage of the temple
of the Mons Albanus with that of the Capitol
apparent in the common association with the
rite of the triumph: since 231 BC some triumphing
commanders had triumphed there first with
the same legal features as in Rome.
== Religious calendar ==
=== Ides ===
The Ides (the midpoint of the month, with
a full moon) was sacred to Jupiter, because
on that day heavenly light shone day and night.
Some (or all) Ides were Feriae Iovis, sacred
to Jupiter. On the Ides, a white lamb (ovis
idulis) was led along Rome's Sacred Way to
the Capitoline Citadel and sacrificed to him.
Jupiter's two epula Iovis festivals fell on
the Ides, as did his temple foundation rites
as Optimus Maximus, Victor, Invictus and (possibly)
Stator.
=== Nundinae ===
The nundinae recurred every ninth day, dividing
the calendar into a market cycle analogous
to a week. Market days gave rural people (pagi)
the opportunity to sell in town and to be
informed of religious and political edicts,
which were posted publicly for three days.
According to tradition, these festival days
were instituted by the king Servius Tullius.
The high priestess of Jupiter (Flaminica Dialis)
sanctified the days by sacrificing a ram to
Jupiter.
=== Festivals ===
During the Republican era, more fixed holidays
on the Roman calendar were devoted to Jupiter
than to any other deity.
==== Viniculture and wine ====
Festivals of viniculture and wine were devoted
to Jupiter, since grapes were particularly
susceptible to adverse weather. Dumézil describes
wine as a "kingly" drink with the power to
inebriate and exhilarate, analogous to the
Vedic Soma.Three Roman festivals were connected
with viniculture and wine.
The rustic Vinalia altera on August 19 asked
for good weather for ripening the grapes before
harvest. When the grapes were ripe, a sheep
was sacrificed to Jupiter and the flamen Dialis
cut the first of the grape harvest.The Meditrinalia
on October 11 marked the end of the grape
harvest; the new wine was pressed, tasted
and mixed with old wine to control fermentation.
In the Fasti Amiternini, this festival is
assigned to Jupiter. Later Roman sources invented
a goddess Meditrina, probably to explain the
name of the festival.At the Vinalia urbana
on April 23, new wine was offered to Jupiter.
Large quantities of it were poured into a
ditch near the temple of Venus Erycina, which
was located on the Capitol.
==== Regifugium and Poplifugium ====
The Regifugium ("King's Flight") on February
24 has often been discussed in connection
with the Poplifugia on July 5, a day holy
to Jupiter. The Regifugium followed the festival
of Iuppiter Terminus (Jupiter of Boundaries)
on February 23. Later Roman antiquarians misinterpreted
the Regifugium as marking the expulsion of
the monarchy, but the "king" of this festival
may have been the priest known as the rex
sacrorum who ritually enacted the waning and
renewal of power associated with the New Year
(March 1 in the old Roman calendar). A temporary
vacancy of power (construed as a yearly "interregnum")
occurred between the Regifugium on February
24 and the New Year on March 1 (when the lunar
cycle was thought to coincide again with the
solar cycle), and the uncertainty and change
during the two winter months were over. Some
scholars emphasize the traditional political
significance of the day.The Poplifugia ("Routing
of Armies"), a day sacred to Jupiter, may
similarly mark the second half of the year;
before the Julian calendar reform, the months
were named numerically, Quintilis (the fifth
month) to December (the tenth month). The
Poplifugia was a "primitive military ritual"
for which the adult male population assembled
for purification rites, after which they ritually
dispelled foreign invaders from Rome.
==== Epula Iovis ====
There were two festivals called epulum Iovis
("Feast of Jove"). One was held on September
13, the anniversary of the foundation of Jupiter's
Capitoline temple. The other (and probably
older) festival was part of the Plebeian Games
(Ludi Plebei), and was held on November 13.
In the 3rd century BC, the epulum Iovis became
similar to a lectisternium.
==== Ludi ====
The most ancient Roman games followed after
one day (considered a dies ater, or "black
day", i. e. a day which was traditionally
considered unfortunate even though it was
not nefas, see also article Glossary of ancient
Roman religion) the two Epula Iovis of September
and November.
