Liber

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[[Liber]] is an ancient Italic deity of germination and agriculture. Later he was assimilated with Bacchus, Greek Dionysus. Their names were used interchangably. Liber Pater [he was always called 'Liber Pater' Venerable] was an important deity. 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 his cult was 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. This was the Greek cult and thus an official recognition of Greek Dionysus. Though Bacchus in his Greek form had long been worshipped in Italy.  The 'thiasos' Latin: thiasus was usually male or mixed with the female sacerdos presiding and were devoted to banquets and retelling of the god's myth.
 
 
Bacchus was worshipped in the Roman way with collegia devoted to celebrating his feria with dinners  much in the manner indicated by Ovid in his Fasti.
 
[[Image:Liber courtesy of Vroma.jpg|frame]]
 
 
 
The [[Liberalia]] an ancient festival supposedly even more ancient than the [[Cerealia]] took place a.d XVI Kal. Aprilis (March 17th) The day 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''.
 
 
bullas and dolls along with the toga praetexta would be consecrated to the Lares.
 
 
cum primum pauido custos mihi purpura cessit           
 
bullaque subcinctis Laribus donata pependit, Persius. V.31
 
 
==REFERENCES== 
 
:Bruhl, "Liber Pater"
 
:Francoise Jaccottet "Choisir Dionysos"
 
:Susan Guettel Cole,various articles
 
:Ovid, Fasti
 
 
 
 
[[Category:Roman Gods]]
 

Revision as of 00:44, 14 March 2011

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