Ver sacrum
Encyclopedia
Ver sacrum is a religious practice of ancient Italic peoples, especially Sabines and their offshoot Samnites, concerning the deduction of colonies. It was of special interest to Georges Dumézil
, according to whom the ver sacrum perpetuated prehistoric migration practices of Indo-European
s to the end of the Iron Age
and into the beginnings of history, when stable sedentary dwelling conditions had already become general.
) to the god Mars of the generation of offspring born in the spring of the following year to humans or cattle. Among the Sabines, this was the period from March 1 to April 30.
The practise is related to that of devotio in Roman religion
. It was customary to resort to it at times of particular danger or strife for the community. Some scholars believe that in earlier times devoted or vowed children were actually sacrificed
, but later expulsion was substituted. Dionysius of Halicarnassus
states the practise of child sacrifice was one of the causes that brought about the fall of the Pelasgians
in Italy.
The human children who had been devoted were required to leave the community in early adulthood, at 20 or 21 years of age. They were entrusted to a god for protection, and led to the border with a veiled face. Often they were led by an animal under the auspices of the god. As a group, the youth were called sacrani and were supposed to enjoy the protection of Mars until they had reached their destination, expelled the inhabitants or forced them into submission, and founded their own settlement.
The tradition is recorded by Festus
, Livy
, Strabo
, Sisenna, Servius, Varro
, and Dionysius of Halicarnassus
.
s of the new community. These included the wolf, hirpus, after which the Hirpini
of Campania
were supposed to have been named; the woodpecker, picus, which gave its name to the Piceni or Picenti who settled present-day Marche
(hence the green woodpecker as the symbol of the region);the vulture, vultur, of the Vultures; and the horse, equus of the Aequi
or Aequicolae in Latium
. The Samnites were led by an ox, bos, after which was named their capital Bovianum
, founded upon the hill on which the ox had stopped. The Mamertini of Sicily received their name directly from the god Mars.
Guide animals from the ver sacrum and their legends may explain the use of animal insignia by the Roman army
. Gaius Marius
was the first to adopt the eagle in all the signa militaria; previously the eagle had been the first and highest of the signa. Others in use were the wolf, the Minotaur
, the horse and the boar. Andreas Alföldi
has linked each animal with a Roman god, starting with the eagle and Jupiter
and ending with the boar of Quirinus
.
Dumézil emphasizes the affinty of Indo-Iranian
human and warrior gods with animal forms: among the Iranic
god of victory V(e)r(e)thragna 's incarnation
s, seven are of animal form, including the bull, horse, boar and hawk, each of which is associated at one time or another with a ver sacrum and Roman army insignia.
On the recto of coins from Campania appears a human character bearing over his head that of a boar, and on the verso the word ROMA. German scholar C. Koch interprets this character as god Quirinus
, since he identifies the boar, aper, as the animal symbol of the god. Dumézil remarks that the boar is the animal symbolizing Vane
, the Freyr
of Scandinavian mythology.
, one seems to make reference to a ver sacrum and the other makes an explicit identification. This last one says that sacrani come from the town of Reate, today Rieti, expelled the indigenous Ligures
and Siculi from the place that would later become the Septimontium
. In the version accepted as canonic, Rome was founded by two twins, sons of Mars nurtured by a she-wolf and who had left the town of Alba
of their own accord. Dumézil's interpretation is not universally shared by scholars: in the Cambridge Ancient History, Arnaldo Momigliano
states flatly that "Romulus
did not lead a ver sacrum."
The last ver sacrum recorded in history occurred at Rome during the Second Punic War
after the defeats at Trasimene and Cannae
and concerned only cattle.
Georges Dumézil
Georges Dumézil was a French comparative philologist best known for his analysis of sovereignty and power in Proto-Indo-European religion and society...
, according to whom the ver sacrum perpetuated prehistoric migration practices of Indo-European
Indo-European
Indo-European may refer to:* Indo-European languages** Aryan race, a 19th century and early 20th century term for those peoples who are the native speakers of Indo-European languages...
s to the end of the Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
and into the beginnings of history, when stable sedentary dwelling conditions had already become general.
Religious meaning
The practice consisted in a vow (votumVotum
In ancient Roman religion, a votum, plural vota, is a vow or promise made to a deity. The word comes from the past participle of the Latin verb voveo, vovere, "vow, promise." As the result of this verbal action, a votum is also that which fulfills a vow, that is, the thing promised, such as...
) to the god Mars of the generation of offspring born in the spring of the following year to humans or cattle. Among the Sabines, this was the period from March 1 to April 30.
The practise is related to that of devotio in Roman religion
Religion in ancient Rome
Religion in ancient Rome encompassed the religious beliefs and cult practices regarded by the Romans as indigenous and central to their identity as a people, as well as the various and many cults imported from other peoples brought under Roman rule. Romans thus offered cult to innumerable deities...
. It was customary to resort to it at times of particular danger or strife for the community. Some scholars believe that in earlier times devoted or vowed children were actually sacrificed
Human sacrifice
Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more human beings as part of a religious ritual . Its typology closely parallels the various practices of ritual slaughter of animals and of religious sacrifice in general. Human sacrifice has been practised in various cultures throughout history...