The games of September were named Ludi Magni;
originally they were not held every year,
but later became the annual Ludi Romani and
were held in the Circus Maximus after a procession
from the Capitol. The games were attributed
to Tarquinius Priscus, and linked to the cult
of Jupiter on the Capitol. Romans themselves
acknowledged analogies with the triumph, which
Dumézil thinks can be explained by their
common Etruscan origin; the magistrate in
charge of the games dressed as the triumphator
and the pompa circensis resembled a triumphal
procession. Wissowa and Mommsen argue that
they were a detached part of the triumph on
the above grounds (a conclusion which Dumézil
rejects).The Ludi Plebei took place in November
in the Circus Flaminius.Mommsen argued that
the epulum of the Ludi Plebei was the model
of the Ludi Romani, but Wissowa finds the
evidence for this assumption insufficient.
The Ludi Plebei were probably established
in 534 BC. Their association with the cult
of Jupiter is attested by Cicero.
==== Larentalia ====
The feriae of December 23 were devoted to
a major ceremony in honour of Acca Larentia
(or Larentina), in which some of the highest
religious authorities participated (probably
including the Flamen Quirinalis and the pontiffs).
The Fasti Praenestini marks the day as feriae
Iovis, as does Macrobius. It is unclear whether
the rite of parentatio was itself the reason
for the festival of Jupiter, or if this was
another festival which happened to fall on
the same day. Wissowa denies their association,
since Jupiter and his flamen would not be
involved with the underworld or the deities
of death (or be present at a funeral rite
held at a gravesite).
== Name and epithets ==
The Latin name Iuppiter originated as a vocative
compound of the Old Latin vocative *Iou and
pater ("father") and came to replace the Old
Latin nominative case *Ious. Jove is a less
common English formation based on Iov-, the
stem of oblique cases of the Latin name. Linguistic
studies identify the form *Iou-pater as deriving
from the Indo-European vocative compound *Dyēu-pəter
(meaning "O Father Sky-god"; nominative: *Dyēus-pətēr).
Older forms of the deity's name in Rome were
Dieus-pater ("day/sky-father"), then Diéspiter.
The 19th-century philologist Georg Wissowa
asserted these names are conceptually- and
linguistically-connected to Diovis and Diovis
Pater; he compares the analogous formations
Vedius-Veiove and fulgur Dium, as opposed
to fulgur Summanum (nocturnal lightning bolt)
and flamen Dialis (based on Dius, dies). The
Ancient later viewed them as entities separate
from Jupiter. The terms are similar in etymology
and semantics (dies, "daylight" and Dius,
"daytime sky"), but differ linguistically.
Wissowa considers the epithet Dianus noteworthy.
Dieus is the etymological equivalent of ancient
Greece's Zeus and of the Teutonics' Ziu (genitive
Ziewes). The Indo-European deity is the god
from which the names and partially the theology
of Jupiter, Zeus and the Indo-Aryan Vedic
Dyaus Pita derive or have developed.The Roman
practice of swearing by Jove to witness an
oath in law courts is the origin of the expression
"by Jove!"—archaic, but still in use. The
name of the god was also adopted as the name
of the planet Jupiter; the adjective "jovial"
originally described those born under the
planet of Jupiter (reputed to be jolly, optimistic,
and buoyant in temperament).
Jove was the original namesake of Latin forms
of the weekday now known in English as Thursday
(originally called Iovis Dies in Latin). These
became jeudi in French, jueves in Spanish,
joi in Romanian, giovedì in Italian, dijous
in Catalan, Xoves in Galician, Joibe in Friulian,
Dijóu in Provençal.
=== Major epithets ===
The epithets of a Roman god indicate his theological
qualities. The study of these epithets must
consider their origins (the historical context
of an epithet's source).
Jupiter's most ancient attested forms of cult
belong to the State cult: these include the
mount cult (see section above note n. 22).
In Rome this cult entailed the existence of
particular sanctuaries the most important
of which were located on Mons Capitolinus
(earlier Tarpeius). The mount had two tops
that were both destined to the discharge of
acts of cult related to Jupiter. The northern
and higher top was the arx and on it was located
the observation place of the augurs (auguraculum)
and to it headed the monthly procession of
the sacra Idulia. On the southern top was
to be found the most ancient sanctuary of
the god: the shrine of Iuppiter Feretrius
allegedly built by Romulus, restored by Augustus.
