Aedes Concordiae Populi Novi Romani (Nova Roma)
Aedes Concordiae Popvli Novi Romani
Cn. Cornelivs Lentvlvs aedem vovit M. Moravio T. Ivlio coss.
Pro Concordia Novae Romae
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QUIRITES! LEAVE A PERSONAL PUBLIC PRAYER TO THE GODDESS OF THE NOVA ROMAN CONCORD HERE!
QUIRITES! LEAVE A PERSONAL PUBLIC PRAYER TO THE GODDESS OF THE NOVA ROMAN CONCORD HERE!
Goddess Concordia
Concordia is the Roman Goddess of Harmony. Unlike many other goddesses who were deified qualities, Concordia was worshipped from early times in Rome. She especially symbolized peace and agreement between the two classes of Rome, the plebeians and the patricians. In the early days of Rome the two classes had joined to drive out the tyrannical Kings and created a Republic; but it quickly became a Republic of the patricians who had all the wealth and power. The plebeians were barred from the Senate and other governmental and priestly offices, though they of course made up most of the army. In 494 BCE the plebeians had had enough, and, refusing to serve in the army anymore, deserted and camped out on a hill near the Anio River that they called the Mons Sacer, or the Sacred Mountain. The patricians, left defenseless, came to some kind of sense and reforms were instituted giving the plebeians more rights.
To commemorate the compromises worked out between patricians and plebeians, a temple to Concordia was built in the northwestern end of the Forum Romanum, backed up against the Capitoline Hill, near the Volcanal, a raised area that housed an altar to Vulcan. This temple was originally vowed in 367 BCE by the general Camillus and dedicated on July 22nd (which became Her festival) sometime afterwards. There was a statue of Victoria on its roof that was struck by lightning at one time; and the temple was restored in the 2nd century BCE. It was again restored by the Emperor Tiberius, who reopened it on the 16th of January, 10 CE, dedicating it to Concordia Augusta, the "Harmony of the Imperial Family". This temple was of somewhat unusual proportions due to the constraints of the site, but it was accorded one of the most beautiful in Rome, as it was finely made and entirely faced in marble. In later times it served as a museum of sorts, and many famous works of art were housed there.
Besides Her great temple in the Forum, Concordia had another, smaller temple on the Arx, the old citadel on the height of the Capitoline Hill, which was within sight of the larger temple to Concordia below it. Its dedication date was the 5th of February, and had been vowed by the praetor Manlius in 218 BCE after a rebellion among his troops was averted. She had another small temple, credited to the Empress Livia, probably in or near her colonnade, the porticus Liviae. It is called by the epithet magnifica ("splendid", "magnificent", or "sumptuous") by Ovid, and even though it can't have been very big, it must have been richly decorated. A temple to Concordia Nova ("New Harmony") was approved by the Senate in 44 BCE, and was to have been built in honor of C. Iulius Caesar, though his assassination kind of put the kibosh on that and it was probably never built.
Concordia had a small bronze shrine near Her great temple in the Forum, set up in 304 BCE, but it is likely that it was demolished when the temple was expanded in the 2nd century BCE. It had been built by Cn. Flavius, an aedile who had published the very secret list of which days in the year were (ritually) acceptable for law cases to be heard. As cases heard on the wrong days were automatically dismissed, the fact that this calendar was jealously guarded by the patricians meant that plebeians submitting claims had a pretty good chance of having their claims denied out of hand. After Flavius published this calendar, the patricians were not at all happy with him, and he vowed the altar to Concordia to try to help smooth things out. The senate stuck it to him, though, by not requisitioning any funds to build it, and he had to use fines collected from money-lenders.
Concordia had a place in the festival of the Caristia or Charistia (meaning "Pardoning") of February 22nd, a holiday celebrated by families in which it was traditional to reconcile differences and to mend quarrels or feuds within the family. Concordia was invoked for Her powers of bringing harmony and agreement, and other deities invoked at the Caristia were Ianus, the double-faced God of New Beginnings, Salus, the Goddess of Health, and Pax, Goddess of Peace. These four divinities were honored with statues grouped together at the Altar of Peace (not the great big famous one built by Augustus, but a smaller one whose location is unknown). They were also said to be worshipped together on the 30th of March and the 30th of January, and Concordia was invoked by matrons on April 1st at the Veneralia, the festival of Venus Verticordia, along with Fortuna and Venus.
In the later days of the Empire, Concordia was worshipped as the bringer of marital harmony within the imperial family, and as such was called Concordia Augusta.
