Roman Pagan Prayers

8/12/2019 Roman Pagan Prayers

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Prayers to Apollo

Anthologia Latina..

Come, O God, kind patron, come! May you favor us in your presence.

Anthologia Latina.

Phoebus Tirynthia, I pray, please accept this offering on my behalf. This gift I offerin thanks to You for the good health and strength that I have had.

ArnobiusAdversus NationesIII

Come, Dii Penates, come Apollo and Neptune and all You Gods, and by Yourpowers may You mercifully turn aside this ill disease that violently twists, scorchesand burns our city with fever.

Claudius Claudianus In Olybii et Probini fratres Consules Panegyricus-

O Sol, whose light embraces the world, you orbit inexhaustible, forever returning,your face glowing on each day, your horses harnessed as a team to drive yourchariot, with manes braided pleasantly they rise high, passing over rose-red clouds asyou rein their frothing fires. Already yet another year begins, measured by thefootsteps of brothers, who as new consuls gladly offer their prayers and vows.

Claudius Claudianus In Olybii et Probini fratres Consules Panegyricus-

To you I pray, Apollo of Mount Parnassus, that you may inspire the pythia with soimportant knowledge, as to whom between us, O God, you will reward with

authority.

Corpus Inscriptiones Latinae-; [-]:Acta Sacroum Saeculares

Apollo, as it is prescribed for you in those books and for this reason may everygood fortune attend the Roman people, the Quirites let sacrifice be made to youwith nine popana, and nine cakes, and nine phthoes. I beg and pray [that you mayincrease the sovereign power and majesty of the Roman people, the Quirites, in warand peace; as you have always watched over us among the Latins. Forever may yougrant safety, victory and health to the Roman people, the Quirites. May you bestowyour favor on the Roman people, the Quirites, and on the legions of the Romanpeople, the Quirites. May you preserve the health and welfare of the people ofRome, the Quirites, and may you always remain willingly favorable and propitious tothe people of Rome, the Quirites, to the college of the quindecimviri, to me, to myhouse and household. May you accept [this] sacrifice of nine female lambs and nineshe-goats, to be burnt whole for you in sacrifice. For these reasons may you behonored and strengthened with the sacrifice of this female lamb, and becomefavorable and propitious to the Roman people, the Quirites, to the college of thequindecimviri, to myself, to my house, and to my household.] Apollo, just as I haveoffered popana and prayed to you with proper prayer, for this same reason behonored with these sacrificial cakes. Become favorable and propitious. [Apollo, just


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as I have offered phthoes cakes and prayed to you with proper prayer, for this samereason be honored with these sacrificial cakes. Become favorable and propitious

Horace Carmina..-; -

What may a poet ask in his prayers of You, Apollo? What can he say as he pours a

libation of new wine to You? May Apollo grant that I enjoy good health and asound mind, and, I pray, when I grow old, may He grant me a strife-free life, a clearmind and a lyre beside me with which to sing His praises.

Livy ..-:

Pythian Apollo, inspired by You and Your guiding influence I go forth to destroythe city of Veii. A tenth part of its spoils I devote to You. Likewise for You, JunoRegina, who in Veii now dwells, I pray, that after our victory You will follow us tothe our City, that soon will become Your City as well, where a holy precinct worthyof Your dignity will be built to receive You.

MartialEpigrammata ..-

An offering I gladly give You, Phoebus, a box of fragrant incense, from PalatinusParthenius on behalf of his son.

MartialEpigrammata .

May Myrinas richness ever You hold, Apollo, thus always the swan song, too, mayYou enjoy, may the well versed sisters ever serve You, the Delphic Pythia everreveal any of Your oracles, may the Palatia ever love and revere You. Were You everto ask, and Caesar grant, that he should invest Stella with consular powers, thengladly would I by vow become indebted to You.

Ovid Remedia Amoris-

From the very outset I pray to You, Apollo, inventor of music and of all thehealing arts, come to my aid and this undertaking; bless it with Your laurel.

Ovid Remedia Amoris

Come, health-bearing Apollo, come favoring my undertaking.

PacuviusMedusfr.

Sol, I call to You that You may guide me on my search for my parents.

Petronius Arbiter PLM

God of Delphi, I have dedicated to You a temple made of fine Sicilian marble,spoken allowed Your praises while accompanied by the sweet sounds of the calamusreeds. If ever You hear our prayers, Apollo, and if indeed You are divine, tell menow, by what means does a man without money seek to find it?

PlautusAulularia-


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Apollo, please, help me, and with your arrows slay these treasure-laden thieves. Asyou have done before, swiftly come to my aid and draw your bow.

PlautusMercator-

Apollo, I beseech you, graciously grant peace, prosperity, safety and soundhealth to our family, and spare my son by your gracious favour.

Sammonicus Praefatio Liber Medicinalis

Phoebus Apollo, bearer of health, for You we compose our song, and favorablypromote Your discoveries. With Your healing arts, You lead life back when it iswithdrawn from us and recall us from joining the Manes in Heaven. You whoformerly dwelt in the temples of Aegea, Pergamum, and Epidaurum, and who droveoff the Python from Your peaceful house at Delphi, sought a temple at Rome toYour glory, by expelling the foul presence of illness. Come to me now as each timeYou have fondly strengthen me when often You were called, and may You be

present in all that is set out in this book.

Seneca Hercules Furens

Your pardon I do desire, Apollo, if you see in my actions what is forbidden; for itwas by the will of another that I revealed hidden things of the earth.

StatiusAchilleis.-

Grant me, O Phoebus, new fonts of inspiration and weave fortunes garland as acrown upon my head.

Statius Thebaid.-

Not am I sent by anyone, O Apollo of Thymbra, nor as a suppliant do I approachyour shrine, conscious of my pious duties and the demands made of me by virtuehas led me your way.

Statius Thebaid.-; -

Pour wine on the altars fire as we sing our vows again and again to Letos son, thePreserver of our forefathers.Father Phoebus, whether it is the snowy slopes of Lycia or the thorny slopes ofPatara that perpetually keep you busy, or if it pleases you to merge your golden hairin Castalias chaste moisture, come now, remembering our hospitality, and bless

once more the fertile fields of Juno.

Statius Thebaid.-

Tell us, O Phoebus, who would have bent their rage, who might cause their delay,and in midcourse turn them astray.

Statius Thebaid.-


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Tell us, O Phoebus, the famous names of their master, tell us the names of thehorses themselves. Never before were such swift footed steeds, well bred andnoble, drawn up for battle, just as dense flocks of birds may swiftly clash together orAeolus decree furious winds to contest on a single shore.

Statius Thebaid.-

Now my last words before I depart, if any gratitude I owe to your prophet, OPhoebus, I commend my home and family shrines to You, and leave to You thepunishment of my faithless wife and my beautiful sons impassioned furor.

Statius Thebaid.-

O great Surveyor of all men, (Apollo), You who know the causes and principles ofour actions, and who is a Father to me and Savior as well, I pray, lessen Yourresolve against me and still Your angry heart, do not think me worthy of Your wrathone who is but a man and who fears Your laws.

Statius Thebaid.-

To You, Phoebus Apollo, go these spoils, prizes of the night, taken fromdistinguished nobles, not yet washed clean of their blood. I trust that truly I haveoffered You an acceptable sacrifice. I, Your faithful priest and defender of Yoursacred tripod against uncivilized enemies, commit these to You. If I have notdisgraced Your traditional rites and strictly kept Your rule, come often to me, thinkme worthy to often enter into my thoughts and seize my mind. Although nowcrude honors are offered You, - these broken arms stained with blood of honorablemen, - if ever, Paean, You will grant the return of my native home and the temples Ilong for, God of Lycia, remember my vows, and however many rich gifts and asmany bulls as I have promised, demand they be fulfilled.

Tibullus ..-; -

Give your favour, Phoebus, to a new priest who enters your temple. Be gracious,and with songs and lyre, come! When your fingers pluck the chords, and you givevoice to song, I pray you may inspire my words into your praises. May your hair beever flowing, Phoebus; may your sister be forever chaste.

Tibullus ..-; -

Draw near, Apollo, and expel the illness from this tender girl, come, draw near.Phoebus of flowing hair unshorn, hear me and hasten. If, Phoebus, You apply Yourhealing hand to her, You will not regret saving her. Allow not that she should waste

away emaciated, or that her color should wane pallor, or that her limbs should losetheir strength, and do not wait until her white limbs turn to a hideous color.Whatsoever this illness may be, whatever sorrow we may fear it will bring, carry itoff with the waters of a swift running stream to the seas. Holy one, come! Andbring with You all Your delicacies, all Your songs, and all else that will soothe thesick. Then the Gods will raise a pious tumult of Your praises and desire They toohad Your healing arts.

Tibullus ..ff.


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Come, Phoebus, with Your golden hair loosely floating, soothe her torture, restoreher fair complexion. Come quickly, we pray, we implore, use Your happy skills,such charms as You never spared before. Grant that her frail fame shall not wasteaway with consumption, or her eyes grow languid, and her bloom fade. Come nowwith Your favoring aid.

Valerius FlaccusArgonautica.-

Advise me, Phoebus Apollo, if ever You inspired the Sibyl of Cumae to see visionswaft from a kettle in Your sacred house, if ever a chaplet of fresh laurel dignified aworthy brow, and O You whose great fame opened many a sea.


Turn to us now, Mighty Archer, I pray that finally now, Apollo, You will come toour aid! Father, revive the life of this man. If You approve of what we do, then stirback to life he who is of the utmost importance for the success of our venture; andso from this one does the fate of all hands depends.


The king, startled by his dreams, awoke, arose from his bed and addressed hisfather, the God of the sun, whose car would soon appear on the eastern shore.Father Apollo, I pray to You, all-seeing guardian God, be gracious to me andprotect me, watching over my kingdom. Be ever vigilant and warn me whatstrangers or what subjects of mine conspire against me. Whatever treacherous plotsthere may be, keep me alert and prepared.

