Liber

Liber is an ancient Italic deity of germination and agriculture. Later he was assimilated with Bacchus, Greek Dionysus. Liber Pater was an important deity and his cult was originally a phallic cult. In Lavinium an entire month was given to his celebration which featured a procession of a phallus that was crowned by the most worthy of the matronae.

Additionaly the cult was also to assure the the success of the crops and to avert evil, the phallus was a fascinatio of the fields much like Priapus was in the courtyards of homes - to avert danger. For his protection of the wheat and fruits Liber always remained a deity of the plebeians.

In Rome, his temple, the temple of Ceres, Liber and Libera on the Aventine, was built in 493 B.C.E. by the consul Sp. Cassius, after the dictator A. Postumius vowed it, due to a famine, if the gods would bring abundance.

The Liberalia an ancient festival supposedly even more ancient than the Cerealia was given to enjoyment while priests and priestesses of Liber sold small cakes, liba in honour of the festival. Also during this festival young males exchanged the toga praetexta of childhood for the toga virilis or toga libera.