*Ø* Blogmanac August 21 | The festival of the Consualia, ancient Rome
Onto our horses and into our chariots today! Today commemorates Consus, the god of harvests, sign of a good harvest later in month. Consus was also god of secret deliberations, or, according to Livy (i.9), Neptunus Equestris was the god so honoured, while Plutarch (Quaest. Rom. 45), and others say that Neptunus Equestris and Consus were only different names for one and the same deity. (Plutarch, it might be noted, says that the Consualia took place on the 18th (Life of Romulus, 15.5) and not the 21st.)
The commemoration was solemnised every year in the Circus Maximus at Rome, where there was a symbolical ceremony of uncovering an altar that had been dedicated to the god and buried in the earth. This ritual came about because Romulus (who was suckled by a wolf, and founded Rome, with his twin brother, Remus) was said to have discovered an altar in the earth on that very spot.
Today the Romans held horse and chariot races, and libations were poured into the flames that consumed the sacrifices. During the period of the festivities, horses and mules were adorned with garlands of flowers and their owners were forbidden to work them.
According to legend, it was at the first celebration of the Consualian Games that the Sabine maidens were carried off. The legend says that the Romans raped (ie, abducted) the Sabine women to populate the new-built town, but modern studies have found many relationships between the two peoples, especially regarding religion and mythology.
Romans fought many wars with the inland Sabines; Horatius is supposed to have defeated them in the 5th century BCE, and Marcus Curius Dentatus conquered them in 290 BCE. The Samnites were possibly a branch of the Sabines. In 268, the Sabines became Roman citizens. Many Sabine deities and cults became established in Rome, and many parts of the city (like the Quirinale) were once Sabine centers.
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Click to see a reconstruction model of the Circus Maximus
Onto our horses and into our chariots today! Today commemorates Consus, the god of harvests, sign of a good harvest later in month. Consus was also god of secret deliberations, or, according to Livy (i.9), Neptunus Equestris was the god so honoured, while Plutarch (Quaest. Rom. 45), and others say that Neptunus Equestris and Consus were only different names for one and the same deity. (Plutarch, it might be noted, says that the Consualia took place on the 18th (Life of Romulus, 15.5) and not the 21st.)
The commemoration was solemnised every year in the Circus Maximus at Rome, where there was a symbolical ceremony of uncovering an altar that had been dedicated to the god and buried in the earth. This ritual came about because Romulus (who was suckled by a wolf, and founded Rome, with his twin brother, Remus) was said to have discovered an altar in the earth on that very spot.
Today the Romans held horse and chariot races, and libations were poured into the flames that consumed the sacrifices. During the period of the festivities, horses and mules were adorned with garlands of flowers and their owners were forbidden to work them.
According to legend, it was at the first celebration of the Consualian Games that the Sabine maidens were carried off. The legend says that the Romans raped (ie, abducted) the Sabine women to populate the new-built town, but modern studies have found many relationships between the two peoples, especially regarding religion and mythology.
Romans fought many wars with the inland Sabines; Horatius is supposed to have defeated them in the 5th century BCE, and Marcus Curius Dentatus conquered them in 290 BCE. The Samnites were possibly a branch of the Sabines. In 268, the Sabines became Roman citizens. Many Sabine deities and cults became established in Rome, and many parts of the city (like the Quirinale) were once Sabine centers.
Pip Wilson's articles are available for your publication, on application. Further details
Receive similar items free each day with a free subscription to Wilson's Almanac ezine. Send a blank email
Click to see a reconstruction model of the Circus Maximus
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