The god here had no image and was represented
by the sacred flintstone (silex). The most
ancient known rites, those of the spolia opima
and of the fetials which connect Jupiter with
Mars and Quirinus are dedicated to Iuppiter
Feretrius or Iuppiter Lapis. The concept of
the sky god was already overlapped with the
ethical and political domain since this early
time. According to Wissowa and Dumézil Iuppiter
Lapis seems to be inseparable from Iuppiter
Feretrius in whose tiny templet on the Capitol
the stone was lodged.
Another most ancient epithet is Lucetius:
although the Ancients, followed by some modern
scholars such as Wissowa, interpreted it as
referring to sunlight, the carmen Saliare
shows that it refers to lightning. A further
confirmation of this interpretation is provided
by the sacred meaning of lightning which is
reflected in the sensitivity of the flaminica
Dialis to the phenomenon. To the same atmospheric
complex belongs the epithet Elicius: while
the ancient erudites thought it was connected
to lightning, it is in fact related to the
opening of the rervoirs of rain, as is testified
by the ceremony of the Nudipedalia, meant
to propitiate rainfall and devoted to Jupiter.
and the ritual of the lapis manalis, the stone
which was brought into the city through the
Porta Capena and carried around in times of
drought, which was named Aquaelicium. Other
early epithets connected with the atmospheric
quality of Jupiter are Pluvius, Imbricius,
Tempestas, Tonitrualis, tempestatium divinarum
potens, Serenator, Serenus and, referred to
lightning, Fulgur, Fulgur Fulmen, later as
nomen agentis Fulgurator, Fulminator: the
high antiquity of the cult is testified by
the neutre form Fulgur and the use of the
term for the bidental, the lightning well
dug on the spot hit by a lightning bolt.
A group of epithets has been interpreted by
Wissowa (and his followers) as a reflection
of the agricultural or warring nature of the
god, some of which are also in the list of
eleven preserved by Augustine. The agricultural
ones include Opitulus, Almus, Ruminus, Frugifer,
Farreus, Pecunia, Dapalis, Epulo. Augustine
gives an explanation of the ones he lists
which should reflect Varro's: Opitulus because
he brings opem (means, relief) to the needy,
Almus because he nourishes everything, Ruminus
because he nourishes the living beings by
breastfeeding them, Pecunia because everything
belongs to him.
Dumézil maintains the cult usage of these
epithets is not documented and that the epithet
Ruminus, as Wissowa and Latte remarked, may
not have the meaning given by Augustine but
it should be understood as part of a series
including Rumina, Ruminalis ficus, Iuppiter
Ruminus, which bears the name of Rome itself
with an Etruscan vocalism preserved in inscriptions,
series that would be preserved in the sacred
language (cf. Rumach Etruscan for Roman).
However many scholars have argued that the
name of Rome, Ruma, meant in fact woman's
breast. Diva Rumina, as Augustine testifies
in the cited passage, was the goddess of suckling
babies: she was venerated near the ficus ruminalis
and was offered only libations of milk. Here
moreover Augustine cites the verses devoted
to Jupiter by Quintus Valerius Soranus, while
hypothesising Iuno (more adept in his view
as a breastfeeder), i.e. Rumina instead of
Ruminus, might be nothing else than Iuppiter:
"Iuppiter omnipotens regum rerumque deumque
Progenitor genetrixque deum...".
In Dumézil's opinion Farreus should be understood
as related to the rite of the confarreatio
the most sacred form of marriage, the name
of which is due to the spelt cake eaten by
the spouses, rather than surmising an agricultural
quality of the god: the epithet means the
god was the guarantor of the effects of the
ceremony, to which the presence of his flamen
is necessary and that he can interrupt with
a clap of thunder.The epithet Dapalis is on
the other hand connected to a rite described
by Cato and mentioned by Festus. Before the
sowing of autumn or spring the peasant offered
a banquet of roast beef and a cup of wine
to Jupiter : it is natural that on such occasions
he would entreat the god who has power over
the weather, however Cato' s prayer of s one
of sheer offer and no request. The language
suggests another attitude: Jupiter is invited
to a banquet which is supposedly abundant
and magnificent. The god is honoured as summus.
