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The Archaic Triad is a hypothetical divine triad, consisting of the three allegedly original deities worshipped on the
Capitoline Hill The Capitolium or Capitoline Hill ( ; it, Campidoglio ; la, Mons Capitolinus ), between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. The hill was earlier known as ''Mons Saturnius'', dedicated to the god Saturn. Th ...
in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
:
Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...
,
Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...
and
Quirinus In Roman mythology and religion, Quirinus ( , ) is an early god of the Roman state. In Augustan Rome, ''Quirinus'' was also an epithet of Janus, as ''Janus Quirinus''. Name Attestations The name of god Quirinus is recorded across Roman sourc ...
. This structure was no longer clearly detectable in later times, and only traces of it have been identified from various literary sources and other testimonies. Many scholars dispute the validity of this identification.


Description

Georg Wissowa Georg Otto August Wissowa (17 June 1859 – 11 May 1931) was a German classical philologist born in Neudorf, near Breslau. Education and career Wissowa studied classical philology under August Reifferscheid at the University of Bresla ...
, in his manual of the Roman religion, identified the structure as a triad on the grounds of the existence in Rome of the three ''flamines maiores'', who carry out service to these three gods. He remarked that this triadic structure looks to be predominant in many sacred ''formulae'' which go back to the most ancient period and noted its pivotal role in determining the '' ordo sacerdotum'', the hierarchy of dignity of Roman priests: Rex Sacrorum,
Flamen Dialis In ancient Roman religion, the was the high priest of Jupiter. The term ''Dialis'' is related to ''Diespiter'', an Old Latin form of the name ''Jupiter''. There were 15 '' flamines'', of whom three were ''flamines maiores'', serving the thre ...
,
Flamen Martialis In ancient Roman religion, the Flamen Martialis was the high priest of the official state cult of Mars, the god of war. He was one of the '' flamines maiores'', the three high priests who were the most important of the fifteen flamens. The Flamen ...
,
Flamen Quirinalis In ancient Roman religion, the Flamen Quirinalis was the flamen or high priest of the god Quirinus. He was one of the three ''flamines maiores'', third in order of importance after the Flamen Dialis and the Flamen Martialis. Like the other two hi ...
and Pontifex Maximus in order of decreasing dignity and importance. He remarked that since such an order no longer reflected the real influence and relationships of power among priests in the later times, it should have reflected a hierarchy of the earliest phase of Roman religion. Wissowa identified the presence of such a ''triad'' also in the Umbrian ritual of
Iguvium Gubbio () is an Italy, Italian town and ''comune'' in the far northeastern part of the Italian province of Perugia (Umbria). It is located on the lowest slope of Mt. Ingino, a small mountain of the Apennine Mountains, Apennines. History The city's ...
where only Iove, Marte and Vofionus are granted the epithet of Grabovius and the fact that in Rome the three ''flamines maiores'' are all involved in a peculiar way in the cult of goddess Fides. However Wissowa did not pursue further the analysis of the meaning and function of the structure (which he called ''Göttersystem'') he had identified.


Dumézil's analysis

Georges Dumézil in various works, particularly in his ''Archaic Roman Religion'' advanced the hypothesis that this triadic structure was a relic of a common
Proto-Indo-European religion Proto-Indo-European mythology is the body of myths and deities associated with the Proto-Indo-Europeans, the hypothetical speakers of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language. Although the mythological motifs are not directly attested ...
, based on a trifunctional ideology modelled on the division of that archaic society. The highest deity would thus be a heavenly sovereign endowed with religious, magic and legal powers and prerogatives (connected and related to the king and to priestly sacral lore in human society), followed in order of dignity by the deity representing braveness and military prowess (connected and related to a class of warriors) and lastly a deity representing the common human worldly values of wealth, fertility, and pleasure (connected and related to a class of economic producers). According to the hypothesis, such a tripartite structure must have been common to all Indoeuropean peoples on accounts of its widespread traces in religion and myths from India to Scandinavia, and from Rome to Ireland. However it had disappeared from most societies since prehistoric times, with the notable exception of India. In Vedic religion the sovereign function was incarnated by
Dyaus Pita Dyaus ( ), or Dyauspitar (Devanagari द्यौष्पितृ, ), is the Ṛigvedic sky deity. His consort is Prithvi, the earth goddess, and together they are the archetypal parents in the Rigveda. Nomenclature stems from Proto-Indo ...
and later appeared split into its two aspects of uncanny and awe inspiring almighty power incarnated by
Varuna Varuna (; sa, वरुण, , Malay: ''Baruna'') is a Vedic deity associated initially with the sky, later also with the seas as well as Ṛta (justice) and Satya (truth). He is found in the oldest layer of Vedic literature of Hinduism, such ...
and of source and guardian of justice and compacts incarnated by Mitra.