, but later expulsion was substituted. Dionysius of Halicarnassus
Dionysius of Halicarnassus
Dionysius of Halicarnassus was a Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Caesar Augustus. His literary style was Attistic — imitating Classical Attic Greek in its prime.-Life:...
states the practise of child sacrifice was one of the causes that brought about the fall of the Pelasgians
Pelasgians
The name Pelasgians was used by some ancient Greek writers to refer to populations that were either the ancestors of the Greeks or who preceded the Greeks in Greece, "a hold-all term for any ancient, primitive and presumably indigenous people in the Greek world." In general, "Pelasgian" has come...
in Italy.
The human children who had been devoted were required to leave the community in early adulthood, at 20 or 21 years of age. They were entrusted to a god for protection, and led to the border with a veiled face. Often they were led by an animal under the auspices of the god. As a group, the youth were called sacrani and were supposed to enjoy the protection of Mars until they had reached their destination, expelled the inhabitants or forced them into submission, and founded their own settlement.
The tradition is recorded by Festus
Sextus Pompeius Festus
Sextus Pompeius Festus was a Roman grammarian, who probably flourished in the later 2nd century AD, perhaps at Narbo in Gaul.He made an epitome in 20 volumes of the encyclopedic treatise in many volumes De verborum significatu, of Verrius Flaccus, a celebrated grammarian who flourished in the...
, Livy
Livy
Titus Livius — known as Livy in English — was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people. Ab Urbe Condita Libri, "Chapters from the Foundation of the City," covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome well before the traditional foundation in 753 BC...
, Strabo
Strabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
, Sisenna, Servius, Varro
Varro
Varro was a Roman cognomen carried by:*Marcus Terentius Varro, sometimes known as Varro Reatinus, the scholar*Publius Terentius Varro or Varro Atacinus, the poet*Gaius Terentius Varro, the consul defeated at the battle of Cannae...
, and Dionysius of Halicarnassus
Dionysius of Halicarnassus
Dionysius of Halicarnassus was a Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Caesar Augustus. His literary style was Attistic — imitating Classical Attic Greek in its prime.-Life:...
.
Animals and naming
The animals sacred to Mars that led the group sometimes became the eponymEponym
An eponym is the name of a person or thing, whether real or fictitious, after which a particular place, tribe, era, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named...
s of the new community. These included the wolf, hirpus, after which the Hirpini
Hirpini
The Hirpini , were an ancient Samnite people of central Italy. While general regarded as having been Samnites, sometimes they are treated as a distinct and independent nation...
of Campania
Campania
Campania is a region in southern Italy. The region has a population of around 5.8 million people, making it the second-most-populous region of Italy; its total area of 13,590 km² makes it the most densely populated region in the country...
were supposed to have been named; the woodpecker, picus, which gave its name to the Piceni or Picenti who settled present-day Marche
Marche
The population density in the region is below the national average. In 2008, it was 161.5 inhabitants per km2, compared to the national figure of 198.8. It is highest in the province of Ancona , and lowest in the province of Macerata...
(hence the green woodpecker as the symbol of the region);the vulture, vultur, of the Vultures; and the horse, equus of the Aequi
Aequi
thumb|300px|Location of the Aequi in central Italy.The Aequi were an ancient people of northeast Latium and the central Appennines of Italy who appear in the early history of ancient Rome. After a long struggle for independence from Rome they were defeated and substantial Roman colonies were...
or Aequicolae in Latium
Latium
Lazio is one of the 20 administrative regions of Italy, situated in the central peninsular section of the country. With about 5.7 million residents and a GDP of more than 170 billion euros, Lazio is the third most populated and the second richest region of Italy...
. The Samnites were led by an ox, bos, after which was named their capital Bovianum
Bovianum
Two cities of ancient Italy were named Bovianum, both in Samnium:* Bovianum Undecumanorum, now Boiano* Bovianum Vetus, a colonia of uncertain location, sometimes , identified with Pietrabbondante...
, founded upon the hill on which the ox had stopped. The Mamertini of Sicily received their name directly from the god Mars.
Animals in signa militaria
Roman army
The Roman army is the generic term for the terrestrial armed forces deployed by the kingdom of Rome , the Roman Republic , the Roman Empire and its successor, the Byzantine empire...
. Gaius Marius
Gaius Marius
Gaius Marius was a Roman general and statesman. He was elected consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his dramatic reforms of Roman armies, authorizing recruitment of landless citizens, eliminating the manipular military formations, and reorganizing the...
was the first to adopt the eagle in all the signa militaria; previously the eagle had been the first and highest of the signa. Others in use were the wolf, the Minotaur
Minotaur
In Greek mythology, the Minotaur , as the Greeks imagined him, was a creature with the head of a bull on the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, "part man and part bull"...
