:For the genus of marine molluscs, see ''Oscilla'' (gastropod). ''Oscilla'' is a word applied in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

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 English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

oscillation Oscillation is the repetitive or periodic variation, typically in time, of some measure about a central value (often a point of equilibrium) or between two or more different states. Familiar examples of oscillation include a swinging pendul ...

, 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 Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; grc, wikt:Διόνυσος, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstas ...

or of different rustic deities, are still preserved. There is a marble ''oscillum'' of Bacchus in the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

. 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 le ...

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 Religion in ancient Rome, ancient Roman religion and Roman mythology, 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 de ...

, Bacchus or other deity connected with the cultivation of the soil (

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...

, ''

Georgics The ''Georgics'' ( ; ) is a poem by Latin poet Virgil, likely published in 29 BCE. As the name suggests (from the Greek word , ''geōrgika'', i.e. "agricultural (things)") the subject of the poem is agriculture; but far from being an example ...

'' ii.382-396). * The ''

Feriae Latinae The ''Feriae Latinae'' or Latin Festival was an ancient Roman religious festival held in April on the Alban Mount. The date varied, and was determined and announced by the consuls each year when they took office. It was one of the most ancient f ...

''; in this case games were played, among them swinging (''oscil(atio)''; cf. the Greek festival of Aeora (see Erigone (daughter of Icarius), Erigone). Sextus Pompeius Festus, Festus (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'', 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