The peasant may hope he shall receive a benefit,
but he does not say it. This interpretation
finds support in the analogous urban ceremony
of the epulum Iovis, from which the god derives
the epithet of Epulo and which was a magnificent
feast accompanied by flutes.Epithets related
to warring are in Wissowa's view Iuppiter
Feretrius, Iuppiter Stator, Iuppiter Victor
and Iuppiter Invictus. Feretrius would be
connected with war by the rite of the first
type of spolia opima which is in fact a dedication
to the god of the arms of the defeated king
of the enemy that happens whenever he has
been killed by the king of Rome or his equivalent
authority. Here too Dumézil notes the dedication
has to do with regality and not with war,
since the rite is in fact the offer of the
arms of a king by a king: a proof of such
an assumption is provided by the fact that
the arms of an enemy king captured by an officer
or a common soldier were dedicated to Mars
and Quirinus respectively.
Iuppiter Stator was first attributed by tradition
to Romulus, who had prayed the god for his
almighty help at a difficult time the battle
with the Sabines of king Titus Tatius. Dumézil
opines the action of Jupiter is not that of
a god of war who wins through fighting: Jupiter
acts by causing an inexplicable change in
the morale of the fighters of the two sides.
The same feature can be detected also in the
certainly historical record of the battle
of the third Samnite War in 294 BC, in which
consul Marcus Atilius Regulus vowed a temple
to Iuppiter Stator if "Jupiter will stop the
rout of the Roman army and if afterwards the
Samnite legions shall be victouriously massacred...It
looked as if the gods themselves had taken
side with Romans, so much easily did the Roman
arms succeed in prevailing...". In a similar
manner one can explain the epithet Victor,
whose cult was founded in 295 BC on the battlefield
of Sentinum by Quintus Fabius Maximus Gurges
and who received another vow again in 293
by consul Lucius Papirius Cursor before a
battle against the Samnite legio linteata.
The religious meaning of the vow is in both
cases an appeal to the supreme god by a Roman
chief at a time of need for divine help from
the supreme god, albeit for different reasons:
Fabius had remained the only political and
military responsible of the Roman State after
the devotio of P. Decius Mus, Papirius had
to face an enemy who had acted with impious
rites and vows, i.e. was religiously reprehensible.More
recently Dario Sabbatucci has given a different
interpretation of the meaning of Stator within
the frame of his structuralistic and dialectic
vision of Roman calendar, identifying oppositions,
tensions and equilibria: January is the month
of Janus, at the beginning of the year, in
the uncertain time of winter (the most ancient
calendar had only ten months, from March to
December). In this month Janus deifies kingship
and defies Jupiter. Moreover, January sees
also the presence of Veiovis who appears as
an anti-Jupiter, of Carmenta who is the goddess
of birth and like Janus has two opposed faces,
Prorsa and Postvorta (also named Antevorta
and Porrima), of Iuturna, who as a gushing
spring evokes the process of coming into being
from non-being as the god of passage and change
does. In this period the preeminence of Janus
needs compensating on the Ides through the
action of Jupiter Stator, who plays the role
of anti-Janus, i.e. of moderator of the action
of Janus.
==== Epithets denoting functionality ====
Some epithets describe a particular aspect
of the god, or one of his functions:
Jove Aegiochus, Jove "Holder of the Goat or
Aegis", as the father of Aegipan.
Jupiter Caelus, Jupiter as the sky or heavens;
see also Caelus.
Jupiter Caelestis, "Heavenly" or "Celestial
Jupiter".
Jupiter Elicius, Jupiter "who calls forth
[celestial omens]" or "who is called forth
[by incantations]"; "sender of rain".
Jupiter Feretrius, who carries away the spoils
of war". Feretrius was called upon to witness
solemn oaths. The epithet or "numen" is probably
connected with the verb ferire, "to strike,"
referring to a ritual striking of ritual as
illustrated in foedus ferire, of which the
silex, a quartz rock, is evidence in his temple
on the Capitoline hill, which is said to have
been the first temple in Rome, erected and
dedicated by Romulus to commemorate his winning
of the spolia opima from Acron, king of the
Caeninenses, and to serve as a repository
for them. Iuppiter Feretrius was therefore
equivalent to Iuppiter Lapis, the latter used
for a specially solemn oath. According to
Livy I 10, 5 and Plutarch Marcellus 8 though,
the meaning of this epithet is related to
the peculiar frame used to carry the spolia
opima to the god, the feretrum, itself from
verb fero,
Jupiter Centumpeda, literally, "he who has
one hundred feet"; that is, "he who has the
power of establishing, of rendering stable,
bestowing stability on everything", since
he himself is the paramount of stability.