VirgilAeneid.-

Grant us our own, Lord of Thymbra, grant the tired and worn, and their children, a

city behind defensive walls in a tamed land. Safeguard a new Troy, built by thoseTrojan sons who escaped the Greeks and severe Achilles. Who now must I follow?Where do you urge me to go? Grant, Father, a sign, and flow into our souls.

VirgilAeneid .-

O Phoebus Apollo, who always pitied Troy of its grave hardship, you who guidedthe hand of Paris and his Dardanan missile to the body of Aeacus son, You who ledme to penetrate all the seas that wash upon mighty shores, and deep within theremote Massylian tribes and fields that lie against Syrtian sands, until at last we cameupon the fleeting shores of Italy. Let Troys ill fortune have followed us thus far(and no further). You also may justly spare the families of Pergamus, all you gods

and goddesses who stood against Troy and the greater glory of the Dardanians.And You, most holy Diviner of future events, I ask only for what fate has allottedme, grant that the sons of Teucria with their wandering gods and storm tossedspirits of Troy may settle in Latium. Then to Apollo and Hecate I shall erect atemple in marble and establish feast days celebrated in Apollos name. For You agreat sanctuary also awaits in our new realm, for indeed I shall place within it Yourdivining lots and record the arcane words Your oracles have spoken to our people,Gracious One, and I will select and consecrate virtuous men to care for them. Do


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not commit your songs only to the leaves, that they may swirl about as the sport ofwhirling winds, but sing them, I pray, with your own lips for us.

VirgilAeneid.-

Great Father of the Gods may it so come to pass; thus, Apollo, come, make it begin.

VirgilAeneid.-

Apollo Soranus, Highest of the Gods, Holy Guardian of Mount Soracte, we who areforemost among Your worshippers, for You we set to flame the piled pine-wood,and Your worshippers, piously trusting our faith in You among the fires, press ourstep across the glowing embers. Grant, Father Almighty, that by our arms we mayerase this disgrace. No plunder did I seek, no trophy to win from virgins, or anyspoils; my fame shall follow from my feats. But while this dire plague strikes mewith illness, inglorious I must return to the cities of our fathers.


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Prayers to Bacchus

AnomynousElegy to Maecenus.-

O Bacchus, after we defeated the dark tanned Indians, You drank sweet wine fromYour helmet and, carefree, You loosened Your tunic. It was then I suppose thatYou dressed in rich purple finery. I am mindful of those times, and certainly recallthose snow-white arms shining brightly that led the thyrsus and how You adorned itwith gems and gold, and ivy wound thereon as well. Surely silver slippers boundyou feet, this, I think, Bacchus, You will not deny. Softer than You usually gave inthe many times You counseled me, then was brought forth new words upon Yourlips

Caesius Bassius Hymn of Callimachus

Come, O Lyaeus, bihorned Bassareus, two-mothered Maenalius, come intothis place I prepare with sleek, shiny hair. May You arouse with a crown of

ivy and golden clusters of grapes, and bear shaft of new green wood, OGentle One, may You come to this altar, Bacchus, Bacchus, Bacchus.

Flores Carmina

Bacchus, inventor of vines, may you arrive full of wines,may you pour forth the sweet liquid, to be compared with nectar,and make the old pleasant, and turned to another use,may it not lead harsh flavor to our spiteful veins

Grattius Cynegetica -

Liber expels light cares from the heart, Liber brings soothing relief fromdistress.Liber expels pains from the chest, Liber bears medicine to soothe a fever.

Horace Carmina ..-

Euhoe! Save me Liber, spare me grave master of the fearful ivy-rod.

Horace Carmina ..-

In spring, O Lenaeus Bacchus, I follow You, a god wreathed with ivy.

NemesianusEclogue.-

O Dryades who live in the forest, and Napaeas who live in caves, andNaides whose gleaming white feet pass through waves upon the shore andpromote purple violets to grow on grassy slopes, tell me of my Donaceswho I came upon under the shadows, in the meadow where she plucked uproses and the shoots of lilies pruned?

Ovid Fasti.-


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Turn Your head with complacent horns to me, Father Bacchus, and givemy genius a fair wind to follow

OvidMetamorphoses .-;

Bacchus they call you, and Bromius, and Lyaeus, born in fire, and Savior also, whoalone was born of two mothers. Revered as a God in Nyseus, unshorn Thyoneus,joyful Lenaeus, the sower of grapes, Lord of Nocturnal Revelries, the Bullroarer,and by many more names, Liber, are You known among the Greeks. Adored foryour eternal youth, a youth everlasting, you the most beautiful among the celestialGods high above, to You are sacrifices made when You, without horns upon Yourmost virgin head, are near and lend us Your assistance. Arising victorious in theEast, illuminating those distant lands faded in memory, to outermost India as far asthe banks of the Ganges.

Calm and mild, may you come to us.

OvidMetamorphoses.-

Forgive me, Father Bacchus, I was mistaken, but have pity, I pray, andcommand that I should be torn from your beauty.

PropertiusEligiae..-

O Bacchus, humbly now I approach Your altar.Grant tranquil seas for me, Father, and a fair wind in my sails.You are able to tame even the rages of Venus; Your wine a cure for our sorrows.By You are lovers bound to one another; by You are their bonds dissolved.O Bacchus, cleanse my soul of fault.

Truly also You cannot attest to be ignorant of my sorrowwhen it was your lynxes that carried Ariadne off to the stars,like You there is an old flame still burning in my bones.Only wine or death may rid us of our ills.

Truly an empty night alone and sober spent always torments lovers;where hopes and fears churn in the mind of one or the other.But if, Bacchus, Your gift could soothe my fevered mind and bring sleep to my wearied bones, thenIll plant vines and fasten them in orderly rows upon my hills, and myself stand guard less wild beastsshould pluck them.

When my vats fill foaming purple with must, and new wine presses have stainedmy feet with grapes, then it will be enough for me to live with Your vinesand in Your horned presence, O Bacchus, I, Your poet, shall sing.

Statius Thebaid.-

Almighty Father of Nysa, who long has passed from loving your ancestral rites in distant India, whonow is swiftly borne beneath the frozen North to shake warlike Ismara with your thyrsus, you,Bacchus, who now urges the grapevines to overgrow the realm of Lycurgus, or you who is swelling


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the Ganges and the Red Sea, to the farthest Eastern lands, rushing forward and shouting in triumph,or who from the springs of Hermus rises forth golden, but we, your progeny, have had to lay asidesuch arms that do you honor at festivals, instead to bear war and tears, alarm and similar horrors, theburdens of unjust reigns. Rather than speak to you once more of the monstrous acts of these leadersand of their vulgar progeny, rather would I have you carry me across the eternally frozen landsbeyond the Caucasus Mountains where Amazons howl out their war cries. Behold, you press me

hard, Bacchus. Far different from the frenzy I had sworn to you, I saw the clash of two bulls, bothalike in honor and sharing one lineage, butting heads and locking their horns in fierce combat andboth perish in their shared wrath. You are the worse evil. You depart. Guilty are you who pray thathe alone should gain possession of ancestral pastures and hills whose ownership is shared withothers. Evil one, born of the wretched, so much has warfare and bloodshed brought you; nowanother leader holds your glades and pastures.

Sulpicia ..

Grant, O natal Genius, all my hearts desires, and expensive incense I shall burnupon your altar.

Tibullus ..-; -

Come to us, Bacchus, with clusters of grapes dangling from your horns, and you,too, Ceres, a wreath of newly ripened wheat for your temples, come!

Gods of our fathers, we purify our farmers and our fruitful fields; we askthat you drive away harm from our borders. Let not the now sproutingplants succumb before harvest, let not the timid lambs be outrun by swiftwolves.

Tibullus ..-

Splendid Liber, draw near to me! With your forever mystical vine, and your

ivy bound head, carry off my sorrows, in the same manner as you have sooften used wines healing powers to overcome the pangs of love.

Virgil Georgics.-

Now shall I sing of you, Bacchus. Without you there would be no woodland orthicket, or slow growing olive grove. Come hither, O Lenaean Father, all thingshere beckon to be nurtured by your many gifts, the autumn vineshoots laden thecountryside with blossoms, the vintage grape harvest foams plentiful to the lips ofthe wine vats. Hasten, O Lenaean Father, come and, stripped down, tinge yournaked feet in new wine must with me.


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Carmenta

Virum mihi, Camena, insece versutumDa mihi hasce opes, quas peto, quas precor porrige opitula

Camena, in hot pursuit of virtuous men, come to me,

Grant me the strength, Goddess, to whom I ask, to whom I pray;Extend your assistance to me.

~Livius Andronicus, from Odisia.andEquos Troianos

Carmenta, Carmentis, Carmentes, Carmenae, Carmena

Although English words such as literature and religion have their origins in Latin, the Romans

had no such specific concepts. Rather, much of the sense of these words were captured in the Latinword carmen, usually translated into English as song. (Thomas) Harbinek argues that for theRomans, song encompassed a wide range of ritualized speech, including elements of poetry,storytelling, and even casting spells. (From a review of The World of Roman Song: FromRitualized Speech to Social Order, Thomas Habinek, John Hopkins University Press, : ISBN ---)

Habinek refers to the carmenas the language of authority. It is a form of speech that can be found inoratory and state ceremony of the Late Republic, with examples provided by Cicero and JuliusCaesar. It is also a special style of speaking, the language of poetry, yet not just any poetry. For themost part Catallus wrote Latin poetry in a style based on Greek models. But there are instanceswhere his phrasing resorted to an earlier style, the versus Saturnusof Archaic Latin. Noteworthy is that

in each instance where Catullus used the style of the carmen it was when he was writing about theGods. The carmen is the language of authority in oratory, poetry, plays, and ceremony due to itsearlier significance as the manner in which one addresses the Gods. It is the language of ritual moreso than that it is ritualized speech. Carmen is the language of prayer, of magical charms, and ofprophecy. With each of these aspects of the Roman carmen, Carmentis was associated. She is theGoddess of prophecy. She is a Goddess most closely associated with soothing spells recited bywomen during childbirth, but also with other healing charms, as well as binding spells and lovecharms, protective spells and all other manner of magical charms. Even in this aspect of the carmenand of Carmentis there is a still earlier understanding that takes us back to the very origins of thereligio Romana.