Indra Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war.  volumes/ref> I ...
incarnated the military function and the twins
Ashvins The Ashvins ( sa, अश्विन्, Aśvin, horse possessors), also known as Ashwini Kumara and Asvinau,, §1.42. are Hindu twin gods associated with medicine, health, dawn and sciences. In the ''Rigveda'', they are described as youthful div ...
(or Nasatya) the function of production, wealth, fertility and pleasure. In human society the
raja ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...
and the class of the
brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...
priests represented the first function (and enjoyed the highest dignity), the warrior class of the
kshatriya Kshatriya ( hi, क्षत्रिय) (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority") is one of the four varna (social orders) of Hindu society, associated with warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the con ...
represented the second function and the artisan and merchant class of the
vaishya Vaishya (Sanskrit: वैश्य, ''vaiśya'') is one of the four Varna (Hinduism), varnas of the Hinduism, Hindu social order in India. Vaishyas are classed third in the order of caste hierarchy. The occupation of Vaishyas consists mainly ...
the third. Similarly in Rome Jupiter was the supreme ruler of the heavens and god of thunder, represented on earth by the ''rex'', king (later the ''rex sacrorum'') and his substitute, the Flamen Dialis, the legal aspect of sovereignty being incarnated also by
Dius Fidius In ancient Roman religion, Dius Fidius (less often as Dius Fidus) was a god of oaths associated with Jupiter. His name was thought to be related to Fides. ''Fidius'' may be an earlier form for ''filius'', "son", with the name Dius Fidius origin ...
, Mars was the god of military prowess and a war deity, represented by his flamen Martialis; and Quirinus the enigmatic god of the Roman ''populus'' ("people") organised in the
curia Curia (Latin plural curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally likely had wider powers, they came ...
e as a civilian and productive force, represented by the Flamen Quirinalis. Apart from the analysis of the texts already collected by Wissowa, Dumezil stressed the importance of the tripartite plan of the
regia The Regia ("Royal house") was a two-part structure in Ancient Rome lying along the Via Sacra at the edge of the Roman Forum that originally served as the residence or one of the main headquarters of kings of Rome and later as the office of the ...
, the cultic centre of Rome and official residence of the rex. As recorded by sources and confirmed by archeological data it was devised to lodge the three major deities Iupiter, Mars, and
Ops In ancient Roman religion, Ops or ''Opis'' (Latin: "Plenty") was a fertility deity and earth goddess of Sabine origin. Her equivalent in Greek mythology was Rhea. Iconography In Ops' statues and coins, she is figured sitting down, as Chthon ...
, the deity of agricultural plenty, in three separate rooms. The cult of Fides involved the three ''Flamines Maiores'': they were carried to the ''sacellum'' of the deity together in a covered carriage and officiated with their right hand wrapped up to the fingers in a piece of white cloth. The association with the deity that founded divine order (Fides is associated with Iupiter in his function of guardian of the supreme juridical order) underlines the mutual interconnections among them and of the gods they represented with the supreme heavenly order, whose arcane character was represented symbolically in the hidden character of the forms of the cult. The
spolia opima The ''spolia opima'' ("rich spoils") were the armour, arms, and other effects that an ancient Roman general stripped from the body of an opposing commander slain in single combat. The ''spolia opima'' were regarded as the most honourable of the ...
were dedicated by the person who had killed the king or chief of the enemy in battle. They were dedicated to Jupiter in case the Roman was a king or his equivalent (consul, dictator or tribunus militum consulari potestate), to Mars in case he was an officer and to Quirinus in case he was common soldier. The sacrificial animals too were in each case the ones of the respective deity, i. e. an ox to Jupiter, ''solitaurilia'' to Mars and a male lamb to Quirinus. Besides Dumézil analysed the cultural functions of the Flamen Quirinalis to better understand the characters of this deity. One important element was his officiating on the ''feriae'' of the
Consualia The Consualia or ''Consuales Ludi'' was the name of two ancient Roman festivals in honor of Consus, a tutelary deity of the harvest and stored grain. ''Consuales Ludi'' harvest festivals were held on August 21,Plutarch. "Life if Romulus", in ''P ...