Jupiter Fulgur ("Lightning Jupiter"), Fulgurator
or Fulgens
Jupiter Lucetius ("of the light"), an epithet
almost certainly related to the light or flame
of lightningbolts and not to daylight, as
indicated by the Jovian verses of the carmen
Saliare.
Jupiter Optimus Maximus (" the best and greatest").
Optumus because of the benefits he bestows,
Maximus because of his strength, according
to Cicero Pro Domo Sua.
Jupiter Pluvius, "sender of rain".
Jupiter Ruminus, "breastfeeder of every living
being", according to Augustine.
Jupiter Stator, from stare, "to stand": "he
who has power of founding, instituting everything",
thence also he who makes people, soldiers,
stand firm and fast
Jupiter Summanus, sender of nocturnal thunder
Jupiter Terminalus or Iuppiter Terminus, patron
and defender of boundaries
Jupiter Tigillus, "beam or shaft that supports
and holds together the universe."
Jupiter Tonans, "thunderer"
Jupiter Victor, "he who has the power of conquering
everything."
==== Syncretic or geographical epithets ====
Some epithets of Jupiter indicate his association
with a particular place. Epithets found in
the provinces of the Roman Empire may identify
Jupiter with a local deity or site (see syncretism).
Jupiter Ammon, Jupiter equated with the Egyptian
deity Amun after the Roman conquest of Egypt
Jupiter Brixianus, Jupiter equated with the
local god of the town of Brescia in Cisalpine
Gaul (modern North Italy)
Jupiter Capitolinus, also Jupiter Optimus
Maximus, venerated throughout the Roman Empire
at sites with a Capitol (Capitolium)
Jupiter Dolichenus, from Doliche in Syria,
originally a Baal weather and war god. From
the time of Vespasian, he was popular among
the Roman legions as god of war and victory,
especially on the Danube at Carnuntum. He
is depicted as standing on a bull, with a
thunderbolt in his left hand, and a double
ax in the right.
Jupiter Indiges, "Jupiter of the country,"
a title given to Aeneas after his death, according
to Livy
Jupiter Ladicus, Jupiter equated with a Celtiberian
mountain-god and worshipped as the spirit
of Mount Ladicus in Gallaecia, northwest Iberia,
preserved in the toponym Codos de Ladoco.
Jupiter Laterius or Latiaris, the god of Latium
Jupiter Parthinus or Partinus, under this
name was worshiped on the borders of northeast
Dalmatia and Upper Moesia, perhaps associated
with the local tribe known as the Partheni.
Jupiter Poeninus, under this name worshipped
in the Alps, around the Great St Bernard Pass,
where he had a sanctuary.
Jupiter Solutorius, a local version of Jupiter
worshipped in Spain; he was syncretised with
the local Iberian god Eacus.
Jupiter Taranis, Jupiter equated with the
Celtic god Taranis.
Jupiter Uxellinus, Jupiter as a god of high
mountains.In addition, many of the epithets
of Zeus can be found applied to Jupiter, by
interpretatio romana. Thus, since the hero
Trophonius (from Lebadea in Boeotia) is called
Zeus Trophonius, this can be represented in
English (as it would be in Latin) as Jupiter
Trophonius. Similarly, the Greek cult of Zeus
Meilichios appears in Pompeii as Jupiter Meilichius.
Except in representing actual cults in Italy,
this is largely 19th-century usage; modern
works distinguish Jupiter from Zeus.
== Theology ==
=== Sources ===
Marcus Terentius Varro and Verrius Flaccus
were the main sources on the theology of Jupiter
and archaic Roman religion in general. Varro
was acquainted with the libri pontificum ("books
of the Pontiffs") and their archaic classifications.
On these two sources depend other ancient
authorities, such as Ovid, Servius, Aulus
Gellius, Macrobius, patristic texts, Dionysius
of Halicarnassus and Plutarch.