, the horse and the boar. Andreas Alföldi
Andreas Alföldi
András Ede Zsigmond Alföldi was a Hungarian historian, epigraphist, numismatist and archaeologist. He was one of the most productive 20th-century scholars of the ancient world and is considered one of the leading researchers of his time...
has linked each animal with a Roman god, starting with the eagle and Jupiter
Jupiter (mythology)
In ancient Roman religion and myth, Jupiter or Jove is the king of the gods, and the god of the sky and thunder. He is the equivalent of Zeus in the Greek pantheon....
and ending with the boar of Quirinus
Quirinus
In Roman mythology, Quirinus was an early god of the Roman state. In Augustan Rome, Quirinus was also an epithet of Janus, as Janus Quirinus. His name is derived from Quiris meaning "spear."-History:...
.
Dumézil emphasizes the affinty of Indo-Iranian
Indo-Iranians
Indo-Iranian peoples are a linguistic group consisting of the Indo-Aryan, Iranian, Dardic and Nuristani peoples; that is, speakers of Indo-Iranian languages, a major branch of the Indo-European language family....
human and warrior gods with animal forms: among the Iranic
Iranian peoples
The Iranian peoples are an Indo-European ethnic-linguistic group, consisting of the speakers of Iranian languages, a major branch of the Indo-European language family, as such forming a branch of Indo-European-speaking peoples...
god of victory V(e)r(e)thragna 's incarnation
Incarnation
Incarnation literally means embodied in flesh or taking on flesh. It refers to the conception and birth of a sentient creature who is the material manifestation of an entity, god or force whose original nature is immaterial....
s, seven are of animal form, including the bull, horse, boar and hawk, each of which is associated at one time or another with a ver sacrum and Roman army insignia.
On the recto of coins from Campania appears a human character bearing over his head that of a boar, and on the verso the word ROMA. German scholar C. Koch interprets this character as god Quirinus
Quirinus
In Roman mythology, Quirinus was an early god of the Roman state. In Augustan Rome, Quirinus was also an epithet of Janus, as Janus Quirinus. His name is derived from Quiris meaning "spear."-History:...
, since he identifies the boar, aper, as the animal symbol of the god. Dumézil remarks that the boar is the animal symbolizing Vane
Vane
Vane may refer to:* Cooper vane* Vane anemometer* Weather vaneA vane is also each of the parts besides the shaft in a pennaceous feather...
, the Freyr
Freyr
Freyr is one of the most important gods of Norse paganism. Freyr was highly associated with farming, weather and, as a phallic fertility god, Freyr "bestows peace and pleasure on mortals"...
of Scandinavian mythology.
The Roman ver sacrum
Dumézil argues that of the two major traditions of the founding of RomeFounding of Rome
The founding of Rome is reported by many legends, which in recent times are beginning to be supplemented by scientific reconstructions.- Development of the city :...
, one seems to make reference to a ver sacrum and the other makes an explicit identification. This last one says that sacrani come from the town of Reate, today Rieti, expelled the indigenous Ligures
Ligures
The Ligures were an ancient people who gave their name to Liguria, a region of north-western Italy.-Classical sources:...
and Siculi from the place that would later become the Septimontium
Septimontium
The Septimontium was a Roman festival of the seven hills of Rome. It was celebrated in September . They sacrificed seven animals at seven times in seven different places within the walls of the city near the seven hills. On that day the emperors were very liberal to the people...
. In the version accepted as canonic, Rome was founded by two twins, sons of Mars nurtured by a she-wolf and who had left the town of Alba
Alba Longa
Alba Longa – in Italian sources occasionally written Albalonga – was an ancient city of Latium in central Italy southeast of Rome in the Alban Hills. Founder and head of the Latin League, it was destroyed by Rome around the middle of the 7th century BC. In legend, Romulus and Remus, founders of...
of their own accord. Dumézil's interpretation is not universally shared by scholars: in the Cambridge Ancient History, Arnaldo Momigliano
Arnaldo Momigliano
Arnaldo Dante Momigliano KBE was an Italian historian known for his work in historiography, characterized by Donald Kagan as the "world’s leading student of the writing of history in the ancient world." He became Professor of Roman history at the University of Turin in 1936, but as a Jew soon lost...
states flatly that "Romulus
Romulus
- People:* Romulus and Remus, the mythical founders of Rome* Romulus Augustulus, the last Western Roman Emperor* Valerius Romulus , deified son of the Roman emperor Maxentius* Romulus , son of the Western Roman emperor Anthemius...
did not lead a ver sacrum."
The last ver sacrum recorded in history occurred at Rome during the Second Punic War
Second Punic War
The Second Punic War, also referred to as The Hannibalic War and The War Against Hannibal, lasted from 218 to 201 BC and involved combatants in the western and eastern Mediterranean. This was the second major war between Carthage and the Roman Republic, with the participation of the Berbers on...
after the defeats at Trasimene and Cannae
Battle of Cannae
The Battle of Cannae was a major battle of the Second Punic War, which took place on August 2, 216 BC near the town of Cannae in Apulia in southeast Italy. The army of Carthage under Hannibal decisively defeated a numerically superior army of the Roman Republic under command of the consuls Lucius...
and concerned only cattle.