Some have recorded for history that she was first called Nicostrate and later Garmenta, from"songs" (carmina), and that this was of course because she was extremely skilled in all letters and wise

concerning the future, and was accustomed to singing about these things in songs, to such an extentthat most prefer to think that it is not so much that she was named Carmenta from the songs shesang, but rather that the songs were named after her (S. Aurelius Victor, Origo Gentis RomanaeV.).

The relationship between the Latin word for song or charm (carmen) and the names of theGoddess as Carmentis, Carmenta, and Carmena is well understood. However Radke argued that theroot of Her name derived from carn-, Oscan carneis, meaning part. According to Habinek,Carmentis is not a personification of song but the abstraction for that which procures or bringsallotment. Carn- is also the root of caro, carnis(flesh), and more specifically the portion allotted in a


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sacrifice. Indeed, as John Scheid observes, Varro (ling. .) uses the expression carnem ex sacris peterein the very context (the distribution of meat at the sacrifice on the Alban Mount)... Carmentis wouldthus seem to be a figure associated with sacrifice (through the etymology of her name and herassociation with allotment) and with prophecy (a fact that led to, rather than derived from, the folkassociation with carmen. She is, in effect, the quintessential vates.

In discussing Carmentis there is more that Habinek has to say on developing his meaning and socialsetting of the vates. The vates represent a much more ancient tradition than the Archaic religioRomana. The Archaic religio Romana would appear to date back no earlier than the fourth century,even though later Romans projected it further back in time to the Regal Period. The Archaic religioRomana was developed following the Gallic sack of Rome, when an earlier oral tradition, attributedto Numa Pompilius, was first written down (Livy ..-). Underlying this archaic tradition, at thefoundation of the religio Romana was originally an ecstatic tradition. One role of the vateswas thatof the founders of ritual, which they sang out in carmina. The vatesin ecstatic trance, reciting carminathat both prophesized and founded new ritual, establishing the religio Romana by setting out theritualized language and the ritual performances to be followed, designating, too, the rules of allottingsacrifice, and so forth, embodied in a female presence that is the Goddess Carmentis. This processmay be found in Roman legend. One example is where Carmentis (Nicostrate), as the mother of

Evander, instructs Hercules on proper ritual following His battle with Cacus. The other examplesare stories of how Numa Pompilius was instructed on ritual by the nymph Egeria in the sacred groveof Carmentis. Egeria appeared to Numa during incubation rites, singing to him as he slept, with theirrelationship so close that it was at times described as a marriage. Egeria here is the personification ofthe abstract Carmentis, the vision, in dream, of the presence intuited as Carmentis. That is, being avery early Goddess seen in other aspects of Her cultus like Vesta, Carmentis is not representedby images, but rather She is represented in the very act of ecstatic rites producing prophetic song,and it is in that moment of ecstatic experience, as later philosophers came to explain, that She mayproject an image of a form, aphantasia, onto a persons soul, Pophyrys anima spiritualis.

Ovid makes an association between Carmentis and Janus. For the Carmentalia on January, hesays

As the fortunate seer was the darling of the Gods alive, the Goddess owns this day in the month ofJanus.

An even closer connection is made by Ovid between Janus and the Goddesses Cardea and Carna onthe kalends of June. Carnas name is derived from carnas is that of Carmentis. And likeCarmentis, Carna is the Goddess of good health who protects the vital organs (Macrobius, Saturnalia..-) and is offered a portion of the dish of beans and bacon. Ovid likewise says that a soup ofbeans and bacon is eaten on the kalends of June to ensure good health. But he mentions this inconjunction with the healing of the child Proca who has been afflicted by strigae. It is here that wecan see the connection between Carna and Carmentis, since it would be Carmentis who would becalled upon to heal a sick child, and also Carmentis who would be looked to ward off the evil eye of

strigae. Ovid purposely confuses Carna with Cardea, the Goddess of hinges, in a little story on howShe became the wife of Janus. But this story, too, better relates to Carmentis. The home of aRoman man is not complete until he takes a wife, for only women have the magical power to protecthis home. In the Roman wedding ceremony, as bride first arrived at her husbands house, shedescended from the litter that had carried her from the house of her mother, and performed ablessing at the front door. She dabbed the hinges with olive oil using a bough of arbutus whilechanting a carmen, and she hung a bough of whitehorn above the door to catch any ill on it thorns.In function and through etymology, Carna and Cardea related to Carmentis. But there is also a more


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subtle way in which Ovid referred to Carmentis by identifying Cardea and Carna as the nymphCranae (Fasti .)

Nymphs are closely associated with Carmentis because they provide healing waters and prophecy.This connection can be seen more clearly by looking at certain myths related to Carmentis. Telonwas king of the Teleboans on the isle of Taphos. He sailed west and settled on the isle of Capreae

after taking a nymph oas his wife from the stream of Sebethus near Naples. She bore him a soncalled called Hippocoon and another named Oebalus. Oebalus in turn settled in Campania, the landof his mother, and took as his wife the nymph Bateia, by whom he had several children. TheOebalides is a patronymic title for not only the descendants of Oebalus, but of the Spartans ingeneral, and thus was applied as an epithet or surname of Castor, Pollux, Helena, and Hyacenthus.In Italy itself Oebalides also referred to the Sabines of Titus Tatius who claimed descent from a sonof Oebalus (Ovid, Fasti .). The wife of Oebalus, the nymph Bateia, was also called Nicostrate.After the death of Oebalus, Nicostrate became pregnant with Evander by Mercurius. Due toEvanders questionable parentage, both he and Nicostrate were to flee Campania. On the advice ofhis prophetic mother Nicostrate Evender set sail north to found a new city. It was the nymphNicostrate who advised Evander to sail up the Tiber River, and she who pointed out on what hill hewas to found his city.. Evander and his followers joined together with the local inhabitants to found

the city of Paleteum, from which the Palatine Hill received its name. Nicostrate took her abodeinstead in a sacred grove at the foot of the hill. It was in that grove that the nymph Nicostratebecame an oracle and gained the name Garmenta, the same grove that Aeneas visited, the samevisited by Hercules, the same grove where the infants Romulus and Remus were discovered beingnursed by a she-wolf. It was later that an Oebalian king established a sacred grove for Garmentabeneath the Capitoline Hill. This was King Numa Pompilius. And it was then to the sacred grove ofCarmenta that Numa would go seeking the advice of the nymph Egeria. So close was theirrelationship that it was said that Numa had taken Egeria to be his wife, like Oebalus before him, andTelon before that. In time the mortal Numa passed away, and grief-stricken Egeria left Rome forAricia, where Egeria became the nymph of the sacred grove of Diana Nemorensis and continuedproviding prophecies and healing waters.

Sebetha, Bateia, Nicostrate, Garmenta, Egeria, these are the various names by which a single Nymph

was called as her story entwined from generation to generation of the Oebalides. As Sebetha sheaided Telon in founding a colony on Caprae. As Bateia she taught rites to Oebalus by which hefounded his city in Campania. As Nicostrate she taught Evander the founding rites of his city, andalso taught Hercules the rites He was to perform for Jupiter. She instructed Aeneas on the city hewas to found, and foretold of a greater city that the Fates had deemed his descendants to found.Then as Egeria she taught Numa the foundation of what became the religio Romana. Carmentis, theoracular Voice, through Her connection with the carmen, is the Founder of civilizing rites. It is inHer role as Founder and at the beginning of things that Carmentis is associated with Janus. Habinekwrote, One may argue that this is to be expected given the date of Her festival (January), but infact, the close association in function between Janus and Carmentis leads to Their calendricalproximity and not the other way around. She receives attention near the beginning of Ovidsversified account of the religious year because She deserves it.

The connection between Janus and Carmentis, as Carna on the kalends of June, is furtherstrengthened when looking further into Carmentalia along with the Matralia. Both festivalssignicantly fall on the eleventh day of the month, January and June respectively. A Temple of MaterMatuta was vowed by Camillus, who was assisted by the matrons that worshipped in the sacred groveof Carmentis. Mater Matuta was also worshipped among the Volsci, in Campania, and at Praeneste.The Fasti Praeneste notes the second Carmentalia of January being vowed by a Roman general, whomay have been Camillus. This second festival then may have celebrated the anniversary of thededication by Camillus of the Temple of Mater Matuta (i. e. Carmentis). And we may also note the


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strange occurrence in Livys account of the Latin sack of Satricum. The entire city was burned,including the temples, except for the Temple of Mater Matuta when an awesome voice from thetemple threatened disaster if they did not remove their sacrilegious flames well away from thesanctuary. (Livy ..). Such a prophetic voice would have been associated as Carmentis. It ismore in the cultus of Mater Matuta that a parallel can be draw between Her and Carmentis. Thecultus of Mater Matuta was very ancient, as was that held for Carmentis. Only the first of a first

marriage could dress Her image, and used as an image of Mater Matuta was a wooden pole heavilyveiled in drapery. No slaves were permitted in Her temple save one who was ceremoniously drivenfrom Her rites. Offerings to Mater Matuta were cakes cooked in old-fashioned earthenware. Thesefew fragments of Her cultus do not agree exactly in their peculiarities with that of rites for Carmentisor similar Goddesses, but they are consistent with prohibitions against the use of leather orimmolationes (Carmentis), iron (Ceres), or wine (Bona Dea). The main feature of the Matralia wasthat women prayed first for the nephews and nieces, and only secondly for their own children.

Along side the myths of Carmentis and the story of the travels of Oebalides from Taphos to Rome,there is another story, an historical story, of an ecstatic tradition brought by Phocaeans from AsiaMinor to the city of Velia on the Bay of Naples.