One of the most important sources which preserve
the theology of Jupiter and other Roman deities
is The City of God against the Pagans by Augustine
of Hippo. Augustine's criticism of traditional
Roman religion is based on Varro's lost work,
Antiquitates Rerum Divinarum. Although a work
of Christian apologetics, The City of God
provides glimpses into Varro's theological
system and authentic Roman theological lore
in general. According to Augustine, Varro
drew on the pontiff Mucius Scaevola's tripartite
theology:
The mythic theology of the poets (useful for
the theatre)
The physical theology of the philosophers
(useful for understanding the natural world)
The civil theology of the priests (useful
for the state)
=== Jovian theology ===
Georg Wissowa stressed Jupiter's uniqueness
as the only case among Indo-European religions
in which the original god preserved his name,
his identity and his prerogatives. In this
view, Jupiter is the god of heaven and retains
his identification with the sky among the
Latin poets (his name is used as a synonym
for "sky".) In this respect, he differs from
his Greek equivalent Zeus (who is considered
a personal god, warden and dispenser of skylight).
His name reflects this idea; it is a derivative
of the Indo-European word for "bright, shining
sky". His residence is found atop the hills
of Rome and of mountains in general; as a
result, his cult is present in Rome and throughout
Italy at upper elevations. Jupiter assumed
atmospheric qualities; he is the wielder of
lightning and the master of weather. However,
Wissowa acknowledges that Jupiter is not merely
a naturalistic, heavenly, supreme deity; he
is in continual communication with man by
means of thunder, lightning and the flight
of birds (his auspices). Through his vigilant
watch he is also the guardian of public oaths
and compacts and the guarantor of good faith
in the State cult. The Jovian cult was common
to the Italic people under the names Iove,
Diove (Latin) and Iuve, Diuve (Oscan, in Umbrian
only Iuve, Iupater in the Iguvine Tables).
Wissowa considered Jupiter also a god of war
and agriculture, in addition to his political
role as guarantor of good faith (public and
private) as Iuppiter Lapis and Dius Fidius,
respectively. His view is grounded in the
sphere of action of the god (who intervenes
in battle and influences the harvest through
weather).Wissowa (1912), pp. 103–108
In Georges Dumézil's view, Jovian theology
(and that of the equivalent gods in other
Indo-European religions) is an evolution from
a naturalistic, supreme, celestial god identified
with heaven to a sovereign god, a wielder
of lightning bolts, master and protector of
the community (in other words, of a change
from a naturalistic approach to the world
of the divine to a socio-political approach).
In Vedic religion, Dyaus Pitar remained confined
to his distant, removed, passive role and
the place of sovereign god was occupied by
Varuna and Mitra. In Greek and Roman religion,
instead, the homonymous gods *Diou- and Διϝ-
evolved into atmospheric deities; by their
mastery of thunder and lightning, they expressed
themselves and made their will known to the
community. In Rome, Jupiter also sent signs
to the leaders of the state in the form of
auspices in addition to thunder. The art of
augury was considered prestigious by ancient
Romans; by sending his signs, Jupiter (the
sovereign of heaven) communicates his advice
to his terrestrial colleague: the king (rex)
or his successor magistrates. The encounter
between the heavenly and political, legal
aspects of the deity are well represented
by the prerogatives, privileges, functions
and taboos proper to his flamen (the flamen
Dialis and his wife, the flaminica Dialis).
Dumézil maintains that Jupiter is not himself
a god of war and agriculture, although his
actions and interest may extend to these spheres
of human endeavour. His view is based on the
methodological assumption that the chief criterion
for studying a god's nature is not to consider
his field of action, but the quality, method
and features of his action. Consequently,
the analysis of the type of action performed
by Jupiter in the domains in which he operates
indicates that Jupiter is a sovereign god
who may act in the field of politics (as well
as agriculture and war) in his capacity as
such, i.e. in a way and with the features
proper to a king. Sovereignty is expressed
through the two aspects of absolute, magic
power (epitomised and represented by the Vedic
god Varuna) and lawful right (by the Vedic
god Mitra). However, sovereignty permits action
in every field; otherwise, it would lose its
essential quality. As a further proof, Dumézil
cites the story of Tullus Hostilius (the most
belligerent of the Roman kings), who was killed
by Jupiter with a lightning bolt (indicating
that he did not enjoy the god's favour).
Varro's definition of Jupiter as the god who
has under his jurisdiction the full expression
of every being (penes Iovem sunt summa) reflects
the sovereign nature of the god, as opposed
to the jurisdiction of Janus (god of passages
and change) on their beginning (penes Ianum
sunt prima).
== Relation to other gods ==
=== Capitoline Triad ===
The Capitoline Triad was introduced to Rome
by the Tarquins. Dumézil 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). 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.
