The Tiberinalia is a

Roman festival Festivals in ancient Rome were a very important part in religion in ancient Rome, Roman religious life during both the Roman Republic, Republican and Roman Empire, Imperial eras, and one of the primary features of the Roman calendar. ''Feri ...

late antiquity Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English ha ...

, recorded in the

Calendar of Filocalus The ''Chronograph of 354'' (or "Chronography"), also known as the ''Calendar of 354'', is a compilation of chronological and calendrical texts produced in 354 AD for a wealthy Roman Christian named Valentinus by the calligrapher and illustrato ...

(354 AD), on August 17 ''( XVI Kal. Sept.)'', the same day as the archaic

Portunalia __NOTOC__ Portunus was the ancient Roman god of keys, doors, livestock and ports. He may have originally protected the warehouses where grain was stored, but later became associated with ports, perhaps because of folk associations between ''por ...

. As a festival honoring

Father Tiber Tiberinus is a figure in Roman mythology. He was the god of the Tiber River. He was added to the 3,000 rivers (sons of Oceanus and Tethys), as the genius of the Tiber. Mythology According to Book VIII of Virgil's epic ''Aeneid'', Tiberinus help ...

, it may reflect renewed Imperial patronage of traditional Roman deities, in particular the dedication made to ''Tiberinus'' by the emperors

Diocletian Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...

(reigned 284–305) and

Maximian Maximian ( la, Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus; c. 250 – c. July 310), nicknamed ''Herculius'', was Roman emperor from 286 to 305. He was ''Caesar'' from 285 to 286, then ''Augustus'' from 286 to 305. He shared the latter title with his ...

us. August's festivals deal with themes of agricultural bounty ensured by sun and water, centering on the

Volcanalia Vulcan ( la, Vulcanus, in archaically retained spelling also ''Volcanus'', both pronounced ) is the god of fire including the fire of volcanoes, deserts, metalworking and the forge in ancient Roman religion and myth. He is often depicted ...

Volcanus Vulcan ( la, Vulcanus, in archaically retained spelling also ''Volcanus'', both pronounced ) is the god of fire including the fire of volcanoes, deserts, metalworking and the forge in ancient Roman religion and myth. He is often depicted with ...

(Vulcan) on August 23. The Portunalia, like the Volcanalia, was represented in large letters on extant ''fasti'', indicating that it was regarded as among the most ancient holidays that were on the calendar before 509 BC. Portunus was originally a guardian of gateways and only later by extension a harbor god, and his relation to Tiber or Tiberinus as god of the

Tiber river The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the Ri ...

is debatable; some have seen the Tiberinalia as assimilating the archaic Portunalia.

Theodor Mommsen Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen (; 30 November 1817 – 1 November 1903) was a German classical scholar, historian, jurist, journalist, politician and archaeologist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest classicists of the 19th cent ...

inferred that the two gods were the same, but other scholars have rejected the identification.

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 ...

says that the Portunalia marks the institution of a shrine ''(

aedes ''Aedes'' is a genus of mosquitoes originally found in tropical and subtropical zones, but now found on all continents except perhaps Antarctica. Some species have been spread by human activity: '' Aedes albopictus'', a particularly invasive sp ...

)'' to Portunus ''in portu Tiberino'', but the meaning of ''portus'' here is unclear;

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

mentions ''atria Tiberina'' ("halls of Tiberinus").Ovid, ''Fasti'' 4.329; Fowler, ''Roman Festivals'', p. 203.

References

{{Roman religion (festival) August observances Ancient Roman festivals