Ritus Carmentis

Approach the altar barefoot, bearing gifts in your left hand and with your right hand held forward,palm up, in a gesture of offering. Stop short of the altar by two to three steps.

Hus ades, Carmentis, sorores Porrima Postvortaque te adsint, anima laeta veni,Mater Evanderi.

Come, be present, Carmentis. May Your sisters Porrima and Postvortaattend You. With joyful mind come, Mother of Arcadian Evander.

Approach the altar, setting your offerings before the altar. Offer incense of bay laurel and sweet scented flowers.

Carmentis, te hoc turem obmoveo bonas preces precor, ut sis volenspropitius nobis liberisque notris domis familisque nostris.

Carmentis, I make this offering of incense to You and pray with good prayers thatYou will look kindly and favorably upon our children and upon us, on our homesand on our households.

Pour a libation of honeyed milk:

Carmentis, macte ista libatione pollicenda sint, macte lacti inferiosint.

Carmentis, may You be strengthened by this libation, may You be honoredby this portion of milk.

(Other prayers may be inserted here. Two examples are given below.)


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Huc ades et tenerae morbos expelle puellae. Huc adesCarmentis, propera. Crede mihi, nec te iam pigebit formosaemedicas applicuisse manus. Effice ne macies pallentes occupet

artus, neu notet informis languida membra color, et quodcumquemali est et quidquid triste timemus, in pelagus rapidis evehatamnis aquis. Sancte Mater, veni, tecumque feras, quicumquesapores, quicumque et cantus corpora fessa levant. Pone metum,Carmentis. At nunc tota tua est, te solum candida secum cogitat.Fave, Carmentis. Iam celeber, iam laetus eris, cum debita reddetsanctis tutus focis. Tunc te felicem dicet pia turba Deorum,optabunt artes et sibi quisque tuas.

Draw near, Carmentis, and expel the illness from this tender girl. Comequickly, Carmentis. Believe me, never shall You regret at having laid Your

healing hand upon this comely girl. Do not allow her form to languish paleand thin, nor disfiguring hue to mark her feeble limbs, and whatever ill hascome upon her, whatever dread things we fear, may the rushing river-waterscarry them away to the sea. Come, Holy Mother, and bring with Yousoothing herbs and healing songs as will ease her wearied body. Put asidefear, Carmentis. But now she is wholly Yours, You alone are in herthoughts. Be gracious, Carmentis. Then celebrated and cheerful will You bewhen, safe again, she repays Your kindness upon Your holy altar. Then theGods will raise pious praise to You and desire that They too had Yourhealing arts.

Mater, te appello, age adsta, mane, audi; iteradum eadem ista mihi

dic. Tu meis iam nunc extremis aerumnis subsiste, tu fortunamcollapsam adfirma, tu saevis exanclatis casibus pausam pacemquetribue; sit satis laborum, sit satis periculorum.

Mother, on You I call, come, stand by me, stay, and listen to my pleas.Speak to me once again, in Your own words, as You did before. I pray Youput an end now to my harsh hardship, declare an end to ruinous fortune, inwhose cruel snare so long have I endured, and bestow upon me peace andrest from my labors and perils.

Offer popana, or a mixture of cheese, herbs, and flour formed into balls that

have been baked and drizzled with honey.

In tua, Mater carissime, in tua sumus custodia. Carmentis. te hoc popanaeobmovendo bonas preces precor uti sis volens propitius nobis liberisque nostridomis familisque nostri mactus hoc ferto.

In You, dearest Mother, in Your hands we place our safekeeping.Carmentis. in offering to You this cake of cheese I pray good prayers in


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Huc ades, o regina deum, gens casta precamur / et ferimus, dignoquaecumque est nomine, turba / Ausonidum pulchrumque et, acu etsubtemine fuluo / quod nostrae neuere manus, uenerabile donum. / ac dumdecrescit matrum metus, hoc tibi, diua, / interea uelamen erit. si pellerenostris / Marmaricam terris nubem dabis, omnis in auro / pressa tibi uariafulgebit gemma corona.

Be present O Queen of the Heavenly Gods, we Your chaste daughters pray and bring forth thisvenerable gift, we, all the Roman women of noble name, have woven this mantle with our ownhands, embroidered it for You with threads of gold. This veil You shall wear for now, O Juno, untilwe mothers grow less fearful for our sons. But if You will grant that we may repel these Africanstorm clouds from our land, we shall set upon You a flashing crown of diverse gems set in gold.

Mater clementissima per ego te frugiferam tuam dexteram istam deprecorO most merciful Mother, I pray for a blessing from Your generous and temperate right hand

miserandae animae supplicis tuae subsisteEnd the soulful misery of Your suppliant

Tu meis iam nunc extremis aerumnis subsiste, tu fortunam collapsam adfirma, tu saevis exanclatiscasibus pausam pacemque tribue; sit satis laborum, sit satis periculorum.I pray You put an end now to my harsh hardship, declare an end to ruinous fortune, in whose cruelsnare so long have I endured, and bestow upon me peace and rest from my labors and perils.

I pray You end my great travail and misery, and deliver me from the wretched fortune, which has forso long a time pursued me. Grant peace and rest if it please You to reply to my entreaties, for I haveendured too much labor and peril.

Mater, te appello, age adsta, mane, audi; iteradum eadem ista mihi dic.

Mother, on You I call, come, stand by me, stay, and listen to my pleas. Speak to me once again, inYour own words, as You did before. Bring forth, Carmentis, Your sisters Porrima and Postverta thatThey too may sing of things that once were and of things that are meant to be. Be my guide, if thereis any way, and make Your course from the sky above into this grove as once You dwelt beneath theCapitoline, where rich boughs shade fertile land. Holy Mother, do not desert me in my hour ofindecision, but lend me Your advice once more.

Carmenae meliora feratis mihi somnia vera

O Carmenae, may you bring better dreams than this evil vision that has awakened me from apeaceful sleep; let it not be a prophetic vision. Cast far away from me this vain and false vision, and

cease plucking my intestines with your zealous inquiries. Carmenae, I pray, turn this cruel dream togood, as night is turned into day, and bid the warm South wind to carry it away.

Da illi hasce opes, Carmentis, quas peto, quas precor porrige opitula

Grant her the strength, Carmentis, to whom I ask, to whom I pray; extend your assistance to her.Bring with you every herb for ending pain, and soothing songs to sing over her; from across the


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ocean, from distant shores, bear such herbs as will cure her most severe ills, or whatever else she maymost fear. Rack this girl no longer with pain, nor cruelly delay her birthing.

Huc ades et tenerae morbos expelle puellae. Huc ades Carmentis, propera. Crede mihi, nec te iam pigebit formosaemedicas applicuisse manus. Effice ne macies pallentes occupet artus, neu notet informis languida membra color, et

quodcumque mali est et quidquid triste timemus, in pelagus rapidis evehat amnis aquis. Sancte Mater, veni, tecumqueferas, quicumque sapores, quicumque et cantus corpora fessa levant. Pone metum, Carmentis. At nunc tota tua est, tesolum candida secum cogitat. Fave, Carmentis. Iam celeber, iam laetus eris, cum debita reddet sanctis tutus focis.Tunc te felicem dicet pia turba Deorum, optabunt artes et sibi quisque tuas.

Draw near, Carmentis, and expel the illness from this tender girl. Come quickly, Carmentis. Believeme never shall You regret at having laid Your healing hand upon this comely girl. Do not allow herform to languish pale and thin, nor disfiguring hue mark her feeble limbs, and whatever ill has comeupon her, whatever dread things we fear, may the rushing river-waters carry bear away to the seas.Come, Holy Mother, and bring with You soothing herbs and healing songs to her as will ease herwearied body. Put aside fear, Carmentis. But now she is wholly Yours, You alone are in herthoughts. Be gracious, Carmentis. Then celebrated and cheerful will You be when, safe again, she

repays Your kindness upon Your holy altar. Then the Gods will raise a pious tumult in praise to Youand desire That They too had Your healing arts.

Draw near, Carmentis, and expel the illness from this tender girl, come quickly. Goddess in whosesacred spring Egeria once dipped her flowing hair, hear me and hasten. Apply Your healing songs toher, save her from her ailments. Allow not that she should waste away emaciated, or that her colorshould wane pallor, or that her limbs should lose their strength. Whatsoever this illness may be,whatever sorrow we may fear it will bring, carry it off with the waters of a swift running stream to theseas. Holy One, come! And bring with You all Your delicacies, all Your songs, and all else that willsoothe the sick. Then the Gods will raise a pious tumult in praise to You and desire That They toohad Your healing arts.

Virum mihi, Camena, insece versutum.

Camena, in hot pursuit of virtuous men, come to me.Before wise Minerva invented Roman numerals,Before any Greek inscribed the words of Homer,Latin letters You taught to Eulina of Gabii.

Maenelian Voice carried from across the sea,Inspire us with song that we may address the Gods,Bring charms to teach our children their letters,That they may carry on as pious Romans.

Carmentis

Carmentis is a Goddess of prophecy and childbirth, a Goddess of charms and spells. Hersoothing words ease the pains of women in labor, heal the ill child, foretell the future ofbrides and that of their children. Her two sisters, Postorta and Porrima (or Porsa),accompany Her as the Carmenae or Carmentes (Aug. CG .). Porrima presides over


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natural birth when the infant descends head first. Postversa presides over breach births(Gellius, Attic Nights ..). In another form the Carmenae are Goddesses of Prophecywhere Postorta addresses the past and Porrima the future. As the Parcae or the FataScribunda (Tert.An..), the Carmentes record the fate of child from birth until a personsdeath. The Romans also identified the Carmenae as the three Muses.

Whether alone as Carmentis or else along with Her sisters, She was a Goddess of ritualizedspeech. She was a patron Goddess of midwives and mothers, since Her charms andincantations (carmina) were primarily used in healing illnesses of women and children. Anexample of one of these kinds of charms may be:

Formica sanguinem non habet nec fel, fuge uva, ne cancer te comedat.

