Lacus Cutiliensis (Lake of Cutilia) is the ancient Roman name of the modern Lago di Paterno in the municipality of Castel Sant'Angelo, near the ancient Reate, now Rieti. In antiquity it was sacred to the Sabines.

Varro Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes calle ...

, who came from Reate, called it the "

navel The navel (clinically known as the umbilicus, commonly known as the belly button or tummy button) is a protruding, flat, or hollowed area on the abdomen at the attachment site of the umbilical cord. All placental mammals have a navel, although ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Overview

The lake took its name from the settlement of Cutiliae or Cutilium, which was on its shores at the foot of a mountain. In his work ''De Lingua Latina'', Varro writes that the lake was inhabited by the ''

lympha The Lympha (plural ''Lymphae'') is an ancient Roman deity of fresh water. She is one of twelve agricultural deities listed by Varro as "leaders" (''duces'') of Roman farmers, because "without water all agriculture is dry and poor." The Lymphae ...

e commotiles'' or ''commotiae'',

nymph A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label= Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ...

s whose presence is explained by the

floating island A floating island is a mass of floating aquatic plants, mud, and peat ranging in thickness from several centimeters to a few meters. Floating islands are a common natural phenomenon that are found in many parts of the world. They exist less co ...

found there.

Pliny Pliny may refer to: People * Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), ancient Roman nobleman, scientist, historian, and author of ''Naturalis Historia'' (''Pliny's Natural History'') * Pliny the Younger (died 113), ancient Roman statesman, orator, w ...

says much the same.

History

In his book about theories on the origin of the Saturnalia, Macrobius narrates that the Pelasgians, one of the earliest people who inhabited

Latium Latium ( , ; ) is the region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome was founded and grew to be the capital city of the Roman Empire. Definition Latium was originally a small triangle of fertile, volcanic soil ( Old Latium) on w ...

, had been expelled from their original territory and, having wandered through many places, at last arrived in great numbers at

Dodona Dodona (; Doric Greek: Δωδώνα, ''Dōdṓnā'', Ionic and Attic Greek: Δωδώνη, ''Dōdṓnē'') in Epirus in northwestern Greece was the oldest Hellenic oracle, possibly dating to the second millennium BCE according to Herodotus. Th ...

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...

. There they asked the local oracle where they could settle permanently. The oracle's ''

responsum ''Responsa'' (plural of Latin , 'answer') comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them. In the modern era, the term is used to describe decisions and rulings made by scholars i ...

'' was that they should go to the Saturnian land of the Siculi and Aborigines, to Cutilia, where there was a floating island. They were to expel the locals, then sacrifice a tenth of whatever they had taken as booty ''(praeda)'' to

Phoebus Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

and to Hades. Human captives were explicitly included: they were instructed to "send the heads and ''phota'' ('lights', also 'lives') to the father". Having followed the instructions of the oracle, they arrived at Lake of Cutilia and occupied the island. This island was formed by overgrown plants and its growth had been favoured by the murkiness of this marsh, as was said to have been of Delos. After expelling the Siculi the Pelasgians occupied the lands. They offered as a sacrifice to

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...

the tenth part of the prey and built a shrine to Dis and an altar to Saturn, naming the feast ''Saturnalia'' after him. They continued for a long time to perform

human sacrifice Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more humans as part of a ritual, which is usually intended to please or appease gods, a human ruler, an authoritative/priestly figure or spirits of dead ancestors or as a retainer sacrifice, wherein ...

s in order to offer heads to placate Dis and Saturn, until

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the ...

came to those lands and persuaded their descendants to replace the human heads with masks and to honour the altar of Saturn with lamps, since ''phota'', "lights," may mean "lamps" as well as the "light" of men's lives. The place was an enclosed area (''locum saeptum'': fenced place) considered sacred and was inhabited by an oracle influential among the Sabines. Sometimes the Sabine migrations known as the '' ver sacrum'' started from this place: a famous instance is that of the seven thousand ''sacrales'' led by Comus (or Cominus) Castronius who founded Bovianum following the steps of an ox, thus giving rise to the Samnite nation.

The spring

The waters of a spring near the lake were extremely cold and supposed to be medicinal: they were considered good for the stomach and nerves, and were used in the Roman baths at

Aquae Cutiliae Aquae Cutiliae is an ancient Roman site situated on mineral springs known today as Terme di Cotilia or Terme di Vespasiano, near the modern Cittaducale, 9 miles east of Rieti in the Sabina region. It took its name from the nearby village ( ...

which can be seen today. The Emperor

Vespasian Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empi ...

used to come every summer to drink the waters, and he died there.Thomas Curtis (editor) ''London Encyclopaedia: or Universal Dictionary of Science and Art'' 1823 His son emperor

Titus Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September 81 AD) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death. Before becoming emperor, Titus gained renown as a mili ...

too died there.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cutilia Lakes of Lazio Province of Rieti Lake Of Cutilia Floating islands Sabines Pelasgians