==== Archaic Triad ====
The Archaic Triad is a hypothetical theological
structure (or system) consisting of the gods
Jupiter, Mars and Quirinus. It was first described
by Wissowa, 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 wealth.This hypothesis
has not found widespread support among scholars.
=== 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.
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.
=== 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.
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. 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. 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..."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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
=== 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.
=== 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.
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.
=== 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).
=== Dius Fidius ===
Dius Fidius is considered a theonym for Jupiter,
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. The
association with Jupiter may be a matter of
divine relation; some scholars see him as
a form of Hercules. Both Jupiter and Dius
Fidius were wardens of oaths and wielders
of lightning bolts; both required an opening
in the roof of their temples.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, but the concept
of a deity's genius is a development of the
Imperial period.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.
=== 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.G.
Wissowa advanced the hypothesis that Semo
Sancus is the genius of Jupiter. 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.Censorinus
cites Granius Flaccus as saying that "the
Genius was the same entity as the Lar" in
his lost work De Indigitamentis. probably
referring to the Lar Familiaris. Mutunus Tutunus
had his shrine at the foot of the Velian Hill
near those of the Di Penates and of Vica Pota,
who were among the most ancient gods of the
Roman community of according to Wissowa.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.A connection between
Genius and Jupiter seems 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. Scipio himself claimed
that only he would rise to the mansion of
the gods through the widest gate.Among the
Etruscan Penates there is a Genius Iovialis
who comes after Fortuna and Ceres and before
Pales. Genius Iovialis is one of the Penates
of the humans and not of Jupiter though, as
these were located in region I of Martianus
Capella' s division of Heaven, while Genius
appears in regions V and VI along with Ceres,
Favor (possibly a Roman approximation to an
Etruscan male manifestation of Fortuna) and
Pales. This is in accord with the definition
of the Penates of man being Fortuna, Ceres,
Pales and Genius Iovialis and the statement
in Macrobius that the Larentalia were dedicated
to Jupiter as the god whence the souls of
men come from and to whom they return after
death.
=== 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. 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. The complementarity
of the epithets is shown in inscriptions found
on puteals or bidentals reciting either fulgur
Dium conditum or fulgur Summanum conditum
in places struck by daytime versus nighttime
lightning bolts respectively. This is also
consistent with the etymology of Summanus,
deriving from sub and mane (the time before
morning).
=== 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.
Such a hypothesis was rejected as groundless
by Wissowa, although he was a supporter of
Liber's Jovian origin. Olivier de Cazanove
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) was derived from another
deity. Such a derivation would find support
only in epigraphic documents, primarily from
the Osco-Sabellic area. 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 and sometimes Libertas. Wissowa opines
that the relationship existed in the concept
of creative abundance through which the supposedly-separate
Liber might have been connected 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. O. de Cazanove argues that the domain
of the sovereign god Jupiter was that of sacred,
sacrificial wine (vinum inferium), while that
of Liber and Libera was confined to secular
wine (vinum spurcum); 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.
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 was obtained only by pouring the juice
into amphors after pressing. The mustum was
considered spurcum (dirty), and thus unusable
in sacrifices. 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 and for ears
of corn of the praemetium on a dish (lanx)
at the
temple of Ceres.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). 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). 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. 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".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.
=== Veiove ===
Scholars have been often puzzled by Ve(d)iove
(or Veiovis, or Vedius) and unwilling to discuss
his identity, claiming our knowledge of this
god is insufficient. Most, however, agree
that Veiove is a sort of special Jupiter or
anti-Iove, or even an underworld Jupiter.