She was depicted as a matronly woman, veiled and heavily draped, holding an olive branch, emblematic of peace, and a cornucopia, to symbolize the abundance that can be achieved when people work together in harmony. She sometimes wore a crown and held a sceptre, caduceus, or patera, a small offering bowl from which libations were poured. She is associated with the stork, which symbolized family devotion to the Romans, and the dove, universally a symbol of peace and gentleness; and sometimes a star, as emblem of hope, is shown near Her. Another attribute of Concordia is the image of two clasped hands, both of which are right hands (like in a handshake), symbolizing two people agreeing. She is often shown on coins commemorating joint rule of leaders or the marriages of the imperial family.
The so-called Temple of Concordia in Akragas, Sicily, is a Doric-style temple built by Greek settlers to the island in the 6th and 5th centuries BCE. Though it is beautifully preserved, and the whole area is now in fact a World Heritage Site, the identification with Concordia is most probably wrong.
Inscriptions on coins refer to different applications of Concordia; these were probably not epithets, but rather illustrations of types of harmony, but I list some of them here: Concordia Militaris, "the Harmony of Armies", Concordia Provinciarum, "the Harmony of the Provinces", Concordia Conjugalis, "Harmony of Marriage".
Public Prayers
SACRIFICIUM CONCORDIAE KALENDIS FEBRUARIIS ANNI SACRI X NOVAE ROMAE CONDITAE
Favete linguis!
(Beginning of the sacrifice.)
PRAEFATIO
Concordia Populi Novi Romani Quiritium, Concordia Novae Romae, Dea pacis et salutis Populi Novi Romani Quiritium, te hoc ture commovendo bonas preces precor, uti sies volens propitia Populo Novo Romano Quiritibus, Reique Publicae Populi Novi Romani Quiritium, mihi, domo, familiae!
(Incense is placed in the focus of the altar.)
Concordia Populi Novi Romani Quiritium, Concordia Novae Romae, Dea pacis et salutis Populi Novi Romani Quiritium, uti te ture commovendo bonas preces bene precatus sum, eiusdem rei ergo macte vino inferio esto!"
(Libation of wine is made.)
PRECATIO
Dea Concordia Populi Novi Romani, Concordia Novae Romae, dea pacis et fortitudinis Senatus Populique Novi Romani, hisce Idibus Februariis anni decimi Novae Romae conditae te precor, veneror, quaeso, obtestor: uti pacem concordiamque constantem societati Novae Romae tribuas; utique Rem Publicam Populi Novi Romani Quiritium confirmes, augeas, adiuves, omnibusque discordiis liberes; utique Res Publica Populi Novi Romani Quiritium semper floreat; atque hoc anno anniversario decimo Novae Romae conditae convalescat; atque pax et concordia, salus et gloria Novae Romae omni tempore crescat, utique Populo Novo Romano Quiritibus, Reique Publicae Populi Novi Romani Quiritium, mihi, domo, familiae omnes in hoc anno decimo Novae Romae eventus bonos faustosque esse siris; utique sies volens propitia Populo Novo Romano Quiritibus, Reique Publicae Populi Novi Romani Quiritium, magistratibus, consulibus, praetoribus Populi Novi Romani Quiritium, tribunis Plebis Novae Romanae, Senatui Novo Romano, omnibus civibus, viris et mulieribus, pueris et puellabus Novis Romanis, mihi, domo, familiae!
SACRIFICIUM
Sicut verba nuncupavi, quaeque ita faxis, uti ego me sentio dicere: harum rerum ergo macte hoc vino libando, hoc ture ommovendo esto fito volens propitia hoc anno anniversario decimo Novae Romae conditae Populo Novo Romano Quiritibus, Reique Publicae Populi Novi Romani Quiritium, magistratibus, consulibus, praetoribus Populi Novi Romani Quiritium, tribunis Plebis Novae Romanae, Senatui Novo Romano, omnibus civibus, viris et mulierbus, pueris et puellabus Novis Romanis, mihi, domo, familiae!
(Libation is made and incense is sacrificed.)
REDDITIO
Concordia Populi Novi Romani Quiritium, Concordia Novae Romae, Dea pacis et salutis Populi Novi Romani Quiritium, uti te ture commovendo et vino libando bonas preces bene precatus sum, earundem rerum ergo macte vino inferio esto!
(Libation of wine is made)
Ilicet!
(End of the sacrifice.)