Neither blood nor bile has the ant,chase him away from these ovaries, (that) the cancer will not consume you(Marcellus Empiricus, De Medicamentis .).

Romans also used the charms of Carmentis to protect the family from ill rumors (Ovid Fasti .-), and for binding spells in matters of love (Ovid Fasti.-; VirgilEclogue ; Petronius Satyr.). Using a carmen as a charm could imply many things. Related to charms, Carmentis was also theGoddess of poetry, especially the native form of Latin poetry known as Saturnine verse. Early Latinplays by Livius Andronicus and Naevius were written in this style of the carmen.

Virum mihi, Carmena, insece versutum.Carmena, in hot pursuit of clever men, come to me.(Livius Andronicus, Odisia .)

Plays, poetry, even Roman rhetoric, as well as the magical spells that were associated with Carmentiscomes from Her association with the Roman carmen of Archaic Latin. This was the specialized

language of ritual, the manner in which the Gods were to be addressed. The sacred grove ofCarmentis was located near Porta Carmentalis, southeast of the Capitoline Hill. (See PortaCarmentalis at Walls of Rome http://www.romasegreta.it/mura/mura.htm) King Numa Pompiliuswas said to visit the sacred grove of Carmentis in order to meet with Egeria (Ovids Fasti .-;.-). Egeria was herself a nymph of the sacred spring of Carmentis. In some stories told byOvid Egeria taught Numa how to pray to the Gods and how to perform incubation rituals by whichto meet with the Gods. In two of these stories the incubation rites brings Numa to meet Faunus insacred groves to be instructed on Roman rituals. Like Carmentis, Faunus was an early Roman Godof prophecy and fecundity. Legend claimed that the sacred grove of Carmentis preceded the arrivalof Romulus and Remus. Early archaeological evidence of the area date from the Bronze AgeApennine culture of around B. C. E. Similar groves in other parts of Italy have remains thatdate to such an early period. Remains from the vicinity near the grove of Carmentis date to around

B. C. E. The grove itself was said to have been dedicated by King Numa, and remains in theimmediate vicinity would indicate the traditional dates of his reign (- B. C. E.). But it wasassociated with an earlier population of Ausonians (Ovid, Fasti . ff), and Virgil borrowed aGreek tradition that identified Carmentis with the Goddess Nicostrate, making her the mother ofEvander who escorted Aeneas around Rome and to the sacred grove of Carmentis.

Another aspect of Her association with the carmenwas that Carmentis was seen as the inventor of theRoman alphabet. The earliest evidence of the use of the alphabet in Italy comes from a tomb of awoman at Osteria dellOsa near the Latin city of Gabii. The tomb dates to about B. C. E. All of


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her grave goods, save two vases, were placed along with her cremated remains in a dolium. One ofthese vases was inscribed with the name Eulin(a). The womans tomb and her inscribed vase dateto at least a generation earlier than any known example of the Greek alphabet in either Greece orMagna Graeca, and at least a generation before any contact between the Greeks and Latins isindicated. In a time and tradition when words themselves were believed magical and the skill toweave words into carmina a magical power (Pliny, Historia Naturalis .-), written letters were

thought to provide magical protection against disease (ibid .). Perhaps there is some significancethat this earliest use of a Greek alphabet is therefore found in association with a woman, perhaps aGabian Carmentis in her own right.

Carmentalia

a.d. III Idus Ianuarias et a.d. XVIII Kalendas Februarias (January and ): Carmentis iscelebrated on two dates of the Roman calendar, each day called Carmentalia. These dates should beconsidered as two separate festivals, rather than one festival extending over this period, yet it is notclear to us today, any more than it was during the Late Republic, why two such holidays should be insuch close proximity in one month. According to legend, Her cultuspredated Rome itself. In some

accounts She was known as Nicostrate, the mother of Evander, who was fathered by Mercurius.Evander was the legendary founder of Paletum, a village that gave its name to the Palatine Hill. Hersacred grove, therefore, may have originally lay beneath the Palatine Hill as some ascribe it. Indeed,it may be that it was in Her sacred grove beneath the Palatine that Romulus and Remus were said tohave been discovered being suckled by a she-wolf, since Carmentis was so closely associated with thecare of infants. It was said that later Numa Pompilius founded a sacred grove for Her beneath theCapitoline Hill. The dedication of two groves to Carmentis is one possible reason why there weretwo days celebrated as Carmentalia in the month of January. It was proposed by Huschke that thetwo festival days represented the Latins of Romulus and the Sabines of Titus Tatius, just as therewere two companies of Luperci and two companies of Salii. Were that the case we might expect thatShe once had a sacred grove on the Esquiline Hill, and that Numas dedication beneath theCapitoline represented a union of the two culti Carmentalis. There was a complex on the Esquilinewhere such a grove may have once stood. This was the later Temple of Juno Lucina, next to whichwas a grove for Mefitis, and beneath which was a sacred grove of the Nymphae. (Later well lookmore closely at Carmentis and Nymphae.) The fasti Praeneste suggests that the second date wasadded by a victorious Roman general who had left the City by the Porta Carmentalis for hiscampaign against Fidenae. The gate received its name from its proximity to the sacred grove ofCarmentis. Yet another story was told by Ovid, linking the two dates to a protest by the matrons ofRome in BCE. During the fourth century the Roman Senate had granted patrician matrons theprivilege of riding in two-wheeled carriages (carpentum) in reward for their contribution in gold tofulfilling a vow to Apollo made by Camillus. The privilege was later to be temporarily revokedduring the Second Punic War (BCE) along with sumptuary laws that limited the use of coloredcloth and gold that women could wear, in order to save on private expenses and war materials(horses) and thus help in the war effort. But the Senate did not at first renew the privileges at warsend. In Tribunes Marcus Fundanius and Lucius Valerius finally called for the repeal of this lex

Oppia, but they were opposed by the brothers Marcus and Publius Junius Brutus. Supporters forrepealing the lex Oppia, and those who supported its remaining in effect, gathered daily on theCapitoline to argue over the matter. Soon women began to join in the disputes, their numbersincreasing daily, even so much as women from the countryside entered into the City to advocate fortheir rights. The natural place for them to first congregate would have been at the grove ofCarmentis. This may be what Ovid indicates by linking the protest to the Carmentalia. ConsulMarcius Porcius Cato spoke out against repealing the lex Oppia. The women then resolved torefuse to renew their ungrateful husbands stock until their privileges were restored, Ovid referringto the women abortion as their means of protest (Livy .-; Ovid Fasti ,-). In a later period


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the Temple of the Bona Dea would become associated with the use of abortive herbs, and Carmentisassociated with the use of the same herbs in birthing. In actuality both Carmentis and the Bona Deawere associated with birthing or prevention of pregnancy, and the difference between the Capitolineand Aventine temples may have been one of class distinction. Eventually the matrons of Romeregained their rights and according to Ovid the second Carmentalia was then began in thanks to theGoddess for Her support. Ovids story is the least likely and most fanciful to account for the two

Carmentaliae of January even as it provides another aspect to the story told by Livy. The notion thatthere may have earlier been two groves dedicated to Carmentis prior to the known grove beneath theCapitoline is a reasonable speculation, but still would not account for the two festivals. We are leftthen with the information provided by the Fasti Praeneste, although the inscription is mutilated anduncertain. This source may indicate that while the Carmentalia held on January was dedicated toCarmentis, that of January was intended to honor Janus as guardian of the Porta Carmentalis.Different aspects of Carmentis related to Janus, and thus it is possible that a festival for Him wouldinclude Carmentis in similar fashion as festivals for Ops and Consus. The fact remains that we dontknow today why the month of January has two separate festivals for Carmentis.

Into her shrine, it is unlawful to bear leather, for it reminds death and the slaughter of animals(Ovidius, "Fasti", .ss). The prayers offered to her invoke the mysterious Carmentes (Goddesses

Porrima and Postverta) who preside the birth. Porrima presides the birth when the baby's headcomes first. Postversa presides the birth when the feet of the baby come first (Aulus Gellus, "AtticNights", ..). Some interpret those Goddesses as presiding destiny, one presiding over the pastand the other over the future, being thus associated with Ianus to whom the month of Ianuarius issacred (Ovidius, "Fasti", .; Macrobius, Saturnalia, ..).Today, the Flamen Carmentalis, assisted by the Pontifices, offers sacrifice at the shrine of Carmenta,which stays next to the Porta Carmentalis nearthe Capitol.

Ovid (Fasti, . festival on January thus:When the third sun shall look back on the past Ides, the holy rites will be repeated in honor of theParrhasian goddess. For of old, Ausonian matrons drove in carriages. Afterwards the honor wastaken from them, and every matron vowed not to propagate the line of her ungrateful spouse by

giving birth to offspring; and lest she should bear children, she rashly by a secret thrust dischargedthe growing burden from her womb. They say the senate reprimanded the wives for their daringcruelty, but restored the right of which they had been mulcted; and they ordained that now twofestivals be held alike in honor of the Tegean mother to promote the birth of boys and girls. It is notlawful to bring leather into her shrine, lest her pure hearths should be defiled by skins of slaughteredbeasts. If you have any love of ancient rites, attend the prayers offered to her; you shall hear namesyou never heard before, Porrima and Postverta are placated, whether they be thy sisters, Maenaliangoddess, or companions. The one is thought to have sung of what was long ago, the other of whatshould come to pass hereafter.

Nicostrate: Wife of Oebalus and mother of Hippocoon. (Schol. ad Eurip. Or. ;Oebalus: A son of Telon by a nymph of the stream 'Sebethus, near Naples. Telon, originally a king of

the Teleboans, had come from the island of Taphos to Capreae, in Italy ; and Oebalussettled inCampania. (Virg.Aen.vii. , with Serv. note.) Taphos = Megansi, just east of the larger islandLeucas; in Homer, an island off the NW coast of Greece across from Acarnania in Ionian Sea.Taphians were known as pirates and slavers (Odyssey xi, xv).

