Dea Dia

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Dea Dia was considered the goddess of growth in the Roman Empire and was worshiped by the Fratres Arvales ("Arval Brothers").

Especially in the 19th century Dea Dia was equated with Ceres (sometimes Tellus , Ops or Acca Larentia , sometimes even Diana and Hebe ). These equations are rejected today and the Dea Dia is viewed as a local deity.

Firmly

The three-day festival of Dea Dia was a temporary festival. It mostly took place in May and rarely in early June. The cult goes back to the early Roman times and was fundamentally reformed under Augustus . Her temple, the lucus , was outside Rome in a wood on the Via Campana on the right bank of the Tiber between the fifth and sixth milestones. The use of iron was prohibited in the cult activities. For these, togas with a purple border were worn.

The first day of the three-day festival was devoted to preparation; the actual cult activities were only carried out on the second day. The board of the Arval brothers sacrificed, without the other members, two piglets and a white cow. This was followed by the main sacrifice of a fat sheep, carried out with all members. This was followed by ceremonies with incense and wine offerings, the touching of consecrated ears of wheat, the distribution of laurel-wreathed bread and the throwing of pots from the temple entrance. This was followed by a dance to an ancient song, the meaning and content of which were incomprehensible even in republican times. This was followed by a meal, chariot and horse races in the grove's own circus , catering for the members in the house of the board as well as a sacrificial meal at the board and a formula for the emperor on the third day.

Lore

What is interesting about Dea Dia is that, with one exception, it is never mentioned in ancient Roman literature. Public sacrifices by the Arval brothers are only mentioned in Varro .

However, more details are known about the cult of Dea Dia than about that of any other deity. This information comes from the archives of the priesthood of the Arval Brothers, recorded on tablets that were found in the Stylobates of the Temple of Dea Dia from 1570 onwards . Further finds followed in 1699, 1866 and during planned excavations in 1871. There were also scattered finds from the Roman urban area ( Esquiline , Aventine , Vatican ). The results were published in chronological form by Wilhelm Henzen in 1874.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. Varro De lingua latina 5.85