Volturnus

 Home| Latíné | Deutsch | Español | Français | Italiano | Magyar | Português | Română | Русский | English

The Roman god Volturnus was one of the Dii Indigetes, and, like the other ancient Gods of Rome, he was served by a flamen, the Flamen Volturnalis. His festival, the Volturnalia, was a market day celebrated a.d. VI Kal. Sept. ‡.

Contents 1 Etymology 2 History 3 Mythology 4 Correspondences to Other Gods 4.1 Portunus 4.2 Vertumnus 4.3 Vulturnus 5 Consorts and Children 5.1 Albunea 5.2 Velthurna 6 Cult 7 Festivals 7.1 Volturnalia 8 Epigraphy 9 Iconography 10 References 11 Further Reading 11.1 Primary Sources 11.2 Secondary Sources 12 External Links

Etymology

The etymology of Volturnus is uncertain. It is thought to derive from volvere, "to roll along or wind around".

History

Little is known about Volturnus, although scholars have attempted to reconstruct his myth and role in the cultus deorum.

Surviving fragments show that Volturnus was a river God, and, being Roman, the river must have been the Tiber. However, the identification encounters immediate difficulties. The tutelary God of the Tiber was almost certainly named Tiberinus by the Latins, while the Volturnus is a river in Campania. The prevailing view among scholars is that Volturnus was the cult name of the Tiber's God^[1] .

The city of Capua in Campania was anciently called Volturnum. It is situated on the Volturno (anc. Voluturnus) river, which apparently had a Samnite river God of the same name. Rome extended its borders to the Volturno during the Latin War (340-338 BCE), and decisively defeated the Samnites on the other side of the Volturno during the Third Samnite War (298-290 BCE). The Samnites were allowed to retain their independence, becoming allies of Rome. Probably, Volturnus' cult was brought to Rome at this time^[2] . Then, at some unknown date, the cults of the river Gods Tiberinus and Volturnus were conflated. Such removals of Gods to Rome were commonplace, the most famous being when Camillus evoked Uni from Veii, and installed her at Rome as Iuno Regina.

A minority view among scholars is that Volturnus was a generic God of rivers^[3] , and gave his name both to the Tiber and the Volturno.

Mythology

No myths concerning Volturnus have survived. Some scholars argue he has always had the character of a numen, and therefore never acquired personal characteristics.

Correspondences to Other Gods

Portunus

Mommsen identified Volturnus with Portunus, as well as with Tiberinus, on the basis of a late calendar where the Portinalia is also called the Tiberinalia.^[4] . Further, the sacrifices on that day were held "in porto Tiberindo."^[5]

Vertumnus

Vertumnus was the Etruscan Bacchus, God of wine and fruits. His consort Voltumna, whom the Romans equated with Pomona, was the patron of the Etruscan League. Dennis notes that Vertumnus was called Vortumnus by Varro^[6]

and speculates that he was identical with the Volturnus mentioned by Festus[7]

and Varro[8]

– “though neither recognise the relation in this case."[9]

.

Vulturnus

Lucretius associated Volturnus with the Tempestates: "And other Winds do follow: the high roar / Of great Volturnus, and the Southwind strong / With thunder-bolts."^[10]

From this passage, it appears the Romans might have equated Volturnus with Vulturnus, one of the Venti. Vulturnus' Greek analog was Eurus (Εύρος), the God of the east wind, and a son of Eos, possibly by Astræus. In Italy, the Vulturno, now called the Scirocco, blows from the southeast. The Vulturno takes its name from Monte Vulture (anc. Vultur).

Those who equate Volturnus with Vulturnus believe that the Volturnalia was a festival to avert the drought caused by these drying winds.

However, most contemporary scholars separate Volturnus the river from Vulturnus the east wind and point to the timing of the Volturnalia at harvest time as evidence that it would have been offered in thanks for the irrigation water drawn from rivers rather than as a supplication to avert drought.

Consorts and Children

Albunea

Albunea was probably the original cult partner, and perhaps the wife, of Albula, the ancient name of the Tiber river. Albunea was a nymph who resided near Tivoli (anc. Tibur) at a sulfuric spring on the Aniene (anc. Anio) river, where she had a small temple above the falls. She was the Tiburtine sibyl, the tenth in a series of famous sibyls. From Etruscan times, it was the seat of the Tiburtine Sibyl. Originally a colony of Alba Longa, Tivoli was conquered by the Sabines, and later defeated and absorbed by the Romans in 338 BCE.

"The Tiburtine Sibyl, by name Albunea, is worshiped at Tibur as a goddess, near the banks of the Anio, in which stream her image is said to have been found, holding a book in her hand. Her oracular responses the Senate transferred into the capitol."^[11]

Velthurna

Velthurna, the equivalent of Voltumna or Volturna was an Etruscan family-name attested by sepulchral inscriptions at Perugia and Sovana^[12] . It has been suggested that Volturnus was originally the tutelary deity of the Etruscan Velthur family.^[13] .