According to others he was a son of Perieres and a grandson of Cynortas, and was married to thenymph Bateia, by whom he had several children (Apollod. iii. . ; Schol. ad Eurip. Orest. ).The patronymic Oebalides is not only applied to his descendants, but to the Spartans generally, and


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hence it occurs as an epithet or surname of Hyacinthus, Castor, Pollux and Helene (Ov. Ib. , Fast.v. , Her. xvi. .)

Grave epigram from a recently discovered papyrus, seehttp://www.stoa.org/diotima/anthology/epigrams.shtml

Nicostrate came to the holy rites of the sacred initiates and to the pure fire of the hearth ofTriptolemus, and the kindness of Rhadamanthys and Aeacus [welcomed] her into the home and gatesof Hades.... she... who had seen [the crowd] of her children. This for mankind is always the gentlestharbor for sad old age (VII -).

Pierre Grimal (Dictionary of Classical Mythology) says Carmentis was regarded as a deity of procreation;she was invoked by two names, Prorsa (head first) and Postversa (feet first), the two positions inwhich a child can be born.

Walls of Rome http://www.romasegreta.it/mura/mura.htmPorta Carmentalis

The area of the City immediately south of the Capitoline Hill held significant importance in the earlydevelopments of the religio Romana. It was here, near the River Tiber in the sacred grove ofCarmentis that King Numa Pompilius would meet with the nymph Egeria who instructed him onhow to consult with the Gods. (See Ovids Fasti .-; .-) King Numa was said to havelaid down the foundation of the religio Romana by establishing its religious calendar of feast days,the rites to be performed, and the various priesthoods of flamines, Vestales Virgines, the Salii,augures, and pontifices. Part of the traditions related about Numa was that he forebade the use ofany blood sacrifices in Roman rituals. Ovid tells an amusing story of Numa meeting with HighestJupiter, where Jupiter demands a sacrifice and Numa plays with Him, getting Jupiter to agree insteadto a sacrifice of chopped leeks, the hair of a man, and fish (Fasti .-). A variation of the story

is told by Plutarch in The Life of Numa. Blood sacrifices were supposedly introduced when Ceresdemanded the sacrifice of a pig (Ovid Fasti.-). This could possibly refer to the time when anew cultus was introduced for Ceres with the erection of a Temple for Her, Liber, and Libera on theAventine Hill around BCE. Such legends are much later in origin, probably from the fourthcentury, but in the Late Republic there was this idea of a Numa tradition on the early religio Romanawhen simple offerings provided a much more reverent worship of the Gods. Those traditions relateback to Carmentis and the cultus that was devoted to Her in Her sacred grove. Her cultus seems tohave been one of the earliest in the City.

One aspect that we know about the cultus of Carmentis was that no leather was permitted inside Hersacred grove. It meant that She was to be approached while barefoot, as was also the case in somerites performed for Ceres and other Goddesses. Where we hear of worship made while barefoot it

usually refers only to women, and the cultus of Carmentis was primarily a womens cultus. Theprohibition against leather also meant that no blood sacrifices were to be performed in the sacredgrove of Carmentis. One reason for that was that Her cultus related to childbirth. We see the reasongiven for this with the ceremony to a persons genius or juno on his or her birthday, For on the daywhen they had received life, they did not want to deprive another life (Varro in Cens. .). This waseven carried over into the celebrations held for the birth of the City at Parilia. In the beginning, so itis said, they sacrificed no living creature, but thought that they should keep pure and bloodless thefestival commemorating the birth of their country (Plutarch, Life of Romulus .). Augures also,who rites were established by Numa, supposedly were not to perform blood sacrifices lest they


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should pollute themselves. Another aspect of Her cultus was that it probably used milk rather thanwine as a libation. That is not certain, but, first, Her cultus supposedly went back to the time ofRomulus. Romulus poured libations of milk, not wine; proof of this lies in rites established by himthat preserve this custom today (Pliny Natural History .). Also women were generallyprohibited from using wine, and again the cultus of Carmentis was primarily performed by women.Another probable aspect was that Her cultus would have prohibited use of iron inside Her grove or

for Her rites. Such a prohibition is known in the case of rites held for Ceres, and it appears in thetemple rules at other locations. Such a prohibition may refer to the antiquity of a cultus, wherebronze implements were preferred as the material for ritual tools. On the other hand iron wasspecified in the cultus of Mars. Iron was associated with war and death and thus, like bloodsacrifices, would have been inappropriate in a cultus concerned mainly with childbirth. We see thesetwo prohibition come together, along with another against performing rights for the dead, in adedication inscription.

Into this locusnothing made of cast metal may be brought and no carcasses may bestretched over its altars, and no sacrifices may be made for deceased parents. Ifagainst this rule a small altar is set up, then it will be permitted for a magistrate tohand down any judgement and set whatever fines he may wish (ILS ).

We may get some idea on what was permitted in Her cultus by considering these variousprohibitions.

Formerly what served to reconcile Gods and men was spelt and pure saltsglistening grain. A man was wealthy if he could add violets to crownsfashioned from meadow flowers; the knife which eviscerates a pole-axedbull had no role in the sacred rites (Ovid Fasti .-).

The more ancient a cultus, the simpler and more native offerings were to be used. Flowersand herbs, fruits and vegetables that were locally grown rather than exotic plants that werelater introduced into Rome. This would have been the same with incense used in Her rites.Not cinnamon or nard, myrrh or frankincense that came from distant lands. Instead bay

laurel would have been used, and other trees among the arbores felices. This played in againwith the prohibition against blood sacrifices in Her cultus, since it is forbidden to pollutelaurel even for making a fire at altars and shrines when divinities are to be propitiated(Pliny NH .). Another tree that may have been used in Her cultus was the Sabineherb, a juniper, due to the association with Numa, a Sabine king, and its use in otherwomens rites. Grain, salt, milk, honey, and bread were offerings likely used in Her cultus,and as in the culti Deorum of other deities the shape of breads used in rites for Carmentismay have been unique to Her cultus.

The sacred grove beneath the Tarpeian Heights was said to have been first dedicated to Carmentis byRomulus. It was in this grove that Numa Pomilius would meet with Egeria through incubation rites.By these traditions the cultus of Carmentis was believed to have been from the very early years of the

religio Romana. Historians have tended to uphold that tradition by viewing the flamen Carmentalis,along with the other flamines, as representing a very early priesthood. Also cited is the fact that inthe various inscribed fasti Her festivals are noted by large capital letters. Some consider suchfestivals as noted in that manner to have been those celebrated in BCE when the civil calendarwas first published. Others see these festivals as part of the Numa calendar (Livy ..; Macrobius..-; Ovid Fasti .-). Other elements of Her cultus all point to a very early beginning noblood sacrifices allowed in Her sacred grove, no leather, worship while barefoot, libations of milk,carmina in versus Saturnus, and no images of Carmentis. Rather Her presence in the sacred grove,and Her voice, like that of Canens, represented Carmentis.


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I.

EXI, HODIE NATA, SI ANTE NATASI HODIE CREATA, SI ANTE CREATA;

HANC PESTEM, HANC PESTILENTIAM,HUNC DOLOREM, HUNC TUMOREM, HUNC RUBOREM,

HAS TOLES, HAS TOSILLAS,HUNC PANUM, HAS PANUCLAS,

HANC STRUMAM, HANC STRUMELLAM,HAC RELIGIONE EVOCO DUCO ExCANTO

DE ISTIS MEMBRIS MEDULLIS.

Come forth! Today Daughter, the One before the DaughterToday created, before she was created,

This sickness, this disease,This pain, this swelling, this redness,

This goiter, these tonsils,This tumor, these little tumors,

This swelling gland, these swelling little glands,With pious rite I call out, I summon; I entice with songs that You come forthFrom these limbs, from these bones, (from this body).

(The Synache for curing sore throats in Marcellus Empiricus, De Medicamentis .)

II.Stupidus in monte ibat; stupidus stupuit; adiuro te matrix, ne hoc iracundasuscipias.

Stupid went atop the mountain; Stupid was struck senseless by a lightning bolt. I adjure youwomb, may you not undertake this angrily (Marcellus Empiricus, De Medicamentis .).

III.Formica sanguinem non habet nec fel, fuge uva, ne cancer te comedat.

Neither blood nor bile the ant has, chase him away from these ovaries, (that) the cancer willnot consume you (Marcellus Empiricus, De Medicamentis .).

Cato wrote a carmen to Mars for the lustratio of his land (De Agricultura ). None of the otherprayers found in this work were written as carmina. However he also included a healing spell thatexhibits some of the word play of versus Saturnus

HUAT, HAUAT, HAUT, ISTA PISTA SISTA DAMNABO DAMNA USTRA

I pray he may be healthy, I pray his troubles cease; I will harm what harms you. (De Agricultura).

Reverent prayer, magical charms, hymns of praise, and the language of oracles, all spoken in theritualized speech of a carmen. Roman belief in the power of words, whether written or spoken, is thesubject of Plinys Natural History, Bk. .-. The examples he gives, like that of the charmspoken by the Vestales Virgines to reveal run-away slaves, or Numas formula to elicit Jupiter, we canassume were made in a carmen. The latter example takes us back to Carmentis as the source of thecarmen.


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Lucius Piso (consul in BCE), in his Annales I, records that King Tullus Hostilius used the samesacrificial ritual as Numa, which he discovered in Numas books: he attempted to summon Jupiterdown from the Heavens, but was struck down by lightning because he failed to follow the ritual tothe letter. Many claim that the destinies and portents associated with great events are changed bywords (Pling NH .).

