Agonalia
Agonalia | |
---|---|
Also called | Agonia |
Observed by | Roman Republic, Roman Empire |
Type | Classical Roman religion |
Observances | animal sacrifice |
Date | January 9 May 21 December 11 |
Frequency | thrice per year |
An Agonalia or Agonia was an obscure archaic religious observance celebrated in ancient Rome several times a year, in honor of various divinities. Its institution, like that of other religious rites and ceremonies, was attributed to Numa Pompilius, the semi-legendary second king of Rome. Ancient calendars indicate that it was celebrated regularly on January 9, May 21, and December 11.
A festival called Agonia or Agonium Martiale, in honor of
Purpose
The offering was a
Etymology
The etymology of the name was also a subject of much dispute among the ancients. The various etymologies proposed are given at length by
The Circus Agonensis, as it is called, is supposed by some to have occupied the place of the present
January 9
An Agonium occurs on January 9 in the
December 11
This third occurrence of the Agonia or Agonalia shares the date of December 11 with the Septimontium or Septimontiale sacrum, which only very late Roman calendars take note of and which depends on a textual conjecture. The relation between the two observances, if any exists, is unknown.[11] A fragmentary inscription found at Ostia that reads: "Agonind" testifies that this festival was dedicated to Sol Indiges. It was indeed the second festival celebrating this deity, after that of August 10.[12]
Agonium Martiale
The Agonia to Mars occurs during a period of festivals in March (Latin Martius), the namesake month of Mars. These were the
A note on the holiday from
Notes
- ^ Hendrik Wagenvoort, "On the Magical Significance of the Tail," in Pietas: Selected Studies in Roman Religion (Brill, 1980), p. 148; John Scheid, An Introduction to Roman Religion (Indiana University Press, 2003), p. 51.
- ^ Johann Adam Hartung, Die Religion der Römer, vol. ii p33, 1836
- ^ Fasti i.319‑332
- ^ John H. Humphrey, Roman Circuses: Arenas for Chariot Racing (University of California Press, 1986), p. 543; Robert Turcan, The Gods of Ancient Rome (Edinburgh University Press, 2000).
- ^ Fowler, Roman Festivals, p. 280.
- ^ Ovid, Fasti 1.318 and 324; Varro, De lingua latina 6.12, called it agonales, plural.
- ^ Ovid, Fasti 1.325.
- ^ See also Ovid, Fasti 1.331.
- ^ Augustine, De Civitate Dei 4.11.16.
- ^ Fowler, Roman Festivals, p. 281, note 5, citing Ambrosch, Studien, p. 149.
- ^ Fowler, Roman Festivals, p. 265.
- ^ A. Grenier Indigetes et noveniles "Boletim de filologia" 1951.
- ^ Michael Lipka, Roman Gods: A Conceptual Approach (Brill, 2009), p. 37; the views of Georg Wissowa on the festivals of Mars framing the military campaigning season, with additional festivals in October, are summarized by C. Bennett Pascal, "October Horse," Harvard Studies in Classical Philology 85 (1981), p. 264, with bibliography.
- ^ Varro, De lingua latina 6.14.
- ^ As preserved by Macrobius, Saturnalia 1.4.15.
- ^ William Warde Fowler, concurring with Georg Wissowa, Roman Festivals, p. 54.
References
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. London: John Murray.
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chambers, Ephraim, ed. (1728). "Agonalia". Cyclopædia, or an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences (1st ed.). James and John Knapton, et al.