In other words, Veiove is indeed the Capitoline
god himself, who takes up a different, diminished
appearance (iuvenis and parvus, young and
gracile), in order to be able to discharge
sovereign functions over places, times and
spheres that by their own nature are excluded
from the direct control of Jupiter as Optimus
Maximus. This conclusion is based on information
provided by Gellius, who states his name is
formed by adding 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 the god, who threatens
the kingly power of Jupiter as Stator and
Centumpeda and whose presence occurs side
by side to Janus' on January 1, but also his
function of helper to the growth of the young
Jupiter. In 1858 Ludwig Preller suggested
that Veiovis may be the sinister double of
Jupiter.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)—may be significant in this
respect, along with the fact that he is considered
the father of Apollo, perhaps because he was
depicted carrying arrows. He is also considered
to be the unbearded Jupiter. The dates of
his festivals support the same conclusion:
they fall on January 1, March 7 and May 21,
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". Gellius
concludes by stating that this god is one
of those who receive sacrifices so as to persuade
them 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). It is
perhaps because of the arrow and of the juvenile
looks that Gellius identifies Veiove with
Apollo and as a god who must receive worship
in order to obtain his abstention from harming
men, along with Robigus and Averruncus. The
ambivalence in the identity of Veiove is apparent
in the fact that while he is present in places
and times which may have a negative connotation
(such as the asylum of Romulus in between
the two groves on the Capitol, the Tiberine
island along with Faunus and Aesculapius,
the kalends of January, the nones of March,
and May 21, a statue of his nonetheless stands
in the arx. Moreover, the initial particle
ve- which the ancient supposed were part of
his name is itself ambivalent as it may have
both an accrescitive and diminutive value.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. An inscription
found at Brescia in 1888 shows that Iuppiter
Iurarius was worshipped there and one found
on the south tip of Tiber Island in 1854 that
there was a cult to the god on the spot too.
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. 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. 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, in the Fasti Praenestini
of Vediove 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.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. 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.
=== Victoria ===
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.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.
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, 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. This legend
is generally thought by scholars to indicate
their strict connection with Jupiter. An inscription
found near Ravenna reads Iuppiter Ter., 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, 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. 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). Dario Sabbatucci has emphasised
the temporal affiliation of Terminus, a reminder
of which is found in the rite of the regifugium.
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.
=== 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). 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)
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.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).
A temple to Iuventas was promised in 207 BC
by consul Marcus Livius Salinator and dedicated
in 191 BC.
=== Penates ===
The Romans considered the Penates as the gods
to whom they owed their own existence. As
noted by Wissowa Penates is an adjective,
meaning "those of or from the penus" the innermost
part, most hidden recess; Dumézil though
refuses Wissowa's interpretation of penus
as the storeroom of a household. As a nation
the Romans 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 Velian Hill, near
the Palatine, 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, because the Romans believed
the Penates of that town were identical to
their own.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. According to Varro
the Penates reside in the recesses of Heaven
and are called Consentes and Complices by
the Etruscans because they rise and set together,
are twelve in number and their names are unknown,
six male and six females and are the cousellors
and masters of Jupiter. Martianus states they
are always in agreement among themselves.
While these last gods seem to be the Penates
of Jupiter, Jupiter himself along with Juno
and Minerva is one of the Penates of man according
to some authors.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 (of Jupiter
in region I, earthly or of mortal men in region
V) are intended. Favor(es) may be the Etruscan
masculine equivalent of Fortuna.
== See also ==
Ver sacrum
== Notes ==
=== References ===
== Bibliography ==
Musei Capitolini
Mary Beard, J.A. North, and S.R.F. Price,
Religions of Rome: A History (Cambridge University
Press, 1998).
Dumézil, G. (1977) La religione romana arcaica.
Con un'appendice sulla religione degli Etruschi.
Milano, Rizzoli. Edizione e traduzione a cura
di Furio Jesi.
Dumézil, G. (1988). Mitra-Varuna: An essay
on two Indo-European representations of sovereignty.
New York: Zone Books. ISBN 0-942299-13-2
Dumézil, G. (1996). Archaic Roman religion:
With an appendix on the religion of the Etruscans.
Baltimore, Md: Johns Hopkins University Press.
ISBN 0-8018-5481-4
Article "Jupiter" in The Oxford Classical
Dictionary. ISBN 0-19-860641-9
Smith, Miranda J., 'Dictionary of Celtic Myth
and Legend' ISBN 0-500-27975-6
Favourite Greek Myths, Mary Pope Osbourne
Aedes Iovis Optimi Maximi Capitolini
Platner, S. B., & Ashby, T. (1929). A topographical
dictionary of ancient Rome. London: Oxford
University Press, H. Milford. OCLC 1061481
Rüpke, Jörg (Editor), A Companion to Roman
Religion, Wiley-Blackwell, 2007. ISBN 978-1-4051-2943-5
Wissowa, Georg (1912). Religion und Kultus
der Römer. Munich.
== External links ==
Warburg Institute Iconographic Database (ca
1,700 images of Jupiter)