''aestiva'' ( of the Summer), which associated Quirinus to the cult of
Consus In ancient Roman religion, the god Consus was the protector of grains. He was represented by a grain seed. His altar ''(ara)'' was located at the first ''meta'' of the Circus Maximus. It was either underground, or according to other sources, cove ...
and indirectly of
Ops In ancient Roman religion, Ops or ''Opis'' (Latin: "Plenty") was a fertility deity and earth goddess of Sabine origin. Her equivalent in Greek mythology was Rhea. Iconography In Ops' statues and coins, she is figured sitting down, as Chthon ...
(Ops Consivia). Other feriae on which this flamen officiated were the Robigalia, the Quirinalia that Dumezil identifies with the last day of the Fornacalia, also named ''stultorum feriae'' because on that day the people who had forgot to roast their spelt on the day prescribed by the
curio maximus The ''curio maximus'' was an obscure priesthood in ancient Rome that had oversight of the ''curiae'', groups of citizens loosely affiliated within what was originally a tribe. Each curia was led by a ''curio'', who was admitted only after the age ...
for their own curia were given a last chance to make amends, and the
Larentalia The Roman festival of Larentalia was held on 23 December but was ordered to be observed twice a year by Augustus; by some supposed to be in honour of the Lares, a kind of domestic ''genii'', or divinities, worshipped in houses, and esteemed the gua ...
held in memory of
Larunda Larunda (also Larunde, Laranda, Lara) was a naiad nymph, daughter of the river Almo in Ovid's '' Fasti''.Ovid, '' Fasti 2''V. 599 Mythology The only known mythography attached to Lara is little, late and poetic, coming to us from Ovid's ''Fas ...
. These religious duties show Quirinus was a civil god related to the agricultural cycle and somehow to the worship of Roman ancestry. In Dumézil's view the figure of Quirinus became blurred and started to be connected to the military sphere because of the early assimilation to him of the divinised Romulus, the warring founder and first king of Rome. A coincident facilitating factor of this interpretation was the circumstance that Romulus carried with himself the quality of twin and Quirinus had a correspondence in the theology of the
divine twins The Divine Twins are youthful horsemen, either gods or demigods, who serve as rescuers and healers in Proto-Indo-European mythology. Like other Proto-Indo-European divinities, the Divine Twins are not directly attested by archaeological or writte ...
such the Indian
Ashvins The Ashvins ( sa, अश्विन्, Aśvin, horse possessors), also known as Ashwini Kumara and Asvinau,, §1.42. are Hindu twin gods associated with medicine, health, dawn and sciences. In the ''Rigveda'', they are described as youthful div ...
and the Scandinavian Vani. The resulting interpretation was the mixed civil and military, warring and peaceful personality of the god. A detailed discussion of the sources is devoted by Dumézil to showing that they do not support the theory of an agrarian Mars. Mars would be invoked both in the
Carmen Arvale The ''Carmen Arvale'' is the preserved chant of the Arval priests or ''Fratres Arvales'' of ancient Rome. The Arval priests were devoted to the goddess Dia, and offered sacrifices to her to ensure the fertility of ploughed fields (Latin ''ar ...
and in Cato's prayer as the guardian, the armed protector of the fields and the harvest. He is definitely not a deity of agricultural plenty and fertility. It is also noteworthy that according to tradition Romulus established the double role and duties, civil and military, of the
Roman citizen Citizenship in ancient Rome (Latin: ''civitas'') was a privileged political and legal status afforded to free individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance. Citizenship in Ancient Rome was complex and based upon many different laws, t ...
. In this way the relationship between Mars and Quirinus became a dialectic one, since Romans would regularly pass from the warring condition to the civil one and vice versa. In the yearly cycle this passage is marked by the rites of the
Salii In Religion in ancient Rome, ancient Roman religion, the Salii ( , ) were the "leaping priests" (from the verb ''saliō'' "leap, jump") of Mars (mythology), Mars supposed to have been introduced by King Numa Pompilius. They were twelve Patrician ...
