Since Time consumes all things, Balbus asserts that the name Saturn comes from the Latin word satis Saturn being an anthropomorphic representation of Time, which is filled, or satiated, by all things or all generations. In this interpretation, the agricultural aspect of Saturn would be secondary to his primary relation with time and seasons. Quintus Lucilius Balbus gives a separate etymology in Cicero's De Natura Deorum (On the Nature of the Gods). His name appears in the ancient hymn of the Salian priests, and his temple was the oldest known to have been recorded by the pontiffs. Agriculture was important to Roman identity, and Saturn was a part of archaic Roman religion and ethnic identity. Īnother epithet, variably Sterculius, Stercutus, and Sterces, referred to his agricultural functions this derives from stercus, "dung" or "manure", referring to re-emergence from death to life. This root may be related to Latin phytonym satureia. A more probable etymology connects the name with Etruscan god Satre and placenames such as Satria, an ancient town of Latium, and Saturae palus, a marsh also in Latium. Even though this etymology looks implausible on linguistic grounds (for the long quantity of the a in Sāturnus and also because of the epigraphically attested form Saeturnus), nevertheless it does reflect an original feature of the god. Walsh, De Natura Deorum (On the Nature of the Gods), Book II, Part ii, Section c Īccording to Varro, Saturn's name was derived from satus, meaning "sowing". Quintus Lucilius Balbus as recorded by Marcus Tullius Cicero and translated by P.G. Saturn was enchained by Jupiter to ensure that his circuits did not get out of control, and to constrain him with the bonds of the stars. Saturn for his part got his name because he was "sated" with years the story that he regularly devoured his own children is explained by the fact that time devours the courses of the seasons, and gorges itself "insatiably" on the years that are past. This is the sense that the Greek name of that god bears, for he is called Cronus, which is the same as Chronos or Time. Under Saturn's rule, humans enjoyed the spontaneous bounty of the earth without labour in the "Golden Age" described by Hesiod and Ovid.īy Saturn they seek to represent that power which maintains the cyclic course of times and seasons. Earlier was Saturn's association with Lua ("destruction, dissolution, loosening"), a goddess who received the bloodied weapons of enemies destroyed in war. The name of his wife, Ops, the Roman equivalent of Greek Rhea, means "wealth, abundance, resources." The association with Ops is considered a later development, however, as this goddess was originally paired with Consus. Saturn had two mistresses who represented different aspects of the god. As early as Livius Andronicus (3rd century BC), Jupiter was called the son of Saturn. In particular, Cronus's role in the genealogy of the Greek gods was transferred to Saturn. The Romans identified Saturn with the Greek Cronus, whose myths were adapted for Latin literature and Roman art. The Roman land preserved the remembrance of a very remote time during which Saturn and Janus reigned on the site of the city before its foundation: the Capitol was called mons Saturnius. The planet Saturn and the day of the week Saturday are both named after him. The Temple of Saturn in the Roman Forum housed the state treasury and archives ( aerarium) of the Roman Republic and the early Roman Empire. Saturn was especially celebrated during the festival of Saturnalia each December, perhaps the most famous of the Roman festivals, a time of feasting, role reversals, free speech, gift-giving and revelry. ![]() Saturn's consort was his sister Ops, with whom he fathered Jupiter, Neptune, Pluto, Juno, Ceres and Vesta. After the Roman conquest of Greece, he was conflated with the Greek Titan Cronus, becoming known as a god of time. Saturn's mythological reign was depicted as a Golden Age of plenty and peace. He was described as a god of generation, dissolution, plenty, wealth, agriculture, periodic renewal and liberation. Saturn ( Latin: Sāturnus ) was a god in ancient Roman religion, and a character in Roman mythology. ![]() ![]() Jupiter, Neptune, Pluto, Juno, Ceres and Vesta Titan of Capitol, wealth, agriculture, liberation, and time
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