Mundus Cereris
The Mundus ( Latin "device, world order, universe, earth"), also Mundus Cereris ("World of Ceres ") was, according to Plutarch, the pit that Romulus dug when the city of Rome was founded and into which all settlers donated good and necessary donations Things were laid down.
The pit looked like an image of heaven, so it was hemispherical and sunk into the earth. It was dedicated to the Manen , the deceased, and was closed with the lapis manalis for most of the year . It was open three times a year - on August 24th, October 5th and November 8th. During this time it was forbidden to go into battle, marry and raise soldiers, because when the mundus is open - according to Varro - the gate of the sad and underworldly gods is open:
- "Mundus cum patet, deorum tristium atque inferum quasi ianua patet."
literature
- Konrat Ziegler : Mundus 1. In: The Little Pauly (KlP). Volume 3, Stuttgart 1969, column 1463 f.