Saturn (mythology)

As is clear from the etymology of the word ( Saturnus from satus - sowing), Saturn was the god of earth and crops . He was credited with the introduction of farming , horticulture , vineyards , and fertilizing the land in Italy, as a result of which, according to legend, he was considered the prehistoric king of the country, who moved from Greece to Italy, as the patron of agriculture and fertilizer .

It was said that Saturn, cast down from the throne by Jupiter , after long wanderings on the sea, arrived in Lacius . According to Virgil , this is a god who came from Olympus to Italy ^[6] . In Rome, there was a legend that Saturn on the ship sailed along the Tiber to Janiculus , here he found a friendly reception at Janus and then established refuge for himself on the other side of the river, at the foot of the Capitol , which used to be called Saturn Hill. The original population of Latsia was called Saturnov; about the villagers who lived by the peaceful labor of their hands in the lap of nature, was later talked about as a remnant of Saturn’s generation. According to Aurelius Victor , he arrived in Italy under Janus, erected the city of Saturnia ^[7] .

Because of this, the most ancient unsophisticated national poetic size was called Saturnic verse , Saturnian or faunal , and it was composed of sayings and works of ancient poets.

The idea of ​​the golden age was associated with the name of Saturn, when the people lived in abundance and eternal peace, did not know slavery, class inequalities and property. In his time, life was abundant ^[8] , everything was common ^[9] . When Saturn, like other good kings and benefactors of mankind in Roman mythology, disappeared, the wonderful age disappeared with it, leaving only memories about itself.

Saturn sanctuaries could be found everywhere; many towns and cities of the peninsula are named after god; Italy itself, according to legend, was called in ancient times Saturn land ( lat. Saturnia tellus ).

In Rome itself, the sanctuary of Saturn , founded, according to legend, by Janus (according to others. Hercules ), was located at the foot of Capitoline Hill and was considered the oldest remnant of the prehistoric era of Latia.

The founder of the cult of Saturn is Tull Gostiliy ; the construction of the temple on the site of an ancient sanctuary refers to the first times of the Republic.

Under the temple, which was erected jointly in honor of Saturn and his wife, the goddess Ops , there was a Roman treasury (aerarium Saturni), which seemed to be under the protection of God, in which humanity knew abundance and happiness. The image of Saturn for the whole year, with the exception of the December festivities, at the foot was covered with woolen ribbons and as it were chained so that the grace emanating from God would always be associated with the city and the people.

The rite of worship in honor of Saturn was performed according to the ancient Roman rite, although the priest and worshipers stood with their heads open (it was called lucem facere), probably due to the influence of Greek rituals and, in particular, at the direction of the Sibyllic books .

The feast of Saturn was called Saturnalia , and was held annually on December 17. His original character is unknown, in 217 BC. er was modeled after the Greek crowns ^[10] . The holiday stretched to 5-7 days. On these days, slaves were released, gentlemen and servants were changing their duties, schoolchildren were exempted from punishment ^[11] . People exchanged gifts, lamps and clay figurines, burned candles, chose the "Queen of the Ball" and the comic "King of Saturnalia", and unrestrained joy reigned ^{[1] [11]} .

In the IV century n. er Saturnalia was timed to celebrate Christmas and New Years ^[12] . Much of the rituals were included in the Christian Orthodox Church ^[11] .

In 104 g. e., the tribune of the people of Lucius Appoolius Saturninus issued a denarius , depicting Saturn, ruling quadriga - a chariot with four horses, which was associated with the rulers, the leaders of the triumphant and the solar gods . On the obverse of the coin was the profile of the goddess Roma. Saturninus was a popular politician, he proposed the distribution of grain at a reduced price for the poor in Rome. The connection between the image of Saturn and the name of the tribune was played out, and its intention to change the social hierarchy in its favor, basing its political support on ordinary people ( plebs ), and not on the senatorial elite. ^[13]

The image of Saturn, Kronos , devouring his children, is depicted in the paintings of the same name by Peter Rubens in 1636, and Francisco Goya in 1819-1823.

• Obnorsky N.P. Saturn, God // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron : in 86 tons (82 tons and 4 extras). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
• Kronos // Real Dictionary of Classical Antiquities / ed.-comp. F. Lubker ; Edited by members of the Society of Classical Philology and Pedagogy F. Gelbke , L. Georgievsky , F. Zelinsky , V. Kansky , M. Kutorgi and P. Nikitin . - SPb. 1885.
• Saturn / E. M. Shtaerman // Myths of the peoples of the world : Entsikl. in 2 t. / Ch. ed. S.A. Tokarev . - 2nd ed. - M .: Soviet Encyclopedia , 1988. - T. 2: K — I. - p. 901.
• Saturn // Mythological Dictionary / ed.-comp. M. N. Botvinnik, M. A. Kogan , M. B. Rabinovich, B. P. Seletsky. - 4th ed. - M .: Enlightenment , 1985. - p. 128.
• HS Versnel. Saturnus and the Saturnalia / Inconsistencies in Greek and Roman Religion: Transition and Reversal in Myth and Ritual. - Brill, 1993, 1994.