:For the genus of marine molluscs, see
''Oscilla'' (gastropod).
''Oscilla'' is a word applied in
Latin usage to small figures, most commonly masks or faces, which were hung up as offerings to various deities, either for propitiation or expiation, and in connection with festivals and other ceremonies. It is usually taken as the plural of ''oscillum'' (diminutive of ''os''), a little face. As the ''oscilla'' swung in the wind, ''oscillare'' came to mean to swing, hence in
English oscillation, the act of swinging backwards and forwards, periodic motion to and fro, hence any variation or fluctuation, actual or figurative.
Many ''oscilla'' or masks, representing the head of
Bacchus
In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...
or of different rustic deities, are still preserved. There is a marble ''oscillum'' of Bacchus in the
British Museum. Others still in existence are made of earthenware, but it seems probable that wax and wood were the ordinary materials. Small rudely shaped figures of wool, known as ''pilae'', were also hung up in the same way as the ''oscilla''.
The festivals at which the hanging of ''oscilla'' took place were:
* The ''
Sementivae Feriae'', or
sowing
Sowing is the process of planting seeds. An area or object that has had seeds planted in it will be described as a sowed or sown area.
Plants which are usually sown
Among the major field crops, oats, wheat, and rye are sown, grasses and leg ...
festivals, and the ''Paganalia'', the country festivals of the tutelary deities of the ''pagi''; both took place in January. Here the ''oscilla'' were hung on trees, such as the vine and the olive, oak and the pine, and represented the faces of
Liber
In ancient Roman religion and mythology, Liber ( , ; "the free one"), also known as Liber Pater ("the free Father"), was a god of viticulture and wine, male fertility and freedom. He was a patron deity of Rome's plebeians and was part of the ...
, Bacchus or other deity connected with the cultivation of the soil (
Virgil, ''
Georgics'' ii.382-396).
* The ''
Feriae Latinae''; in this case games were played, among them swinging (''oscil(atio)''; cf. the Greek festival of
Aeora (see
Erigone).
Festus
Festus may refer to:
People Ancient world
*Porcius Festus, Roman governor of Judea from approximately 58 to 62 AD
*Sextus Pompeius Festus (later 2nd century), Roman grammarian
*Festus (died 305), martyr along with Proculus of Pozzuoli
*Festus (h ...
(s.v. ''Oscillum'', ed. Muller, p. 194) says that this swinging was called ''oscillatio'' because the swingers masked their faces (''os celare'') out of shame.
* At the ''
Compitalia
In ancient Roman religion, the Compitalia ( la, Ludi Compitalicii; ) was an annual festival in honor of the Lares Compitales, household deities of the crossroads, to whom sacrifices were offered at the places where two or more ways met.
This fe ...
'', Festus says (Paulus ex Fest., ed. Muller, p. 239) that ''pilae'' and ''effigies viriles et muliebres'' made of wool were hung at the crossroads to the
Lares, the number of ''pilae'' equalling that of the slaves of the family, the ''effigies'' that of the children; the purpose being to induce the Lares to spare the living, and to be content with the ''pilae'' and images. This has led to the generally accepted conclusion that the custom of hanging these ''oscilla'' represents an older practice of expiating
human sacrifice. There is also no doubt a connection with the ''
lustratio'' in that both rely on purification by the air.
References
{{Commons category, Oscilla
Ancient Roman religion