PIACULUM
Iane, Concordia Populi Novi Romani Quiritium, Iuppiter Optime Maxmime, Iuno, Minerva, Omnes Di Immortales quocumque nomine: si quidquam vobis in hac caerimonia displicet, hoc vino inferio veniam peto et vitium meum expio.
(Libation of wine is made.)
PRECATIO T. POPILLIAE LAENATIS
Concordia, Goddess of the social peace and harmony, Goddess of the Nova Roman public concord, be propitious to us, the New Roman nation in the 10th year of our republic, now and forever. Give us your sacred peace, lend the spirit of cooperation and common work and public agreement to our people, the Nova Romans. Help us to restore the Roman world.
PRECATIO L. VITELII TRIARII
Dea Concordia, watch over us, the cives of Nova Roma, and lend your guidance and wisdom to us as we celebrate this 10th year of the return of the Roman Republic. Establish harmony, agreement and understanding in all of our private and public endeavors as we progress together down the path of the Via Romana. Grant us prosperity and peace throughout the Res publica.
PRECATIO M. HORTENSIAE MAIORIS
Dea Concordia, on this 10th anniversary of Nova Roma, may you be propitious to the Quirites and establish true concord among us; may our actions in praising and sacrificing to you be pleasing and may the Pax Deorum grow and last forever!
PRECATIO CN. EQUITII MARINI
Dea Concordia, look kindly upon your people, the Nova Romans. Come among us and grant us the grace to appreciate the gifts and talents each of us brings to our community. Teach us to live together in harmony, for the benefit of us all. Show us how to become our best selves. As we benefit from your gifts so may you be magnified by our gratitude.
SACRIFICIUM CONCORDIAE DIE TEMPLI CONCORDIAE AUGUSTAE ANNI SACRI X NOVAE ROMAE CONDITAE
Favete linguis!
(beginning of the sacrifice.)
PRAEFATIO
Dea Concordia Populi Novi Romani, Concordia Novae Romae, te hoc ture commovendo bonas preces precor, uti sies volens propitia Populo Novo Romano Quiritibus, Reique Publicae Populi Novi Romani Quiritium, mihi, domo, familiae!
(Incense is placed in the focus of the altar.)
Dea Concordia Populi Novi Romani, Concordia Novae Romae, uti te ture commovendo bonas preces bene precatus sum, eiusdem rei ergo macte vino inferio esto!"
(Libation of wine is made.)
PRECATIO
Dea Concordia Populi Novi Romani, Concordia Novae Romae, dea pacis et fortitudinis Senatus Populique Novi Romani, hoc die templi Concordiae Augustae dedicationis anni decimi Novae Romae conditae te precor, veneror, quaeso, obtestor: uti pacem concordiamque constantem societati Novae Romae tribuas; utique Rem Publicam Populi Novi Romani Quiritium confirmes, augeas, adiuves, omnibusque discordiis liberes; utique Res Publica Populi Novi Romani Quiritium semper floreat; atque hoc anno anniversario decimo Novae Romae conditae convalescat; atque pax et concordia et gloria Novae Romae omni tempore crescat, utique Populo Novo Romano Quiritibus, Reique Publicae Populi Novi Romani Quiritium, mihi, domo, familiae omnes in hoc anno decimo Novae Romae eventus bonos faustosque esse siris; utique sies volens propitia Populo Novo Romano Quiritibus, Reique Publicae Populi Novi Romani Quiritium, magistratibus, consulibus, praetoribus Populi Novi Romani Quiritium, tribunis Plebei Novae Romanae, Senatui Novo Romano, omnibus civibus, viris et mulierbus, pueris et puellabus Novis Romanis, mihi, domo, familiae!
SACRIFICIUM
Sicut verba nuncupavi, quaeque ita faxis, uti ego me sentio dicere: harum rerum ergo macte hoc vino libando, hoc ture ommovendo esto fito volens propitia hoc anno anniversario decimo Novae Romae conditae Populo Novo Romano Quiritibus, Reique Publicae Populi Novi Romani Quiritium, magistratibus, consulibus, praetoribus Populi Novi Romani Quiritium, tribunis Plebei Novae Romanae, Senatui Novo Romano, omnibus civibus, viris et mulierbus, pueris et puellabus Novis Romanis, mihi, domo, familiae!
(Libation is made and incense is sacrificed.)
