ancient Roman religion Religion in ancient Rome consisted of varying imperial and provincial religious practices, which were followed both by the people of Rome as well as those who were brought under its rule. The Romans thought of themselves as highly religious, ...

, 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 Chthonian deities normally are, and generally holds a

scepter A sceptre is a staff or wand held in the hand by a ruling monarch as an item of royal or imperial insignia. Figuratively, it means royal or imperial authority or sovereignty. Antiquity Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia The ''Was'' and other ...

, or a corn spray and cornucopia. In Roman mythology the husband of Ops was

Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant with an average radius of about nine and a half times that of Earth. It has only one-eighth the average density of Earth; h ...

. Ops is identified as Rhea in Greek mythology, whose husband was

Cronus In Ancient Greek religion and mythology, Cronus, Cronos, or Kronos ( or , from el, Κρόνος, ''Krónos'') was the leader and youngest of the first generation of Titans, the divine descendants of the primordial Gaia (Mother Earth) and ...

, the bountiful monarch of the golden age; Cronus was Rhea's brother.

Name

In Latin writings of the time, the singular

nominative In grammar, the nominative case (abbreviated ), subjective case, straight case or upright case is one of the grammatical cases of a noun or other part of speech, which generally marks the subject of a verb or (in Latin and formal variants of Engl ...

(''Ops'') is not attested; only the form ''Opis'' is used by classical authors. According to Festus (203:19), "''Ops is said to be the wife of Saturn and the daughter of Caelus. By her they designated the earth, because the earth distributes all goods to the human genus''" ('). The Latin word ''ops'' means "riches, goods, abundance, gifts, munificence, plenty". The word is also related to ''opus'', which means "work", particularly in the sense of "working the earth, ploughing, sowing". This activity was deemed sacred, and was often attended by religious rites intended to obtain the good will of

chthonic The word chthonic (), or chthonian, is derived from the Ancient Greek word ''χθών, "khthon"'', meaning earth or soil. It translates more directly from χθόνιος or "in, under, or beneath the earth" which can be differentiated from Γῆ ...

deities such as Ops and Consus. ''Ops'' is also related to the Sanskrit word ''ápnas'' ("goods, property").

Worship

According to Roman tradition, the cult of Opis was instituted by Titus Tatius, one of the Sabine kings of Rome. Opis soon became the matron of riches, abundance, and prosperity. Opis had a famous temple in the Capitolium. Originally, a festival took place in Opis' honor on August 10. Additionally, on December 19 (some say December 9), the Opalia was celebrated. On August 25, the Opiconsivia was held. Opiconsivia was another name used for Opis, indicating when the earth was sown. These festivals also included activities that were called

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 ...

, in honor of Consus, her consort.

Mythology and literature

Opis, when

syncretized Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, thu ...

with Greek mythology, was not only the wife of

, she was his sister and the daughter of Caelus (as Uranus) and

Tellus Tellus is a Latin word meaning "Earth" and may refer to: * An alternative name for the planet Earth * Tellus of Athens, a citizen of ancient Athens who was thought to be the happiest of men * Tellus Mater or Terra Mater, the ancient Roman earth mo ...

. Her children were Jupiter,

Neptune Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 times ...

, Pluto, Juno, Ceres, and Vesta. Opis was accorded queenly status and was reputed to be an eminent goddess. Temples, priests, and sacrifices were granted her by public law. When Saturn (as

) learned of a prophecy that his children by Opis would overthrow him, he ate his children one by one as they were born. Opis could not just stand, so instead of giving Saturn their final child, Jupiter, she wrapped a rock in swaddling clothes, and fed the stone to Saturn instead of Jupiter. Opis then went on to raise Jupiter in secret, and then helped him free his siblings from their father's stomach. She is remembered in '' De Mulieribus Claris'', a collection of biographies of historical and mythological women by the Florentine author

Giovanni Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio (, , ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so well known as a writer that he was somet ...

, composed in 1361–1362. It is notable as the first collection devoted exclusively to biographies of women in Western literature.

References

Primary sources

*Boccaccio, Giovanni. (1362) ''De mulieribus claris''. *Livy ''Ab urbe condita libri'' XXIX.10.4–11.8, 14.5–14 *Lactantius, ''Divinae institutions'' I.13.2–4, 14.2–5

Secondary sources

*Virginia Brown's translation of Giovanni Boccaccio's ''Famous Women'', pp. 12–13; Harvard University Press 2001;

External links

* {{Authority control Earth goddesses Fertility goddesses Roman goddesses Rhea (mythology)