Aius Locutius
Aius Locutius or Aius Loquens was the name of a Roman deity associated with the invasion of Italy by the Gallic Senones under Brennus around 387 BC. Is called.
According to an older tradition, the voice of a deity in the grove of Vesta , who no longer manifested itself physically , ordered the fortifications of Rome to be strengthened. Deviating from this, it is reported that the superhuman voice ordered a certain Marcus Caedicius to report the attack of the Gauls on the via Nova at night . In both cases the warning was ignored, resulting in the conquest and destruction of Rome. The Senate decided to have a sacred building built for the apparition for atonement. An altar found in 1820 at the foot of the Palatine Hill and often associated with it in the past may have belonged to another deity.
The name Aius Locutius consists of two related terms (aio, loquor) , both of which express the speech act and, through the coupling, underline the meaning of what is said. Voices of heralds out of nowhere are a recurring motif in Roman religiosity , which was strongly influenced by magical elements.
literature
- Emil Aust : Aius Locutius . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume I, 1, Stuttgart 1893, Col. 1130.
- Werner Eisenhut : Aius Locutius. In: The Little Pauly (KlP). Volume 1, Stuttgart 1964, Col. 210 f.
- David Engels: The Roman omens (753-27 BC). Sources, terminology, commentary, historical development . Stuttgart 2007, pp. 374-375 (RVW 58).
Web links
- Samuel Ball Platner, Thomas Ashby: A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome , 1929 in LacusCurtius
- Aius Locutius on lib.umich.edu