From http://www.vitaphone.org/history/originof.htmlORIGO GENTIS ROMANAE OF SEXTUS AURELIUS VICTOR

Translated by Roger Pearse, Petrushka, Steven, Edward, Stephen C. Carlson, Daniel Abosso,Michael Kuettner, Paul Murray, Klaus, DPD, EWW and Others. Uploaded

V. [] So during the reign of Faunus, which was about sixty years before Aeneas landed in Italy,

Evander Arcas, who was the son of Mercury and the Nymph Carmenta, arrived along with hismother. [] Some have recorded for history that she was first called Nicostrate and later Garmenta,from "songs" (carmina), and that this was of course because she was extremely skilled in all letters andwise concerning the future, and was accustomed to singing about these things in songs, to such anextent that most prefer to think that it is not so much that she was named Carmenta from the songsshe sang, but rather that the songs were named after her. [] By her advice Evander crossed over toItaly, and because of her unique erudition and knowledge of letters they enveigled their way in ashort time into a close friendship with Faunus. Evander was welcomed by him hospitably and kindlyand was given a territory of land to cultivate, and no small one. He allocated this land to hiscomrades and built homes on the hill which was at that time called Pallanteum by him, from Pallas;we now call it the Palatine.

VI. [] It had been the habit before, that men gave up one tenth of their productions to the king; but

he (Hercules) said it seemed to him that he had better give that same part to the gods than to kings.Therefrom then is clearly derived the habit of consecrating the tenth to Hercules, according to whatPlautus says in 'In the part of Hercules', meaning the tenth.[] After consecrating the Great altar and offering on it his tenth, Recaranus (Hercules) ordained,because Carmentis was invited but not present at that sacrifice, that no woman was allowed to eatfrom that what was sacrificed on that altar: and from these holy things women are completelyremoved.

VIII. [] So when Recaranus or Hercules had dedicated a massive altar to the Finding Father, herecruited two men from Italy, Potitius and Pinarius, whom he could teach to manage the same ritesin a fixed ceremony. [] But of these men, Potitius, because he had come earlier, was allowed to eatup the entrails, while Pinarius and his descendants, for the very reason that he had come later, were

debarred. Hence this is observed nowadays too: Nobody of the family of the Pinarii is permitted toeat at these rites. [] Some maintain that they were first called by another name, and that it was reallyafterwards that they were designated Pinarii ---- from "peina" (Gk: hungry) ---- because, clearly, theygo away from sacrifices of this sort unfed and for this reason hungry. [] And that custom continuedup until Appius Claudius the censor, with the people performing the Potitiian rites also eating fromthe ox which they had sacrificed, and from the point when they had left nothing remaining thePinarii were then admitted.


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There is also made mention by Ovid inArs Amatoria (.-). Cum fuget a templis oculos BonaDiva virorum praeterquam siquos illa venire iubet? What about the Bona Dea forbidding the eyes ofmen from Her temple precinct, except whomever She chooses to allow?

argumenta ad verecundiam that is an appeal to authority

Ad antiquitam is an illegitimate appeal to ages past in order to justify the present or future, whatBentham called the Chinese argument, "Men so love old truths, and they love old errors as well."


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Prayers to Ceres and Tellus

On rites for Ceres

Petronius Satyricon

The Grove of Ceres on Her festival day was set round with hurdles of willow twigsand fresh cups of clay shaped by a quick turn of a crude wheel; there was a vessel ofsoft honey, and wicker-work plates of pliant bark, and a jar stained in the wine ofBacchus.

VirgilEcloguesI.-

Before all else, worship the Gods, and to great Ceres pay Her annual due upon thehappy sward with sacrifice, at the utmost end of winter, when spring begins tosmile. Then are the lambs fat, and the wines most mellow, then is sleep sweet, anddark the shadows fall upon the mountains. Let your rustic youth do obedience toCeres, one and all; and for Her pleasure mix honeycombs in milk, and offer Libersripe produce. Thrice for luck around the young grain let the offerings travel, and allthe choir, a joyful company, attend it, and with shouts bid Ceres come to be theirhouse-mate. Let no man dare put sickle to ripened ears until, with woven oak histemples wreath, he foot the rugged dance and chant the lay.

Ceres

ApuleiusMetamorphoses.Then Psyche fell down upon Ceres feet, sweeping the hard earth with her hair andgreatly weeping at Her footsteps, mingled her prayers for forgiveness with claims ofher innocence, O merciful Mother, I pray You avert my sorrow, by Your generousand temperate right hand, by the joyful harvest festival, by Your mysteries kept insilent secrecy, by Your winged servants, the dragons who serve Your chariot as Yougo about, and by the furrows in Sicilian clods of earth, and the plow-wheels thatchurn them from firm soil, by the marriage of Proserpina that You discoveredthrough diligently seeking after Your daughter, and by the mysteries held in silentsecrecy within the Attic temple of Eleusis, halt the misery of Your servant Psyche.Among this piled wheat let me be concealed, if only for a few days, until the ire ofso great a Goddess passes, or at least give me a quiet interval that I might rest frommy great labour and travail.

ApuleiusMetamorphoses.

O blessed Queen of Heaven, whether you are the Lady Ceres who is the originaland motherly source of all fruitful things in earth, who after finding Your daughterProserpina, through the great joy which You did presently conceive, made barrenand unfruitful ground to be plowed and sown, and now You inhabit in the land ofEleusis; or whether You are Proserpina, by reason of the deadly howling towhich You yield, that has power to stop and put away the invasion of the hags and


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Ghosts which appear unto men, and to keep them down in the closures of the earth;You who is worshipped in divers manners, and does illuminate all the borders of theearth by Your feminine shape, You which nourishes all the fruits of the world byYour vigor and force; with whatsoever name or fashion it is lawful to call upon You,I pray You end my great travail and misery, and deliver me from the wretchedfortune, which has for so long a time pursued me. Grant peace and rest if it please

You to reply to my entreaties, for I have endured too much labor and peril. Removefrom me this misshapen form from me, and return me to my pristine form, and if Ihave offended in any way the divine Majesty, let me rather die then live, for I amfully weary of my life.

Caesius Bassius Hymn to Ceres and Libera by Philicus

Fertile Goddesses, wives of Jove, may the mystic rite that You cherish not bedefiled.

Cato De Agricultura

It is fitting to offer theporca praecidanea (to Ceres) prior to the time of reaping. ForCeres offer a sow as Her porca praecidaneabefore you store these fruits of the earth:spelt, wheat, barley, beans, and the seeds of field mustard. With wine andfrankincense pray to Janus, Jupiter and Juno before sacrificing the sow. Offer piledcakes to (Ceres) while saying, (Ceres Mater), to You I pray with good prayers,offering You this pile of cakes, so that You might willing be favorable to me and mychildren, to my home and household. Afterwards give an offering of wine to(Ceres), (Ceres Mater), for the same reasons given in the good prayers I prayedwhile offering You piled cakes, may You accept and be honor by this portion ofwine I pour.

Cicero In C. VerremIV.. -O Ceres and Libera, whose sacred worship, as the opinions and religiousbelief of all men agree, is contained in the most important and most abstrusemysteries; You, by whom the principles of life and food, the examples oflaws, customs, humanity, and refinement are said to have been given anddistributed to nations and to cities; You, whose sacred rites the Romanpeople has received from the Greeks and adopted, and now preserves withsuch religious awe, both publicly and privately, that they seem not to havebeen introduced from other nations, but rather to have been transmittedfrom hence to other nations. You, again and again I implore and appeal to,most holy Goddesses, who dwell around those lakes and groves of Enna, andwho preside over all Sicily, You whose invention and gift of corn, which

You have distributed over the whole earth, inspires all nations and all racesof men with reverence for Your divine power;--And all the other Gods, andall the Goddesses, do I implore and entreat.

Livius AndronicusEquos Troianos


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Grant me the strength, Goddess, to whom I ask, to whom I pray; extend yourassistance to me.

Da mihi hasce opes, quas peto, quas precor porrige opitula

Livy ..Mother Ceres and Proserpina and all You Gods above and below who inhabit thecity, these hallowed lakes and groves, I pray that You attend us with Your favor andsupport, if it should be that we are taking this initial step for the purpose ofguarding against treacherous falsehood, not practicing it.

Vos, Ceres Mater ac Proserpina, precor, ceteri superi infernique Di,qui hanc urbem, hoc sacratos lacus locosque colitis, ut ita nobisvolentes propitii adsitis, si vitandae, non inferendae fraudis causahoc consilii capimu.

Ovid Fasti I. - : Paganalia Prayer to Ceres and TellusO Mothers of Fruitfulness, Earth and Ceres, please,

With salted spelt cakes offered for Your mother's woe,In kind service have Earth and Ceres nurtured wheat,

She who gave grain life, She who gave us room to grow.

Pray then before the sheep are shorn their winter's fleece.

Consorts in labour who antiquity reformed,Oaken acorn have You replaced by useful meal,

With boundless crops satisfy those who fields farmed,O that they may by their tillage their reward seal.

May You grant tender seed abundant increase.

Let not icy cold enwrap our new shoots with snow,While we sow let cloudless skies and fair winds blow.

When the seed lies sprouting, sprinkle with gentle rains,May You ward off the feasting by birds from our grains.

You also, little ants, spare the grain we have sown,More abundant will be your harvest when 'tis grown.Meanwhile may our grain not blight by rough mildew,

Nor foul weather our seed blanch to a sickly hue.

Never may our grain be shriveled nor may it swell,Without eye-stinging cockle, not by wild oats held.

Crops of wheat, of barley, of spelt grow on the farm,Look now, Good Mothers, guard well the field,

The seasons change, the earth by Your breath grows warm,With Your gentle touch may You increase our yield.


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By Peace Ceres nursed, Her foster-child live in peace.

OvidAmoresIII . -; -

Flaxen haired Ceres, Your fine tresses wreathed with ears of wheat, why must yoursacred rites inhibit our pleasures? Goddess, people everywhere praise for yourmunificence. No other goddess so lavishes men and women with everything good.In earlier times the uncouth peasant never roasted grains of wheat, never knew athreshing floor, but oak trees, those first oracles, provided them with gruel. Acorns,tender roots and herbs made their meal then. Ceres first taught seeds to ripen in thefields, taught how to follow Her with scythe against their golden hair, first broke theoxen to yoke and reveal the fertile earth beneath its curved blade.