REDDITIO
Dea Concordia Populi Novi Romani, Concordia Novae Romae, uti te ture commovendo et vino libando bonas preces bene precatus sum, earundem rerum ergo macte vino inferio esto!
(Libation of wine is made)
Ilicet!
(End of the sacrifice.)
PIACULUM
Iane, Dea Concordia Populi Novi Romani, Concordia Novae Romae, Iuppiter Optime Maxmime, Iuno, Minerva, Omnes Di Immortales quocumque nomine: si quidquam vobis in hac caerimonia displicet, hoc vino inferio veniam peto et vitium meum expio.
(Libation of wine is made.)
SACRIFICIUM CONCORDIAE IDIBUS IANUARIIS ANNI SACRI X NOVAE ROMAE CONDITAE
Dea Concordia, dea pacis et fortitudinis Senatus Populique Novi Romani, hisce Idibus Ianuariis anni decimi Novae Romae conditae te precor, veneror, quaeso, obtestor: uti pacem concordiamque constantem societati Novae Romae tribuas; utique Rem Publicam Populi Novi Romani Quiritium confirmes, augeas, adiuves, omnibusque discordiis liberes; utique Res Publica Populi Novi Romani Quiritium semper floreat; atque hoc anno anniversario decimo Novae Romae conditae convalescat; atque pax et concordia et gloria Novae Romae omni tempore crescat, utique Populo Novo Romano Quiritibus, Reique Publicae Populi Novi Romani Quiritium, mihi, domo, familiae omnes in hoc anno decimo Novae Romae eventus bonos faustosque esse siris; utique sies volens propitia Populo Novo Romano Quiritibus, Reique Publicae Populi Novi Romani Quiritium, nostris magistratibus, consulibus, praetoribus Populi Novi Romani Quiritium, tribunis Plebei Novae Romanae, Senatui Novo Romano, omnibus civibus, viris et mulierbus, pueris et puellabus Novis Romanis, mihi, domo, familiae!
Sicut verba nuncupavi, quaeque ita faxis, uti ego me sentio dicere: harum rerum ergo macte hoc vino libando, his turis granis sacrificandis esto fito volens propitia hoc anno anniversario decimo Novae Romae conditae Populo Novo Romano Quiritibus, Reique Publicae Populi Novi Romani Quiritium, nostris magistratibus, consulibus, praetoribus Populi Novi Romani Quiritium, tribunis Plebei Novae Romanae, Senatui Novo Romano, omnibus civibus, viris et mulierbus, pueris et puellabus Novis Romanis, mihi, domo, familiae!
SACRIFICIUM CONCORDIAE ET INITII ANNI SACRI CONCORDIAE NOVAE ROMAE KALENDIS IANUARIIS ANNO X NOVAE ROMAE CONDITAE
Dea Concordia, dea pacis et fortitudinis Senatus Populique Novi Romani, hoc initio anni decimi Novae Romae conditae te precor, veneror, quaeso, obtestor: uti pacem concordiamque constantem societati Novae Romae tribuas; utique Rem Publicam Populi Novi Romani Quiritium confirmes, augeas, adiuves, omnibusque discordiis liberes; utique Res Publica Populi Novi Romani Quiritium semper floreat; atque hoc anno anniversario decimo Novae Romae conditae convalescat; atque pax et concordia et gloria Novae Romae omni tempore crescat, utique Populo Novo Romano Quiritibus, Reique Publicae Populi Novi Romani Quiritium, mihi, domo, familiae omnes in hodie incepto novo anno eventus bonos faustosque esse siris; utique sies volens propitia Populo Novo Romano Quiritibus, Reique Publicae Populi Novi Romani Quiritium, novis magistratibus, consulibus, praetoribus Populi Novi Romani Quiritium, tribunis Plebei Novae Romanae, Senatui Novo Romano, omnibus civibus, viris et mulierbus, pueris et puellabus Novis Romanis, mihi, domo, familiae!
Sicut verba nuncupavi, quaeque ita faxis, uti ego me sentio dicere: harum rerum ergo macte hoc libo libando, hoc vino libando, his turis granis sacrificandis esto fito volens propitia hoc initio anni decimi Novae Romae conditae Populo Novo Romano Quiritibus, Reique Publicae Populi Novi Romani Quiritium, novis magistratibus, consulibus, praetoribus Populi Novi Romani Quiritium, tribunis Plebei Novae Romanae, Senatui Novo Romano, omnibus civibus, viris et mulierbus, pueris et puellabus Novis Romanis,
mihi, domo, familiae!