Sol (Roman mythology)
Sol | |
---|---|
God of the Sun | |
Seh₂ul |
Sol is the personification of the
Etymology
The Latin sol for "
In the Roman Republic
According to Roman sources, the worship of Sol was introduced by Titus Tatius shortly after the foundation of Rome.[7][8] In Virgil he is the grandfather of Latinus, the son of Sol's daughter Circe who lived not far from Rome at Monte Circeo.[9] A shrine to Sol stood on the banks of the Numicius, near many important shrines of early Latin religion.[10]
In Rome Sol had an "old" temple in the
Sol Invictus
Sol Invictus (English translated as "Unconquered Sun") was long thought to have been a foreign
December 25 was commonly indicated as the date of the
There were also festivals on other days in December, including the 11th (mentioned above), as well as August. Gordon points out that none of these other festivals are linked to astronomical events.[17]
Throughout the 4th century the cult of Sol continued to be maintained by high-ranking pontiffs, including the renowned Vettius Agorius Praetextatus.[28]
Connection to emperors
According to the
As the Cult of Sol grew and Sol took on attributes of other deities, Sol began to be used as a way to display imperial power. The radiate crown shown on some emperor's portraits on coins minted in the 3rd century was associated with Sol,[35][36] and may have been influenced by earlier depictions of Alexander the Great.[37] Some coins minted in the 4th century depict Sol on one side.[35] Constantine I wore the "radiate crown" though some argue that it was intended to represent the "Holy Nails" and not Sol.[38][dubious ]
Identification with other deities
Sol was most notably identified with
Various Roman philosophers speculated on the nature of the sun, without arriving at any consensus. A typical example is
Connection to Mithras
Sol appears many times in depictions of Mithras, such as the Tauroctony of Mithras killing the bull, and looking at Sol over his shoulder.[42] They appear in other scenes together from Mithras ascending behind Sol's chariot, shaking hands and some depictions of Sol kneeling to Mithras.[43] Mithras was known as Sol Invictus even though Sol is a separate deity, a paradoxical relationship where they are each other but separate.[42] They are separate deities but due to some similarities a connection between them can be created which can lead to one over taking the other.
See also
- Amshuman
- Black Sun (alchemy)
- Guaraci
- List of solar deities
- Piltzintecuhtli
- Inti
Footnotes
- ^ Sol, borrowed from Latin, is used in contemporary English by astronomers and many science fiction authors as the proper name of the Sun to distinguish it from other stars which may be suns for their own planetary systems.[citation needed]
- ^ "a.d. V Idus Augustas: Soli Indigeti in colle Quirinali Feriae quod eo die Gaius Caesar Gai filius Pharsali devicit"
"August 9: Festival for Sol Indiges on the Quirinal Hill because on that day Gaius Caesar, son of Gaius, was victorious at Pharsala" – Quintilian.[13]
a.d. V Idus Augustas: Solis Indigetis in colle Quirinali Sacrificium Publicum[14] - ^ Sol Indiges is variously translated as "the native sun" or "the invoked sun" – the etymology and meaning of the word "indiges" is disputed.
- ^ The Natalis Invicti is mentioned only in the Calendar of Philocalus, which dates to 354 CE.[21]
- Julian Calendarin 45 BCE, December 25 was approximately the date of the solstice. In modern times, the solstice falls on December 21 or 22.
- ^ "An inscription of unique interest from the reign of Licinius embodies the official prescription for the annual celebration by his army of a festival of Sol Invictus on December 19".[23] The inscription[24] actually prescribes an annual offering to Sol on November 18 (DIE XIV KAL(ENDIS) DECEMB(RIBUS), i.e., on the fourteenth day before the Kalends of December).
References
- ^ Halsberghe, Gaston (1972). The Cult of Sol Invictus. Leiden: Brill. EPRO 223.
- ^ .
- ISBN 3-515-08575-0.
- ISBN 978-975-8070-53-4.
- ISBN 9789036739313.
- ^ see e.g. Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture, p. 556.
- ^ Varro, De Lingua, 5.68.
- ^ August, de Civ. Dei, iv. 23
- ^ Virgil, Aeneid, 12, 161–164.
- ^ Pliny, Nat. Hist., III 56.
- ^ Tacitus, Annals, 15, 74.
- ^ Tertullian, de Spect, 8.
- ^ Quintilian, Inst, 1,7,12; Fasti Amiternini
- ^ Fasti Vallensis; cf. Fasti Maffeiani, and Fasti Allifani.
- ^ See the wikipedia article Sol Invictus; see also Di indigetes.
- JSTOR 283102.
- ^ a b c Gordon, Richard L.; Wallraff, Martin (2006). Cancik, Hubert; Schneider, Helmuth (eds.). "Sol". Brill's New Pauly. Antiquity volumes. Bonn, DE: Brill Online. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
- ^ Gordon & Wallraff (2006)[17] cite Hijmans (1996).[2]
- ^ Tertullian, De Spect., 8
- OCLC 632117190.
- ^ "Chronography of the 354-06 calendar". ccel.org.
- ^ Wallraff (2001) 174–177[full citation needed]
- ^ Hoey (1939) 480[full citation needed]
- ^ Dessau. Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae. 8940.[full citation needed]
- ^ "Online text of inscription, Parts 6 and 12". tertullian.org. Archived from the original on 2007-12-04.
- ^ Bishop Jacob Bar-Salabi, cited in MacMullen, Ramsay (1997). Christianity and Paganism in the Fourth to Eighth Centuries. Yale. p. 155.
- ^ McGowan, Andrew (December 2002). "How December 25 became Christmas". Bible Review. Biblical Archeology Society. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
- ^ CIL VI, 1778, "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2010-11-09.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) and 1779."Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2010-12-11.{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ISBN 9789047430452, retrieved 2021-10-27
- ISBN 978-90-04-29625-1.
- ISSN 0165-9367.
- OCLC 57010712.
- OCLC 632117190.
- OCLC 53857589.
- ^ a b "Biblical Artifacts Ancient Coins and Artifacts from the Holy Land". www.biblicalartifacts.com. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
- ^ Bardill 2012, p. 114
- ^ Stewart 1993, p. 246
- ISBN 978-90-04-21039-4, retrieved 2020-12-07
- ^ Hijmans, Steven (2004). "Sol and Luna in the Carmen Saeculare: An iconographic perspective". Metamorphic Reflections: Essays presented to Ben Hijmans at his 75th birthday.
- ^ An echo of Nigidius' views, perhaps to be found in Cicero, De Natura Deorum, ii. 27
- ^ Macrobius, Saturnalia, i. 9.[40]
- ^ ISBN 9781315085333.
- S2CID 228869848.