1. Saturn the Many Conspicuous Features That Roman Saturn and Greek Kro Nos Had in Common Encouraged an Early Assimilation

CHAPTER THREE

SATURNUS AND THE SATURNALIA

Liminal symbols tend to be ambiguous, equivo cal, neutral, ambisexual rather than classificatory reversals. This is because liminality is conceived of as a season of silent, secret growth, a mediatory movement between what was and what will be, where the social process goes inward and under ground for a time that is not profane time. V.W. Turner

1. THE EVIDENCE

1. Saturn The many conspicuous features that Roman Saturn and Greek Kro nos had in common encouraged an early assimilation. We are well informed about some common traits, especially the nature of their festivals, the Saturnalia and the Kronia. But the gods share enigmat ic aspects too: the mystery of their 'original' nature; their pro venance; and the question of alleged derivations of cult elements from foreign sources. I shall first give a survey of the most relevant evidence-for full information the reader should consult the abun dant modern literature1.

1 Besides the articles in the well-known handbooks or encyclopedias (especially the one by M. P. Nilsson in RE II, 2, 1 [ 1921] 201-11) and articles on special details mentioned in the footnotes below, the following works are basic: J. Albrecht, Satur nus. Seine Gestalt in Sage und Kult (Diss. Halle 1943); F. Bomer, Untersuchungen uber die Religion der Sklaven in Griechenland und Rom III (AbhMainz 1961) 173-95 ( = 415-37); M. Le Glay, Saturne africain. Histoire (Paris 1966), esp. 449-78; A. Brelich, Tre variazioni romane sul tema delle origini (Rome 19762) 83-95; Ch. Guittard, Recherches sur Ia nature de Saturne des origines a Ia reforme de 21 7 avant J. -C., in: R. Bloch (ed.), Recherches sur les religions de l'Italie antique (Geneve-Paris 1976) 43-71; idem, Saturnifanum injaucibus (Varro LL 5, 42): a propos de Saturne et de !'asylum, in: Melanges P. Weuilleumier (Paris 1980) 159-66; idem, Saturnia Terra: mythe et realite, Caesarodunum 15 his (1980) 177-86; D. Briquel, Iuppiter, Saturne et le Capitole. Essai de comparaison indo-europeenne, RHR 198 (1981) 131-62; P. Pouthier,Ops et la conception divine de l'abondance dans la religion romainejusqu'd la mort d'Auguste (Rome 1981 ); B. H. Krause, Iuppiter Optimus Maximus Saturnus. Ein Beitrag SATURNUS AND THE SATURNALIA 137

Like Kronos in Greece, Saturn had scarcely any cultic reality in Italy pace Dion. Hal. 1, 34, 52• In Rome his cult was restricted to one sanctuary, the famous temple3 on the slopes of the Capitoline hill, eight columns of which are still in situ. The treasure of state, the aerarium Saturni, was kept in the cellars of this temple. It was also the place where the quaestors administered the mint. Various series of Roman coins bore the portrait of the god. There was an official pair of scales in the temple and official charters are reported to have been published on walls in the immediate neigbourhood4 . This unique temple of Saturn constitutes one of the oldest cult places of Rome. Before its foundation there had been a very ancient altar5 and the temple itself was said to have been founded in or around 497 BC6 ,

zur ikonographischen Darstellungen Satums (Trierer Winckelmannsprogram 5, 1983). These works will be cited by name and date henceforth. As I had originally planned this chapter as a section of my contribution to Bremmer 1987a, together with my paper on Kronos, the basic parts had been written when I saw Graf 1985, who pro vides a short but perceptive analysis of the main features of the Saturnalian festival on p.90-93. 2 Dion. Hal. 1, 34, 5, tells us that sanctuaries of 'Kronos' were ubiquitous in Italy, but archaeology by no means confirms this view. Nor does epigraphy: in his appendix 'Inscriptions a Saturne hors d' Afrique', Le Glay 1966, 340-3, records only 33 instances. As far as they are Italic (27 x ) there are only 7 inscriptions from central Italy; the rest are from North Italy, where a Celtic God hides behind this name. Cf. C. B. Pascal, The Cults of Cisalpine Gaul (Bruxelles 1964) 176-9; F. Sar tori, Un dedica a Saturno in Val d'Ega, Atti VII Ce SDIR (1975-6) 583-600. 3 H. Jordan, Topographie der Stadt Rom I, 2 (Berlin 1871) 360 ff.; S. B. Platner Th. Ashby, A Topographical Dictionary ofAncient Rome (Oxford-London 1929) 463 f.; G. Lugli, Roma Antica. Il centro monumentale (Rome 1946) 148-51; F. Castagnoli, Foro Romano (Rome 1957); Coarelli 1983, 199 ff.; P. Pensabene, Tempio di Saturno. Ar chitettura e decorazione (Rome 1984 ). 4 Aerarium Saturni: Thes.L.L. I, 1055 ff.; Plut. Poplic. 12; QR 42; Paul. ex Festo 2, 14 (L); Macrob. Sat. 1, 8, 3; Serv. Georg. 2, 502. See: M. Corbier, L'Aerarium Saturni et l'Aerarium militare (Rome 1974). Coins: Babelon, Monnaie de la republique romaine I, 288 no. 5; 399 no. 24; II, 188 no. 14 f.; 214 no. 2; 216 no. 8; Sydenham, TheCoinageoftheRomanRepublic(London 1952)nos. 73, 79, 90,102,123,124. Cf. Krause 1983, passim. The balance: Varro, L.L 5, 183. On the enigmatic text in Varro L. L 5, 42: post aedem Saturni in aedificiorum legibus privatis parietes 'postici muri' sunt scripti, generally interpreted as 'charters' (cf. Cass. Dio 45, 17, 3); see also: H. Erkel!, Varroniana, ORom 13 (1981) 35. 5 Fest. 430, 35 (L); Serv. Aen. 2, 116; 8, 319; Macrob. Sat. 1, 8, 2; Varro L.L. 5, 42:fanum infaucibus. Cf. Guittard 1980a and the discussion below p.179. 6 Dion. Hal. 6, 1, 4; Liv. 2, 21, 2, with Ogilvie's note. Pensabene o.c. (above n.3) 12-5, gives the full evidence. Cf. E. Gjerstad, The Temple of Saturn in Rome: Its Date of Dedication and the Early History of the Sanctuary, in: Hommages A. Grenier II (Bruxelles 1962) 757-62. Latte 1960, 254 n.2, thinks that the temple was founded circa 400 BC, but this must be the second temple.