, they themselves divided into two groups, one devoted to the cult of Mars (Salii Palatini, created by Numa) and the other of Quirinus (Salii Collini, created by Tullus Hostilius). The ''archaic triad'' in Dumézil's view was not strictly speaking a triad, it was rather a structure underlying the earliest religious thought of the Romans, a reflection of the common Indoeuropean heritage.G. Dumézil ''La religion romaine archaique'' Paris 1974 part I chapt. 6 end; It. tr. Milano 1977 p. 252. This grouping has been interpreted as a symbolic representation of early Roman society, wherein Jupiter, standing in for the ritual and
augur An augur was a priest and official in the classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds. Determinations were based upon whether they were flying i ...
al authority of the Flamen Dialis (high priest of Jupiter) and the chief priestly colleges, represents the priestly class, Mars, with his warrior and agricultural functions, represents the power of the king and young nobles to bring prosperity and victory through
sympathetic magic Sympathetic magic, also known as imitative magic, is a type of magic based on imitation or correspondence. Similarity and contagion James George Frazer coined the term "sympathetic magic" in '' The Golden Bough'' (1889); Richard Andree, however ...
with rituals like the
October Horse In Religion in ancient Rome, ancient Roman religion, the October Horse (Latin ''Equus October'') was an animal sacrifice to Mars (mythology), Mars carried out on October 15, coinciding with the end of the Roman agriculture, agricultural and mili ...
and the
Lupercalia Lupercalia was a pastoral festival of Ancient Rome observed annually on February 15 to purify the city, promoting health and fertility. Lupercalia was also known as ''dies Februatus'', after the purification instruments called ''februa'', the b ...
, and Quirinus, with his source as the deified form of Rome's founder
Romulus Romulus () was the legendary foundation of Rome, founder and King of Rome, first king of Ancient Rome, Rome. Various traditions attribute the establishment of many of Rome's oldest legal, political, religious, and social institutions to Romulus ...
and his derivation from ''co-viri'' ("men together") representing the combined military and economic strength of the Roman people. According to his
trifunctional hypothesis The trifunctional hypothesis of prehistoric Proto-Indo-European society postulates a tripartite ideology ("''idéologie tripartite''") reflected in the existence of three classes or castes— priests, warriors, and commoners (farmers or trades ...
, this division symbolizes the overarching societal classes of "priest" (Jupiter), "warrior" (Mars) and "farmer" or "civilian" (Quirinus). Though both Mars and Quirinus each had militaristic and agricultural aspects, leading later scholars to frequently equate the two despite their clear distinction in ancient Roman writings, Dumézil argued that Mars represented the Roman
gentry Gentry (from Old French ''genterie'', from ''gentil'', "high-born, noble") are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. Word similar to gentle imple and decentfamilies ''Gentry'', in its widest ...
in their service as soldiers, while Quirinus represented them in their civilian activities. Although such a distinction is implied in a few Roman passages, such as when
Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
scornfully calls his soldiers ''
quirites Quirites is the name of Roman citizens in their peacetime functions. Etymology Latin ''Quirītis'' most likely stems from an earlier *''quiri-''. The origin of the latter is uncertain. Since the ''quirīs'' is connected with Sabellic immigrants ...
'' ("citizens") rather than ''
milites Milites were the trained regular footsoldiers of ancient Rome, and later a term used to describe " soldiers" in Medieval Europe. Roman Era These men were the non-specialist regular soldiers that made up the bulk of a legion's numbers and were t ...
'' ("soldiers"), the word ''quirites'' had by this time been dissociated with the god Quirinus, and it is likely that Quirinus initially had an even more militaristic aspect than Mars, but that over time Mars, partially through synthesis with the
Greek god The following is a list of gods, goddesses, and many other divine and semi-divine figures from ancient Greek mythology and ancient Greek religion. Immortals The Greeks created images of their deities for many purposes. A temple would house the ...
Ares Ares (; grc, Ἄρης, ''Árēs'' ) is the Greek god of war and courage. He is one of the Twelve Olympians, and the son of Zeus and Hera. The Greeks were ambivalent towards him. He embodies the physical valor necessary for success in war b ...
, became more warlike, while Quirinus became more domestic in connotation. Resolving these inconsistencies and complications is difficult chiefly because of the ambiguous and obscure nature of Quirinus' cult and worship; while Mars and Jupiter remained the most popular of all Roman gods, Quirinus was a more archaic and opaque deity, diminishing in importance over time.


References

{{Authority control Ancient Roman religion Umbri