Evariste-Vital Luminais - Gaulois en vue de Rome

Aius Locutius ( lat, āius locūtius, spoken affirmation) or Aius Loquens ( lat, āius loquens, speaking affirmation), was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greate ...

numen Numen (plural numina) is a Latin term for "divinity", "divine presence", or "divine will." The Latin authors defined it as follows:For a more extensive account, refer to Cicero writes of a "divine mind" (''divina mens''), a god "whose numen ever ...

associated with the Gallic invasions of Rome during the early 4th century BC. According to

legend A legend is a Folklore genre, genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human valu ...

, a Roman

plebeian In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words " commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins of ...

named M. Caedicius heard a supernatural, nocturnal voice that issued from Vesta's sacred grove, at the base of the

Palatine hill The Palatine Hill (; la, Collis Palatium or Mons Palatinus; it, Palatino ), which relative to the seven hills of Rome is the centremost, is one of the most ancient parts of the city and has been called "the first nucleus of the Roman Empire." ...

. It warned him of an imminent Gaulish attack, recommended that the walls of Rome be fortified and instructed him to pass these messages on to the

tribune of the plebs Tribune of the plebs, tribune of the people or plebeian tribune ( la, tribunus plebis) was the first office of the Roman Republic, Roman state that was open to the plebs, plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most importan ...

, but because of the messenger's humble station, the message was ignored. In consequence, the Gauls entered and burned the city (c. 391 BC). Once the Gauls were repelled, the Senate built a temple and altar (known as ''Ara Aius Locutius'' or ''Ara Saepta'') to propitiate the unknown deity who had offered the warning. This was said to have been set up where Caedicius had heard the divine voice. Later Roman historians disputed its exact location and no trace remains of the temple or altar; the latter has been historically misidentified with the Palatine altar inscribed ''

si deus si dea is an Archaic Latin phrase meaning "whether god or goddess". It was used to address a deity of unknown gender. It was also written , , or ("whether male or female"). The phrase can be found on several ancient monuments. Archaic Roman inscriptio ...

'' ("whether god or goddess"), in cautious dedication to some unknown deity. In the broad context of official

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, ...

, Aius Locutius is exceptional. Officially, the gods might speak through the cryptic writings and utterances of specialised

oracles An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination. Description The word '' ...

, or through a complex system of signs in answer to the specific questions of State

augurs An augur was a priest and official in the classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds. Determinations were based upon whether they were flying i ...

. They might also grant signs of fortune to their most favoured protégés, or speak privately to them in dreams. Aius Locutius gave clear, urgent instructions of great importance to the State, in a voice "clearer than human", but in everyday Latin, to an ordinary plebeian passer-by. Thereafter, according to

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...

, "having acquired a temple, an altar, and a name, 'Speaker' never spoke again". As a trained augur, Cicero was obliged to successfully identify and expiate any prodigies, including such "divine noise" that might signal imminent disaster or divine discontent. Beard (2012) places Aius Locutius at the "extraordinary limit" of such sounds, for the unequivocal clarity of the warning, and the consequences of its rejection by Roman authorities; a god "defined by his voice alone". The epithet ''Locutius'' was also used to invoke one of the deities concerned with child development.

References

{{Roman religion Roman gods