Cult

Volturnus was one of 15 Gods served by state-sponsored flamines, in a system conventionally said to have been established by Numa. From that fact, Volturnus was probably an agricultural deity, Although the subject is controversial, the authority of the flamines seems to have been overthrown by a pontifical revolution when the Roman religion was reconstituted along Greek lines. This reform took place at early but unknown date, perhaps about 350 BCE. Thereafter, the original deities declined in importance. By the beginning of the Republic, the flamines seem to have been anachronistic. By the time of Varro (116 BCE - 27 BCE), a scholar who collected the surviving materials, there were only traces left of the old religion. He reported the survival of a Flamen Volturnalis, but found the God to be "obscure"^[14] .

Festivals

Volturnalia

The festival of Volturnus, called the Volturnalia was celebrated on a.d. VI Kal. Sept. ‡ and belonged to the Numan calendar^[15] . Details of the Volturnalia have not survived, but we have fragments addressed to Volturnus. We know that the Volturnalia was celebrated with feasting, wine-drinking and games. In the opinion of the Pontifex Maximus of Nova Roma, “At the very least a "standard" ritual of sacrifice, Roman feast, and standard Roman games would be a passable reconstruction of the day, pending the discovery of further specific information."^[16]

Some scholars say Iuturna was honored the same day. However, she also had her own festival, the Iuturnalia, a.d. III Id. Ian. ‡.

Epigraphy

"Inde aliae tempestates ventique secuntur, altitonans Volturnus et Auster fulmine pollens." ("And other Winds do follow: the high roar / Of great Volturnus, and the Southwind strong / With thunder-bolts.") ^[17]

In a statement lauding Domitian’s technological achievement channeling the Volturno river, Volturnus is made to say amnis esse coepi, I have begun to be a river; meaning that he has become his true self.

Iconography

At Corneta, in the Grotta delle Iscrizioni, is a representation of a man having a fish offered to him. Gerhard identifies this as Vertumnus^[18] , but it could have been Volturnus.

A bust, identified as Volturnus and dating from the 2nd century BCE, survives at the Arch of S. Eligio in Capua.

References

1. ↑ Cf. Einar Gjerstad, Early Rome. Lund: C. W. K. Gleerup (1953), 25. This was the view of Theodor Mommsen, Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (CIL), 327; but see Georges Dumézil, Archaic Roman Religion. Johns Hopkins Univ. Pr. (1966, 1996), 388-89
2. ↑ Andreas Alfödi, Early Rome and the Latins. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press (1971), 206
3. ↑ Cf. Shailer Mathews and Gerald Birney Smith, A Dictionary of Religion and Ethics sub Roman Religion. Macmillan (1921), 384
4. ↑ CIL citing Fast. Philocal., 327
5. ↑ Varro, Lingua Latine 6.19
6. ↑ Varro, Lingua Latine 5.8; 6:3
7. ↑ Festus, ap. Paul. Diac. v. Volturnalia
8. ↑ Varro, Lingua Latine 8.45
9. ↑ George Dennis, The Cities and Cemeteries of Etruria (London: John Murray, 1848).
10. ↑ Lucretius, De Rerum Natura 5.742
11. ↑ Lactantius, Divine Institutes 1.6, citing Varro.
12. ↑ George Dennis. The Cities and Cemeteries of Etruria (London: John Murray, 1848).
13. ↑ Hendrik Wagenvoort, Pietas: Studies in Roman Religion (Boston: Brill, 1980), 237, citing Altheim
14. ↑ Varro, Lingua Latine, 7:45
15. ↑ Einar Gjerstad, Early Rome. Lund: C. W. K. Gleerup (1953), 246
16. ↑ Marcus Cassius Iulianus. Message at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ReligioRomana/message/3255, message dated November 26, 2002, from Marcus Cassius Julianus, visited January 1, 2004.
17. ↑ Lucretius, De Rerum Natura 5.742
18. ↑ George Dennis. The Cities and Cemeteries of Etruria (London: John Murray, 1848), citing Gottheiten der Etrusker, 31

Further Reading

Primary Sources

Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (CIL).

Festus, ap. Paul. Diac. v. Volturnalia.

Lactantius, Divine Institutes.

Lucretius, De Rerum Natura.

Prop. 6.2.

Varro, Lingua Latine.

Vergil, Aeneid.

Secondary Sources

Georges Dumézil, Archaic Roman Religion. Johns Hopkins Univ. Pr. (1966, 1996).

Joel Le Gall, Recherches sur le culte du Tibre (Paris 1953), pp. 40-56, "Les prétendus dieux du Tibre".

External Links

This article incorporates the text of an article of the same name, originally published in 2004 at Gens Ambrosia, http://www.ambrosii.com.