* * * *

O golden haired Ceres, just because lying apart was so sad for You. must I now,

too, suffer so on Your holy day? Why must I be sad when You rejoice at the returnof Your daughter whose realm is the lesser only to Junos? A festival calls forsinging and drinking and lovemaking. These are fit gifts to carry to the temples andplease the gods.

Ovid Ibis -May the son of Ceres be forever sought by you in vain; and may you always remaindestitute, your prayers for wealth and fortune frustrated by Him.

Seneca Hercules Furens

For you, Goddess of the Fruits of the Earth, your secret rites I will fund; in yourshrine at Eleusius shall burn the sacred flame in celebration of your mysteries.

Servius Honoratus On the Georgics .

Fabius Pictor enumerates these lesser gods, who the flamen Cerealis invokeswhen offering sacrifice to Tellus and Ceres: Vervactor, Reparator, Imporcitor,Insitor, Obarator, Occator, Sarritor, Subruncinator, Messor, Convector,Conditor, and Promitor.

Harvest Prayer to Ceres

(modern reconstruction by M Horatius Piscinus)

O most holy Ceres, nurturing Mother, whose sacred womb gave birth to bothGods and men; You, Vervactor, who first yoked the oxen and placed theploughshare to virgin soil; You, Reparator, who first prepared furrows in fallowland; You, Imporcitor, who first made wide our furrows; You, Insitor, who first castYour bounty on the earth and taught the seed to grow; Obarator, Sarritor,Subruncinator, and You, Sterculinia, who first cared for crops; You, Flora, whomake the grain to bear fruit; You, Messitor, who first set scythe to grain stalks; You,


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Convector, who first spread grain on the sacred harvest floor; You, Noduterentor,who first showed us how to thresh, and You, most holy Ceres, whose very breathseparates the white chaff from the golden grain; You, Conditor and Tutilina, whoguard the grain in storage; You, Promitor, who first milled the grain and distributedits flour for our daily bread; You, eternal savior, Ceres, lavishing Your bounty uponme and mine, to You, flaxen-haired Ceres, gladly I give thanks and praise, and, from

the little I have, to You I willingly make an offering. Accept these, the first fruits ofmy fields. May my offering incline You more towards me. May You ever nourishme and mine with Your bounty, O most holy and nurturing Mother, gentle Ceres.

Tibullus I..-

Golden-haired Ceres, bless this our farm; a crown of wheat I shall hang before youraltar.

Tibullus II..-; -

Come to us, Bacchus, with clusters of grapes dangling from your horns, and you,

too, Ceres, a wreath of newly ripened wheat for your temples, come!

Gods of our fathers, we purify our farmers and our fruitful fields; we ask that youdrive away harm from our borders. Let not the now sprouting plants succumbbefore harvest, let not the timid lambs be outrun by swift wolves.

Virgil GeorgicsI.-:

Liber and gentle Ceres, if by your gifts the earth once changed, exchangingChaonian acorns for rich heads of grain, and receiving your invention of wine fromAcheloian cups, and you Fauns, your divine presence an aid for rustics, bringdancing feet, as when Dryad girls frolic with Fauns, of your gifts I sing.


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Prayers to the Lesser Gods

Faunus

Horace Carmen ..-Amorous Faunus, from whom the Nymphs flee, step lightly across my boundariesand sunny fields, and soon depart, leaving your blessing on my young lambs andkids, and leveled tender shoots.

If gentle, at years end a plumb kid Ill offer, with wine libations liberally pouredfrom the cups of Venus devotees, and many sweet, fragrant herbs Ill burn on yourancient altar.

VirgilAeneid.-

Faunus, have pity, I pray, and you, opulent Earth, hold fast this weapon, if always Ihave honored your worship in good faith.

Flora

Ovid Fasti .-

Flora, I pray, shower my heart with your flowering gift.

Hecate

VirgilAeneid.-

Nocturnal Hecate, who is called at the crossroads throughout the City, andAvenging Dirae, and Elissas gods of the dying, hear our prayers, heed them, anddirect your awful powers against those who deserve it.

SupIt--A, Provinz: Samnium / Regio IV Ort: San Vittorino / Amiternum[]r disp(ensator) H(erculi) d(onum) d(edit)

Pales

Ovid Fasti.

Pray to Pales with warm milk, say: Be equally mindful of sheep and their masters,Pales. May my stables escape from harm. If I have grazed my flock in sacredpastures, or sat beneath a sacred tree, if unknowingly my sheep plunked their fodderfrom gravesites, if I have entered a sacred grove forbidden to men, and the nymphs


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and the half goat gods fled in fear at the sight of me, if my knife has pruned a shadybough to give a basket of leaves to an ailing sheep, grant indulgence of my offenses.Do not fault me for sheltering my herd in your sacred shrines when it was hailingheavily. Do not harm me for disturbing your pools; O Nymphs, pardon me forstirring up the riverbeds, the hooves of my flock turning your clear waters muddy.Goddess, may you placate for us the spirits of springs and fountains, and placate the

freckles gods of every grove. Keep us from seeing the Dryads and Diana at Herbath, and the Fauns lying out in pastures at midday. Repel illness far away from us.Grant health to herds and men, and to the vigilant pack of guard dogs. May I neverherd home less than were counted in the morning. May I never bewail the tornfleece of my sheep carried off by a wolf. May unjust famine remain.

Virgil Georgics.-

Also you, great Pales, in memory of you we sing, shepherd of Amphrysis, and all ofyou who come from forests and streams on mount Lycaeus in Arcadia.

Priapus

Petronius Satyricon

Companion of Nymphs, companion of Bacchus, Priapus, Whom Dione appointedGod of lush forests, honoured in Lesbos and verdant Thasos, worshipped by theLydians whose land is crossed by seven rivers and who built a temple to You inYour Hypaepan homeland, come to me, protector of Bacchus, beloved of Dryads,and hear my humble prayers.

* * *My prayer is this: Relieve me of a guilty conscious, forgive my venial offense andwhen Fortuna next smiles on me, praises and thanksgiving I shall offer You. A goatwith gilt horns, the finest of his herd, I shall bring to Your altars. The sucklingpiglet of a sow I shall bring to Your altars. Foaming new wine, borne by young menI shall bring to Your altars. All these offering in procession shall I order to passthree times around Your shrine.

Tibullus ..-

Red guardian, Priapus, placed within this fruitful garden, with your fierce scythefrighten off the birds from this crop.

Tibullus ..-

May leafy shade shelter you, Priapus, and neither the hot sun nor snowy storms

bring you harm. By what ingenuity or skill do you seize beauties? Certainly not bygleaming beard, nor with stylish hair, as naked you pass through the icy winds ofwinter, and naked still beneath the Dogstar you remain through the parching sun ofsummer.

VirgilEclogues.-


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AE , , Aquae Apollinares (Bagni di Stigliano), Etruria[Te]rm(ino) / sac(rum) // [T]erm(ino) / sac(rum)

Vulcanus

Grattius Faliscus Gynegetica -

Holy Vulcanus, foremost of those who cherish this place, to You we pray forpeace. Grant Your ultimate assistance to the tired and worn, and, if no one heremerits punishment for some noxious crime, may You have mercy on all their soulsand allow them to reach Your purifying fountains. Three times they invoke Yourname, three times they pour rich incense upon the focal fire, and strew the altar withauspicious boughs in Your honor.

MartialEpigrammata ..To Vulcan

Soon, I pray, Vulcan, memories of whispered rumors of disgrace and loud quarrelsof complaint You will no longer hold against the children of Mars; we are also the

children of Your sweet wife Venus, spare us, Father.

SupIt--A, , Amiternum (San Vittorino), SamniumBo[n]ae Deae / M[]I Venusta / m[e]rito suo / s(ua) p(ecunia) f(ecit)

Castor Castorisque

AE , , Lavinium (Pratica di Mare), LatiumCastorei Podlouqueique / quroisCIL , = AE , , Lavinium (Madonnetta), LatiumCastorei Podlouqueique / quroisILLRP a, Lavinium (Madonnetta), LatiumCastorei Podlouqueique / quroisAE , = AE , +, Narona (Vid), DalmatiaCastori et / Pol(l)uci sac(rum) / Q(uintus) Lusius Secundus / v(otum) s(olvit) l(ibens) m(erito)CIL , (p ), Andetrium (Much), DalmatiaCastori / et Polluci / sac{e}rum / Fabericia / Pieris / v(otum) s(olvit) l(ibens) m(erito)AE , = ILJug-, , Maslovare, DalmatiaI(ovi) O(ptimo) M(aximo) D(olicheno) et Castori / M(arcus) Aur(elius) Flav(u)s s(acerdos) I(ovis)O(ptimi) / M(aximi) D(olicheni) v(otum) s(olvit) l(ibens) l(aetus) m(erito)

CIL , = Pais = EaNovara , Novaria (Arona), TranspadanaElvio / Eluconis f(ilio) / Salamae / fili(i) / posuerunt / patriCIL , , Bergomum (Beramo), Transpadana

Iunoni / pagi / Fortunensis

CIL , (p ) = EaNovara-App, = AE , +, Suno, TranspadanaMatronis / et dis deabus / T(itus) Maius Iustinu(s) / pro se suisque / v(otum) s(olvit) l(ibens)m(erito)CIL , = ILS , Arcisate, TranspadanaMatronis / Iunonibus / Valerius / Baronis f(ilius) / v(otum) s(olvit) l(ibens) m(erito)


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CIL , = ILS a, Augusta Taurinorum (Torino), TranspadanaDivo / Traian(o) / C(aius) Quintius / Abascantus / test(amento) leg(a

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Roman Pagan Prayers

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